Long River Eternity

Seeing the smile on Zhan Tianqiong's face, Lin Ding and the others instantly understood that the demise of the family must be related to Zhan Tianqiong.

"Is the destruction of that family your masterpiece?" Wei Wu asked tentatively, his heart full of curiosity.

Zhan Tianqiong smiled proudly. "It does have something to do with me. You should know that my Zhan family only rose to prominence a hundred years ago, and before me, the military department was backed by a family surnamed Han."

"At that time, I was the leader of the Frontier Development Team in the Military Department. I led my team to numerous military achievements, and our ranking on the Heavenly Rankings continued to climb. This made a member of the Han family, who was in charge of the Frontier Development Team at the time, jealous, and he began to frequently target us."

"Later, we devised a counterattack, causing the general manager to suffer. He harbored even more resentment towards us. Although it was just a minor conflict at first, as my prestige in the military department and my ranking on the Heavenly Ranking continued to rise, the Han family felt threatened and began to put more pressure on me."

"Finally, during a mission, they set a trap, trying to kill our entire team at the hands of a demonic beast. At that moment, in despair, I broke through to the Tianji Realm and survived by chance, but lost all my teammates."

At this point, Zhan Tianqiong's voice grew heavy, his eyes gleaming with anger. Lin Ding and the others listened to his story, especially the part about "losing all his teammates," and couldn't help but feel grief and indignation, silently feeling the helplessness and pain.

Everyone listened in silence. Zhan Tianqiong gritted his teeth and continued, "After escaping death, I pretended that our team was completely wiped out, while secretly collecting all the evidence that the Han family had framed us. Although I was already number one on the Heavenly Ranking at the time, and had led the New Frontier Team to numerous glorious military exploits, I lacked a strong background and could not stand up to the entire family alone. So, I made all the evidence public, and then, carrying the remains of my comrades, I went straight to the Han family. This action caused an uproar in Zhongzhou City."

"Even in the face of irrefutable evidence, the Han family still refused to admit their mistakes and even tried to silence me. Ultimately, I killed three Tianji Realm experts from the Han family. Just as I was about to perish along with the Han family head, the Tianshu Pavilion Master arrived and rescued me."

"However, despite the strong evidence I possessed, I was unable to completely bring down the Han family. They pushed all the blame onto the then-Minister of Military Affairs, leading to his execution under immense public pressure. The Pavilion Master then appointed me as the new Minister of Military Affairs."

"Although the Han family narrowly escaped disaster, they suffered heavy losses in the battle with me, and their strength declined significantly. In the following years, they were constantly suppressed by major families, and eventually disappeared from Zhongzhou City. Some say they were secretly wiped out, while others say the entire family moved to other cities."

"So, with the Han family's experience as a lesson, other families won't dare to act rashly."

After listening to Zhan Tianqiong's narration, Lin Ding and others couldn't help but take a deep breath, and were full of admiration for Zhan Tianqiong's legendary actions back then.

"We should have eradicated this family completely back then. It's such a shame that we allowed them to linger on for a while." Wei Wu said indignantly.

"I was just like you at that time, feeling unwilling. But the Pavilion Master told me: A lean camel is bigger than a horse. The Han family still has a strong foundation, and its headquarters is in Zhongzhou City. If the family encounters a catastrophic disaster, it will inevitably resist violently. Not only will it affect the innocent residents in the city, but it will also give the monsters outside the city an opportunity to take advantage. We can only deal with them slowly." When mentioning the Pavilion Master of Tianshu Pavilion, Zhan Tianqiong's tone revealed a hint of respect.

At this time, Lin Ding asked curiously: "Aren't there interests tied together among these big families? Why did you deal with the Han family, but the other families didn't react?"

Zhan Tianqiong came back to his senses from his memories and smiled slightly: "There are indeed many interests tied to each other among the major families, and even marriages. But the Han family's behavior has angered everyone.

"To attack soldiers fighting on the front lines on the battlefield is something no family can tolerate. Because every family has children serving in the military, humans are already at a disadvantage in the struggle against demonic beasts. If the Han family sets this precedent, all future personal grudges will be brought onto the battlefield. Then, without the demonic beasts, humanity will destroy itself in internal strife."

Lin Ding suddenly understood and asked curiously, "So, now that we've suddenly risen to prominence, how do you think those families will treat us?"

Zhan Tianqiong pondered for a moment and slowly said, "As long as you don't conflict with them, they will usually choose to wait and see. They will carefully understand your strength and character, and then try to cater to you and win you over. It's nothing more than resources, status... and women."

When he mentioned "woman", Zhan Tianqiong showed a wicked smile, and Lin Ding and Wei Wu's faces turned red instantly, and they were embarrassed.

Seeing this, Liu Xianxian snorted coldly, turned her head away, and muttered in a low voice: "How disrespectful to the elderly!"

Although her voice was weak, Zhan Tianqiong heard it clearly. Instead of getting angry, he laughed out loud, and there was a sense of relief in his laughter.

Lin Ding scratched his head and coughed lightly to cover up his embarrassment. He then asked, "I'm curious. Since those families have such strong foundations, why don't they let their own people serve as ministers of Tianshu Pavilion, but support outsiders?"

"Haha, do you think being a minister is a glamorous position? You have to deal with complicated official business every day and have no time to practice. And these ministers today, although they have their own families to support them, they all have real talents and knowledge in their own fields. There are also some ministers who have strong family backgrounds and are by no means ordinary people. Most of the children of those families are obsessed with practice and have no interest in the position of minister; and those who don't like to practice are far less professional than these ministers, which results in the current situation." Zhan Tianqiong explained.

"I see. Then which family does the current head of Tianshu Pavilion belong to?" Wei Wu asked curiously.

"The Pavilion Master is not from any family." Zhan Tianqiong showed admiration on his face, with a hint of awe in his tone.

This made Lin Ding and others look surprised. The highest authority in Jiuzhou actually had no background at all?

"Master, do you not have any background to support you?" Lin Ding asked.

"Of course there is. The biggest backer of every Pavilion Master is the previous Pavilion Master. Each Pavilion Master will personally select a successor during his term of office. All ministers and families are not allowed to interfere, and no one from the family can be chosen." Zhan Tianqiong explained.

Lin Ding was stunned after hearing this, then he pondered: "Will there be problems with such a system?"

Zhan Tianqiong smiled bitterly and shook his head. "At first glance, this approach seems full of loopholes, but the truth is, since the Tianshu Pavilion was founded thousands of years ago, no problems have ever occurred. As for the specific reasons, only the Pavilion Master himself knows. I heard that the first Pavilion Master had a close relationship with the Divine Envoy of the time, and may have passed him some special skills."