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Chapter 420: Chapter 416 Outer City District
Outside the outer city district of Outer City.
Gu Jinlai, wearing a Thousand-Face Mask, dressed in advisor’s attire, and carrying a top-grade Spirit Sword exchanged for ten million Contribution Value, was surveying his surroundings from atop an attic.
Yes, a top-grade Spirit Sword.
The Supreme Grade Spirit Artifact Cheng Ying Sword he had exchanged before had been destroyed in the process of slaying Jin Yuhai.
A spoil of war?
Under the power of the Eternal Furnace, there were no spoils of war.
That was also why Gu Jinlai did not particularly like to use the power of the Eternal Furnace against enemies.
At this moment, standing atop the attic, he looked down from his high vantage point, constantly observing the pedestrians coming and going in the Outer City district.
Meanwhile, his own aura was maintained to float around the Martial Sect Realm.
This level of cultivation was neither strong nor weak, which was also rather fitting for his identity as a City Guard Army advisor.
Of course, the main reason was that without Qingguang, he was simply unable to make any entry-level progress in his Hidden Dragon Technique cultivation in a short time.
Without mastering the Hidden Dragon Technique, even maintaining Martial Arts Sect-level cultivation wasn’t easy.
If he were to engage with someone, it could be possible for some experienced Martial Artists to detect the movements characteristic of a Martial King.
"Truly bustling."
Gu Jinlai genuinely reflected from atop the attic.
He was now in the Outer City district outside the city walls.
Yet, in terms of prosperity, the Outer City district outdid the Inner City district without falling short.
After all, how could the Inner City’s New City District, despite its numerous residents, compare to the Outer City district’s population of over eighty million?
Taking the city walls and gates as the center, the outside seemed divided into sixteen city districts.
Or to say, thirty-two main thoroughfares extending outwards in all directions.
Each street was lined with restaurants, shops, inns, newspapers, post offices, banks, and more.
Any one of these districts could rival the likes of Starlight City in terms of bustle if placed in Tian Nan— one could imagine the level of activity.
The huge city brought an exceptional advantage for cultivators.
That is the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy.
Although Gu Jinlai was not a cultivator, he was aware that in such a giant city with hundreds of millions of people, cultivators’ speed of cultivation was much faster.
But correspondingly, the faster the cultivation, the quicker the consumption of spiritual energy.
In such a scenario, naturally, the birth of cultivators had to be limited to allow the gathering of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy to be supplied for a minority of cultivators’ Cultivation.
This is also why Wind and Rain City heavily promoted the Martial Arts cultivation system of the Demon God Warriors.
"Although there are many Martial Artists, compared to before I established Lingxiao City, the order in Wind and Rain City... has indeed improved a lot. Other places like Jiangzhou State, Yellow State, and Red State simply can’t compare."
Gu Jinlai said, glancing downward.
Among the coming and going pedestrians, there were quite a few with Yellow Names, but hardly any with Light Red Names, let alone Red Names.
This was the advantage brought by social order stability.
"Under such circumstances, every Red Name stands out to me exceedingly."
Gu Jinlai remarked, his gaze focusing on a direction.
Or rather, he locked onto the aura of a military general.
He descended from the attic and followed behind the military general at a calm pace, guided by the telepathy of their auras.
The name of this military general...
Bright Red as blood.
In a situation with a multitude of cultivators, it was rare for a military general to carry such Karma.
In Tian Nan, it would be like having a Qi Refining Realm cultivator with a notoriously Big Red Name.
And a Big Red Name in a place with relatively good order.
Only two possibilities could explain this.
One, the general was hiding his true level of Cultivation.
The other...
He had other forces behind him.
Otherwise, he couldn’t have sustained committing such great evil.
...
Minutes later, Gu Jinlai stopped in front of a large compound.
"Yuxuan Residence."
Gu Jinlai looked at this compound.
Having blended into the Outer City for about ten days, he had some understanding of the forces in the Outer City district.
The owner of Yuxuan Residence...
Was Yun Food Workshop.
This was a super-large dining establishment.
Standing behind this establishment was the Wei Family.
The Wei Family had not just one Top Devas Realm Domain Master standing behind them but also had links with the powerful Fang Family, with the two families often intermarrying.
"So, it’s another big clan."
Gu Jinlai uttered.
He had been hunting "Red Names" in the Outer City for ten days now.
But in ten days, he had only accumulated four Qingguang, not even one per day.
This was not because the order in Wind and Rain City was so good that almost no one committed evil.
In ten days, he encountered not less than thirty Red Names and completed the marking process.
Among these thirty individuals, aside from two Martial Kings similar to himself, and the two Martial Sect, one Divinity Transformation, and one Primordial Spirit he had killed, without exception, all had extraordinary backgrounds.
At the very least, they all started as Martial Kings.
Upon killing, all sorts of troubles would definitely ensue.
"But if I don’t kill..."
Gu Jinlai felt the four strands of Qingguang he had accumulated over ten days.
Evildoers often collude with each other to form powerful networks.
If he wanted to avoid these nefarious networks and gather the thirty to forty strands of Qingguang needed to reach the Mahayana stage of the Chaotic Thunder Primordial Body, he would need at least another three months.
As for achieving Perfection...
It would take two to three years.
Two to three years were too long for him to wait.
Gu Jinlai stood in front of the Yuxuan Residence.
"As long as my strength grows fast enough, what can the great clans and noble families do to me?"
Gu Jinlai remembered his first experience leading the Gu family to take up their post in Lingxiao City.
Although the situation in Wind and Rain City was far more severe than that in Lingxiao City by many folds, but...
If he could fight his way out of Lingxiao City, storm Lingxiao Palace, and accomplish the great foundation of unifying Tian Nan, then why couldn’t he break through in Wind and Rain City and turn it into a true place of order.
With this thought in mind, Gu Jinlai recalled a piece of information he had heard.
Then, turning around, he walked forward for a while and finally arrived at a local earth deity temple.
In one corner outside this temple, a filthy man who was missing one hand and a leg, lying on the ground like a dead man, his cloudy eyes devoid of any light.
"Zhou Ming."
Gu Jinlai said, "Do you still have the evidence to sue the master of Sky Silver Tower?"
Unfortunately, his words failed to create even a ripple in the man before him.
"It seems you don’t plan to pursue revenge for your parents, siblings, and the thirty-six members of the Zhou Family."
Gu Jinlai continued.
The man still didn’t move, and if it weren’t for his breathing, one might have thought he was a corpse.
Gu Jinlai looked at him.
Zhou Ming.
Eldest son of the Zhou Family.
The Zhou Family was quite wealthy even in the Outer City District.
His father and uncle had the strength of military generals.
He himself had once studied at the Martial Arts Academy, achieving the level of a Middle-level Martial Artist at a young age.
Two months ago, when Zhou Ming was traveling outside, he discovered the body of a deceased Primordial Spirit Monarch and acquired a Supreme Grade Spirit Artifact and several treasures from it, worth no less than 300 million taels of silver.
With this stroke of luck, Zhou Ming quickly sold these items to the highly reputable Ten Thousand Treasure Tower for two hundred and forty million taels.
With four thousand taels of this money, they exchanged it for Cultivation Resources for Martial Artists, and the remaining two hundred million taels were persuaded to be deposited into Sky Silver Tower by a local major family to enjoy a higher interest rate than other silver towers.
As a result...
When they wanted to withdraw their money again, the two hundred million taels of silver had disappeared without a trace, and Sky Silver Tower directly blamed an employee, claiming that it was his fault and that he had embezzled the entire sum.
They then, as victims, reported the employee and sent him to prison.
The Zhou Family naturally refused to accept this and made a fuss at Sky Silver Tower for the next half-month.
Zhou Ming in particular rallied many of his classmates from the Martial Arts Academy, as if he wanted to take the matter to the City Lord Mansion and ask the City Lord to take up their case.
This move immediately enraged Sky Silver Tower.
Half a month ago, a Martial Sect member led people into the Zhou household, claiming to be a close friend of the Primordial Spirit Monarch and accused the Zhou Family of murdering his friend and seizing his friend’s treasures, subsequently slaughtering every member of the Zhou Family.
Only Zhou Ming survived.
But, although he survived, his legs were broken, one arm was amputated, and he was thrown out onto the street.
This incident originally caused quite a stir in the Outer City District, making everyone with money in Sky Silver Tower feel threatened. However, after the Zhou Family was exterminated, everyone quieted down.
Now Gu Jinlai planned to use this as his starting point.
...
"The Luo Family was behind the extermination of your family, weren’t they? The leader was Luo Jiudao, a Martial Sect member of the Luo Family?"
Gu Jinlai looked at Zhou Ming: "As an advisor to the City Guard Army, if you dare identify Luo Jiudao, I dare to bring the Luo Family to justice and make them pay for their actions."
Unfortunately, Zhou Ming remained motionless on the ground, not showing the slightest reaction.
Considering how Zhou Ming had tried more than once in the past month to recover his money through legal channels, only to fail each time, Gu speculated...
After a moment of thought, he took out a token.
"I suspect that there are demonic cultists in the Luo Family, but I’m worried about alerting them prematurely, so I need you to cooperate with me. Once this is over, I can uphold justice for the Zhou Family."
At these words, Zhou Ming finally showed some reaction.
His gaze fell upon the token in Gu Jinlai’s hand, seemingly recognizing something: "The... the Sweepers..."
His voice was rough as he asked.
"Correct, others might fear the Luo Family, but I don’t."
Gu Jinlai said, "Moreover, with my cultivation as a Martial King, I have the power to seek justice for you."
"Really!?"
At this moment, a spark of light finally appeared in Zhou Ming’s murky eyes.
"Of course."
Gu Jinlai said, "Even if it’s not true, don’t you want to give it a try? The opportunity is right in front of you, it’s up to you to seize it or not."
"I... I’ll go with you to identify the Luo Family..."
Zhou Ming struggled, trying to get up.
"It’s good that you agree."
Gu Jinlai lifted Zhou Ming in one motion and strode boldly toward the grand courtyard of the Luo Family.
The Luo Family was also a powerful clan in the Outer City District and had deep connections with the Zhang Family inside the city walls.
As for the Zhang Family...
They were a family with a Peak Martial King in charge.
And that Peak Martial King was also the biggest backer of Sky Silver Tower.
But that wasn’t the point. The point was, regardless of whether it was the Luo Family or the Zhang Family, just the number of "Bright Red Names" that Gu Jinlai had seen exceeded ten.
