Chapter 208: When the Disturbance Settles

Having finished off Feng Zhenghao.

Li Heng shifted his gaze toward the many Second Heaven experts from the noble families present. At this moment, because they no longer had the protection of Feng Zhenghao's radiance, they were once again suppressed and manipulated by the Earth Dharma Aspect Power.

"Wait, you cannot kill us!"

"You killed Feng Zhenghao, and with the protection of the Demon Suppression Division, you won't offend the entire imperial court. But if you kill us, you will be thoroughly offending so many noble families. Can you really bear the consequences!"

Wang Huanian hurriedly spoke up, clarifying the stakes.

Right now, the way Li Heng looked at them was very familiar to him. Because this kind of gaze was exactly what they used when dealing with the lowly rabble—that is, as lambs to the slaughter, to be butchered at will.

Li Heng smiled lightly; naive.

Or rather, it could not be called naive; it could only be said that everyone still harbored a fluke in their hearts and still wanted to struggle a bit. He didn't pay much attention to this group of Second Heaven noble family members and gently squeezed his open palm.

Instantly, the Earth Dharma Aspect shook, and its power erupted.

The Second Heaven experts were crushed into powder, vanishing into thin air.

Xuan Dao watched from the side in silence for a long time, until Li Heng's gaze looked directly at him, at which point he spoke with a bitter smile. "Should I be glad that I am still alive? Your strength is actually this powerful."

After the exclamation, he brought up official business.

"Don't worry, I have already thought of a narrative for you."

"The Beijun Governor Feng Zhenghao glimpsed the True Reality, and as a result, went mad and suffered a distortion, wanting to destroy the entire Bei'an City. The Second Heaven experts of the noble families, deeply understanding the greater righteousness, hurriedly came out to stop him, and in the end, perished together with Feng Zhenghao."

"What do you think of this narrative?"

Hearing this, Li Heng raised his eyebrows slightly, "Fooling a three-year-old child."

Ma Suxuan and the others also nodded.

Indeed, even ghosts wouldn't believe such a reason.

Such a struggle, causing such a great disturbance, meant the common people in the city would certainly know some information. Not to mention that within the mansions of the many noble families in the city, there were still members of those families.

"It doesn't matter; it is just a reason that is needed."

"As for the subsequent cleanup, leave it to my Demon Suppression Division."

Xuan Dao smiled and shook his head, appearing not to care.

"However, I must also congratulate Brother Li here."

"Why congratulate me?" Li Heng asked.

"Naturally, to congratulate Brother Li on his upcoming promotion in official rank, to serve as the Division Chief of Jinhua City. I ask that you do your best in the future to suppress the situation in Beijun and suppress any Weird Evil Demons that may appear."

Xuan Dao's expression was solemn as he bowed.

Hearing this, Li Heng was thoughtful; so that was it.

This was the price he had to pay. The Demon Suppression Division would help him clean up and eliminate trouble, and he would do things for the Demon Suppression Division. However, it also suited his intentions; he himself had originally wanted to hunt Weird Evil Demons.

"Thank you for your auspicious words, Brother Xuan Dao. I shall naturally do my best."

Then he added a sentence in his heart.

If doing his best couldn't solve it, then there was nothing to be done.

The rain passed, the sky cleared, the disturbance ended, and there were a few days of peace.

Such a struggle, with such vast momentum, had already become a topic of conversation for the people of Jinhua City, with discussions happening on every street corner.

Some said this was a banished immortal from heaven subduing demons.

Some said the bell ringing meant a divine object had been born into the world.

Inside some inns.

There were even storytellers who had already compiled one story after another, sounding quite plausible, with all the necessary plot developments, as if they had truly been there, leaving the listening guests spellbound.

"Gentlemen, the story branches in two."

"Let us speak of... that day, the Jinhua Bell rang, rippling through the entire city, causing Evil Demons from all directions to bow in submission, a banished immortal descending to the world..."

However, they all seemed not to notice.

Or perhaps they could not notice.

All along, the arrogant and domineering scions of noble families, who often rode their horses wildly and caused chaos in the marketplace, had suddenly vanished, allowing the murky atmosphere to return to peace.

"It is worthy of being called dramatized, exaggerated art."

Outside an inn, a man and a woman heard the storytelling coming from within and could not help but stop.

"Master, how can this be called exaggeration? You are indeed a banished immortal."

The stunningly beautiful maidservant said with a smile.

"Kong Que, I find that you are truly becoming better at speaking. Let's go; after strolling for so long, it is time to go see the Demon Suppression Division of Jinhua City. It won't do if the future office location is too poor."

Li Heng smiled and continued walking, with Kong Que following closely behind.

Great Li's Central County, or what is called Nine Dragons Prefecture.

This is the place where the Great Li Dynasty's dragon rose, nurturing nine vast dragon veins. Legend has it that the founding emperor of Great Li was born from the nurturing of these nine dragon veins, noble to the extreme.

Thus, they destroyed Great Ming and established Great Li.

And in the center of the nine dragon veins, where the nine dragons guard, stands a vast city, which is the location of the Great Li Dynasty's capital, where the supreme ruler resides, named Nine Dragon City.

It was early morning, the time for the morning court session.

In that magnificent hall, many ministers were lined up on both sides, while the reigning Divine Machine Emperor lay on the Nine Dragons throne, incomparably lazy.

"Submit your memorials if you have any; if not, the court is dismissed!"

Until the attendant eunuch beside the emperor shouted loudly.

The many ministers began their actions.

Which place had a great famine, which place had a river breach its dikes causing a natural disaster, which place had Evil Demon Weirds... in any case, there were almost no good things; it looked as if Great Li were about to perish.

But many ministers knew that this was a normal occurrence.

During this period, from time to time, a censor would stand out to report based on hearsay and impeach certain ministers. However, what was strange was that one name appeared with a very high frequency.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I, your subject Tian Jing, impeach the Demon Suppression Division Chief Li Zhangfeng for abuse of power and disregard for the law. His subordinates have repeatedly violated the Great Li Law and shown no regard for the lives of others. I hope Your Majesty will investigate clearly."

Tian Jing bowed, his expression solemn.

The ministers remained silent.

This was already the tenth impeachment of Li Zhangfeng today. It was just ten fewer than yesterday, surprisingly. What was going on? Could Li Zhangfeng really cover the sky with one hand in the imperial court?

"Oh? Minister Li, is this matter true?"

This Divine Mechanism Emperor spoke indifferently.

At this moment, Li Zhangfeng, who was standing at the very front on the left, stepped out.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this is false."

Li Zhangfeng said in a clear voice.

"Oh, that is good. Minister Tian, you may withdraw."

"Minister Li says it is false."

The Divine Mechanism Emperor waved his hand. Tian Jing's aged body stiffened instantly, but in the end, he could only sigh helplessly and obediently withdraw.

Seeing this, the ministers present twitched their faces.

This favoritism was too excessive; could he at least pretend?

"Hmm, does Minister Li have anything else to say?"

Seeing Li Zhangfeng still standing in the center, the Divine Mechanism Emperor asked curiously; such a situation was rarely seen.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, Beijun Governor Feng Zhenghao made a mistake during his cultivation, went insane and mutated, and perished together with most of the Second Heaven experts in the city. I request that Your Majesty appoint a new Beijun Governor."

"Additionally, Demon Exorcist Li Heng of the Demon Suppression Division performed meritorious service in resisting this disaster, preventing Jinhua City from being destroyed in a single day. He may be promoted to Grand Division Chief of the Jinhua Demon Suppression Division. I request Your Majesty's approval."

The Divine Mechanism Emperor felt a bit wistful upon hearing this.

"So that is how it is. I remember speaking with that Feng Zhenghao a few years back; I did not expect Fate to be so fickle. Sigh, I will arrange it as soon as possible. As for the matters of the Demon Suppression Division, Minister, you handle them yourself."

This emperor agreed very readily.

"Thank you for your approval, Your Majesty." Li Zhangfeng bowed.

Soon, the morning court session ended, and the ministers walked out of the great hall.

Most wore worried expressions; if His Majesty continued to trust the treacherous official Li Zhangfeng so deeply, the country would surely cease to be a country in the long run. Some ministers from aristocratic families had extremely ugly expressions, their hearts filled with rage.

The events in Jinhua City were absolutely not as Li Zhangfeng described! Feng Zhenghao was at least in the Dharma Aspect Realm; with such a vast gap in power, how could those aristocratic Second Heaven experts perish together with a Dharma Aspect expert?

Was it a joke?

Unfortunately, Li Zhangfeng had cleaned up the aftermath too thoroughly.

Even if they investigated, they could not find out what happened in Jinhua City. Did they really have to give up like this? Some ministers who originally hailed from Beijun aristocratic families were even more unwilling...

Although those who died were merely the nails they had stationed in Jinhua City—mediocre talents sent out from their own ancestral lands—now that they were all dead, it was equivalent to having all their nails pulled out.

Now, the Demon Suppression Division was the sole power in Jinhua City.

It would be very difficult for them to extend their influence into Jinhua City again.

Li Zhangfeng returned to the Demon Suppression Division in the Capital, to his own courtyard.

"Xuandao, I have already handled it according to your instructions."

"Many thanks, Master."

Before him.

A phantom of Xuandao appeared and bowed to Li Zhangfeng.

"It is nothing but a small matter. It is just that I did not expect such a thing to happen in Beijun. But do you really have certainty? Do not let this Li Heng become unreliable when the time comes."

Li Zhangfeng stood with his hands behind his back and spoke calmly.

"Rest assured, Master. This person's mystery is rare in the world. I saw with my own eyes him crushing the Dharma Aspect Realm Feng Zhenghao to death. I even suspect that this is not his True Reality strength."

"If we can truly bring such a genius, such a powerhouse, into the Demon Suppression Division to be used by us, then sacrificing a Feng Zhenghao and those useless aristocratic Second Heaven experts is still worth it."

Xuandao smiled slightly.

"Do you have the confidence to control such a person?"

Li Zhangfeng raised his eyebrows slightly.

He knew his disciple was arrogant and high-minded; in the past, he did not even look at the Daoist Child of the Dao Sect or the Buddha Child of the Buddhist Sect. He did not expect him to give this Li Heng such a high evaluation today.

"No, Master, it is not control; it can only be cooperation..."

South of Great Li, Nanjun, Longquan Commandery.

Here stood the ancestral grounds of the world's Dao Sect, Dragon Tiger Mountain.

At this time, the old Daoist Qingxu stepped out from the Void and arrived at the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain. Looking at the familiar yet strange scenery before him, he gently exhaled a breath of turbid air.

He did not expect to have to visit Dragon Tiger Mountain again today.

He only hoped that his grandmaster would not find him annoying.

He shook his head and did not use any flying techniques; he leaped lightly, ascended Dragon Tiger Mountain, and headed straight for the back mountain.

Although his own branch was not on Dragon Tiger Mountain.

The spiritual energy on Dragon Tiger Mountain was denser, the Heaven and Earth Principles were more stable, and it had not experienced distortion or mutation. It even possessed a Cave Heaven that had not collapsed or twisted after the Heaven and Earth Mutation.

Therefore, the final destination for powerhouses of their Dao Sect branches was to return to Dragon Tiger Mountain and enter the back mountain to cultivate. The grandmaster of his own branch whom he sought was right here.

Soon, he arrived at the back mountain.

Atop a ninety-degree vertical high cliff.

The old Daoist Qingxu spoke in a clear voice.

"Qingxu pays respects to Grandmaster."

"I have already found a way to suppress the Luck!"