Chapter 398: Can We Take Him Down?

Xiangfeng Prefectural Capital, wharf.

Yang Ling followed Lu Yunchen aboard the Water Transport Guild's fast boat.

Xu Wenjun led a group of subordinates at the very front.

After boarding, he went straight to the upper-deck cabin with the guild's supervisor, paying no attention to Yang Ling and the others.

As the fast boat picked up speed, the wharf grew smaller and smaller until it gradually disappeared from view.

"Yang Ling, this trip to the Capital is going to earn us a serious dressing-down at the very least. Let me teach you something."

Lu Yunchen rested both hands on the ship's railing, feeling the wind brush across his face, a hint of a relaxed smile forming:

"You need to be patient. No matter what happens, you must be patient."

Yang Ling thought for a moment. "What if someone gets bold and pushy, and insists on making trouble for us?"

"Still be patient. The Department Head has always been fair, and he knows that our work this time was actually handled pretty well. We just went a bit too far."

"If someone really insists on making trouble, the Department Head will back us up. He's a Third-Rank Grandmaster Supreme after all. You need to trust him."

Lu Yunchen patted Yang Ling on the shoulder.

Yang Ling nodded, then began asking Lu Yunchen about various matters concerning the Capital.

From Lu Yunchen's words, he learned that the Zhao State Capital was situated precisely between Qi Heavenly Provincial Capital, Yunwen Provincial Capital, and Quyang Provincial Capital.

These three provincial capitals were, in fact, the ones on the Zhao State map closest to the Rong tribe.

"There are too many big shots in the Capital. You could toss a watermelon randomly onto the street and still hit some big shot's descendant, or a relative with some connection to one."

"Take our Lu family, for example. We have two Lesser Master ancestors guarding the household. In any provincial capital, that would make us a proper wealthy clan!"

"But in the Capital, the Lu family doesn't even rank. True wealthy clans all have Grandmasters guarding their households."

Lu Yunchen sighed with some emotion:

"Only when a family produces a Fourth-Rank Grandmaster can they be considered a wealthy clan, thriving for a hundred or two hundred years without issue."

Yang Ling's mind stirred with curiosity. "How many Grandmasters are there in the Capital?"

Lu Yunchen glanced at him and reminded him patiently:

"Don't ever ask about that casually in the future. The Department Head has strictly forbidden anyone from investigating this matter."

"How many Grandmasters the Capital has is a secret. This secret might not even be known to certain Third-Rank Grandmaster Supremes."

"Only the Department Head barely knows some of it. All those who advance to Fourth-Rank Grandmaster have every trace of them erased from the Ironclad Department's case files."

Yang Ling seemed thoughtful. "Is this to guard against the Rong tribe?"

Lu Yunchen gave a slight nod:

"The Rong tribe's spies get into every crack, so precautions are necessary. However, the Grandmasters who are publicly known aren't exactly a secret."

"There should be around forty to fifty named Grandmasters in the Capital."

Forty to fifty? That many!?

Yang Ling's expression turned somewhat strange.

So these Grandmasters really didn't want to stay out in the sticks. They all preferred good places.

Just look at these provincial capitals outside the Capital. Aside from those Second-Rate sects having Fourth-Rank Grandmasters in residence, where else could you spot another Fourth-Rank?

"Director Lu, what about that Luo Kai, the last personal disciple of the academy head of Star Observation Academy? Can we take him down?"

"If it weren't for the terrible idea he came up with, a hundred vagrants wouldn't have died."

"A person with such a vicious heart, if we don't deal with him, there will be endless trouble."

Yang Ling said seriously.

Lu Yunchen's expression turned somewhat strange:

"You're still thinking about that? Based on Wangzhi's confession alone, there simply isn't enough evidence to take him down."

"If Kong Xinghu hadn't died, maybe the Department Head could have put in some effort and actually called Luo Kai back for questioning."

"Unfortunately, Kong Xinghu is dead, and Luo Kai and Wangzhi had no connection whatsoever. With just that bastard's confession, there isn't even enough reason to call him back for questioning."

"That's the Capital after all. The rules there are stricter than outside."

Having said this, he fell silent for a few breaths, then gently shook his head:

"The matter is over. Whether this case can be reopened is a question for the future. Don't keep pressing it now, or it'll make things difficult for the Department Head."

"As subordinates, sometimes we need to share the burden for the Department Head. As a Third-Rank Grandmaster Supreme, he actually deals with more vexing matters than we do."

Yang Ling felt a slight chill in his heart and immediately nodded to show he understood.

Then he shifted the topic, asking casually as if making small talk:

"Director Lu, do you know what the Divine Guard Bureau is?"

"The Divine Guard Bureau? Does our Zhao State have a Divine Guard Bureau? I don't think I've ever heard of it."

Lu Yunchen looked bewildered, then a hint of contemplation appeared in his eyes.

Yang Ling had already confirmed that Zhang Daochu's Server Region was indeed not Zhao State or the Rong tribe, but somewhere much farther away.

Still, he was a bit curious as to how Zhang Daochu had gotten his hands on the Heavenly Will Sect's exclusive maps, and how he had cultivated so many of the sect's cultivation techniques and martial arts techniques.

"I remember now!"

Lu Yunchen's expression shifted:

"I knew the Divine Guard Bureau sounded familiar. I saw it once at the Department Head's place a few years back."

He looked at Yang Ling with suspicion, sizing him up:

"How do you know about the Divine Guard Bureau?"

Yang Ling's expression didn't change. "I heard Eunuch Xu mention it."

"Oh..."

Lu Yunchen's face cleared, then he smiled:

"I remember a few years ago when I went to the Capital to report on my work, I was listening to the Department Head's instructions."

"I happened to glance over and saw the words 'Divine Guard Bureau' written on his desk."

"I was curious and asked about it, but the Department Head told me not to ask too many questions."

"However, the Department Head later explained the origins of the Divine Guard Bureau to me anyway. He said it was information sent back by his spies stationed overseas, and the Divine Guard Bureau appeared in their reports."

"As for where exactly the Divine Guard Bureau is, or what it does, the Department Head didn't say more."

Spies overseas?

Yang Ling's expression shifted. It seemed Zhang Daochu's Server Region wasn't actually that far from Zhao State and the Rong tribe.

It was probably just across that ocean.

"I know what you want to ask. Based on my guess, the Divine Guard Bureau is probably the power of some strong nation."

Lu Yunchen smiled. "Beyond the boundless ocean, there are quite a few powerful nations."

"It's just that the distance between us is too great. Since the founding of Zhao State, there have only been a handful of contacts, and we don't know the specifics."

"All we know is that those strong nations don't pose a threat to us. After all, they're so far away, it's not easy for them to come over."

Yang Ling could now confirm that the Divine Realm had many Server Regions.

"Fifty million players, all scattered across the various Server Regions."

"Zhang Daochu's Server Region has a slight connection to Zhao State's side."

"Wait... The Department Head wrote down those three words, Divine Guard Bureau. There must be some meaning behind it."

Yang Ling suddenly recalled something he had heard before.

The Heavenly Will Sect had been wiped out by this very Department Head, who personally led men to the Rong State to destroy them.

Now, the place where Zhang Daochu was located possessed the martial arts heritage of the Heavenly Will Sect.

Could it be that a portion of the Heavenly Will Sect's martial artists had escaped, crossing the ocean to the country where the Divine Guard Bureau was located?

Yang Ling felt this speculation was highly likely. Only then could it explain how Zhang Daochu was able to cultivate the Heavenly Will Hundred Battles Diagram and the Heavenly Will Fist.

"Those who escaped back then were probably the core members, which is why the Department Head is still fixated on them, wanting to find those bastards..."

"Enjoy the wind out here. I'm heading back to my room to train."

Lu Yunchen patted Yang Ling's shoulder and turned to leave.

Yang Ling enjoyed the breeze for a while longer, then returned to his own cabin to cultivate the Vajra Bright King Technique.

But then Xu Wenjun sent Hong Ruohai over to invite him for a chat.