<h4>Chapter 812: Vote Shenanigans (3)</h4>


    The weaponsmiths had yet to cast their vote.


    While they were hesitating, Zhao Li walked over and chided them, "What are you doing? Vote! Just vote for the second option! If they are going to be searching someone’s memories, do it to everyone! Since you''re having a hard time making your choice, let me make this choice. You guys are scared but I''m not!"


    Numerous gazesnded on Zhao Li.


    He merely snorted at them. Even with Zhou Pochong''s gaze on him, he showed no fear. He said, "The fuck are you looking at? I''m voting for the second option. What are you going to do about it? The Zhao Family has been weaponsmiths for generations. Countless people owe us favors. Back then, my old man frequently forged weapons for free. Do you guys dare to kill me just because of a vote?"


    Zhao Tianbing was left somewhat speechless. This junior brother of his had gone crazy because of Su Yu.


    Nevertheless, he still opened his mouth and said, "In that case, we''ll vote for the second option. Since we all want to solve the case and ensure fairness, this is the best choice. This is only the choice of me and my junior brother. It does not represent the weaponsmithing field as a whole. If you guys don''t think this is appropriate, you can take the vote from us as well."


    Hu Qi said, "I agree as well. Let''s vote for the second option."


    She was confused about Su Yu''s option, but she had still decided to stand beside Zhao Li and Zhao Tianbing so that they didn''t need to fight alone.


    Elder Chen of Great Xia also coldly said, "I agree to vote for the second option as well."


    "I concur."


    "..."


    Some of them remained silent, but with several earth weaponsmiths agreeing on the second option, the result was rapidly concluded. This was the first group present to make it clear what they were voting for.


    Of course, everyone was also assuming that Great Xia would choose the second option. Great Ming and Great Qin were very likely to pick that option as well. Thus, at least four prefectures would pick the second option.


    The War Shrine would most likely pick the second option too. Thus, at least five votes would go to the second option. More and more jade talismans were returned to Silk Destroying King.


    When Silk Destroying King saw Great Ming''s vote, his heart thumped. He said nothing and continued mixing the jade talismans together, as though he was ying with some interesting toys.


    Thirty-five jade talismans had been gathered before him.


    Only five were left.


    Great Zhou, Great Qin...


    The powerful prefectures had yet to cast their vote. After a while, they finally voted. Forty jade talismans, including Silk Destroying King''s talisman, were gathered. Everyone focused on Silk Destroying King. They had agreed to him presiding over this session because as a king who was not a prefecture founder, he was rtively neutral.


    Everyone believed that he would pick the third option, a vote that was no different from abstaining from voting. But instead, "one" was written on his jade talisman. He had actually agreed to search Feng Ji''s memories.


    "Everyone has voted." Silk Destroying King smiled, "I can''t help getting excited. What would the final result be?"


    Great Han King, "We don''t know, but you already know, right?"


    Silk Destroying King said, "What are you talking about? The host will still need to keep things lively, right? Just pretend I don''t know."


    He then casually tossed the jade talismans into the air. All forty of them spun at an astonishing speed. Even the other two Invincibles were unable to take a clear look at all the talismans.


    "I''m keeping the identity of the voters anonymous from even Great Han King and Great Song King. That way, none of you have to worry about reprisals in case they''re unhappy with your vote. I''m very dependable, right?


    "As for my own preference, be rest assured. I have no prefecture and descendants. I only have a few students. None of this concerns me. Furthermore, I am a warrior. My students are warriors as well."


    Having said that, he shed the crowd a massive smile and asked, "Is everyone curious about the result?"


    "..."


    Everyone gazed at him silently. What a stupid question. Could he reveal the result already?


    Silk Destroying King continued taking it slow, "To be honest, secret ballots are incredibly interesting. Alright, I''ll reveal the votes now. I''ll do it one vote at a time to keep things exciting."


    He did not give anyone the chance to protest as he picked a random jade talisman and said, "I wonder whose vote this is. First option, search Feng Ji''s memories."


    Everyone remained silent.


    "Second vote. It''s still the first option. Feng Ji, things aren''t looking good for you. At this rate, you might end up suffering alone.


    "Third vote, still the first option. Tsk, tsk. You guys sure are ruthless. Zhou Pochong, you were able to change the situation around right after arriving. Impressive, kid.


    "Fourth vote, the third option. Wow. It''s actually the third option. Who is this? You''repletely unprincipled. Why don''t you have the courage to pick a side and stick to it?"


    "..."


    A lot of people were leftpletely speechless. Was it unprincipled to pick the third option? In that case, what about Silk Destroying King himself? What was his vote?


    ***


    Among the crowd, Su Yu tightened his grip on his armrest and looked at Silk Destroying King silently. The eighteenth vote picked the third option as well.


    Up to this point, these were the results: ten votes for the first option, three votes for the second option, and five votes for the third option.


    The first option signified that the voter stood against the Xia Family.


    The second option signified that the voter stood with the Xia Family.


    The third option signified that the voter was neutral.


    The difference between the different camps was quite big.


    Silk Destroying King shook his head and said, "What a pity. The neenth vote was cast for the third option.


    "Twentieth vote. Second option.


    "Half the votes have been revealed. Feng Ji, you have received ten votes. Zhang Ying, you guys have only received four votes thus far. Looks like you guys can avoid having your memories searched, after all."


    Silk Destroying King smiled, "What a pity. I have been looking forward to searching the memories of more people."


    "Silk Destroying, hurry it up."


    Great Han King frowned. Was he done fooling around? Silk Destroying Kingughed and continued. Before long, thirty votes were revealed.


    With a voice of suspense, he said, "Fourteen votes for the first option, seven votes for the second option, and nine votes for the third option. With only ten votes remaining, we only need two more votes for the first option to seal Feng Ji''s fate."


    A total of nine votes had been cast to the neutral option thus far. With the neutral votes removed from the equation, only thirty-one votes remained. Thus, sixteen votes were enough to guarantee victory for any of the two remaining options.


    Yuan Qingdong and his colleagues exhaled in relief. There were only ten votes left to unveil. They were already assured of their victory. Even if they couldn''t get the two additional votes, they only needed more people to vote for the neutral option to secure a victory. After all, the gap between the two options was very big.


    "Thirty-first vote, second option. Hahaha, Feng Ji, you sure are lucky. Thirty-second vote, second option. Tsk, tsk. Feng Ji, you got lucky yet again."


    "..."


    At this point, Feng Ji spoke up helplessly, "Lord, regardless of the result, I will still have my memories searched."


    How was that lucky?


    Silk Destroying King nked out slightly before howling withughter, "Yes, yes, you''re right. There is no escape for you. Yuan Qingdong and friends are the ones that are hoping to escape."


    "Thirty-third vote, third option. Fourteen to nine to ten."


    "The deciding vote will be here soon!" Silk Destroying King spoke in a voice of excitement, "Will this be the first option? If it''s the first option, the result will be sealed in advance. But if there is no vote for the first option after this, we the result will be a tie."


    "Thirty-fourth vote, second option. What a pity. Fourteen to ten to ten. We have six votes remaining. The Xia Family is pretty impressive. You actually managed to garner nine supporters. Thirty-fifth vote, second option again!"


    "..."


    The people from the eight families were starting to get nervous. Why was it the second option so many times in a row?


    "Thirty-sixth vote, third option."


    "Oh shit!" Silk Destroying King yelled, "Fourteen to eleven to eleven! Thirty-seventh vote, third option. Wow! I can''t believe this!"


    Silk Destroying King shook his hand, "It''s fourteen to eleven to twelve. Even if the remaining votes had all been cast for the second option, it would still be a tie. Feng Ji won''t win no matter what."


    After a short silence, Marquis Xia said, "Please continue."


    Silk Destroying King smiled and said, "Thirty-eighth vote, second option. Thirty-ninth vote, second option."


    At this point, even Great Han King''s interest was piqued. He said, "It''s the final vote. If it''s the second option again, it will be a tie?"


    Silk Destroying King nodded, "Yes. It will be a tie. In that case, we will pick the third option."


    Only the final vote remained. Silk Destroying King scanned the crowd and shed all of them a deep smile before raising the final jade talisman in his hand. "Two" was written on it.


    It was a tie. It was actually a tie. But right before Silk Destroying King fully raised the final jade talisman, the "two" on it changed into "one".


    After taking a look at it, he spoke with a regretful tone, "First option. Fifteen to thirteen. I regretfully inform you that you alone will have your memories searched, Feng Ji."


    Yuan Qingdong and his colleagues exhaled in relief. Zhou Pochong was relieved as well. Good. There were fifteen votes supporting them and twelve neutral votes. Meanwhile, the Xia Family and their allies together were only able to gather thirteen votes. One of these votes came from the weaponsmiths, so that could even be discounted in terms of actual support of the various human prefectures.


    While they were feeling relieved, Marquis Xia turned absent-minded. He leaned against the back of his chair and stared ahead nkly. Hong Tan was in a simr state.


    ***


    Silk Destroying King also stealthily exhaled in relief.


    Holy shit!


    Even with Great Xia, Great Ming, him, and the final vote that he had tampered with picking the first option, the Xia Family was still able to gather thirteen votes. If they had actually voted properly, wouldn''t the Xia Family receive seventeen votes? In truth, the eight families had only received eleven votes if one only counted those who truly supported them.


    Of course, there was still some confusion regarding Great Ming''s vote. But one couldn''t deny that they were supportive of the Xia Family. Even if the vote of the weaponsmiths were removed, the Xia Family would still have sixteen votes.


    Sixteen to eleven, with twelve neutral parties.


    Silk Destroying King was inwardly relieved. When he nced at Zhou Pochong and the others who were looking very happy, he smirked. Were they very happy with this result?


    He went straight to the point and said, "With this result, Feng Ji alone will have his memories searched. The eight families are exempted from this. Hong Tan and Acting Prefect Xia, this is the result of the vote. You need to ept this and stop bickering about it."


    Marquis Xia calmly answered, "Sure. I won''t go back on my words. But this is really surprising. I did not expect to lose this voting session. Fifteen votes for searching only Feng Ji''s memories. You guys are...impressive."


    ***


    Meanwhile, Su Yu was being killed by his curiosity. He couldn''t stop wondering about the Xia Family''s vote. Did they vote for the first option or the second option? If they voted for the second option, it signified that including the Xia Family, only fourteen parties were supportive of them.


    "But the actual support is probably equally split since I''m in Great Ming."


    He felt slightly at ease after thinking it that way. The result was actually much better than expected. As far as he was concerned, the support was actually equally split. This was not bad at all.


    At the very least, the eight families did not enjoy the overwhelming support of humanity. As for the ones staying neutral, he did not have anything to say about them. He would be happy if they could remain truly neutral and not create any trouble for them.


    "This is fortunate. There is still hope."


    Su Yu was actually quite surprised. Even in their current condition, the Xia Family still enjoyed such widespread support. Sure enough, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse.


    Nobody knew that Marquis Xia was starting to feel nervous. He didn''t know if things were as they seemed. He was unsure if Silk Destroying King had tampered with the votes. He only hoped that his guess was right or the Human Realm would really sink into chaos not far in the future.


    Great Han King and Great Song King looked somewhat regretful, but none of them said anything. Sure enough, the world had split into three main camps. The multiple character faction and Xia Family had considerable support. However, it was still lower than expected. Clearly, the Xia Family''s prestige had fallen greatly in recent years.


    Fifteen to thirteen might not seem that big of a gap, but of the thirteen votes supporting the Xia Family, one came from the weaponsmiths who were not exactly united under one banner.


    As far as the two kings were concerned, the actual split was fifteen to twelve. In short, the eight families enjoyed the support of only three additional Invincibles on top of their own Invincibles.


    The voting session came to an end.