I subdue demons and monsters, and cultivate immortality in hell to become a saint.

Chung Ying-mei put on an apron and busied herself in the kitchen for a long time, preparing a table full of dishes that Chung Jiu loved to eat.

Not long after, Chung Kau returned.

The last time Zhong Yingmei returned home was when she had just arrived in Guiling City. She had been busy with work ever since and hadn't been back.

Zhong Jiu, however, was not surprised at all, as if she had expected her to come. She calmly changed into some casual clothes, sat down, and picked up her chopsticks.

"Not busy today?"

He asked casually as he ate his rice.

"I'm on holiday, I'm back to rest for a few days."

Chung Ying-mei took a small sip of soup, trying to keep her tone calm.

The brother and sister were not talkative to begin with, and they mostly chatted about mundane family matters. However, this familiar ordinariness calmed Zhong Yingmei's complicated feelings quite a bit.

Even if Zhong Jiu becomes incredibly powerful now, in her eyes he's still that familiar older brother.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Zhong Yingmei completely adjusted her mindset and got straight to the point: "Actually, I'm not on vacation. My teacher asked me to come back and have a good talk with you."

She never liked beating around the bush, so she went straight to the first question: "How did you suddenly become so strong?"

"How did I suddenly become so strong?"

Zhong Jiu chuckled inwardly, thinking: Because I am the City God of Guiling City!

But on the surface, he smiled mysteriously and said, "I can only tell you one thing: this matter is related to the underworld. I was chosen by chance to become the underworld's representative on earth, which is why I have some insignificant abilities."

"negligible?"

Zhong Yingmei's lips twitched, and she thought to herself: You killed all the big shots of the Misty Hidden Temple, and you call that insignificant? Does that mean our entire Special Operations Department is full of useless idiots?

However, Zhong Jiu's explanation coincided with her guess.

She nodded: "It really is the underworld."

Zhong Jiu used to be so ordinary, but now he has suddenly become a top expert. What other reason could there be besides divine intervention?

"The underworld officials are amazing! They can turn an ordinary person into a top-tier powerhouse with just a few casual moves!"

Zhong Yingmei was so shocked that her heart almost jumped out of her chest. Her awe for the underworld was overwhelming, and she almost wanted to burn incense and kowtow on the spot.

At that very moment, her faith in the City God of Guiling City took root without warning.

Ok?

Zhong Jiu instantly sensed that pure power of faith and was secretly pleased: "Goodness, this girl was actually completely fooled by a few casual words I said?"

You should know that Chung Ying-mei has a will harder than steel. Since childhood, she has held the idea that "my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens" and is determined to change the world. She has always only believed in herself.

Having faced so many life-or-death situations and witnessed so many bizarre events, I had never developed faith in any deity, yet now I've been completely swayed by his few words.

"If this girl ever finds out that the City God she reveres every day is actually her ordinary-looking brother, her expression will probably be so interesting it'll make her split in two!"

A wicked thought popped into Zhong Jiu's mind, and he almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Although Chung Ying-mei couldn't understand what it was about her brother that caught the eye of the gods and was chosen to be the human representative of the underworld, once this relationship was confirmed, all the mysteries she couldn't understand before were instantly solved!

When Zhong Jiu first reminded Lao Tiantou to invite the gods, it must have been the will of the gods, who wanted to use that opportunity to announce the return of the underworld to the human world. Later, when Wuyin Temple recklessly smeared the City God, the gods sent Zhong Jiu to take action and wipe out this bunch of bastards!

Having figured out the situation, Zhong Yingmei was completely relieved. She served Zhong Jiu a bowl of soup and got straight to the point: "My teacher asked me to invite you to join the Special Operations Department."

Zhong Jiu raised an eyebrow and shook his head without even thinking: "Not interested."

Zhong Yingmei had anticipated this, so she didn't continue to persuade her. Instead, she smiled and said, "The teacher knew that someone like you who can communicate with the gods would definitely look down on the small Special Operations Department. So he asked me to pass on a message to you: name your price."

Zhong Jiu raised his chin, signaling her to continue.

"You've joined the Secret Service with the title of Special Advisor, meaning you're not subject to anyone's control."

"You have a mission from above. Whether you accept it or not is entirely up to you. You don't need to attend any boring meetings or get involved in any messy affairs."

"Conversely, if you need help, you can assign tasks to the Special Operations Department at any time, or even give orders directly."

"You have the right to make suggestions on all major decisions in Nanling Province, and the teacher guarantees that they will be considered 100% carefully."

"If you don't want your identity to be exposed, the Secret Service will keep it completely confidential and use 'Zero' as your name."

As Zhong Yingmei read out these conditions one by one, she couldn't help but gasp. This wasn't an invitation; it was practically handing over the Special Operations Department's resources to Zhong Jiu!

She simply couldn't understand how the teacher had made up his mind to offer such humble conditions.

Chung Kau was also somewhat surprised.

To be honest, he had no interest in the Special Operations Department at first, but after hearing these conditions, he was actually a little tempted.

The reason he revealed his human identity was to understand a principle: it would be beneath the dignity of gods to personally intervene in some matters.

Just like dealing with trash like the Misty Hidden Temple, if he were to descend in his true form as the City God, even if he crushed them to dust, people would still say, "A dignified deity, actually arguing with a bunch of Taoists, how undignified!"

But it's different when he acts as "Chung Gau," the representative of the underworld, who is blessed by the gods and has gained power.

It's both reasonable and powerful for someone of this status to take action against those who provoke the underworld, and it also serves to establish authority.

You can't even defeat the chosen representatives of the gods, how dare you challenge the underworld?

There is a natural divide between God and man, and the identity of "Chung Kau" is the bridge that bridges that divide.

Imagine if an ordinary person could be so powerful just because they were chosen by a god. Wouldn't other people be wildly imagining: If I were devout enough, could I also be chosen by a god?

This wave of intangible propaganda will surely cause the value of faith to skyrocket, won't it?

He had long anticipated that revealing his identity would alarm the authorities, but he never expected Zhang Yunxiao to be willing to go to such great lengths.

In summary: You don't have to do any work, just by being listed as a member, you can enjoy all the privileges!

Zhong Jiu knew perfectly well that Zhang Yunxiao was doing this for two reasons: first, the Special Operations Department lacked a big shot who could keep things in check, and his joining would give the Special Operations Department prestige; second, he wanted to win him over and make connections with the Underworld.

"Sorry, I'm still not interested."

After a moment's consideration, Chung Kau shook his head again, "I don't want to get too involved with the authorities."

Revealing one's identity is for one's own convenience and benefit; but joining the officialdom changes the nature of the situation.

Zhang Yunxiao is making it sound nice now, but is it possible that he'll take the benefits and do nothing?

Once you step in, you're no longer in control of your own destiny; once you take the first step, you'll inevitably take the second.

"However, out of respect for you, I can maintain contact with the authorities."

Zhong Jiu hesitated for a moment, then added, "I will contact you when I need help, and you can help if you are willing; if you have any problems that you can't solve, you can come to me, and I won't let you work for nothing after I've helped you."

Joining is impossible, but maintaining a good relationship is still necessary; official influence can indeed be useful in certain situations.

"Okay, I'll talk to the teacher about it later."

Zhong Yingmei sighed and didn't mention the matter again.

The brother and sister continued eating, and the atmosphere remained as casual as ever, as if nothing had changed.

But Zhong Yingmei knew in her heart that everything was different now; her ordinary brother had become someone she needed to look up to.

After finishing their meal, Zhong Yingmei relayed Zhong Jiu's message to Zhang Yunxiao.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade him otherwise, Zhang Yunxiao had no choice but to give up and accept this relationship, which resembled a cooperative transaction.

At night, the brother and sister both went to sleep.

However, Zhong Jiu's primordial spirit silently left his body and instantly returned to the City God's Mansion.

"Greetings, sir!"

Upon seeing Zhong Jiu return, all the officials in the mansion bowed in unison.

Zhong Jiu walked straight into the temple and opened the system panel.

He previously had ten million faith points, and six million of them were used to advance to the City God rank. The remaining four million, plus subsequent growth, had originally increased to twelve million.

Later, due to the influence of the Hidden Mist Temple, the growth of Faith Points stagnated for a period of time; now that the Hidden Mist Temple has been completely eliminated, the Faith Points have exploded and have already reached 15 million!

Looking at this number, Zhong Jiu was not happy at all. Instead, he had a terrible headache because the promotion conditions marked on the system panel almost made him give up.

[Promotion requirements for a fifth-rank judge: 1. 50 million Faith Points; 2. Achieving great order in Guiling City.]

Fifty million!

It actually requires 50 million faith points!

This is almost ten times the six million required for promotion to City God; it's outrageous!