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"The Tribute tournament?"

Ikasa uttered the unfamiliar words aloud, trying to remember if his predecessor had any memories of this event. He drew a blank.

Xue Mi took a seat on one of the planks beside Ikasa as the wobbly ship restarted its journey.

"To explain the origin of this tournament, you should understand the recent history of powers in Birch City."

She began explaining when she noticed Ikasa was unfamiliar with the mentioned tournament. He paid rapt attention to her words. When she stopped to see if Ikasa followed, he signaled her to go on.

"As you know, there are two major powers in Birch City. The City Lord and the Hu Clan. However, these are politically active powers. The economy of the City is controlled by another power in the dark. That power is the Monstrous Flame Sect."

Xue Mi paused to let her words sink in. She observed Ikasa\'s frown. The lines on his forehead had bunched together.

Ikasa ignored her blatant stare and verbalized the question in his mind.

"Don\'t the Sects and Schools stay away from the power struggles? Aren\'t they afraid of inviting the ire of the Imperial Court?"

She looked away with guilt before answering the question.

"Usually, yes. This case is an exception. Seven years ago, when Uncle Zhen was appointed to the position of City Lord, he was the one who approached the Monstrous Flame Sect for support."

Ikasa shook his head at the poor decision City Lord had taken. He remembered one of the excerpts from the book about Clan governance his predecessor had copied.

\'...Never approach the Sects and Schools in this world for anything. Not only do they have deep foundations that families and clans can\'t compare to, but they also have the ambition to make a return.\'

He tried to remember why they had secluded themselves. But his memories were vague, and he could only remember something about some pact made around a thousand years ago.

He looked at Xue Mi, who had paused to let him get his thoughts in order.

"So, City Lord Zhen Wu invited the wolves into the house. What happened next?"

Xue Mi jumped to her uncle\'s defense.

"You can\'t place the entirety of the blame on him. He was the lone Intermediate Stage Sense Realm Cultivator in his group when he was appointed the City Lord of Birch City."

Ikasa still looked at her, expecting her to continue. Her explanation was insufficient to justify the need to collude with the Monstrous Flame Sect.

"The Hu Clan, an established power of the Birch City, started to make overt and covert moves to undermine his authority. They had three Sense Realm powerhouses."

Xue Mi saw the impatient expression on his face and made the long story short.

"Therefore, my uncle had to borrow external help to suppress the arrogant Hu Clan. The only power in the City capable of providing that kind of help was the Monstrous Flame Sect."

Xue Mi chose to hide one crucial detail. Xue Miao, her aunt, had contacted the Monstrous Flame Sect on behalf of City Lord Zhen Wu before he even considered forming an alliance with them.

After thinking about the whole thing, Ikasa still felt he was not seeing the entire picture.

"What you have said so far does not clarify the origins of the Tribute Tournament nor its purpose."

"Yes, I was getting to it."

Xue Mi licked her parched lips and began to debrief.

"Once the alliance was successful, my uncle easily beat back the Hu Clan\'s advances. They also helped us, the Xue Family, regain our footing in Sal City. But recently, the Monstrous Flame Sect began to demand concessions in their share of taxes."

Xue Mi clenched her fists as she spoke of her Uncle\'s plight.

"City Lord put up with them for the past few years. However, their demands grew excessive to the point they expected the City Lord to cover their entire share of taxes paid to the Governor of the County."

Her voice quivered with agitation. But to Ikasa\'s trained eyes, it seemed no different than an act.

"My uncle had to obey lest the Hu clan take advantage of the cracks in their alliance to make a comeback. And then, at the beginning of the last year, Commander Lu of his City Guards broke into the Sense Realm."

Xue Mi took a pause to breathe. She had noticed Ikasa\'s eyes glued to her lips and every word coming from them. She couldn\'t withstand the pressure and ended up breathless.

"So, you are saying this Tribute Tournament was instituted last year, after the commander\'s breakthrough to determine which power will pay how much tax?"

Ikasa inferred from her story.

Even though the story was interesting, the implications behind it? Not so much. City Lord Zhen was in need of help, and the Xue Family wanted him to provide that help.

She nodded at his conclusion.

His mood soured at the thought of being forced to choose sides. As a businessman, he prioritized neutrality above all. There is no point in alienating half of the consumer base by choosing a side.

Still, he inquired further about what kind of help City Lord Zhen expected.

"And what role does Xue Family expect me to play here?"

He could accept if it was just working in the background by providing manuals or funding and get it over with. Because now, he didn\'t want to owe Xue Family anything and keep their relations purely commercial.

She hesitated a bit. Taking a long pause, she tried to find the words that would conceal the true intentions.

She wanted to make the favor seem easier to accomplish than it actually was.

"If you can invite the Guardian of the kids to show support for the City Lord, we will be grateful."

She carefully chose innocent words to make it seem like a small favor. But Ikasa saw right through her. He immediately went into detail.

He probed with an edge to his tone.

"Show support? How?"

When she still did not answer after a few breaths, he narrowed his eyes on her.

"Are you perhaps suggesting that the Guardian should fight on behalf of City Lord in the Tribute Tournament?"

Xue Mi shuddered at his cold and sharp voice. She neither denied nor accepted his assumption. And yet, her silence spoke volumes. Ikasa pinched his nose bridge in frustration.

Just when he thought she would not speak anymore, she explained the rationale behind this decision.

"Last year, City Lord Zhen and Commander Lu entered the ring and wiped the floor with other experts. However, if City Lord has to fight this year as well, he will lose his hard-earned prestige. And with his prestige, everything associated with it. So, please consider our request."

She said with almost teary eyes. He ignored her show of emotions and focused on the issue at hand. He couldn\'t understand why the status of City Lord would be lowered.

"Why would his prestige be harmed?"

Ikasa looked at her with confusion. Leaders often led from the front. This was considered honorable.

"Because the Sect Leader of Monstrous Flame Sect or Clan Master of Hu Clan do not enter the ring themselves but send their subordinates. If the City Lord has to fight subordinates of the other two powers, it would not look good before the arbiter from the County."

Her explanation cleared many of the doubts in his mind. He could only get the specific details of how the tournament is fought  from the City Lord.

He took a long breath. Looking into her pitiful eyes, he enunciated his every word.

"I will see what I can do after meeting with the City Lord Zhen."