NOVPUB
Chapter 193: Chapter 190 Top Powers
"Star Lord Xin actually!?"
Lu Zhanfeng, watching from behind as Xin Tianqi saluted Gu Jinlai and accepted him as the State Governor, was filled with astonishment.
Xin Tianqi!
That was the number one expert of Star State.
Although there seemed to be a lot of exaggeration to this claim, due to the fact that he was the only Primordial Spirit Monarch in Star State, in reality, Xin Tianqi was absolutely a top-tier existence within the realm of Primordial Spirit Monarchs.
This could be deduced from the time he dared to enter Dragon Sparrow Manor alone, imposing a threat upon it.
Furthermore, he had more than once crossed hands with other Primordial Spirit Monarchs within the surrounding forces and never suffered a defeat.
In the entire area south of Tianhe, his strength was enough to rank in the top five.
As for those who could kill him...
There were none.
Even Lu Zhanxian, the Supreme Elder of the Purgatory Sect reputed to be among the top ten masters of the Demon Path, was no exception.
His most brilliant battle was when he infiltrated Yellow Sky Sect and fought against three major Primordial Spirit Monarchs alone for a dozen breaths before retreating successfully.
And now, such a mighty existence who stood at the very pinnacle among the many Primordial Spirit Monarchs south of Tianhe, was actually bowing his head to Gu Jinlai, willing to accept him as the State Governor?
This was simply...
"I must relay this news back to the Sect! When necessary... even Venerable Daoist Liu might have to personally make a trip to Lingxiao City... or Starlight City."
Lu Zhanfeng’s thoughts raced through his mind.
At the same time, he also felt a tremendous pressure.
Competitive pressure.
It was one thing for Gu Jinlai to have his own men; being direct lineage, although not weak, they followed the path of Demon God Warriors, which was significantly different from their path as cultivators.
However, the overlap with the people brought by the Star Sky Alliance and his own troops was high.
Fortunately for him, although the Star Sky Alliance had many hands, they only had one Divinity Transformation Immortal, Nie Shisan, whose competitive pressure couldn’t match the people he brought from the Purgatory Sect.
But now...
The Meteor Star Guard was also going to join. 𝔫𝖔𝖛𝖕𝖚𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
Star Lord Xin Tianqi!
That was a Primordial Spirit Monarch!
The first person from the Primordial Spirit Realm to pledge allegiance to Gu Jinlai.
Beneath him also served Cheng Wanli, the Director of the Main Star Department. This Minister Cheng, just like him, boasted Divinity Transformation Realm cultivation and was also highly capable in handling affairs.
In addition, he brought with him a group of subordinates from the Main Star Department whose scale surpassed the group of Refining God, Hugging Pill, Gang Condensation, and Qi Refining Realm experts he had brought.
He had thought that Venerable Daoist Liu’s swift decision to grant Gu Jinlai Supreme Elder authority, along with appointing his men to assist Gu Jinlai in unifying Star State, was a timely assistance. Now it seemed to be merely a case of gilding the lily.
Even without the people of the Purgatory Sect, Gu Jinlai could still easily take down Star State and ascend to become the Lord of Star State.
Thinking of this, Lu Zhanfeng hurriedly stepped forward and reminded him with a loyal demeanor, "Supreme Elder, should we now take over the key departments first, to prevent any issues later... "
Xin Tianqi gave Lu Zhanfeng a glance, quickly guessed what he was thinking.
He smiled slightly and said, "In fact, I have talked with many people already, and many have already approached me for discussions."
Turning to Cheng Wanli, he instructed, "You take people from Governor Gu’s office to take over the various departments."
"Understood,"
Cheng Wanli nodded. "The only bit of trouble is with the forces left by General Xue. However, General Xue has already left Starlight City and headed north with Qi Fenglei, so I expect they won’t be too stubborn."
"No matter,"
Gu Jinlai said, glancing at Gu Qingmei beside him, "You can use the demonstration of a martial exhibition as a pretext to show those soldiers left by Xue Yue the power of the metal storm."
"Understood,"
Gu Qingmei nodded.
Immediately, she, Gu Chaoyang, and others led by a group of Gu Family Disciples and Demon God Guards, quickly departed, accompanied by the Meteor Star Guard to take over the various departments.
Meanwhile, Xin Tianqi led Gu Jinlai toward the direction of the State Governor Mansion.
"I wonder how Governor Gu plans to deal with the eldest son Qi Renwang?"
Xin Tianqi asked.
Gu Jinlai glanced at him, not offering reciprocity because of his recent pledge of allegiance, "If he is guilty of grave offenses, I will personally judge him. If he has the ability... he should have some ability, after all, he was initially nurtured as a successor for the State Governor... If he is capable, I will arrange for him to be placed in a suitable position."
Hearing this, Xin Tianqi nodded, "The eldest son may not be a good man, but over the years under the State Governor’s demands, he has strictly maintained all aspects of himself, far from being gravely wicked."
As he spoke, he added, "Of course, if he has deceived even me, then as long as Governor Gu can produce sufficient evidence, I will not obstruct."
Gu Jinlai gave him a look.
He had assumed that if Qi Renwang was heavily culpable, Xin Tianqi would use his status to save him to honor the gratitude owed to Qi Zhongsheng for his past support, but it seemed...
Xin Tianqi appeared to read his thoughts and candidly stated, "I served State Governor Qi Zhongsheng not because he was particularly kind to me but rather because I believed he had the capability to lead Star State’s people to a better life."
Gu Jinlai nodded.
The group soon arrived at the State Governor Mansion.
The area covered by the State Governor Mansion was extremely vast, tantamount to a city within a city.
However, while Starlight City had no city walls, the Governor Mansion was completely surrounded by tall city walls, with widths sufficient for people to pass through freely.
As Gu Jinlai and Xin Tianqi along with others arrived at the State Governor Mansion, there was already a group waiting for them.
The foremost individual was a man who appeared to be in his forties, exuding the air of a scholar.
"Qi Renwang."
Gu Jinlai looked at him, his expression tinged with a hint of surprise.
This eldest son of the State Lord Mansion did not carry even the slightest trace of Karma; in fact...
there was even a faint purple glow about him.
The benevolent do not wield the military.
The Karma he saw on any leader he encountered was usually quite substantial.
Even Xin Tianqi...
The Karma on his body had actually reached a pale red level.
It was just a faint red within yellow, far from the bright red.
Carrying a faint purple glow and considering his temperament, as well as the information Gu Jinlai had gathered about him over time...
"I understand now why Xue Yue would choose to appoint Qi Fenglei as the State Governor."
Gu Jinlai said, "It’s not just because of his cultivation, their relationship, but also his character and abilities, which are also very important points."
Xin Tianqi nodded silently, "If these were peaceful times, the eldest son taking over as State Governor would surely govern diligently and love the people. But unfortunately... he was born at an inopportune time and has encountered the chaos in Star State..."
"Is this also one of the reasons why, after being marginalized by Xue Yue and others, you still did not choose to completely turn against them?"
Gu Jinlai asked.
Xin Tianqi nodded.
At this moment, Qi Renwang stepped forward and paid his respects to Xin Tianqi: "Master."
Then, he turned to Gu Jinlai and remained very calm: "This must be Heavenly Monarch Gu. After my second brother left, I temporarily took over the affairs of the State Lord Mansion and organized all the files. If there’s anything Heavenly Monarch Gu doesn’t understand, he can ask several of them. As for me, I know... my existence is a hidden danger and not conducive to your rule over Star State. Therefore, I accept my Fate, hoping only that you will not involve innocent people..."
"Your disciple?"
Gu Jinlai glanced at Xin Tianqi with a somewhat surprised look.
"The State Governor once sent him to my sect, wanting him to follow me and learn the way of handling affairs, but the Meteor Star Guard has many matters to attend to, and I haven’t had much time to teach, so his cultivation..."
Xin Tianqi said.
Gu Jinlai nodded.
No wonder Qi Renwang seemed so different from Qi Fenglei.
Xin Tianqi himself could be considered a top-tier powerhouse, but he was clearly not one to teach disciples.
Look, Qi Renwang, a great young lord of the State Lord Mansion, was thoroughly corrupted by him.
This corruption wasn’t just about cultivation, but also about the ways of conducting oneself in the world.
It’s not that Xin Tianqi’s way of handling affairs was problematic, it was an issue of status.
Just like a person with a net worth of hundreds of millions telling another person, the son of a billionaire, to give more to charity, and then he donates a million.
That billionaire’s son might indeed inherit hundreds of millions in the future, and donating a million might not be a big deal. But now...
Being a son, he might only have a million to his name. Donating all of it at once could leave him with nothing, not even money for food.
"I will only control the overall direction of Star State; the specifics will be handed over to Gu Xiangyang, Gu Chaoyang, Gu Changfeng, and others. It just so happens that they lack certain capabilities, and Qi Renwang’s addition would be most ideal."
Gu Jinlai said.
These words, when spoken, clearly meant that he would not pursue matters concerning Qi Renwang.
"Thank you."
Xin Tianqi said earnestly.
"There’s no need to thank me. If thanks are due, he should thank himself because he has the ability."
Gu Jinlai said.
Qi Renwang, who was standing by, seemed to understand something and couldn’t help but look at Xin Tianqi.
"Governor Gu possesses boldness beyond ordinary people, so do not view him with the same eyes you use for common folk," Xin Tianqi patted Qi Renwang’s shoulder. "From now on, assist Governor Gu well in managing Star State."
With that said, he added with a slight sense of guilt, "Perhaps having lived too long in the shadow of the State Governor, your temperament and abilities are not suited for being the ultimate decision maker but rather fit the role of an executor who follows orders."
Qi Renwang remained silent.
Following that, Gu Jinlai entered the State Lord Mansion, beginning to understand and integrate every detail of Starlight City and, by extension, the whole of Star State.
At the same time, Gu Chifeng also took swift action, and the victories came one after another.
As the masters of Dragon Sparrow Manor had retreated, leaving only some insignificant stewards and protectors to maintain the situation, Gu Chifeng and his associates encountered virtually no resistance wherever they went, and Dragon Sparrow Manor surrendered wherever they struck. Their progress was incredibly fast.
When the forty-thousand-strong Central Army, which had come from Lingxiao City, headed north and stationed itself in Starlight City as its base, they soon took over from the Demon God Guards the task of ruling these cities.
With the addition of the forces from Star Sky Alliance, Meteor Star Guard, and Purgatory Sect, the number of Divinity Transformation Cultivators available to Gu Jinlai rose to five, and the number of Refining God Immortals exceeded forty. With their presence, it was more than enough to secure these cities.
In less than half a month, order had been restored in the eight cities led by Starlight City.
As a result, the number of cities under Gu Jinlai’s control rose to fourteen, with a population approaching forty million.
This figure had already surpassed the control held by Purgatory Sect and Netherworld Sect over Red State and White State.
Furthermore, in the eyes of outsiders, he was at least the equivalent of the combat power of two Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, and he also had Xin Tianqi, a top-tier Primordial Spirit whose potential could not be assessed by ordinary standards...
In just three years, he had truly transformed into the master of a top-tier power.
