In Xuanjing City, atop the nine-story tower of the Observatory, only Yin General Department and Qian Wu stood at the very peak.

The ninth floor of the vast, nine-story tower seemed high enough to pluck the stars and moon from the sky.

Standing there was like being at the highest point in the entire Great Zhou Country.

Aside from the structures within the Imperial Palace, this was the tallest.

Besides the chill of being at such a great height, Qian Wu felt a profound meaning behind the reward Yin General Department had presented to him.

A question came to his mind, and he voiced it bluntly.

"This is an incredibly generous reward. But if this is what you’ve decided, I’m afraid some people won’t accept it."

"Won’t accept it? They will," Yin General Department said lightly. "Making him a Prefecture Chief is a perfectly fitting reward, I think. Besides, the place he’s being sent is an ideal stage for his talents. Don’t you think it’s a perfect match?"

Qian Wu had only seen the words "Prefecture Chief" at first. Only now did he notice the specific location.

After reading it again carefully, his eyes widened slightly.

Yin General Department smiled without a word. He then waved his hand, and a map materialized, floating in mid-air.

Yin General Department pointed to the most prominent red dot on the map and took a sip of fine wine from his Wine Flask. "Nanxing Prefecture is a place that happens to need a Prefecture Chief to hold down the fort."

Before them, as the map unfolded, that conspicuous red dot seemed like the sole point of focus on the entire chart, immediately capturing Qian Wu’s attention.

Qian Wu stared at the red dot for a long time before his brows furrowed.

The Nanxing Prefecture that Lord Yin mentioned was an extremely complicated Prefecture-level City.

Prefecture-level Cities were a rank above State-level Cities and naturally much larger.

In terms of prosperity or the level of power present, State-level Cities couldn’t compare at all.

But Nanxing Prefecture was an exception.

The position of Prefecture Chief at the Nanxing Prefecture Observatory had been vacant for about a month.

The reason was simple. The region was relatively remote, and various factions were constantly clashing. Powers like the Wild Taoist Sect, the Wild Buddha Sect, and Xinhua Academy had long been entrenched there.

Not only that, but many local forces were also entrenched there, including a number of Demonic Forces so great it was enough to make one’s skin crawl.

As for why the last Prefecture Chief’s position was vacant, it was because Yin General Department had personally sent him to the Vegetable Market in Xuanjing City to be beheaded.

Others might not know the details, but Qian Wu was keenly aware.

That Prefecture Chief had originally fought alongside Yin General Department and His Majesty to conquer the land.

But after taking his post, he gradually became corrupt and decadent.

The Court allocated a large number of Deceitful Objects every year, which were supposed to be used to reward the local Observatory members. But that Prefecture Chief had pocketed them all and used them to curry favor among the various factions in Nanxing Prefecture.

He dealt not only with the Righteous Forces but even with the Demonic Forces.

To pass the annual assessments, the Prefecture Chief at the time conspired with the Demonic Forces, using the Deceitful Objects to fudge his results and inflate his performance.

At the time, this matter was buried very deep. If not for a chance occurrence, even Yin General Department would not have uncovered it.

And that chance occurrence was the affair with Marquis Fengjiang.

Marquis Fengjiang was now in a desperate state, with all his resources exhausted.

Under these circumstances, Marquis Fengjiang exposed the Prefecture Chief of Nanxing Prefecture.

It turned out that the Prefecture Chief of Nanxing Prefecture also had ties to Marquis Fengjiang.

Because of this, after a thorough investigation by the Observatory, they pulled up the radish and the roots with it, uncovering a host of subsequent dirty dealings.

At that time, Yin General Department had personally wielded a Ghost Head Saber and lopped off that Prefecture Chief’s head with a single strike.

Now, Nanxing Prefecture was like a dragon without a head. Choosing a new Prefecture Chief was a difficult task.

’The powers there are deeply entangled, making it difficult for even the Court’s hand to reach. It needs a truly strong figure to take control.’

However, in Qian Wu’s view, Shen Bai didn’t seem quite ready yet.

"Although this Shen Bai can achieve Overcoming Adversity and Attacking Upward, he’s still only in the Meridian Realm. In a Prefecture-level City’s Observatory, the Unity Realm is just the starting point. Even if he can fight against and defeat those in the Unity Realm, if he faces someone stronger, he will likely be out of his depth," Qian Wu said frankly.

Yin General Department shook his head. "Perhaps he can fight against those more than just one realm above his own."

A trace of disbelief immediately showed on Qian Wu’s face. "Lord Yin, fighting one realm above your own is already an outrageous feat. If he could fight against someone two realms higher, he would be no mere fish in a pond. But such a person has never existed in history."

Yin General Department said lightly, "Just because it’s never happened in history doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the future. I don’t believe it either, but in truth, this decision likely comes from His Majesty."

Qian Wu was confused but didn’t press the matter.

Yin General Department paused for a moment before continuing slowly, "His Majesty gave him such a high evaluation. Aside from the position of Prefecture Chief, I can’t think of a better reward. And it just so happens that Nanxing Prefecture is missing a Prefecture Chief. Wouldn’t you say this is His Majesty’s will?"

Qian Wu fell into deep thought, then nodded. "That’s possible."

As for how likely it was, he couldn’t guess.

"Just let Shen Bai go. Don’t worry. Although it’s chaotic there, the various Demonic Forces seem to have reached a state of equilibrium. With Shen Bai there, he might just thrive like a fish in water," Yin General Department said.

With things having been put so clearly, even if Qian Wu felt it was inappropriate, he had no reason to object, much less the authority to refuse.

"I will depart at once for Fenglin State to deliver this letter to Shen Bai," Qian Wu said, cupping his hands in a salute.

Yin General Department waved his hand. "Go. The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll return. Things have been turbulent lately. The situation with Marquis Fengjiang is nearing its end, and I’ll need people here."