Qingshan's Powers

"Accepted..."

Fang Xing lightly tapped his fingers against the tabletop, his expression unchanged.

"After all, he has some connection to the Ning Family. The Ning Family's strength isn't something you can contend with." Xu Zhengxiong looked at Fang Xing and spoke with a solemn expression.

"The Ning Family..."

Hearing Xu Zhengxiong say that, Fang Xing remembered.

One of Qingshan County's three great clans, with several Transformation Force martial artists—their strength was beyond question!

It truly put immense pressure on him.

At the very least, his current strength was still far from enough to contend with Transformation Force.

He had previously killed that Transformation Force martial artist, the cult leader, only because he had launched a sneak attack and the man had already suffered fatal injuries.

There had also been an element of luck involved.

Fang Xing understood that clearly.

After a moment of silence, Fang Xing raised his head. "Thank you for the reminder, Uncle Xu. I'll weigh it carefully. You may go now. When the time comes, bring me a copy of the information on North City as well."

Xu Zhengxiong rose and nodded, then left the chief constable's office.

Watching Xu Zhengxiong's departing back, Fang Xing slowly closed his eyes.

In North City, before the study of a residence, a middle-aged man with a mustache hurried to the study door and knocked.

"Come in."

A voice came from within the study. The mustached middle-aged man pushed open the door, entered the study, and approached the desk, looking at the middle-aged man in a long robe before him.

"Master, a message has come from the County Yamen. This news may well stir up all of Qingshan County."

"Hm?"

Hearing this, the middle-aged man in the long robe looked at him. "What happened?"

The mustached middle-aged man leaned closer and lowered his voice. "Master, the County Yamen has announced an appointment. Someone has been appointed Chief Constable, with authority over all the Yamen Runners."

"Oh?" The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. Looking at him, he asked, "Who has been appointed?"

"Master, this man is called Fang Xing," the mustached middle-aged man replied.

"Fang Xing?"

"Is he the one in the County Yamen who broke through to Dark Force?" A trace of surprise appeared on the middle-aged man's face.

The mustached middle-aged man nodded. "Master, it is him. It seems he caught the eye of someone from the Heavenly Supervision Bureau, which is why he was promoted."

"The Heavenly Supervision Bureau!" The middle-aged man's expression immediately turned grave.

"When was he appointed?" After a moment of silence, he looked at the mustached middle-aged man.

"He was appointed just this morning. The news has already spread."

"Master, he reached Dark Force at only eighteen years old, and now he has become Chief Constable. He cannot be underestimated. Should we make contact with him?"

The mustached middle-aged man asked.

The middle-aged man in the long robe fell silent for a while. "With such strength, and already seated in the position of Chief Constable, there's no harm in making contact. Prepare some gifts, find a suitable time, and pay him a visit."

"Yes." The mustached middle-aged man nodded, then turned and left.

"Dark Force at eighteen... Tsk, tsk. It seems he is no simple man."

The middle-aged man in the long robe looked out the window, his gaze flickering.

At the same time, identical scenes were playing out among Qingshan County's major powers.

The news of Fang Xing becoming Chief Constable swept through forces large and small across Qingshan County like a hurricane.

For a time, the attention of every major power focused on the same person.

That afternoon, in the chief constable's office, Xu Zhengxiong and the other three successively delivered information on their respective districts into Fang Xing's hands.

Besides the three great clans and two major gangs, there were more than a hundred powers of varying size combined.

More than a hundred powers—there were even more than he had expected.

Fang Xing read through them carefully. The materials Xu Zhengxiong and the others had provided were very detailed.

There were many connections among these powers. They were tangled and intertwined like roots and branches.

"There truly are plenty of demons and monsters here. Still, so many powers make for a good opportunity to earn Enhancement Points."

After reading the materials, Fang Xing had a clear grasp of the situation.

Of the more than one hundred powers, aside from the three great clans, two major gangs, and several martial arts schools, dozens were underground forces.

These underground forces hidden in the shadows were precisely his targets.

Every underground force had martial artists stationed within it, more or less.

Some had several, even many.

But he could not act rashly.

After all, some of these underground forces had ties, to varying degrees, with the five major powers.

Before the situation had been thoroughly investigated, he certainly could not strike lightly.

Moreover, some underground forces had Dark Force experts.

With his current strength, unless he had absolute certainty, he could not act recklessly.

"No rush. It won't be too late to act once my strength has advanced further."

Putting away the materials, Fang Xing suppressed the restless stirrings in his heart.

If he wanted to deal with these underground forces, he could only act in secret.

After all, only martial artists who died by his hand could grant him Enhancement Points.

If he acted without complete certainty, the consequences would be severe.

If he ended up setting himself on fire, the losses would outweigh the gains.

Either do not act at all, or if he did, he had to wipe them out completely.

He felt no psychological burden over eradicating these underground forces.

It could also be considered ridding the people of a scourge.

Calming himself, Fang Xing summoned the Crimson Panel and inspected it.

Name: Fang Xing

Cultivation: Dark Force

Enhancement Level: One Star (39%)

Enhancement Points: 204

"Two hundred and four points..."

Looking at his Enhancement Points, Fang Xing considered it. If he used so many Enhancement Points entirely for enhancement, the gains should be considerable.

"I've used up the Spirit Ginseng. If I enhance myself in one go, I'll probably have to spend another sum."

The thought crossed Fang Xing's mind, but he soon calmed down.

If he bought wild mountain ginseng for enhancement, a fifty-year-old root would be enough to last him for some time.

Medicinal supplements only needed to be taken once every few days. That way, they could be absorbed perfectly, while the remaining Enhancement Points could all be used on dietary supplements.

Although exotic beast meat could not compare to Spirit Ginseng, its effects would not be too far behind.

Having decided on his plan, Fang Xing rose and left the chief constable's office.

After leaving the County Yamen, he headed straight for a pharmacy in South City.

After buying a fifty-year-old wild mountain ginseng at the pharmacy, Fang Xing headed home.

When he reached the streets of North City, he saw some refugees huddled in the corners by the roadside walls. Compared to before, their numbers seemed to have increased somewhat.

Though he had not paid much attention to this matter, Fang Xing knew the general situation.

The increase in refugees within Qingshan County was partly due to people fleeing in from other places.

These refugees fleeing in from elsewhere had basically come from Cang Prefecture.

Cang Prefecture was a border province of the Great Jing Dynasty, adjacent to Jiang Province.

Last month, he seemed to have heard that war had broken out in Cang Prefecture.

There were several other nations surrounding the Great Jing Dynasty.

Bordering Cang Prefecture was a nation called Great Wei.

Although he did not know much about the situation in Cang Prefecture, he knew a little, more or less.

In troubled times, coupled with war, unrest was inevitable.

Qingshan County was still fairly stable. Although cults occasionally appeared, it had not reached the point of chaos.

After sweeping his gaze over the refugees in the corner, Fang Xing quickly left.

The great affairs of the world were not his concern.

Improving his strength was what mattered most.

To ferry others across, first ferry yourself across!

Without sufficient strength, there was no point thinking about all these messy matters.

"Hm?"

Just as he reached his front door, Fang Xing abruptly stopped. Looking at the several figures outside his home, he could not help frowning.

Leading them was a middle-aged man with a mustache. Behind him stood four burly men in fitted martial attire, who looked like guards from a wealthy household.

Each of them carried an exquisitely wrapped gift box.

When they saw Fang Xing appear, the mustached middle-aged man stepped forward with a beaming smile.