A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

If inner demons are this powerful, then the physical body must be even more formidable.

Zhang Yucheng is truly amazing.

Ji Zuodao knew about this before, but not thoroughly.

Just like you know Mount Everest is very high, but the feeling of standing at the foot of the mountain and looking up is completely different from the feeling of looking down from an airplane.

The longer Ji Zuodao stayed in the 749th Bureau of Jinghai, the more he felt the unfathomable terror of Zhang Yucheng.

He used to marvel at Zhang Yucheng's cultivation level, which was so profound that its depth was unfathomable.

When he stands in front of you, you feel as if you've stepped into an abyss, unable to find the bottom or the edge, and your heart races with fear.

You can clearly see him right there, smiling, seemingly harmless, but you just have a gut feeling—

If he really wanted to kill you, you wouldn't even know how you died.

But in the past few days, Ji Zuodao's understanding has been refreshed again.

He finally understood: cultivation level is nothing to brag about.

The key to Wuhou Qimen Dunjia isn't Qimen Dunjia, it's Wuhou (cough cough, wrong story).

What's truly terrifying about Zhang Yucheng isn't his unfathomable cultivation level at all.

That thing was at best an added bonus, the least remarkable of his many impressive qualities.

It's like going to a banquet where the table is full of delicacies, but the host brings out a plate of smashed cucumber. At first, you don't think much of it and think it's just an ordinary cold dish.

But when you taste it, wow, this cucumber salad is even more flavorful than Buddha Jumps Over the Wall!

Upon further inquiry, it turned out that the cucumber salad was simmered in a rich broth with eighteen kinds of seasonings, and the preparation work alone took three days.

Zhang Yucheng's cultivation level is like that plate of smashed cucumbers—it looks unremarkable, but it's actually quite profound.

But his real skill lay in that pot of broth, those eighteen kinds of seasonings, and the three days of preparation.

You can't see these things at all unless you delve into them deeply.

That day, Ji Zuodao went to Zhang Yucheng to ask for leave.

He was determined to go to Shanghai to cause trouble for the Wang family. The plan was almost complete, and all that was left was to ask for leave from his workplace to go through the formalities.

After all, he is now a full-time employee of Bureau 749, a section-level cadre. He can't just skip work and run off to another place without saying a word, can he?

That would be incredibly disrespectful to the leader.

Zhang Yucheng was practicing calligraphy in his office. He didn't seem to have any other hobbies; all he did was write, and he always wrote the same few phrases over and over again.

"Upright and honorable", "Obtaining by trickery and force", "Eliminating harm for the people", "It's all my doing"...

After writing them, they were hung on the wall, covering an entire wall, like a calligraphy exhibition.

Upon hearing that Ji Zuodao wanted to ask for leave to go to Shanghai to cause trouble for the Wang family, Zhang Yucheng didn't even raise an eyelid, nor did he stop writing. He simply asked casually, "How long will you be gone?"

"It depends. It could be as quick as a week, or as slow as half a month."

"Okay, approved."

Zhang Yucheng nodded, finished writing the last stroke of the last character, put down the brush, took off his glasses, and looked up at Ji Zuodao.

"I know Shanghai well. I'll use my connections to help you out."

Ji Zuodao felt quite pleased upon hearing this.

Uncle Zhang is really kind. Knowing that he was unfamiliar with the area and afraid that he would suffer losses, he specially found a tour guide to help him.

He had never been to that place in Shanghai before, but having an acquaintance to show him around made things much easier.

He was just about to say a few words of thanks when he saw Zhang Yucheng turn around, walk to the bookcase behind his desk, open the cabinet door, and pull out a thick notebook.

The notebook had a black cover, looked quite old, with worn-out edges and a thickness comparable to a brick, and contained at least three or four hundred pages.

Zhang Yucheng placed the notebook on the table with a dull thud, indicating that it was quite heavy.

Then he opened the notebook and started flipping through the pages one by one.

His movements and expression were like those of a retired veteran flipping through his contact list, looking for an old comrade to catch up with—slow, unhurried, and unperturbed.

He kept muttering to himself, "Let me see... Shanghai... Shanghai... Ah, found it."

His finger stopped at a certain line, he looked up at Ji Zuodao, and said with a smile:

"Xiao Wu is the director of the 749 Bureau in Shanghai, doing quite well. Oh, and there's also Xiao Ye, a secretary in Shanghai, also doing pretty well. I'll give them a call later and ask them to do me a favor."

Ji Zuodao was stunned.

No.

Wait a minute.

What did he hear?

Director of the 749 Bureau in Shanghai?

The Party Secretary in Shanghai?

Either of these titles implies someone who can roam freely in Shanghai.

One is the highest-ranking official who controls the entire cultivation world in Shanghai, and the other is the local official in charge of a metropolis with tens of millions of people.

Are these two people related to Zhang Yucheng?

Moreover, judging from Zhang Yucheng's tone, it was so casual, as if he were saying, "I have a friend in Shanghai who runs a small shop, I'll have him get you a bottle of water later," as if he didn't take it seriously at all.

Ji Zuodao opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that he didn't know what to say for the time being.

He had only one thought in his mind—

No, Uncle Zhang's network of connections is really too strong, isn't it?

Is there any need for him to go to Shanghai in person?

It seems like Uncle Zhang only needs to open his mouth and make a phone call to make the Wang family obediently kneel down and sing "Conquer".

Why would he bother with all that effort?

Just have Uncle Zhang make a phone call, and that old geezer from the Wang family will have to come running to Jinghai to kowtow and apologize.

Zhang Yucheng seemed to notice Ji Zuodao's surprise, chuckled, adjusted his glasses, and explained in a casual tone:

"Hey, they're all old subordinates from the former East Star Society. After I came ashore, I felt it was a waste of their talents to have them working as lowly investigators under me, so I sent them to develop in other places. I didn't expect these guys to be so ambitious and actually make a name for themselves."

After hearing this, Ji Zuodao's lips twitched, and he had a lot of complaints in his mind, but he didn't know whether he should say them or not.

No, Uncle Zhang, you call the director of Bureau 749 and the municipal party secretary "something that has made a name for themselves"?

Is this what they call "making a name for yourself"?

If this is called "making a name for himself," then what is he, the head of the Demon Management Section of the 749th Bureau of the Jinghai Command? Is he just "barely making ends meet"?

Also, do you call those "several" old subordinates?

Ji Zuodao had just glanced at that notebook.

Although it was just a fleeting glance, his eyesight was excellent and his memory even better. In that single glance, he saw a dense array of names and titles, categorized by city, covering almost all major cities across the country.

Each city has at least one or two names, and sometimes three or four, with a wide variety of job titles listed.

Even the lowest-ranking ones are only section chiefs.

In other words, Zhang Yucheng had placed at least a hundred of his own people all over the country, and the worst of these people were at the same level as Ji Zuodao.

Ji Zuodao suddenly felt that his position as the head of the Demon Management Section was nothing special.

He used to think he was pretty awesome, a nineteen-year-old section-level cadre, a unique achievement in the entire 749 system.

Compared to Zhang Yucheng's old subordinates who had "made a name for themselves," his achievements were simply insignificant.

He glanced at the thick notebook again, and a bold idea suddenly popped into his head—

Holy crap, what is Uncle Zhang trying to do?

Usurpation?

Honestly, if Zhang Yucheng were to raise his arms and declare that he would change the world, Ji Zuodao would be the first to rush forward and drape a yellow robe over him.

Damn it, at least I should at least get some credit for following the emperor's rise to power, right?

When Zhang Yucheng becomes emperor, shouldn't he at least be granted the title of "One-Character King"?

Isn't that much better than being a lowly head of the Demon Management Section?

Ji Zuodao became more and more pleased with himself, and a smile unconsciously spread across his face.

Looking at his silly grin, Zhang Yucheng had no idea what he was thinking, so he simply waved his hand and said:

"Alright, stop standing there like an idiot. Go do what you're supposed to do. I'll call Xiao Wu and Xiao Ye later. You can go directly to them when you get to Shanghai. If you need anything, just let me know, don't hesitate."

Ji Zuodao snapped out of his daze and quickly nodded, "Okay, okay, thank you, Uncle Zhang! You're busy, Uncle Zhang, I'll be going now!"

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked out.

As he reached the door, he couldn't help but turn back and glance at the notebook on the table.

The black notebook lay quietly on the table, its cover worn and the edges faded, looking rather unremarkable.

But Ji Zuodao knew that the thing was practically a "Record of the Unmasked Officialdom of the Han Dynasty".

The difference between who's on top and who's not is huge.

He secretly made up his mind that he must rely on Zhang Yuchen's coattails from now on.

Hold on tight, and you'll enjoy the best food and drink.

If you can't hold on tight, you can only watch others enjoy the good life.

He understands this principle.