Internal Review.

Since my good mood for eating has already been ruined, there's no point in continuing if there are a few fewer people.

"Ah?"

Zuo Le to the side, clearly hadn't expected things to develop this way.

But seeing that several members of the Sui Family had relented, he breathed a sigh of relief, but also looked at Maria in front of him with some surprise.

One person's actions can affect three Sui Family members.

She's probably not an ordinary person, is she?

After thinking for a moment, Zuo Le didn't foolishly linger there, but quickly led everyone away.

After about half an hour, they arrived at a huge building.

Only after confirming Zuo Le's identity did the guards at the door cautiously scan everyone present before letting him in.

But as Maria reached the door, she paused a few times.

"Here..."

"This is the Hundred Stoves Administrative District."

Zuo Le, who was walking beside him, had already been thinking about many things.

Although none of these things could prove anything, they all made him realize that Maria's identity was definitely not ordinary.

I'm just a humble Candleholders- bearer, so it's best not to cause too much trouble.

"Administrative?"

Maria blinked and turned to look.

"Not the Hundred Refining Bureau?"

"Hundred... Hundred Refining Bureau?"

Zuo Le was taken aback, clearly puzzled.

He knew about the Hundred Refining Bureau, but why did Maria suddenly bring this up?

Upon hearing this, Nian, who was standing to the side, actually smiled.

"The name 'Hundred Refining Bureau' is no longer in use..."

"Why?"

"Because it's too big and too comprehensive."

He pondered this for years.

"I don't know the specifics, but it seems that after a long period of development, the Hundred Refining Bureau had become somewhat bloated, so in order to solve this problem, it was completely dismantled and reorganized."

"Send out what needs to be sent out, eliminate what needs to be eliminated, increase staff where needed, and streamline operations where necessary."

"It seems there was quite a bit of trouble back then... and apparently, there was a lot of resistance."

As they talked, they arrived at the very center of the entire area... It was an astonishingly wide flat area, with white stone bricks on the ground. The western walls led to different areas, and at the very center of this flat area stood a cold, towering stone statue.

It had no face, but one could vaguely discern that it was a woman.

"But later it seems that the Zuo Family also brought up Exorcist General, saying that if the general saw the once vigorous Hundred Refining Bureau become such a bloated, fat, and sluggish thing as it is now, he would definitely blame everyone present... and then everyone silently carried it out..."

"However, I'm not sure if this claim is true or false, but at least judging from the results, the implementation did continue."

As he spoke, he also looked at the towering stone tablet.

Actually, she made this thing.

However, because there were so few reliable historical materials, she stopped halfway through.

She had no idea what Exorcist General looked like, so she refused to complete the task.

After learning about this, most of the other craftsmen also declined subsequent invitations from the Great Yan.

In a sense, this can be considered one of the blunders that happened that year.

Of course, she had no regrets about it.

After walking for a while, the group soon arrived at the area of Sui Office.

At the doorway, Zuo Le had no choice but to turn around and nod slightly to Maria.

"Excuse me, ma'am, please wait here for a moment."

"Um?"

Maria paused, while Nian, standing beside her, became displeased.

"We're already here, what's the point of waiting?"

"This..."

Zuo Le hesitated for a moment, then looked helpless. "These are the rules..."

"What rules or regulations? We didn't come here because of you."

The boy, not yet a year old, stood beside Maria with his arms crossed.

She didn't come with Zuo Le; she simply didn't want to trouble Maria with her own affairs, which is why she took the initiative to respond.

Why are they turning Maria away now that they've already come all this way?

"If Maria doesn't go, I won't go either."

When he spoke, he expressed his position with extreme firmness.

Shu and Xi, who were standing nearby, shared the same thought.

This made Zuo Le's expression even more subtle.

His mouth opened, but he hadn't yet said anything.

But from the side, another strong and resonant voice rang out.

"This is not a place where you can act recklessly."

The newcomer was an elderly man with a white beard, who appeared to be in his twilight years, but his gait was still large and vigorous, and he seemed full of energy.

Upon seeing the other person, Zuo Le immediately bowed.

"Celestial Master..."

"Um."

The old man nodded, his gaze softening slightly as he looked at Zuo Le, but it quickly hardened again.

He turned his head and looked at the Sui Family and others in front of him.

"The Sui Office is a place of utmost importance; it shall not be treated lightly!"

He spoke, his words somewhat stern.

Upon hearing this, Zuo Le, who was standing nearby, immediately sensed something was wrong.

After receiving orders to bring the Sui Family members back, he almost immediately investigated their personalities.

From this, he could clearly understand that these members of the Sui Family were the type who would respond to gentle persuasion but not force...

The Celestial Master is so forceful, isn't that...?

"I'm not playing games."

Just as Zuo Le had sensed something was wrong, upon hearing the white-haired child in front of him preparing to teach him a lesson, the man, who was more than a decade older than the child, almost immediately retorted.

"I'm just doing what I want to do. I didn't come here to listen to you; I came with Maria!"

"Um?"

This Old Celestial Master was clearly not a flexible person; upon hearing Nian's words, he immediately frowned.

"Isn't this childish?"

"How can this be considered child's play? Little one, what you do in front of me is child's play!"

"Absurd!"

"What absurdity... Your grandfather even studied forging with me for a while back then, what's wrong with me calling you 'little guy'?!"

The old man clearly had a lot of experience with this kind of thing, and after a few words, he almost broke down.

Fortunately, soon more and more Daoist priests were drawn to the commotion and began to approach...

382

Chapter 382 Internal Audit.

What happened here?

The Swarm Daoist priests dressed in standard uniforms walked over.

They themselves had no particular characteristics; apart from their clothes, the only thing that connected them was that most of the people present were at least grandfathers.

Similarly, their appearance also subtly hints at their status here.

As they approached, their solemn expressions revealed a hint of bewilderment.

Clearly, they themselves didn't know why they had been summoned here.

Regardless of the circumstances, they were all considered to be on the Celestial Master's side, and upon seeing the situation, they all stood behind the Old Celestial Master, ready to lend their support.

Upon seeing the arrival of the Celestial Master's men, Nian showed a hint of impatience.

What she finds most annoying is dealing with these old guys.

Rigid, inflexible, and boring.

But clearly, she didn't really want things to escalate to a bad point, so she crossed her arms and remained calm.

At this moment, the old man spoke first from the Celestial Master's side.

"Nian, what exactly do you want to do?"

The Old Celestial Master spoke, his gaze fixed intently on Nian.

Even though it was these people who recruited Nian, they were still very wary of him.

This contradictory attitude perfectly reflects the current thoughts of the Great Yan regarding the Beast Fragments.

Admittedly, the Great Yan now possesses considerable threat and combat power against Great Beast; in fact, Great Yan can be considered a collective super-giant Great Beast.

But this power did not make them despise or ignore the existence of the Great Beast... On the contrary, precisely because they knew how terrifying Great Beast was, what kind of threat it could pose, and how much effort they would have to expend to contend with it, they were even more cautious in their vigilance against the Great Beast.

They would rather avoid any conflict with the Sui Family unless absolutely necessary.

"What do you mean, 'do something'? I don't want to do anything."

Nian crossed her arms, pouted, and said, "You're the ones who called us over, but you won't let us in. I'd like to ask you, what do you mean by this?"

"Um?"

The members of the Celestial Master Corps were also taken aback when they heard Nian's words.

They knew this meeting would bring together all the Sui Family currently in Hundred Stoves.

But... they're not allowed to go in?

Why is that?

They turned their heads and looked at Zuo Le standing to the side.

Judging from their identities, it should have been Zuo Le who brought these people here, but... it should also be him who prevented them from going in.

"This..."

Zuo Le felt uneasy being stared at by such a group of elderly people and instinctively wanted to turn her head to look at Maria.

This move would draw everyone's attention to Maria, a good way to shift the blame.

But he had only turned his head halfway when he was abruptly stopped.

Regardless, Maria had just helped him deal with the Sui Family, so she could be considered someone who had lent him a hand.

By doing this, he was undoubtedly putting the fire on Maria... which was incredibly immoral.