Gu Jinlai stood on the large map, looking at the nine cities that were marked as seized.
Lingxiao Six Cities, four cities under the State Mansion, four cities under Dragon Sparrow Manor, plus the three cities recently taken in by Gu Jinlai from the Star Sky Alliance, as of today, seventeen out of the twenty-six cities in Star State were under the control of Gu Jinlai.
The remaining nine cities were occupied by Netherworld Sect, Cold Moon Sect, and Yellow Sky Sect respectively.
As for the Purgatory Sect?
After a series of conflicts with Gu Jinlai... they had already...
No, that’s not right!
Now that Gu Jinlai has become the Supreme Elder of the Purgatory Sect, aren’t the cities he occupies effectively under the Purgatory Sect’s control?
"Patriarch, a new batch of those stubborn fools who wished to incite the uninformed public to rebel have all been brought in. At the same time, those who have committed severe crimes in the cities have also been delivered. Please review them," said Gu Chaoyang, standing behind Gu Jinlai.
Gu Jinlai nodded but did not take immediate action, "Have Star Lord Xin and Lu Zhanfeng returned from their mission to Yellow Sky Sect and Cold Moon Sect yet?"
"Not yet, but they should be back soon," Gu Chaoyang replied.
"I hope Yellow Sky Sect and Cold Moon Sect make the right decision," said Gu Jinlai.
He had sent Xin Tianqi and Lu Zhanfeng to those two places in hopes of persuading them to pull out their forces.
As for why he chose to send envoys to Yellow Sky Sect and Cold Moon Sect...
For one thing, Yellow Sky Sect and Cold Moon Sect bordered Jiangzhou State to some extent. If he forced his hand too much, it might lead to them forming an alliance with Dragon Sparrow Manor.
Yellow Sky Sect faced the threat of Champsosaurus Swamp, and Cold Moon Sect was preoccupied with the threats of the demons from Mu State moving north and the overarching issue of the Divine Sword Assembly.
They were the most likely to make concessions.
As for the Netherworld Sect...
Firstly, they have never got along with the Purgatory Sect and are considered adversaries; secondly, with their locations being east and west of Dragon Sparrow Manor, plus the fact that the Two Great Sects belong to the paths of immortals and demons, the possibility of them forming an alliance is rather low.
Therefore, once the situation in Star State stabilizes, it would be ideal to deal with Netherworld Sect first. It would serve as a warning to deter the eager forces within Star State, while also preventing neighboring powers from acting recklessly.
Of course, this is just the course of action Star State will take for the time being.
Or rather, it is the stance Star State must display.
He knew that without the new Heavenly Sword Missile having completed its Spirit Summoning, he couldn’t possibly replicate his feat outside Lingxiao City where he slew two Primordial Spirit Monarchs and four Divinity Transformation Cultivators.
Therefore, if he truly chose to wage war against Netherworld Sect before the crisis at Dragon Sparrow Manor was resolved, he would most likely face being attacked from both sides. Once someone exposed his bluff, with several Primordial Spirit Monarchs ganging up on him, his fate would be like that of the Demon Ape Commander in the Yunqi Mountain Range: defenseless, taking hits passively, hiding wherever he could.
Outside the State Mansion, in the training field, hundreds of people were now gathered.
Most of these people once held considerable sway, including some Gang Condensation and Hugging Pill Masters who dominated townships.
But at this moment, their faces were filled with panic, uncertain of what the future held for them.
Seeing Gu Jinlai’s arrival, their fear escalated to the utmost, each of them shivering uncontrollably.
"Spare us, Governor Gu, please spare us!"
"Governor Gu, there must be some mistake, I’m innocent!"
"As a Hugging Pill Martial Artist, I’ve indeed employed certain methods over the years to secure cultivation resources, but isn’t that the case with everyone in this world? I implore Governor Gu to show mercy for the sake of my arduous path of cultivation and give me a chance to redeem myself."
Some of the more courageous individuals began shouting.
They were already the third batch pulled from various cities and towns; they were well aware of what awaited them.
"Silence!" Gu Chifeng, who was maintaining order, let out a low growl.
The ferocious aura akin to a Great Demon erupted, interweaving with the presence of other Demon God Guards, rendering all those present utterly silent.
Gu Jinlai immediately stepped forward, arriving at the front of the first row.
His gaze swept over the individuals in the line.
"Strict examination! Strict examination! Thorough recheck!"
With each person upon whom he paused for several seconds, he issued a command.
Those with Light Red Names would be subject to rigorous re-examination. Depending on their crimes, they might have the opportunity to make amends or face direct execution, but not by his own hand.
The ones for re-examination...
Were mostly Yellow Names.
Although the crimes of these people were wrong, they were not punishable by death.
However, if their actions contained particularly vile deeds, they would still face death, though the degree of investigation was less intense than for Light Red Names.
The remaining individuals, those with White Names, would be released; if they were willing to join the service of the State Mansion, they would be employed after passing a series of assessments.
A middle-aged man at the front, still with a smile plastered on his face, was beheaded by a sword from Gu Jinlai.
His smile instantly solidified.
Blood splattered, causing even greater panic among those around him.
One of them, whose facial expression changed, leapt up immediately.
But the moment he made a move, Gu Chifeng, already lying in wait, charged at him.
As a Hugging Pill Cultivator who had been severely injured before being captured, he was killed by a single punch from Gu Chifeng without standing a chance.
Gu Jinlai glanced at him, a Light Red Name.
The level of stern scrutiny.
He surmised the man’s actions were extremely vicious and knowing that death was inevitable, he thus gambled with his life.
The fall of this Hugging Pill Master instilled greater fear in the crowd, deterring anyone else from making a move.
Gu Jinlai walked past these people one by one.
Among the one hundred and six people, he directly executed nine and released four on the spot.
After all, this was already the third batch, and the probability of encountering a Red Name was far less than in the previous two batches of twenty-six and nineteen people.
After some time spent judging these individuals, Gu Jinlai turned his gaze to Xin Tianqi, who had already been there for a few minutes.
Xin Tianqi had heard of Gu Jinlai’s judicial actions, but this was his first time witnessing it, and he couldn’t help being curious.
"The law often has loopholes that can be exploited since the enforcers are human, and humans are inevitably influenced by personal feelings and social relationships. Therefore, for those with extremely bad reputations and a litany of evil deeds, I need to inquire personally," said Gu Jinlai. "In the future, if possible, whenever someone is sentenced to death, I intend to review the case myself."
He did this, firstly, to avoid the wrongful execution of an innocent White Name.
It was naturally for Qingguang.
Sufficient Qingguang would enable him to grow stronger and more steadily maintain Lingxiao City’s position while promoting Lingxiao City’s system to surrounding Great States and eventually incorporating the entire Daqian into the Star State order system. His goal was to ensure peace in the world and order and well-being among all creatures.
"That’s quite an undertaking," said Xin Tianqi.
In this world, unlike the Blue Star, the rate of capital punishment was exceedingly high.
Just in the territory of Star State, there were thousands of death row inmates each year.
For Gu Jinlai to take personal responsibility for this matter, a considerable amount of effort would be required.
"I believe in the legal system of Lingxiao City," Gu Jinlai declared. "The likelihood of those who have been reviewed being innocent is very low; my presence is simply a final deterrent and safety net, or you could say, a hanging sharp sword above the heads of those law enforcers."
As he spoke, he smiled, "Moreover, my review process is swift. I have cultivated the Qiantian Purple Qi Technique and possess the Qi Observation Skill, allowing me to roughly judge a person’s nature through the ’Qi’ emanating from their body. As you just saw, it took only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to assess over a hundred people."
"The Qi Observation Skill from the Qiantian Purple Qi Technique?"
Xin Tianqi was somewhat astonished.
had actually mastered the Qiantian Purple Qi Technique!?
As everyone knew, cultivating the Qi Observation Skill was extremely difficult, requiring an innate talent.
This kind of talent referred not only to innate ability but also to their social status.
This was a technique where the difficult was made easy for the talented and simply impossible for the untalented.
Those gifted could reach its entry-level after a period of study.
However, those without the talent could toil a lifetime without grasping the principles.
Moreover, the path was arduous; after entry, to achieve Small Achievement, Mahayana, and even Perfection, one would need to dedicate countless years of hard cultivation.
Now that Gu Jinlai had managed to train this technique to the level of reading physiognomy and observing qi...
That in itself spoke volumes.
For a moment, Xin Tianqi looked at Gu Jinlai with visibly different eyes.
"What about the Yellow Sky Sect?" Gu Jinlai asked.
"The situation at the Yellow Sky Sect is more difficult than we imagined," replied Xin Tianqi with a smile. "The Champsosaurus King who dominates the Tianhe is not an ordinary Demon King but a top-tier being with a special bloodline who has developed an Innate Divine Ability. It can summon thunderstorms during rainy weather, bringing down thunder to kill its opponents. This is a fatal threat even to Primordial Spirit True Monarchs, so the Yellow Sky Sect is on high alert, stationing three True Monarchs at the Champsosaurus Swamp, unable to spare the strength to confront us. After my personal visit and persuasion, they’ve decided to abandon the north’s three cities and withdraw from the strife over Star State."
"Good," nodded Gu Jinlai. "Star Lord Xin, you have worked hard."
"It’s what I should do," Xin Tianqi said. "They will withdraw within a month, and a month later, the State Governor can send people to take over the three cities."
That seemed a bit long.
By that time, he estimated that the three cities would be practically empty.
However, compared to the losses of life and limb in a war, the loss of some wealth and resources was trivial.
In his heart, the people of Star State mattered more than possessions.
Xin Tianqi, thinking of Gu Jinlai’s swift and decisive actions in integrating the order of Star State’s seventeen cities over the last half month and the mobilization of a large army towards Dragon Sparrow Manor, pondered for a moment and said, "You intend to stabilize Star State’s situation as soon as possible, then take revenge on Dragon Sparrow Manor?"
"That’s the idea, but the specifics will depend on the circumstances," Gu Jinlai replied.
"Then, I hope the State Governor will act prudently," Xin Tianqi said gravely. "I have been to Dragon Sparrow Manor before and even engaged with them for a short period. That conflict ended inconclusively for two reasons... First, my visit was not for the purpose of waging war against the Manor. Second..."
He paused briefly, "I sensed the presence of the ’Sparrow Sword Immortal’ Huo Yuqing from a century ago, whose name shook the world."