Shennong Dao Master-Chapter 726 - 20: You Call This a Beast Tamer?_2

The mainstream belief was that the Heavenly Time Sect was stronger than the Earth Advantage Sect, which in turn was stronger than the Self Sect.

If one wanted to fight, why not choose the Heavenly Time and Earth Advantage sects?

However, it couldn’t be denied that the Minister of Agriculture from the Self Sect, who controlled plant species, was in a sense, also a practitioner, though more niche and unusual, not recognized by the mainstream Beast Taming World.

Releasing plant species wasn’t against the rules, but Zhao Xing was uncertain about the Ten Thousand Skill Avatar.

Because historically, there had never been a Minister of Agriculture from the Self Sect who cultivated the Ten Thousand Skill Avatar and participated in the Beast Competitions.

"Divine weapons are forbidden, but the Ten Thousand Skill Avatar is a type of magic, how can it be considered a divine weapon?"

Zhao Xing meticulously checked the rules again, confirming there was no prohibition against it, so he felt at ease.

...

Four hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Before long, a Golden Dragon Warship appeared above the large entrance to the Canghai Cave Heaven.

Swish, swish, swish~

Countless gazes instantly turned toward the sky.

On the deck of the warship stood dozens of officials.

Among them, four figures flew down from the ship.

"Junior Agricultural Officer Wang Tianzhi, Minister of the Ministry of Rites Ji Shu Chang, East Sea General Hong Yuanba, and Water Clan’s Envoy Bai Yunwu." Zhao Xing watched the sky.

The event was presided over by these four; even Princess You Ruo had to step aside.

Because she was of noble status, with her own fiefdom and vassals, very influential, but officially, she didn’t hold a second-grade official position.

"Wang Tianzhi was a candidate for the next Grand Minister of Agriculture."

"He should now be only about two hundred and fifty years old, which was still very young for a second-grade official. Though he was ’young,’ his seniority was quite high."

"He was the junior disciple of the current Grand Minister of Agriculture, Li Boqian, and also served as the deputy dean of Xuantian Academy." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

There was not just one Junior Agricultural Officer; in the Great Zhou’s Nineteen States, there were at least nineteen. And sometimes, each state’s Cave Heaven and Blessed Land would establish additional Junior Agricultural Officers.

During Emperor Wu’s period, to distinguish between them, those in Cave Heaven and Blessed Land were called Junior Agricultural Officers, while those in the Nineteen States were called Junior Agricultural Ministers; their powers and responsibilities were essentially the same, just different names, all under the Grand Minister of Agriculture.

But being both a Junior Agricultural Officer and the deputy dean of Xuantian Academy made Wang Tianzhi’s position quite special.

Later on, although he didn’t compete against Liu Tianning, he still became the leader of the Heavenly Time Sect and was highly valued by Lao Liu.

As for Minister of the Ministry of Rites Ji Shu Chang, he was an official under the Ministry of Rites, which managed all the beast taming affairs of the realm; his duties overlapped with those of the Junior Agricultural Officers.

Despite the different cultivation paths of various occupations, government institutions were interlinked and complementary, like the beams of a room.

For instance, the Dragon Horse Supervisor of Chongming Prefecture could be held by a Minister of Agriculture or a Beast Tamer.

The justice Director of the Divine Chosen Department could also be a priest; it was just a different title. If managed by the Ministry of Rites, it was called a Taipu Priest.

Zhao Xing’s own Chenghua Supervisor, Dong Yuanqiu, could perform war horse dances and courtship dances; the positions Mi Fei held were even more numerous than Dong Yuanqiu’s.

During his training as a Military Minister of Agriculture Officer at the Ten Suns Cave Heaven, Zhao Xing also learned about mechanical arrays, boat driving, and summoning deities.

The Minister of Agriculture also had ways of summoning deities, but Zhao Xing never practiced this path.

Although officially it was said that if used correctly, it wouldn’t shorten life and the cost was borne by the incense, in reality, frequent possession by the Yin God would still have an impact.

Like the path of mechanical arrays, Zhao Xing simply chose not to practice from the beginning to avoid the temptation to use them.

In summary, multi-talented officials were common in positions with overlapping government functions.

Ji Shu Chang spoke first, offering a series of polite remarks about the origins of the Dragon Court Ancient Land and the Beast Competitions.

He began by extolling the Grand Ancestor, crediting him with pioneering Pinghai State, which allowed the Great Zhou to contact the secret realm of the Dragon Court Ancient Land.

He then praised Emperor Wen’s benevolence for making the Water Clan Chiefs loyal, thereby gaining the quota for entering the Dragon Court Ancient Land.

Finally, he praised Emperor Jing for increasing this quota to five thousand.

Out of those, the court had already allocated all three thousand five hundred to third-rank practitioners, who didn’t need to participate in the competitions and were the main force in exploring the Dragon Court Ancient Land.

Of the remaining one thousand five hundred, five hundred would be determined in this event.

In fact, the biggest contributor to the Great Zhou obtaining the entry quota to the Dragon Court Ancient Land was Emperor Wen; during the Grand Ancestor’s period, this was not the case, as the share was split among the Water Clan, Sect World, and Eastern Wilderness Forces.

During the Grand Ancestor’s time, they only drove away the Water Clan and opened Pinghai State.

In the early period of Emperor Wen, the Water Clan Chief system was implemented, persuading many powerful Water Clan factions to submit.

As the Water Clan tribes submitted, their quotas were also offered to the Great Zhou. Without military effort, Emperor Wen gained one thousand quotas, which gradually increased to four thousand by the end of his reign.

What did Emperor Jing contribute? He only did two things.

First, he slept with Princess You Ruo’s mother, gaining an additional five hundred quotas.

Second, he fathered Princess You Ruo and spoiled her lavishly, earning another five hundred quotas.

This was entirely due to Princess You Ruo’s mother being part of the Water Clan herself, and her grandmother Bixia Yuanjun, claimed to be a descendant of the Canghai God, making Princess You Ruo a mixed-blood.

Back then, He Wu and Fang Ze referred to her as the "East Sea Princess" in private conversations, which was a nickname from her ancestry.

"Long live our Emperor!"

Zhao Xing was suddenly brought back to reality by the deafening cheers around him. Looking up, he saw Ji Shu Chang, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Wang Tianzhi, Junior Agricultural Officer, had already finished their speeches in the sky.

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