Chapter 52

...

In the center of Jianghai City, at the City Lord's Residence.

A group of unfamiliar guests has arrived.

"Mr. Zhao, welcome, welcome."

The current City Lord of Jianghai City, Du Tianyu, along with his secretary and the city's management team, had been waiting here for a long time.

Du Tianyu is a descendant of the prominent Du family in Jianghai City, and Du Changfeng is his uncle.

His cultivation is not very high, but managing a city's administration relies on intelligence, vision, and the courage to make decisions, not cultivation.

Of course, the most important reason is that the land of the Nine Provinces is vast, with a large number of cities!

The Nine Provinces cannot provide a highly cultivated City Lord for every city.

The most powerful individuals are mostly sent to the front lines.

Only the positions of Martial Arts Academy Dean, Library Director, and Chief of the Defense Force are assigned to experts at the Grandmaster level or above.

Strictly speaking, this is the case for the entire world.

After all, true experts are one in a million. If social status were determined solely by martial prowess, it would directly lead to moral decay, creating an extremely unequal and brutal society where the strong prey on the weak. This would cause people to lose trust in each other, and the distance to extinction would not be far.

"City Lord Du, we have come this time with the expectations of the headquarters of the Nine Provinces Alliance. No matter what, we must transform Jianghai City into a high-level city."

The joy on City Lord Du's face was evident.

"We in Jianghai City have been waiting for this day for a long time."

"Let's discuss the detailed plan inside."

"Good, good, please come in, please come in."

...

The group entered the City Lord's Residence and deliberated for a full two hours before the meeting concluded, confirming the development strategy for Jianghai City.

After the meeting, everyone dispersed and began drafting the development plan for Jianghai City according to the meeting's instructions.

In the large meeting room, only Mr. Zhao and City Lord Du remained.

Mr. Zhao took off his wire-rimmed glasses, casually wiping them while glancing at City Lord Du and smiling, he said:

"Actually, before I came, headquarters gave me a private mission to pass on to you."

City Lord Du was taken aback, his expression immediately turning serious.

"Mr. Zhao, please speak freely."

"For several months, there have been rumors in Jianghai City about two powerful individuals whose cultivation may be above the Grandmaster level. Do you know about this?"

City Lord Du nodded.

"This is common knowledge in Jianghai City, so I naturally know about it."

"Headquarters requires that you investigate the identities of these two individuals.

You know, on the land of the Nine Provinces, no uncontrolled force is allowed to exist.

Of course, it would be best if we could recruit them into the Alliance to serve the Nine Provinces."

City Lord Du was somewhat hesitant. These wandering experts would have joined the Alliance long ago if they wanted to.

Moreover, based on his understanding of the Alliance's internal rules, if they were unwilling to join, they would likely be eliminated.

For those in power, a Grandmaster, no matter how valuable, is no different from a threat if they cannot be used by the Alliance.

"Mr. Zhao, this matter is quite difficult. First, their strength is too great, and they are elusive. My people would have a hard time finding them.

Second... if it weren't for them, Jianghai City would have suffered even greater damage. They can be considered benefactors of Jianghai City, and I..."

"Du Tianyu!"

Before City Lord Du could finish, Mr. Zhao interrupted him.

"Don't forget, you are the City Lord of the Alliance! Discussing personal matters while in office is a major taboo. Furthermore, if you have any collusion with them, it is a serious crime."

Du Tianyu's heart trembled, and he could only reluctantly lower his head.

"Understood."

Seeing Du Tianyu yield, Mr. Zhao's tone softened slightly.

"City Lord Du, I am also thinking for his benefit. Since he has such powerful strength, he should contribute to the Nine Provinces.

The front lines have been under pressure in recent years. If we could have two more Grandmasters, it would be a significant help.

If he is willing to contribute, the Nine Provinces will not treat him unfairly.

Money, power, women... all the riches of the world, he can have as much as he wants.

This would be a win-win situation for him and everyone else."

"I understand."

"It's best if you understand. Additionally, the theft at the library is a matter of great concern. The map of King El is of utmost importance, and this case must be thoroughly investigated.

The missing Yang Zhengyi is a major suspect. Use him as a lead to thoroughly investigate the entire library and retrieve the map of King El."

"Understood."

...

On Ye Xiao's side, he directed the workers to arrange the books, working hard for most of the day before finally organizing them.

These books were not all new; some were newly purchased by the library, while others were donated by libraries in other regions.

This way, Ye Xiao had many new books to read.

He is now the supervisor, still on the third floor, but due to the expansion of the library, the area he manages is as large as the entire third floor.

Ning Yuheng followed him to work as a junior manager.

Although this kid... well... is a bit hard to tell if he's a boy or a girl, he is a good person and quite diligent.

Ye Xiao assigned tasks to him, taking on the role of a hands-off boss, and enjoyed a comfortable life reading books.

He increasingly understood the benefits of power.

It's like having countless invisible hands and feet; you just need to speak, and they will do many things for you.

This is somewhat similar to mental cultivation techniques, but the difference is that mental cultivation techniques still consume your mental energy.

Power, on the other hand, places you above others and gives you a sense of control and satisfaction.

Even if Ye Xiao doesn't bully others, they will try to flatter and please him, actively doing things for him. This is the charm of power.

After reading for two days, Ye Xiao collected two more basic healing cultivation techniques.

This brought the total to nine basic healing cultivation techniques.

The nine sheets of paper in the Golden Book Spirit Soul, which bear the imprints of the healing cultivation techniques, began to emit a faint golden glow.

This means that with one more basic healing cultivation technique, he can fuse them into a top-tier healing cultivation technique.

Estimating that when that happens, even if he is beaten to the point of broken bones and a gaping wound in his chest, as long as he has a breath left, he can quickly heal himself.

It's almost like having an invincibility cheat?

And it's free and unlimited!

Just thinking about it makes him happy.

However, while he was reading, a large hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

"Old Ye, you've been promoted, and you're still reading books?"