Today was a special day for River East City. All morning, many important guests from far-flung provinces entered the city walls with large entourages. As parades of luxurious horse carriages and powerful guards made their way through the streets, the citizens peeked out of their windows to satisfy their curiosity. Something big like this hadn't happened in many months, if not over a year.
Ever since Thousand Flower City was established further upriver and closer to Ten Thousand Flower Valley, the status and prestige of River East City in the region quickly fell off. There was no way they could compete. That was the new capital of the province. The economic opportunities there were simply unmatched.
However, there was still one thing that kept River East City going. Every resident was clear about what it was… the Zhou Clan.
After Zhou Ziyun left to join the immortal lord, the Zhou Clan prospered and rapidly expanded. Their old rivals and enemies could only watch and lament their misfortune as the clan became the strongest and wealthiest in the city. Even the city lord was just a figurehead that had no power.
And obviously, today was all about the Zhou Clan, a special event known to outsiders only as the clan election.
It was something that didn't exist before, something that Zhou Ziyun had recently implemented to drive her clan toward the future. While she had started calling her clan a branch sect, they still did not behave like one. They were still a business entity focused on profits and not cultivation. They had elders that managed various economic departments but they didn't have anyone focused on cultivation.
Whether it was obtaining and curating cultivation arts and martial arts, sourcing medicinal ingredients and creating medicine, dealing with weapons and armor, or other matters… the goal of this clan election was to choose new elders that would focus on these aspects. The goal was to turn the clan into a true cultivation clan with a long future.
The carriages that stopped in front of the Zhou Clan manor didn't seem to end. While the clan had spread across several provinces in recent years, River East City was still their origin. It was where their ancestral hall was located and tradition dictated that important matters had to be conducted here.
Within the hall, the senior members were already gathered at the front. Zhou Ziyun sat in the foremost position as she was the official clan head. Her father, Zhou Tong, sat to one side of her. He could be considered the retired clan head and still retained a large amount of power when she was absent. Although he preferred to spend his time drinking tea and collecting various artworks these days, she relied on him during important times.
Her other side was occupied by Zhou Lai. He was her granduncle. He was only second to her father in effective rank. He was very old and frail-looking but he was still filled with energy.
The three of them conversed quietly as each clan member arrived to take their seats. Aside from the old guard, there were also some new faces that had made a name for themselves during the clan's recent expansion.
One notable person was Zhou Guanming. He was another grandson of Zhou Lai. After Zhou Guanyu had proved to be a disappointment and was removed from his position, Zhou Guanming was appointed to take over as the governor of Black Rock City in the Cloudy Mountain Province.
The reports from recent months had been very good. By all measures, Zhou Guanming was good at managing people and delegating tasks. He was fair to the common people and just when dealing with other factions. He also had potential as a cultivator as he had managed to raise his level within the Mind Focusing Realm a few times within a year.
Zhou Ziyun raised an eyebrow as Zhou Guanming's gaze met hers. There was ambition and confidence there. But there was also a hint of coldness. She instantly felt that this person wouldn't be reliable in the future. It wasn't that she was biased against his brother, Zhou Guanyu, who had been a total prick. It was just an instinctual judgment.
She hoped that she was just being paranoid and moved on to another person of interest. Her name was Zhou Fengluo and she was in her early thirties. In the past, she had been considered Zhou Clan's number one beauty. She had attracted a lot of attention within River East City and had married into another merchant clan to strengthen business ties.
However, when the clan started to experience pressure from all sides, Zhou Fengluo wasn't able to pull much support from her husband's family. In the end, her behavior and continued loyalty to the Zhou Clan caused her husband to disown her and sent her back to the clan in disgrace.
That had been a titillating event several years ago. The various enemies of the Zhou Clan celebrated it and constantly used it to make fun of the clan. Now, her former husband's clan no longer existed in the city anymore and nobody would dare to make fun of her anymore.
This change wasn't just because of the clan's new status but also her own ability. She had gone to Divine Blazing Province to expand the Zhou Clan's business. Not only had she done an excellent job setting up a branch in a completely new province, she also managed to establish a close relationship with First Elder Fen Lin of Divine Blazing Mountain who had firm control of the former immortal sect.
It was widely known that Fen Lin was impotent. Thus, it remained a curious mystery how this Zhou Fengluo managed to keep him wrapped around her finger. But it was also natural to reason that a woman's charm not only included her ability to open her legs but her charm, intelligence, and personality. Regardless of what really happened, it was undisputed that Zhou Fengluo was a capable person and a rising star within the clan.
In fact, in each of the provinces that the Zhou Clan had expanded to, there were bright and ambitious people rising up the ranks. The need for personnel allowed the younger generation to face challenges that would have been reserved for elders in the past.
In the same fashion as Zhou Fengluo in Divine Blazing Province, numerous young men of the clan had gone to Glacier Province in hopes of snagging one of the precious Glacier Palace disciples. After all, out of the ten top disciples that had followed Long Yifei in the past, a majority of them were still single. Whoever could match up with one of them would surely have a bright future in the province and within the Zhou Clan.
In other places such as Red Bamboo Province, the competition was even stronger. This province was the first one the clan expanded to and they had the greatest number of people aside from their home in Dragon Flower Province. They were involved in all kinds of businesses such as the trade of medicinal herbs, spiritual crystals, and other spiritual resources. It was also the most profitable out of the rest.
When noon arrived, the ancestral hall was a sea of faces. Zhou Ziyun had invited over a hundred names to this clan election and they had all shown up without a single one missing. They all stared up eagerly at this young woman who still carried a hint of immaturity in her cheeks. Regardless of what they thought of her, she was their undisputed leader.
Zhou Ziyun stood up and her voice rang through the hall, "Members of the Zhou Clan, welcome to our clan election. In past, such events were held occasionally to fill one or two senior positions. They were attended only by the clan head and the elders. Today, I have invited not only elders and senior members but also those from younger generations that have contributed greatly to the clan."
"The clan will continue to expand. My master has already informed me that he needs our presence in the southeast region in the aftermath of the demon attack. We will all the help we can get regardless of age. As long as you are capable, as long as you are loyal to Ten Thousand Flower Valley and the Zhou Clan, everyone has an opportunity to grow and achieve great things."
"Today, we will be electing eight new elders to focus on cultivation matters. Each person present will have one vote. I will still have the final say for each position but I will not reject the majority's choice unless I can give you all a satisfactory explanation. Understood? Good, then let's begin!"
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