The appearance of the youth from the Five Clans of Guan made the atmosphere on site somewhat peculiar.

Liang has an unwritten rule that any competition within Liang, especially those involving rewards, shall exclude martial artists who have trained abroad.

This is because, apart from Liang, the requirements for engaging in the Martial Path differ in other countries.

In other countries, the children of the elite can even begin learning martial arts from a young age, embarking on the path of cultivation. In contrast, if a Liang martial artist wishes to enter the Martial Arts Academy, they must start from the Martial Hall, which has its own requirements for the duration of training.

These regulations give martial arts clans and the children of the elite certain advantages over martial artists from ordinary backgrounds, but not an absolute dominance.

Even if their families are wealthy, limitations in personal realm and physical limits give these average-background youths the chance to catch up.

Take Lin Chen and Zhao Jingchuan as examples; at least they have the opportunity to compete with the courtiers’ children, while those in the prefecture like Fu Ang have the opportunity to compete with youths from the prefecture city.

There is no absolute fairness in the world; for Liang, it’s about creating an opportunity for ascent for martial artists of every social class.

Youths from each class have a chance to ascend to a higher one, but someone like Lin Chen, who directly leaps from the bottom to the top, skipping several classes, is beyond the Military Affairs Department’s expectations.

This is already the limit of fairness that the Military Affairs Department can achieve. If absolute fairness were enforced, preventing all Liang youths from cultivation before entering the Martial Hall and strictly controlling martial resources at the academy, it would lead to Liang’s disintegration.

People are self-serving. If after a lifetime of Martial Path cultivation, they create a foundation for future generations but must then confront ordinary people on equal terms, those martial artists would invariably move abroad altogether.

Abroad, there are no such regulations as in Liang; many elites begin learning martial arts from a young age and there is no Martial Hall or Martial Arts Academy per se, with most martial resources controlled by the royal family and major clans.

Liang will not stop major clans from sending their children abroad, but it is implicitly understood that once abroad, they cannot return to enjoy the rewards given by the Military Affairs Department to young talents.

Even so, there is a group willing to go abroad, prominently represented by the Five Clans of Guan.

"If the people from the Five Clans of Guan really take the field and defeat the Yu Beichen brothers, it would be interesting."

In the stands, many who knew the situation of the Five Clans of Guan had mocking expressions on their faces. If the Five Clans of Guan win, it indeed preserves Liang’s dignity, but since the Five Clans of Guan haven’t trained in Liang, it’s a satirical swipe at Liang’s Military Affairs Department.

"It’s really them!"

Standing behind Hou Zhantian, Meng Xing saw the youths who appeared and his face sank, knowing the identity of the Five Clans of Guan and what they represent.

"Lord Hou, we willingly volunteer, and hope you give us a chance."

Cui Yunfan looked at Hou Zhantian with piercing eyes and said loudly, "Although we grew up abroad for many years, we are still part of Liang. Now that Liang has been humiliated by the tiny Nansha Three Islands, how can we stand idly by?"

These words, spoken with strength and conviction, aroused enthusiastic applause from many Liang martial artists in the stands.

Since Di Qian and the others have already been defeated, Cui Yunfan and his group can take the field; after all, they too are children of Liang.

"Alright!"

Hou Zhantian did not hesitate too long, and Cui Yunfan was right; the Five Clans of Guan are indeed children of Liang too.

As for the impact of the Five Clans of Guan winning after this battle, let the Imperial Court decide on that later.

Hearing Hou Zhantian agree, a spark of brilliance appeared on Cui Yunfan’s face, and he cupped his hands towards Hou Zhantian: "Thank you, my lord."

"This time, the Yu Beichen brothers will likely no longer be arrogant."

"What do you mean by that?"

"The disciples of the Five Clans of Guan have trained abroad since childhood, and their strength far exceeds that of our Liang-based martial artists. Just because Di Qian and the others are no match for the Yu Beichen brothers doesn’t mean these few can’t do it either."

"Is that really the case?"

"If these few were to defeat the Yu Beichen brothers, wouldn’t that imply that sending children abroad for cultivation, like the Five Clans of Guan do, is the right thing to do?"

"You probably don’t know; from what I know, the talents of other countries start Martial Path cultivation from a young age, while in Liang, there’s a restriction on the age for martial arts training. If they cultivate before fifteen, they can’t enter the Martial Hall or Martial Arts Academy, which is simply a wrong decision."

"In other countries, talents start martial training from a young age, whereas in our Liang, one officially embarks on cultivation at fifteen. This period creates a huge gap, making Liang’s talents lag behind those of other countries."

"You might be exaggerating a bit. The best age for martial arts is fifteen; before fifteen, the bones haven’t fully formed, and early cultivation would only harm one’s foundational bones."

"Only someone like you would damage their foundational bones. With the strength and background of the Five Clans of Guan, they have ways to provide better pill resources for their children that neither harm the bones nor prevent improving Martial Path strength."

"Such pills that don’t harm the bones must be worth a fortune, and ordinary young martial artists simply cannot afford them. If the Military Affairs Department doesn’t impose restrictions, by the time the Martial Arts Academy recruits students, those elites will have already opened ten or more acupoints, while ordinary students have just begun. How is the competition fair then?"