I Cheated While Cultivating

The three disciples of Ziranmen were all dumbfounded. What was going on?

Could it be that they wanted to borrow troops?

No way.

As strong as Zhou Heng, did he need to go to the Medicine God Sect and also borrow troops from the County City Yamen?

Or was it just to be cautious?

They couldn’t figure it out.

However, the person speaking now was Zhou Heng, whose strength at the Lower Third Rank level could be considered the pinnacle of achievement. He was the sixth-generation direct disciple of the Pure Yang Palace, the current head of the Pure Yang Palace, and the junior brother of Yan Shouyi, the leader of the heavenly rankings and the residing True Yang.

Therefore, his suggestion must have been reasonable.

Consequently, the three of them followed behind Zhou Heng, eager to see what this young, rising martial arts master intended to do.

…

The trio from Ziranmen clearly lacked experience in the Jianghu.

It hardly took any effort for Zhou Heng to nearly drain them of all their background information.

The two men, one twenty-three and the other twenty-four, were at the initial threshold of the Seventh Rank. The former was named Song Yingshu and the latter Zhang Jicheng, both disciples of “Flying Dragon Across the River” Yu Lin, a Fifth Rank Sect Master of Ziranmen.

The woman, just twenty years old and blooming into youthful beauty, was also newly initiated into the Seventh Rank. Her name was Wu Zhimin. She was the daughter and a disciple of another master from Ziranmen, “Mountain-Carrying Heroine” Qiu Baiyu.

Zhou Heng was unassuming, joking and chatting with them, making the three feel flattered and so exciting that they nearly revealed all their martial arts secrets.

It was only when Zhou Heng, unable to watch any longer, reminded them that they realized their mistake.

In no time, this group of four arrived in front of the Fangzhou County City Yamen.

Compared to the Prefectural city yamens Zhou Heng had seen, this County City Yamen was obviously much more imposing. Not even stone lions guarded the entrance.

Instead, it was a stone statue of a mythical creature with the face of a human, the body and claws of a tiger, and nine tails.

“Kaiming beast, Luwu?” Zhou Heng was somewhat surprised inside, recognizing the appearance of this mythical creature, which was very similar to some descriptions he had seen in ancient Earth books.

At the same time, he thought of another matter that had puzzled him all this while.

This world seemed to lack mythical creatures altogether, let alone those that became spirits or demons. At least, within the territory of Da Qi, it should be so.

What was the reason for this?

Was it due to human influence or the natural rules?

“What brings you gentlemen to the County City Yamen?”

Just then, a questioning voice rang out. It turned out that the gatekeeping bailiffs of the County City Yamen, seeing Zhou Heng and his group approaching without speaking, proactively inquired.

Of course, this was also due to Zhou Heng’s extraordinary aura and obvious high status appearance. The disciples from Ziranmen behind him clearly didn’t have ordinary backgrounds either; otherwise, the bailiffs probably would have started by driving them away.

Upon hearing the question, Zhou Heng put aside his puzzling thoughts, bowed slightly to the bailiff with a smile, and said, “I am Zhou Heng, a direct disciple of the Pure Yang Palace. I’ve also acquired the title of Purple Lightning Thunder Blade recently and wish to visit the Prefectural Governor. Could you please announce my arrival?”

“Purple Lightning Thunder Blade Zhou Heng? A direct disciple of the Pure Yang Palace!” The bailiff, who initially had an indifferent expression, suddenly perked up, his eyes widening as he scrutinized Zhou Heng, “You’re that Zhou Heng? Impressive, a young hero indeed. Please wait a moment; I will go immediately to inform the Prefectural Governor.”

Having said that, the bailiff hurriedly turned and entered the gate, presumably to inform the Fangzhou County Prefectural Governor, Chen Xingjiang.

Watching the scene, the trio from Ziranmen felt both shocked and envious.

For ordinary martial artists and those fresh to their adventures, it would be extremely difficult to meet with the Prefectural Governor without a grievance or important matter to discuss.

Yet Zhou Heng merely had to state his identity.

He didn’t even need to specify his intentions.

This was the advantage of fame and strength, the group from Ziranmen thought deeply.

Moments later, the bailiff hurried out and, bowing to Zhou Heng, said, “Please follow me, Daoist Zhou. The Prefectural Governor is already waiting in the main hall.”

Then he turned to Song Yingshu and the other two, saying, “The three of you, please follow me to the side hall to rest.”

The implication was clear; the Fangzhou Prefectural Governor, Chen Xingjiang, intended to meet only Zhou Heng. The trio from Ziranmen, despite their background, naturally did not enjoy the same privilege.

Given their status and strength, if they hadn’t come with Zhou Heng, they wouldn’t even have had the chance to step foot inside the County City Yamen.

Song Yingshu and his companions had no complaints in their hearts and were quite content, well aware of their own limitations.

After all, any Prefectural Governor was at least a Fifth Rank grandmaster, and in fact, most were Absolute Fourth Rank great grandmasters.

The Fangzhou Prefectural Governor, Chen Xingjiang, was an Absolute Fourth Rank expert.

So, in their own view, being able to rest in the side hall was already quite an honor.

After entering the County City Yamen, Zhou Heng and the three disciples from Ziranmen separated. Led by the bailiff, Zhou Heng was taken to a main hall filled with a solemn and majestic atmosphere.

Inside was already waiting a middle-aged man dressed in a dark official robe, with a black cap on his head and a neatly kept long beard. He stood tall and upfront, with a face like a jade carving. Despite his beard, one could still make out that he must have been quite the handsome youth in his earlier years.

It was the current Prefectural Governor of Fangzhou, Chen Xingjiang.

“Is Daoist Priest Zhou present?” Chen Xingjiang spotted Zhou Heng in the hall and hurriedly stood up to greet him, even walking directly out of the hall doors to meet him outside.

This sudden movement startled the two maids standing by the door; they hadn’t caught clearly what Chen Xingjiang had just said.

All they saw was Chen Xingjiang moving with utmost formality to welcome the guest.

In their memory, the last time the Prefectural Governor had formally stepped out to welcome someone with such ceremony was when a member of the royal family from the Capital City of Zhongzhou visited five years ago.

Could this handsome, distinguished-looking young man be a member of the royal family or nobility?

Upon that thought, the two maids quickly straightened their postures, not daring to slack in the least, not because they harbored any other thoughts, but for fear of making a mistake that would anger a royal family member and bring trouble upon themselves.

It was said that last time a royal visited, a servant of the yamen who accidentally slighted the royal a bit, lost his life over it, and his body was not found intact.

Once you offended a member of the royal family, even Chen the Great could not plead for you.

Chen Xingjiang, of course, noticed the change in the attitude of the two maids. He cracked a slight smile and said to Zhou Heng, “Daoist Priest Zhou, your fame has been spreading far and wide in our region of Fangzhou lately.

“During your journey here, you have eradicated numerous Evil Sects, earning the praise and gratitude of many common folks. Please come inside; I’ve prepared some hot tea and have been awaiting your arrival.”

Only then did the two maids breathe a sigh of relief, realizing that he was not a member of the royal family but the Daoist Priest Zhou Heng, often mentioned by people lately. They heard he had slain many evil demons and destroyed several Evil Sects, and he probably wasn’t a cruel man.

“Prefect Chen is too kind. I have come on this visit because there is a matter I need your assistance with.” Zhou Heng bowed in return and entered the hall with Chen Xingjiang.

…

After some pleasantries, Zhou Heng got to the point.

“Prefect, there is something I don’t understand.” Zhou Heng furrowed his brows, looking puzzled, “I heard there’s an Evil Sect called the Medicine God Sect about a hundred miles north of the County City. By all accounts, such a close proximity should allow for their easy eradication.”

Although matters of the martial world are generally left to those within it and the Imperial Court’s yamen typically does not get involved in disputes among Sects or martial artists, Evil Sects are an exception.

Remote areas with few people are one thing.

But near a County City or Prefectural City, Evil Sects usually don’t exist.

If an Evil Sect master dares to establish a Sect near a County or Prefectural City, nearby Sects and the Imperial Court yamen would dispatch masters with utmost speed to destroy them.

Evil Sects are the common enemy of Sects, the Imperial Court, and noble families.

Yet, the Medicine God Sect seems to be quite brazen, not only located a hundred miles outside of the County City, but even their leader dares to lead people into the County City to kill; this is lawlessness.

Without a doubt, there’s a hidden story behind this.

Thus, Zhou Heng decided not to go directly to the Medicine God Sect, but first to visit the yamen of the County City to inquire about the situation with Prefect Chen Xingjiang.

At the same time, he intended to borrow some soldiers.

He wasn’t planning on facing the Medicine God Sect alone.

“The Medicine God Sect…” Chen Xingjiang heard this and gave a wry smile, saying, “I am ashamed to say that I failed to fulfill my responsibilities concerning Medicine God Sect, which by rights should have been eradicated long ago on the grounds of sentiment, reason, and law.”

“Then who doesn’t wish for the Medicine God Sect to be eradicated?” Zhou Heng questioned sharply, without beating around the bush. He feared no one, thus he spoke without reservations.

“This…” Chen Xingjiang was clearly troubled, his expression twisted with hesitation before he finally said helplessly, “Alas, it’s not exactly a secret among the upper echelons of Fangzhou—Medicine God Sect is connected with the Sixteenth Prince.”

“The Sixteenth Prince?” Zhou Heng was astonished.

He hadn’t expected that a seemingly insignificant Sect like the Medicine God Sect would be linked to the Central Zhongzhou Royal Family, the most powerful “noble family” that ruled over Da Qi in name.

However, he wasn’t particularly daunted.

While the royal family was strong, it was just strong—that hadn’t reached the point where it could suppress the world invincibly.

And in terms of overall power, the Pure Yang Palace would not be inferior to anyone.

“Five years ago, the Sixteenth Prince went traveling and asked for a piece of land to ‘play around with’.” Chen Xingjiang sighed, “I initially thought the Prince wanted to construct a traveling palace just for a whim.

“Little did I expect that the Sixteenth Prince would come into possession of an Evil Method Secret Manual, and the land he requested was actually to establish an Evil Sect for amusement, which is the current Medicine God Sect.”

“Start an Evil Sect… for amusement??” Zhou Heng was shocked. It was his first time hearing such an audacious act, and he incredulously said, “Doesn’t the Prince know the kind of harm an Evil Sect can cause the nearby commoners?

“Is he not afraid that such actions, once widely known, could tarnish his reputation as a Prince? This is far too reckless.”

Zhou Heng finally understood why the Medicine God Sect’s Master, Lu the Medicine Master, was so blatant. It turned out there was support from above—a Prince provided backing.

“The Sixteenth Prince promised me that the secret manual he provided would only reach up to the Seventh Rank, with no risk of getting out of control,” Chen Xingjiang explained, smiling lightly, “With my supervising to a certain extent, the Medicine God Sect should not cause any major trouble or bring harm to the people.

“As for the reputation of the Prince, ha, Daoist Priest Zhou, you must be joking. Who among the commoners dares to speak carelessly about a Prince? Ordinary people from the martial world wouldn’t touch on this sensitive issue either.

“And the noble families, prominent Sects, why would they concern themselves with such trivial matters? Rest assured, Daoist Priest, a mere Evil Sect with at most a battle power of Seventh Rank, with me watching over, won’t cause any waves.”

He spoke lightly, evidently not considering this to be a serious matter at all.

“The Medicine God Sect captures people for experiments, arbitrarily leads men into the County City to slash and kill, and you don’t consider this harm, this isn’t causing waves? And you can still smile?” Zhou Heng’s brows rose, and he stood up abruptly, his gaze scrutinizing Chen Xingjiang as he said,

“Prefectural Governor, you are the shepherd of a province, one of the thirty-two important officials of Da Qi, the Absolute Fourth Rank Great Grandmaster who has cultivated the Yang God’s Dharma Body; in all of Da Qi, you are a significant figure of great influence.

“Chen Xingjiang, Prefect Chen, let me ask you, had you firmly opposed it, would that Sixteenth Prince have been able to establish an Evil Sect here?”

“He likely couldn’t,” Chen Xingjiang said with a smile as he shook his head, thereafter his countenance abruptly turned grave, and he stated lightly, “But why should I oppose it?”