Longzang

Chapter 339 Bullying goes too far
The airship had just taken off and its speed hadn't increased yet when it suddenly slowed down.

Another flying boat caught up and flew alongside. A young cultivator leaped up and jumped onto Wei Yuan's flying boat.

The young cultivator entered the cabin, bowed to Cui Yu, and said, "Since you've returned home, why didn't you come to see me? If I hadn't found out early, I would have missed you again."

Cui Yu's face darkened, and he said, "We have no prior dealings, so there's no need for us to meet in person."

“Cousin, you are mistaken. As fellow members of the Cui family, we should shoulder our responsibilities now that the family is facing difficulties. This is not just a matter for you and me, but for the entire Cui family. I have heard that you have made great achievements in recent years, with skill in both military preparation and local governance, and the elders often praise you. Therefore, I would like to ask you to return to the Cui family and lend me a helping hand.”

Cui Yu raised his eyebrows and asked, "What do you mean?"

"The elders recently decided to transfer the title of Realm Lord of a border region to me. The border region is in turmoil, and I need manpower to help, and you, my cousin, are the best choice. When I achieve Dharma Aspect in the future, I will naturally go to other places, and those places will be yours, cousin."

A flash of anger crossed Cui Yu's eyes, and he said coldly, "No interest."

The young cultivator said, “I know my cousin is proud and arrogant, but human strength has its limits, and even a slight deficiency in talent is a disadvantage. You and I are of the same generation, naturally close, which is why I came to find my cousin. Our past disputes were actually meaningless, and besides, the result is already in, so why hold grudges anymore?”
Furthermore, in ten years, perhaps new talents will emerge in the family. If we haven't seized the opportunity then, we might be overtaken by them. My advice, cousin, is to think it over carefully.”

After saying this, the young cultivator left, and the flying boat accelerated again, leaping into the sky and flying at full speed towards the realm.

Once the young cultivator left, Cui Yu's face darkened, and he cursed, "This is outrageous! What kind of person is this, coming up to me with such a humble and respectful attitude! Treating me like a subordinate?!"

"Who is he?" Wei Yuan asked.

Cui Yu took a deep breath to calm himself down and said, "Cui Tianlin is my peer. He has joined the Sword Palace and his Dao Foundation is one of the seven guardian immortal swords of the Sword Palace."

Wei Yuan said, "It's too early to want to take you under my command now. Could it be..."

Cui Yu snorted and said, "No need to doubt, he did it on purpose! He just wanted to humiliate me! His branch of the family was originally weak, but now that he's involved, they're starting to fight over everything. My father has already handed over a medicinal herb garden, four estates, and more than a dozen properties, but they still don't have enough!"

Wei Yuan knew that the internal struggles of large families were no less intense than those in the imperial court, but he hadn't expected that the younger generation had already fought to this extent, resorting to forcefully subduing each other face to face.

Cui Yu suddenly slammed his hand on the armrest and said, "I refuse to believe it. Does not having a foundation in immortality mean there is no path to enlightenment?"

Wei Yuan sighed inwardly, unsure how to comfort him, and could only say, "If this doesn't work, he certainly won't give up. You should prepare early."

Cui Yu's face darkened as he said, "It's nothing more than the same old challenge and arena duel. If I don't dare to accept the challenge, I'll lose all face and won't be able to compete with him in the future."

"Brother Cui, you also cultivate the immortal sword, just how much worse are you than those from the Sword Palace?"

Cui Yu said helplessly, "I also received a celestial sword from the ancestor, but my aptitude is insufficient, so I cannot unleash the full power of the celestial sword. Originally, the ancestor's celestial sword was no less powerful than the sword that guards the Sword Palace, but I am the one who is disappointing."

"Are there any restrictions on the types and quantities of magical artifacts used in the arena battles?"

Cui Yu was taken aback and said, "That's not a limitation. However, he has been nurtured by the Sword Palace, and now he has more magic treasures than I do, and they are of higher quality. Even if my elders bestow treasures upon him, we will only be evenly matched."

Wei Yuan said, "As long as there are no restrictions, that's fine. It's too late this time. After the next batch of training is completed, I'll accompany you back to the Cui family, and we'll have a one-on-one fight with him!"

Cui Yu smiled wryly: "Do you think I'm like you? To be honest, I'm not confident at all; I'm more likely to lose."

Wei Yuan laughed and said, "Don't worry, as long as there are no restrictions on all kinds of magical artifacts and treasures, we can't lose!"

Because the third batch of students graduated earlier than expected, the candidates for the fourth batch of disciples in the Cui family have not yet been prepared and will be sent over in a few more days.

Wei Yuan estimated that there would be a significant increase in the number of elderly people in this session. The elderly paid much more money than the young people, and they had no resistance to the Great Brightness Demon-Subduing Sword. Therefore, in addition to the original Great Brightness Demon-Subduing Sword, Wei Yuan carefully prepared a new Dao Foundation for them this time: the Ten Directions Glazed Golden Fire.

Wei Yuan tried it many times across the vast land, but the temperature of this fire was still too high. The higher the temperature, the greater the difficulty of cultivation. According to the standards of the outer world, for the same type of fire, a temperature of a few hundred is equivalent to the Human Rank Dao Foundation, while a temperature of tens of thousands is equivalent to the Immortal Foundation Solar True Fire.

So, upon returning to the realm, Wei Yuan sought out Yu Zhizhuo to inquire about the temperature of the flame. Yu Zhizhuo was indeed a rare genius when it came to matters of material properties; he understood immediately. He then took a jar of strong liquor, purified it directly with his Dao power, and ignited it. Sure enough, the flame's temperature dropped significantly, and its characteristics became clear and simple, not difficult to understand.

Wei Yuan was greatly impressed, and thus the scope of the human race's Dao foundation was expanded once again.

At this time, news came from Bianning County that Prefect Xu Xi had taken office.

Wei Yuan immediately set off for Bianning County, and ordered his men to bring 100,000 jin of grain to set up soup kitchens at the border of Ningxi and Bianning County in preparation for distributing the grain.

In Bianning County, the newly appointed prefect Xu Xi summoned all the officials in the county and was throwing a tantrum.

"How can we accommodate so many displaced people in the prefecture?! We need relief and porridge! Where will we get so much grain? There isn't a single grain of rice left in the granaries. What will happen to these displaced people, Lord Sun?!"

Sun Chaoen quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant is here!"

Xu Xi had a fair complexion and a neatly trimmed mustache. His gaze was cold as he said, "You've gathered so many refugees before I took office. Are you trying to give me a hard time?"

Sun Chaoen was startled and knelt down with a thud, repeatedly saying, "This humble official dares not!"

Some of the officials were shocked, while others were secretly disdainful.

Sun Chao'en, as the Assistant Prefect, held a position second only to the Prefect in the county, and if the Prefect were to fall ill, the Assistant Prefect could even act as Prefect. Theoretically, they were only half a rank apart, so there was no need for him to perform the full kowtow. However, Xu Xi was slightly startled, and Sun Chao'en immediately knelt down, showing no backbone whatsoever. Xu Xi was also taken aback, pausing for a moment before saying, "Lord Sun, please rise. I was merely asking a question; I meant nothing more."

"Thank you, sir." Sun Chaoen then stood up tremblingly and returned to his seat, only daring to sit on one side of his buttocks.

Now that he had this idea, Xu Xi couldn't continue his outburst. His expression softened, and he said, "Distributing grain can't continue, but we can't stop it immediately either. What should we do? Let's come up with a plan!"

One official suggested, "We can gradually reduce the amount of porridge distributed each day by 10%, and then stop completely after ten days. If the refugees can't find food, they will naturally go elsewhere."

Sun Chaoen replied, "The plan to reduce the amount of porridge gradually is good, but it's a bit too slow. Every extra day of porridge distribution means tens of thousands of catties of grain are wasted. I suggest we reduce it by half every day!"

Xu Xi pondered for a moment and said, "Half the reduction is a bit too fast, let's reduce it to 30%. Also, make sure the soldiers are on high alert, and if any refugees cause trouble, punish them severely!"

"Lord Xu's combination of kindness and severity is truly brilliant!" Sun Chaoen was the first to flatter him.

Xu Xi stroked his beard and smiled, feeling that the Western Regions were not as terrible as the legends suggested. On his first day in office, he had already subdued everyone in the officialdom.
After the meeting concluded, the officials dispersed. Several officials exchanged glances, clearly harboring some resentment.

Xu Xi immediately launched into a tirade against them, making everything they had done in the past seem utterly foolish. Although these officials hadn't actually done anything good in the past, they were clearly not convinced by this assessment.

In the afternoon, the porridge stall opened as usual, and the area outside was already packed with people, many of whom had arrived before dawn to queue.

Only half an hour had passed, and only a small portion of the group had left, when the soup kitchen closed. The refugees immediately began to clamor, but there was indeed no more soup inside, and dozens of burly soldiers had appeared among the guards. They started beating the refugees with sticks, scattering them. Those who hadn't gotten any soup scattered and ran towards the other soup distribution points.

As night fell, the newly appointed prefect Xu Xi hosted a banquet, inviting only his trusted confidants, excluding a large number of the prefect's original officials, including Sun Chaoen.

When Sun Chaoen learned of this, he was not angry at all. Instead, he sent a batch of chicken, duck and fish, which made Xu Xi nod in approval. He thought that this Assistant Magistrate Sun was quite sensible.

The next day, the porridge kitchen opened half an hour later than usual, and announced that the porridge had been distributed in just a quarter of an hour, and that they should hurry up the next morning.

This time, five hundred government troops were stationed around the soup kitchen, each one exuding a murderous aura. Seeing the refugees making a fuss, the officer in charge was immediately enraged. With a command, the soldiers swung their big sticks and began to beat the refugees. In an instant, hundreds of refugees were beaten until their heads were bleeding.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from among the refugees: "The government troops are killing people!"

The sound was shrill and heart-wrenching.

Suddenly, a knife emerged from the crowd of refugees and plunged deep into the officer's abdomen! The officer stared in astonishment at the knife in his stomach, trying to find the culprit, but surrounded by refugees, he could no longer discern who had done it.

Seeing the officer stabbed, the soldiers, used to their tyranny, immediately threw down their long sticks, picked up swords and began to hack and slash, and in the blink of an eye, they had cut down dozens of refugees.

Another roar erupted from the crowd: "We're all going to die anyway, let's fight these sons of bitches!"

The refugees who managed to escape to the border were strong, and the people of the Western Regions were often hot-tempered. They were all ready to risk everything. When someone handed them a knife or sword, they took it and charged forward.

Several hundred soldiers were surrounded by tens of thousands of refugees and were all killed in the blink of an eye. Even then, many refugees were still confused as to where the swords and knives in their hands came from.
Just then, someone kicked open the soup kitchen door, revealing thousands of kilograms of rice piled on a truck at the back door. Suddenly, someone jumped onto the truck and shouted, "These corrupt officials are even embezzling our life-saving food! We're all doomed anyway, let's fight them!"

"Follow me!" several strong refugees roared, taking the lead and striding towards the prefectural governor's mansion.

The other refugees were still hesitant, but someone nearby said, "If we kill the government soldiers, we definitely won't survive. Let's have a big fight!"

Thus, tens of thousands of refugees transformed into a torrent, surging towards the prefectural governor's mansion.

Similar incidents occurred frequently in the city. Many government and military officers, seeing the situation was dire, mostly fled. Then, in each soup kitchen, the refugees discovered the grain carts, and their anger was completely ignited, leading them to storm the prefectural governor's mansion.

The officers who managed to escape all cursed their bad luck. They had only been temporarily assigned to guard the soup kitchen, and the officials there had secretly withheld a portion of the rations, sharing the spoils with the officers. This had been a long-standing practice, but it just so happened today.

The groups of refugees surged like a mudslide, quickly reaching the prefectural governor's residence. Government troops rushed to the scene, attempting to stop them, but from nowhere, stray arrows flew, killing the officers one by one. The government troops then scattered in disarray.

Tens of thousands of refugees surrounded the prefectural governor's mansion, pushed open the gates together, and were then met with a grand banquet for the officials inside, which fueled their anger even more.

Xu Xi, his face contorted with rage, soared into the air, unleashing the terrifying pressure of a Dharma Aspect cultivator, instantly forcing tens of thousands of refugees to prostrate themselves on the ground. He roared coldly, "You dare rebel? Don't you want your heads?!"

His voice was like thunder, and the entire county could hear it clearly.

The refugees were just ordinary people. Even if there were hundreds of thousands, let alone tens of thousands, Xu Xi could slowly kill them all by himself. That's why he faced tens of thousands of refugees without any fear.

However, at that moment, a small black shadow suddenly darted out from behind, appearing silently behind Xu Xi and slamming him into the ground with a claw!
An hour later, Xu Xi slowly woke up.

The prefectural governor's mansion was now as if it had suffered a natural disaster; all valuables had been looted, even the chamber pots inside the houses had been taken. The entire household—from the guards and stewards to the maids and servants—had vanished without a trace. Even his eight wives and concubines were nowhere to be found.

As for himself, he was completely naked, lying on the muddy ground.

Overwhelmed with shame and indignation, Xu Xi suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, cried out, "This villain has gone too far!", and then fainted again.

(End of this chapter)