In an era where everyone is cultivating immortality, the system wants me to become a demon?

Chapter 372 The pirates must be wiped out! We have no choice but to! (3K views, please subscribe!)

“Your Excellency… my father and the Six Yang True Lord are indeed preoccupied with important matters and cannot come in person to pay their respects. Please understand, Your Excellency!”

As the head of the Lin family, a family of Golden Core cultivators, and one of the most powerful people in Longcheng County, Lin Yanluo suddenly knelt down on the ground without hesitation, her tone full of humility.

"Before I came here, my father and the Six Yang Sect Master asked me to apologize to the county magistrate."

"I hope that Your Excellency will take a moment to calm down and take care of your health, considering the sincerity of my two elders."

As she spoke, Lin Yanluo took out two heavy money bags from her storage bracelet, held them respectfully with both hands, and raised them high.

Combined with Lin Yanluo's alluring figure and tearful expression, it truly was a case of money and beauty going hand in hand.

How could an ordinary cadre withstand such a test?

At the very least, Qi Junxiang, who had never seen the world before, was completely dumbfounded.

However, Su Yuan didn't even lift his eyelids, only glancing indifferently at the weight of the two money pouches.

No more, no less, one money bag contains ten thousand spirit coins.

This is equivalent to 20 million Federal Credits, which is equivalent to two-thirds of the minimum annual salary of a Golden Core cultivator even in the Blue Star Federation.

Considering that the productivity of the Heavenly Law World is not much stronger than that of the ancient cultivation era, it's unimaginable how much of the people's hard-earned money this 10,000 spirit coins represent.

A capable candidate, during the Celestial Official Examination, could only afford a maximum of 40,000 to 50,000 spirit coins, from purchasing information to using money to secure a place in the entire examination.

On his very first day in office, he amassed a whopping 40,000 spirit coins, breaking even immediately.

This made Su Yuan sigh inwardly, "No wonder everyone wants to be an official."

That's outrageous profit!

Of course, this is also related to the fact that he started as a seventh-rank county magistrate. Otherwise, even for a county assistant like Ying Ding, who is an eighth-rank official, earning back 40,000 spirit coins would not be easy.

After a moment of silence, Su Yuan's face suddenly flushed with anger, and he slammed his hand on the table, saying:

"Outrageous behavior!"

When the top official of Longcheng County got angry, everyone in the private room trembled.

"Daring to bribe your superiors in full view of everyone is lawless! The Lin family and the Six Yang Sect of Longcheng County simply have no respect for the Immortal Laws!"

"Have you all forgotten the consequences of accepting bribes in private? At best, you'll be dismissed but retained; at worst, you'll be sent straight to the execution platform!"

"Who gave you the audacity to so blatantly challenge my bottom line?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was bewildered.

Lin Yanluo's captivating fox-like eyes widened slightly, as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard.

Celestial Law?

Isn't that just a stack of waste paper?

Although the Heavenly Rules and Regulations have never been changed since they were established, no one has been following the Celestial Laws for over a hundred years.

For something as trivial as receiving money, it's perfectly fine to do it in front of anyone, as long as you're willing to do the job.

Why is County Chief Su putting on this act of being a selfless and incorruptible official?

Fortunately, Su Yuan's next words brought a sigh of relief to everyone:
"However, I have heard that the yamen runners of Longcheng County have worked hard and made great contributions, but their salaries are not high. I can temporarily regard this money as a donation from the Lin family and the Six Yang Sect to the Longcheng County yamen."

Su Yuan's tone softened slightly, and the atmosphere in the private room immediately became more relaxed.

Lin Yanluo, and Bai Xuandao, whose face was still buried in the table, both breathed a sigh of relief.

It gave me quite a fright; I thought I'd run into an honest official.

Is the result just a superficial show?
Who are you trying to impress?
But Lin Yanluo dared not say this to his face. Her foxy eyes flickered slightly, and she said with a smile:
"Lord Su is selfless and considerate of his subordinates, which makes us ashamed."

"Rest assured, I will deliver every single one of these 20,000 spirit coins to your court."

Su Yuan hummed in agreement and beckoned for Lin Yanluo to sit down.

Because of the precedent set by Daoist Bai Xuan, no one dared to touch their chopsticks at this moment.

Su Yuan didn't mind, and after casually eating a couple of bites of food, he spoke again:

"I've heard that pirates are rampant in Longcheng County?"

The matter of piracy naturally fell under the jurisdiction of Wang De, the military commander of the Xiang Army.

Upon hearing this, the Golden Core cultivator, who had remained completely honest throughout, immediately replied respectfully:
"Reporting to the magistrate, there are indeed many pirates entrenched along the coast of Longcheng County, and they frequently land to plunder."

"Among the pirate leaders I have personally faced, there were no fewer than two Golden Core cultivators. Although these two were three points weaker than me in one-on-one combat, I was repeatedly defeated because I was outnumbered."

Su Yuan was not surprised by this answer, and turned to look at Lin Yanluo:
"The pirates are ruthless. Didn't the Lin family and the Six Yang Sect participate in the bandit suppression?"

Lin Yanluo quickly said:

"Reporting to the magistrate, my father and the Six Yang Sect Master have both given their full support, but according to several tests, it seems that this group of pirates is backed by a demonic cult."

"Demon Cult?"

Su Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Daoist Bai Xuan continued:
"Indeed, according to our investigation, the demonic sect is called the Blood God Sect, a large demonic sect based in overseas continents."

"It is said that the leader of the Blood God Sect... possesses the cultivation level of a Nascent Soul True Monarch!"

“Your Excellency, think about it. It’s alright that our Longcheng County is only harassed by pirates from time to time. But if we were to completely wipe out the pirates, it would not only be a devastating blow, but it would also directly invite retaliation from the Blood God Sect. Our destruction would be imminent.”

"For the sake of all the people in the county, we really dare not go too far."

Su Yuan shook his head:

"I'm not trying to be mean, but the ideological awareness of you two representatives still needs improvement!"

"So what if there's a demonic cult behind the pirates? We have the Immortal Realm and the entire Heavenly Law World behind us. What's there to fear from a mere demonic cult?"

"In my opinion, these pirates must be wiped out! We have no choice but to wipe them out!"

Upon hearing this, the county officials, including Wang De, as well as Lin Yanluo and Bai Xuan, all exchanged bewildered glances. Lin Yanluo was about to say something when Su Yuan waved his hand dismissively:

“My mind is made up. I don’t care what difficulties the Lin family and the Six Yang Sect may have. Within seven days, send me at least one million spirit coins. This will be the county government’s funds for suppressing bandits.”

"If they can't deliver it, then they're colluding with the pirates and deliberately slowing down the bandit suppression efforts. Their intentions are despicable!"

After saying that, Su Yuan stopped eating, got up, and turned to leave.

Ying Ding quickly followed after him with a fawning expression.

Wang De and Qi Junxiang glanced reluctantly at the sumptuous meal on the table, but could only pretend to be full and get up to follow Su Yuan away.

Only Lin Yanluo and Bai Xuan Daoren remained, looking somewhat bewildered.

After a while, Daoist Bai Xuan sighed:
"Truly, a new broom sweeps clean! Fairy Lin, do you think this new county magistrate is really planning to suppress the bandits?"

Lin Yanluo sneered:
"Suppressing bandits? I doubt he has the guts to actually suppress bandits, but he certainly has the audacity to use bandit suppression as a means to make money, and a very large one at that!"

"That's a million spirit coins, the culmination of ten years of my Lin family's savings! He's really greedy! The previous county magistrate served for five years and only amassed this much!"

"That Su Youlin is so greedy right after taking office. If he's not dealt with, he'll ask for a million this year and ten million next year!"

Bai Xuan Daoist's expression also became solemn.

Indeed, one million spirit coins is a lot, but when spread out among various families and sects, it's not much.

But if the new county magistrate is allowed to continue his corrupt practices without any restraint, even the wealthiest cultivation sects will not be able to withstand it!

"what should we do?"

He asked the question sincerely.

Lin Yanluo said calmly:

"It's very simple. Before Su Youlin can subdue the county yamen runners and Wang De's five hundred garrison soldiers, let's quickly organize our forces and cause some trouble."

"I'll make a scene until the county magistrate can't back down, until he can't carry out his work. I want to see how long he can hold out."

Bai Xuan Daoist nodded in sudden realization:

"Okay, I'll go back and prepare right away. If things go smoothly, we can start making a scene tomorrow."

He had done similar things before, so there was no need to ask for details; he could get started immediately.

Meanwhile, Su Yuan had already arrived at the county government office in Longcheng County by carriage.

The county government office is bright and grand, showing no signs of dilapidation, clearly indicating that it is maintained every year.

As Su Yuan stepped off the carriage, he saw the yamen runners cleaning up the area under the direction of an old man.

Upon Su Yuan's arrival, the elderly man in green official robes immediately came forward to greet him. This man was none other than the county clerk, surnamed Liu.

"Registrar Liu, please have everyone gather together."

"From junior officials to yamen runners and constables, everyone gathered in the backyard of the county government office."

Then, Su Yuan said to Wang De, who was following behind him:

"Go and bring the Xiangjun brothers to the backyard of the county government office. I have instructions."

"Yes!"

"I humble my duty and obey my orders."

Wang De and Liu, the registrar, were not surprised by Su Yuan's order.

As the saying goes, a new broom sweeps clean, and having already taught the local tyrants a lesson, he naturally had to take action against his subordinates.

During the break while waiting, Su Yuan went to the county government office and received the 20,000 spirit coins that Lin Yanluo had given him.

He sat in the main seat of the courtroom, holding a money bag, seemingly lost in thought.

After hesitating for a moment, Ying Ding, who had been following Su Yuan closely, cautiously reminded him:
“Your Excellency, you were too hasty and ruthless when you asked the immortal cultivation families and sects of Dragon City for money just now.”

"You'd better tone it down a bit when dealing with the yamen runners and your own garrison soldiers, otherwise we might not be able to gain a foothold in Longcheng County."

Su Yuan glanced at the other person:
"Are you teaching me what to do?"

"Don't dare!"

Ying Ding quickly lowered his head, feeling bitter inside.

How come he never noticed before that Su Youlin was a money-grubbing devil? He's practically the epitome of someone who'd rather die than keep his money!

They were so generous when they bribed me before!

A short while later, Wang De and Registrar Liu came to report.

Su Yuan stood up, strolled to the backyard of the county government office, and met all the subordinates he could mobilize in the county.

Eighty constables at the Qi Refining stage, two head constables at the Foundation Establishment stage, and nearly a hundred clerks and servants of all ranks.

This is the staffing arrangement within the county government office.

The Xiang Army, which was not nominally under Su Yuan's jurisdiction, numbered about 450, most of whom were early to mid-stage Qi Refining martial artists who had been trained quickly in the army.

Soldiers who lack spiritual roots and overdraw their abilities to reach the Qi Refining stage will only be stuck in the Qi Refining stage for their entire lives.

Besides the ordinary soldiers, the Xiang Army had more than forty captains who were late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, and five centurions who were all Foundation Establishment cultivators. The configuration was quite good.

"The vacancies in the Xiang Army should be filled as soon as possible."

Su Yuanchao gave Wang De an instruction.

The latter immediately looked troubled:
"The County Magistrate..."

But before Wang De could speak, Su Yuan had already stepped forward and arrived in front of a soldier who looked very young. He reached out and pinched the thickness of the soldier's clothes, and asked gently.
"The sea breeze is strong in Longcheng County. Aren't you cold wearing this?"

(End of this chapter)