Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

The office of the Director of the Sky Survey Bureau.

Chen Wuyai slammed the case file that had just been delivered from the Martial Law Hall onto the table with considerable force. The mahogany tabletop thudded, and the ink in the inkstone rattled.

"The Zhang family." He uttered these two words with anger on his face.

Song Tiecheng sat opposite him. He had just returned from patrolling the training ground, still in his armor, the iron-gray arm guards resting on the armrests, making a dull thud as they hit the chair. He raised his eyelids and glanced at his second brother's ashen face.

"What's wrong?"

"Take a look for yourself." Chen Wuyai pushed the case file over.

Song Tiecheng reached out and took the book, turning two pages. His brows slowly furrowed.

The case file details the defense arrangements for the South City Prison. Feng Haiyuan, the Grand Deacon of the Nine Evil Sect, will be escorted to Yunlin County at noon tomorrow. This man is a tough nut to crack, with a cultivation level of the sixth level of Qi and Blood. Although Master Jingyuan sealed 80% of his Qi and Blood using a secret method, his foundation is still intact.

The Sky Patrol Division dared not neglect the matter and specially cleared out the highest-ranking cell in the deepest part of the South City Prison to imprison him.

The top four students in the quarterly exam—Qin Ju, Wang Qiongyu, Tang Ji, and Zhao Tong—argued for two days over the custody of the prisoner. In the end, it was Master Jingyuan of Jinyang Temple who made the decision—the prisoner would be detained in the Xuntian Division, and each of the four would send a trusted confidant to participate in the interrogation.

This arrangement sounds reasonable. Chen Wuyai initially thought it would work too.

But the problem arose later.

He checked one floor down.

The jailer of the South City Prison is surnamed Zhang.

Zhang Debiao.

Chen Wuyai recognized the name from the roster of the Sky Patrol Division. He had been transferred from another county three years ago, with mediocre qualifications and cultivation, yet he had managed to secure the position of prison chief. For the past three years, no one had dared to delve into the family relationships among the prisoners entering and leaving the South City Prison.

Now he understands.

Zhang Debiao was a thorn in the side of the Zhang family in the inner city, and they hadn't even noticed him during the previous purge that took advantage of the siege of the Nine Evil Sects.

Song Tiecheng closed the case file and placed it on the corner of the table. He didn't say anything, but it was clear that he was very unhappy.

"Iron City." Chen Wuyai's voice was low, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, "Do you know what this means?"

Song Tiecheng nodded. Of course he knew.

The Imperial Observatory was a powerful agency of the dynasty, independent of local governments. In theory, it only answered to the emperor in the capital. However, in the provinces, the Imperial Observatory needed to operate, make a living, investigate cases, and deal with all sorts of people.

This inevitably led to intricate connections with local powerful families and gangs.

With more contact, their hands started to reach in.

It penetrates like mercury spilling onto the ground, reaching everywhere.

There might be spies from powerful families in the accounting office, a clerk in the Martial Law Hall might have connections with gangs, and even the patrolling captain might be his wife's cousin, who could be the steward of some local gentry.

Chen Wuyai wasn't unaware of these things before.

The three of them had already purged the Sky Patrol Division after their arrival, but they hadn't expected so many people to be connected to powerful families.

Before his elder brother Qi Shujian went into seclusion, he instructed him that Yunlin County was a very dangerous place. The three major families had been entrenched there for two or three hundred years, and their roots were rotten to the core. If they were to take action, they would have to wait for him to emerge from seclusion or eliminate the other party with swift and decisive measures.

Feng Haiyuan.

This person is crucial. The Nine Evils are rampant in Yunlin County. How many forces are involved behind the scenes? The whereabouts of those missing treasures, the informants who were silenced, and Wang Gongqin, the Grand Steward who was being watched by Jinyang Temple, are very likely hidden in Feng Haiyuan's mind.

This person must be firmly kept in the hands of the Sky Patrol Division.

Now, the key to the cell where this person is being held is in the hands of the Zhang family.

"It's like," Chen Wuyai slowly stood up, walked to the window, his back to Song Tiecheng, his voice seeming to drift from a great distance, "that we put a very important knife into someone else's scabbard. It looks like we're holding the hilt, but in reality, whoever holds the scabbard controls the knife."

Song Tiecheng also stood up. He walked behind Chen Wuyai, and the two of them stood side by side looking out the window. The courtyard of the Sky Patrol Bureau was very quiet, with only the sound of changing guard boots coming from afar.

"Second Brother," Song Tiecheng said, his voice hoarse but firm, "Zhang Debiao must be replaced."

"It's not about replacing it." Chen Wuyai turned around, his eyes filled with icy anger, and said, "It's about squeezing this boil clean, root and branch."

He walked back to the table and tapped his fingers heavily on the case file. "Zhang Debiao has been operating in the South City Prison for three years! Three years! How many of his cronies are in there? Are the accounts clear? Did the prisoners he handled tamper with the records? If these things aren't investigated thoroughly, anyone who goes there will be rendered powerless."

"But there's no time now," Song Tiecheng said, frowning. "Feng Haiyuan will arrive tomorrow. We haven't even met him yet, how do we know how much of what he has to say is true? What if something goes wrong during the interrogation, or someone tampers with it..."

"So," Chen Wuyai interrupted him, a cold smile curving his lips, "we need to find someone. Someone who can clean up this mess."

Song Tiecheng remained silent.

The communal room was so quiet that the faint crackling of the burning candle wick could be heard. The glow of the oil lamp cast flickering shadows on the two people's faces.

After a long while, Song Tiecheng finally spoke.

"Second brother, there's someone we might give a try."

Chen Wuyai raised his eyes, waiting for Song Tiecheng to speak.

"Yiyang".

The name carried a hint of cautious certainty in Song Tiecheng's voice: "Thirteenth in the quarterly exam, the master of Qianyang Tower. Just a couple of days ago, he wiped out that old fox Ye Yang and his entire den. Didn't you think highly of him before?"

Chen Wuyai didn't reply, but just looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Song Tiecheng continued, "Ye Yang spent seven years at Qianyang Tower. How deep were his roots? The Li family stood behind him. Yet, less than ten days after Yi Yang took office, a clue was handed to Qin Ju, and he was caught red-handed, clean and efficient."

He walked to the table and tapped the case file with his finger. "This man is capable. More importantly, he has a clean background. He's not from a powerful family, has no ties to any major gangs, and has little seniority or influence within the Sky Patrol Division. You can trust someone like that."

"And another thing," Song Tiecheng added, "is that he's getting old."

Chen Wuyai narrowed his eyes.

"At sixty years old, with his Qi and blood at the fourth level, according to the normal decline pattern, he can only fight for another seven or eight years." Song Tiecheng's tone was very calm, as if stating a fact: "And second brother, he completed the test you gave him very well before, so I think we can give him more responsibilities and let him take on the position of prison chief of the South City, and also give him the position of Qianyang Tower."

Chen Wuyai's fingers tapped lightly on the table, making a rhythmic tapping sound.

He was weighing his options.

Yi Yang had left a deep impression on him from the day of the quarterly exam.

Concealing his talents, being patient and unassuming, and handling Ye Yang's case with utmost care and precision—this was not something a hot-blooded young man could do; it was the shrewdness of a veteran who had spent decades struggling at the bottom of society.

Let him manage the prison?

Chen Wuyai's mind raced.

An old man at the fourth level of Qi and Blood is assigned to take over a prison that holds criminals at the sixth level of Qi and Blood. On the surface, it seems a bit farcical. But upon closer inspection, it is precisely the best disguise.

The Zhang family wouldn't care about a decrepit old man. They would just assume that the Sky Patrol Bureau was going through the motions and sending someone to take the blame.

Yi Yang could use this "unremarkable" exterior to stir up trouble in the South City Prison and find out how many hidden reefs were lurking beneath.

Once he had a clear understanding of the situation, Chen Wuyai would launch a surprise attack from behind, swiftly uprooting the Zhang family's power.

"Okay." Chen Wuyai finally spoke, his voice devoid of emotion. "I'll send someone to call him to see me tomorrow. I need to confirm this again."