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

Chapter 377 The Requirements for Direct Promotion to the Fifth Rank! (3K views, please subscribe!)

"County Chief Su, our Longcheng County has recently experienced a shortage of spirit beast meat due to your large-scale purchases."

"I think you must have used this batch of spirit beast meat for something very important."

"Please report the specific purpose to Transport Commissioner Fan in detail, and make sure nothing is omitted."

Lin Yonghua, the head of the Lin family, spoke with a smile, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.

Behind Su Yuan, a group of constables glared angrily at Lin Yonghua.

At this point, everyone understood who had brought the transport envoy and who had leaked the secret of the county government's skyrocketing food expenses!
At the same time, they also had strong concerns about the situation of their superiors.

They were worried that County Chief Su would be held accountable by his superiors, and they were also worried that they would be punished and have their previous large bribes taken away.

However, Su Yuan's next answer shocked all the county officials and their clerks.

Then Su Yuan said decisively:
"That's right, the county government has indeed received 100,000 catties of spirit beast meat recently."

Where did this batch of meat go?

Transport Commissioner Fan asked with a forced smile.

Su Yuan: "I ate them all."

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the county magistrate and his bailiffs all welled up with tears!
County Magistrate Su... in order to prevent us from being punished, he actually took all the responsibility upon himself.

Having served in this position for so many years, almost every county official and constable understands one principle.

—The credit of subordinates belongs to their superiors, and the faults of superiors must be borne by their subordinates!
As a result, County Chief Su was willing to bear everything in order to protect us!
At that moment, they felt as if the person standing before them was not a celestial official, but a scorching and bright sun, which brought tears to their eyes.

However, just as the county magistrate and his clerks were moved, Lin Yonghua, standing to the side, burst out laughing:

"County Chief Su, you're really exaggerating without thinking! That's 100,000 jin of spirit beast meat! One jin of that meat is worth ten jin of ordinary meat!"

"Don't even mention that you're just a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even if you were a Golden Core cultivator, how could you possibly digest so much flesh in ten days? Do you think you're the reincarnation of a gluttonous beast?"

He turned to look at Transport Commissioner Fan:

"Lord Fan, as you have seen, Su Youlin is a smooth talker who disregards the rules and regulations of the celestial court. He is simply a disgrace to the celestial officials!"

"This kind of celestial official should be thoroughly investigated!"

Having said that, Lin Yonghua said no more and quietly waited for Lord Fan to pronounce his verdict on Su Youlin.

As he waited with great anticipation, Lord Fan finally spoke.

However, these words were not spoken to Su Yuan, but to him.

"Xiao Lin, what nonsense are you spouting? Isn't it perfectly normal to eat 100,000 catties of spirit beast meat in ten days?"

Transport Commissioner Fan, with a pair of cold, triangular eyes, turned his head to Lin Yonghua and said:

"As the saying goes, being able to eat is a blessing. Magistrate Su can eat so much, it's fine if you don't congratulate him, but instead you make unfounded speculations. What are your intentions?"

"Ah! Huh?"

Lin Yonghua was almost caught off guard. His smile froze completely after Lord Fan finished speaking, and his mouth opened wider and wider.

"How dare a commoner presume to discuss official business! Guards, drag him away and slap him!"

Transport Commissioner Fan's tone suddenly turned cold.

The next second, two powerful warriors at the peak of Foundation Establishment appeared behind him, grabbing Lin Yonghua's arms from the left and right, and dragging him away while he looked completely bewildered.

As a Golden Core cultivator, he could easily break free, but clearly, he didn't dare.

Not long after he was dragged away, the crisp sound of a heavy object hitting flesh echoed throughout the county government office.

Ying Ding, Qi Junxiang, Liu Zhubu, and all the constables stood there dumbfounded, almost unable to believe their eyes.

The next second, something even more shocking happened to them.

Then, Lord Fan, who had just unleashed a furious rage, suddenly changed his expression from gloomy to cheerful, looking at Su Yuan with a gentle smile, and took the initiative to step forward and say:

"Young friend Su, I knew long ago that you were framed by some wicked villains, and I came here specifically to clear your name."

"How was it? Young friend, are you satisfied?"

Su Yuan smiled faintly:
"I am the local official of Longcheng County. My son makes a mistake and I can just punish him. Why would I be angry?"

Transport Commissioner Fan smiled with satisfaction:

"As expected, heroes emerge from among the young. There are few young celestial officials your age with such a level of awareness and understanding."

Qi Junxiang and the others couldn't help but twitch their lips as they listened to this conversation.

Comparing the Golden Elixir Master Lin Yonghua to a son?

This is no less humiliating than simply beating someone up.

[To avoid being exposed for his numerous misdeeds, the host has colluded with cronies and framed loyal officials; you have mastered the art of treachery.]

[Number of rule violations increased by 2]

Su Yuan glanced at the mission progress.

Hmm, the task progress bar is already two-thirds complete.

Transport Commissioner Fan shook Su Yuan's hand and said with a smile:

"I truly regret not having met you sooner! I've long heard that the food at Zuixianlou is famous throughout Shengyang Prefecture. Why don't we go for a drink?"

Su Yuan understood and said:
"Lord Fan has come from afar, so I'll treat you to a meal. Let's drink until we're drunk!"

As they spoke, the two figures gradually disappeared into the distance. Behind them, County Magistrate Ying Ding wore a thoughtful expression.

Combining Su Youlin's extraordinary performance in the Celestial Official Examination with his unimaginable background, he quickly understood the cause and effect of the matter.

Perhaps it was a celestial official dressed in purple and adorned with gold who greeted Transport Commissioner Fan.

He vaguely remembered that the chief examiner of this year's Celestial Official Examination was also from the Eastern Continent.

Ying Ding guessed correctly. Lin Yonghua's message to the Deputy Transport Commissioner of Dongzhou, reporting Su Yuan's matter, was already known to the forces under the purple-robed chief examiner.

While greeting Transport Commissioner Fan, he also told Su Yuan the whole story.

Inside the most luxurious private room at Zuixianlou, Su Yuan and Lord Fan took their seats as host and guest, respectively.

The two tacitly avoided discussing the matter of the purple-robed chief examiner mediating between them, simply eating and drinking together as if they were an uncle and nephew who hadn't seen each other for many years.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, Transport Commissioner Fan casually remarked:
"Nephew Su, I heard that your goal is to become a fourth-rank official. What are your plans for the future?"

Upon hearing this, Su Yuan's spirits lifted.

He was not surprised by this question, because that was exactly what Lord Fan had come for.

If he didn't want to help Lin Yonghua, he could have just refused outright. Why did he have to put on such a show?

The purpose of Lord Fan's visit, as mentioned by the purple-robed official surnamed Tao through a messenger, was to assess the value of Su Yuan, a man whose background was said to be extraordinary.

If he has sufficient value, as one of the rulers of the entire Eastern Continent, his help to Su Yuan is far greater than that of Lord Tao, who is far away in the central government.

To put it simply, this was Lord Fan's interview with Su Yuan.

"Uncle Fan, my goal is very simple."

Su Yuan made no attempt to conceal his ambition, and said in a deep voice:
"I intend to advance several ranks within a year, becoming a fifth-rank official, and then, after a period of consolidation, be promoted directly to the fourth rank, thus gaining the opportunity to ascend to the Immortal Realm!"

"Oh? My nephew's ambitions are even greater than I imagined!"

Transport Commissioner Fan was slightly surprised.

He jumped four ranks in a single year, directly reaching the fifth rank?
Even the descendants of those Nascent Soul True Monarchs who reside in the high halls of the temple wouldn't dare to set their sights so high!
Transport Commissioner Fan pondered for a moment, then slowly said:

“Nephew, our Tianlu Dynasty has a rigorous yet flexible promotion system.”

"The rigor lies in the fact that each promotion of celestial officials has strict assessment standards, while the freedom lies in the fact that as long as you contribute enough, it is not unusual to jump several ranks within a year."

Su Yuan immediately replied:

"As long as Uncle Fan tells me a specific standard, I think with my abilities, meeting all the requirements within a certain period of time should not be a problem."

Lord Fan was very satisfied with Su Yuan's attitude, and after thinking for a moment, he said:
"Let me summarize for you, there are roughly three criteria for direct promotion to the fifth rank."

"Article 1: To establish undisputed meritorious service."

"Your plan to wipe out the pirates is a good option. As long as you can take down one or two pirate groups with Golden Core experts in charge, protect the territory and the people, the merit will be enough."

Su Yuan nodded slightly, not surprised by this.

"Secondly: Your approval rating among the people under your jurisdiction must reach over 80%."

"This is the simplest one. You just have someone print out a bunch of questionnaires and have all the people filling them out select 'very satisfied.' With me overseeing things, no one will dare to report it."

Su Yuan's lips twitched slightly as he recalled some not-so-pleasant memories from his past life.

"Third rule: Prepare three million spirit coins."

"This is the hardest one... Even a hero can be brought down by a penny!"

Su Yuan rolled his eyes, once again deeply experiencing the unique promotion method of the Heavenly Law World.

Finally, Lord Fan said in a slightly solemn tone:

"Once you've accumulated the three promotion criteria—merit, public opinion, and wealth—you can submit the bandit suppression report, the public satisfaction survey, and the three million spirit coins to me, and I'll handle it for you."

Su Yuan: "..."

Alright, alright, you've been building up for so long, waiting for me here, haven't you!

I'll submit these things to you, and who knows how much you'll skim off the top of the list? I'd guess even a 30% cut would be a reasonable price!
Su Yuan finally understood why this old man surnamed Fan had gone to such lengths to meet him; it was obvious he wanted to exchange resources and make some extra money.

However, speechless as he was, all of this was within Su Yuan's expectations.

After a brief moment's thought, he answered seriously:

"These three promotion criteria, although I can quickly achieve with the help of my backers, I believe I can do them on my own. This will be a test and trial for me."

Upon hearing this, Lord Fan had no doubts, as many powerful and influential families raised their descendants in the same way.

He asked curiously:
"I won't go into the first two criteria, but how do you plan to raise these three million spirit coins?"

Su Yuan smiled slightly and said:
"Of course, we will rely on the resources within Longcheng County to raise the funds."

Lord Fan said in surprise:

"Rely on taxes? But Dragon City's taxes have been collected for a hundred years."

Su Yuan smiled and shook his head, saying:

"What's there to squeeze out of the people's money?"

"My idea is very simple—I'll raise money from whoever has money!"

(End of this chapter)