The long street, already in chaos, was once again flooded with countless tough men of the Martial World, all carrying sharp blades. Looking around, it was hard to see the end of the crowd.
Watching this, the members of the Inspection Team all grew tense, each one getting ready, poised to attack at any moment, and at the same time, they were truly moved.
The control that Gu Zhan had over the South City was truly beyond imagination,
But after all, the Inspection Team was still the Inspection Team,
The kind of elite force that even the Embroidered Uniform Guard called the Bane of Ghosts was naturally top-level and seasoned in big events. Even facing this, not a single one thought of retreat; each gripped their saber handle, ready to fight to the death at any time.
Wan Yan, however, still smiled, speaking cheerfully, "No need to trouble Brother Gu. I have already finished investigating. Someone in the Hundred Households Office did collude with Rong Hao, stole my waist token and official seal, all to facilitate the smuggling of Five Stone Powder."
As he spoke,
Wan Yan took several files from his robe and handed them to Gu Zhan, saying: "You see, I have already found these fake files. I’ll let Lord Gu handle it. It was indeed my own lapse in vigilance that brought you trouble, Brother Gu. I am truly sorry. Please, forgive me!"
Gu Zhan took the files and flipped through them, then waved his hand and said, "Brothers, the criminals trafficking Five Stone Powder have all been subdued. You’ve all worked hard. Go back and get some rest. The Hundred Households Office will reward everyone for their achievements!"
With Gu Zhan’s order,
The crowded long street began to disperse, the sea of people slowly spreading out.
The Inspection Team followed Wan Yan as they left.
The long street gradually returned to normal.
South City Hundred Households Office,
Chen Fei, Ma Lang, and a few other top officers who were previously arrested all arrived at Gu Zhan’s office. Each of them wore an ashamed expression.
Gu Zhan pointed at the crime records on the table and said, "Take these back and handle them. This matter is settled now."
"My lord, we have troubled you!"
"Thank you, my lord, for saving us!"
"My lord, I cannot repay this kindness. All I have is this life..."
The few of them accepted the files, a weight lifted from their hearts, and they were deeply moved.
They all knew that Gu Zhan had caused such a huge scene today, even being willing to face off and break with the entire Hundred Households Office, directly threatening Wan Yan, the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, just to clean up the mess they’d made.
"We’re all brothers here, don’t say such things." Gu Zhan waved a hand and said, "It’s not your fault. Wan Yan had set his mind on using me as a blade against the Rong Family. Even if you hadn’t made a mistake, he would have found a way to make trouble."
Their faces all showed shame.
What Gu Zhan said wasn’t wrong, but in their hearts, they knew that if they’d been more careful in their daily work, they wouldn’t have left so many handles for others to grab.
’Thud’
Suddenly, Ma Lang dropped to his knees, clasped his hands, and said, "My lord, I’m a rough man, not good with words, but this life of mine—it’s yours from now on!"
"Same for me!"
"Me too!"
Immediately, the rest also went down on one knee in succession.
This scene was seen by the Embroidered Uniform Guard outside the office as well, but no one found anything improper about it.
In these days, among the ever-fading Embroidered Uniform Guard, how many officers saw their subordinates as anything but oil to be squeezed dry? To have one superior willing to put everything on the line for his men—to most people, that truly was someone worth giving your life to.
Usually, Gu Zhan always took care of his own men,
And after today’s fight, everyone understood even more that their superior wasn’t just someone who charmed loyalty with small favors—when things got dangerous, he really carried the load.
Previously, many had followed Gu Zhan only out of the leftover goodwill for Gu Chuan, not really recognizing Gu Zhan’s leadership. But after today, it would be hard to find anyone who didn’t accept him as their superior.
"All right, up with you. Enough of this."
Gu Zhan got up and pulled them up one by one, saying, "When I first took over the Hundred Households Office, I said it—we’re all brothers here. If anything happens, we take it together. I’m Gu Zhan, that’s what I do: I always keep my word."
Each man nodded sincerely, truly believing in Gu Zhan’s words from the bottom of their hearts.
How could they not?
This wasn’t like those other officers who only made empty promises. This one really did as he said—for just a handful of subordinates, he’d even dare turn against the entire Hundred Households Office and threaten them outright.
The storm at the Hundred Households Office subsided for now, but there was still a lot to deal with: heavy casualties, a lot of compensatory work needed, and the various sects and gangs also had to be appeased—sorting all this would require a great deal of energy.
Gu Zhan spent a long time working through official documents in his office before finally finding a moment to grab a bite to eat, then rested for a while alone in his room.
Soon as he sat down, he opened the system interface to take a look.
Both Third Master Rong and Rong Wanlin were at the Innate Second Layer. The two of them together contributed about seven thousand Experience Points, and later, Gu Zhan killed several experts from the Rong Family and the East City Embroidered Uniform Guard. There were over ten Martial Artists of the Upper Three Grades among them. All the odds and ends together totaled 17,536 Experience Points accumulated.
Gu Zhan didn’t hesitate and immediately started allocating points.
[15,000 Experience Points spent]
[Innate Fierce Sun Skill upgraded to Second Floor]
[Current realm advanced to Innate Second Layer]
An energy flow nearly twice as strong as before suddenly surged from his Dantian, flooding his entire body in an instant. The powerful True Qi roared and surged, like rivers in full flood.
Innate Second Layer, achieved.
In that instant, Gu Zhan gained many new insights,
Within the Innate Realm, there are countless transformations. But within the Lower Three Layers of Innate, the greatest change lies in the quantity of True Qi and mastery over it.
The higher your realm, the more meticulous your control over True Qi becomes,
And when you reach a certain level of mastery, you’ll achieve the legendary state where True Qi can be shaped—just like those ’special effects’ punches netizens joked about in his previous life.
This is what happens when your control over True Qi reaches a certain degree.
Feeling the power of True Qi at the Second Layer,
Gu Zhan immediately glanced at the system’s page:
Player: Gu Zhan
Realm: Innate Second Layer
Cultivation Technique: Fierce Sun Skill (Second Floor 0/20,000)
Skills: Wind-Breaking Saber Technique (Great Success)
Big Goose Skill (Great Success)
Mountain-Opening Saber Technique (Great Success)
Jinghong Saber Technique (Great Success)
Cloud Platform Three Falls (Great Success)
Golden Bell Shield (Great Success)
Meteor Arrow Technique (Great Success)
Celestial Inquiry Three Slashes (Minor Success 0/5,000)
Experience Points: 2,536
While Gu Zhan was still busy handling the aftermath of the battle,
The Prefecture Government of Linjiang City was rocked by upheaval,
East City Hundred Households Office’s Rong Hao had stolen the Households Commander’s waist token and official seal to aid the Rong Family’s smuggling of Five Stone Powder. The incident shocked the Government Office, and Magistrate Yang Yuzhi himself joined Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand Households Wan Yan in interrogating and investigating.
In just a few days,
Not only were nearly all of the famous Rong Family thrown into jail, but several government officials were also found to be involved. The highest-ranking among them was an Inspector of the Clear Transport Department—a position in the Prefecture Government only a half rank below the Prefect, on par with the County Magistrate.
Magistrate Yang was furious and publicly promised the people a thorough investigation. A huge wave of implicated officials in the Government Office were dismissed, drawing the cheers of countless commoners.
Only, those who understood knew,
This time, all those who fell were members of the Rong Family’s faction.

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