Chapter 459: Dao Court Cultivators Are Too Competitive!

Lü Yang quickly left Zhao Xuhe.

‘Farewell, Senior Brother Zhao. We’re not suited for each other. After all, you’ll be cannon fodder in the Dutian Division in the future, unworthy of me anymore. Let’s break up.’

‘You owed me contribution points in your sixth life. I won’t ask for them in this one.’

‘I’m really so magnanimous.’

As for his new possession target, Lü Yang first cast a divination to deduce the karma, then selected one person from among the Dutian Division’s Banner Officers present.

“Finally over.”

Watching this new batch of 【Strongmen】 enlist, Dutian Division’s Junior Banner Officer Xu An couldn’t help but sigh, “How many of them do you think will survive?”

“You still have the mind to worry about others?”

Another Junior Banner Officer laughed at his words: “We’re about to be deployed to Lake Dongting. Who knows, we might not live longer than these Strongmen!”

“Not necessarily.”

Xu An shook his head: “I heard that batch of True Dragons has already received warnings from high-ranking court figures. They’ll behave and help govern Lake Dongting. We’re just there for show—it looks dangerous, but it’s actually a cushy post. Otherwise, why would Lord Liu personally volunteer to go?”

Though a low-ranked officer, Xu An was not foolish.

If Lake Dongting were truly a death trap, Liu Qianhu would have avoided it like the plague. How could he have possibly volunteered to be reassigned there?

Thinking of this, he was about to say more—

But at that moment, a radiant beam descended from the 【Dutian Division Banner Officer】 insignia above his head, and a line of golden script instantly appeared in his eyes:

【Warning: Junior Banner Officer Xu An, it is currently “Drill” time. Please report to the drill ground immediately.】

【Failure to arrive at the drill ground within the allotted time for the scheduled “Drill” will result in preliminary lightning punishment as per the Immortal Nation Dao Law.】

“Crap.”

Seeing this, Xu An’s expression changed drastically. He no longer dared to chat and bid a quick farewell before flying off in a streak of escape light.

Junior Banner Officer of Dutian Division was a Seventh Rank official, equivalent to late-stage Qi Refinement. He could already fly with escape light. However, Xu An wasn’t skilled at flying and ended up being slightly late. Just steps from the drill ground, he looked on in despair as he missed the time limit.

“Boom!”

The next second, a bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens, causing intense pain that made Xu An collapse on the ground, convulsing and steaming at the mouth.

Lü Yang, attached to his body, was stunned.

‘What the hell is this?’

A daily task… and if you don’t finish it, you get electrocuted?

Lü Yang once again searched Wu Taian’s memories and finally found the relevant intel buried in the corners—it was an innate restriction of the Dao Court official system.

‘Official position is power, but also responsibility.’

‘Every Dao Court official post comes with corresponding 【Duties】—tasks that must be completed daily, or else the 【Immortal Nation Dao Law】 will punish you.’

Take Xu An, for example. As a Junior Banner Officer of the Dutian Division, his three mandatory daily duties were 【Drill】, 【Patrol】, and 【Reporting】.

These duties practically filled up all his time.

This was also the Dao Court’s method of governance: keep people busy. When they’re tired, all they care about is eating and sleeping, making it hard for any trouble to brew.

Moreover, all 【Negligence】 penalties for Dao Court officials were recorded by their position. Every nine years, the Dao Court would conduct an “Official Evaluation” to assess these records—poor performance led to demotion or dismissal, while excellent records earned promotion.

“Ha ha ha, Xu An, late again?”

“At this rate, I bet you’ll fail the next official evaluation in a few years. Forget being a Junior Banner Officer, you might get demoted to a Strongman!”

“Shut it, stop jinxing me!”

Facing his colleagues’ mockery, Xu An, who had just recovered from the lightning strike, stood up and snapped: “I’ve got a bright future ahead!”

If his guess was right, this trip to Lake Dongting was sure to earn him some merit.

Though major merits would surely go to Liu Qianhu, just getting some scraps would be enough to wipe clean the few demerits from being late to drills.

Soon, the drill ended.

Next came 【Patrol】. Xu An didn’t dare slack off. He gathered a few Strongmen under his command and left the yamen to begin patrolling the entire city.

Lü Yang, still attached to him, finally got a proper look at the Dao Court environment.

Xu An flew with his escape light over the “commoner district” in the outer city, making a quick round to ensure there were no major bloodshed incidents before passing through.

There were many such “commoner districts.”

As the name implied, they housed powerless mortals—plebeians—whose only purpose was to be ruled by the Dao Court officials.

Flying past these “commoner districts,” Lü Yang soon felt a surge of spiritual energy rush at him—he had entered the inner city. The environment here was utterly different: miniature worlds, mountains and rivers, pavilions and towers, and dense cave abodes—like a true mortal paradise.

This was the “cultivator district.”

Every time Xu An saw this scene, he felt an unspeakable pride, because his cave abode lay at the heart of this very district.

Not only was the spiritual energy abundant, but it also received special attention from the 【Immortal Nation Dao Law】.

With that boost, not only was cultivation far more efficient here than in backwaters, even one’s innate comprehension ability was enhanced!

Back then, buying this cave abode had taken a lot of effort.

Though he was still paying off a hundred-year mortgage, it was worth it—thanks to it, the female cultivator he was dating had already started discussing marriage.

As long as he could scrape together a dowry, they’d officially become Dao Companions.

In time, once they had children, they wouldn’t have to suffer like he had. With some luck, they might even found a small family line.

Good days were still ahead!

Thinking this, Xu An became even more excited about the upcoming deployment to Lake Dongting. Whether he could gather enough for the dowry all depended on this mission!

However, Lü Yang remained silent.

‘This really is…’

A strange feeling churned in his heart.

The Dao Court’s system was thoroughly established. All of Jiangdong was unified under one order. Its efficiency in utilizing human resources was nearly absolute.

In short—hyper-competitive.

After all, 【Negligence】 meant getting struck by lightning. Failing your future evaluations could even lead to a reduction in cultivation, forcing all Dao Court cultivators to scramble forward instinctively.

‘…I underestimated the Dao Court!’

In that moment, Lü Yang felt deep awe. As expected, none of the Four Great Powers were weak. The Dao Court cultivators may be individually lacking, but they excelled in stability and structure.

Because official positions were the foundation!

One-on-one wasn’t enough? Then it’d be three-on-one, five-on-one, ten-on-one! Death didn’t matter—as long as the position remained, there were always more willing to climb up.

‘From this angle, the Dao Court actually has the strongest war potential among the Four Powers. It’s just that the 【Immortal Nation Dao Law】 only covers Jiangdong, so they haven’t yet shown it. But by the same token, it’s nearly impossible for outsiders to stir trouble here—it’s practically an iron fortress!’

Unless… one integrates into it.

Only by embedding oneself into the Dao Court’s system and working from within could one hope to shake it. Otherwise, any attack would be like smashing eggs against a rock.

That was precisely why Lü Yang chose Xu An.

‘Lake Dongting, True Dragon Clan… unless I’m mistaken, this is the dragon lineage secretly sent into Jiangdong after the Dragon Monarch allied with the Dao Court.’

This was his opportunity!

A way to acquire a clean identity, join the Dao Court openly, seize authority—and prepare to verify the 【Heavenly Fire Above】!