Rong Xi took the lesson to heart, knowing that such behaviour of his ancestors stagnated the clan way too much. But he planned to be even more attentive to it now, to make sure that such a thing wouldn't happen again. He couldn't open the clan to outside more, as marriage was always an option. But he could at least open the town hall, giving elder positions to those that deserved it but weren't part of the family. Although that would only happen later on, he had to make sure that there were more than enough preparations.
Luckily the dwarfs always revered those that were skilled in smithing and didn't care much for the race of the smith. The small pride of being the best smithing race wasn't bad at all, and it was already curbed strongly, since there were smiths just as good from other races. The difference was the quantity of such smiths, quality was too subjective, so it was never counted in.
Rong Xi left soon after with Shixuan and Qianyu behind him. They announced the different competitions that made the groups smaller and smaller. There were some rewards along the way to those that succeed somewhat. The top 1.000 would get a small Essence Stone each, not a reward worth much, but considering that many only participated for fun or came from humble homes, this at least meant they could have a nice meal afterwards.
Many were also happy with the subsequent rewards, while most regretted not taking the competition more serious. Ultimately, the top ten were decided while Ji Li didn't come out even for their competition, leaving people curious and confused about him.
Ji Li didn't care much, he just had his own fun and liked to play in his tent with some of the things in his sleeve. Honestly, he had quite a few toys, simple ones and some musical instruments. He was used to being bored most of the time, so it wasn't a surprise that he had a lot of stuff on him.
He hadn't planned on participating and just went back to the Eunuch Branch Yard after the competition and ate together with his brothers, discussing with them how they would act while joking and teasing each other. The last few days were too stressful and annoying, so relaxing and having some time just enjoying tea was truly a bliss.
The next day, Ji Li repeated the process exactly the same. This time the competition was for weapon smiths, and only 20 thousand were allowed to join, although there were more than 30. The fighting was even more intense than the jewellers. Weapon smiths had to test their own weapons, so naturally they were quite fond of training with them as well.
The competition was to make a small dagger, a rather unpopular weapon, but it was supposed to be a ceremonial dagger that was gifted to returning soldiers. Once again, there were more than enough that failed. The same thing from the day before didn't repeat and many tried their best to compete, but here again only the top 3 thousand got a small Essence Stone, the rewards further were even better than the jewellers rewards, although the highest rewards were the same once again.
Lastly, the tool smiths were in turn, but the competition here was a little different. They had over 30 thousand, and all of them were allowed to participate, while the rules were much stricter. They had to craft on their own a tool that they were best in, and the judges would be judging based on the highest performance of each toolman. This served to see the quality and level of the toolmen, as they were just too many and toolman often had to have a variety of things they had to craft, leaving them usually less proficient in just a single thing.
Finally, all top ten were announced and told to appear the next day in the plaza.
…
The next day in the branch yard. Ji Li had just come out when he saw Rong Xi waiting for him once again in front of the carriage. They acted like it was usual and Rong Xi simply opened the door like the good servant he was, not missing on any manners. Today was the day Ji Li would also formally be introduced to all the elders. Prior when he visited their workshops, they were still quite distanced and very sudden, but now, all were prepared to swear their loyalty to him.
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Ji Li wanted to use this opportunity to make sure that everyone is on the same page, while it's also a test on the reliability of Rong Xi, as he had never even asked about the plaza and how they arranged for all the visitors to see.
They drove along the road towards the plaza as Rong Xi explained reassuringly "Lord, all the elders are already more than excited to meet you. They were very happy when I told them about the recruitment, and naturally none of them refused to swear an oath. I arranged for a private room with a formation at the arena, where you might spend the time while watching the competition. The room is very well done, and no one has the ability to peek, so we have more than enough room to swear the oath. How shall we do things, Lord?"
Ji Li looked satisfied and nodded at Rong Xi, but he denied "You did well, especially with the room. We will be needing that, but the oath can wait. Since the elders have all agreed, I see no issue pushing that a few hours or even days back. We will most definitely have visitors that ask to enter the room, so just tell your elders to be a bit stern and distanced when we are there.
Let them see that our relationship didn't progress at all and that we might even have some disputes because of the competition. Later, one of the visitors, I would guess the young man from the Yi family, will be attending and ask you for a private talk. They are a family of craftsmen and will try to recruit you. Tell them that you might be tempted based on what they promise, and then just let them talk without making any requests. I want to see how far they would go.
The Eunuch Palace naturally knows the situation at the borders best, as we have the most amiable relationship with the military. But there might still be some things that already leaked, and the families found a few rumours. I want you to look into how much was leaked. If they truly already know a lot, then we might have to hasten our plans in Ferrarius even more."
Rong Xi just nodded as they drove to the arena. He was truly happy that his lord accepted and trusted him so much, naturally he also knew that all of the steps and words Ji Li took were most likely tests, but at least he conveyed them very amiably. Truth be told, anyone is testing at each and every time, they either just hide it well or do it unintentionally.
Ji Li looked out of the window as he saw they already had left through the central gate and entered the Workshop district. They went through and he witnessed many and many people on the roadside following them, seemingly excited about the start of the final competition.
They slowly approached the centre when Ji Li saw a large building made of stones and wood that stretched over the whole plaza, it was in the form of a wall. The carriage entered the arch below and were welcomed to an extremely large storage pace which already had quite a few carriages and horses around. Ji Li went out after Rong Xi and saw that the carriage was parked at it's destined position by several worker dwarfs.
Ji Li only followed behind as he thought 'Damn, dwarfs really work fast and well. They made this Football-Stadium-like structure in just a few days. But I can see that although everything is stable and grand, it looks just not good enough. They probably put a lot of cloth outside to hide the stones and wood, making it seem better than it actually is. Well, I will tell them to redo the whole thing and make it a permanent arena. They should also relocate it. I only suggested the plaza because I thought it'd be interesting to see how they'd fit hundreds of thousands of visitors, who would've thought they wanted to stack the people above each other? What happens if there are any injuries or even mishaps with the building? It truly can only be used for a short period of time and can't be kept forever. Anyways, it's fine for now, show me the inner building.'
Ji Li went up several stairs before he ended in a detached room that stood at the highest point of the stadium. It was in the middle and even had a small balcony that was several steps below the room, and much more open, where people would stand and speak down. This truly was the most VIP room one could imagine, which made Ji Li slightly happy.
The competition wouldn't start just yet, as they arrived shortly earlier this time, unlike before where they were nearly too late. The room was, just like expected, fully hidden in cloth from the ground to the ceiling. Ji Li only sat down in the middle chair which was on a slightly higher position and looked down at the stadium. Shixuan and Qianyu stood next to him, watching even more focused.
Just a short time before the competition would be starting, someone came and knocked at the door. Those that arrived were the elders that wanted to pay their respects. But since they were instructed and even brought out before Ji Li entered, none of them was too warm with their greeting.
They slowly went to the left side where several chairs and tables were prepared for all the guests of the most important person present in the stadium. Ji Li didn't mind and just looked forward to the other guests that might be arriving soon.