Chapter 338: Three Government Orders

Gu Yuan slowly opened his right hand.

An ancient, mysterious bronze lamp, burning with gray-purple chaotic Dao fire, quietly appeared in his palm.

【Myriad Dao Time Lamp】!

Gu Yuan couldn't be bothered to play those evasive official games with these ants; since the Second Prince had sent the person to his doorstep, he would certainly make full use of them.

Myriad Dao Time Lamp.

It is a divine ability he condensed by comprehending the remains of an Immortal King in Sanqian Zhou.

It contains the Three Thousand Great Dao and various lesser Dao.

Although most of them are merely low martial level.

They can match Gu Yuan's current battle power.

Dealing with ordinary people who lack even the 14th level of the Soul-Dao Sacred Realm is truly too easy.

Puppet Grand Dao.

Salvation Principle.

Hum—

At the wick of the Myriad Dao Time Lamp, fifty-one threads as fine as spider silk suddenly burst forth, emitting gray-purple karma lines of supreme Dao resonance.

These karma lines ignored spatial distance, directly piercing the brows of Zhao Rui and the fifty Imperial Forest Army soldiers, deeply embedding into the depths of their seas of consciousness.

"Ah—"

In the moment the soul was enveloped, a flicker of utter terror flashed in Zhao Rui's eyes.

He could clearly feel that his loyalty to the Great Yin Divine Dynasty and his reverence for the Second Prince were being replaced by a faith.

The whole process lasted less than a single breath.

Gu Yuan put away the Myriad Dao Time Lamp.

Thump!

Thump!

Thump!

Just moments ago, the still invincible Zhao Rui, leading the fifty Imperial Forest Army soldiers, knelt on one knee in perfect unison before Gu Yuan.

Their eyes no longer held arrogance or calculation, only a loyalty that sprang from the depths of their souls.

"Subordinate Zhao Rui, leading the Imperial Forest Army Guard Battalion, swear to die in loyalty to our lord! Wherever our lord's sword points, that is where we shall charge! If we violate this oath, may our souls and spirits be annihilated!"

Fifty-one voices spoke as one, shaking like thunder.

From this moment on, they are no longer soldiers of the Great Yin Divine Dynasty, but belong solely to Gu Yuan as his death warriors.

Even if Gu Yuan now ordered them to assassinate the Great Yin Emperor or the Second Prince, they would draw their swords without hesitation.

Old Li in the corner stared dumbfounded, fiercely rubbing his sole remaining eye, wondering if he was dreaming.

Gu Yuan leaned back in the Grand Tutor's chair, satisfiedly watching this fresh batch of workers.

This was his first application of the Puppet Grand Dao and the Salvation Principle.

Now it seems, the effect is remarkable.

Of course.

There is also a cost.

The user's strength must far exceed that of the one being salvaged, and furthermore, their numbers are not many.

To want one person to refine a world.

Probably one would need the battle power of a true Immortal King.

Immortal King.

That is the true watershed!

"Very good."

Gu Yuan waved his hand,

"Zhao Rui, take your men and cleanse the Inspectorate inside and out, remove all irrelevant spies, and tomorrow morning follow me to Youzhou Prefecture City."

"As you command!"

Zhao Rui and the others responded with a resounding assent, turned, and carried out the order with swift and decisive action.

……

The next day, Youzhou Prefecture City.

As the northern stronghold of the Great Yin Divine Dynasty, Youzhou Prefecture City's walls towered high, its atmosphere stern and imposing.

However, the actual control of this city does not lie in the hands of the court-appointed officials, but in the grasp of the local aristocratic clans headed by Youzhou Inspector Cui Yuandao.

Today, the Youzhou Inspectorate is festooned with lanterns and bustling extraordinarily.

Because the heaven-born saint Gu Ziyuan, who rose several ranks by stepping on the corpse of the Black Mountain Old Demon, is finally coming to the prefectural city to formally take over Youzhou's military and civil authority.

Inside the hall of the Inspectorate, more than thirty officials of Youzhou, high and low, gathered together.

Cui Yuandao wore a fourth-rank scarlet robe and sat in the chief seat on the left.

Nominally, the Imperial Inspector is the chief of Youzhou, but this local tyrant inspector simply did not put a rootless commoner in his sight.

"Inspector Cui, that Gu Ziyuan, relying on the backing of His Majesty and the Second Prince, surely comes with ill intent."

A prefect from an aristocratic clan lowered his voice and said.

"Hmph, a mighty dragon does not suppress a local snake. He's a callow scholar who hasn't even grown his hair; what does he know about governing the state?"

Cui Yuandao gave a cold snort, playing with two jade gallstones in his hand,

"I have heard from my clan uncle in the capital that this brat merely had a stroke of luck, just happening to encounter the Black Mountain Old Demon whose lifespan was exhausted and self-detonated. To think he's a heaven-born saint? Ridiculous to the extreme!"

"The grain, troops, and taxes of Youzhou—what of them isn't in our grasp? If he were smart, he'd honestly stay in the Inspectorate as a mud bodhisattva, and we'd all live in peace. But if he dares to stretch his claws, I have plenty of ways to make him know just how deep the waters of Youzhou run!"

Just as they were speaking, a shout came from outside the door: "The Governor has arrived——!"

The officials all composed themselves and rose to their feet.

Gu Yuan appeared in a brand-new fourth-rank governor's robe, a silver seal at his waist, as a squad of killing-intent-filled Imperial Forest Army surrounded him, he marched into the main hall.

Zhao Xiu had his hand on his sword hilt, closely following Gu Yuan's side; the killing aura that had rolled out from mountains of corpses and seas of blood made the civil officials present involuntarily shiver.

"We, your subordinates, pay our respects, Governor!"

The officials perfunctorily clasped their hands, barely bending their waists.

Gu Yuan seemed not to notice their negligence, walking straight to the main seat at the center of the hall and sitting down; his deep gaze swept over the entire assembly, finally coming to rest on Cui Yuandao.

"Cui Yuandao, I've just taken office; the many affairs of Youzhou still require your full cooperation."

Gu Yuan said this with a half-smile.

"Governor, you overpraise me; I will naturally devote myself wholeheartedly."

Cui Yuandao replied with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"If that's the case, let's start with the most basic matters."

Gu Yuan lightly tapped his fingers on the tabletop, speaking as if mentioning a routine matter: "Convey my order—effective immediately, all prefectures and counties under Youzhou shall thoroughly investigate concealed land holdings; at the same time, the military command authority of the Youzhou Army shall be immediately transferred to the Governor's Office."

"Furthermore, send all the case files of demon-inflicted injuries from across Youzhou over the past ten years to my study; I will reexamine them."

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

All the officials looked at Gu Yuan with the eyes of one looking at a madman.

Investigate land holdings?

That's digging up the lifeblood of the aristocratic clans!

Consolidate military authority?

That's seizing the clans' grip on power!

Reexamine the demon cases?

Who doesn't know that half of those demons are secretly raised by the aristocratic clans to squeeze the people's fat and ointment?

These three orders—any one of them would be enough to stir up a storm in Youzhou's officialdom, yet Gu Yuan actually intends to implement all of them on his very first day in office!