An Independent Sovereign

The second round was now over.

And the winner Qian Ki, who could have been announced the winner anyway when the tournament had first started.

Xiao Fan's, who was right now still lying on the ground below the stage had gotten what he had wanted, so he didn't mind losing.

His plan of coming here to get a free card into the Ohin Continents proper places should be feasible now.

The tournament itself wasn't even so important to him as there had been already enough people wanting to take him in without him placing onto the second place.

Xiao Fan knew this, and almost everyone interested in recruiting knew this, yet they all had still played the long game of waiting with him.

The next step for Xiao Fan would be to receive the Liang Dynasty's offer and train under their banner for a year or so before thinking about more things.

Meanwhile, Xiao Fan was thinking about the future while lying on the ground wherefrom he couldn't get up. Qian Ki, the perpetrator who had done this to him, was now coming to see him.

Qian Ki was already regretting her decision to pummel him like this.

She mostly feared that Xiao Fan might not necessarily like being thrown around by his own woman.

But luckily for her when she came next to him, Xiao Fan didn't seem to be too bitter, he simply stared into the sky straight above him.

Showing neither positive or negative feelings, just staring.

When Qian Ki came next to him, Xiao Fan turned his head a little to face her and spoke.

¨Ouch, was all of that really necessary? I get that the bet was that I would beat you, however, for you to go all out?¨

Xiao Fan amongst other stuff had been thinking why would she be swinging the broad side of her sword into his side as if the blade was a bat.

He was thankful that she didn't use the sharp side.

But there was a little thing about just throwing him off the stage in the first bout.

Surely she could have done so there.

¨You have so many tricks in your sleeves, so I was just being cautious around you. How could I know if you suddenly use some elixir or something mid-fight, or something like that Du Huan girl had done¨ She made a valid defence.

To which, Xiao Fan could only nod.

He would have done the same if the enemy had too many variables inside of him that he didn't know off.

¨Well you will get to keep it for now, but I will take it in the future¨ He smiled and whistled.

Hearing him say that Qian Ki had a small blush on her cheeks while she also helped him up from the ground.

They still had the last and most crucial part for the youths taking part in this tournament in front of them.

It was the recruitment phase.

Where first the factions and interest groups would state who they would want to recruit.

If the person had only one group, would he most definitely take it, then if they had multiple would it then be a little different.

While Xiao Fan was almost dragged back onto the stage, the other people who also felt they might have a chance to be recruited got up on stage.

Of course, only meant those people still capable of doing so.

Du Lan and Shi Gang, for example, wouldn't be here due to their injuries, and weirdly Du Huan wasn't here either.

To the disappearance of Du Huan, every group was stunned as she was such a character who could easily get a solid offer from these factions.

Them learning of this would still look for her a week or so, obtaining nothing of her whereabouts. It would seem that Du Huan had completely disappeared from Hangzhou.

Her being absent meant that the number of the people on the stage was around five people.

Amongst them Shi Yong, Xiao Fan, Qian Ki, and Yuan Hua.

However, the number of eyes every person on the stage got was widely different.

Xiao Fan, easily taking the cake in that.

Furthermore, there was Qian Ki slightly behind Xiao Fan?

Per tournament rules this means that Qian Ki would be coming with Xiao Fan, but why? Most of the group heads didn't get this.

Qian Ki, herself behind Xiao Fan didn't feel too bad at all.

As it quite literally meant Xiao Fan being her direct superior and there was also that if Xiao Fan were behind Qian Ki, the image they showed off would be... questionable?

Moreover, Xiao Fan was still so heavily contested.

Maybe not because of his combat skills, but because of his never seen before alchemist abilities, and so it also sounded much better this way.

While they garnered the most eyes, the first one to be asked wasn't them, but a person, who Du Lan had told him, yet had by now forgotten his name.

Most people didn't even look at him.

However, a Body Activation realm Second Grade in Hangzhou was always welcomed by the owner of the place, Zou Zexi.

After him, there was also another double deal in the recruits that was much more straightforward than the last person.

The Shi Family brothers had gotten a little in the radar of Guo Jie, yet after a quick talk with the White Sun Sect, he decided to give it up.

So Shi Yong and his brother Shi Gang would be going to the White Sun Sect together, and after them, there was one person before Xiao Fan and Qian Ki.

Yuan Hua was also a Body Activation realm second grade, but somehow the people were much more fond of him than the first person to be recruited by Zou Zexi.

Xiao Fan didn't get it but what he heard was that Yuan Hua was a good talent and that his future prospect where excellent, to which he could only think that someone had done their marketing well.

Then it finally came to Xiao Fan and Qian Ki who was behind him.

And although only two people were standing there was also one person in this deal very clearly.

It was Du Lan, though she wasn't here.

Nevertheless, by now, everyone could have perceived that she wouldn't be going anywhere else than with Xiao Fan.

And while Du Lan might be the weakest of the recruitable candidates, she had shown them something incredible.

She had come on top against Du Huan.

Du Huan, who was first of all grade higher, and during their fight, she had become even stronger and had had that weird healing on her.

Yet all of that had been nothing in front of Du Lan, who had crossed an entire realm's grades to win the match.

She might even be the best candidate here due to that; however, there was no need to argue since she was also coming with Xiao Fan.

And this had caused a quite the vocal discourse amongst the rogue master in the stands.

Seeing as even before their turn was to come as Guo Jie and Mao Li were still bickering.

The two of them hadn't ceased their bickering and had been commenting every move Xiao Fan had made during the tournament.

And they hadn't also forgotten to proclaim him as their core disciple chief disciple etc.

And because the two people were such strong characters even the representatives of the two dynasties hadn't said too much but were still confident in their chances, especially Han Bai.

Despite all the commotion, there wasn't a whole lot to do other than to hear them out.

And so immediately when it came, Xiao Fan's turn every group who had travelled here for weeks announced their willingness.

Through this, Xiao Fan noticed how one could sugarcoat their words.

As they all said, their group would be the best one for his research and becoming stronger, yet the deals in actuality weren't beneficial at all for him.

And so Xiao Fan made the simple decision after once whispering something with Qian Ki just for show, and then as he turned back to face the groups spoke.

When everyone heard that Xiao Fan would be taking the Liang Dynasty could everyone else grumble since this quite literally meant they had come here for zero gains.

Though they were expecting not to be picked, it actually happening was a different thing.

Especially so for Han Bai, whose entire career was dependant on getting Xiao Fan to join the other, the other dynasty on the continent, so this made him feel a hint of anger.

What was he supposed to do now?

Go back and say that he didn't do what he had promised? What more getting this job in the first place had taken almost all of his political power.

So going back empty-handed he would be stuck in the same small-time position for the rest of his life or moved to guard the border areas.

¨Xiao Fan you don't want to think about the offer of the Bald Eagle Dynasty again?¨ He shouted into the stage, trying to see if this could still be salvaged.

Pulling his beard, he got to wait for a moment before a reply crushing his hopes to still win him over to his side came to his ears.

Xiao Fan was asking autonomy?

Hearing his request, Han Bai could easily discern why he had lost to the Liang Dynasty.

His biggest opponent had offered him the one thing that the Bald Eagle Dynasty wouldn't offer to anyone, autonomy.

The Bald Eagle Dynasty was incredibly centralised, and there was no one out of the reach of the system while the Liang Dynasty had a handfull of autonomous people and regions.

Nothing could be done anymore, so after Han Bai said something back to him, he began to curse at the Bald Eagle Dynasty and their ways, as if he had only lost because of this.

When this scene finished, most of the people left the arena.

The adults' tournament was tomorrow, so there was nothing to do here following Han Bai leaving.

Amongst the few exceptions staying here was Xiao Fan and Du Lan, who were now in the stands, going towards the place where the representative of the Liang Dynasty had been watching the tournament.

He sure had a nice place to look from Xiao Fan thought.

'Maybe I should have taken Qian Ki's offer. She might have gotten the same treatment'

Though he stopped thinking this since right in front of them was the representative himself and a few guards.

The representative hadn't had a lot of confidence in winning them over because of the deal they had set had felt a little weak.

But that wasn't a thing to worry anymore, the representative thought, as he laughingly came to welcome them.

However, he didn't get too friendly, seeing as Xiao Fan was coming here, sitting on a wheelchair that was being pushed by Qian Ki.

The representative, just like Han Bai, was also only a low-level government worker, so he didn't speak a lot to them.

The representative spoke something about when they were leaving and some small things regarding the Liang Dynasty and his rank there.

Xiao Fan being mostly interested in the tittle part.

Concerning it, the representative spoke about how his current title was one of an Independent Viscount the second-lowest rank of Imperial rankings only above a Baron.

Disregarding the low rank there was one good thing in his tittle. That being that he was an Independent one, not a general viscount.

Difference between the names was small; however, the difference in power seemed quite wast.

An independent Sovereign only needed to recognise the Emperor, or in this case, Empress.

The second big thing was how an Independent Sovereign was almost impossible to be put under the law.

Weirdly the representative told him this, but he didn't mind, he only listened to the explanation he was given.

Seemingly the problem with Independent Sovereign was that they would band together if the crown would make even the slightest move at them.

Simply meaning that if Xiao Fan got under pressure would most likely other Independent Sovereigns come to his aid, even if he was in the wrong.

Xiao Fan listening to all of these benefits that he got from this autonomy was becoming pleased, delighted in actuality as he would be an almost untouchable identity for anyone below the Duke rank.

With this rank, something like working with a Far Northern Tribe would be easy as no one would want to stick their nose into his stuff even if they saw something fishy going on.

And so when this explanation and others were over, they finally left the representative's stand to go back home.