Chapter 1210: Barren State Official Circles Earthquake

Many tribulation stage cultivators know spatial techniques, but very few specialize in speed-enhancing methods. This is why, even when the King of Thieves made a move, few could guess his identity.

Today, he had truly met his match here.

Although his identity had been guessed, it wasn't a major problem, as long as he wasn't caught.

Lu Yang and his companion rushed at the King of Thieves again. The King of Thieves' eyelids twitched. "How could these two be so much faster than they were moments ago?!"

"Weren't these two only at the early Tribulation Stage? Could such speed truly be achieved at that level?"

"Or perhaps they also specialized in speed?"

Since their opponent was the King of Thieves, Lu Yang and his companion naturally had to go all out.

It was rumored that the King of Thieves was elusive; he could infiltrate even the imperial palace at will and move freely, which demonstrated his astonishing speed. However, after the King of Thieves infiltrated the Golden Coin Commerce Guild, he vanished without a trace, seemingly disappearing from the face of the earth. It was unexpected to find him here.

"How about we make a deal?" the King of Thieves said. "Look, this isn't a big deal. Just turn a blind eye and let us two go."

The King of Thieves was filled with regret. These two were so difficult to deal with. If only he had known, he wouldn't have shown himself to show off. He should have just snatched his disciple and left before they could react.

The three exchanged blows tacitly, none of them using highly destructive techniques to avoid disturbing the public. At their level of cultivation, they had long reached a state where they could control their power perfectly. Even in an all-out battle, not a single bit of power would leak out. To outsiders, their combat would appear like a martial artist's duel.

Fang Jin watched the sky intently. The sky was filled with afterimages left by the three, and with his eyesight, he couldn't make out their true positions at all. "What kind of martial artist could have such speed?"

The King of Thieves' pressure mounted. He couldn't afford to fall here and ruin his lifelong reputation. In a one-on-one fight, he feared no one. Not only was he at the mid-Tribulation Stage, giving him a cultivation advantage, but his speed was also unmatched by anyone at the same level. The problem was that he was facing two people who coordinated flawlessly, always blocking his escape routes and trapping him in a dilemma.

Lu Yang and his companion also found their opponent difficult. The King of Thieves was like a slippery loach; even if they touched him, they couldn't grasp him. To deal with someone specializing in speed, the best method was to use large-scale offensive techniques, such as Lu Yang's Sword Dao Domain. But this was a county town, and using the Sword Dao Domain would likely disrupt the peace of the entire town.

"In that case, we can only raise our cultivation level."

Just as the King of Thieves was searching for a breakthrough, he felt the two individuals' cultivation levels instantly surpass his, reaching the peak of the Tribulation Stage! Meng Junzi had granted Meng Jingzhou a special privilege: he could borrow power from him at will.

"What kind of secret technique is this?!" The King of Thieves was dumbfounded. From early Tribulation Stage to peak Tribulation Stage in an instant! He had never heard of such a secret technique; even life-burning secret arts like the Demonic Disintegration Art didn't have such an effect! Most crucially, with two peak Tribulation Stage cultivators making a move, he couldn't escape!

The King of Thieves' situation rapidly deteriorated, and he was subdued by the two constables. The net of justice stretches wide, letting nothing slip through; the notoriously arrogant King of Thieves was finally apprehended.

"My two fellow Daoists, there's no need to escalate things to this extent," the King of Thieves pleaded. "Look, I'm a dignified Tribulation Stage cultivator; I wouldn't covet a mere spirit fruit. I just wanted to test my disciple. After tonight, we were even planning to return the spirit fruit." The King of Thieves forced a smile. These two were incredibly unorthodox and formidable; force wouldn't work anymore. He could only appeal to their emotions and reason, hoping they would show leniency.

"At most, this counts as a mitigating circumstance for a lighter sentence," Lu Yang said, unmoved. They couldn't betray the uniform they wore.

With the King of Thieves and his disciple apprehended, Lu Yang and his companion began examining the *Record of Officials' Conduct* they found in the storage ring.

"This book is quite interesting," Meng Jingzhou remarked. "It records all the vulnerabilities of officials in Barren State. Look at this page: it's about bad habits. This one details bribery incidents, and this page records instances of favoritism and malpractice. It's quite comprehensive." Meng Jingzhou clicked his tongue in amazement. The owner of this book certainly had some capabilities; the contents recorded were highly private, likely obtained through special means like eavesdropping or secret observation. Especially, the book not only recorded the officials' vulnerabilities but also included evidence for some of them.

"They probably wanted to use this book to blackmail officials." Unfortunately, the book did not have an author's name.

"Confess honestly, where exactly did you steal this storage ring from?"

With his master apprehended, Fang Jin had no choice but to confess truthfully: "It's County Governor Zhou Hai's storage ring."

Lu Yang and his companion suddenly understood. This matched up. Zhou Hai's cultivation technique specialized in eavesdropping, so the events recorded in the book must have been what he heard using his technique.

When Man Gu woke up in the morning, there were over a dozen arrest warrants at his door, all requiring his signature. Man Gu felt ashamed of his inadequacy. He had worked very hard to maintain public order in Quyib County, yet he didn't expect there to be so many lawbreakers.

"Fortunately, I invited my two senior brothers to help," he mused. Man Gu was even more touched when he saw the note left by Lu Yang and his companion. "My two senior brothers didn't rest after their night shift. And now they have to go verify the situation with the victims."

"Lord Zhou, this *Record of Officials' Conduct* is yours, isn't it?" the two constables asked, having come to verify the situation with the victim.

Zhou Hai's eyes widened when he saw the two holding the *Record of Officials' Conduct*. How could this deadly book be in their hands?! That's right, these two were Man Gu's subordinates; Man Gu must have instigated this. Sure enough, Man Gu's seemingly carefree exterior was just an act. In reality, he was meticulously shrewd. Not only had he found ways to eliminate two county governors, but he had even schemed against him! What a terrifying opponent.

"This is not something you are qualified to touch. Give it to me!" Zhou Hai said in a deep voice, having confirmed that what the two held was the original.

"You haven't said if it's yours," Lu Yang said earnestly. "If it is, we'll just take a statement."

"I told you, give me the book!" Zhou Hai said furiously, stepping forward to snatch it.

Countless images of demonic beasts appeared around Zhou Hai. The beasts roared and howled, striking directly at the mind! The demonic beasts were all conjured from divine consciousness; his cultivation technique was essentially a very rare method for cultivating divine consciousness. The demonic beasts roared as they lunged at Lu Yang and his companion. Zhou Hai sneered. What was his status? How could he be threatened by two mere constables? He could already imagine the two ignorant constables falling to the ground in pain, begging for mercy!

When the demonic beasts touched the two, they instantly disintegrated. Zhou Hai suffered a backlash and writhed on the ground, banging his head.

"Why bother?" Meng Jingzhou sighed, squatting beside Zhou Hai. They had originally come to verify evidence, but now the victim had attacked a constable and become a criminal suspect.

"Never mind, let's just take him back."

An emergency high-level meeting in Barren State.

Compared to previous meetings, this one had several fewer attendees. Some had been disciplined for misconduct, others for illegal activities; all had been apprehended. Several high-ranking officials had been arrested, and it was conceivable that those below them had also been brought under control. For the officialdom of Barren State, this was undoubtedly a major upheaval. Since the founding of Great Xia, the officialdom of Barren State had never experienced such great turmoil.

It was rumored that after Provincial Governor Lu saw the *Record of Officials' Conduct*, he was so furious he nearly fainted. It took several bottles of heart-calming pills for him to recover. He didn't expect the internal chaos within the officialdom to be one aspect; another was that he had appointed Zhou Hai as county governor because his subordinates would frequently praise him. He didn't expect that the reason his subordinates kept speaking well of Zhou Hai was because their own vulnerabilities had been exploited!

Provincial Governor Lu coldly scanned the crowd. Everyone, whether guilty or not, silently lowered their heads.

"Let's all discuss who should serve as the County Governor of Zhongshan Commandery," he said. "I believe Man Gu can take on this important responsibility."