Chapter 1378: The New Chief Enforcement Officer

When Gu Chen woke up, he found himself in a small room. Confused, he looked around. Where was he? Then, he remembered something and glanced at his left hand.

It was wrapped in bandages. He was still alive?

Startled, Gu Chen sat up.

An elder entered the room just then.

"You're finally awake?" he said, staring at Gu Chen.

"Senior... where am I?" Gu Chen asked, confusion written all over his face.

"You're in the Suspended Medical Pavilion," the elder replied calmly. "Someone brought you here. You've already received treatment. Oh, by the way, the medical fees are already paid."

Gu Chen was still completely baffled.

Who brought him here?

Before he could ask more questions, the elder turned around and left.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. He jumped out of bed and ran outside. He dashed through the busy streets, the suburbs, and fields until he arrived at a dilapidated old house.

The gate to the courtyard was closed, but the gate was in such a poor condition that it couldn't even be called a gate.

Gu Chen's throat tightened, and his right hand trembled as he pushed the gate open. Inside the courtyard, an old man was practicing martial arts, throwing punches, while an old woman was squatting by the back door washing vegetables.

Gu Chen suddenly pinched his own cheeks. When the sharp pain from his cheek registered, tears welled up in his eyes.

The old man and the old woman in the courtyard noticed him just then.

After a while, Gu Chen found himself on the streets again. He was still in disbelief.

He was alive, and so was his father!

Everything was still there! It felt unreal. He pinched his thigh hard, wincing in pain.

Soon, he arrived at the Guanxuan Academy. While eating, his father had mentioned that the Guanxuan Academy was recruiting new students, and he told Gu Chen to try to become a student.

When Gu Chen saw the academy's grand gates, he was stunned. The gates were massive, stretching over a hundred meters wide and towering dozens of meters high. They were far more magnificent than the Diyi Academy's gates.

The place was crowded with people eager to join the Guanxuan Academy.

Gu Chen followed the crowd inside, passing through the gates and entering a vast Martial Arena. The arena was paved with massive green stones, stretching tens of thousands of meters in both length and width.

And there was a statue in the middle—a statue of Ye Guan!

Gu Chen froze as if he had been struck by lightning. The next moment, he dashed forward, stopping just a few meters away from the statue. He stared at it intently and started trembling.

Everything finally clicked.

The young man he met at the time was none other than Supreme Emperor Guan.

Gu Chen immediately knelt down, bowing deeply.

***

At the same time, Ye Guan and Diyi Jingzhao were strolling through the streets.

Diyi City was now bustling with tens of thousands of visitors daily, all thanks to the Guanxuan Academy. Thankfully, the city was large enough to accommodate that many people.

Ye Guan's appearance was naturally striking. He inherited the best traits of his parents and was even clad in a pristine white robe. A purple jade belt was around his waist, making him exude a refined and handsome aura.

Beside him, Diyi Jingzhao was equally beautiful, and together, they attracted everyone's attention.

Suddenly, Ye Guan stopped.

"What's wrong?" Diyi Jingzhao asked.

Ye Guan frowned. "There's something new in my sea of consciousness."

He opened his palm, revealing a streak of golden energy.

"What is that?"

"It's faith power," Ye Guan replied.

"Why is it golden in color?"

Ye Guan was also confused. Faith power had always been transparent and colorless, similar to spiritual energy. For some reason, this strand of faith power was golden in color.

What was going on?

Ye Guan held it and closed his eyes.

"It's from him!" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Who?"

"That gambler."

Diyi Jingzhao was stumped.

Ye Guan gazed at the golden strand of faith power in his hand, lost in thought. This golden strand of faith power was at least ten times purer than ordinary strands of faith power.

"Looks like I still need to do more for the people," Ye Guan murmured.

With that, he put away the strand of golden faith power.

It was just a strand, but he believed that one day, there would be more of them.

"Let's go," he said and pulled Diyi Jingzhao toward a nearby street vendor. After ordering a basket of steamed buns and paying the vendor, he handed the basket to Diyi Jingzhao, saying, "Try one."

Diyi Jingzhao looked at him and took a bite of a bun.

Ye Guan smiled, asking, "How does it taste?"

"It's good," Diyi Jingzhao nodded.

Ye Guan picked up a bun and stuffed it into his mouth, swallowing it in two bites.

Diyi Jingzhao couldn't help but smile at the sight. For some reason, she liked how Ye Guan had no airs at all. He was humble, simple, and genuine.

Ye Guan suddenly said, "I have a little brother, and his family sells buns for a living. I wonder how he's doing right now."

Diyi Jingzhao took another bun from Ye Guan and took a small bite.

"There's a new issue at the Guanxuan Academy that I need to discuss with you," she said.

Ye Guan turned his attention back to her and smiled. "Go ahead."

"Building the academy requires a lot of money, especially as it expands. The expenses will only keep on increasing, but we can't keep relying on you to provide us with money."

"What do you suggest?"

Diyi Jingzhao pondered for a moment. "We should start collecting taxes."

"Our Diyi Clan owns many businesses. In addition to that..." Diyi Jingzhao glanced around before saying, "Anyone doing business in Diyi City will have to pay taxes and rent."

Ye Guan sounded concerned as he said, "There's a problem with that. If the Guanxuan Academy starts collecting taxes from the clans, those clans may end up imposing even more taxes on the people. In the end, it's the common folk who will suffer."

"I know." Diyi Jingzhao nodded. "However, the solution is simple. We just need to register the businesses of the various clans and sects, and then tax them upon their registration. That way, it won't be a huge issue.

"Of course, this will hurt the interests of the Supreme Emperor Clans and the Immortal Clans, but it's necessary.

If we don't do this, the academy won't be able to grow in the future, while the Supreme Emperor Clans and the Immortal Clans will only keep getting stronger. In the end, how will the academy suppress them without your presence?"

"You want to weaken the Supreme Emperor Clans and the Immortal Clans?"

"No," Diyi Jingzhao said, shaking her head. "I want the academy to become even stronger than those clans. They must become one with the academy. Otherwise, the academy will become just a figurehead, overshadowed by those clans."

"Although I'm discussing this with you, I've already started implementing it. This year, the businesses of the Diyi Clan are paying taxes at a certain rate. Not just us, but the Mu Clan, the Di Clan, and the Dao Clan have all started doing the same. They did it voluntarily as well."

Ye Guan's eyes flickered with complex emotions. He knew that this was because Diyi Jingzhao had taken the initiative to do so, prompting the other clans to follow suit.

If the Diyi Clan hadn't done it first, the other clans wouldn't have done it.

"I know what you're thinking, but don't worry, the common folk will be fine. Take the bun vendor as an example. We won't tax people like him. Instead, we'll find ways to offer him support, like reducing stall fees, and if he has children, we can offer discounts on school fees.

"Of course, this is just a rough idea; I'll discuss the specifics with Mu Shuo and others and draw up a detailed policy for you to approve later on."

Ye Guan was deeply moved. "Jingzhao..."

Diyi Jingzhao turned her head away, avoiding his gaze. "Don't get all emotional. I'm only doing this because of that wisp of Supreme Emperor Origin Essence..."

Ye Guan froze.

Diyi Jingzhao glanced at him.

Seeing that his expression had stiffened, she smiled and said, "Come on, let's enjoy this rare moment of peace and go for a walk."

Ye Guan nodded. "Okay!"

The two walked through the city.

Diyi Jingzhao rarely had time to relax, so she was truly enjoying the break.

***

After a long while, Ye Guan stopped once more.

"What's wrong?" Diyi Jingzhao asked, staring at him.

Ye Guan's eyes narrowed. "People from the Suiming Civilization have arrived."

Diyi Jingzhao was startled.

"The Holy Throne said that a major figure has come. They can't handle the newcomer, which means... something bad is about to happen!"

***

The Holy Throne was trembling as it stared at a woman dressed in a striking red outfit. The woman's gaze was fiery, and she had a long saber at her waist. With one foot resting on a stone, she was nibbling on a pale red fruit.

The Holy Throne dared not make a sound.

After a while, the woman finished the fruit and cursed, "Damn it! That old fool, Beixin Ci, really is something! It's been so long since she created this barrier, but it's still so strong. It's actually suppressing me by three realms...

"My chest actually hurts with how suffocating and frustrating this is... and there's also that new Chief Enforcement Officer, her surname... was 'Fan,' wasn't it? She's a freak, too! Damn it, I'll definitely set fire to that damned fruit tree. Anyway, it's only bearing those weird fruits, so it should be fine."