"Lingxiao City, although not like Changjun City with six major forces entrenched, wherever there are people, there are interests, and wherever there are interests, there are disputes. The entire Lingxiao City is divided among the Three Great Families, and anyone who dares to reach out for their interests will receive a joint thunderous strike from the three families."
During this period, Gu Chaoyang carefully studied Yun Guantian and the intelligence provided by the Xuzhen Tower, understanding Lingxiao City no less than Gu Jinlai did.
"The west of the city that we are going to, is the Wang Family’s territory."
"Shallow waters are full of shrimps."
Gu Jinlai said with a sound.
But then he realized something, and the corner of his mouth twitched.
Wasn’t he now a dragon in shallow waters as well?
"Never mind, let’s rest in the west of the city for a while."
Gu Jinlai looked at the eleven layers of karma on his body.
"Still, the likelihood is very low, but I still hope that there will be a few good people among the Meteor Star Guards in the west of the city."
In the past few months, Gu Jinlai had come to understand clearly.
Karma is directly proportional to strength.
Just like on Blue Star, as long as you are powerful, you can wage wars every day, conduct biological experiments, and plunder the wealth of other nations without any organization coming forward to sanction or confront you.
But if your power is lacking, you’ll instantly attract trouble and become the subject of conquest and plunder.
To others, Gu Jinlai, who had fallen from the Refining God realm, belonged to the category of those whose strength was insufficient and who had stirred up a lot of trouble; hence, he could be conquered and plundered. If he wanted to avoid troubles...
He would need to reduce his karma first.
The way to reduce karma is roughly just to tie one’s own hands and let others plunder you until all karma is cleared, I suppose.
Lay down the butcher’s knife and turn to spit on your own face.
Meteor Star Guard Mansion.
This was an exceptionally large courtyard complex.
Even before Gu Jinlai had arrived, quite a few people had already gathered there.
Especially in the inner hall, where six high-level Meteor Guards were present.
As a violent institution in Star State specialized in suppressing turmoil in the Cultivation World, the minimum requirement to join the Meteor Star Guards was Qi Refinement.
High-level Meteor Guards are either those who have made great achievements at the Gang Condensation stage or whose sheer strength has reached the Hugging Pill stage.
The six people present, two at the Peak of Hugging Pill and four at the Gang Condensation stage.
Add to that the thirty-odd middle and low-rank Meteor Guards and more than two hundred reservists; these were all the members of the West City branch.
At this moment, the other five of the six high-level Meteor Guards were speaking with one man seated at the head of the hall.
"I have already notified my third uncle and sixth uncle; they will be here soon! However, we will still need the assistance of everyone else when the time comes."
The middle-aged man seated at the foremost place bowed his hands towards the five.
A young master of the Lingxiao Wang Family, he joined the Meteor Star Guards at sixteen, and it had been twenty years since, forging a name as a high-level guard with his sword and spear.
Due to recent events where the City Lord’s lineage of the Li Family almost faced extermination, his predecessor as Vice Garrison Commander was made a scapegoat and was dismissed for investigation. Everyone felt that with the Wang Family’s power behind him and his Hugging Pill combat capabilities, he would be the new Vice Garrison Commander.
Even Wang Dongyu himself thought so, and in this period, he had even reduced his contacts with the Red Blood Demon Sect, staying at home honestly, awaiting his appointment.
Suddenly, a Vice Garrison Commander parachuted in, and the position he thought was in the bag slipped through his fingers.
He had toiled in the Meteor Star Guards for a full twenty years!
Just as he was about to leave the ranks of the Meteor Star Guards and become a garrison commander, someone snatched the peach away from him, and his frustration was imaginable.
Fortunately, half an hour ago, Fang’s Governor sent a message, expressing his dissatisfaction with this newly appointed Vice Garrison Commander. As long as he could take control of the West City division and prevent the latter from achieving any merits, it wouldn’t be long before Fang’s Governor found a reason to drive him out of Lingxiao City.
Wang Dongyu’s words quickly resonated with several people in the room, "Fang’s Governor holds Lord Wang in high regard, and although Gu Jinlai has a certain reputation, it won’t be easy for him to make a move in Lingxiao City."
"Indeed, Lord Wang is a prominent disciple of the Wang Family, with the full support of his family members. Not to mention that Gu Jinlai has fallen from the Refining God Realm, even if he were still a Refining God Giant, it’s unlikely he could stir up any trouble."
"We trust no one but Lord Wang for the position of West City Guardian, and the brothers of West City are equally willing to follow Lord Wang’s commands with utmost respect."
The four high-level Meteor Guards from the Gang Condensation Realm spoke one after another.
However, Zhao Fan, who was at the Peak of Hugging Pill, said in a deep voice, "Gu Jinlai made quite a name for himself in Changjun City, and even though he is no longer in Refining God Realm, his combat power is probably at the Peak of Hugging Pill. We should still be careful."
"I naturally won’t underestimate him in the slightest. However, we have over two hundred Meteor Star Guards in West City, dozens in the True Qi Realm and Gang Condensation Realm. Besides, my third uncle and sixth uncle will also bring two teams of the Wang Family’s elites to assume positions in the Star Guard. Each one of them is a master of Qi Refinement. With such a lineup, even if Gu Jinlai still possessed Refining God Power, he couldn’t turn the skies."
As Wang Dongyu spoke, he smiled faintly, "Of course, I will still give him face and prop him up high. As long as he stays put as a mascot and doesn’t interfere with our cooperation with various parties, he will still be a Garrison Commander respected by us."
"Exactly, we’re not trying to confront him head-on. The operations of the Star Guard are not like those of Demon Sects, which are constantly fighting and killing. We are a place that follows rules and reason."
"Let’s hope that the Ancient Town Guardian doesn’t make things difficult for us, to avoid an awkward situation."
The high-level Meteor Guards echoed the sentiment.
"Thank you, brothers. After the next batch of Human Pill transactions, I will share my portion with you all and treat you to drinks," Wang Dongyu said with a smile.
At these words, the faces of several people immediately lit up with smiles, "Lord Wang is too kind, this is our duty."
"Then we’ll have to thank Lord Wang."
Wang Dongyu observed this with a slight nod of his head.
He knew Gu Jinlai was no easy prey, who, even if he were now down on his luck and hunted everywhere like a stray dog, was not someone ordinary people could provoke.
But Wang Dongyu was no ordinary person, and the West City was his Wang Family’s territory.
On his own turf, with the support of Fang Que’s Governor, if he still didn’t dare to compete, he might as well settle for a life as a Meteor Star Guard. Why even dream of becoming a Garrison Commander?
Fortune favors the bold.
In this world, there are no pies falling from the sky.
After a moment, a Star Guard came into the hall to report, "My lord, the Ancient Town Guardian has arrived."
Wang Dongyu stood up, "Let’s go meet the honored arrival of Shangguan now."
Immediately, he led the high-level Meteor Guards, along with dozens of middle and lower level guards who had been summoned, to the front courtyard.
At this moment, a convoy of more than twenty people entered the fallen center of the Star Guard.
Wang Dongyu signaled to the others with a look, and they stepped forward, "Subordinates Wang Dongyu, Zhao Fan... pay respect to the lord."
He glanced at the people in the courtyard...
He had already found it strange when he met with Fang Que and others before.
The proportion of ’Red Names’ among the Lingxiao City Star Guards was significantly higher than that of the Starlight City Star Guards.
Like just now, in the Meteor Star Guard Mansion, several governors led by Fang Que, were all covered in Karma as thick as blood.
He initially thought this was because they needed to constantly suppress the Cultivation World, which resulted in a great deal of Karma. However, seeing the high proportion of ’Red Names’ among these West City Star Guards, he became puzzled.
Out of over thirty official Meteor Star Guards, there were hardly any ’Yellow Names.’
An unwelcomed pleasure.
For a moment, Gu Jinlai’s gaze towards the crowd became "gentler" as he said, "There’s no need for such formalities."
At this time, he was already pondering.
Should he purge first, then proceed with the half-year consolidation plan?