Chapter 323: Compromise

Inside Xue Yu's cave dwelling.

Seeing Xue Yu return, Zhou Qingguang could not help but stand up and ask:

"Xue Yu, how did it go? What did the City Lord of Dongxuan City say?"

Behind Zhou Qingguang.

Heifeng and Qingyu also looked at Xue Yu with expectation.

Seeing the reactions of the three.

Xue Yu smiled inwardly, but his expression remained indifferent and emotionless.

After bypassing the three and sitting in his own seat,

Xue Yu finally spoke calmly and unhurriedly:

"The City Lord has decided to merge Qingguang City into Dongxuan City."

"All residents of Qingguang City will be relocated to the same district within Dongxuan City."

"And you will become one of the district heads of Dongxuan City. Heifeng and Qingyu will serve as deputy district heads."

The greater the number, the less valuable the position of district head.

As far as Zhou Qingguang knew,

at least the Commandant controlled part of the guard force of Dongxuan City.

If given a choice, Zhou Qingguang would prefer the position of Commandant in Dongxuan City.

His current cultivation base was slightly superior to Xue Yu's.

Therefore, the district head position was far inferior to the Commandant position of the Dongxuan City Guard.

The higher the position, the stronger the array power the Dongxuan Token could summon.

The Dongxuan Tokens held by members of the Dongxuan City Guard could summon the power of the city's protective great array.

Moreover.

Zhou Qingguang frowned slightly and asked:

Besides, Xue Yu, as his former subordinate, could be competent for the Commandant position.

After hesitating for a moment, Zhou Qingguang asked:

"Xue Yu, I want the Commandant position of Dongxuan City. Is there any way?"

He did not think his request for a Commandant position was in any way excessive.

Hearing that Dongxuan City had a total of one hundred and eight districts, Zhou Qingguang's frown deepened.

Xue Yu glanced at Zhou Qingguang and did not hide the truth:

"For now, there are one hundred and eight districts."

But in reality, they only manage some mortal residents and perhaps a very few low-level cultivators.

"How many districts does Dongxuan City have?"

Upon hearing this, Heifeng and Qingyu's faces lit up with joy.

In Zhou Qingguang's view,

the title of district head sounded prestigious.

Who knew that upon hearing his words, Xue Yu on the other side simply sneered and said:

"Heh, you want the Commandant position of Dongxuan City? Don't dream of it."

"To become the Commandant of Dongxuan City, the first requirement is to swear a Dao Oath, pledging eternal loyalty to the City Lord and to Dongxuan City."

"Furthermore, one must not reveal any information the City Lord does not permit to be disclosed."

"Just this single requirement of the Dao Oath, you probably cannot fulfill, let alone pass the numerous trials required to become a Commandant."

Currently, the number of cultivators in Dongxuan City has increased significantly.

The assessment system for various positions within it has also become much stricter.

These assessment standards, for cultivators originating from Dongxuan City, might not be very difficult.

But for external cultivators, the difficulty is still considerable.

Besides cultivation strength and whether one is a core member,

the sole standard for assessing real-power positions in Dongxuan City is the accumulated contribution points.

To obtain or advance to a real-power position in Dongxuan City and command the cultivators of the Dongxuan City Guard,

one must first become a core member of Dongxuan City.

Secondly, after meeting the cultivation requirements, one must be assessed on the contribution points accumulated within Dongxuan City.

Moreover, contribution points obtained through private transactions are not included in the statistics.

Only the original contribution points issued by Dongxuan City can be counted as accumulated contribution points for assessment purposes, serving as reference data.

Contribution points represent one's contribution to Dongxuan City.

Whether accepting various tasks from Dongxuan City or fulfilling various duties of Dongxuan City,

both can be regarded as contributions to Dongxuan City.

For cultivators originating from Dongxuan City,

they have been contributing to Dongxuan City since they first stepped onto the path of cultivation.

Over the long years of accumulation,

by the time their cultivation meets the standard, their accumulated contribution points are basically sufficient.

For external cultivators who joined Dongxuan City halfway,

even if their cultivation meets the standard and they swear a Dao Oath to become core members of Dongxuan City,

at the beginning, they can at most be competent for some nominal positions.

To obtain a substantive post matching one's rights and privileges, one must first make corresponding contributions to Dongxuan City.

However, the higher one's cultivation base, the more ways there are to earn contribution points, and the greater the quantity.

Thus, as long as there is sufficient patience, passing the assessment is not difficult.

But clearly, Zhou Qingguang did not wish to wait.

He wanted to achieve everything in one step and obtain a substantive post in Dongxuan City directly.

After hearing the assessment conditions stated by Xue Yu.

Zhou Qingguang immediately fell into hesitation:

"This..."

In his view,

if it were merely the position of district head,

aside from preferential treatment when purchasing resources in Dongxuan City, the other benefits differed little from continuing as the City Lord of Qingguang City.

After all, Qingguang City was considered a vassal city of Dongxuan City.

As the City Lord of Qingguang City, securing protection from Dongxuan City should not be difficult.

Whether he sought higher treatment or wished to leverage Dongxuan City's power to avenge the Zhou family,

he must first obtain substantive authority within Dongxuan City.

Just as Zhou Qingguang was hesitating, Xue Yu's expression turned cold, and he spoke sharply:

"City Lord Zhou, this Commandant is not negotiating with you, but conveying the City Lord's order."

"Your Qingguang City is, on the surface, still a vassal city of our Dongxuan City."

"If you are unwilling to join Dongxuan City, you may voluntarily resign from the position of City Lord of Qingguang City."

Seeing his former subordinate reprimand him so mercilessly,

Zhou Qingguang grew furious, pointing a finger at Xue Yu, speechless:

"You... you..."

Nearby, Heifeng and Qingyu, seeing Xue Yu angered, exchanged a glance and

stepped forward together, saying:

"Xue Yu, we two are willing to obey the arrangements of the Dongxuan City Lord and join Dongxuan City, taking the position of Deputy District Head."

Heifeng and Qingyu were truly afraid that Xue Yu, in his anger, would take out his frustration on them and prevent the two of them from joining Dongxuan City.

As for Zhou Qingguang, their centuries of loyal service had already fulfilled all their duties.

Now, they needed to consider the future of their children.

Even if Zhou Qingguang became dissatisfied with the two of them because of this,

as long as they successfully joined Dongxuan City, Zhou Qingguang would have no means to harm them.

Seeing that Heifeng and Qingyu were sensible, Xue Yu softened his tone slightly:

"In that case, you two will cooperate with us in Dongxuan City to relocate the residents of Qingguang City when the time comes!"

Setting up several more teleportation arrays at that time would make relocating the residents of Qingguang City no difficult task.

Centuries ago, Xue Yu had also overseen the relocation mission for the residents of Qingguang City, so he was fully confident.

Afterwards, Xue Yu turned his gaze to the pale-faced Zhou Qingguang and said coldly:

"City Lord Zhou, what is your decision?"

Zhou Qingguang glanced displeasedly at Heifeng and Qingyu.

Their compromise had cost him his last bargaining chip.

Thus, Zhou Qingguang took a deep breath and said in a heavy voice:

"I am willing to join Dongxuan City and take the position of District Head of Dongxuan City."

"Excellent!"

After Zhou Qingguang, Heifeng, and Qingyu all agreed,

Xue Yu delayed no further.

He led the three to the City Lord's Manor.

(End of this chapter)