Forge your destiny into a sword, slash your soul and ascend to immortality

Chapter 83: Changes in the Xugong Government Office after the War
On the back of the elephant god, there is a small Buddhist temple, with incense smoke rising from it.

The combination of the Buddhist temple and the white elephant is too strange. It is heading straight for [Hunzhou Island] with a fierce momentum.

Influenced by this, Jing Qian stopped practicing and began to observe carefully.

He was ready to evacuate or fight at any time.

However, although the white elephant's figure was getting bigger and bigger, it was still too far away.

It was not until Jing Qian ascended to the underground dock that the elephant shadow grew to a height of more than one person.

It will probably take several days for it to arrive at Hunzhou Island.

During this process, the constant brainwashing of Buddhist verses was quite annoying.

Suddenly, a clear eagle cry rang out, and the [Lilong] lying on the [Hunzhou Island] released a tremendous magical power fluctuation, sweeping towards the sky.

All the clouds accumulated within a thousand miles were cleared away at once.

Ling Mingji finally completed the promotion to [Fu Ling] and became a new sixth-rank powerful man who suppressed [Hunzhou Prefecture].

Moreover, he acted decisively and swallowed up the spirit of the [Lilong] that had been nurtured by the entire [Hunzhou] for three thousand years, turning it into the foundation of his own cultivation. It can be said that he completely changed the fate of the entire [Hunzhou].

After being contained and refined, the [Lilong] completely changed its form. It shrank rapidly from its original huge and terrifying snake body and turned into a more than two-meter-long one-horned purple snake that wrapped around Ling Mingji's right arm.

The next second, the purple snake turned into a ray of spiritual light and merged into Ling Mingji's body. Then he was seen with an eagle-headed python-skin and wings growing on its back [Divine Peng Armor], which wrapped him up perfectly.

An extremely powerful aura arises spontaneously.

At this moment, Ling Mingji suddenly controlled the [Hunhe River], pulled out the hanging river that originally plunged into the vast sea, slowly raised it up, and retracted it to the same level as the main island of [Hunzhou Island].

Then, the Hun River formed a large lake, which just hung in front of the cave pier.

Ling Mingji controlled the [Shenpeng Armament] and landed right above the lake. He then spread his voice throughout the dock and said:

"My fellow officials, please join me in receiving the guests!"

Jing Qian steered the Dingyuan and rowed into the lake with the fleet. He landed at the end, hanging in the sky, silently waiting for the development of the situation.

As a member of the government office, he has a strong sense of ownership. He once again transformed into a little ghost to drive the boat, and he himself escaped into the dimension, standing side by side with Ling Mingji.

Zhu Shou, Li Yuan and Wu Liuyuan also flew up together and came to Ling Mingji's side.

I only heard Zhu Shou ask:
"The person who came should be the Great Monk Xiangyu from the [Impermanence Temple], but are there any new changes in the Divine Dynasty?"

Ling Mingji said:
"When the enemy comes, we will fight with our troops; when the water comes, we will block it with earth."

"She Dizang Temple, as the branch of Wu Chang Temple, was suddenly attacked, leaving all the disciples and their families dead. It's normal for someone to come and take a look."

"There are still three days until the Divine Dynasty rewards merits. The other party is timing their arrival."

"I'm afraid they want to extort some money from my [Hunzhou] military exploits to compensate [Shedizang Temple] for its losses?"

Zhushou nodded and said:
"Just wait!"

"With Zhizhou dead, I [Hunzhou] am even more despised and hated by everyone. Anyone can come and step on me."

"After you take over Zhizhou, you, Daoist Fellow, will have to think of ways to elevate the status of our continent!"

Ling Mingji nodded and said nothing more.

As time went by, the elephant became taller and taller. Just looking at the half of its body exposed above the water, it was a thousand feet high.

However, the strange sound that echoed in everyone's ears was slowly weakening until it disappeared into thin air.

After three days, the giant elephant pushed through the vast ocean and arrived in front of [Hunzhou Island].

This terrifying creature was the largest Jing Qian had ever seen in his life.

At this time, the giant elephant's forehead was almost level with [Hunzhou Island]. The Buddhist shrine on it opened, and a jade-like young monk walked out from it.

The little monk looked to be the size of a child, his robes were as white as jade, and he had a noble temperament, unlike an ordinary person.

He walked to the forehead of the giant elephant and began to speak. His voice was as loud as a bronze bell, which was very disproportionate to his size.

"My fellow Daoists from Hunzhou, please practice the Yin Nian Xu Gong first, and then discuss other matters."

"I have come from afar and have no ill intentions. Everything will be settled after we have accomplished our mission."

Ling Mingji bowed and said:
"Since that's the case, then let's listen to the master and begin the 765th Yin Year Merit Reward Ceremony of [Hunzhou]."

"This time, my government office has suffered a disaster, and the conditions are a bit simple. My colleagues, please bear with me."

After saying that, a python head suddenly stretched out from the [Shenpeng Armor] on Ling Mingji's body.

The python's head grew bigger and bigger, and soon it turned into a small island hanging over the lake.

The python's head opened, revealing the ruins of the government office hidden within.

Ling Mingji dodged and escaped from the armed forces, and walked into the government office first.

He used his magical powers to clear out all the collapsed houses and dug out the main hall of the military affairs office that was buried among them.

He then walked into the main hall, and soon brought out an exquisite bronze chair ritual instrument.

Then, Li Yuan, the owner of the civil house, came over holding a large silver-covered book.

The large book records the magical imprints of all the monks in the government office.

He just opened the big book and said:
"My [Hunzhou] government office has 46 people on duty. They bravely kill demons and protect the country and the people. I hereby request the Divine Dynasty [Xugongsi] to reward them according to their merits."

"My colleagues can sit on the [merit chair] and receive their rewards according to their merits, just like in previous years."

"Qiao Li, you come first!"

A senior [Dragon Elephant] from the government office walked out first and sat down on the bronze chair.

A golden magical light instantly enveloped him.

Jing Qian, who was following the crowd, opened his [Worldly Explanation] and observed carefully. Through the hazy magical light, he could vaguely see the monk among them, who was concentrating with his eyes closed, communicating information with the [Sequence of Merit Chair].

This was Jingqian's first time participating in Xugong.

The so-called "sequence of merit" is a system of merit established by the Divine Dynasty specifically for all registered monks.

It is the ladder for everyone to advance.

At the end of each Yin Year, the merits accumulated by the monks from killing Yin ghosts can be determined through the [Sequence of Merits Chair] and recorded in a book.

Once you have accumulated enough merits, you will be promoted to a higher rank.

The tedious public announcement and appointment process is eliminated.

In each continent, only a very small number of core cultivators can have a formal divine dynasty organization and be included in the [Sequence of Merit] system.

This absolutely fair and corruption-free reward system is an important cornerstone for the Divine Dynasty to rule the entire territory.

Jing Qian absorbed a lot of useful information about the Divine Dynasty from Zhizhou's soul. Although it was his first time to participate in the reward of merit, he was actually very familiar with it.

The official positions in the Divine Dynasty were extremely complicated, ranging from the ninth-rank Chengwulang, Zhubu, Huangmen, and Menwei to the first-rank Taifu, Taibao, Shangshu, Zhongshu, and so on.

There are a total of eighteen ranks and hundreds of official titles and duties, collectively known as the [Spiritual Official] system.

It is large enough to accommodate cultivators of all levels, from [Destiny] to [Picking Stars] and even [Repairing the Sky].

However, the [Spiritual Officials] of the Divine Dynasty are valuable, promotion is difficult, and meritorious service is hard to come by.

Even if a seventh-rank [Longevity] cultivator relies solely on his own accumulation without the protection of his family or Dharma lineage, he may not be able to get an eighth-rank [Spiritual Officer] position in the Divine Dynasty.

[Hunzhou] has a low status and weak strength. Although it is one of the twenty-four military continents of the Divine Dynasty, its treatment is very poor.

In the entire government office, apart from Zhizhou, there was only one official who was the eighth-rank [Du Shui Jian Cheng].

Only the heads of the three offices and two prisons are the full-time ninth-rank officials.

As a newly appointed civil servant in the government office, Jing Qian is not even close to being a "Spiritual Officer".

Under the official [Spiritual Officials] of the Divine Dynasty, there is also a class of minor officials, which are divided into four levels: gold, silver, copper and iron.

Jing Qian had just joined the revolutionary ranks and was just a low-level "iron official", but this was already a stroke of luck.

Under the strict system of the Divine Dynasty, even being a minor official is a rare opportunity.

This brings us to the importance of compilation.

Only the monks on the payroll have the opportunity to be promoted based on their merits and can say that they are eating the "imperial food" of the Divine Dynasty.

Before Jing Qian traveled through time, his ancestral home was far away from Shandong, and he had no obsession with becoming an official.

He has his own channels to obtain cultivation resources.

However, as long as it is beneficial to his cultivation, he is not at all opposed to using the Divine Dynasty system.

I saw the monks from the government office sitting on the [Xugong Chair] one by one, and after a while of exchanging information, everyone gained something.

This year is a great year for [Hunzhou]. Having killed so many evil spirits and corpses, the military merits are already abundant.

What's more, more than half of the editors have died, so there are fewer people to share the money.

After all these visits, half of the monks in the government office were promoted.

There are seven or eight more gold officials, which can just fill the vacant middle-level management positions in each department.

If one wants to be promoted from a Gold Official to a ninth-rank [Spiritual Officer], the difficulty will increase dramatically.

Jing Qian waited patiently until Li Yuan called out his name last, then he stepped forward.

Li Yuan glanced at him and said:
"Jing Qian, you are new to the government office and have little experience. You haven't traveled with us this Yin Year."

"If your achievements are insufficient, do not be discouraged. You are still young, and you have many yin years to go through."

Jing Qian bowed and said:
"Thank you for your reassurance, landlord. I understand."

After saying that, he walked forward and sat on the bronze chair.

In an instant, a magical light enveloped him, and a strange divine consciousness began to scan around him.

Jing Qian [Shijie Jie] carefully observed the spiritual light, and unexpectedly saw the source of the object far away in [Yingdu] Xugongsi through the magical light.

【Inspiration·Sequence Abacus】

[Requirement for suppression: Ying family's legitimate bloodline]

【Life span burden: one ke/day】

But it is a strange [inspiration] in the shape of an abacus.

At first glance, this large abacus seems to be incredibly wide and long, and is densely packed with countless beads.

The abacus beads clattered, calculating almost non-stop.

Here are the records of the battle achievements of countless cultivators from the thirty-six continents of the Divine Dynasty.

[Merit Ranking] Only objective merit is considered, and fairness and justice are beyond doubt.

Furthermore, it possessed the extraordinary authority granted by the Divine Dynasty, and had even managed to perfectly calculate the number of Yin Ghosts and Yin Corpses that Jing Qian had killed over the past year. A total of 3,454 ninth-grade Yin Ghosts, 2,142 Yin Corpses, 16 seventh-grade Yin Ghosts and Yin Corpses, and one fifth-grade Yin Ghost.

This is an extremely terrifying number, much more than the total number of the forty government monks who were ranked before him!
Especially that fifth-grade Yin Ghost, which is a rare creature in the entire thirty-six continents of the Divine Dynasty.

Jing Qian remained silent, waiting for the [Sequence Abacus] to start working.

The abacus took twice as long as the others before finally coming up with a result, which he presented to Jing Qian:
"Military Merits: Seven Major Merits and Fifty-Six Minor Merits."

One hundred minor merits can be exchanged for one major merit.

"World Merit: Ninety-two Minor Merits."

"Total: eight major merits and forty-eight minor merits."

There is another explanation for this "worldly merit", which refers to the merit accumulated and extracted from all the ghosts and corpses strangled in the entire [Hunzhou] territory.

This includes the ghosts and corpses strangled by other monks from the [Life Island].

This part of the merit will be distributed step by step according to the official rank of the monks in each government office, and can be regarded as additional merit in addition to the military merit.

This year, Wu Jian achieved enlightenment in [Hunzhou] with the help of the Yin Ghost, and invisibly increased his "worldly merits" to more than ten times that of previous years.

Jing Qian was just a low-level iron official, yet he managed to achieve a great achievement.

The total of eight and a half major merits is already a very high achievement.

In terms of this year's earnings, among all the people present, perhaps only Ling Mingji and Zhu Shou, taking into account their worldly achievements, can surpass him.

In the Divine Dynasty's system, accumulating ten great merits is enough to allow a minor official to be promoted to the ninth-rank position of [Spiritual Officer].

This is a feat that many officials have failed to accomplish in their entire lives.

Jing Qian only experienced one Yin year and he caught up with the accumulation of most people.

These eight great achievements were enough for him to be promoted to a Golden Official.

Just when the [Xugong Abacus] was about to finish its investigation of him, Jing Qian quietly took out a clean jade token from the [Virtual Realm].

The word "Yin Bi" is inscribed on the jade plaque, and the carving is exquisite and simple. It is a Jing family heirloom that he buried in his memory.

When this jade token appeared in the spiritual light, the [Sequence Merit Abacus] instantly underwent new changes.

I saw a magical power rising from the protective jade plate and was instantly absorbed by the [Xugong Chair].

The merit figures mapped by the abacus also skyrocketed instantly.

"Military Merits: Seven Major Merits and Fifty-Six Minor Merits."

"World Merit: Ninety-two Minor Merits."

"Shelter: Five Great Merits."

"Total: 13 major merits and 48 minor merits."

Jing Qian's merits actually directly broke through to the level required for the ninth-rank [Spiritual Officer].

The [Merit Ranking Calculation] is also very clear, and its most fundamental rule is that those who have made contributions must be rewarded.

When Jing Qian accumulated more than ten great merits, a strange spiritual light instantly condensed in the palm of his hand.

Ten great merits were consumed in exchange for a small bronze seal that suddenly appeared.

When Jing Qian used his spiritual sense to scan, he understood everything clearly. He had actually been promoted!
He was already a noble ninth-rank [Huangmen] in the Divine Dynasty's [Spiritual Official] system.

In the current [Hunzhou] area, his status has soared. Only a few landlords have higher official positions than him. He has been directly promoted to the management level in one step.

He picked up the [Huangmen] seal and looked at it carefully, only to find that it was mixed with his own magical aura, which had already merged with the official seal.

And when he obtained the ninth-rank [Spiritual Officer] position, his status and position immediately changed!

After another wave of magical power, the official seal in his hand flashed inexplicably. In addition to his official rank, Jing Qian was also granted a new position.

He unexpectedly transformed himself from an ordinary clerk in the Maritime Affairs Office to succeed the recently deceased Tao Qian and became the new head of the school in the Hunzhou government office, the principal of the school in the entire continent!

From this moment on, his status was instantly on par with Ling Mingji, Zhu Shou and others.

No one could have imagined that the last person to achieve merit could actually launch such a large satellite!
When Jing Qian stood up from the [Xugong Chair], everyone present fixed their eyes on him.

Everyone was curious, where did this kid get the protection from?

Does the Jing family have this kind of backup plan?
As bystanders, the surrounding monks could see that Jing Qian completed the promotion to [Spiritual Officer] with the help of his protection.

However, the more detailed information about his achievements is unknown.

Everyone just thought that Jing Qian was lucky and had the powerful protection to directly promote him to the ninth rank.

However, they did not know that he had simply killed too much. In one Yin Year, he had killed enough other [Longevity] monks, and it would take several Yin Years to accumulate enough military merits.

Li Yuan then said to Jing Qian:

"Congratulations to Mr. Jing Daoyou for your success. It's beyond our expectations."

"It is unfortunate that fellow Daoist Tao Qian passed away at the end of his life, leaving a vacant position in my [Hunzhou] school."

"Fellow Daoist, you have extraordinary talent and great potential for cultivation. It is only fitting that you take on the position of the School Master."

Jing Qian didn't say much, but bowed again and stood aside.

He endured everyone's scrutiny, but his expression didn't change at all.

When Luo Yaozhi died unexpectedly and Mingji was promoted to [Fu Ling], the power structure of the entire [Hunzhou] was bound to undergo earth-shaking changes.

And Jing Qian is just an appetizer for this drastic change.

He was confident in his own abilities. Even though he did not belong to any faction and bravely entered the [Hunzhou] Standing Committee alone, he was confident that he could hold the position of academician.

The position of academician is very useful, and he will never give it up easily.

Then, Li Yuan spoke again:

"In that case, it's our turn to start practicing. Which fellow Taoist would like to go first?"

Wu Liuyuan didn't hesitate much, and walked straight forward, sat down steadily, and his magical power flashed and disappeared.

This master craftsman rarely took action. After receiving the considerable merit corresponding to his status, he stood up and stood next to Jing Qian.

He was only at the level of a [Dragon Elephant], and among the original five ninth-grade [Spiritual Officials], he had the lowest status and the last ranking.

However, Jing Qian is now at the bottom of the ranking for him, which is also a disguised ranking improvement.

Then, Li Yuan closed the silver book, walked forward, and sat down calmly.

This time, his practice took quite a while!

Compared to Wu Liuyuan, he rode the [Six-Life Golden Toad] Dharma Image and participated in the entire Yinnian War, killing several seventh-grade Yin corpses and making great military achievements.

After he received all the merits, his accumulation finally reached a new peak!
On the basis of the ninth rank, he once again accumulated fifty major merits and completed another crucial promotion.

Now he is already the ninth-rank [Hunzhou Sima] of the Divine Dynasty!

After years of hard work, Li Yuan was in a very good mood.

His faction had already won a great victory, so this Yin year could be described as a year of harvest.

Next, Zhushou also went up to the [Xugong Chair] for a walk.

He was the backbone of the battle, and relying on the inspiration of [Tui Hai Deng], he killed at least thirty seventh-grade Yin ghosts.

In addition, he was in a high position and had great power, and he had received ten great merits from [Hunzhou] alone.

After the trip, he only had less than twenty merits left to be promoted to the eighth rank.

Then, he took out a protective jade token from his bosom and activated it.

If we were to compete in background, the Zhu family of Nanhai would be the undisputed leader.

After some operations, Zhu Shou was successfully promoted to the eighth-rank [Spiritual Officer].

However, he originally thought that he was going to appoint the same [Du Shui Jian Cheng] as Luo Yaozhi, but unexpectedly, the [Xu Gong Abacus] suddenly went haywire!

He actually gave Zhushou a [Defense Promoter] for the Northern Divine Dynasty.

You should know that Beishangguan and [Hunzhou] are located in the south and north, respectively, at the two poles of the Divine Dynasty, and their customs and cultures are extremely different.

Zhu Shou rashly took up the post, and all his profound accumulation in the land of [Hunzhou] was wasted.

He would rather not have this kind of promotion!

But he had no right to refuse the result given by [Sequence Merit Counting Cards].

Zhu Shou stood up with a grim face and exchanged glances with Ling Mingji.

There must be someone behind such an abnormal thing, and then I thought of the sudden appearance of Monk Xiangyu.

I'm afraid that Mingji's position as Zhizhou will also be subject to change.

Sure enough, after Ling Mingji had completed his meritorious service, he was also promoted to the eighth rank [Youzhou Qianpan].

If you want to take office, you have to go west and travel hundreds of thousands of miles.

To be honest, [Youzhou] is one of the twelve upper continents of the Divine Dynasty. It has more than ten times more vitality and even more abundant products. Its status is much higher than [Hunzhou].

But Ling Mingji was only an eighth-rank official. In [Hunzhou], he could only be the governor of a continent. If he went to [Youzhou], he would probably only be able to be a middle-level official in the government office of a continent.

What's more, the [Blood River Sect] is stationed in [Youzhou], which reduces the status of the government office.

Ling Mingji will definitely not be able to obtain his position in the land of [Hunzhou].

Ling Mingji stood up, his brows furrowed and his eyes dim.

At this moment, the great monk Xiangyu walked in suddenly.

He walked up to the crowd and said:
"I believe you already know the result."

"I have now been appointed by the Divine Dynasty to serve as the second governor of Hunzhou."

"In the future, I will have to rely more on the cooperation of my colleagues."

"Over the past few years, Hunzhou would not have been possible without the hard work of the two fellow Taoists."

"After I take over, I will live up to your trust and push the land of Hunzhou into a new stage."

"The journey is long and arduous, and the mountains are high. You two fellow Taoists must hurry up."

"By the way, this [Lilong] spirit originally belongs to my [Hunzhou]. Please ask fellow Daoist not to take it away."

"It's not easy to accumulate some wealth in this remote and poor place."

"Plus, the government office we are standing on is still embedded in the [Lilong], so it is even more inconvenient to trouble you to continue to take charge of it."

The real purpose of the jade picture is exposed, and it has no good intentions at all!
(End of this chapter)