Xu Wen Shan, the Southwest Governor, sat on the main seat, his face extremely grim.
This time it wasn't just the South River battlefield that was attacked!
Several Wanzu battlefields in the Southwest had also been attacked simultaneously.
This meant that several races from different Wanzu battlefields had formed an alliance.
It meant that the pressure on the entire Southwest region would increase significantly.
After all, if only one or two Wanzu battlefields had been engaged in a major conflict, the Southwest region could have easily dispatched martial artist forces.
But now, that wasn't possible!
And the people present weren't fools. This battle was more like a test.
Or perhaps the first time that the races from various battlefields coordinated!
They weren't very familiar with each other, and every race had held back.
"We were caught completely off guard in this battle."
"The Southwest lost tens of thousands of martial artists!"
Xu Wen Shan's suppressed, angry voice echoed, laced with resentment.
For the entire Southwest, this loss was devastating.
How to replenish, how to increase the Southwest's strength,
were all questions!
The Shenxia Federation's leaders for each region were all Ninth-Rank existences.
Those above Ninth-Rank automatically became members of the Federal Council.
They held supreme power!
These existences would decide the future of the Shenxia Federation.
Unless in special circumstances, these beings would rather focus on cultivating their cultivation and pursuing breakthroughs.
Including the current Wanzu battlefield, it couldn't accommodate existences above Ninth-Rank.
If a battle erupted among those above Ninth-Rank, it could potentially lead to the collapse of the entire half-plane.
Ninth-Rank was already incredibly powerful!
Facing the governor's fury, many martial artists dared not speak.
Ning An noticed that the missing Dean and Vice-Dean of the Pill Dao Academy were both present.
Jiang He Kang, the Dean, was even seated in a prominent position.
"Old Xu, this matter was too sudden!"
"Now we should consider how to implement remedial measures."
Fortunately, a kind-looking, middle-aged man with a square face beside Xu Wen Shan spoke up.
This man was an Eighth-Rank Grandmaster!
After reaching high-grade martial artist status, Seventh-Rank became Masters, Eighth-Rank were Grandmasters, and Ninth-Rank were Grand Grandmasters!
With him leading the way, many martial artists echoed his sentiment.
"Right, Wang Grandmaster is right!"
"Governor, the priority now is to remedy the situation."
"Besides, there's no guarantee that it won't happen again!"
.
The most important thing now was how to respond to this.
Xu Wen Shan, capable enough to be the Southwest Governor, naturally possessed exceptional ability.
He knew how crucial this matter was!
He could only suppress his temper and first address the affairs of the Southwest.
First, they needed to figure out how the various Wanzu races were able to connect.
Logically, the Wanzu battlefields in the Southwest had never been breached.
These races couldn't get out, so how could they possibly unite?
In the end, the martial artists weren't fools!
Their suspicious gazes turned towards the heretical martial artists.
If heretical martial artists had infiltrated the battlefield, collaborating with these races would be much simpler.
As the martial artists discussed, this possibility seemed increasingly likely.
"Conduct a purge of heretical martial artists in the Southwest!"
"And accelerate the identification of heretical martial artists infiltrating the battlefields."
Xu Wen Shan, the Southwest Governor, declared.
Besides this, enhancing the strength of martial artists was crucial.
"Start Southwest Federation recruitment, training more martial artists!"
"In addition, provide some support plans for students."
"Increase the strength of Southwest students, as a large proportion of the Federation's recruits come from students."
....
Many martial artists began offering their suggestions.
The Southwest itself had considerable authority.
There were many things they could do!
Of course, although there were many suggestions, it would take months to implement them.
Take recruitment for example. They first needed to determine the number of recruits.
Then, they had to decide where to place these individuals and how many resources to allocate, and so on.
This matter had the martial artists debating for a whole week.
Finally, there was another issue: the appointment of a leader for Qing Shan Base.
"In the previous battle, the leader of Qing Shan Base died during the reinforcements."
"Are there any suitable candidates!?"
Xu Wen Shan asked, continuing the discussion.
Although the leader of Qing Shan Base only needed to be a Fourth-Rank, the problem was that finding a suitable candidate was difficult!
The reason was simple, many factions had no interest in this position.
Despite appearing to have a lot of potential benefits, it was only low-grade resources.
The martial artists present were at least Sixth-Rank.
Many felt that this position was a waste of energy, a burden.
Most importantly, Qing Shan Base was ranked last in the entire Southwest.
It was already good enough to maintain a balanced budget every year.
There wasn't much profit!
In the eyes of many, this was a big pitfall.
The two main pillars of the Southwest, the Federal Army and the Academy factions, made up the majority of the martial artists at the meeting.
But at this moment, both factions' strongest individuals remained silent!
There were also some martial artists from martial arts schools, hereditary families, who were also unwilling to participate.
The martial arts schools and hereditary families eligible to participate in the Southwest meeting were not based in Qing Shan Base.
Or perhaps one could say that the martial arts schools and hereditary families in Qing Shan Base were not very impressive.
Fourth-Rank martial artists weren't as common as vegetables!
Sending someone out would not only disrupt their cultivation but also waste time!
Naturally, this was unacceptable to the various martial arts schools and hereditary families.
The only option was to feign death!
The current scene of silence stood in stark contrast to the previous commotion.
Even Xu Wen Shan couldn't help but feel a headache.
He understood why all the factions were avoiding this like the plague.
No benefits, and it would waste their cultivation time!
They would also be restricted to Qing Shan Base for much of the time.
They wouldn't be able to go to the battlefield to earn resources, for example.
Even though they had some authority, they couldn't really do anything.
And if something happened to Qing Shan Base,
They might have to send out reinforcements!
No matter how you looked at it, this was a losing proposition.
So, this became something that the factions were reluctant to touch.
"The Federal Army has a large number of martial artists, it's easy to spare a Fourth-Rank."
"We Federal Army soldiers aren't like those from the Martial Arts University, we're not a bunch of roughnecks who can't manage a base properly."
"Besides, the Federal Army is short on manpower now, and Fourth-Rank martial artists are crucial."
.....
Many factions began to recommend each other for the position.
Their subordinates showed no signs of wanting to vie for power.
They were even avoiding this task!
Even Xu Wen Shan, the Southwest Governor, didn't know what to say.
After careful consideration, he made a decisive decision, cutting through the clutter.
"The Academy will send someone!"
Because compared to the Federal Army, martial artists from the Academy had more free time.
The faces of the martial artists from the Academy factions immediately turned grim.