On the night before the Regional Selection's arena battle, a total of sixteen examinees would be held for a chat by the examiners.
After all, ten of them would become Conferred Knights in the future. Even if the other six failed this time around, there was a high chance that they would succeed the next time around.
These sixteen people were likely to become pillars of the country in the future. Of course, the examiners would need to interview them properly to ascertain their temperaments, thoughts, and character.
Of course, it was hard to say how much could be gleaned from such a chat. However, it was impossible to not do it just because the effects were limited. It was just like how even civil servants in the modern world had to go through interviews. Before one became a Conferred Knight, one would also need to be held for a chat by the examiners.
As the person who had obtained first place in three consecutive stages, Fang Xingjian was naturally the first to enter.
The moment he entered, he saw four examiners sitting quietly behind a long table. A chair was placed before Fang Xingjian, just like an interview in modern society.
Seeing that Fang Xingjian had sat down, Governor Devitt smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. We're just having a casual chat. Today's conversation won't be recorded, and it won't affect your results in the Regional Selection. So, please feel free to speak."
Seeing that Fang Xingjian had nodded, Yaris asked with interest, "Then I'll go first. Xingjian, to be honest, with your great talent, you have a high chance of attaining the Divine level. Therefore, I'd like to know, what are your future goals? "Pursue the profoundness of ether particles? "Govern the country and ensure that the country is prosperous and peaceful? "Lead an army and expand our territory? "Or become a grandmaster and have students all over the world? "Or do you have other goals?"
Hearing that, Fang Xingjian was stunned for a moment. He had not expected that the other party would ask this question. However, he only gave it some thought before saying, "I don't have much of a desire for revenge. In the past, the only thing I wanted to do was to devote my entire life to pursuing the highest realm in sword arts. "However, I later found out that in order to pursue the highest realm in sword arts, not only do I need to do it myself, I also need to create an environment where I can pursue it in peace." Saying this, he paused for a moment as he thought of Li Shuanghua, Catherine, and the First Prince. The killing intent in his eyes surged.
"Therefore, on the path of seeking the Dao, those who obstruct me in my pursuit of the Dao, those who disturb my thoughts, I will kill them all."
The four examiners looked at each other, their eyes filled with 'as expected'. Of course, they had already investigated Fang Xingjian's information. They also had a good understanding of Fang Xingjian's situation.
He was the kind of existence that would only focus on cultivating if you didn't take the initiative to appear in front of him and disturb him. As long as such a person was given enough space and resources, he would be much easier to control than those knights who wanted to reform the country, expand their territories and revitalize their clans.
Moreover, with their boldness, how could they not tolerate Fang Xingjian's little rashness? Killing some evildoers that annoyed people was not a big deal.
Fang Xingjian also knew that the other party must have investigated the information, and he himself disdained to lie about such matters. If he did not even dare to state his own intentions, how could he continue to advance on the path of a knight?
Of course, it was impossible for the details to be confirmed through this conversation between the four of them. They would have to slowly understand the details in the days to come.
The aged Luke said in a trembling voice, "What do you think about the Knights being able to deal with commoners as they wish, the government being unable to deal with Knights, and only the association being able to supervise Knights?"
Fang Xingjian's eyes narrowed slightly. After thinking about it, he understood the meaning of this question. Governor Devitt was the Second Prince's man, and the four examiners here were all from the Governor's faction. Naturally, they were also the Second Prince's men.
If the First Prince was said to represent the Empire's traditional influences, then the Second Prince was said to represent the reformist faction. He wanted to break the tradition of the first wife's son inheriting the throne, changing the strict system of those in power oppressing those in lower positions.
This question clearly had a deeper meaning. He was asking about Fang Xingjian's political leanings.
Fang Xingjian naturally had no problem answering this question. There was no longer any possibility for him and the First Prince to resolve the conflict, and his thoughts were closer to the Second Prince's faction to begin with. Therefore, he answered directly, "This is the source of the chaos. "The commoners are the Empire's foundation. Every year, a large number of Knights are born from the commoners. "Casually killing and humiliating commoners will only sow the seeds of hatred and conflict. If this goes on, there will come a day where conflict will erupt."
Luke continued to ask, "Then do you feel that Knights should have the same status as commoners?"
"That's not the case either." Fang Xingjian said, "The status of Knights is naturally higher than that of commoners, and their powers are not on the same level. If we were to force them to have the same status, it would only make us live like dragons and snakes. Just the Knights' appetite, amount of exercise, and strength are already a huge problem. If the two were to be managed together, it would only cause chaos in the country. "However, the superiority of Knights should not be based on their cruelty to commoners. Instead, it should be reflected in the Knights' generous benefits. "As for being able to casually kill commoners, that would only be the actions of demons. It would only destroy the country's foundation, and it's definitely not acceptable."
Luke nodded in satisfaction and said, "Then you'll never kill commoners?"
"Those who deserve to be killed will naturally be killed. Commoners are not beasts, but they are definitely not treasures that should be held in one's hands. "Overly protective of them will only make them arrogant and conceited, thinking that they are really in control of everything," Fang Xingjian said calmly, "There's a saying that goes: when one is close to them, one will be rude; when one is far away, one will be resentful. "One mustn't be too close to them, nor should one be too cruel to them. Maintaining an appropriate distance is the way for Knights and commoners to interact."
Luke nodded and thought to himself, 'Although his understanding is still immature, from his perspective, it seems that this is indeed a power that can be absorbed. 'When one is close to them, one will be rude; when one is far away, one will be resentful? These words have a certain charm to them. '
Governor Devitt smiled and asked, "Then it's my turn to ask. Xingjian, out of the remaining sixteen people in this batch, who do you think is the strongest?"
Fang Xingjian said with a matter-of-fact expression, "Of course it's me."
When Fang Xingjian said this, his expression was calm and his heartbeat was normal. He was neither arrogant nor conceited, but as if he was saying something very normal.
Devitt revealed an interested expression and asked, "Then if you want to spar, who do you want to spar with?"
Fang Xingjian gave it some thought and said, "If it's among these sixteen people, I'm actually not very interested." He 'looked' at the four examiners and said, "But I'm very interested in the four of you."
The four examiners all laughed. Devitt shook his head and said, "If you want to spar with us, you'd better wait until your ether synchronization rate has broken through 50%. The ether synchronization rate is not as simple as the success rate of skill synthesis."
Hoult came in for the interview. However, as he was representing a Divine level expert, Devitt and the others only had to ask him a few questions.
However, when the third person, Anderson, came in, they seemed to be more interested.
Devitt asked, "Out of the sixteen people, who do you think is the strongest?"
"Fang Xingjian? Or Hoult. He has a level 29 Superior Divine Weapon and can still fight against Fang Xingjian. " Although this Anderson, who had transitioned into a Shadow Death God, looked displeased, he still mentioned Fang Xingjian's name. However, he immediately added, "But that's only for now. After I've completed the second transition, I'll definitely surpass him within three years."
Devitt smiled and asked, "Then what rank do you think you'll be able to get?"
"Second or third," Anderson was very short. Sitting on the chair, his legs could not even reach the ground. He swung his legs and said, "If Fang Xingjian is in first place, I might be able to win against Hoult. If Hoult is in first place, I'll have to fight against Fang Xingjian. His speed is too fast, and I don't have a level 29 Divine Weapon, so the chances of me winning are very low. "Against someone like Fang Xingjian, if you can't win against him, then don't even think about escaping. Before him, if you lose, you'll die."
With that, he shrugged and said, "Therefore, in the end, it all depends on the luck of the lots drawn for the arena battles."
Just like that, after going through the interviews one by one, everyone either rested or continued their cultivation. Finally, it was time for the final stage of the Regional Selection — the arena battles.
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
