Sage of Humanity
Chapter 951 - 949 Decision

The reason Third Brother Xiao Xinghe encountered so much unjust treatment over there, and why Tan Shu even attempted to use a borrowed knife to kill him in public, was all because of his affiliation with the Righteous Blood Sect.

Xiao Xinghe, who can barely count as a disciple of Green Emperor City now, is facing such dire circumstances there.

If Lu Ye, a legitimate disciple of the Righteous Blood Sect, were to go to Jinglan Lake Pass, who knows what kind of oppression he might face.

Therefore, even if he wanted to go to Jinglan Lake Pass, it is clear he definitely should not go.

Staying at Cangyan Mountain Pass is also not viable, as Nian Yuexian pointed out, in Bingzhou, the Righteous Blood Sect has many friends and just as many enemies. If a Divine Sea Realm cultivator who harbors a grudge against the sect master were to come, his future days wouldn't be any better.

Thus, although Nian Yuexian gave him three options, in reality, there's only one choice.

Go to the Justice Department and join Qian Wudang's side!

Fortunately, doing so is not without reason. Last time, Lu Ye collaborated with the A-3 squad and performed admirably, and coupled with the transaction of Explosive Fire Spirit Stones, going to the Justice Department means Qian Wudang won't overlook him.

Once a decision was made, Lu Ye stopped dwelling on this matter.

The battlefield marking suddenly activated. Upon investigation, Lu Ye discovered he had received battle merit from refining Explosive Fire Spirit Stones; six thousand Explosive Fire Spirit Stones brought him a full three hundred thousand battle merits.

Now his battle merits have exceeded five hundred and twenty thousand, breaking the previous record.

While he acquired battle merits easily, he spent them quickly. Not to mention that exchanging gold-hued spirit fortune sticks for cultivation requires a long-term financial commitment, Lu Ye eyed many treasures in the Hall of Battle Merits that he wished to buy, all requiring a considerable amount of battle merits.

After advancing to True Lake Level 3 last time, Lu Ye felt his cultivation was progressing too rapidly, so he hadn't focused on cultivation much over the past two months, fearing his foundation might be unstable.

Now, with so many battle merits in hand and more than two months' worth of accumulation, it's time to improve his cultivation.

If he is to work at the Justice Department in the future, naturally, the higher his cultivation, the better.

Moreover, with his current True Lake Level 3 cultivation, the next step is to reach Level 4.

For cultivators at every major realm, the breakthroughs at Level 4 and Level 7 bring considerable improvements in power.

This is why Lu Ye's slaying of True Lake Level 7 Tan Shu previously caused such a shock among both factions of cultivators.

Even though he had previously bested True Lake Level 6 sword cultivator Zhang Youlin, no one expected he could defeat Tan Shu—yet not only did he win, it was almost instantaneous.

Lu Ye headed to Heaven's Augury Hall, connected to the Hall of Battle Merits, as usual, fed the two dragons, and walked in with grace.

He exchanged twenty gold-hued spirit fortune sticks at once.

Such a bold move, if seen by others, would surely cause them to be astonished; cultivators from the Nine Provinces, when buying gold-hued spirit fortune sticks from Heaven's Augury treasure vault, rarely purchase so many at once and typically buy them one by one.

After all, battle merits are hard to come by...

The following days were spent in cultivation.

Three days later, Lu Ye once again arrived at Nian Yuexian's bamboo lodge.

"Have you made up your mind?" Nian Yuexian asked.

"I have decided, and I am willing to join the Justice Department. I request your recommendation, my lord."

This result was expected, so Nian Yuexian wasn't too surprised. There was no need for a recommendation either; back when Lu Ye went to Haotian City, Qian Wudang had already wanted to ask Nian Yuexian for him. At that time, he felt that Lu Ye had great potential and did not want him wasting away at Cangyan Mountain Pass.

The subsequent events further made Qian Wudang realize Lu Ye's immense value, especially in refining Explosive Fire Spirit Stones.

In this regard, Lu Ye can achieve as much as several Divine Sea Realm cultivators combined.

Lu Ye is willing to join the Justice Department; Qian Wudang couldn't ask for more.

"Then off you go. I've already spoken to Qian Wudang."

"Yes!" Lu Ye responded firmly, "I wish you, my lord, grand fortune and a new peak in your cultivation during this retreat."

He respectfully backed away, then turned and strode off.

"Lu Ye!" Nian Yuexian's voice called from behind.

Lu Ye turned back, "Any other instructions, my lord?"

Nian Yuexian's red lips twitched slightly, "Be careful always; whatever happens, preserving yourself is paramount."

Lu Ye nodded solemnly, "Thank you, my lord, for your concern!"

With a firm step on the ground and the activation of his spirit force, he soared into the sky, quickly turning into a speck of red light.

Nian Yuexian stepped to the doorway, raised her eyes to watch until Lu Ye's silhouette vanished from her sight, and only then did she slowly withdraw her gaze.

Lu Ye was gone; she would have to continue waiting. The deployment and arrangement from Haotian City required some procedures, and she needed to wait until the situation at Cangyan Mountain Pass settled down before she could leave.

The entire world seemed to quiet down.

This caused Nian Yuexian to frown slightly.

She had been holding her solitary post here for decades and was long accustomed to such solitude. Even while Lu Ye was around, they didn't communicate much, and the entire Cangyan Mountain Pass remained serene.

But after Lu Ye left, she realized that the solitude now felt different from the previous tranquility.

In just a few months, her state of mind had been affected...

She raced on, heading straight for Haotian City.

Lu Ye hadn't expected his tenure at the Cangyan Mountain Pass to be so brief, seemingly only four or five months in total, with two of those months spent in the Sword Weapon Sect's secret realm.

In other words, he spent less than three months at the Cangyan Mountain Pass.

But there was no help for it, as Nian Yuexian intended to be in secluded meditation for a long time. Such a large pass couldn't be left to someone like him, a True Lake Level 3 cultivator, to manage.

He had no idea who the new superior would be, nor if they would target or trouble him. Rather than wait for such an uncertain future, it was better to take a more stable path.

At the very least, he had some prior interaction with Qian Wudang, who harbored no malice toward him.

The journey was peaceful.

Haotian City came into view in the distance.

Entering the city, Lu Ye headed straight for the Law Enforcement Hall and was announced upon his arrival, stepping inside with his sword.

Qian Wudang sat behind a desk, seemingly handling official duties. Upon seeing him, he smiled and pointed to the side, "Sit for a while first!"

Lu Ye heeded the suggestion and took a seat, closing his eyes to rest.

Soon, someone brought aromatic tea, and a faint fragrance wafted over.

Lu Ye opened his eyes to see that the one serving tea was the same beautiful female cultivator he had seen here before. Their eyes met, and Lu Ye nodded slightly in greeting, to which she responded with a soft smile.

She did not leave but went behind Qian Wudang instead, massaging his shoulders with a tender demeanor, occasionally leaning over to look at the documents on the desk with him, appearing very intimate.

Lu Ye took a sip of tea and turned to look outside.

Qian Wudang... wasn't a great catch either.

Though he didn't know who the woman was, judging by the situation, he could guess she was likely Qian Wudang's wife or concubine and was quite favored. Otherwise, in such a setting, how could a Justice Department Chief like Qian Wudang be so indulgent with her?

The woman appeared young, but in the cultivator community, age couldn't be discerned from appearance alone. Both Shui Yuan and Nian Yuexian looked to be in their early twenties at a glance, yet they were indeed much older than twenty.

So while the woman looked young, she might actually be several decades old.

As for her cultivation... Lu Ye couldn't discern any depth since she wasn't using spirit force, making it difficult to judge.

"Alright, off you go," Qian Wudang suddenly said, possibly feeling the need to maintain a semblance of authority as the Department Chief in Lu Ye's presence, knowing they'd be working together in a superior-subordinate relationship.

The woman pouted, looking displeased, and clung to Qian Wudang's arm, coquettishly protesting, "I don't want to..."

Lu Ye got goosebumps.

Qian Wudang placated her softly, promising to see her later, finally managing to coax her away.

The woman showed etiquette by bowing to Lu Ye before leaving.

After she left, Qian Wudang gestured for Lu Ye to approach.

Lu Ye stood up and went to the desk, saluting as he spoke, "Lu Ye of the Righteous Blood Sect, reporting in!"

Qian Wudang leaned back in his chair, satisfied as he assessed Lu Ye, "I wanted to transfer you to the Law Enforcement Hall earlier, but Nian Yuexian wouldn't let you go, leaving me helpless. Fortunately, with her now occupied, she has entrusted you to me, which is a blessing in disguise." He paused. "Do you know what has happened to Nian Yuexian? She has never left the Cangyan Mountain Pass in all these years, and for her to suddenly resign is quite unexpected."

Lu Ye frowned slightly, from Qian Wudang's words it seemed he was unaware of Nian Yuexian's intent to enter seclusion for cultivation. Since Nian Yuexian hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't speak up either, and instead replied, "I don't know. I had little interaction with the Mountain Pass Chief at the pass, so she wouldn't share such matters with me."

Qian Wudang nodded slightly, "That's understandable. A Divine Sea Realm cultivator wouldn't explain their actions to a True Lake Realm, especially someone like Nian Yuexian."

"Regardless, from now on, you are a member of the Law Enforcement Hall. I intend for you to focus on refining Explosive Fire Spirit Stones. Do you have any objections?"

"Yes!" Lu Ye responded immediately.

"Oh?" Qian Wudang smirked. "What objections do you have? Speak, though whether I heed them or not is up to me."

"Refining Explosive Fire Spirit Stones doesn't require much effort. I'm confident I can fulfill this duty while serving the Law Enforcement Hall and therefore don't need to devote all my energy to it."

Qian Wudang understood, "You mean you'd like to join the Law Enforcement Hall to take on missions outside?"

"Yes!"

"Explain your reasoning."

After a brief moment of contemplation, Lu Ye spoke, "Since beginning my journey on the path of cultivation, I have experienced battlefields like the Spirit Stream battlefield and Cloud River battlefield, but ultimately these places are just small corners of the Nine Provinces. Now that I have reached the True Lake Realm, I wish to witness more of the Nine Provinces' splendor, so I do not want to be confined to one place. I kindly ask for your approval."

"Makes sense," Qian Wudang stroked his chin. "With your cultivation level and your past performance, joining the Law Enforcement Hall shouldn't be an issue. However, do consider that carrying out missions can often involve risks. If you choose full-time refining of Explosive Fire Spirit Stones, at least your safety could be guaranteed."