For the Dao Court, the establishnt of the Imperial City Departnt was like a stone tossed into a calm lake, sending ripples spreading through Celestial Wu City.
Because the Imperial City Departnt existed completely outside the Dao Court’s official hierarchy, its mbers held no official positions and thus couldn’t be constrained by the various departnt heads and their superiors. Furthermore, with the blessings of the Incense and Candle Divine Dao, their strongest mbers could reach Foundation Establishnt Perfection, a level of power rivaling that of a First-Grade Official. This was more than enough to make many people wary.
What was more important were the duties of the Imperial City Departnt.
In short, they were responsible for security within Celestial Wu City. The enforcent of restrictions on entering and exiting the palace, all duties of the Zhou Lu Guard, and the opening and closing of the palace gates—all of it now belonged to them.
This was no small matter.
Because these had originally been the duties of the All Heaven Departnt. Now that they belonged to the Imperial City Departnt, the duties were gone, and the corresponding power had naturally vanished along with them.
How could the All Heaven Departnt possibly accept this?
.......
「Celestial Wu City. The Grand Protector’s Mansion.」
"His Majesty clearly doesn’t trust the All Heaven Departnt!"
The current Commander of the All Heaven Departnt, Ning Haohai, slamd his hand on the table, his face a mask of fury. "What Imperial City Departnt? A bunch of stinking riffraff from Overseas, coming here to the East to beg for scraps!"
"That Du Huan fellow! He bootlicked his way to a few minor rits, word his way into His Majesty’s favor, and wheedled this position out of him! Grand Protector, we cannot stand by and do nothing! How can we let a Demon Cultivator from Overseas occupy the Dao Capital of our Jiangdong Dao? At this rate, the nation will be a nation no more!"
On the main seat, an old man sat with his eyes closed, saying nothing.
At first glance, he seed to be just an ordinary old man. However, the mont he opened his eyes, the impression he gave off underwent an earth-shattering transformation.
Like a flood serpent becoming a dragon.
Every breath he took stirred the ever-present Immortal Dao Law in the East, resonating and coordinating with it, drawing down boundless Mighty Power to empower him.
He was the current Grand Protector, Hu Zhichun.
He wielded the Fruit of Gold-Foil tal and controlled the Golden Court Profound Mysterious Grotto Heaven. As his disciple, Ning Haohai had only beco the Commander of the All Heaven Departnt through his recomndation.
"His Majesty is displeased."
Hu Zhichun’s expression was calm. "The All Heaven Departnt has always been under the Emperor’s direct command. Now that you are its leader, it is only natural that His Majesty would want to establish a new power of his own."
In truth, Ning Haohai’s appointnt as Commander of the All Heaven Departnt was the result of a backroom deal between the Three Ministers and Emperor Jia You. After all, for Emperor Jia You, who was at the Middle Stage of Golden Core, to break through to the Late Stage, he would need to master at least the Three Transformation Elents, a feat that would be impossible without the help of the Three Ministers. The All Heaven Departnt was rely one of the bargaining chips in that deal.
However, it was clear that Emperor Jia You was, in fact, unhappy with this arrangent.
That was why he had established the Imperial City Departnt, founded upon the Incense and Candle Divine Dao, and had specifically promoted a mber of the True Dragon Race—who had no roots in the Dao Court—to lead it.
More importantly, the source of the Incense and Candle Divine Dao was in the hands of Emperor Jia You alone.
Under these circumstances, the Imperial City Departnt would undoubtedly obey only Emperor Jia You’s commands, remaining uninfluenced by the other officials. This was a grave violation of the Dao Court’s established rules.
"Taian, what are your thoughts?"
Hu Zhichun’s gaze shifted to a young man beside him. The man was handso, and his every movent carried an air of nobility and grace.
This was the current Young Protector, Li Taian.
In ti, when Hu Zhichun’s life ca to an end and he reincarnated, causing his Grotto Heaven to fall, it would be up to this Young Protector to support it anew. This alone was a testant to the imnse importance of his position.
"My lord," Li Taian began, "I believe we should et these developnts by holding our ground."
Li Taian cupped his hands and said gravely, "The establishnt of the Imperial City Departnt is His Majesty’s will. I suspect he also intends to use this to gauge the attitude of his ministers."
"If we feign compliance while secretly obstructing them, His Majesty will see it and only resort to more drastic asures. It would be better to take a step back and allow His Majesty to vent his frustrations for now. Afterward, we can impose restrictions. Ultimately, His Majesty still has need of you, my lord. If we give him an honorable way out, he won’t force our hand."
"And if His Majesty is still not satisfied?" Hu Zhichun asked, his voice low.
Li Taian’s expression imdiately turned solemn. "Then it ans His Majesty has been deceived by villains. We must submit a tearful morial to the throne, imploring him to execute the treacherous demons and restore order to the court!"
Hearing this, Hu Zhichun nodded in satisfaction. "Excellent."
He then turned back to Ning Haohai. "Did you hear all that? The Imperial City Departnt was created by His Majesty’s decree. If His Majesty tells you to cooperate, then you will cooperate fully."
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps ca from outside the door.
"My lord, terrible news, my lord..."
An All Heaven Departnt Warrior rushed in, his expression panicked. "The Imperial City Departnt... that Du Huan has brought his n to our All Heaven Departnt’s governnt office!"
"What?"
Ning Haohai shot to his feet. After requesting and receiving Hu Zhichun’s permission to leave, he hurried out of the Grand Protector’s Mansion and sped away on his Flying Light.
Soon, he arrived at the All Heaven Departnt’s governnt office.
But as he looked, all he could see was the Incense Fire Divine Light soaring into the sky, and a tall, imposing figure at its center, surrounded by his followers like the moon by a cluster of stars.
"Wang Xue, Flag Officer of the All Heaven Departnt, embezzled the salaries of thirteen Warriors under his command! The evidence is conclusive! Imdiate execution!"
"Chen Dao, Flag Officer of the All Heaven Departnt..."
Following the resounding proclamations, one All Heaven Departnt official after another was pushed forward and forced to their knees, their once-ruddy complexions now deathly pale.
Seeing this, Ning Haohai hastily sent a voice transmission:
"Spare their lives—"
SWISH! SWISH!
Almost at the very instant his voice arrived, the executioners’ blades had already risen and fallen, severing the heads of the kneeling officials.
"...You bastards!"
Witnessing this scene, Ning Haohai was beside himself with fury!
However, faced with Ning Haohai’s rage, the group of Imperial City Departnt Cultivators who had carried out the execution paid him no mind. After all, they weren’t on his payroll.
’Why should we listen to you?’
Not to ntion, most of them were Demon Cultivators and already disliked Ning Haohai to begin with.
Even the Human Cultivators among them, after receiving a full two hundred years’ salary from Lü Yang’s own hands, would only obey the commands of Lü Yang and the Emperor!
Seeing this, Ning Haohai’s fury intensified. He pushed up the official’s hat on his head, and his Official Position as [Commander of the All Heaven Departnt] materialized above him. An Ability manifested, like a rising sun:
[Rising Sun Land]!
This was an Earth of Xu Ability. Xu represents the storehouse of a great furnace, the earth that scorches the plains, a place that nobles avoid. Not only did it possess a Divine Effect in combat, but it could also diminish one’s Fortune!
But in the next second, a giant hand ford entirely from Incense and Candle Qi shot in from the side, blocking the path between Ning Haohai and the executioners. The billowing Incense and Candle Qi was like a tide; as soon as one wave was refined away, a new one surged forward. As easily as snuffing out a candle, it simply pinched Ning Haohai’s Ability and crushed it!
’How is that possible...’
The sight was like a basin of cold water doused over Ning Haohai’s heart, extinguishing all his anger and causing him to shudder back to his senses.
The next mont, a black-robed Demon Cultivator strode out, his head held high.
"Well, well, if it isn’t Lord Ning."
Xiao Shan was practically glowing with success. As one of the first Demon Cultivators to join Lü Yang and a veteran of the One Heart Association, he had naturally been entrusted with great responsibility by Lü Yang.
Besides his salary, there was also the Incense Altar. Lü Yang had been anything but stingy in this regard; he’d allocated a full third of the Imperial City Departnt’s newly collected Incense, allowing Xiao Shan to attain an Incense Position equivalent to Foundation Establishnt Perfection!
With such power backing him, Xiao Shan looked at Ning Haohai and felt that this Lord Ning—who was once so high and mighty that even the servants at his mansion gates dared to give him nasty looks—wasn’t so special after all. The Official Position of [Commander of the All Heaven Departnt] was only Third Grade, and he wasn’t even a Late-stage Great Trueman!
’It’s true. Only by following Lord Du Huan do we Demon Cultivators have a future...’
Xiao Shan’s conviction grew even firr.
On the other side, Ning Haohai forced a smile onto his face. Since he couldn’t win a fight, he naturally couldn’t put on the airs of a superior officer.
"What... what is it you people want?"
"What do we want?"
Xiao Shan let out a cold laugh. "His Majesty has already issued a decree, appointing Lord Du Huan as the General of the Brave Cavalry, in command of the Imperial City Departnt, with orders to investigate the corruption within the All Heaven Departnt!"
"In short: everything the All Heaven Departnt has jurisdiction over, the Imperial City Departnt now has jurisdiction over. And everything the All Heaven Departnt *doesn’t* have jurisdiction over, the Imperial City Departnt *especially* has jurisdiction over! Execute first, report later—a privilege granted by Imperial Authority."
"Do you understand, Lord Ning?"
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