Chapter 158 - 157: The Government Office Here
Creation Skill, this Martial Arts was initially developed by a group of Embroidered Uniform Guard experts, aiming to elevate the overall strength of the Guard. Though ultimately it failed, in theory, it’s a Martial Arts far superior to other Martial Arts in the same tier.
This is a Martial Arts with extremely deep foundations,
The matching Martial Arts Skill is also one that focuses on boosting overall strength, so this Creation Golden Body is a comprehensive defensive type with added strength, and the Grade is even at Earth Tier.
When the system recorded the Creation Skill,
Gu Zhan immediately chose to switch Cultivation Technique:
[Use 50,000 Experience Points]
[Same Realm Cultivation: Creation Skill]
[Cultivation: Creation Skill up to Tenth Floor]
[Current Realm: Innate Peak]
...
The True Essence in his body transformed in that instant,
The original Fierce Sun Skill was already considered an intense Cultivation Technique, but when the True Essence converted to Creation Skill, the previously fierce nature softened like gentle rain, yet now, the True Essence surged like a mighty river in comparison.
Still Innate Peak,
Gu Zhan could sense his strength multiplying several times over.
No wonder they say this Cultivation Technique emphasizes solid foundations.
Gu Zhan exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, then browsed through other Martial Arts; they were all Profound Tier Martial Arts, but for him now, they were nothing but tasteless chicken ribs, lacking any real value, so he lost interest in recording them.
Then, he checked the system interface:
Player: Gu Zhan
Realm: Innate Peak
Cultivation Technique: Creation Skill (Tenth Floor 0/500,000)
Skills:
Celestial Inquiry Three Slashes (Great Success)
Shadow Arrow Technique (Great Success)
Frenzied Lion Fist (Great Success)
Cloud-Stepping Step (Great Success)
Celestial Spirit Golden Body (Great Success)
Gale Palm (Great Success)
Celestial Yin Leg (Great Success)
Willow Leaf Flying Knife Technique (Great Success)
Creation Golden Body (Entry Level not reached 0/30,000)
Experience Points: 100541
...
The actions of the Pingyang City Embroidered Uniform Guard were formidable,
Gu Yuanzhong, that old dog who controlled the Guard for decades, died, and afterward the Guard began a thorough purge from top to bottom, naturally drawing attention from all sides of Pingyang City.
The first to react was the Prefecture Government.
During Gu Yuanzhong’s control of the Guard, the Guard and the Pingyang Prefecture Prefecture Government were extremely close.
Of course, to be accurate, it was lots of cooperation,
because most Martial World Gangs in Pingyang Prefecture ran businesses not meant for daylight, and those dealings were far too much for the Prefecture to swallow alone, so these businesses were all expanded outward.
For example, the most common business in smuggling Five Stone Powder, a forbidden drug—if a gang wanted to safely transport Five Stone Powder to other regions, they’d need official backing,
not to mention, there was even the selling of military arms, something that could wipe out entire clans if exposed—those ventures needed even heavier government involvement to keep them going.
And plenty of officials in the Prefecture Government participated in these deals, and with Gu Yuanzhong controlling the Guard, nearly all were involved, their links intertwined tightly.
So, as soon as Gu Yuanzhong had trouble,
The Prefecture Government was the first to react.
At that moment, in one of the Prefecture Government’s grand halls, many high-ranking officials had gathered, but the leader was the County Magistrate, not the Prefect.
The last Prefect, not knowing his place, tried to intervene in the Prefecture’s cover-up for the martial gangs—in the end, two months ago, he happened to choke to death during a meal, and a new Prefect was appointed.
The new Prefect, a man in his forties, originally a County Magistrate in Qingzhou, had always been diligent and upright, earned some merits, and was promoted to this prefectural post.
He should have been soaring high,
But on the way to his new post, he encountered bandit raids, all his attendants slaughtered, his wife and young daughter raped before his very eyes by the bandits; timely rescue from the Inspection Bureau constable came, but the Prefect collapsed mentally, and his wife and child ended up killing themselves in shame, so the Prefect hadn’t attended the Prefecture Government for over a month, with all affairs handled by the County Magistrate.
Now, the County Magistrate of Pingyang City came from the local powerful Luo Family, named Luo Huaiyang—he’d been an official in Pingyang City for decades and carried tremendous prestige in the Prefecture Government, keeping everything tightly ordered.
Last night, the extermination of the Gu Mansion happened too fast,
And not until this morning did the Prefecture Government receive news.
Luo Huaiyang immediately summoned the upper officials to the Prefecture Government for a meeting.
Inside the grand hall,
The officials were all present.
Luo Huaiyang lifted his teacup, grinning as he spoke: "Gentlemen, this time we took our eyes off the ball and a ferocious dragon crossed the river right into Pingyang City. Gu Yuanzhong’s entire family got slaughtered, the mansion taken—how do you all view this matter?"
An official said, "Who cares about some fierce dragon? If you come to Pingyang City, you follow Pingyang City’s rules. He’s way too arrogant. Thousand Households? Hah, hasn’t Pingyang City switched out Thousand Households more often than pups?"
Another person replied, "This case isn’t the same. The new Thousand Households is Gu Zhan, young but managed to wipe out Gu Yuanzhong so quickly. Do you think he’s an ordinary person? A young man, with such ability? Of course he’ll be arrogant!"
"So we just let him be arrogant?" an official retorted, "He didn’t even give us a heads up before exterminating Gu Yuanzhong’s entire clan—is he trying to shit on our heads?"
"What, Lord Xu, you want to avenge Gu Yuanzhong?"
"No talk of revenge. None of us are so close to Gu Yuanzhong for that," said an older official. "The main point is what does this Gu Zhan mean? Gu Yuanzhong’s death is irrelevant, but with him gone, a lot of business can’t be done anymore—that’s the real issue."
County Magistrate Luo Huaiyang chuckled, saying, "Actually, it’s not nearly as complex as you think. In this world, if you aren’t after fame, you’re after fortune. That Gu Qianhu is now the legitimate Embroidered Uniform Guard boss, while Gu Yuanzhong ran the Guard for years—anyone with ambition wouldn’t tolerate Gu Yuanzhong at all. He just employed such swift methods that we were all caught unprepared, that’s all."
An official asked, "So, Lord Luo, what’s your opinion? To be honest, with Gu Yuanzhong dead, it’s a headache for me. I just promised Feihua Bang to covertly deliver a batch of goods for them. With Gu Yuanzhong dead, it can’t be sent anymore."
"Heh," another official scoffed, "Feihua Bang—at most some girl-selling, barely worth a few coins. I’ve got thousands of pounds of powder!"
Yet another said, "Sigh, just yesterday I promised to help that troublesome Ma Family kid get out to Yundong."
"You mean Ma Wensheng, the one who slaughtered a whole family just to snatch some girl?"
"That’s him."
"Ma Family must have given plenty, eh?"
"Not that much—just a few thousand taels of silver and some decent-looking virgins."
"..."
At the head seat, Luo Huaiyang smiled benignly and said, "Don’t panic, gentlemen. In fact, that Gu Zhan could come in and wipe out the Gu Family as soon as he arrived shows he understands the Pingyang City rules perfectly. He’s capable of becoming the next Gu Yuanzhong!"