Chapter 544 Enforcing Justice on Behalf of Heaven, a Shallow Pond Full of Schemers

It took Hu Shichan only four hours to capture Liu Xing City, and he did so bloodlessly.

Qi Suian then raised the banner of “Enacting Justice for Heaven,” swiftly occupying the entire city and, with the help of numerous refugees, bringing the situation under control.

Upon completion, the first order of business was to open the granaries to distribute food and reward those who had contributed.

The resources for this, of course, came from Liu Xing City itself.

After settling these matters, he placated the original residents of Liu Xing City, offering them benefits as well.

This presented a major short-term problem. After all, the expenses weren’t conjured from thin air; they were all drawn from Liu Xing City’s coffers.

However, the results were excellent. Everything was settled within a single day.

The credit wasn’t truly Qi Suian’s. The main reason for success was the capability of the ambitious individuals he had hand-picked to serve under him.

Otherwise, if he had to rely on himself alone, he wouldn’t have been enough even if he could split himself into eight.

As for the City Lord, Xiang Jin, he had been captured alive.

When he was captured, he had even been waiting for news that Hu Shichan had successfully assassinated Qi Suian. He never expected the tables to be turned so completely, making him the captive instead.

Now, he sat across from Qi Suian, looking calm and composed.

Xiang Jin remained relatively unconcerned. He was, after all, an official appointed by the Court, and Qi Suian’s rebellion was still in its initial, covert stage.

There was still a chance to salvage the situation. To actually kill him would mean a complete and open break.

The process might be unpleasant, but he believed he didn’t have to worry about his life.

“Chairman Qi, I have long admired your great name as a tiger-slaying hero,” Xiang Jin spoke first. “I know that everything you’ve done, Chairman Qi, has been for the people of Guiyun City.”

“But in doing so, you are disgracing the Court and disregarding its honor.”

“In my opinion, it would be better to…”

“The Court is unjust. I am enacting justice for Heaven,” Qi Suian interrupted him.

‘Could Qi Suian not know what he was about to say? It would just be some offer of amnesty in exchange for his surrender.’

Being interrupted like that, a sense of unease began to spread through Xiang Jin.

Qi Suian’s attitude clearly showed he had already raised the banner of rebellion.

The moment he uttered the words “enacting justice for Heaven,” he was proclaiming his own legitimacy.

“I… You…” Xiang Jin understood now. He was to be the sacrificial offering for this rebellion. “Spare my family.”

“I will cooperate.”

Since it had come to this, he could only choose to save his family if he could not save himself.

“The Xiang Family is a great family in Liu Xing City,” Qi Suian said calmly. “You received the Emperor’s grace, yet you acted unscrupulously.”

“If I were to spare your life, would the people of Liu Xing City be able to quell the hatred in their hearts?”

What Qi Suian said was actually rather unfair. The Xiang Family’s crimes were not so heinous, but this was a case of everyone kicking a man when he’s down.

It was true they had a good reputation, but Qi Suian was the one actually handing out benefits. The people of Liu Xing City only knew of the Xiang Family’s good name; how many had ever received any direct benefits from them?

If those few people were to speak out for justice, they would be ostracized and could even be beaten to death.

“You!!!” Xiang Jin shot to his feet, glaring at Qi Suian with eyes wide with rage.

But before he could make another move, he was restrained by two guards.

“Behead him, hang his head on the east gate, and proclaim his crimes,” Qi Suian ordered immediately.

‘The purpose of meeting Xiang Jin was to see if he had any value.’

‘Unfortunately, he proved to be worthless, so he would be used as the sacrificial offering.’

‘Though he didn’t fully understand these things, he knew that since benevolence had been shown, might must also be established.’

‘Otherwise, if he only offered rewards, people would eventually think he was a pushover.’

“The Court will not spare you! The three great Daoist Lineages of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism will not spare you either!” Xiang Jin cursed as he was dragged away.

But his voice came to an abrupt stop.

‘Why go through the trouble of taking him to the execution grounds? As long as he was alive, who knew what he might shout.’

‘Just drag him outside and behead him with a single stroke. All that mattered was hanging the head for all to see.’

The target of this intimidation wasn’t the common folk, but the middle and upper echelons of Liu Xing City.

After all, how many of the commoners had ever even seen the City Lord?

They wouldn’t care who the City Lord was; their only concern was whether they could eat their fill and stay warm.

After this was handled, Hu Shichan, a weary look on his face, came to see Qi Suian.

It wasn’t just taking Liu Xing City that was exhausting; the aftermath was as well.

He was particularly struck by the ridiculous complexity of Qi Suian’s Divine Martial Association, with its various factions constantly struggling against one another.

He couldn’t fathom how Qi Suian managed to maintain the balance within the Divine Martial Association, let alone how he kept such a firm grip on power. It was simply inconceivable.

“What is it you need?” Qi Suian asked.

“Leader, I was thinking we should begin training troops,” Hu Shichan said. “Although the members of the Divine Martial Association are brave and fierce, they are ultimately just ordinary people without formal training.”

“So, if you wish to continue developing the Divine Martial Association, it would be best to select an elite force from among them.”

“Do you know how?” Qi Suian asked.

“I don’t. However, I have a friend who is skilled at training troops, and I’d like to take this opportunity to recommend him to you, Leader.” Hu Shichan had no desire to join any of the existing factions.

‘In his view, Qi Suian’s Divine Martial Association was riddled with hidden dangers; the slightest trigger could cause it to disintegrate.’

‘So his plan was simple: take a slice of the pie and then strike out on his own.’

‘As for usurping power, that was likely impossible. There were simply too many factions, making it impossible to take over the entire organization.’

‘Instead, the priority was to use this opportunity to build up his own strength.’

To achieve this, Hu Shichan needed his own faction.

Winning over the others wouldn’t be easy. After all, he was from Liu Xing City, while the upper echelons of the Divine Martial Association were almost all from Guiyun City.

So the solution was simple: bring people from Liu Xing City into the Divine Martial Association to bolster his own position.

“There’s no need for me to meet him. I’ll leave this matter to you.” Qi Suian waved his hand with an air of boredom, as if to say, ‘I trust you’.

‘He couldn’t be happier to have more chaos stirred into the Divine Martial Association.’

The more chaos, the better the balance. This had always been Qi Suian’s approach.

Hu Shichan was inwardly delighted. He loved Qi Suian’s hands-off management style.

‘This way, he would have the final say on the number of recruits.’

‘Once he controlled military power, he wouldn’t have to worry about his power and status, no matter how the Divine Martial Association changed in the future.’

“Yes, Leader. I will take my leave then.” With that, Hu Shichan departed, ignoring his own fatigue.

For him, time had become precious. He had to seize this window of opportunity to establish a firm foothold for his Liu Xing City faction within the Divine Martial Association.

Qi Suian, on the other hand, was unconcerned. He was busy observing the fame that was gathering around him.

His fame was accumulating at an incredible rate, to the point where it was on the verge of a qualitative change.

Even the embryonic form of the Third Realm was beginning to take shape.

This outline wasn’t created by Qi Suian, but rather extrapolated by his fame and the general momentum of the world, based on the two realms he had created: Commoner and Ranger.

This is commonly known as a Celestial Gift.

Therefore, even if Qi Suian did not interfere, the Third Realm would eventually come into being on its own.

‘I laid the foundation. No matter how you change from now on, you are still within my control.’

“It seems the Daoist World has taken notice of this suddenly appearing fourth Daoist Lineage,” Qi Suian mused, not particularly surprised.

Especially with such a massive convergence of fame, it was only normal to attract the attention of the Daoist World.

Therefore, Qi Suian decided not to create the Third Realm himself. Instead, he would observe the Daoist World’s own process of extrapolation.

While creating it himself would be more to his liking, letting the Daoist World do the work was equivalent to him observing the Daoist World itself.

When the time came to make his move in the future, he would be much more certain of his success.

‘Once Liu Xing City and the Divine Martial Association stabilize, I should be able to break through to the Third Realm.’ Qi Suian estimated the progress of the developing realm.

Given the quality and quantity of fame he possessed, if the Third Realm weren’t still in its embryonic stage, he would have broken through long ago instead of being stuck at the Second Realm.

‘The name of the Third Realm is… Hero?’ Qi Suian read the information from the realm’s embryonic form.

The name had appeared, but the Divine Technique was still continuously absorbing fame as its foundation, using it to strengthen itself.

‘A Divine Technique rooted in fame… I hope it’s not just some kind of charisma-based ability.’ Qi Suian was also a little unsure.

Because the Divine Technique was still in the stage of absorbing “nutrients” and had yet to take its final form, it was merely a seed. How could he possibly see its final nature?

It would only be possible if he used more of his own power to force its development.

But why would Qi Suian expend his own energy on such a trivial matter? It wasn’t that it couldn’t take form; it just needed a little time.

—————–

“That newcomer, Hu Shichan, is really something else. He actually managed to get military authority from the Leader.” Jiang Peng’s tone was filled with dissatisfaction.

His arch-rival, Feng Cai, also had a grim expression.

The two of them were rivals, but their conflict was based on self-interest. Now that a third party had appeared to carve up their slice of the pie, they naturally set aside their differences.

There were even faint signs of their two factions merging.

“The military authority is one thing, but he’s also stuffing the Divine Martial Association with people from Liu Xing City. That’s a much more serious matter.”

“We must put a stop to this as soon as possible. If we wait, it will be too late.” Feng Cai, seeing things more clearly, offered a deeper analysis.

“I have no idea what the Leader is thinking, how could he just… Sigh.” Jiang Peng sighed helplessly.

Qi Suian was sitting pretty, completely unshakable by the likes of them.

“If that’s the case, then we should unite.” A sharp glint appeared in Feng Cai’s eyes. “The Leader is clearly trying to prop up a Liu Xing Sect.”

“Then we of the Guiyun Sect can only give our utmost support.”

Jiang Peng immediately understood Feng Cai’s meaning. This matter concerned everyone from the Guiyun City factions.

They weren’t the only ones thinking this way; others surely had similar ideas. All that was needed was someone to act as a go-between and connect them all.

“Brother Feng, you’re a master of navigating these situations. I’ll leave this to you,” Jiang Peng said at once.

“Of course, but I will still need your support, Younger Brother Jiang.” Feng Cai couldn’t help but smile. “I can’t possibly accomplish this alone.”

“After all, your prestige in the Divine Martial Association is second only to the Leader’s. With you on board, this matter will naturally fall into place.”

‘How could Feng Cai not know what Jiang Peng was thinking? He just wanted to reap the rewards without doing any of the work. Feng Cai had no intention of letting him get his way.’

‘The rivalry between them continued, albeit with less intensity. When it came to their own interests, neither was willing to back down.’