Da Zaojun

Chapter 131 The County Magistrate Entrusts the City God with an Examination

Tian Chengbi continued, "Xiao Song, I have something to entrust to you."

He said seriously, "Come with me."

Song Wuji followed County Magistrate Tian into the county government office, where he saw many secret realms inside.

Taichang Secret Palace
Walking into the secret house, I saw that the space was very small, with only a pool. The water in the pool was shallow, and a jade lotus was suspended in it. On the lotus was a crystal similar to a dice, flashing with strange power.

"This thing suddenly appeared after we resisted the tiger monster's attack and killed the city god."

"Look at these tokens." County Magistrate Tian inserted the agricultural tax order of the Cang Zhongguo secret realm, the household order of the Calling Soul secret realm, the warrior order of the Hufang secret realm, the punishment order of the Rakshasa Ghost Market, and the salt permit order he had just obtained into the gaps of the jade lotus one by one. These tokens then deformed and twisted and turned into petals.

The jade lotus as a whole also reveals more luck, dyeing the dice on the lotus with finer lines.

[Pure World Treasure Lotus]
[Human Way. Fragments]

County Magistrate Tian's voice trembled slightly. "The Three Realms and Six Paths have all been disqualified. The human world is no longer human. We may have just passed the first level and are now qualified to compete for the destiny of the great world. For those who haven't passed the level, whose cities have been invaded by demons, perhaps a different situation will arise."

"These two items, the precious lotus is called Purifying World, which means to re-establish order. Each secret realm token, transformed into petals, can be upgraded in rank, thereby rebuilding order and providing the power of purification for the entire realm. Otherwise, the realm will be no different from the wilderness, and demons and evil spirits will still be born."

"But to maintain the power of the lotus to purify the world, one needs to consume luck. The pool below is the luck pool of my Taichang City."

"What floats on the precious lotus is the remnant of the human world, and also the protagonist of the human race in the Three Realms and Six Paths."

"It is precisely because of the existence of the Human World that Taichang County is protected by the sages of the human race, and that the ghosts and gods bestowed by the Human World are able to respond."

"And this thing is what the City God, the Tiger Demon, and the Luohu Python Dragon originally tried every possible means to possess."

"The City God should belong to the Netherworld Path among the Three Realms and Six Paths. Whether it's the Tiger Demon or the Luohu Python, they should belong to the Demon Path."

Tian Chengbi said, "Now, I brought you here to entrust the future of Taichang County to you."

Song Wuji was panicked for a moment: "Me? Can I do it?"

"Row!"

Tian Chengbi said, "My life span is short, and I've been burdened with the bad karma of Taichang County. The owner of the Yinye Bank in the Rakshasa Ghost Market has given me an exam ticket. I must take this exam before I die."

"What exam?" Song Wuji asked.

"Test the City God!"

Tian Chengbi spoke word by word, "Leaving the human realm and entering the netherworld, filling the missing position of City God in Taichang County and suppressing the netherworld in this region. Otherwise, like the hungry ghost tree that blocks the main road, it grew from the netherworld. Whether it's the hungry ghost realm or the rakshasa realm, they are all branches of the netherworld."

"Demons still have flesh and blood and can be defeated by force, but if evil spirits are everywhere, it will be a disaster, even if your stove fire can refine some of the little ghosts."

"But the underworld is deep and profound. Throughout history, there are countless fallen heroes, great men, and emperors. They were all human at first, vying for supremacy in the mortal realm. If they were to escape from the underworld, who knows how much disaster they would unleash!" "Let's not talk about others, just look at the Overlord Xiang Yu, the treacherous Cao Cao, or the butcher Bai Qi, the man who trampled on the bones of all the nobles, Huang Chao... Which one of them is easy to deal with?"

Song Wuji was puzzled: "If they have temples, wouldn't they also be considered sages of the human race?"

"No problem." Tian Chengbi said, "If he is just a sculpture, relying on rituals to pass on inheritance, then he is a sage of the human race."

“But if he breaks through that level and comes back to life from the sculpture, or even recruits soldiers from the underworld and becomes a ghost hero, he will become a ghost demon from the underworld, and will subvert the human world.”

Song Wuji suddenly understood that all good and evil, all stances, were just a matter of thought.

Tian Chengbi said, "Although I am a fellow Jinshi, granted the status of Jinshi, I may not be able to pass the City God exam. This exam will definitely not test the Four Books and Five Classics. I am also worried. In addition, I bear the karma of the people in the city. If I die and fail to complete the task in advance, it will definitely affect the people's morale and may even cause unrest."

"Lü Han is a juren, and backed by a powerful family in the county. He is not good for the common people. Although he has the ability to educate people and has educated a demon, he is unlikely to accomplish great things."

"Chen Xiu has some martial arts skills, but he's not very smart. He always asks Lu Han for his opinion on everything he does."

"I'm worried about the two of them. I can assist them, but I can't run a city. After all, this is not a joke. It's the fate and future of the people in the city."

"Originally, there was another suitable person, that was Sun Xiucai. Unfortunately, he was killed by the tiger demon early on. Otherwise, I would have seen his abilities outside the city. He was able to draw and supplement the Bai Ze monster map, and he was also able to arrange and deal with the disaster victims. He was quite methodical. Moreover, he came from a humble family. It's just a pity..."

"As for you, Xiao Song, although you have only been in my sight for a short time, your strength has grown rapidly. I personally presided over the ceremony for your promotion to the eighth rank, which is closely linked to the people in the city. A prosperous stove fire means a prosperous people's fire. In this respect, you are suitable."

"Also, although you may not be as methodical as Mr. Sun, you have good foresight and ideas. Whether it's making your skills public to the people or coming up with several strategies against the City God, especially your "you fight yours, I fight mine" approach, I see that you have the ability to remain calm in times of crisis."

"With these two points, plus your proposal to let Chen Xiuxian ascend to the eighth rank, every time he explores the secret realm and obtains a secret realm token, he can pass it on to me, thereby improving the overall strength of Taichang City. It can be seen that you have this public spirit and have achieved the goal of helping others. This is much better than others."

Song Wuji scratched his head. "Is it as good as you say, County Magistrate? Isn't this what I deserve? You guys helped me a lot with the rituals for my promotion. You even fully supported the establishment of the Kitchen God Office. Otherwise, I would have to secretly pass on the fire to worship the Kitchen God, which would be so inefficient!"

"Besides, I can't resist so many demons by myself! One more helper means more strength. The secret realm token will be useful to the county magistrate, so you can take it. Besides, I can't just guard the token and the secret realm like a miser."

"You're not that kind of person, but others might be." County Magistrate Tian said, "I'm not praising you, but considering many aspects. Of course, I fully respect your opinion. If you're unwilling to take on this important responsibility, I can settle for the next best thing and let Chen Xiu become the territory master. I only hope that you can assist him for a while and wait until he grows up before leaving Taichang County."

Song Wuji said: "It's my responsibility! Who said I don't want to?"

Song Wuji said, "But I have many more tests to go through. Next I have to go through the Netherworld and pass five levels!"

Tian Chengbi laughed and said, "Xiao Song, you are silly. If I became the City God, wouldn't I be able to open a path for you and let you avoid the five gates?"

"Besides, I'll ask the City God to help you explore the way. If you don't come back, it means the Netherworld is dangerous. You should improve your strength first, and then go into the Netherworld. If you come back, I can also tell you what the Netherworld is like."

"Then if you pass, isn't that a sure thing?"

(End of this chapter)