The training grounds of the temporary base.
Ouyang Feng and Zhang Shaohua watched a group of people not far away, their brows furrowed.
They had wanted to blend in earlier, but found that the group had already formed an inseparable unit, leaving no room for others.
It was in line with the training rules for new students to band together and act as one when carrying out tasks during the training, which was why the two of them had wanted to join other small cliques.
If they encountered danger, the others in a small group might be able to offer some protection.
Given Zhang Shaohua's background, he would not have needed to actively seek teammates.
However, this new student training only had three people from Yunhai City in total.
The other two, besides Zhang Shaohua, had joined the small clique of Dong Sanbao from the Dong family in Chuannan City.
As for the one Zhang Shaohua and Ouyang Feng wanted to join, they simply didn't think highly of the two of them…
"Young Master Zhang, it's alright. They're just looking down on us. With your strength, getting the final official team member spot is just a matter of time. By then, they'll be envious!" Ouyang Feng said indignantly.
The core of that group was Sun Yi from the Sun family in Linggu City. His martial arts strength had already reached the peak of the Houtian Body Tempering realm half a year ago.
Now, he didn't know if he had broken through to the early Ming Jin stage.
Ouyang Feng figured he hadn't. Otherwise, the Sun family would have already made a grand announcement in Linggu City.
The Sun family was the one with the deepest foundation among all the families in Linggu City. Because their enshrined masters had been stuck at the peak of Ming Jin, they had been ridiculed by other families in Linggu for many years.
Once Sun Yi broke through to the early Ming Jin stage, the Sun family would definitely retaliate with this, showing off to the other families in Linggu.
As the saying goes, the young are the future of the family.
Sun Yi's talent was good, and the head of the Sun family and the clan elders highly valued this junior of the family.
It was just a pity that Sun Yi was not from the direct lineage of the Sun family.
"You and that Sun Yi are both from Linggu City. You're following me, but not him. Is that really okay?" Zhang Shaohua asked.
He appeared to be asking casually.
In reality, as he asked this question, he was observing his follower.
"Young Master Zhang! I am your man! Although our Ouyang family is in Linggu City, our hearts are with the Zhang family!"
Ouyang Feng immediately declared his loyalty.
He hadn't made much progress in martial arts over the years, but his ability to speak according to the person he was talking to had become increasingly refined.
At this moment, even a single strand of his hair was directed towards Zhang Shaohua!
Sun Yi?
Sorry, we're not close!
The Ouyang family was only a second-rate family in Linggu and could not possibly rely on the great power of the Sun family in normal times.
If this were not the case, the Ouyang family would not have gone far to seek support from the Zhang family in Yunhai City.
"Don't be nervous, I trust you," Zhang Shaohua said, patting Ouyang Feng on the shoulder.
"Thank you for your trust, Young Master Zhang," Ouyang Feng replied.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, Zhang Shaohua was just asking casually and didn't probe further.
The families in the Dragon Country had reached their peak in recent years, and everyone knew the principle that prosperity leads to decline. Therefore, every second-rate family was thinking of finding a backer for themselves.
"Look at these people on the training grounds, they are all looking for small groups to join. And this situation, how similar is it to the current state of our various families?" Zhang Shaohua sighed.
Although the Dragon Country appeared calm on the surface, it was not.
This undercurrent had already begun to show two years ago.
"Young Master Zhang is right. All the major families are now thinking about how to deal with the impending great change," Ouyang Feng echoed.
His grandfather's decision to align with the Zhang family in Yunhai City was actually a last resort.
Because all the second-rate families were doing the same thing!
This had led to the increasing power of the first-rate families in various regions.
Originally, first-rate families could not be compared with super-first-rate families. However, due to the affiliation of second-rate families, first-rate families had gathered the strength of many second-rate families, gradually catching up to the super-first-rate families.
This was the general trend.
Even if the super-first-rate families were unwilling to see it, they were powerless.
And super-first-rate families like the Zhou family and Shangguan family in Jiangnan, and the Mo family in the Northwest, would naturally not flatter others.
Because the power controlled by the super-first-rate families was so great that even if the first-rate families tried their best to catch up, they could not surpass them in a short period.
Otherwise, the word 'super' in super-first-rate families would lose its meaning.
The structure that had been formed over decades would not be easily broken.
However, Ouyang Feng did not understand that the Dragon Country's government did not want to see the first-rate families continue to expand their influence.
There were many martial artists in the Dragon Country, but when divided by region, the numbers were not that large.
The first-rate families, super-first-rate families, and top families had recruited most of the martial artists. The Dragon Country's government, unable to do anything, could only try to break this pattern.
It was difficult to move the super-first-rate families and top families.
Naturally, it was logical to deal with the first-rate families.
For this reason, the Dragon Group needed to specially recruit a group of newcomers.
The Dragon Country's government's move, on the surface, was to cultivate new official members of the Dragon Group, but in reality, it was to weaken the influence of the first-rate families.
All the major families were inseparable from the Dragon Country, and this was the only unchanging fact.
And by bringing these promising young martial artists into the Dragon Group, providing new choices for families willing to cooperate with the government, was one of the necessary actions for the Dragon Country's government.
Since most of the martial artists outside were controlled by the first-rate families, the government might as well give the young martial artists a dual identity.
On one hand, they were martial artists supported by first-rate families, and on the other, they were members of the official Dragon Group.
Lin Weidong's proposal to recruit new members for the Dragon Group in the area around Yunhai was precisely this idea.
The Dragon Country's government gradually realized that martial artists would play a significant role in the future.
Even in the current era of firearms, martial artists should not be underestimated.
Therefore, the martial artists of the Dragon Country could not be completely controlled by families!
That would affect a certain balance.
Since ancient times in the Dragon Country, there had been the saying of martial artists committing crimes with their martial arts.
The government had not paid enough attention before.
Now that the higher authorities were taking action and wanted to regulate these martial artists, although it was a bit late, it was not entirely without hope.
However, the effort and time required for this would be considerable.
Lin Weidong's responsibility was of great significance.
The Dragon Country's government did not want to see another incident like the 'Seven Martial Artists Incident' that occurred two years ago.
"Quick, come and see! The observers are fighting!"
Suddenly.
A newcomer running from a distance broke the silence of the training grounds.
He waved to everyone, calling them over to watch.
Upon hearing this, the newcomers became curious.
They all knew that during this training, there would be an observer group coming to the temporary base. The people in it were basically enforcers from various major families, and they were powerful martial arts masters!
If Houtian An Jin experts were to fight, how could this not be exciting?