Cultivating in Different Professions

Zhao Poni had just returned to Wuling City when he received a piece of news that left him speechless.

Everyone in the room looked at each other, momentarily at a loss for words.

After a long while, the Taiping Captain, Lin Qi Huan, finally blurted out a sentence.

"A bunch of useless trash. Good riddance."

"A Fourth-Grade Inspection Envoy, a Sixth-Grade Inspection Envoy, and three Seventh-Grade Inspection Envoys. Four of them dead in one go."

Zhao Poni said slowly, "The only one who survived is from Wuling. It’s hard not to find that suspicious."

"Let them be suspicious."

Lin Qi Huan curled his lip. "They’ve always suspected our Taiping Bureau of being arrogant about our accomplishments anyway. The Inspection Bureau is already walking all over us! Hmph, didn’t they think they were so tough? Now they know just how terrifying demons are. They go out of the city once and nearly get wiped out. Heh heh."

Lin Qi Huan’s face was filled with disdain; he clearly despised the Inspection Bureau.

It wasn’t just him. The other Taiping Captains also showed expressions of scorn and disgust. They didn’t like the Inspection Bureau either.

The Inspection Bureau was fundamentally an organization created because the other major powers couldn’t stand the Taiping Bureau’s dominance and forced the issue.

"Hmph, if the Marquises hadn’t met with disaster, how could this damned Inspection Bureau even exist!" a Taiping Captain snorted coldly.

"It’s useless to talk about that now. The Inspection Bureau has been established, after all," Zhao Poni said calmly. "With something this major happening, they’ll have even more of an excuse to attack our Taiping Bureau."

"An upright person doesn’t fear a crooked shadow. What do we have to fear from them? At worst, we’ll just hand in our arms and go home. Quit! Let that bunch from the Inspection Bureau go slay demons. Then they’ll see what happens!" a Taiping Captain said indignantly.

"Shut up!" Zhao Poni shouted. "Don’t say things you shouldn’t say. The Taiping Bureau doesn’t act for the sake of those people, but for the sake of the realm. I don’t want to hear anything like that again!"

"Yes." The Taiping Captain knew he had misspoken and lowered his head, speaking in a low voice.

"Forget it. The Inspection Bureau members are dead, and that’s that. It has nothing to do with us; the Taiping Bureau isn’t their bodyguard," Zhao Poni waved his hand dismissively. "It’s just that with Dai Jin dead, I’m afraid the Inspection Bureau will send over a Fourth-Grade Inspection Envoy who’s even more difficult to handle."

He felt a growing sense of irritation.

With the fall of the Marquises, all sorts of matters had come flooding in, one after another, leaving them overwhelmed.

For the Taiping Bureau, the fall of the two Marquises was as if the sky itself had collapsed.

And of all times, the Imperial Court chose this moment to establish the Inspection Bureau, using it to siphon away the Taiping Bureau’s authority and to monitor and restrain them.

It was impossible not to feel disheartened.

The two Marquises had died in battle for the court, and before their bodies were even cold, the court was already doing something like this.

If the remaining four Marquises hadn’t been doing everything in their power to keep things under control, the Taiping Bureau would have likely descended into chaos long ago.

On top of all that, Zhao Poni had also received news that Wuling City had been struck by a Tier Five Demon Tide.

Fortunately, Wuling City had held back the Tier Five Demon Tide.

This was one of the few pieces of good news he’d had in a while.

Because of the Tier Five Demon Tide, a Marquis had specially rewarded Wuling City with two Blood Strengthening Pills and had also let him bring back the Divine Phoenix Rebirth Technique.

But as soon as he got back to Wuling City, he heard the news that the Wuling Inspection Bureau had been nearly wiped out.

’How should I put it? The feeling was like downing a bowl of iced plum soup on a hot summer day—chillingly, satisfyingly refreshing!’

However, as the Governor of the Wuling Taiping Bureau, no matter how satisfied he felt on the inside, he couldn’t let it show on the outside.

After all, the Inspection Bureau was, in a manner of speaking, a sister agency.

What kind of person laughs out loud when others have died?

"The Inspection Bureau’s affairs are not our concern. Let’s focus on our own matters," Zhao Poni said with a serious expression. "Although Wuling held back the Tier Five Demon Tide this time, our troubles are far from over. There’s an unusual disturbance in Daxing Mountain, and all sorts of unsavory characters are gathering there. At a time like this, we must ensure the chaos in the mountains doesn’t spill over into Wuling."

"Those people are all after the exotic treasure. If we get our hands on it, wouldn’t that solve the problem at its root?" Lin Qi Huan said, his eyes blazing with eagerness.

When he thought about how a Taiping Capital Captain under his command had wielded the Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow to fend off the Tier Five Demon Tide, he wished that person had been him.

He didn’t care about the merit.

It was the image of standing on the city wall, bow in hand, facing down a million foes—that was what was cool.

He had missed the Tier Five Demon Tide, but as for who would claim the exotic treasure in Daxing Mountain, that was still undecided.

’Just imagine,’ he thought, ’if I, Lin Qi Huan, could seize the exotic treasure. Then I would emerge from the mountains step by step, holding the treasure in one hand, the other clasped behind my back, while the entire mountain gazed upon me with envy and admiration. Ah, the mere thought of that scene is thrilling!’

"Since the exotic treasure has appeared in Daxing Mountain, which we are guarding, we naturally have to contend for it," Zhao Poni said thoughtfully. "Everyone rest for a bit. Then we head out of the city and into the mountains."

"Xiaolinzi, while you’re at it, bring our Wuling Taiping Bureau’s great hero over here," Zhao Poni said.

......

A moment later, Su Mu walked out of Zhao Poni’s room.

As he emerged, he was holding an exquisite porcelain vial and a hand-copied secret manual.

The Blood Strengthening Pill and the Divine Phoenix Rebirth Technique. Acquired!

’The Taiping Bureau is quite generous,’ Su Mu thought, looking at the Blood Strengthening Pill and the Divine Phoenix Rebirth Technique before him as he recalled what Zhao Poni had just told him.

Repelling a Tier Five Demon Tide and slaying three Tier Three Demons in battle.

By rights, an achievement of this magnitude should have been enough for Su Mu to be promoted one rank to Taiping Captain.

But, according to Zhao Poni, the matter was rejected by a Marquis at Headquarters.