Chapter 529: War Record Seems Too Good to Be True

Shouldn't Wei Ran be the one criticizing Luo Dongcheng?

What's more, her tone just now was perfectly appropriate for her position. How could it be considered arrogant?

Even Ye Cangyuan looked at Luo Dongcheng with surprise, as if seeing him for the first time.

Ye Cangyuan had heard of Luo Dongcheng's reputation.

As a seasoned commissioner, he had long given up hope of breaking through to the next realm, and thus, of being promoted to a higher position. This led him to adopt a 'what's the point' attitude, turning him into a veritable jaded veteran.

When given a task, he would shirk responsibility whenever possible. For instance, during the last ranking announcement, he completely washed his hands of it, leaving everything for Lin Yuhang to handle. When forced to appear, he would be arrogant and rude.

He frequently argued with members of the Nine Sects and had even gotten into physical altercations multiple times. If not for the protection afforded by his commissioner status, his terrible temper would have gotten him killed long ago.

Had the sun risen from the west today? Not only did he voluntarily take charge, but he even criticized his colleague for not being empathetic enough towards the Nine Sects' disciples?

Moreover, in Ye Cangyuan's opinion, Wei Ran's words were perfectly fine. Among all the commissioners, her demeanor was even considered very polite.

"You step aside and watch how I handle this!" Luo Dongcheng said with a stern face, ushering the aggrieved Wei Ran behind him. When he turned to face the Nine Sects' disciples, his expression instantly changed to one of geniality. He cupped his hands and said, "Junior brothers and sisters of the Nine Sects, you have all worked hard this past month. To reward your efforts, this month's treasure vault will soon be opened. Due to the multitude of endless missions, individual statistics need to be compiled. I kindly ask all junior brothers and sisters to exert a little more effort and hand over the beast king demon cores you've recently acquired to me for tabulation. Your senior brother will ensure fair and impartial counting, providing all of you with the most equitable ranking."

Uh... Wei Ran was dumbfounded. She touched her face, feeling as if it wasn't real. No. Was this truly the infamous Luo Dongcheng? It was already a miracle that he hadn't rudely provoked public anger. Yet, here he was, lowering himself and being so approachable? No other commissioner could do this!

Ye Cangyuan also wore a bewildered expression, as if he had seen a ghost. To be blunt, Luo Dongcheng's demeanor was excessively humble, potentially undermining the dignity of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. Could Luo Dongcheng truly be the one doing something like this? It was truly inconceivable.

The Nine Sects' disciples, having had little interaction with Luo Dongcheng, didn't notice anything amiss. They simply found this commissioner very approachable, so they lined up one after another. Luo Dongcheng warmly attended to each of them, his gaze occasionally sweeping across the disciples. When he spotted Jiang Fan in the queue, he became even more amiable.

There was no other way. Only by doing so could he improve the poor impression Jiang Fan had of him.

Soon it was Jiang Fan's turn. Luo Dongcheng's mood brightened considerably, and he smiled genially, "Junior Brother Jiang, it's been a while." Jiang Fan, of course, remembered Luo Dongcheng. That day, when he gave clam meat to Lin Yuhang, he had intended to offer some to Luo Dongcheng as well. Unexpectedly, he had refused.

"Commissioner Luo, why didn't you come with Commissioner Lin this time?" Lin Yuhang had been very helpful to Jiang Fan, and Jiang Fan had always remembered her kindness.

Luo Dongcheng's mouth twitched, and he spoke with unconcealed envy, "Thanks to you, Junior Brother Jiang, Commissioner Lin has broken through to the eighth level of Core Formation. She has consequently been promoted to a higher position and will no longer have to endure the arduous work of a commissioner."

It brought tears to his eyes! Like him, Lin Yuhang was a veteran commissioner who had no hope of breaking through to the eighth level of Core Formation, simply getting by day by day at the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. But she was lucky; she met Jiang Fan, her benefactor, and received a piece of thousand-year spiritual flesh. Thus, her fate changed. With the help of the thousand-year spiritual flesh, she managed to break through to the eighth level of Core Formation in one go. With her higher cultivation, she naturally gained the Heavenly Secret Pavilion's appreciation and was promoted.

And Luo Dongcheng? Jiang Fan, out of consideration for Lin Yuhang, had also offered him a piece of thousand-year spiritual flesh, a tremendous stroke of luck. But he had scornfully refused it! For the past half month, he couldn't count how many times he had slapped himself in regret.

Therefore, he came this time with the intention of re-establishing a connection with Jiang Fan. Now that Jiang Fan was in front of him, he naturally had to change his old ways and handle things diligently.

Upon hearing of Lin Yuhang's promotion, Jiang Fan showed a look of relief. "I'll congratulate her when I get the chance," he said. "Commissioner Luo, these are my demon cores. Please count them for me." He handed a satchel to Luo Dongcheng.

Luo Dongcheng didn't take it. Instead, he said, "Please place it on the table. I'll try not to touch them, to avoid any suspicion of tampering with the count, which could unfavorably affect you, Junior Brother Jiang." Luo Dongcheng pointed to the wooden table in front of him.

It had to be said, when he took his work seriously, he was still very experienced.

Jiang Fan nodded and casually placed the satchel on the table in front of Luo Dongcheng. Boundary Mountain was primitive; it didn't even have proper houses. The table itself had been hastily constructed on-site from leftover wood from the great war. This wood, weathered over a thousand years, was quite fragile. It was fine for light objects, but couldn't withstand heavy pressure. So, the moment Jiang Fan released his grip, there was a loud crash. The entire wooden table instantly collapsed. The loud noise drew surprised glances from the disciples, deacons, and elders who were queuing.

Luo Dongcheng was momentarily stunned. "Junior Brother Jiang, how many demon cores do you have in there?" Previously, the disciple with the highest count had twenty-odd demon cores. This was already an impressive feat, as these were all beast king-level demon cores. It was extremely difficult for early Core Formation disciples to slay even one beast king. Twenty-odd was already remarkable. Yet, even that many demon cores hadn't caused the table to collapse. What was happening now?

Jiang Fan replied, "I don't remember the exact number. Commissioner Luo will know once he counts them."

"Don't remember?" Luo Dongcheng froze for a moment. What kind of talk was that? Given Jiang Fan's strength, killing each beast king should have been extremely difficult! He should remember clearly how many he had killed.

Among the disciples, someone scoffed. "Just pretend!" From the Giant Sect, a supremely muscular disciple, resembling a small mountain, glared at Jiang Fan with fiery eyes. Throughout the Nine Sects' lands, there was only one person with such an inhuman, beast-like physique: Xue Wanzhong, the Half-Giant, possessing ancient giant bloodline!

In the Giant Sect, he had been severely injured by Jiang Fan. Now, not only had his injuries healed, but his physique had undergone a qualitative leap. He subtly possessed the physical strength of a third-level Core Formation cultivator, capable of rivaling Jin Zhongming.

"With your cultivation, how many beast kings could you possibly kill?" he scoffed. "Are you carrying a large bag of rocks, afraid of losing your face as the top-ranked on the merit list? The truth always comes out eventually. Don't bring out these little tricks to make a fool of yourself."

Jiang Fan's eyes showed confusion. It was understandable that Xue Wanzhong, who had only recently arrived at Snowfield, might not know of Jiang Fan's achievements. However, Jin Zhongming had personally witnessed Jiang Fan's astonishing gains in Severed Heaven Gorge. How could he not be aware? Yet, Jin Zhongming remained silent to the side, standing with his eyes closed, showing no intention of advising Xue Wanzhong to avoid embarrassing himself.

Many uninformed disciples also chimed in, echoing the sentiment. "If that entire bag is filled with beast king demon cores, wouldn't there be hundreds?" "How is that possible? Where would he find so many beast kings to kill?" "Senior Brother Xue sees it clearly; Jiang Fan is afraid his performance this time will be too poor and he'll be exposed." "Commissioner Luo is an old acquaintance of his. Could they have conspired to manipulate the count behind the scenes?"

Luo Dongcheng couldn't help but feel worried. The conspiracy theories from these people weren't entirely baseless. If such a large bag truly contained only beast king demon cores, how many would there be?