Chapter 1228: Chapter 127: Earthquake in the Wild State Officialdom

"Those proficient in Space Technique during the Transcendence Tribulation Stage were numerous, yet those skilled in the Rapid Method at that stage were few and far between. That’s why even when the Thief King made his move, very few could guess his identity."

"Today, it seems he had met his match here."

"Although his identity had been worked out, the problem wasn’t significant, as long as he wasn’t caught."

"Lu Yang and his companion charged at the Thief King once more, the Thief King’s eyelids twitched, their speed had increased so drastically since just before!"

"Weren’t these two just at the Early Tribulation Stage? Could this really be the speed one has at the Early Tribulation Stage?"

"Or did they specialize in speed as well?"

"Since their opponent was the Thief King, Lu Yang and his companion naturally went all out."

"The rumors had it that the Thief King could appear and disappear like a ghost, even freely entering and exiting the Imperial Palace at will, showcasing his astonishing speed."

"It was just that after the Thief King infiltrated the Land Money Trade Association, there had been no word from him. He had vanished from the Mortal World, and unexpectedly appeared here."

"Can we make a deal, please? Look, this isn’t really a big issue, you could just turn a blind eye and let the two of us go."

"The Thief King was full of regret. If only he’d known these two were so hard to deal with, he would not have shown off earlier and could have just taken his apprentice away while they were still unresponsive."

"The three of them engaged in tacit combat, none of them using highly destructive moves to avoid disturbing the peace."

"At their level, they had long since reached the realm where they could unleash or contain their power at will. Even if they were to fight with full force, not a trace of power would leak out. To outsiders, their fight would appear to be nothing more than a battle between martial masters."

"Fang Jin eagerly watched the sky, where only the afterimages left by the three remained, his eyes unable to catch their actual positions."

"Which family’s martial master has such speed?"

"The pressure on the Thief King grew and grew, he couldn’t allow his lifetime of fame to be buried here."

"In a one-on-one fight, he feared no one. Not only did he have the advantage of being in the Middle Tribulation Stage, but also, within the same realm, no one could match his speed."

"But the problem was that he was facing two opponents, and they coordinated flawlessly, always blocking his escape routes and entrapping him in a dilemma."

"Lu Yang and his companion also found the Thief King to be a tough nut to crack, slippery like an eel; even when they got a touch, they couldn’t seize him."

"The best way to deal with someone renowned for their speed was to employ broad area-of-effect attacks, like Lu Yang’s Swordmanship Domain."

"But this was the county city, and using the Swordmanship Domain would likely disturb the whole city."

"If that is the case, then we must break through to a higher realm."

"Just as the Thief King was looking for an opportunity to escape, he suddenly felt the two surpass him in realm, reaching the peak of the Pass Tribulation!"

"Meng Junzi had granted Meng Jingzhou the privilege of borrowing strength from him at will."

"What is this Secret Technique?!"

"The Thief King was dumbfounded. They had leaped from the Early Tribulation Stage to the Pass Tribulation Peak in an instant—He had never heard of such a Secret Technique before, not even life-consuming techniques like the Heavenly Demon Disintegration had such an effect!"

"The biggest issue was that against two at the Pass Tribulation Peak level, he had no escape!"

"The situation for the Thief King went from bad to worse, and he was subdued by two constables."

"The net of the law is large and meshed fine, avoiding nothing; the brazen Thief King was eventually captured."

"My two Daoist friends, there really is no need for things to come to this. Look at me, a formidable figure in the Transcendence Tribulation Stage—I wouldn’t covet just a mere Spirit Fruit. It was merely a test for my apprentice, and we were planning to return the Spirit Fruit after tonight."

"The Thief King tried to appease them with a smile. These two were devilishly good; using force was out of the question, so he could only appeal to their emotions, hoping they would show mercy."

"This at best counts as a mitigating factor," Lu Yang was unmoved. They could not fail the duty signified by their uniform.

"With the capture of the Thief King and his apprentice, Lu Yang and his companion began to examine the ’Hundred Officials’ Descriptions’ they had found in the Storage Ring."

"This book is interesting; it records the dirt on officials from Wild State. Look at this page; it’s describing bad habits, over here is the bribery history, and this one details instances of malfeasance. The records are definitely thorough."

"Meng Jingzhou was amazed after reading it. The author of this book had some skill, documenting such private information, presumably obtained through special methods of eavesdropping and spying."

"Especially since the book didn’t just record what leverage existed over the officials, it sometimes even included evidence."

"Probably wants to use this book to blackmail officials."

Unfortunately, the author’s name is not written in the book.

"Confess honestly, where on earth did you steal this Storage Ring from?"

Now that his master had been apprehended, Fang Jin could only confess honestly, "It’s the Storage Ring of Zhou Hai, the County Magistrate."

Lu Yang and his companion understood at once, everything clicked into place—Zhou Hai was skilled in eavesdropping, and the matters recorded in the book must have been overheard by him using his Cultivation Technique.

...

When Man Gu woke up in the early morning, there were more than ten capture orders at the door, all requiring his signature.

Man Gu felt ashamed—he had already been working hard to maintain the public order in Quyi County, yet there were still so many lawbreakers and officials violating discipline.

"Lucky I asked two Senior Brothers to come over and help."

Man Gu saw the note left by Lu Yang and his companion, and was even more moved.

"The two Senior Brothers finished their night shift without any rest, and now they have to go and confirm with the victims."

...

"Lord Zhou, this ’Hundred Officials’ Descriptions’ is yours, right?" Two constables came to verify with the victim.

They were particular about the chain of evidence in their cases; it wasn’t enough to just have Fang Jin’s statement that the ’Hundred Officials’ Descriptions’ was stolen from Zhou Hai—they needed the victim to identify it as well.

Zhou Hai’s eyes bulged when he saw the two carrying the ’Hundred Officials’ Descriptions’; that deadly book—how could it have ended up in their hands!

Right, these two were Man Gu’s subordinates, it must be Man Gu’s doing.

So it seemed, Man Gu’s outward appearance of being careless was all an act, but in reality, he was as sharp as a tack. He’d gone out of his way to remove two Prefectorial Governors and now he had even included himself in his calculations!

What a formidable opponent.

"This isn’t something you have the right to touch, give it to me!" Zhou Hai said sternly, sure that what the two were holding was the original.

"You haven’t even said if it’s yours yet. If it is, we’ll have to make a record of it," Lu Yang said earnestly.

"I said, hand it over!" Zhou Hai shouted angrily, stepping forward, trying to snatch it away!

Numerous Demon Beast images appeared around Zhou Hai, the Demon Beasts roaring ferociously, striking straight at the soul!

The Demon Beasts were all formed from Spiritual Sense; his Cultivation Technique was fundamentally a very rare method of cultivating Spiritual Sense.

The Demon Beasts pounced towards Lu Yang and his companion, Zhou Hai sneered, how could he, of such stature, be threatened by two constables—he could already picture these two reckless constables agonizingly writhing on the ground, begging for mercy!

But when the Demon Beasts touched the two, they instantly collapsed, and Zhou Hai suffered a backlash, rolling on the ground, head banging the floor.

"Look at you, why even put yourself through this?" Meng Jingzhou sighed and squatted beside Zhou Hai, they were originally there to verify the evidence, and now look what’s happened, the victim attacking the constables, turning into a criminal suspect himself.

"Let’s just take him back."

...

An emergency meeting of the high-level officials in Wild State.

Compared to the previous meetings, this one had fewer attendees—some due to discipline violations, others due to illegal acts, all under control.

With several high-ranking officials captured, it’s not hard to imagine the level of control extending downwards, undeniably a massive shock to the bureaucratic field of Wild State.

Since the founding of Great Xia, there had never been such a tremendous upheaval in the officialdom of Wild State.

Rumor has it that Governor Lv almost fainted from anger upon seeing the ’Hundred Officials’ Descriptions’, having to take several bottles of Heart-Protecting Pills before he could recover.

He hadn’t anticipated that not only was the internal bureaucracy in chaos, but also, the reason he had appointed Zhou Hai as County Magistrate was because his subordinates continuously praised Zhou Hai.

Unexpectedly, the reason his subordinates kept singing Zhou Hai’s praises was that they had been blackmailed!

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Zhou Hai coldly swept his gaze across the assembly; whether they felt guilty or not, all of them stayed silent and bowed their heads.

"Let’s discuss, who should be appointed as the County Magistrate of Zhongshan County? I think Man Gu is fit for the task."