Chapter 493: Heavenly Court Ruffians, Human Way's Turbulent Flood

Tax?!

Di Jun was somewhat surprised, then quickly nodded, realizing.

Since you don't want to suppress the rampant spread and expansion of luxury consumption, but instead want to make it serve you... then the Heavenly Court needs to have such a blade existing. Donghua said leisurely, "Moreover, this blade also needs to have a rather high execution priority."

Thus, this slogan can be carried out— Donghua Emperor laughed, "In this world, only death and taxes are eternal!"

No matter what business those merchants are in.

Whether it's openly coming high-end luxury goods, intending to corrupt and harm the three views of young demons; or it's covert evil goods that bring pleasure but are essentially harmful to body, family, and clan; even black-market work, doing shady jobs... here, even illegal income must be declared when filling out forms!

And!

Even selling evil goods, under the Heavenly Court's laws, isn't considered a major offense... but dare to evade taxes?

Definitely a serious crime!

That department has the power to use any means to achieve its goal—even the Heavenly King Old Master must pay taxes to me, unless you don't hang out here!

Of course," Donghua changed tone, "achieving this level is not an easy task."

So... then I will clearly demand that this department possess great authority.

For example—

Having its own armed forces, from individual forbidden weapons to partial authority over the Zhou Tian Xing Dou Great Array, capable of suppressing ordinary Great Luo demon gods.

Having its own prisons, detention centers, courts, and able to directly enforce asset freezes without needing prosecution and trial.

Donghua slowly spoke of his plan... in his words, a terrifyingly huge organization's shadow loomed faintly, beginning to surface gradually.

If things go smoothly.

From then on, among the Demon Race... you can mix in the black market, sell goods freely, but there is one thing you must never violate—

Pay taxes!

Not a bad method." Di Jun nodded, "but..."

There are too many demons.

Moreover, I think collecting taxes will be quite troublesome.

Ordinary demons.

Over a year, how many transactions would need to be made?

Not only are there offline face-to-face transactions, goods coming and going, but also online transactions, pure information data exchange...

The parties involved are muddle-headed, they might not even keep good accounts, let alone outsiders.

The Heavenly Emperor pondered, pointing out some shortcomings and regrets.

To be frank, he's quite interested in this... but ideals are plump, reality is scrawny.

Just thinking about mobilizing such a massive human resource makes one's head ache.

Of course, the Grand Minister of Destiny doesn't think so.

No no no, no need to go to such trouble." He laughed heartily, quite casually, "Demon power resources... such precious things, how could they be wasted on such trivialities?"

I have great confidence in the honesty of the demon folk.

So for the declaration, how much they should pay will be left to them to self-report, following the annual demon census... uh, in April.

They fill it out themselves; the tax department will absolutely not interfere.

However...

I hope all demons remember this.

Our numerical sensitivity is rather worrying.

If too much tax is paid, they might crash instantly, oblivious.

But if too little is paid, even just a few fen or li of spirit stones, we will perk up.

Swiftly moving out, they seize and freeze the target's all wealth, affix seals, indicating that the original personal estate now belongs to the Heavenly Court, to be auctioned soon.

As for the difficulty of full coverage due to the multitude of demons... we'll just do spot checks.

Of course, we're not stupid, right?" Donghua's smile was playful, "How much money could low-level little demons have?"

And the top experts in the Heavenly Court—whatever Yao Marshals, Yao Masters, Heavenly Empresses and Heavenly Consorts—are our own people, objects to unite.

These two groups can roughly be left out of spot checks, just occasionally glanced at.

As for the rest...

Those moderately wealthy individuals or families, clans, up to ordinary Great Luo demon gods... let's concentrate spot checks on them.

Anyway.

Those who have connections, opening channels with the Wu Clan to sell luxury goods... that's exactly this lot, jumping up and down among the demons.

Actually.

I've already planned... for future spot checks, my favorite group to inspect will be those who came from the Wu Clan to do business in the Demon Realm and are doing well.

I've already thought up the method.

Like opening a shop.

Just sneakily send underlings to lurk at the door, count how many demons enter the store, how much they spend... then follow the customers, asking if they have receipts, and whether the transaction used spirit stones or the Heavenly Court Zhou Tian Network's digital currency.

The latter is easy to check, but the former sometimes is a bit troublesome... those clever sorts might invent rebates or discounts, reaching a tacit understanding between shopkeeper and customer.

But it's no problem.

Donghua's smile gradually became wicked.

As long as the mindset is broad, methods always outnumber difficulties.

For example, for restaurants and the like, simply find a demon to eat there for a year, count heads each year, estimate annual income... that's still polite.

Or not polite?

Hmph.

Directly estimating income based on the turnover of similar nearby shops...

When Donghuang said this, the Heavenly Emperor Di Jun looked at him very seriously, with a new perspective.

This is genuine talent!

Listen up.

How utterly lacking in virtue must one be ordinarily to devise such a "baseless" tax investigation method?

And yet, how much twisted reasoning could there possibly be!

—What? Others' business is good, yours is bad?

What does that have to do with us?

You're the one running the business, not me… How to run the business well is your problem; we… are just responsible for collecting taxes.

If you're losing money, why keep going? Why not switch industries?

Could it be that you, as the boss, are here to do charity?

If so, you might as well donate all your family assets to the Heavenly Court—don't say your monthly income is only a few thousand.

The Heavenly Court will take away all your related companies and groups, wipe out all shares, and then give you thirty thousand a month… See, isn't that generous?

What?

You're not willing?!

You're losing money, yet you refuse to turn over to the Heavenly Court and keep doing business… I really doubt your motives!

Speak!

Are you a spy sent by the Wu Clan, installing backdoor eavesdropping devices?

Investigate!

Investigate for me!

Investigate me thoroughly, to the death!

Even if you can't find anything, you must still plant two "pieces of evidence" to prove the Heavenly Court hasn't framed anyone!

Ah?

You're shouting, "Does the Heavenly Court have no shame? Your conduct is too ugly!"

How naive!

When did we, the Heavenly Court, ever say we were running a charity hall?

You don't know that?

The Demon Race and the Wu Clan are, by many powerful beings, called the two biggest ruffians of this era!

We are never gentle!

If we were gentle… what would be the point of the Zhou Tian Star-Dou Grand Formation!

If we were to reason, what would be the need for the Zhou Tian Star-Dou Guards and the Tianhe Naval Forces!

Do you know how much the annual military expenditure is, young man?!

I think, rather than letting weapons be obsoleted by technological innovation for nothing, it's better to find a target and properly unleash them… I see you, suspected of tax evasion, as quite suitable.

You understand now, right?

You know what to do now, right?

Come.

Pay up.

You can only pay more, not less!

"Besides these." Donghuang Emperor chuckled lightly, "I also want to set up a rewarded complaint system… When the target's tax evasion is confirmed, the complaining demon officer will receive a reward of thirty percent of the tax amount, with an upper limit of twenty million fu big head."

I think this can actually be turned into a business, and it also counts as lending a hand to the human race's camp.

The emperor whistled, "To pass up a good person and instead come here to the Heavenly Court to be a dog, not cutting off two pieces of flesh, you really think there's no ceiling?"

As commander-in-chief, Nüwa is simple-minded; perhaps she could really let some people succeed in tax evasion, or perhaps the punishment isn't strict enough—she herself isn't short of money, and lacks awareness in this regard.

If it were the Heavenly Court… does the Heavenly Court have these problems?

Our Heavenly Court, though we started from scratch, is the most lacking in money!

Di Jun, you'd say that's right, wouldn't you?

"Exactly, exactly, exactly!" Di Jun expressed his agreement a hundred thousand percent.

Nüwa isn't short of money, but he is!

Nüwa somehow managed to outmaneuver her brother and gain a huge advantage.

What exactly is the merit of opening heaven? Everyone is unclear, and they don't dare to ask clearly; they all choose to be blind, not daring to step forward, instead hoping others will step forward to tear off the biggest piece of fig leaf—back then Fuxi transformed into Pangu, opened heaven and earth, slaughtered three thousand demons, ending the great era.

During this process, when did the era's wealth in the Heavenly Court's highest bank—the Heaven and Earth Bank—get cleared to zero and disappear without a trace?

And who, among those demons who met their end in the streets, has scraped across their corpses and emptied their personal little treasuries?

Anyway, according to a certain Fu who refuses to reveal his specific name and only claims to be an informed insider, this does have a slight relation, but he won't take the blame.

Although he originally intended to carry these properties with him—after all, mortal debt collection, the Heavenly Court's bankruptcy, even the innate divinities must collectively go bankrupt.

He made up his mind, thinking that since he's already on the mortal blacklist, he doesn't mind offending severely, so he'll make a clean sweep, transferring wealth in advance to preserve everyone's vitality.

As for what went wrong in this, causing the imprisoned bigwig to have to hide his treasure in some remote corner, waiting to be released and then gather his brothers to split the loot, it will be swallowed up by another bigwig who refuses to reveal his name…

This is the story you need to explore.

Everyone, upon thinking—

Oh.

Turns out even a figure of Pangu's caliber can have a day of being swallowed up.

Behind this, what kind of moving and tragic story actually unfolded… the big shots have already brainstormed millions of words of plot.

Then, in unison, they opted for selective amnesia, refusing to mention it—let the merit of Opening Heaven just be the merit of Opening Heaven, Your Excellency; as long as you're pleased.

Don't even say it's called Opening Heaven merit.

Even if you were to say, Your Excellency, that this is Opening Earth merit—say you were walking down the road one day and accidentally kicked out a pit, gaining this astonishing merit… everyone would still accept it!

Starting over from scratch, then just start from scratch!

Fortunately, what's lacking is only the liquid funds of luck merit; the originally held Honghuang permit, Human Dao shares, foundational connections, and one's own strength still exist… Originally a tycoon, still a tycoon, with a clear hierarchy.

But money—who would ever complain about having too little?

At the very least, Di Jun doesn't disdain it.

In the previous era, although he had prestige, he was merely a Censor… In this epoch, only with Hongjun's support did he truly grasp a huge share of Human Dao and the Honghuang permit.

Really, compared to some old tycoons, like the Dragon Ancestor and the Phoenix Ancestor, there still are some tiny flaws and shortcomings.

The talents cultivated, ah, the backbone amassed, ah… all of these consume wealth, indeed!

He lacks money.

Otherwise… under normal circumstances, the position of White Emperor might not so easily sway him.

For now, Donghua has made it clear to him how to shear the wool, gaining Di Jun's support.

However, he also has a slight worry, pondering and asking, 'Would this make the Heavenly Court seem too harsh, not close to the people?'

'Especially those outsiders doing business among the Demon Race?'

'Ha! What's there to fear?' Donghua said carelessly, 'To be frank, the Heavenly Court should even thank the Wu Clan's ancestral witches for their 'whimsical ideas'!'

'It's they who opened the breach, letting the Demon Race become what it is today.'

'Many things, once changed, can never return to their original state.'

'Although the Demon Race has changed now, becoming frenzied consumers, apparently overdrafting future potential… but this also means opportunities abound here!'

'There are those who will do a life‑for‑sale trade, but no one will do a money‑losing trade.'

'Here one can make a fortune, and likewise wealth can buy many, many things—including others' dignity and bodies; everything is an industry!'

'The moment the overall transformation began, the situation was no longer under the control of the ancestral witches!'

'I have already seen…'

'A brand‑new trend is brewing, about to sweep in—a frenzy belonging to the Human Dao…'

The Grand Minister of Destiny's gaze was deep, "Those outsiders, in order to enjoy this special benefit, are destined to put many things behind them."

"'What does it matter if we collect more taxes? As long as they feel that, after deducting this portion of tax, they still earn more than they ever did among humanity, and most importantly, they can use a special sense of superiority to look down on living beings inferior to them, and use wealth to trample upon the dignity, personhood, and bodies of those living beings, gaining a distorted satisfaction… they will not leave!'"

"'Even…'"

"'They not only will not leave.'"

"'At the same time, to prove the 'correctness' of their choice, they will also become quite enthusiastic guides, selectively describing how well they are faring among the Demon Race, packaging and embellishing it before feeding it back to the humanity‑ruled camp… while glossing over the negative aspects.'"

"'Actually, ah, this in itself is a very subtle kind of misdirection.'"

Donghua gazed coldly upon the world, his heart as cold and tranquil as could be.

"'Money isn't that easy to earn.'"

"'From humanity's turf, running over to the Demon Race… even if opportunities abound everywhere, does that make getting rich easy?'"

"'Not easy.'"

"'Different cultures, different worldviews—hard to say where one might stumble.'"

"'Out of ten thousand who come to try their luck, if one manages to rise above, that's already not bad—this probability is already quite high.'"

"'And those who can send information back are the one‑in‑ten‑thousand chosen… the information they actually send back really represents nothing.'"

"'The genuine majority of those nine‑plus thousand are still stuck in miserable grunt work, with no time to show off.'"

"'Perhaps… they once sold off the real estate in the realm of the humanity's royal court, just to earn money outside the tribe.'"

"'In the end, wanting to return home in glory, they are shocked to discover—the money they earned can't even buy back their family home!'"

"'Isn't that a joke?'"

(End of chapter)