Power Handover!

"Stop... stop... stop..."

Wei Qing waved repeatedly, cutting them off.

"Even the Wine Immortal couldn't withstand this wheel battle." He raised his cup and looked around. "Why don't we all drink this cup together?"

"Good!"

Amid the crisp clinks of wine pouring into jade cups, the distinctions between sects vanished.

After cup upon cup of wine, everyone completely let themselves go.

The next day.

Wei Qing's lashes trembled as he opened his eyes, and a wave of dryness seized his throat.

He propped himself up and fumbled around for water, only to discover that he was not in his room, but in a private chamber on the top floor of Star Cloud Tower.

More than a dozen disciples from various sects lay sprawled across the floor.

Liu Yulong was sleeping soundly with Qin Shuang's Blood Drinking Saber in his arms.

A genius disciple of the Heavenly Saber Sect had actually curled up beneath the desk, clutching an empty wine jar.

Even more outrageous was—

Nangong Ruyan's crystal ball was floating in midair, projecting the final scene from last night: Jun Wushang standing on the table and demonstrating the Flowing Cloud Saber Technique.

Fragments of last night's memories gradually came together.

Jun Wushang had shouted that he wanted to challenge ten people...

The female cultivators, including Tantai Yue, had all left together...

To prevent anyone from cheating and denying the results, Nangong Ruyan's crystal ball had been left behind...

The male disciples who could not hold their liquor had staggered out...

The drinking contest had evolved into a martial demonstration...

As the memories came to an end, he shook his head with a bitter smile. "I can't drink anymore after this. It's too humiliating."

He searched the room from top to bottom, yet failed to find even a drop of water.

Just then.

A Fu appeared at the private chamber's entrance, carrying a kettle. "My lord, water!"

"Oh?" Wei Qing was startled, then smiled. "Thanks."

"This is my duty."

With that, he stood to one side and waited.

After Wei Qing drained the kettle with a loud "gulp gulp" and revealed a look of satisfaction,

A Fu continued, "Constable Zhu arrived first thing this morning. Knowing that my lord had not yet woken up, he has been waiting for you downstairs the whole time."

"All right, got it."

After reporting, A Fu withdrew from the private chamber.

Wei Qing returned to his room and changed clothes before going downstairs.

"My lord."

Seeing Wei Qing come down, Zhu Huan hurriedly rose.

"All right, skip the formalities. Tell me, what happened?"

Wei Qing got straight to the point.

"The Imperial Court's newly appointed county magistrate has arrived. He wishes to invite my lord to the yamen."

Zhu Huan placed heavy emphasis on the word "invite."

Du Ziteng had originally intended to come in person, but just then some commoners had arrived at the yamen to seek justice. He had no choice but to send Zhu Huan in his stead to invite Wei Qing.

By the time Wei Qing and Zhu Huan returned to the yamen, Du Ziteng had just finished handling the commoners' case and was preparing to wait for them at the yamen entrance.

"I am Du Ziteng, the Imperial Court's newly appointed magistrate of Qingcheng. You must be Wei Qing, Lord Wei of the Heavenly Realm Division."

"Yes. You finally came. Now I can return to the Imperial City in peace." Wei Qing gave a slight nod and gently exhaled.

The inner hall of the yamen.

After the two took their seats,

Wei Qing spoke first. "The yamen's affairs have always been handled by the County Lieutenant and Constable Zhu. If Lord Du has any questions, you may ask them directly."

"Additionally, I will return to the Imperial City today to report my duties. From now on, I must trouble Lord Du to take good care of Qingcheng."

"Are you in such a hurry?"

Du Ziteng wore a smile, but was quite surprised inside.

He had thought that taking office would meet with some resistance, and that the other party might hold onto the magistrate's authority for a while.

He had not expected that before he could even speak, the other party would already be preparing to withdraw.

The man's straightforwardness was beyond his expectations.

For a moment,

all the words he had prepared for so long were left stuffed in his belly, rendered useless.

"I came to Qingcheng this time to complete my promotion mission. I merely happened to arrive when the county magistrate's son colluded with demons, leaving the magistrate's position vacant."

"Now that Lord Du has arrived, it is only natural that I resign from the position of acting magistrate."

"Besides, I have stayed here long enough. It is time to return to the Heavenly Realm Division and report my duties."

Wei Qing shook his head.

He had long been hoping that the new magistrate would arrive soon.

After all, his second uncle's family had enjoyed themselves freely in the Imperial City for long enough.

It was time for them to pay the price.

"Since that is the case, I will not stop you, Lord Wei. When I return to the Imperial City, I will certainly visit your residence and have a long heart-to-heart talk with Brother Wei."

Seeing that Wei Qing had made up his mind to leave, Du Ziteng said no more.

"Good. When that time comes, I, Wei, will certainly sweep the couch clean to welcome you. In that case, I shall take my leave first."

Wei Qing cupped his hands and left the inner hall of the yamen directly.

"Brother Wei, take care!"

Watching Wei Qing's retreating back, Du Ziteng only withdrew his gaze after it had vanished completely.

Immediately afterward, he turned to the County Lieutenant and Zhu Huan.

"From now on, I ask for the two of you to support and cooperate with me in Qingcheng."

"My lord, you flatter us!"

When Wei Qing returned to the inn,

Jun Wushang's furious roar came through the wooden door. "Liu Yulong, how dare you spread that recording? I'll fight you to the death!"

"Haha, you think I'm afraid of you? Come on."

Liu Yulong laughed triumphantly.

"Brother Long, I was wrong."

Seeing that force would not work, Jun Wushang immediately softened his stance.

That recording from last night had utterly ruined his image. If Zhang Xue saw it,

he feared that he would never be able to hold his head up in front of Zhang Xue again.

He could not beat Liu Yulong, either.

In the end, he could only yield for now, get the recording into his hands, and settle the score later.

"That's more like it... Damn, you little punk, you launched a sneak attack... Ow..."

"Wushang, that kick of yours was a little... You didn't get the angle quite right. It should have gone just a little farther to the right." Qin Shuang's dissatisfied voice rang out.

"Right... It was only off by that tiny bit. Then it would have been perfect." Song Yuanming chimed in.

"Haha, that's a good suggestion."

"You... Heaven truly has no eyes. How did I end up knowing a bunch of treacherous fellows like you?" Liu Yulong shouted helplessly.

Hearing this, Wei Qing smiled faintly and pushed open the private chamber door.

"Qingzi, where did you go? You disappeared as soon as you woke up." Jun Wushang instinctively hid the crystal ball behind his back and spoke with an unnatural expression.

Seeing this, Wei Qing did not expose him. "The yamen sent someone over just now. Qingcheng's new magistrate has arrived, so I went to complete the handover."

"So that means we can return to the Imperial City?"

"Yes."

"Brother Wei, are you in such a hurry? Why not stay in Qingcheng and play for a few days?"

"Yes, exactly."

Upon hearing that Wei Qing was leaving, Qin Shuang and the others all spoke up to urge him to stay.

After last night, their relationship had grown closer.

They all hoped Wei Qing could stay a little longer. Once he and Jun Wushang returned to the Imperial City, no one knew when they would meet again.

Wei Qing shook his head slightly. "No. Wushang and I still have to return to the Heavenly Realm Division and report in. You can come to the capital and find us in the future."

"That's right. When you're out training or whatever, you can come to the Imperial City for a look."

To be honest, Jun Wushang was somewhat reluctant to part as well.

Aside from Wei Qing, Qin Shuang and the others were among the few friends he had.