I run a casino in the immortal realm.

The morning bell tolled three times, its lingering sound echoing through the rafters.

Inside the Tianyuan Hall, the atmosphere plummeted to freezing point.

Seventh Elder Li Zhan stood in the center of the hall, his figure thin yet his aura imposing. The impeachment he had just delivered plunged the entire hall into a long, deathly silence.

"Embezzlement of public funds and excessive gambling."

The Fourth Elder broke the silence first, his voice like metal scraping against stone, "Sect Master, if what the Seventh Elder said is true, this boy is the biggest rat in the history of the Qingyun Sect."

The Information Bureau has only been established for a few months, yet a million spirit stones have been squandered in gambling dens. If this is not thoroughly investigated, how can the public be convinced of its legitimacy?

The Ninth Elder, who was usually very close to the Li family, stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Sect Master, Zheng Yifei is just a Qi Refining disciple with five spiritual roots. He has suddenly risen to a high position, and it is inevitable that his ambition will become inflated. Gambling dens are the most debauched places."

"I second your opinion. Immediately seal off the Information Department and audit its accounts."

The three elders joined forces and pressed forward relentlessly.

The other elders kept their eyes downcast and remained silent.

"Seventh Elder, everything should be done in a proper and legitimate manner."

Su Chenyuan put down his teacup without even raising his eyelids: "Zheng Yifei holds the important positions of both Inspector and News Officer, appointed by the Sect Master. You want to investigate the accounts of the head of one department based solely on the one-sided testimony of a junior from your family at the gambling den? When did the rules of the Elders' Council become so trivial?"

Li Zhan turned his head sharply, his gaze piercing: "Su Laowu, you're protecting an inner disciple like this, could it be that your Su family also has a share in these accounts?"

"It's none of your business to interfere in the affairs of the Su family."

Su Chenyuan snorted coldly.

Xu Tianyang sat high on the dragon throne, looking down at those below. This was exactly the effect he wanted—to bring the conflict into the open.

The Li family's eagerness to retaliate gave him the perfect opportunity to warn them.

"Since the Seventh Elder has doubts, then let's investigate."

Xu Tianyang's voice was calm, yet it carried an undeniable authority: "Summon Jin Zhengyuan and Zheng Yifei to the palace with the account books from both departments."

Half an hour later, the heavy palace doors slowly opened.

Zheng Yifei and Jin Zhengyuan entered Tianyuan Hall one after the other.

The main hall was extremely spacious, with nine dragon-carved pillars inlaid with huge luminous pearls. The nine elders stood on both sides, and although they did not deliberately release their spiritual power, the pressure naturally emanating from the Golden Core stage cultivators still wove into an invisible giant net within the hall.

As Zheng Yifei walked through it, he felt the air become incredibly thick. Under this pressure, his bones, which were at the ninth level of Qi Refining, emitted a faint grinding sound.

But he did not bow his head; his back remained straight, and his steps were steady.

His mental fortitude, honed through countless life-or-death gambles in his past life, allowed him to remain absolutely calm at this moment.

Reaching the center of the main hall, Zheng Yifei stopped, clasped his hands in a respectful but not arrogant manner, and said, "Disciple Zheng Yifei greets the Sect Master and all the elders."

Li Zhan stared intently at Zheng Yifei, a cold smile creeping onto his lips: "Director Zheng gambled away a fortune at the Goldlion Casino last night, yet he can still stand here so calmly today. That's quite an achievement."

Zheng Yifei remained expressionless and spoke calmly: "This humble official did indeed go to Jinlilai last night, but it was to investigate the entertainment industry in the market, to conduct preliminary research for the News Department's business. I also played a couple of rounds. I don't think the sect has any rules against inner disciples gambling, do it?"

"Utter nonsense!"

Li Zhan slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair and shouted angrily, "Where did you, a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator, get hundreds of thousands of spirit stones to enter the top-tier private room? Jin Zhengyuan, hand over the account book!"

Kim Jong-won sighed, took out two thick ledgers from his storage bag, and presented them with both hands: "Master, these are the accounts of the Inspectorate and the Information Bureau. All inflows and outflows of funds are verified with the seal of the General Affairs Department. Please take a look."

Xu Tianyang scanned the ledger with his divine sense and instantly understood its contents.

A faint smile played at the corners of his lips. Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he tossed the account book to Li Zhan's feet: "Seventh Elder, take a look for yourself."

Li Zhan grabbed the ledger and forcefully probed into it with his divine sense.

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. All eyes were fixed on Li Zhan's face, waiting for him to expose Zheng Yifei's crimes.

However, Li Zhan's expression gradually changed from gloomy to astonished, and finally turned ashen.

"impossible!"

Li Zhan blurted out, abruptly flipping open the Inspectorate's ledger and pointing to a line of text, "The Inspectorate's performance in the last quarter was acceptable. The Sect Master rewarded them with one million spirit stones. Did you distribute all of that money to your subordinates? You only kept less than fifty thousand for yourself?"

Zheng Yifei looked directly at Li Zhan and said in a clear voice, "The brothers in the Inspectorate work hard, and they can't do the work that offends people for nothing. As the chief inspector, I am already more than enough to keep me busy with my daily cultivation."

"Distributing wealth attracts people; this is the disciple's management principle."

Li Zhan gritted his teeth, threw down the Inspectorate's ledgers, and opened the Information Department's ledgers.

He simply couldn't believe that this kid could resist taking even a single cent of the one million yuan special fund for the project!

However, when he saw the numbers and details, Li Zhan's hand trembled uncontrollably.

Buying land, building factories, purchasing black iron type molds, customizing high-level array plates... every expense was recorded clearly, and even the dozen or so spirit stones spent on ink were accompanied by shop receipts.

The most fatal flaw is the final, compiled figure.

"One million nine hundred thousand?!"

Li Zhan abruptly looked up, staring intently at Zheng Yifei, his voice shrill with shock: "The sect leader only allocated one million, how come you have nine hundred thousand extra in your account?!"

Upon hearing this, the other elders in the hall were also stunned.

The Fourth Elder and the Ninth Elder exchanged bewildered glances. They were investigating a deficit, but the result was a surplus?

This kid not only didn't embezzle the sect's money, but he also put in 900,000 of his own money.

Zheng Yifei's tone remained calm, as if he were talking about a trivial matter: "When the News Division was first established, one million spirit stones were simply not enough to fill a gap in our teeth. To build a distribution network covering the entire jurisdiction, money is needed everywhere."

In order to live up to the sect leader's trust, this disciple has no choice but to find a way to raise the money himself.

"What can you do?"

Li Zhan seemed to have grasped at a straw, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes, "You're just an inner disciple in the Qi Refining stage, without any business, where are you going to raise 900,000 low-grade spirit stones?"

This money is of dubious origin! It must be embezzled funds you obtained by secretly extorting money from the merchants in the market, taking advantage of your position as Chief Inspector!

If it is confirmed that the money was obtained illegally, Zheng Yifei will still be sentenced to death!

"Seventh Elder, please be careful with your words."

An aged yet powerful voice suddenly rang out, interrupting Li Zhan's roar.

Fifth Elder Su Chenyuan slowly stood up and straightened his robes. His eyes, which were usually half-closed, now shone with a piercing light.

"These 900,000 spirit stones were given by my Su family."

The hall fell silent once more. Even Xu Tianyang raised an eyebrow slightly.

Li Zhan abruptly turned to look at Su Chenyuan, his face filled with disbelief: "Fifth Brother Su, do you know what you're saying?"

Su Chenyuan didn't even look at Li Zhan, but directly cupped his hands to Xu Tianyang and said, "Sect Master, this kid Zheng Yifei is from Heishan Market, and he got engaged to my great-granddaughter Su Wanqing when he was doing business in Su Family Market."

This young man is handsome, quick-witted, and a business prodigy.

Su Chenyuan paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, and said in a loud voice: "The Information Division has a large scale and a good future. My Su family is optimistic about his abilities. This 900,000 spirit stones is an initial investment from my Su family in a private capacity, and there will be additional investment later."

"What? My Su family is investing our own money in our descendants, and the Seventh Elder is interfering?"

Li Zhan was so choked up that he couldn't say a word.

The Su family is one of the nine great families, and they are very wealthy. Nine hundred thousand spirit stones are just a drop in the ocean for the Su family.

Su Chenyuan personally acknowledged the money; who would dare say it was stolen money?

Zheng Yifei immediately seized the opportunity and bowed deeply to Su Chenyuan: "Thank you for your guidance, Fifth Elder and Master Su. I have invested all of these 900,000 spirit stones into the construction of the News Department's printing plant. Every expenditure is clearly recorded in the accounts."

If the Seventh Elder doesn't believe me, he can send someone to the General Affairs Hall to verify the receipt.

With witnesses and physical evidence, the source of funds is legal and compliant.

Li Zhan's face turned pale and then red, and he stood there, caught in a dilemma.

He originally intended to take this opportunity to crush Zheng Yifei in one fell swoop and also to ruin Xu Tianyang's "Information Department" plan.

Who would have thought that Zheng Yifei not only didn't embezzle, but actually paid out 900,000 yuan of his own money!

What's even more critical is that the Su family actually took sides at this time, trying their best to protect this Qi Refining stage disciple!

Xu Tianyang leaned back on the dragon throne, his fingers ceasing their tapping.

"Seventh Elder, the accounts have been reviewed. Do you have anything else to say?"

Xu Tianyang's voice carried a chilling sense of oppression.

Li Zhan took a deep breath, suppressing the anger in his heart, and stiffly cupped his hands: "This old man... has nothing to say. It was this old man who listened to the slander of the juniors and misunderstood Director Zheng."

"Misunderstand?"

Xu Tianyang snorted coldly, his voice like thunder: "The Elders' Council meeting is not a place for child's play. Li Xian, as a member of the Li family, is not ambitious and frequents gambling dens, yet he dares to speak ill of a department head."

By imperial decree, Li Xian is to be fined three years' salary and confined to the Repentance Cliff for six months! The Seventh Elder is to be fined one year's salary for failing to properly manage his subordinates!

Li Zhan closed his eyes, concealing the resentment in them, and gritted his teeth, saying, "This old man obeys."

A deadly scheme targeting Zheng Yifei has thus collapsed.