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Zhou Heng found himself at a loss for words, as Chen Xingjiang spoke with such confidence and righteousness.

There was a sudden silence in the main hall of the great hall.

“Ha, could it be that Daoist Zhou has mistaken something?” Chen Xingjiang suddenly laughed and said, “Out of the emperor’s favor, I have been granted martial arts secret techniques, weapons that fit my hand, and positions of authority. Naturally, I must fulfill the royal family’s demands.

“Indeed, protecting the peace of the land and ensuring the safety of the people is my duty. However, this duty is imposed upon me by the royal family. When the royal family has other demands of me, I naturally prioritize them.”

“You speak with such clarity, truly a little villain,” Zhou Heng sneered, “They say a parent official should appeal on behalf of the people, extending the welfare of the region. It seems that in your case, sir, it’s just empty talk after all.”

“The kind of official you speak of does exist. I’ve seen them and not in small numbers,” Chen Xingjiang also stood up, still smiling, and said, “Sadly, I am not one of them. I have disappointed you, Daoist Zhou.”

“I will destroy the Medicine God Sect,” Zhou Heng openly declared.

“Daoist Zhou, go ahead. I won’t stop you,” Chen Xingjiang’s smiling face turned serious again as he returned to calmness, “However, if the sixteenth prince learns that his ‘toy’ has been destroyed, he is most likely to target you.”

“If he dares, then let him come,” Zhou Heng was about to sweep away, but as he reached the door, he stopped, turned around, and looked at Chen Xingjiang, “But simply leaving like this won’t satisfy me. Would the Prefectural Governor care to lower his cultivation for a moment and exchange one move with me using his unique martial arts?”

“Why not?” Chen Xingjiang laughed heartily, “However, there’s no need for me to lower my cultivation.”

With that, one of his hairs broke off on its own, fell to the ground, and with a light tremor, became another Chen Xingjiang, but only with the cultivation at the peak of the Seventh Rank.

“Hair Incarnation Technique, truly befitting of a Fourth Rank ultimate Great Grandmaster,” Zhou Heng praised before advancing, his right hand stretched forward, fingers formed into a sword, and aimed straight at the heart of Chen Xingjiang’s incarnation.

This sword-pointing technique was exquisite and the speed was extremely fast; in almost an instant, it had arrived in front of Chen Xingjiang’s incarnation, seemingly about to hit his heart.

But just at that moment, the incarnation of Chen Xingjiang suddenly leaped up, using lightweight kung fu to jump, a palm shot from within his sleeve with the force of thunder, striking down from above towards the top of Zhou Heng’s head.

Facing such a thunderous strike, Zhou Heng actually didn’t dodge or evade but took the blow with the top of his head.

Clang!

A deafening bell sound erupted, as Zhou Heng summoned the Golden Light, grabbed with his hand, and conjured a Golden Light Giant Hand out of nowhere, which then squeezed the incarnation of Chen Xingjiang within.

Bang!

Chen Xingjiang’s incarnation was crushed on the spot, turning back into a strand of hair, drifting to the ground.

“Farewell!” Zhou Heng turned and left immediately.

“Escort our guest out!” Chen Xingjiang waved his sleeve, appearing quite dissatisfied.

After Zhou Heng had left, the prefectural governor of Fangzhou regained his composure, gulped down the tea that Zhou Heng hadn’t touched, and turned his gaze to the entrance of the main hall.

“All proclaim the vastness of the emperor’s grace. But is it that easy to bear?” Chen Xingjiang put down the tea bowl and chuckled lightly again, “Young people these days think too little and act on impulse.

“If the Da Qi Royal Family didn’t have some tricks up their sleeve, how could they remain as the sovereign of the thirty-three states for three thousand years without faltering? The world is far more complicated than you think.

“The matter of the Medicine God Sect, I’m leaving it in your hands.”

…

Song Yingshu and the others followed Zhou Cheng out of the County City Office with a look of bewilderment.

They all noticed that Zhou Heng’s expression seemed to be not that good, as if he had parted on bad terms with Prefectural Governor Chen Xingjiang. As for what actually happened, they all dared not ask.

They could only continue to follow behind Zhou Heng.

“Tomorrow morning, meet at the Yu Xing Inn. I will take you to the Medicine God Sect,” Zhou Heng left them with these words and turned his way toward Yu Xing Inn, the place where he was staying, and where his date-red horse was also being kept.

After splitting up with Song Yingshu and the others, Zhou Heng’s expression, which had been cold since returning to his room in the inn, finally eased.

Although he did not part on good terms with Chen Xingjiang this time, the purpose of his visit to the Prefectural Governor’s Office had actually been achieved—he had clarified the nature of the Medicine God Sect.

As for Prefectural Governor Chen Xingjiang, he seemed like a deceitful little villain, but in reality, he was as sly as a fox.

From the beginning, Chen Xingjiang admitted that the existence of the Medicine God Sect was his dereliction of duty and expressed his shame.

But immediately after, he shifted the topic, clarifying that the true reason for the sect’s existence wasn’t due to him but was because of the sixteenth prince of Da Qi.

This effectively absolved him of responsibility.

Later when Zhou Heng questioned him on why, as the ruler of a state and a Fourth Rank ultimate Great Grandmaster, he did not refuse the prince’s request, he cited his indebtedness to the imperial grace, stating that everything must comply with the will of the royal family.

Yet, when Zhou Heng expressed his intention to destroy the Medicine God Sect, he made no attempt to stop him.

How could this resemble someone who obediently follows imperial will?

Moreover, with the authority of the prefectural governor of Fangzhou and the power of a Fourth Rank ultimate Great Grandmaster, if he truly wished to control an evil sect barely a hundred miles away with top combat strength only at the Seventh Rank, he could definitely suppress it thoroughly, preventing any evil actions.

Yet, in reality, the Medicine God Sect was still able to brazenly enter the city. This was something not even the city guards dared to interfere with, and the sect even dared to commit acts as abhorrent as kidnapping people for experiments.

Chen Xingjiang did not explicitly state this, but the implication was clear from his words—that all of this was because the sixteenth prince wanted to “play” with it.

Zhou Heng did not know the specifics about the sixteenth prince, but he saw clearly Chen Xingjiang’s intentions. The prefectural governor outwardly professed loyalty to the royal family, but in fact, he was merely seeking a scapegoat for himself.

Whether that scapegoat was credible or not, from Chen Xingjiang’s point of view, he had no intention of shouldering any responsibility himself.

Whether it was establishing the Medicine God Sect, maintaining its existence, or ultimately destroying it,

Chen Xingjiang wanted to extricate himself completely.

In reality, the reason why the Medicine God Sect was so brazen was because of Chen Xingjiang’s indulgence.

It was probably his way of using someone else to eliminate the sect.

By deliberately allowing the Medicine God Sect to act unrestrainedly, it was inevitable that someone would eventually come to destroy it.

And if the prince were to inquire afterwards, he could claim that he was respecting the prince’s authority, not daring to place too many restrictions on the sect.

Chen Xingjiang must have been looking to destroy the Medicine God Sect.

This should be beyond doubt.

Others aside, without the Medicine God Sect, he would be the absolute authority in Fangzhou.

But with the Medicine God Sect lingering, it was like a knot in his heart.

A knot he could do nothing about.

Even if he could suppress it entirely, as long as this knot existed, there would always be a feeling of discomfort.

Moreover, Chen Xingjiang had clearly tried to provoke Zhou Heng with some seemingly casual remarks before, thereby reinforcing Zhou Heng’s desire to eradicate the Medicine God Sect.

These arrangements step by step—

Letting the consequences of indulging the Medicine God Sect fall on the common people, the reason for allowing their evil deeds was because of the grace of the Royal Family, and the ones who went to eliminate the Medicine God Sect did so of their own volition.

It all had nothing to do with Chen Xingjiang.

“What a meticulous calculation, Prefectural Governor Chen,” Zhou Heng remarked.

During his time at the County City yamen, Zhou Heng had already vaguely understood Chen Xingjiang’s intentions. Now, after reviewing everything from beginning to end, he felt like applauding Chen Xingjiang.

Such a shirking of responsibility, I’d call it a masterstroke.

“Too bad, you’ve fallen one move short,” Zhou Heng’s eyes narrowed, his thoughts shifted, and he reviewed the reward notification he had received from exchanging blows with Chen Xingjiang’s incarnation.

…

“You are watching Chen Xingjiang perform the Secret Technique ‘Hair Incarnation Technique’ [Absolute Fourth Rank]. Though you ponder deeply, you feel an epiphany yet completely fail to understand, gaining no proficiency.”

…

“Chen Xingjiang’s Hair Incarnation uses Martial Arts ‘Falling Petals Sky Flying Palm’ [Secret Six Rank] to attack you, and you execute Martial Arts ‘Golden Bell Cover’ [Secret Six Rank] to successfully defend.

“You deeply comprehend the strength and intricacies contained in Martial Arts ‘Falling Petals Sky Flying Palm’ [Secret Six Rank], gain some understanding, proficiency +0.01.”

“As you have already mastered a similar higher-ranked Martial Arts ‘Three Palms Overturning the Heavens’ [Absolute Fourth Rank], you have a commanding view over palm techniques, leading to cross-sectional learning, Martial Arts ‘Falling Petals Sky Flying Palm’ [Secret Six Rank] proficiency +1.”

…

“Congratulations! The proficiency of Martial Arts ‘Falling Petals Sky Flying Palm’ [Secret Six Rank] has reached 1, officially mastering this martial arts. Affected by a similar higher-ranked Martial Arts, proficiency +12000.”

…

[Secret Six Rank] Falling Petals Sky Flying Palm: Level 5 (2000/5000)

…

Honestly, it’s quite thrilling.

I’ve directly picked up a Secret Six Rank Martial Arts for free.

Zhou Heng looked at these reward notifications, his lips involuntarily curling up into a smile.

Before leaving the County City yamen, when he suggested exchanging blows with Chen Xingjiang, it wasn’t out of resentment. His goal was to learn a martial arts technique from Chen Xingjiang.

Any would do.

As long as it was Chen Xingjiang’s Martial Arts.

And incidentally, to get a sense of Chen Xingjiang’s strength characteristics.

Originally, he was worried about how to simulate the force of a Great Grandmaster at the absolute peak, whose cultivation had been lowered, yet who still possessed a very high grade of Inner Qi.

Unexpectedly, Chen Xingjiang was so considerate that he had created an Inner Qi incarnation.

“In this way, by using the ‘Three Lives All Things’ inner view in conjunction with the Small Wuxiang Power to simulate Chen Xingjiang’s Inner Qi, and then executing Falling Petals Sky Flying Palm, it would be as if Chen Xingjiang himself made the move,” Zhou Heng thought with a smile, taking out a thin, cicada-wing-like mask and carefully putting it on his face.

In the blink of an eye, he became a “faceless person,” without any discernible features.

Then, Zhou Heng “opened” a pair of eyes and, using a mirror, he slowly “grew” a nose and ears, “opening” his mouth.

Quickly, he changed to look exactly like Chen Xingjiang.

Identical in every way!

This was the Disguise Mask he had obtained from opening the Fortune Bag, which could directly transform his face into another.

A person with a face identical to Chen Xingjiang, using Chen Xingjiang’s martial arts, doing what Chen Xingjiang wanted to do.

Now that’s the real masterstroke!

The best way to deal with someone desperately trying to shirk responsibility is, of course, to saddle them with a blame they absolutely do not want to carry.

As for whether or not it’ll be exposed afterward, Zhou Heng didn’t think it was important.

It was only necessary to first splash this dirty water out and throw this blame onto him, letting everyone form the fixed impression that “Chen Xingjiang destroyed the Medicine God Sect”—that would be enough.

So what if it’s exposed later?

As a disciple of the latter generations of Pure Yang Palace, a junior fellow of Celestials, holding numerous trump cards in hand, who was he to fear?

Zhou Heng wasn’t even afraid of being discovered by Chen Xingjiang.

Would Chen Xingjiang really dare to make a move against him?

This blame, you, Chen Xingjiang, may not want to carry, but you’ll have to!

After changing his appearance, Zhou Heng meticulously adjusted his hairstyle and changed his clothes, then he stealthily left the city gate, heading to the Medicine God Sect’s location.

Prefectural Governor Chen, don’t you want to eradicate the Medicine God Sect?

Then I will fulfill your wish!

Let “you” personally destroy the Medicine God Sect!!