No Fewer Than Ten Women!

After leaving the Ye Family, Ye Tianming headed straight for the city gates.

Once outside the city, he drove his carriage toward Qingzhou Guanxuan Academy. The academy was not in Qingzhou City, but on Qingzhou Mountain, several hundred li beyond the city.

A trip by teleportation array would have taken less than half an hour, but he chose to travel by carriage instead, because a single teleportation cost ninety spirit crystals.

A carriage ride, on the other hand, cost fewer than ten spirit crystals.

He would save wherever he could.

After driving out of the city for about half an hour, Ye Tianming came to a secluded area. Hills rose on both sides, and hardly anyone was in sight.

A moment later, Ye Tianming drew the Sword of Upholding the Dao from his waist and examined it closely.

The sword had been with him since childhood, and it was exceptionally sharp. He had used it once before, when he went deep into the mountains to search for medicinal herbs. There, he had encountered a demonic beast three realms above him, and he had slain it with this sword.

He had crossed three realms!

And he felt that was still not the sword's limit.

A mysterious sword, a mysterious Tower Ancestor... My origins are a little mysterious.

He had naturally asked Tower Ancestor about his identity, but Tower Ancestor had refused to tell him.

Ye Tianming put the sword away. As he passed a stone bridge, he suddenly threw all the storage rings he had taken from Zhao Xiu and the others into the rushing river below.

Little Pagoda was puzzled. "What are you doing? I saw you count them just now. There were over two thousand spirit crystals in there."

Ye Tianming said nothing.

Three hours later, it was already late at night. A bright moon hung in the sky, its pale light spilling onto the ground like snow.

Ye Tianming was driving his carriage along the main road when he suddenly stopped. A short distance away, there was a campfire by the roadside, with a woman sitting beside it. She wore a long, moon-white robe, and her long hair fell over her shoulders. She was breathtakingly beautiful, her eyes full of spirit and confidence, and her whole bearing gave an impression of shrewdness and competence.

She was roasting a fish, which had turned golden, clearly having been over the fire for some time.

The woman turned to look at Ye Tianming and smiled. "Come sit for a while."

In the moonlight, her exquisite face looked even more capable of toppling kingdoms and cities, impossible to forget.

Ye Tianming did not linger on her beautiful face. He jumped down from the carriage, walked over, and sat in front of her.

Turning the fish in her hand, the woman said calmly, "Yesterday, Zhao Xiu of the Zhao Family and the people from the Immortal Treasure Pavilion disappeared. An investigation later revealed that they had all met their deaths."

Ye Tianming picked up a twig and gently poked the fire, saying nothing.

The woman glanced at him. "I looked into Zhao Xiu. Plenty of people hated him because of the demolition, but your Ye Family had the greatest conflict with him."

Ye Tianming still said nothing.

The woman suddenly raised her head and looked at him. "You did it."

Ye Tianming looked up and met her eyes. "Do you have evidence?"

The woman smiled. "I imagine the storage rings Zhao Xiu and the others had are all on you now, right?"

"No," Ye Tianming said. "If you want to search me, you should have a legal search warrant."

The woman suddenly produced a thick stack of paper and a brush. She quickly wrote on one sheet, then took out a small seal and stamped it before handing the paper to Ye Tianming. "The search warrant you wanted. I've written it. If one isn't enough, I can write more. In all of Qingzhou, I can investigate whoever I want."

Ye Tianming looked at the seal, shocked.

An inspector!

A fearsome figure of legend, an inspector toured the world on behalf of the Inner Pavilion, outranked local officials by one grade, and had the authority to execute first and report afterward. He had not expected to meet one here, much less one so young. To become an inspector at such an age, she clearly had a Lineage backing her.

Ye Tianming accepted the warrant without a word, his left hand gripping the Sword of Upholding the Dao tightly at his waist.

The woman glanced at the Sword of Upholding the Dao at Ye Guan's waist. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, but she said nothing.

Ye Tianming suddenly looked up at her, but the woman spoke first. "If you confess of your own accord now, I'll count it as a voluntary surrender. There's a slight chance you can escape the death penalty. Of course, you could also draw your sword and kill me to silence me, but I sincerely advise you not to."

"Search me," Ye Tianming said.

With that, he held out both his storage ring and Little Pagoda to her.

The woman did not take either the ring or Little Pagoda. After staring at Ye Tianming for a moment, she said, "It seems I underestimated you a little."

Ye Guan looked at her. "May I leave now?"

The woman stared at Ye Tianming, her gaze seeming capable of seeing through a person's heart. "Zhao Xiu abused his power for personal gain and suppressed your Ye Family. You had reason and motive to kill him."

Ye Tianming remained unhurried. "Evidence."

The woman slowly stood and leaned down to look at Ye Tianming. "I can have every member of your Ye Clan arrested right now. Do you think their bones are harder than the punishments in the imperial prison?"

Ye Tianming narrowed his eyes, tightening his left hand around the Sword of Upholding the Dao.

The woman suddenly laughed. "I truly have no evidence. You may leave now."

Ye Tianming frowned, unable to tell what the woman intended for the moment.

The woman waved a hand. "Go on."

Ye Tianming glanced at her, then turned and drove away in his carriage.

The woman suddenly called out, "Ye Tianming, remember this: my name is Nanling Zhao. I've got my eye on you now, so you'd better be careful."

Ye Tianming looked back at her once more, then drove his carriage swiftly into the night and disappeared.

After Ye Tianming left, an old man appeared behind Nanling Zhao. "My lord, why did you let him go?" he asked gravely.

Nanling Zhao narrowed her eyes. "Why did his Ye Family kill people? We need to investigate this thoroughly. Let's go."

On a street in Qingzhou City.

Nanling Zhao sat before a small stove by the roadside. Two fish roasted over it, golden brown and giving off a delicious aroma.

Nanling Zhao stared unblinkingly at the two fish, gently turning them from time to time.

A woman as beautiful as her naturally drew attention here. Many people around her were looking at her, but no one dared approach, because twelve guards stood behind her, every one of them at least in the Myriad Law Realm. Moreover, the deputy city lord of Qingzhou City was personally keeping her company.

The deputy city lord of Qingzhou City looked to be in his forties or fifties. Dressed in a plain robe, he stood respectfully beside Nanling Zhao.

Nanling Zhao suddenly leaned close to the two fish and sniffed gently. A lovely smile appeared on her face.

Just then, a man in black hurried to Nanling Zhao's side. He was about to speak when she said, "Wait until I've finished eating."

The man in black bowed respectfully and stepped aside.

Nanling Zhao picked up a fish and began eating it in small, graceful bites. She was especially fond of fish and could often eat all the meat while leaving the entire skeleton intact, like a work of art.

Everyone waited like that, not daring to breathe too loudly.

A long while later, two intact fish skeletons lay before Nanling Zhao.

Nanling Zhao slowly turned to the deputy city lord of Qingzhou at her side. Seeing her look his way, he hurriedly bowed slightly, an ingratiating smile on his face.

Nanling Zhao said, "Deputy City Lord Zhou Yuan, as I understand it, the land around the Ye Family is being cleared for demolition. Their ancestral shrine is worth at least fifty thousand spirit crystals, yet the Immortal Treasure Pavilion is only willing to pay eight hundred. How is that any different from outright robbery?"

"Huh?"

Zhou Yuan looked utterly bewildered. "Is that so?"

Nanling Zhao said nothing, merely casting him a glance.

Zhou Yuan knew he could not keep the truth from her. He immediately turned to an old man standing respectfully nearby. "Who is in charge of this matter?"

The old man hurried forward. "City Lord, the Immortal Treasure Pavilion is overseeing the demolition. Our academy is only responsible for cooperating, so I don't know the particulars very well either."

The Immortal Treasure Pavilion!

Zhou Yuan turned to Nanling Zhao, looking troubled. Although the Immortal Treasure Pavilion also fell under the academy's authority, the actual situation was not so simple.

Nanling Zhao gave him an ambiguous smile. "You can't handle it?"

Zhou Yuan dared not play tricks. "Of course I can. Please wait a moment, my lord. I'll summon a steward from the Immortal Treasure Pavilion at once."

As he spoke, he gave the old man a meaningful look.

The old man understood and withdrew immediately.

Zhou Yuan said respectfully, "Please wait a moment, my lord."

As deputy city lord, how could he not know what was happening beneath him? But he would not step forward and take responsibility for it. He had to push it onto the Immortal Treasure Pavilion.

A short while later, a steward from the Immortal Treasure Pavilion arrived. He too was in his forties or fifties and extremely fat. The flesh on his body jiggled with every step.

The fat steward hurried over to Nanling Zhao and bowed respectfully. "Greetings, my lord."

"What happened?" Nanling Zhao asked.

The fat steward wiped the sweat from his face. "My lord, the situation is this: although our Immortal Treasure Pavilion is overseeing the demolition, we outsourced the entire affair to the Anfan Chamber of Commerce..."

"The Anfan Chamber of Commerce?" Nanling Zhao asked.

The fat steward nodded and said in a low voice, "It's the chamber of commerce founded by the Qingzhou An Clan..."

The Qingzhou An Clan!

Hearing this, Nanling Zhao knitted her brows deeply. It was a first-rate Lineage, incomparably illustrious, with three Martial Gods among its ancestors.

The fat steward continued, "As far as I know, the Anfan Chamber of Commerce then outsourced the work to various smaller clans beneath them, including the Zhao Family. The Zhao Family was responsible for the Ye Family's area... My lord, our Immortal Treasure Pavilion paid them according to the market price, but after it passed through layer upon layer of outsourcing, the amount ultimately fell from more than ten thousand to eight hundred. Of course, a personal grudge also played a part."

Beside him, Zhou Yuan kept his head lowered and said nothing.

Nanling Zhao fell silent as well.

Only now did she realize that the matter was not so simple. There was no telling how many powers were involved, and they were certainly not something she could easily shake. Even if she wanted to, her Lineage would not agree, because any attempt by her to shake them could very well be viewed by the other side as factional strife. If that happened, not only she but the Nanling Lineage itself might face grave trouble.

Nanling Zhao sighed inwardly and turned to Zhou Yuan and the fat steward. Both kept their heads down and said nothing. They would not dare meddle in this matter even if beaten to death.

To offend so many clans and powers, as well as the Qingzhou An Clan, for the sake of a Ye Family unrelated to them, they would have to have water in their brains.

Besides, they could not shake those powers either.

Nor could this inspector, of course, but that was something they could not say.

After a long silence, Nanling Zhao said, "Punish the Zhao Family and give the Ye Family justice. Then let the matter end there. Any problems with that?"

The fat steward was about to speak when Zhou Yuan said, "No problem."

Nanling Zhao nodded, turned, and left.

After Nanling Zhao was gone, the fat steward rounded on Zhou Yuan. "No problem, my ass! It's not as though you don't know that member of the Zhao Family has already entered the Qingzhou Inner Academy and become Instructor Xu Qing's final disciple. You could say he's certain to represent Qingzhou at the Myriad Provinces Grand Competition in the Guanxuan Realm this time. His future is boundless. If you and I punish the Zhao Family severely, we won't even know how we die later!"

Zhou Yuan sighed softly. "Old Mo, didn't you see that lord was already angry? If we still refused, wouldn't we have made her lose face? If she got angry and insisted on pursuing the matter..."

Old Mo's face darkened. "If she insists on pursuing it, let her stir up whatever trouble she wants."

"Stir up trouble, my ass!"

Zhou Yuan said angrily, "She has the Nanling Clan behind her, as well as backing in the Inner Pavilion. If she refuses to let this go, even if she ultimately can't beat the An Clan, nothing will happen to her. At the very worst, she'll be removed from her post. But what about you and me? Won't the people above need a few scapegoats? Think about it yourself. Who will they make take the blame in the end?"

Old Mo's face instantly went pale, and cold sweat broke out on him. Clearly, the two of them would surely be the scapegoats.

Zhou Yuan looked into the distance and said softly, "That lord is clever too. She knows this matter can't be investigated too deeply, so it's enough to stop where she did."

Old Mo said gravely, "Then the Zhao Family... Are we really going to deal with them?"

Zhou Yuan shook his head. "Of course not."

They could not afford to offend that lord, but neither could they afford to offend the Zhao Family. After all, now that one of the Zhao Family had attained the Dao, even the family's chickens and dogs had ascended to heaven.

Old Mo was puzzled. "Then..."

After a moment's silence, Zhou Yuan said, "We'll let it cool and play dumb... Also, you and I should join hands to look after the Ye Family discreetly and earn ourselves a favor."

Old Mo asked in confusion, "Why should we look after the Ye Family?"

Zhou Yuan said softly, "In life, anything is possible. The Ye Family is at a disadvantage now, but who can say for certain they won't rise one day? If we leave a little room in what we do now, it might save our lives someday."

Elsewhere, outside the city.

Nanling Zhao rode a little donkey at a leisurely pace.

An old man followed respectfully beside her. "My lord, are we just going to let this matter go?" he asked gravely.

Nanling Zhao asked in return, "If you were Ye Tianming and the Ye Family, what would you do in a situation like this?"

The man in black answered without hesitation. "Kill."

He paused, then added, "But breaking the law is still breaking the law."

Nanling Zhao shook her head. "Sentiment, law, and reason each have their constants and their expediencies, their lighter and heavier aspects, their matters that can wait and those that cannot. Heaven and earth are vast, and the Dao's treasures run deep. How can they be measured with a single ruler?"

With that, she suddenly rose and took a step forward. In just that one step, Ye Tianming appeared before her.

At the sight of Nanling Zhao's sudden appearance, Ye Guan's expression changed instantly. His left hand gripped the Sword of Upholding the Dao at his waist. At that moment, he truly felt the urge to kill.

Nanling Zhao stared at Ye Tianming. "Ye Tianming, there are people like Zhao Xiu and his companions in this world, people like you, and people like me. We must see which kind is more numerous. If there are too few people like us and too many like Zhao Xiu, the world will fall into great chaos."

Ye Tianming stared at her, still on guard.

Nanling Zhao suddenly produced a thick stack of wanted notices and drew one from it. It was Ye Tianming's wanted notice. She gently pinched it between her fingers, and the paper burst into flames.

Nanling Zhao suddenly leaned forward and gently patted the Sword of Upholding the Dao that Ye Tianming was gripping tightly. "Ye Tianming, you and I are both people walking a road at night. Let's see which of us can make it to daybreak."

With that, she turned, tore open spacetime, and vanished before Ye Tianming.

She forcibly tore open space!

At least the Immortal Realm!

Ye Tianming was horrified. After a long silence, he murmured, "Nanling Zhao..."

Soon, he drove his carriage off into the distance.

His expression was grave, because he had realized something: if Nanling Zhao had attacked him earlier, he would not have stood the slightest chance of survival.

He was not sure exactly why that woman had spared him, but he did not like the feeling of having his fate controlled by someone else. If it had been a different inspector, would he still have had a chance to live today?

My fate must be in my own hands.

Besides, Zhao Yu had already been in the Myriad Law Realm before entering the Inner Academy. Now that he had entered the Inner Pavilion, he had a renowned instructor to guide him and the academy's various resources at his disposal. His strength was therefore at least at the Minor Tribulation Realm now, perhaps even higher.

Cultivate!

Ye Tianming took a deep breath and brought out his Heavenly Mandate Art, then resumed improving it. As it stood, once he activated the art, he could not stop it. That would not do; he had to be able to unleash it and rein it in.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he blurted out, "A book once said that Spiritual Qi is only one of the things in heaven and earth. Besides Spiritual Qi, heaven and earth contain all kinds of energy. If I can absorb Spiritual Qi, why can't I absorb other energy? Lightning, fire, earth, stars... I have to try."

Little Pagoda: "..."