City God Temple!

"Captain Wang, I'll be staying in the county town for a while longer. If any news of the bandits comes up, I hope you'll let me know." Lin Ze cupped his hands. Though he knew the odds were slim, he still clung to a shred of hope. After all, completing this task would earn him several times the cultivation resources he'd invested.

"Naturally." Wang Long cupped his hands in return.

The group set off back to the county town. Since Shen Zhui was injured, the rest of the Martial Arts Department took fast horses back from a nearby town post station, while Wang Long requisitioned a carriage to travel with Shen Zhui.

By the time Shen Zhui opened his eyes inside the carriage, most of his injuries had healed.

"Thank you, Captain, for saving my life." Shen Zhui moved to bow—this was already the second time Wang Long had saved him.

"You're injured, no need for formalities." Wang Long waved a hand. "Besides, it wasn't me who saved you—it was the County Governor."

"The County Governor?" Shen Zhui was puzzled.

"Take a look at the Yuanpin Pearl in your arms."

Shen Zhui quickly felt for it. The Yuanpin Pearl had originally been the size of a chicken egg, but now it had shrunk by more than half, no bigger than a large pearl.

"The County Governor mobilized the power of the temple and infused it into the Yuanpin Pearl, blocking Li Zhong's attack for you. Then he guided the pearl's spiritual energy to heal you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have recovered so quickly."

"So it was the County Governor." Shen Zhui thought to himself. "No wonder He Tong's blade suddenly veered off course. And when I was resisting the attacks of two Xiantian Masters, I felt an invisible force helping me."

Even though he had reached the Perfection Realm of Unity of Heaven and Man, he wasn't arrogant enough to think that relying on that first sword technique alone could block two consecutive full-force strikes from Xiantian Masters.

Shen Zhui immediately bowed from inside the carriage in the direction of the county office.

Wang Long then filled Shen Zhui in on everything that had happened afterward.

"So He Tong's wife and child were captured by the Li Family as hostages... no wonder." Shen Zhui sighed.

Earlier, he had used his system's talent to check He Tong's Sin Value.

But he found nothing. Clearly, He Tong had been bought off not long ago and hadn't committed any evil deeds, so the system hadn't flagged him.

The system's ability to judge Sin Value had its limits.

If someone had never done anything unlawful, or had already served their sentence and paid for their crimes, their Sin Value would be reset and recalculated from zero.

A sudden ambush like that was impossible to guard against.

He Tong's strike was a fatal blow.

If the County Governor hadn't prepared a contingency in advance, Shen Zhui would likely be dead.

Even if Wang Long avenged him afterward, losing his life would make it all meaningless to Shen Zhui.

Still, the fact that Wang Long could kill a Xiantian Master and seriously wound another left Shen Zhui quite astonished.

The carriage stopped—not at the county office, but at another place.

The City God Temple.

"Captain, what's this?" Shen Zhui lifted the curtain and looked out, confused.

"Shen Zhui, you should have come here long ago once you reached the Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm, but we didn't have the chance before the trouble broke out."

Wang Long chuckled. "After this battle, you must be wondering how I could instantly kill a Xiantian Master, and how our Martial Arts Department, with barely two hundred men, can suppress the many experts of the major and minor families in Heyuan County..."

"Please enlighten me, Captain." Shen Zhui listened attentively. He was indeed curious.

Logically speaking...

In Heyuan County, the major and minor families combined had at least thirty to forty Xiantian Masters.

Houtian Martial Artists numbered at least a thousand!

And with the protection of their Yin God ancestors, they could conceal fate, block Divine Law investigations, and hide their crimes.

So how had the County Governor managed, in just three years, to bring all the clan powers except the two major families to heel, and even keep those two families—arrogant for decades—from daring to confront him head-on?

"Follow me." Wang Long got out of the carriage first and led the way.

Shen Zhui followed closely.

This wasn't Shen Zhui's first time at the City God Temple.

In fact, his Adoptive Father, Shen Shan, often came here to worship the gods. Shen Zhui had accompanied him many times.

The City God Temple of this world wasn't much different from the temples Shen Zhui had seen in his Past Life. If anything, the decorations were less ornate, though it carried a more ancient charm.

The temple wasn't large. It had seven main halls housing statues of deities.

Shen Zhui followed Wang Long into one of the halls. Inside stood a seven- or eight-meter-tall statue of a god, majestic and solemn, draped with colorful ribbons. In its right hand, it held a long blade; in its left, a Wolf Fang Club. One knee was raised, striking a battle pose.

At that moment, many townsfolk were burning incense and praying in the temple. Shen Zhui followed Wang Long in offering three sticks of incense, then they went to a spacious, tall building behind the temple.

This building was clearly a small shrine of its own. The main seat held a statue of an old man in a scholar's robe, with a memorial tablet placed below.

On either side stood six fierce, imposing statues, one of which was the blade-wielding god Shen Zhui had just seen.

Of these seven statues, most were about the height of a man, except for the scholar-robed old man on the main seat, who was slightly taller.

Shen Zhui studied them closely. Every statue was lifelike, especially their eyes—vividly painted, as if a Dark Light shone from them, piercing straight into the soul.

"Eight hundred years ago, the Son of Heaven of Zhou established the realm, abolished improper sacrifices, canonized the gods, and erected temples across the land."

"To observe the people's good and evil, and reward or punish them accordingly, so that neither the living nor the dead may escape."

Wang Long bowed to each of the four directions, then slowly began to speak.

"City God Temples across the realm are divided into four ranks: King, Duke, Marquis, and Earl. These correspond to the capital, prefecture, province, and county levels."

"The establishment of the City God makes people know fear. When people have fear, they dare not act recklessly."

Wang Long spoke each word with a low, solemn voice. Shen Zhui instinctively straightened his posture, not daring any disrespect.

"Heyuan County belongs to Liangzhou and enshrines an Earl-level deity. The main statue on the central throne is the Earl of Heyuan, who rendered brilliant merits during the founding of the Zhou Dynasty."

"To the left and right are the four Generals: Gan, Liu, Fan, and Xie. In life, they followed the Earl of Heyuan on campaigns across the land; after death, they received their titles. They respectively govern the four divisions: Speedy Report, Investigation, Reward Goodness, and Punish Evil."

"There are also the two Day and Night Patrol Deities, who oversee the Increase Stipend and Add Lifespan divisions."

"The main seat, the Earl of Heyuan, governs the Yin-Yang Division."

Shen Zhui looked up and, upon careful examination, indeed noticed that each statue held different items and had distinct expressions.

One held a command flag, travel-worn and weary.

One held a bright mirror, eyes sharp as blades.

One held a blade and spear, murderous aura surging.

One presented a peach of fortune, smiling warmly.

There were also those with hands clasped in prayer, and others embracing gold and silver...

"An Earl-level City God Temple only has seven divisions. Above that, a Marquis-level temple has eight divisions, a Duke-level temple has sixteen, and a King-level temple has twenty-four."

Shen Zhui finally understood why, in this world, once a case was confirmed by the temple, it skipped the interrogation process entirely and went straight to the judgment stage.

Because that process had already been verified by the deity.

Moreover, no one would dare contest a judgment confirmed by the temple.

Humans might have selfish motives, but these Yin Gods, appointed by the Son of Heaven, followed the imperial celestial laws without emotion. There was absolutely no possibility of injustice.

"Every city is built upon a deity as its foundation, forging a Supreme Magic Formation. Unless attacked by a force surpassing the orthodox deity's power, officials assigned by the court are absolutely safe within the city."

After a pause, Wang Long continued: "The martial force of the county office, such as the three classes of Constables, relies on their own strength since they hold no official rank."

"But once granted the county magistrate's seal, members of the Martial Arts Department can borrow the temple's power, greatly increasing their strength!"

"By linking through a Daoist decree, they obtain a sliver of the deity's power—this is called Summoning the Deity!"

"As I did earlier outside the city with the Second Summon of Deity, with divine power supporting me, my strength surged several times over! A Xiantian Realm high-level martial artist who summons a deity can even slay a Spirit Bridge Realm martial artist!"

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