The Legend of Min Hong

"Finally, the scouts don't use merit points, and are people who have risen through the ranks through tough challenges and life threatening missions, so trying to bribe them in any way is useless…"

Gong Yi ended with a deep breath, something that told Min Hong that he was most likely a person who doesn't talk much…

"So how is the competition setup?"

"Well, the top ten disciples from each of the top five sects gather together in a massive competition that is split into three parts…" Rin Chen took over from the seemingly speech exhausted Gong Yi;

"Firstly is the battle within the sects to determine which sects came out with the most talent within that specified generation, and it is broken into both individual and group battles…"

"The individual battle involves each of every sect disciple being called up against another and then a temporary elimination round is devised just to know which Sect has improved their individual disciples the most…"

"Then there is the group battle which involves all the ten disciples from each sect to battle simultaneously, and this naturally favors those sects which have had taken on the most teamwork missions together and have clearly understood the weaknesses and strengths of each individual within the group to effectively optimize themselves for better efficiency and balance during battles…"

"Secondly, is the general hunt-race competition…"

"It is called hunt-race because as the name depicts, it involves hunting beasts within a forest, and is determined by who reaches the finish line with their hunted beasts…"

"Added advantages are calculated by the tier of the beast that was killed and also how many of them…"

"It is not an actual group phase, but because disciples would normally form a temporary alliance or group so as to pass the test as quick as possible, and then split the hunted beasts by effort and rank of each member of the group…"

"Moreover, since it was a tactic that neither accepted nor rejected by the hosts, it then became a very normal thing to form a group over the years of the competition…"

"Furthermore, this phase of the competition serves more like a warm up and an awakening to the participants, because those beasts are real and have been known to kill some unfortunate disciples, making it a very ideal place to settle disputes and bad bloods amongst disciples and clans…"

"After the final batch of disciples who have passed the test are determined, then as usual, it would be time to make the top ten younger generation descendants of the Dogon Empire…"

"The reason why they are called descendants and not disciple is because of three reasons…"

"The first being the fact that they are now one of the top strongest in the entire empire, and are then qualified to be drafted into the Imperial Military Division, taking their disciple status way and replacing them with 'Intern Protector' which is the highest level of title, respect and fame given to any younger generation member of the Dogon Empire…" Rin Chen continued…

"Why 'Intern Protector' and not 'Protector'?"

Min Hong felt the classification added to the back of such a title sounded odd and awkward…

"Well, that is because they have never for once been a younger generation protector before in the history of the empire…" Rin Chen answered;

"Is it really that hard to become a protector?"  Min Hong went on;

"I guess you misunderstand the rank of a protector…"

"The level of a protector is basically on the same level as a commander of an entire battalion, and the only difference is that, whilst the commander and his battalion goes to war with other empires, defend against invasions and set out to conquer new territories, the protectors are always concentrated with dangers and challenges within the empire…"

"These missions could range from beasts hordes of every categories, to obliterating internal organizations who are plotting and rebelling against the Imperials…"

"On some other occasions, the protectors are also tasked recon missions, gathering Intel on other empires and territories to help the military forces of the empire effectively take control of these regions…"

"To be accepted or given the rank of a protector, the minimum requirement is to have at least a Saint Stage cultivation base…"

"Note, this isn't total battle power, but actual cultivation base…" Rin Chen emphasized his last sentence…

"How many protectors does the empire have at this moment, and what are the benefits that comes with the rank?" Min Hong asked seemingly plotting something in his mind…

"Well at this point, we only have about eight…"

"Wait… If there are only eight protectors, that doesn't correlate at all…" Min Hong frowned in curiosity;

"You just said every top ten disciples from the Imperial Seeding Tournament are given the status of Intern protector, which means sooner or later they will also become protectors too, right?" Min Hong looked around for a clearer answer…

"I guess Rin Chen can't explain it clearly enough, so let me…" This time it was Xiao Gui that spoke;

"Intern Protectors have the word 'Intern' attached to it because they are required to tag along with protectors on several missions to get a hang of what being a protector is all about; think of it as gaining experience with a master to protect and give guidance to you tagging along…"

"So it is more of the intern's mission than the protector's?" Min Hong interrupted;

"Yes, but that is only on missions within the empire…"

"But in the case of truly talented interns, then they tag along on missions outside the sect which can be really life threatening, because the fate of spies in foreign soil never ends well…" Xiao Gui clarified…

"Then not all interns become protectors, because most of them fail their qualification tests, whilst other also simply surpass the age limit, and there are some who actually die on intern missions…"

"It is the same case for protectors also…"

"Most protectors die during missions, whilst others simply surpass the age limit and are simply sent into the military or return to their families, forfeiting all benefit, class and fame, depending on the choice of the expert being relegated…" Xiao Gui continued;

"Over the past decade, we have had about 200 protectors and almost three thousand interns, but about 50 percent of those are now in the military…"

"About another 40 percent are dead, whilst the remaining 10 percent are now normal citizens who have either being hired as a guard, an elder in some lower clans and sects or simply as a teacher to many younglings looking to embark on the journey to become immortals…" Xiao Gui explained;

"Oh, that explains everything then…"

Min Hong kept quiet after getting his confusions sorted and allowed the group to continue their talks about the upcoming tournament…

"As for the benefits of the protectors, they are of the second order only below that of the Imperials themselves… "

Xiao Gui allowed Ki Ting to explain this part since her own elder sister was a current protector and Ki Ting herself obviously enjoys the perks that comes with it…

"There are two ways to the benefits enjoyed by everyone within the empire; the first is from the Imperials to the person I question, and this involves resources, access to some restricted places and information, and finally, the level of priority that is placed on any issue or matter concerning the person…"

"Then there is the second aspect which is from the citizens themselves to the person in question…"

"For example; within the entire empire, protectors eat for free at any restaurant and also stay for free at any inn or apartment they wish…"

"On most occasions, several clans flock over these protectors to offer their hospitality, because having any form of ties with a protector means should anything happen, the protector would prioritize your safety over anyone else..."

"So, it is not a fantasy or imagination when I tell you that several clans and sects fight and hassle themselves just to offer their hospitality to any available protector…" Ki Ting explained;

"For example, my current mount was gifted to me by the Merchant Alliance, just because my sister was looking to buy a suitable weapon and I happened to tag along…" Ki Ting said with a beaming smile…

"Every citizen of the empire knows that their lives are truly owed to the capabilities of the protectors guarding the empire, because in the case where another empire invades, the protectors are always the first responder to stall the invasion thereby giving the military an ample time to gather and prepare to destroy these invasions…"

"This happens because the protectors and their armies are always in smaller groups and are thus able to quickly mobilize than armies who are large in their tens of thousands…"

"A protector and its army majorly number between 100 and 500 men, depending on the protectors pattern of thwarting threats…"

"In fact, the most successful protector in history had only twenty men under his tutelage, and they have dealt great blows to empires and even thwarted entire invasions before the military forces could arrive" Ki Ting spoke with an utter fanatic gleam shimmering in her eyes…