Outside the Liu Residence.
Power?
Justice?
Upon hearing these words, Jiang Ning shook his head and sneered inwardly.
When did I become a symbol of power?
The so-called "justice" spoken by Liu Zhaonan, to Jiang Ning, was nothing more than a joke.
These words were unworthy of coming from Liu Zhaonan's mouth.
The Liu family had reached this point because, from top to bottom, they had committed countless heinous acts.
They had destroyed countless families and exploited countless commoners.
If we count the repercussions they caused, it wasn't just a thousand lives lost over the years. Not to mention the influence of the Black Tiger Gang.
One life for another they couldn't even begin to repay what they owed.
Although Jiang Ning did not hold lofty ambitions to live for the sake of others' lives, at this point, he could no longer turn a blind eye.
In the next moment, Jiang Ning turned to Xie Xiaojiu and Feng Jiuge.
"Take people inside and assist the county guard's constables in arresting them. Deal with anyone who resists immediately."
"Yes, sir!"
"Yes, sir!"
The two responded immediately.
At this moment, Xu Zhengnan quietly took a half-step closer to Jiang Ning.
Once Xie Xiaojiu and Feng Jiuge entered the Liu residence and after Hong Minghu and Ye Qiu had left, Xu Zhengnan suddenly leaned in and whispered in Jiang Ning's ear.
"Jiang Ning, you know what they say cut the grass and remove the roots. Should I make some arrangements?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning glanced at Xu Zhengnan.
Xu Zhengnan immediately broke into a cheerful smile and lowered his voice further.
"Jiang Ning, the longer it drags on, the more dreams there are at night! If any accidents happen, this deep enmity will only cause more trouble in the future."
Hearing this, Jiang Ning looked at Xu Zhengnan and nodded slightly.
Seeing Jiang Ning's reaction, Xu Zhengnan smiled even wider.
He then waved at a person next to him.
The person approached, and Xu Zhengnan whispered in his ear. The man bent over slightly, listening to Xu Zhengnan's instructions and nodding continuously.
A moment later.
Xu Zhengnan waved his hand. "Go!"
"Yes, sir!" the man responded, then stepped into the Liu residence.
As the man entered, it only took a moment.
"Still daring to resist?!" A loud shout came from the courtyard, followed by the sounds of fighting and the clash of weapons.
"Not good!" Xu Zhengnan's expression changed.
"Jiang Ning, I'll go suppress the riot at the Liu residence!" After saying this, Xu Zhengnan stamped the ground, and like a hawk, he soared over the top of the Liu residence's gate and entered the estate.
At this moment.
Jiang Ning glanced at Liu Zhaonan, who was slumped and powerless, held by two constables. But despite his condition, Liu Zhaonan's eyes were filled with overwhelming hatred as he glared at Jiang Ning.
"Xu Zhengnan is right. Cut the grass and remove the roots. Such a person, if left alive, will bring future trouble!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.
The next moment, he began walking into the Liu residence.
As he stepped over the threshold of the Liu residence, Liu Zhaonan's eyes gradually lost focus, his gaze dimming.
The Liu residence was now ablaze in several places, chaos filling the air.
The sounds of fighting and clashing swords rang out frequently.
Many people within the Liu residence were resisting.
As per the earlier orders to eliminate anyone who resisted, these people were to be executed on the spot.
Jiang Ning immediately closed his eyes.
His spiritual energy field expanded.
By closing his eyes, he could concentrate his mind, increasing his focus, which in turn made his spiritual energy field stronger.
Using his spiritual energy field to observe, Jiang Ning quickly located the powerful worshippers within the Liu residence.
Especially the Great Worshipper, who was currently in combat with Xu Zhengnan.
At this point, it was clear that Xu Zhengnan was not going to defeat the Great Worshipper anytime soon.
However, at that very moment, the Great Worshipper, who had been fighting with Xu Zhengnan, suddenly staggered, his body swaying slightly. His eyes became dazed as if he had suddenly fallen into confusion.
Xu Zhengnan's gaze immediately sharpened, his eyes turning as sharp as those of an eagle.
His fingers curled into hooks, and with a grab toward the Great Worshipper's head, he…
"Ah"
With a painful scream, the Great Worshipper's skull was torn open, exposing his brain to the air.
Then, within less than a breath, Xu Zhengnan crushed his throat, killing him instantly.
After dealing with the Great Worshipper, Jiang Ning turned to leave.
In his observations, the Liu residence had now completely lost its ability to resist.
With the death of the Great Worshipper, the others no longer posed a threat to Feng Jiuge, Xie Xiaojiu, and the others.
Moreover, Xu Zhengnan was there overseeing the situation.
Jiang Ning had seen enough of Xu Zhengnan's deep scheming mind, so he trusted him to handle the Liu residence's internal affairs far more thoroughly than he could.
That night.
Jiang Ning left Mingyue Tower.
The cold wind instantly cleared his slight intoxication.
Recalling the events that had just unfolded in Mingyue Tower, Jiang Ning couldn't help but shake his head.
"Indeed, power is the most important thing!"
Soon, he thought of the golden box in his Spatial Ring and the divine power and authority he had drawn from the statue earlier that day. His heart immediately became heated, and he quickened his pace toward home.
As for the contribution points he earned today and the contribution points he was due, he wasn't in a rush.
Tomorrow, he would visit the Inspection Bureau and reward those under him accordingly.
He also knew that, compared to those under his deputy, his subordinates were far wealthier.
Because they hadn't done those morally corrupt deeds. They hadn't taken ordinary people tainted by the breath of evil gods and dealt with them as worshippers of the Evil God, nor had they claimed rewards for it.
After Jiang Ning left Mingyue Tower.
Hong Minghu glanced at Ye Qiu, and the two lightly clinked their cups.
"Brother Ye, what do you think of Jiang Ning?"
Hearing this, Ye Qiu smiled slightly. "This is the first time the Lord Prefect has called me 'brother.'"
Hong Minghu laughed heartily and took a sip of the strong liquor in his cup, savoring it. "Internal and external cultivation, internal energy Condensing the Void into Reality, your methods truly astonish me!"
Ye Qiu also took a small sip of the drink, swallowing it down before speaking. "I was lucky! Recently, I reached a key step."
"That's not luck!" Hong Minghu shook his head. "Brother Ye's talent makes me envious! In the future, your accomplishments will certainly surpass mine!"
Ye Qiu smiled and shook his head. "Compared to Jiang Ning, what do I even count for!"
"True!!" Hong Minghu nodded in agreement.
Then, he sighed heavily. "It's a pity that this kid didn't follow the right path earlier! He didn't want to become my son-in-law!"
Hearing this, Ye Qiu couldn't help but smile.
"Has the Lord Prefect regretted it now?"
"I regret it!" Hong Minghu gulped his drink, his expression determined.
Bang
The wine glass fell to the table with a loud sound.
"If I had known this kid had such an incredible talent, I would've made sure to get things done long ago!"
"When the child is born, he won't even be able to deny me as his father-in-law!!"
Ye Qiu laughed out loud at this sight.
"Master, this won't do! Your daughter is too young, how can she have a child?"
"Indeed!!" Hong Minghu shook his head and sighed.
That night, the entire Luoshui County was in chaos.
In just one day, one of the three major gangs of Luoshui County, now one of the two remaining, the Fierce Tiger Gang, was completely destroyed.
A large number of Fierce Tiger Gang members were executed on the spot, with blood staining the streets.
However, under the strict supervision of the officials, there were not many disturbances.
At the same time, one of the three major chambers of commerce in Luoshui County, the Sihe Merchant Association, also collapsed in one day, with a large number of core members being arrested and thrown into the county prison.
But the most shocking event was the fall of the Liu family.
The Liu family, as an old and powerful family in Luoshui County, had deep roots and connections, and no one had expected that the Liu family would collapse in a single day.
The speed of its downfall was even faster and more tragic than that of the Cao family.
In just one day, over a hundred members of the Liu family were thrown into the county prison after fiercely resisting. Only about twenty people remained free.
No one could have predicted such a fate just a day before.
That day, all the factions in the area truly woke up, realizing the methods of the Inspecting Office and the influence of Jiang Ning.
Anyone with a certain status knew how much silver the Liu family had previously contributed to the government.
But today, no one chose to stand up and speak for the Liu family.
At the Xie family estate.
"The times are changing!" The head of the Xie family sat in the main hall, letting out a long sigh.
"Master, what should our Xie family do now?" A senior elder asked.
At that moment, hurried footsteps were heard outside the hall.
"The Ninth Miss is back!" The servant's voice echoed before the person even appeared.
"Ah"
The head of the Xie family immediately stood up. His rattan chair shifted backward with the force of his movement.
"I'll go meet her!" he said.
"Master, please hurry!" The others nodded in agreement.
"Master, to protect our Xie family, the Ninth Miss is crucial!" one of the elders said.
"I understand!" The head of the Xie family nodded calmly and then stepped over the threshold.
Soon after.
Xie Xiaojiu sent her father away and returned to her courtyard.
She thought about the words her father had just spoken.
"To protect the Xie family, he plans to send me away like a commodity!" She shook her head in disappointment.
On the other side.
Jiang Ning had returned to his residence.
After briefly greeting Jiang Li and Liu Wanwan and affectionately playing with Little Bean, he returned to his own East Courtyard.
[Authority]: Flesh Regeneration (Incomplete 33.03%)
The status panel appeared before him again.
"Let's test its effect for now!" Jiang Ning silently thought as he gazed at the panel.
Flesh Regeneration, according to the panel's description, was an ability to accelerate his body's healing.
The description, combined with the origin of this ability, made Jiang Ning think of the core members of The Worshipers Sect after their transformations.
Once they transformed into monsters, their bodies distorted, and they possessed an almost immortal form.
He remembered that even though he shot a heart-piercing arrow, he failed to kill that six-tiered Mystic Bone Realm warrior, which proved the effect of an immortal body.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ning's heart became eager.
In his view, the blood god worshiped by The Worshipers Sect was the one who mastered this ability and could bestow it onto others.
Though it seemed evil, the body-healing effect was astounding.
Then.
Jiang Ning took out his spirit weapon from the Spatial Ring.
After continuous blood offerings, he noticed that the weapon seemed to grow more spiritually charged.
Every time he lightly caressed the blade, he could feel it vibrating slightly.
The spiritual energy contained in it seemed to be thrilled, giving him the impression of a pet dog he had once raised.
With the spirit weapon in hand, Jiang Ning directed the sharp blade toward his right arm.
He applied a slight force and cut.
Immediately, a few hairs snapped, and a white mark appeared on his arm.
"Such tough skin?" Jiang Ning looked at his right arm in surprise.
The effect of this slash stunned him.
He knew better than anyone how sharp the weapon was.
Normally, a weapon forged through a thousand temperings would cut through anything, splitting it into pieces with a single strike.
In their previous battle, a single slash had sliced through the six-tiered Mystic Bone Realm warrior of The Worshipers Sect, severing half of his body as easily as cutting through clay.
Now, this blade was even sharper than before. Despite applying force, it couldn't even pierce his skin.
"So my skin has become this tough. This truly is invulnerable to swords and spears!" Jiang Ning marveled as he looked at the white mark on his arm.
At this moment, his understanding of the transformation from forging bones deepened.
The toughness of his skin had something to do with entering the Bone Forging Realm.
Bone forging strengthens the body, making the muscles, skin, and outer layers more resilient.
Then.
He gripped the spirit weapon with his left hand and applied more force.
As he slashed again, a wound about five centimeters long appeared on his right arm.
But this time, only a slight trace of blood emerged, and the wound was not deep.
"Such resilient skin!" Jiang Ning once again exclaimed in awe.
After the blade cut through the outer skin, his spirit weapon immediately encountered resistance, like a knife cutting through the iron mesh, giving off a feeling of sluggishness.
It was that tough skin that stopped the blade, preventing it from drawing blood.
It was only a superficial wound.
In the next moment.
As Jiang Ning focused intently, he saw the five-centimeter-long wound on his right arm healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Although this healing speed wasn't fast, and couldn't compare to The Worshipers Sect's warriors, it was obvious that his wound was slowly but steadily healing.
Each passing second saw the length of the wound decrease.
In just a few dozen breaths, the five-centimeter wound had shrunk to three centimeters.
After a while, in less than half a tea's worth of time, the wound on his arm completely disappeared.
Jiang Ning wiped away the remaining blood and yellow fluid, leaving no trace behind.
"Not bad!" Jiang Ning nodded in satisfaction.
Although the healing speed seemed slow compared to The Worshipers Sect's warriors, it was still many times faster than before.
For an ordinary person, a five-centimeter wound like this would take at least three to five days, or even longer, to heal.
Even as a six-tiered warrior, his healing ability was much faster than an ordinary person.
However, it would still take at least half a day or even a full day to fully heal.
Now, with the incomplete Flesh Regeneration authority, the healing time had been reduced to less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea.
The difference was not just in quantity but in quality.
Moreover, this healing speed was constant, unlike The Worshipers Sect's warriors, who needed to transform into monsters for such rapid healing.
Most importantly, this Flesh Regeneration authority could be enhanced.
Just like when he added some divinity to it earlier, the progress of Flesh Regeneration jumped from 0% to 33.03%.
As he collected more divinity points, the authority would gradually be completed, and its effects would strengthen.
Even without a divinity, with time, this authority would gradually improve.
[Authority]: Flesh Regeneration (Incomplete 33.03%)
Jiang Ning clearly remembered that after adding divinity earlier, the progress of the Flesh Regeneration authority was at 33%.
But now, it has increased to 33.03%.
It was obvious that the additional 0.03% progress was a result of the passage of time.
From this, it was easy to see that the authority would continue to improve over time.
Then.
Jiang Ning took out the golden box from the Spatial Ring.
"I wonder how many divinity points this statue inside will give me."
Jiang Ning's heart raced.
He had personally experienced how powerful the statue in the golden box was.
The first time he encountered it, without a proper range and with insufficient mental strength, he nearly fell into its trap.
Compared to the statue in the golden box, the one in the White Heaven Path was like a child's toy completely unworthy of comparison.
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