On the third day after formally accepting his Yellow Rank law enforcement token, Chen Fan compiled all the case files, witness testimony, and physical evidence from the Mysterious Spirit Academy case into a dossier and submitted it to the records office of the Xuzhou Law Enforcement Immortal Hall according to procedure.
He had thought this was merely the routine process of closing a case. After sentencing according to law and imprisonment to carry out the sentences, that would be the end of it. At most, the diplomatic department would jump out to offer a few platitudes. It could hardly stir up any waves.
After all, the evidence was piled as high as a mountain, there were numerous victims, and both law and reason were entirely on the Immortal Palace's side.
But he had not expected the matter to escalate far faster than he imagined.
The dossier was passed up from the Jingzhou Law Enforcement Hall, first undergoing review at the Xuzhou General Law Enforcement Hall, then going straight to the Immortal Academy's legal office in the Central Continent capital. In just two days, it actually landed on the conference table of the Immortal Palace Supreme Council.
That day, Chen Fan was refining his Chaos Qi in the villa when Jiang Qingyuan walked over with a Spirit Messaging projection and casually tossed it in front of him.
"Take a look."
Chen Fan reached out to catch it. His gaze swept over the projection's contents, and he first froze, then looked somewhat surprised.
The projection contained the meeting minutes of the Immortal Palace Supreme Council. Half of the twelve speakers had attended, and they were locked in a furious argument over the case involving Mysterious Spirit Academy's foreign students.
Only then did Chen Fan gain a clearer understanding of the Immortal Palace's power structure.
The Immortal Palace nominally ruled the Nine Provinces, with a strict, pyramidal hierarchy whose core was the separation of three powers.
Military authority belonged to the nine military regions. Each province had a major military region, subdivided into local military districts, responsible for border defense and military campaigns. They were the Immortal Palace's sharpest blade;
Administrative authority belonged to the Immortal Academy, which oversaw seventeen principal departments covering everything from education and civil affairs to diplomacy, finance, and taxation. It managed all the great and small affairs that kept the Nine Provinces running;
The highest decision-making body was the Council of Twelve Speakers, composed of five members from within the Immortal Academy, the three grand marshals, and the heads of the four independent institutions. It held the Immortal Palace's supreme authority. Everything from declaring war abroad to revising regulations was decided by the council.
Outside the regular system were four independent institutions directly subordinate to the council. They wielded immense authority and belonged to neither the military nor the administration.
These were the Law Enforcement Immortal Hall, the Heavenly Secrets Immortal Hall, the Prosecution Hall, and the Judgment Hall.
The Law Enforcement Hall handled arrests, apprehensions, public security, and suppression operations. It was the institution that enforced through force;
The Heavenly Secrets Hall handled intelligence, predictive deductions, and formation-based surveillance. It was the central hub of eyes and ears;
The Prosecution Hall handled oversight, investigations of misconduct, and public prosecutions. It bore the duty of supervision;
The Judgment Hall handled legal rulings, sentencing, and verdicts. It was the final yardstick.
The four halls operated independently, checking and balancing one another while also working together to uphold the majesty of the Immortal Palace's laws.
That was precisely why the Law Enforcement Immortal Hall enjoyed such high standing. It had never been a local department, but an independent enforcement institution directly subordinate to the council.
"A case like this actually reached the council?" Chen Fan raised his head, somewhat puzzled. "Wasn't it just a few foreign students breaking the law? Why not sentence them according to law and be done with it?"
"The case itself isn't big, but what's entangled behind it is no small matter." Jiang Qingyuan sat opposite him and poured herself a cup of spirit tea. "The diplomatic delegations from the Freedom Divine Domain and the Holy See have already approached the Immortal Academy's diplomatic office, protesting and demanding talks, saying we discriminate against foreign cultivators and damage diplomatic relations.
"Quite a few peace advocates within the Immortal Palace have echoed them, saying there's no need to ruin relations with the starry sky over a few ordinary students."
"That's it?" Chen Fan scoffed. "Why didn't they think about damaging diplomatic relations when they broke the law on Immortal Palace territory? So they're allowed to bully people, but we're not allowed to enforce the law?"
"Diplomacy has always been this unreasonable." Jiang Qingyuan's tone was flat. "When they're weak, they demand that you show humanity; when they're strong, they talk rules with you. If the Immortal Palace really were weak, today wouldn't involve negotiations. Countless immortal warships would be blocking our doors."
"So what did the council decide in the end?" That was what concerned Chen Fan most.
Jiang Qingyuan tapped the end of the projection with a fingertip, a trace of coldness curling at the corner of her mouth. "See for yourself."
Chen Fan's gaze moved down and settled on the final resolution. His pupils contracted slightly.
[Final council resolution: The case of abuses committed by foreign cultivators at Mysterious Spirit Academy has conclusive evidence and a grievous impact. It shall be referred to the Immortal Palace Court for a public trial. Three days hence, the death sentences shall be publicly carried out at the execution ground in Xuzhou's southern outskirts, with a simultaneous Micro Message livestream throughout the Immortal Palace.]
"A public trial? Public executions? And a livestream across the entire Immortal Palace?"
Chen Fan was genuinely rather surprised.
He had thought they would, at most, sentence them according to law and execute them in secret, leaving the diplomatic department some face.
He had not expected the council to directly approve a public execution broadcast throughout the Immortal Palace.
This move was far bigger than anything he had anticipated.
"What else did you think? That the Immortal Palace's rules were just for show? Even the arguing was only for others to see. They're all old foxes, not an honest one among them," Jiang Qingyuan said mildly. "The Freedom Divine Domain and the Holy See have been making little moves nonstop over the years, infiltrating the Nine Provinces under the guise of foreign students and missionary work. Plenty of people have long been dissatisfied. This time, they happened to walk right into the line of fire. A perfect chance to kill a chicken to warn the monkeys."
"Among the twelve speakers, the military representatives were the toughest. They advocated going straight to war and hitting them where it hurt. The one from the Immortal Academy was fairly rational, but once word spread, public outcry was overwhelming. Everyone demanded the death penalty. Add in a few old foxes wanting to use this affair to give certain spineless people a knock, and the decision naturally went through."
Understanding dawned on Chen Fan.
So this was no longer merely a criminal case. It had become a chess piece in the power games of the Immortal Palace's upper echelons, as well as a tool for establishing its might abroad.
Publicly livestreaming the executions was a clear message to everyone: on Immortal Palace territory, if you broke the law, no matter who you were or who stood behind you, you had to follow the Immortal Palace's rules.
"Now that's backbone," Chen Fan said with heartfelt admiration. "I thought they'd just paper over it."
"Paper over it?" Jiang Qingyuan glanced at him. "The Immortal Palace has never held its position as ruler of the Nine Provinces by papering things over. If it really were weak toward outsiders, everything would have fallen into chaos long ago. Before, we hadn't caught them with anything solid, so it was difficult to act. This time, the evidence is conclusive, and they've walked right into the line of fire. Who else would we deal with?"
She paused, then added, "Besides, the execution ground will activate three layers of safeguard formations: against rescue attempts, soul escapes, and outside interference. Anyone who dares raid the execution ground, whoever they are, will be treated as a traitor to the Immortal Palace and killed on sight."
Chen Fan's heart surged as he listened.
"Oh, right." He suddenly remembered something. "If it's a public trial, will someone from the Judgment Hall preside? Does the Law Enforcement Hall need to send anyone?"
Jiang Qingyuan lifted her eyes to glance at him. Her tone was calm, but she dropped a thunderbolt:
"I'll preside."
Chen Fan: "?"
He froze, unable to process it. "You'll preside? Aren't you a Heaven-Rank Envoy of the Law Enforcement Immortal Hall? You handle trials too?"
Jiang Qingyuan set down her teacup. Seeing his shocked expression, the corner of her mouth curved almost imperceptibly.
"Who told you that someone from the Law Enforcement Immortal Hall couldn't hold other posts?"
She spoke unhurriedly, each successive title leaving Chen Fan dizzy.
"Heaven-Rank Law Enforcement Envoy of the Law Enforcement Immortal Hall is the identity I most often use publicly."
"Chief Prosecutor of the Immortal Palace Central Continent Prosecution Hall, concurrently overseeing educational administration across the Nine Provinces, is my second identity."
"Standing Chief Judge of the Immortal Palace Central Continent Court, with authority over final judgments in major cases, is my third identity."
After finishing, she looked at Chen Fan's dumbstruck expression and added mildly:
"Why else did you think I could make Lin Feng come running with a single word? Being a Law Enforcement Heaven-Rank Envoy alone isn't enough to keep everyone across all the systems in line."
Chen Fan was completely stupefied.
He knew Jiang Qingyuan was badass, but he had never imagined that she actually held several posts. Law enforcement, prosecution, and adjudication-three independent institutions, and she alone occupied a core position in each?!
Was that reasonable?
The separation of three powers was supposed to provide checks and balances, yet she held all three posts herself?
"But... what about checks and balances?" Chen Fan was a little dazed. "You handle arrests and investigations, prosecution, and sentencing all by yourself. Wouldn't that mean..."
"Wouldn't that mean I could submit a case, stamp it myself, and sentence someone to death on my own?" Jiang Qingyuan finished for him, a hint of teasing in her voice. "In theory, yes."
Chen Fan: "..."
No wonder she acted so overbearingly. No wonder the diplomatic office's people dared not approach her directly to quibble.
She simply didn't play their game.
From arrest to prosecution to trial, it all hinged on a single thought of hers.
"My respects, big shot." Chen Fan sincerely cupped his hands. He conceded.
Jiang Qingyuan laughed at his antics and rolled her eyes at him. "Enough wisecracks. Come with me to the public trial in three days. It'll be a good chance to show you how the Immortal Palace's legal procedures actually operate."
"Okay!" Chen Fan nodded immediately.
This was not the sort of spectacle one could see just any time.
Being able to watch Jiang Qingyuan demonstrate the process of uniting three powers in person would absolutely be worth the price of admission, even if he died right afterward.
Looking at the sparkling admiration in the young man's eyes, Jiang Qingyuan felt a barely perceptible trace of pleasure rise in her heart.