Official Infighting

"Hoo," Kang Dabao sat in the quiet room of the county magistrate's temple and put away the Spirit Gathering Formation plate he had brought with him.

"If these good-for-nothings could just spare a bit of their money spent on brothels and wine and let me repair the temple, I wouldn't have to carry this array plate around all by myself." Kang Dabao frowned. This Spirit Gathering Formation plate was useful, but the accumulated cost was considerable, and it all used up Sect Leader Kang Da's own Spirit Stone!

He's been in this unlucky county magistrate position for two or three months now, but he hasn't even received a single spirit fragment yet.

"After that old bastard Sun Bingdou leaves, it'll be time to have a proper showdown with our Magistrate Luo." Stepping out of the quiet room, Kang Dabao arrived at the backyard of the official temple, where the old donkey was happily munching on white alfalfa under the attentive service of a minor official.

This white alfalfa is a high-grade spirit beast pasture, priced at two dan (a unit of weight) for one broken spirit coin. It contains genuine Spiritual Qi, and quite a few cultivators, due to extreme poverty, have secretly consumed it in private.

The old donkey's meals these days are much better than when it was in the Chongming Sect. After all, Duan Anle, following Kang Dabao's instructions, has only ever fed it those hard-to-sell yellow sprouts.

When the old donkey arrived at the Pingrong County, he was treated to a good life. After eating alfalfa for half a month, his golden fur became even shinier.

"Damn it, this old donkey is getting more benefits than your father." Kang Dabao muttered to himself, took the reins from the clerk, mounted the donkey, and headed towards the Pingrong County.

Ten days ago, Sun Bingdou led a thousand Bone Refining masters on a grand expedition.

At that time, the fifty Bone Refining Masters of the Chongming Sect were specially requested by Jin Shilun to return to Chongming City and were sent there together with Han Yundao and Duan Anle.

Kang Dabao, a young apprentice with a knight-errant background, loves to punish evil and promote good. These evil-doing gangsters fell into his hands, and they suffered a lot along the way.

Just a few days ago, Zhou Xinran also sent a message saying that Chongming Small Pavilion had recruited a chef.

Since that was the case, Kang Dabao simply decided to let his three apprentices travel back together, so they could look after each other on the way.

Although Jin Shilun was slightly older than Han Yundao and Duan Anle, he was only over fifteen years old, which was the prime of his life for cultivation and should not be wasted on business.

Sect Leader Kang Da realized he had been alone in Pingrong County for nearly twenty days. Since he had nothing else to do, he decided to return to his sect and save some Spirit Stone for cultivation.

"Take leave? That won't do." Luo Heng still looked as listless as ever.

Luo Heng stood a thin, long-robed cultivator named Qian Liu, who looked at Kang Dabao with an unfriendly gaze.

Qian Liu was also a son-in-law of the Huo Household, but he was not as well off as Luo Heng. He was the kind of person without a formal title, and it was unknown whether he was sent by the Huo Household to help Luo Heng.

"There's little to do in the county. With the county magistrate in charge, why would we need a mediocre person like me?" Kang Dabao suppressed his anger and cursed under his breath.

"If it really doesn't work, a messenger just arrived from the prefectural court. I really wanted to discuss this with you two fellow Daoists, but why is the county magistrate asking for leave?" Luo Heng took out a silk scroll and continued reading:

"Prefectural Sima Fei has issued a document ordering the county to recruit men and assemble local militia, and to organize the troops within half a month to join him in suppressing the bandits in Guo County." As soon as Luo Heng uttered the words "Prefectural Magistrate Sima Fei," everyone present perked up.

This is a scion of a prominent family brought by Earl of Earl of Nan'a Kuang Liuting, from the heart of the capital region. He has been Foundation Establishment True Cultivator for many years and is probably unmatched in the entire Cloud Horn Prefecture.

The governor's office of Cloud Horn Prefecture also has a prefectural commander named Fang, but Huo Bing, an old Foundation Establishment, comes from a family related to his wife, so his cultivation level and abilities are much lower.

Normally, when this Sima Fang assigns errands, people don't take it too seriously. They'd rather handle it than not.

"What method does Sima Fei intend to use to subdue him?" Upon hearing this news, Kang Dabao had a vague idea of what tricks Luo Heng was going to use. Although he was terrified, he still asked calmly.

"One out of three repairs will be taken." Luo Heng replied, his eyes wide, his gaze never leaving Kang Dabao for a moment.

Even Tie Xishan, who had been silently watching Kang Dabao and Luo Heng's battle, exclaimed in surprise, "At this rate, more than ten people from the Pingrong Tie Household will have to be transferred out!"

"May I have this silk scroll for a look, Your Excellency?" Kang Dabao frowned and, before Luo Heng could reply, reached out to take the silk scroll from his hand.

"The county magistrate is afraid, isn't he? You said back then that you wouldn't concern yourself with civil affairs, only military matters." Luo Heng's face showed a smug look of triumph. Before Kang Dabao could reach out, Qian Liu forward to stop him.

"Get out of my way!" Sect Leader Kang Da brandished his silver mace and raised his hand to strike.

Qian Liu was startled, seemingly not expecting that this seemingly insignificant Middle Qi Refinement Refining sect leader, whom Luo Heng had described as insignificant, would act so decisively. In his panic, he could only extend his square shield to block.

With a clang, the shield was struck by the silver mace, sparks flying everywhere, and a deep gash appeared on its surface. Qian Liu face showing astonishment.

"Is this the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining?" Qian Liu cursed Luo Heng inwardly. The burly man in front of him had such thick spiritual power that he didn't look like a Middle Qi Refinement at all. He seemed to have more spiritual power than Qian Liu himself, who was at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer. He was not as easy to handle as Luo Heng had described!

"How dare you! Are you defying Sima Fei?" Luo Heng laughed instead of getting angry. From the first moment he saw Kang Dabao, he had the idea of taking action to make an example of him and establish his authority. Kang Dabao's sudden outburst was exactly what he wanted.

"I didn't expect this brute to be so easily provoked. I need to quickly take him down and lock him up so that the charge of disobeying his superior and defying orders can be substantiated," Luo Heng thought to himself.

Qian Liu had no time to think about anything else, and was hit several more times by Kang Dabao. His shield was covered with wounds, and he was so suppressed that he didn't even have time to use other Law Artifact.

"Bring me the silk scroll." Kang Dabao abandoned the Qian Liu and, brandishing his silver mace, went to find Luo Heng.

Luo Heng waved his hand, revealing the county magistrate's seal, and a group of Demon Correction Office officers came up from behind the yamen.

Kang Dabao was slightly startled when he recalled the miserable state of Ren Xiong of the Iron Sword Sect. He was about to find an opportunity to leave the yamen when he heard a sharp shout from behind him.

"Go back!" Tie Xishan waved his hand sternly at the leader of the gang, who only glanced at the seal in Luo Heng's hand before obediently retreating.

What a worthless official seal! It's nowhere near as useful as Tie Liuyun's distant nephew, the commander of the Demon Correction Office.

"Chief Clerk Tie, are you also going to disobey orders?" Luo Heng was somewhat taken aback by the scene before him. He had never imagined that the title of Pingrong County would be so worthless.

"I humbly request that Your Excellency hand over the imperial edict to this humble official for my perusal!" Tie Xishan ignored Luo Heng's words and stepped forward as he spoke.

"This is outrageous! Do you really think this county official wouldn't dare to kill anyone?!" Luo Heng roared, summoning an ancient scroll and holding it horizontally in front of him. "You're courting death! A Middle Qi Refinement and an Early Qi Refining Stage cultivator dare to attack us two late-stage cultivators!"

Luo Heng's confidence stems from the fact that the simplest common sense in cultivation is that Qi Refinement cannot defeat Foundation Establishment cultivators, and early-stage cultivators cannot defeat late-stage cultivators.

Don't be fooled by those folk tales that exaggerate the feats of Qi Refining cultivators Qi Refinement Golden Core cultivators or Foundation Establishment Nascent Soul slaying Nascent Soul cultivators.

In reality, in places like Cloud Horn Prefecture where the path of immortality is not flourishing, it is already quite rare for a cultivator in the Early Qi Refining Stage to fight a cultivator in the Middle Qi Refinement to a standstill.

Qi Refining Realm cultivators have limited combat skills; often, being one level higher in cultivation than their opponent already gives them a significant advantage.

Therefore, Luo Heng believed that he, as a Late Qi Refinement, could easily suppress Kang Dabao and Tie Xishan.

Moreover, in order to ensure complete success, he had also obtained Qian Liu from the Huo Household, making it an absolutely foolproof plan.

Among all the sons-in-law of the Huo Household, Luo Heng's strength ranks firmly among the top three, even surpassing many of the Huo Household.

Qian Liu's cultivation and skills are also quite good, only slightly inferior to Luo Heng. The reason he couldn't become a proper son-in-law is actually because his bedroom skills are somewhat lacking, which greatly affects his future prospects.

Luo Heng thought he had made thorough arrangements, but the moment his ancient bamboo slip collided with Kang Dabao's silver mace, Luo Heng's expression immediately changed.

"You're overestimating yourself!"

The ancient bamboo slip emitted a piercing creaking sound, and the jade tablet, which had been wrapped up, unfolded completely, emitting a faint glow, before it could barely catch the silver mace.

"Bring me the silk scroll." Kang Dabao didn't resort to any other methods, and shouted in a deep voice, swinging his mace again.

Both being cultivators from Foundation Establishment factions, this County Magistrate Luo's Cultivation Method and Law Artifact might not be too bad, but his abilities, let alone those of the likes of Ge Yangfeng, would likely be limited even when facing Rogue Cultivator of the same level.

Spending so much time as a live-in son-in-law gave Luo Heng an excessive amount of confidence.

Didn't he consider that if this cultivator had even a shred of integrity, why would he choose to sell himself for personal gain? Even if he became a high-ranking member of a gang of parasites, what good would that prove?

Back when Sect Leader Kang Da was down on his luck, he never considered becoming someone's son-in-law! Although he certainly wouldn't have wanted to.

Little did they know that "the most dangerous maggots in a cesspool are still maggots!"

In the eyes of the Sect Leader Kang Da, Luo Heng not only had a weak foundation, but his methods of fighting were also ridiculously naive, and he didn't even have a trace of blood on him.

It's a pipe dream for someone with only superficial cultivation to think they can subdue Sect Leader Kang Da.

Kang Dabao, who had been cultivating the "Azure Wood Treasured Light Guide" for nearly forty years, was only at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining, but his spiritual power was higher than that of Luo Heng, who was at the Late Qi Refinement. His years of combat experience were also far beyond what Luo Heng could match.

In just a few breaths, Luo Heng's ancient and simple magical Law Artifact was already on the verge of collapse.

The latter's face was now extremely pale. He usually practiced many powerful Technique Method, and he still had one or two treasures from the female worm that he could use to turn the tide.

Under Kang Dabao's relentless attacks, Luo Heng could barely breathe. If he dared to lose focus again, he would likely lose his life in an instant!

The excruciating pain coursing through his body and the scalding blood he forced back into his mouth were telling Luo Heng that he should beg for mercy, but he couldn't bring himself to utter any soft words, and could only pin his hopes on Qian Liu to the side.

Qian Liu was willing to help, but Tie Xishan in the hall was staring straight at him. He was afraid that as soon as he made a move, the team of Demon Correction Office soldiers who had just retreated would come up again and stab him.

Under the repeated bombardment of the silver mace, Kang Dabao didn't need to use any other means. Luo Heng's ancient magical Law Artifact only lasted for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea before the golden silkworm thread connecting the jade tablets was broken. The crystal-clear jade tablets fought independently and were smashed to pieces one by one by the silver mace.

Luo Heng had no time to feel heartache; he only felt that he could no longer swallow the hot blood in his mouth, so he tilted his head back and spat it out, drenching the jury table in the center of the hall.

"This guy has some ruthless methods. Are all the people who hang out in these remote counties this arrogant and vicious?" Qian Liu to the side, was shocked. He felt that the little reputation he had earned as a son-in-law of the Huo Household was worthless.

I was lucky I was intimidated by Tie Xishan, otherwise I would have ended up like Luo Heng.

First, he snatched Luo Heng's Storage Bag and tied it to his belt. Then, the Sect Leader Kang Da lowered his eyes, licked his palate, and thrust his round belly forward. He placed one foot on Luo Heng's left chest, near his heart, and coldly commanded, "Give me the silk scroll."

Thank you, Brother Eleven Moon, for the Extended Net Moon!

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