Jing Qian carefully pondered the organizational structure of the Hun Zhou Government Office as he walked.
The Hun Zhou Government Office had Three Houses and Two Directorates. Beneath the Zhi Zhou, they were the powerful organs that truly wielded authority and governed the entire prefecture.
The Military Affairs Office, Civil Affairs Office, and Maritime Affairs Office each handled their own responsibilities, just as their names suggested, and together shouldered all administrative duties.
The Craftsmen Directorate and Education Directorate, however, followed a path of specialization. The Craftsmen Directorate was responsible for manufacturing objects, refining magical treasures, and managing magical materials.
The Education Directorate managed the three Destiny Furnaces under the government office, as well as the secret vaults containing all kinds of cultivation arts.
In this world of cultivation, the Three Houses and Two Directorates of the Hun Zhou Government Office were not only symbols of worldly power, but also an important link between the cultivation world and the mortal realm.
Anyone who held office in the government office necessarily possessed cultivation.
Among the heads of the Three Houses and Two Directorates, only Wu Liuyuan, head of the Craftsmen Directorate, had surpassed his rank to take the position as an Eighth-Rank Hundred-Refined Craftsman.
All the other heads possessed cultivation at the Seventh-Rank Prolonging Life Realm.
Any one of them, sent out to govern a remote region, could independently establish a Destiny Island.
Beneath these five heads, each office also had several managers at the Eighth-Rank Dragon Elephant Realm, who served as middle-level administrators, commanded large numbers of Ninth-Rank cultivators, and carried out their duties.
Jing Chuan, ancestor of the Jing family, and Qian Yuan, who stood before him now, were both middle-level managers of the Maritime Affairs Office.
These two, one old and one young, one before and one after, were each harboring their own schemes.
Qian Yuan had coveted the Jing family's Official Shop License and suppressed the family for years. If Jing Qian had not intervened, he would already have erased this Dragon Elephant lineage from existence.
He was a cultivator who looked kind but was vicious at heart, shrewd and scheming, and possessed formidable strength.
Jing Qian was no pushover either. He had disguised himself ingeniously and entered the game in person, trying to deceive everyone.
Although he had taken on the karma, he intended to strip the Jing family of its foundations and forge a foundation for his own cultivation.
The two were genuine enemies, yet before the government office, they had to put on a dazzling performance, pretending to wear hypocritical faces as though they had never had any grudges between them.
After the two entered the Dragon Python's mouth, the giant python slowly closed its jaws and swam inland toward HunZhou Island along the winding riverway.
Its speed remained at two hundred kilometers per hour, as though it were a terrifying natural disaster tearing across the great island.
Before long, it passed a small city where humans had settled.
The people in the city seemed to have been waiting for the Dragon Python's arrival!
Beside the Serpent Path, they had erected a barbecue rack made of piled black stones, with the corpse of a huge Ninth-Rank Whitefang Bull laid upon it.
The giant bull had already been skinned and drained of blood, and the aroma of roasting meat filled the air.
As the Dragon Python passed by, its forked tongue curled out and swallowed the giant bull whole.
It then continued swimming into the distance!
If one pulled the view upward and looked down from high in the sky over the entirety of HunZhou Island, one could see the winding Serpent Path stretching across the entire great island and linking together every human settlement.
The Dragon Python darted back and forth along the Serpent Path. Whenever it reached a settlement, someone would feed it the flesh and blood prepared in advance.
It did not need to do anything. Every day, it merely had to roam among the various settlements and devour the food prepared for it.
Preparing food for the Dragon Python was an important task for every human settlement on the great island. It was also a tremendous burden—a sharp sword hanging over their heads!
From this angle, HunZhou Island was nothing more than a cage for raising the Dragon Python!
Ten million people supported the Dragon Python. The Dragon Python was the true core, while the human race was nothing but cattle and horses.
Following Qian Yuan, Jing Qian walked along the Dragon Python's tongue into the government office. After winding through it in a series of twists and turns, they arrived before a three-story Management Pavilion.
Qian Yuan called out to the Management Pavilion:
"Head of the office, this is Jing Chuan's great-grandson, Jing Qian. He struck the Dragon Drinking Plate!"
"He says that Jing Chuan once left his descendants a chance to strike the plate. I ask that you investigate the matter clearly, my lord!"
As he spoke, Jing Qian's spirit instantly tensed.
Following his plan, he had fought his way here at last. The true test was finally about to begin!
If he ultimately failed, his only option would be to leap into the void and flee.
But if he did that, his optimal cultivation path would be shattered!
He quietly awaited the Maritime Affairs Office head's response. Contrary to his expectations, the head seemed to have no doubts whatsoever about his identity.
A figure appeared on the third floor of the Management Pavilion, looking down at the two of them from above.
Jing Qian controlled his magic power and spiritual sense, not daring to let the slightest trace leak out.
The figure asked:
"Jing Qian, did you follow the Hun Yi Number out to sea and find Jing Chuan's relics?"
At this, Jing Qian took the Tide Divination he had prepared in advance from his robes, raised it above his head with both hands, and said:
"My lord, I have recovered my family's inheritance. I have come to apply for my ancestor's consolation payment, so that I may establish my destiny and enter the Dao, then reforge the tides and continue serving the HunZhou navy!"
The figure on the third floor nodded after hearing this.
"Your great-grandfather Jing Chuan was blessed with good fortune. He once ate a Crimson Scale Dragon Carp and became imbued with the carp's magical resonance, ultimately refining a Dragon Carp Dharma Form and advancing to the Eighth Rank."
"This Tide Divination was something I sought from the Education Directorate for your great-grandfather back then."
"I can see that your fleshly body is likewise overflowing with the Dragon Carp's magical resonance. Your inherited bloodline must be exceptional."
"In that case, I shall grant you Jing Chuan's consolation payment!"
"Furthermore, since you struck the Dragon Drinking Plate, you may make one request. I shall decide to raise your consolation payment by one level."
"Later, you may go to the Education Directorate and attempt to establish your destiny with a Sixth-Rank Purple Destiny Furnace."
"I shall also raise the treasure ship granted to your Jing family to the Eighth Rank."
"If you successfully enter the Dao, go to the secret vault of the Education Directorate and receive a new destiny inheritance."
"Thank you for your generous favor, my lord!"
Jing Qian immediately bowed in thanks, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
Then the figure tossed down one sentence before returning to the Management Pavilion.
"Qian Yuan, take Jing Chuan to the Education Directorate and, as I instructed, have him collect the consolation payment."
"Yes, my lord!"
Qian Yuan turned to Jing Qian and said:
"Count yourself lucky. Come with me."
Jing Qian immediately followed Qian Yuan and once again turned into a side courtyard within the government office.
The moment he entered, he suddenly felt as though his soul and spiritual sense were being scorched by raging flames, making him wish he could instantly shrink into a ball.
Yet this fierce fiery intent was completely confined to the courtyard. The outside world could not sense it in the slightest.
As soon as Qian Yuan led him into the courtyard, a middle-aged scholar came forward to greet them.
Qian Yuan gave a salute and said:
"Brother Tao, may I ask whether the libationer is here?"
"I have brought my naval disciple to collect the battle-death consolation payment for the Hun Ling Number."
"Our head has specially approved it. He may use a Sixth-Rank Purple Destiny Furnace to temper his body and establish his destiny. Please explain this to the libationer, Brother Tao."
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