In the name of supernatural powers

Chapter 171 Horned Dragon Bow (Bonus Chapter for Silver Alliance)
Lu Zhao replied, "Chief Zhao, according to the border port personnel management regulations we jointly formulated, I have a responsibility to proactively contain suspicious individuals."

Zhao De said, "I'm telling you now, the documents they have are genuine. What if you don't release them now and it's against the rules? Are you going to insist on getting punished?"

Lu Zhao replied, "Legitimate documents cannot prove that they were not involved in smuggling activities. I will keep the investigation in sync with the Public Security Bureau. If no evidence is found within thirty days, I will release them."

Expand the interpretation of vague terms of authority to quickly subdue the enemy, and then seek protection from higher authorities.

The action was swift, well-founded, and in accordance with the law.

Even if the Buddhist sect reports him, Lu Zhao will at most receive criticism, and it is unlikely that he will be subject to any substantial punishment.

If this operation were a test of political maneuvering, Zhao De would give Lu Zhao a perfect score for his answer.

This isn't a particularly clever tactic, but in officialdom, it's never about who's more clever, but who's more stable.

He couldn't help but exclaim: This kid has covered the distance I took fifteen years to cover in just four months.

A born political creature.

"Since you've already made your decision, I can't interfere."

Zhao De changed his attitude; he simply acted impartially, without favoring anyone.

Since Lu Zhao can provide a reasonable explanation, there's no need for him to jump out and interfere.

He cautioned, "Remember not to cause any deaths. As long as no one dies, it's not a big deal."

Lu Zhao said, "Understood."

After hanging up the phone, Zhao De told the monks that the person had been found, but this matter was not under his jurisdiction; it was a matter for the public security system.

The monks brought out their backstage area, and when they heard the name of a high-ranking official from the capital, Zhao De just chuckled and told them to ask the security system.

Unless these bald monks can find a federal chief, it's like the local officials are more powerful than the county magistrates.

Such blatant buck-passing left the monks helpless; they could only blame it on the fact that they had attended a Buddhist academy.

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The camp, the detention cell.

As a border defense unit, it is necessary to arrest smugglers on a regular basis, so it naturally has rooms specifically for detaining people.

Adhering to the principle of handling cases in pairs, Lu Zhao and Zhang Like interrogated the suspects together.

Lu Zhao asked, "Name, age, background."

"..."

Jingxian remained silent.

Seeing this, Lu Zhao and Zhang Like exchanged a glance, then got up and left the interrogation room.

At this moment, Jingxian was sitting on a low chair, with only the front legs touching the ground, which meant he had to maintain a stance similar to a horse stance.

It was very cold in the room, and the air conditioning was on full blast.

To keep him from getting too cold, the staff of the border garrison specially brought a small heater and placed it on his back.

Buddhists are mostly extraordinary beings with physical abilities, so Jingxian wouldn't be injured by it, but he would simply feel uncomfortable.

Ten hours later, which was the next morning.

Lu Zhao and Zhang Like returned to the interrogation room and had people change into normal chairs, turn off the air conditioner, and remove the heater.

When asked the same question again, Jingxian answered honestly this time.

He realized that Lu Zhao was no pushover, and since he wasn't actually breaking the law, why risk his life?
Of course, Jingxian would never admit that she came to collect evidence against Lu Zhao; she would insist that she came to provide relief to the disaster area.

Seeing this, Lu Zhao did not press the matter further and handed the interrogation over to others, figuring that they could extract some information in thirty days.

On the afternoon of October 8th, the Chief of Police arrived.

The visitor was none other than Liang Chengyun, Lu Zhao's current superior, the Commander of the Security Command of Yulin County, West Coast Circuit of the South China Sea.

A very burly middle-aged man with a square face, a fourth-order transcendent being.

This wasn't the first time Liang Chengyun and Lu Zhao had spoken on the phone, but it was their first time meeting in person.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries and salutes, the Border Garrison Corps hastily arranged a medal-awarding ceremony.

All officers and soldiers sang military songs, and Liang Chengyun read out the federal order approving the first-class merit, and briefly praised Lu Zhao's achievements.

Then, to the rousing strains of military music, Lu Zhao ascended the podium and received a first-class merit medal and certificate.

After completing the necessary procedures, Lu Zhao was successfully promoted to major, making up for the few flaws in his promotion.

His current military rank meets the minimum requirements for the head of the border garrison corps, and also meets the requirements for being transferred to the position of captain of the special counter-terrorism detachment next year.

Inside the office, Lu Zhao and Liang Chengyun sat on the sofa and talked.

Liang Chengyun got straight to the point: "Originally, I planned to send you directly to the county town to hold a medal awarding ceremony specifically for you and the soldiers of the Special Countermeasures Detachment. But the situation is special now, so I can only expedite the awarding process for you."

"Other benefits and recognitions will likely have to wait a while before they are provided."

For example, a first-class merit award not only comes with a grand awarding ceremony, but the conscription office will also issue an honorary certificate to the recipient's family, and if conditions permit, they can also return to their hometown.

At that time, there would often be a great commotion with gongs and drums and firecrackers, letting everyone know about the family of the meritorious person.

Lu Zhao shook his head and said, "Being promoted beyond the usual level is enough."

Liang Chengyun said, "That's true. You're already famous enough, so there's really no need for any more ceremonies."

How far have things progressed between you and Xiao Yan?

How far can a sham marriage go?
Aside from spending two or three hours on the phone every day, there has been no substantial progress in other areas.

Lu Zhao remained silent. He couldn't possibly propose a fake marriage to just anyone he met; wouldn't that be just asking for trouble?
Seeing this, Liang Chengyun was not angry at all. Instead, he praised him, saying, "Young man, you have a sense of responsibility. Xiao Yan was actually quite wrong in this matter. You acted too rashly and impulsively, and dragged you into the battle of subduing dragons and tigers."

Others may not know about Lu Zhao's situation, and their attention is entirely focused on Lin Zhiyan, so they only think that Lu Zhao is a gigolo.

However, Liang Chengyun had long admired Lu Zhao, but due to the obstruction of the Chen faction, he had not been able to promote Lu Zhao to work under him. "But you don't need to worry too much. The Buddhist sect has people behind it, and you also have Liu Wuhou behind you. As long as you don't make any mistakes, no one can touch you."

Lu Zhao asked, "Is inheriting the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Divine Power really that dangerous?"

"It depends on the situation. Before you reach the fourth rank, there is basically no danger."

Liang Chengyun replied, "But if you reach the fourth level and your supernatural powers are only one step away from the Heavenly Gang level, that will be the most dangerous time."

"You might be out and about, and suddenly a few masked old men will jump out and beat you to death. At that point, there are no rules to speak of."

Lu Zhao understood that before he explicitly stated his intention to inherit the Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Technique, no one would dare to overturn the table.

Conversely, without a powerful background to protect them, they simply wouldn't live to see the moment of succession.

That evening, Lu Zhao accompanied Liang Chengyun to a state-run hotel for a meal.

The next morning, Liang Chengyun left on a private jet.

For the next week, things were calm and peaceful.

The monks tried everything they could to rescue the person, but Lu Zhao stopped them from doing so.

After seven days of interrogation, Lu Zhao finally learned from one of the martial monks the purpose of their visit to Fangshi.

The goal is simple: to collect dirt on him so that it can be used to attack him later.

At the same time, we also learned about the ecological niche of Buddhism under the federal system.

A psychiatric drug to appease the underprivileged in the state, a white glove for federal officials.

Just as Fangshi makes money by smuggling beef, some people rely on religious beliefs to collect incense money, squeezing money from ordinary people who are already poor and destitute.

At the end of the month, Lu Zhao released the three monks.

On November 1st, Lu Zhao took the life supplement as usual, but suddenly the life force in his body stopped increasing.

The Federation had already provided him with seven doses of Heart-Breaking Potions, one of which came from the Divine Power Academy, and all of them were of the highest quality.

Such treatment was not because Lu Zhao had any connections, but because he had been awarded a first-class merit. The Federation would provide extra support for special medicines like the one that helped him break through five levels.

In the future, when Lu Zhao breaks through to the third rank, he will also receive a potion that reduces the difficulty of the breakthrough.

If he didn't strive for perfection, Lu Zhao would no longer worry about resources.

But this was clearly impossible. Lu Zhao had witnessed the power of perfection, and he could not give up easily.

It doesn't matter if his life force development stagnates; Lu Zhao can take the time to prepare to accommodate his second supernatural power.

Based on past experience, it takes a considerable amount of time for a person to develop vitality after first acquiring supernatural powers, because the process of transforming life bones into one's own supernatural powers consumes a lot of energy.

On November 2nd, the treaty port officially opened.

Lu Zhao and Zhao De cut the ribbon together and drove a refrigerated truck together along the route.

As the mountains on both sides receded into the distance, Zhao De, gripping the steering wheel, said, "Your transfer order should be issued next month. I'll be attending the memorial ceremony for the Great Patriotic War in January next year, and I'll go too."

"But you have to be mentally prepared."

Lu Zhao leaned against the car window and asked, "What kind of mental preparation?"

Zhao De replied, "Be prepared to be mocked for being a kept man. Miss Lin's aura is too overwhelming. No matter how capable you are, people will subconsciously still think you got there by being a kept man."

"Mediocre people always like to focus on other people's flaws and laugh at them. This will continue until you become a military commander."

Lu Zhao calmly said, "I don't care. Right and wrong, merits and demerits, can only be judged after death."

“You have indeed changed a lot,” Zhao De said. “I estimate that I will also head to Cangwu in the second half of next year. I hope we won’t be enemies then.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhao laughed and said, "That's probably difficult. The fights in the news lately have been incredibly fierce, with no-holds-barred fighting happening every day in the Bang District."

The issue of new economic reforms has been put on the table.

Being in the "soliciting public opinion" stage means that Liu Wuhou intends to implement the policy, and once it is implemented, the outcome will be decided.

The federal military leaders are fiercely competing, but they still adhere to the unspoken rule that implemented policies will move forward. This prevents a situation where the overall direction wavers or the situation stagnates.

Zhao De paused for a moment, then said, "The new economic reform is correct. In fact, it should have been implemented three years ago. Any system must adapt to the times. In the past, we were in the midst of a major catastrophe and reconstruction, and society was very turbulent. Comprehensive control was necessary."

"But now the situation has stabilized, and everyone has been on edge for too long."

Lu Zhao looked surprised; such a statement in public was tantamount to taking sides.

He asked, "Are you planning to switch jobs?"

Zhao De shook his head, a helpless smile on his lips, and said, "We only have the right to board the ship. I can't escape Chen Wuhou's ship, and you can't escape Liu Wuhou's ship either."

"Only when you reach the fifth rank will you have the right to speak."

Even though he no longer acknowledged Chen Wuhou, he was still determined to go down this dark path.

Lu Zhao was the same. Before becoming a Marquis, he would forever live in the shadow of Lin Zhiyan, the apple of her eye, and could only serve as a supporting character.

This is not a bad thing for Lu Zhao, but one fact still cannot be avoided.

They were all powerless, merely pawns in the game of power.

All you have to do is keep climbing up, either become a player or get worn down.

In Cangwu City, a special forces team led by a fourth-tier transcendent and consisting of ten third-tier transcendents escorted a two-meter-long black iron box to the airport.

Under the watchful eyes of various forces, they boarded a military transport plane and flew towards Fang City.

The Dragon-Subduing and Tiger-Taming Divine Power Sequence includes the powerful horned dragon bow.

The long-standing dispute over the ownership of the Heavenly Divine Power of Subduing Dragons and Tigers has entered a new phase of contention today.

Some have already taken sides, while others are still observing.

(End of this chapter)