Candidates for the Eight Generals

Seeing this, the others smiled as well. They truly regarded Li Guanqi as their own junior. This was precisely because Li Guanqi had opened his heart to them and treated them with sincere honesty. After exchanging pleasantries, Li Guanqi scanned the room with his gaze and noticed that among the Eight Generals, only Chan Kongzi had yet to break through to the Tribulation Transcendence realm. The auras of everyone else were immensely terrifying, a faint yet palpable pressure permeating the great hall. Chan Kongzi's primal energy was fluctuating violently, however; it seemed he was also on the verge of breaking through to the Tribulation Transcendence realm. Everyone took their seats in turn, though this time Long Hou deliberately reserved the seat beside him for Li Guanqi. Once they were all seated together, Long Hou was the first to speak. "You must have already guessed why we asked you here, haven't you?" Li Guanqi nodded slightly and said in a soft voice, "Is it about the Eight Generals?" Long Hou nodded, his expression solemn as he spoke. "Successive fierce battles have drained the Seven Domains of much of their strength." "Fortunately, thanks to you, the overall strength of the Seven Domains has seen a substantial rise." Li Guanqi did not deny this. His earlier act of resonating with heaven and earth atop the Dao Platform had elevated the cultivation of many practitioners by at least an entire tier. The Eight Generals had already lost Youming, and with Yu Shan having absorbed Wu Mian's avatar, only six of the Eight Generals remained. Now, every one of their cultivations had advanced to the Tribulation Transcendence realm. Before long, they would surely relocate to the frontline of the Fifth Domain. Consequently, someone would need to assume the duty of overseeing the outside world from the Seventh Domain. Evidently, Li Guanqi and his companions were progressing at a rapid pace; it would not be long before every one of them advanced to the Tribulation Transcendence realm as well. That left the question of who would fill the ranks of the Eight Generals rather intriguing. Hong Zhi spoke slowly at this moment. "That is why we wish to select a new cohort for the Eight Generals!" "We also wanted to ask for your opinion. Do you have any candidates to recommend?" Li Guanqi was somewhat surprised. He had not expected them to consult him regarding candidates for the Eight Generals. After pondering for a moment, Li Guanqi said in a deep voice, "Compared to sheer strength, a candidate's character and disposition matter most." At these words, everyone nodded in agreement. Yet... the responsibilities of the Eight Generals were simply too momentous. So much so that neither character nor strength could be lacking in a candidate. "I have no objections to Qin Wushang or Xu Junlin." Long Hou nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "We have observed Qin Wushang and Xu Junlin for a long time. Both of them possess immense strength now, making them fine choices." Immediately following that, Li Guanqi shrugged and stated bluntly, "Oh, right—forget about Luo Changqing." "His moral character isn't great." Yu Shan could not help bursting into laughter. "Hahaha! Very well. Since you have spoken, we'll strike Luo Changqing from the candidate list." Everyone nodded in agreement. Li Guanqi added with an impassive expression, "I'm not saying this to settle a personal score over our past conflict." "It is because Luo Changqing's clan ties run far too deep." "Even if he can act fairly and impartially toward outsiders, that won't necessarily hold true when he faces his own kin." Xiang Huaizhi chuckled at this. "We know. You aren't the type to nurse a grudge for petty vengeance anyway—if you have a score to settle, you settle it on the spot..." Long Hou sighed, a conflicted look in his eyes. "Alas, with this generational gap, finding candidates for the Eight Generals is no easy task." "Those with too advanced a Dao age... carry far too great a latent risk; no one can be certain what they're truly thinking." "Yet among the younger generation, very few possess the ability to dominate all rivals!" Nangong Xuandu raised his teacup, took a sip, and looked at Li Guanqi with an inscrutable gaze. "What we originally discussed was for your group of sworn brothers to take our places." Nangong Xuandu paused, a wry smile surfacing on his face. "Who would have thought... your strength would grow so rapidly." "So fast that before we could even step down, you were already about to surpass us." "Right now, the renown of you Seven Scions of the Human Spirit Realm is not in the least inferior to that of the Eight Generals of the Seven Domains." Li Guanqi rubbed his nose somewhat sheepishly. He had heard of that title as well. The Seven Scions of the Human Spirit Realm. Originally, the name that had first spread was the Seven Prodigies of the Human Spirit Realm, but because Meng Wanshu was among them, it had become the Seven Scions of the Human Spirit Realm. Li Guanqi gave it some thought, but in truth, he had few people to recommend for the Eight Generals. "Actually, Gu Lie, whom I brought over earlier, is a fine candidate, but his strength hasn't reached the level where he can suppress all peers." Long Hou felt a bit of a headache as well upon hearing this, and said softly, "There is no need to rush. We only called you here to ask if you had anyone in mind." A flash of inspiration struck Li Guanqi's mind, and a name suddenly occurred to him. However, he did not know what that person's current cultivation was like. "There is a fellow in the Six Ancients Sacred Sect named Zhou Shiyu. If his strength can be elevated, he would be exceptionally fitting!" Long Hou looked somewhat surprised. He had not expected Li Guanqi to truly have someone to recommend. "Oh? Why him?" Remembering everything that had transpired between himself and Zhou Shiyu, the corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved upward slightly. "That guy... is stubborn to a fault." "His devotion to his beliefs and convictions runs extraordinarily deep." "If he can become one of the Eight Generals, he will surely be an unyielding shield!" Long Hou nodded slightly, exchanging a glance with Yu Shan; clearly, he had committed the name to memory. And as long as Long Hou and the others took note, Zhou Shiyu would surely become a candidate in the selection process for the Eight Generals... Once named a candidate for the Eight Generals, he would receive resources incomparable to anything in the outside world. "Actually, Ye Xuan and Qin Xiao also deserve some attention." Xiang Huaizhi nodded slightly, set down his teacup, and said softly, "Those two are indeed within our scope of observation as well." "Originally, Meng Jiangchu was considered too, but... taking you into account, his cultivation will likely break through to the Tribulation Transcendence realm in short order." "Besides, someone recently inquired about joining the Seventh Domain, which also relates to you." Li Guanqi was slightly startled. He had not expected his father-in-law to have originally been considered for the Eight Generals as well. Put that way, Meng Jiangchu's strength was certainly among the very pinnacle of the Mahayana realm! The second piece of news, however, caught Li Guanqi off guard. "Related to me? Who?" Xiang Huaizhi gave a soft smile and chuckled. "Han Yuan, Jiang Qizhi, and Guo Feng." "Those three old men insist on coming to the Seventh Domain no matter what. There was no helping it... after all, Gu Changsheng is here." Li Guanqi shook his head in wry amusement. So it turned out to be those three old men. If those three alchemists came, joining the Pill King Pagoda would indeed be a good choice. Xiang Huaizhi said directly, "When you have time, take a trip to the Misty Immortal Domain to find them." Li Guanqi considered it. He was planning to return to the Great Xia Sword Sect and Beiliang City anyway. Dropping by to see them on the way would be perfectly feasible. "All right, I'll pay them a visit when the time comes. Are they all in the Misty Immortal Domain?" "Yes. When the time comes, I will prepare a few scrolls for you to leave with them," Xiang Huaizhi replied with a smile.