Chapter 26

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Xiaomin seems to be in a bad mood today. Although he dotes on his daughters, he doesn't spoil them. Over the years, his two daughters haven't disappointed him. Their combat power isn't high compared to their peers, but that's the result of his deliberate suppression. A good foundation allows them to go further.

Sikong Yi doesn't believe that his younger daughter's judgment is so poor, comparing her and her sister to Yao Jing.

One is from a war orphan school, the other is trained by the empire's best environment, resources, and super-strong mentors. How can they be compared?

When Sikong Yi first saw Yao Jing, he could tell her combat power and strength. Even if there was a difference, it wouldn't be too significant. When Fei Xue mentioned it, he naturally wasn't surprised.

Actually, Sikong Yi was somewhat interested. A child who can reach 200,000 combat power after graduating from a war orphan school is rare in the entire empire. Even in wealthy families, this achievement is impressive.

"Yao Jing."

"Here." Yao Jing stepped forward, her delicate face showing no emotion, which was completely out of place for her age and status. Even if she didn't know who was sitting above, the title "Sir" could give her some clues.

There was no sign of excitement, fear, trembling, or awe on her. Her mental fortitude surprised even Sikong Yi. In this aspect, she surpassed his two daughters.

"I have a handful of rice. Try to catch as much as you can. If you satisfy me, you can join the Iron Guard." As Sikong Yi spoke, he held out his right hand, spread his fingers, and a handful of crystal-clear rice grains appeared in his palm.

This was too incredible. You are the Minister of Energy, one of the Nine Ministers. You were just assassinated, and you have a handful of rice in your pocket? What are you up to?

Zhu Zhenqing, Zhang Yu, and Kuai Peng's eyes all lit up, their envy radiating several meters away.

It could only be a spatial talisman. According to legend, the spatial compression technology was proposed by talisman masters over ten thousand years ago. It only entered practical use less than three hundred years ago. With the strength of the Zhou Shan Empire, fewer than five hundred spatial talismans have been produced. They are not for ordinary people to use.

Talisman masters indeed turned theory into reality, but they couldn't mass-produce them. The compression ratio was small, the space unstable, and the consumption enormous. Despite these drawbacks, who could ignore the allure of spatial talismans?

It is said that the Zhenhai Alliance has the most advanced spatial compression technology, capable of creating spatial talismans with 3 to 5 cubic meters of space. The empire ranks second, usually with 1 cubic meter, and Butan is even worse, possibly only 0.5 cubic meters.

The number of talisman masters who can create spatial talismans is extremely small, and they are all top masters in their respective countries. The production time is long, and the consumption is enormous. Even if these master-level talisman masters devoted all their time to creating spatial talismans, it would be a drop in the bucket, and the output wouldn't increase much. It would be impossible to enter the practical stage.

It is said that spatial talismans will only be fully popularized if there is a significant breakthrough in the talisman field. Otherwise, it won't happen in the next few thousand years.

No normal person would carry a handful of rice, let alone Sikong Yi. The only possibility is that it came from a spatial talisman. Given Sikong Yi's status and wealth, owning a spatial talisman is no problem.

Everything was seen by the deputy mayor, Ming Ren, who seemed ambitious but lacked insight and didn't react.

With a wave of his hand, the 100 grains of rice were thrown towards Yao Jing. The force was not great, but the speed of the rice grains was extremely fast, breaking the air in a continuous stream.

This wasn't something anyone could do. The rice grains had to reach supersonic speed without burning up due to friction with the air. Without a combat power of several million, it was impossible.

There were several people in the room with over a million combat power, but none were particularly high. Only the strongest, Guo Qingtian, had over 5.55 million, but he was Sikong Yi's subordinate and not related to Pingchuan City. The others couldn't control the rice grains to such a degree. If they threw them at such speed, most would burn up due to friction.

Supersonic speed is incomprehensible to ordinary people. At this speed, the rice grains are as destructive as the bullets from a kinetic gun.

Yao Jing didn't blink, her body slightly swaying. The rice grains thrown at her passed by her body, not even touching her clothes.

"Yao Jing? What are you doing?" Fei Xue was angry, his face red. Yao Jing dodging supersonic rice grains wasn't surprising, given her 220,000 combat power, which ordinary people can't even imagine.

But Sir was testing her, asking her to catch the rice grains. The number caught would determine her future. In Pingchuan City, the Flying Tiger Team is a good unit, but compared to Sir's Iron Guard, it's nothing.

"Sir, I like the Flying Tiger Team and have never thought of leaving here." Yao Jing was as calm as her name suggested.

"Fine." Sikong Yi responded indifferently. He knew this little girl's decision when she only dodged the rice grains and didn't try to catch them.

Not knowing her place? No way, Sikong Yi wouldn't think that. She's just a little girl, and this is her choice. Besides, she called out Du Qian's name, and they are classmates from the war orphan school. He would give Du Qian some face.

"Please forgive me, Sir." Fei Xue knelt on one knee, asking for forgiveness. Yao Jing's actions had already offended Sir's dignity, which could be grounds for a court trial, even a death sentence.

"No problem, no punishment."

"Qingtian, add Yao Jing's name to the Iron Guard. She will be temporarily assigned to the Pingchuan Flying Tiger Team, with no time limit."

"Ah... Yes, Sir, I'll do it immediately." Guo Qingtian was stunned, and the others' expressions were even more vivid. The two young ladies looked a bit black-faced, not understanding their father's intentions.

This is clearly a protective charm. As the Minister of Energy's Iron Guard, she would be a guest of honor in any secondary city, and meeting the mayor would be easy.

In terms of status, the personal guards of the Nine Ministers can't be higher than a secondary city mayor, but which mayor would dare to offend the personal guards of the Nine Ministers?

With this status, even Zhu Zhenqing would have to give Yao Jing some respect. Even if she committed a serious crime, such as killing someone in the street, she couldn't be tried by the Pingchuan court. A secondary city court doesn't have that authority.

It would have to be escalated to the Resource Department, where negotiations with the Iron Guard leader, Guo Qingtian, would be required. After Sikong Yi's approval, it would be handed over to the Shangjing court for trial and final judgment. Just the process alone would be too much for ordinary rich merchants or officials to bear.

If you go to the Resource Department, they would have to pay attention to you, let alone trying to meet the Iron Guard leader, Guo Qingtian. Even if you did, what could you do? The Iron Guard is a family, and the leader would protect his own. If they don't acknowledge it, where would you go to complain?

If you have the connections to directly reach the Shangjing High Court and order the arrest of the Iron Guard, you would have the power to directly communicate with Sikong Yi.

With the status of the Iron Guard, ordinary people can't offend her, and those who can offend her usually wouldn't come to Pingchuan City. From now on, Yao Jing can walk through Pingchuan City however she wants, and someone will even carry her bed if she wants to lie down.

"Thank you, Sir." Fei Xue was excited. Yao Jing had only been in the team for a few days, but he treated her well. To be the captain of the Flying Tiger Team, he was confident in his judgment. Yao Jing seemed to be cold on the outside but warm on the inside.

Yao Jing's success would naturally bring him benefits. In critical moments, as long as she spoke up, she could at least save him from a death sentence. This investment was too profitable.

"Go." Sikong Yi said calmly.

"Thank you." Yao Jing stared at Sikong Yi rudely, squeezing out two words, showing no gratitude.

"Um, noted." To everyone's surprise, Sikong Yi's expression became more serious, unlike his casual attitude towards Fei Xue.

Fei Xue and the others left, and the room was left with the mayors. Sikong Yi stood up and said, "My visit to Pingchuan is over, and it was quite effective. Mayor Zhu, thank you for your efforts. I will leave Pingchuan soon and head to the next destination."

The four mayors quickly stood up, and Zhu Zhenqing hurriedly said, "Sir, why not rest for half a day? There's no need to rush."

He knew that as one of the Nine Ministers and the Minister of Energy, Sikong Yi had countless tasks every day. Inspecting Pingchuan was just one stop on his trip, and he couldn't stay here for long.

The assassination attempt was clearly a distraction. The empire was not peaceful recently, and Sikong Yi wasn't the first to be assassinated, nor would he be the last. As the mayor of Pingchuan, he had a duty to be vigilant, but it could be light or heavy. From the looks of it, Sir Sikong Yi was prepared to let it go and not investigate further.

As the mayor of Pingchuan, he naturally had to show his respect. The Minister of Energy didn't need this, but his intentions had to be shown.

"No need." Three firm words, indicating that the matter was decided.

Watching Sikong Yi and his entourage board the low-altitude airship and depart with fighter escorts, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's disperse. We'll meet again tomorrow." With Sikong Yi gone, Zhu Zhenqing was the highest-ranking person. Even if Zhang Yu and Ming Ren had ambitions for his position, they had to maintain appearances, especially since their current strength wasn't enough to challenge Mayor Zhu.

Everyone got into their cars, and Zhu Zhenqing told his secretary, "Have someone pick up the rice in the room, not a single grain should be missed."

"Yes." Secretaries are not simple people. He had already sent someone to do it without the mayor's order.

The rice Sir casually threw out was spiritual rice.

Ps. Readers, do you still have free appreciation tickets and Qidian coins? The 515 red envelope countdown is on. I'm asking for votes and appreciation tickets, one last push!

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