Book 3 - Chapter 25: Control

Chapter 25: Control

Yuan Lieyang was the only other Yang Opening Realm cultivator in the Origin Bureau apart from Liu Wuya.

Of note was that he wasn’t actually Liu Wuya’s follower, and his relationship with the Bloodline Nobility Clans was weak. However, this only meant that their interactions were limited; there was no way that they wouldn’t interact at all. Every Origin Qi Scholar within the bureau had, one way or another, taken advantage of the benefits offered by the Bloodline Nobility Clans. Otherwise, they might not have been able to make it. And even if they wanted more, the Bloodline Nobility Clans might not be willing to give it to them.

Yuan Lieyang was someone like this.

He wasn’t a die-hard supporter of Liu Wuya, and he had taken advantage of some benefits from the ten Bloodline Nobility Clans. He wasn’t blindly loyal to Liu Wuya, but he had never opposed him – he just had his own thoughts.

His displeasure with Su Chen was because Su Chen had taken the Knowledge Executor position he had longed for. It had nothing to do with the ten Bloodline Nobility Clans.

Even though his rank was lower than Su Chen’s, his strength as someone in the Yang Opening realm wasn’t easy to overlook.

Thus, if he didn’t take care of Yuan Lieyang, Su Chen wouldn’t be able to truly bring everyone in the Origin Bureau under his control.

Yuan Lieyang was the last one to be notified.

Cao Zhengjun was very smart; he immediately understood Su Chen’s intentions and left the hardest bones for last. He let Su Chen deal with all of the weeds first before focusing all of his attention on dealing with Yuan Lieyang.

By the time Yuan Lieyang arrived, the hall was filled with Origin Qi Scholars, and the front yard was packed with martial artists.

He was caught off-guard by the large number of people gathered here. Upon seeing Su Chen sitting in the seat of honor, his expression became even more complicated.

“You……”

He pointed at Su Chen and said in disbelief, “Su Chen, what are you doing?”

Then, he glanced at everyone else. “What are you all doing? Don’t you see that Su Chen is sitting in City Head Liu’s spot? You aren’t forcing him down here?”

Su Chen replied, “There’s no need, Sir Yuan. City Head Liu is no longer here; as the Knowledge Executor, I’m responsible for taking his position temporarily.”

“What did you say?” Yuan Lieyang gazed in shock at Su Chen. “What happened to City Head Liu?”

“Naturally, he died.”

“Died?” Yuan Lieyang repeated that word before he recovered somewhat from his shock. “Died? How did he die?”

“The Clear River City Long Clan ignored kingdom law and assaulted City Head Liu. City Head Liu weeded out the traitors, but hadn’t expected to be attacked here. He died on the job.”

“The Long Clan!” Yuan Lieyang yelled.

What kind of joke was this?

But he immediately understood soon after. “You killed Liu Wuya?”

Su Chen gently swirled the cup of tea in his hand. “Sir Yuan, a loose tongue causes a lot of trouble. I already said that City Head Liu died to the Long Clan. If you still maintain that I was the one who killed him, that sounds like you’re slandering a superior?”

Yuan Lieyang quickly restrained his emotions. He glanced at everyone else. “So you all think this is the case too?”

An Origin Qi Scholar bowed. “In reply to sir, since Knowledge Executor Su has said as much, that’s how it happened.”

This person was called Duan Feng. His status within the Origin Bureau wasn’t high. He had apparently offended Liu Wuya in the past; as such, he had always been suppressed. After Liu Wuya died, he was the first to recognize Su Chen’s position.

This was a very risky decision. He had picked a side very quickly while the situation had still been unclear; if the winds were to suddenly change, he would undoubtedly have a tragic fate. Short-term, there was the retaliation from the ten Bloodline Nobility Clans. Even now, Yuan Lieyang was in the Yang Opening realm, while Su Chen was still in the Blood Boiling realm. They were in completely different tiers.

Yet, Duan Feng had chosen to do so anyway.

He had seen Liu Wuya’s strength before, and he had watched Su Chen kill one of Liu Wuya’s Blood Boiling Realm supporters with a single blow. He didn’t believe for a second that Su Chen was suicidal.

If he dared to do it, he had something giving him the confidence to do it.

That was why he had chosen to support Su Chen without hesitation.

Even though this was quite risky, there would be a large payoff.

Yuan Lieyang harrumphed, “What about Jiang Huali, Liu Tong, and the others? Why aren’t they here?”

“They were with City Head Liu Wuya at the time, so they probably suffered the same fate,” Su Chen replied.

Yuan Lieyang’s gaze trembled slightly.

How vicious!

This Su Chen had just killed Liu Wuya, yet he had already swept away Liu Wuya’s diehard supporters like they were decaying trash. His decisiveness and speed gave Yuan Lieyang quite the shock.

The question was, how had he done it?

How had a Blood Boiling Realm Origin Qi Scholar killed Liu Wuya, Jiang Huali, and the others?

He glanced at an Origin Qi Scholar not far away from him.

That Origin Qi Scholar understood. His lips moved slightly as he sent his words into Yuan Lieyang’s ears, describing all that had taken place prior to this.

Su Chen saw it. He made no effort to stop it, but he silently committed that Origin Qi Scholar’s appearance to memory.

It wasn’t until this point that Yuan Lieyang knew why he was the last one to arrive.

“Cao Zhengjun!” He glared fiercely at Cao Zhengjun.

Cao Zhengjun was so frightened that he collapsed onto the ground, not daring to lift up his head. All he could do was hope that Su Chen had some kind of backup to defeat this person; otherwise, he might not see the light of day again.

Yuan Lieyang stared at Su Chen. “So, Knowledge Executor Su is going to bear the responsibility of managing the Origin Bureau now?”

“I am bound by duty to do so!” Su Chen replied.

Yuan Lieyang nodded. “Then I want to know: how does Knowledge Executor Su plan on running things after taking charge?”

He didn’t jump to oppose Su Chen directly. Instead, he openly asked Su Chen what his plan was. No one could understand what his intentions were.

Su Chen replied straightforwardly, “Naturally, I will devote myself to my work and do as much as I can.”

Upon hearing these words, Yuan Lieyang sank into a strange, silent state of contemplation.

After quite a long time, he suddenly said, “I don’t like you.”

When those words were uttered, everyone felt their hearts tighten.

A moment later, however, Yuan Lieyang continued, “But you are still the Origin Bureau’s Knowledge Executor. Since the Bureau Head is dead, the Knowledge Executor should temporarily take over. That’s all fair and according to the law, and I have no objections.”

Everyone there was dumbfounded.

Yuan Lieyang continued, “How City Head Liu died and who killed him, I have no interest in knowing, and I don’t need to know. Finding the true culprit is the Investigations Office’s business, not mine. All I know is that Liu Wuya made the decisions when he was in charge, and I was only responsible for carrying them out. As long as the order wasn’t unreasonable, I would obey. The same is true now that you’re in control of the Origin Bureau. As long as your orders are reasonable, I will obey them. But don’t think that I will support you or obey you unconditionally. I, Yuan Lieyang, am an Origin Qi Scholar under the Origin Bureau, and I don’t want to ally myself too closely with any group. If there’s going to be a fight, you fight it on your own – don’t drag me down with you. Knowledge Executor Su, do you have any objections to this?”

Su Chen laughed.

“Of course there’s no problem. What Sir Yuan has proposed is exactly in line with my expectations. Sir Yuan, don’t worry. I will honor my duty to the Origin Bureau, and I will do what I need to do.”

“That’s fine. If there’s nothing else, then I’ll leave first,” Yuan Lieyang said as he turned around and left.

Su Chen didn’t stop him. He watched as Yuan Lieyang departed.

Yuan Lieyang moved slowly, but every one of his steps was extremely steady.

It wasn’t until he left the Origin Bureau that his feeling as if someone had a knife to his back disappeared.

Yuan Lieyang let out a long sigh and wiped away the sweat on his forehead. He glanced behind him quickly before leaving in a hurry.

Within the main hall of the Origin Bureau.

After Yuan Lieyang left, Su Chen said, “The matter has been resolved. Since no one has any objections, everyone can leave.”

Having been pardoned, everyone left in a hurry.

Soon, no one remained in the main hall.

Su Chen said, “Alright, you can come out now.”

Five Shadow Servants slowly faded into view.

“Master!” Gui Dashan said, “Yuan Lieyang seems to have detected our presence.”

“Yes. He probably has some kind of danger-sensing technique,” Su Chen said. “It seems like I’ll need to find a skill that can help you conceal your killing intent in the future.”

The five of them were ecstatic. “Many thanks, Master!”

Even though they had lost a significant amount of freedom by following Su Chen, they were able to experience a much broader outside world. They had made incredible progress in their strength, let alone in all those other aspects.

Of course, that didn’t mean that these guys were completely loyal. The cynical attitude that being bandits for many years had given them wouldn’t be easily changed. However, as long as Su Chen could still control them, he wasn’t worried about them rebelling.

“The situation has been resolved. You all can go back and cultivate. Tell Chang Er to keep an eye on Yuan Lieyang. If there isn’t any killing intent, he shouldn’t be discovered by Yuan Lieyang. Right, find another person to go to the City Lord’s residence. Tell him……”

Su Chen paused for a moment, then said, “From this day onwards, the Origin Bureau will go under the name ‘An’.”