Inside the main hall, silence fell for a moment.
Fang Tiankui, Ouyang Bing, and Shi Yan exchanged glances. Although their expressions grew increasingly grim, they ultimately did not speak further.
Because they were well aware that there was no room for negotiation in this matter. Given Constable Wan's methods, they had no other choice but to accept.
In the end, the three could only nod in helpless agreement.
Feeling stifled, none of the three had any intention of staying longer. They rose, bid farewell, and left one after another.
Watching the figures of the three depart into the distance, Wei Bo's face showed a faint smile.
"Lord Wei, it might be a bit difficult for these three families, given their size, to come up with 2 million taels of silver. Will they cooperate obediently?"
A trusted constable in the main hall asked hesitantly.
"Do they dare not cooperate?"
Wei Bo sneered.
Based on his understanding of the three, Ouyang Bing, the strongest among them, had lost his edge. He would not dare to scheme and would definitely be the first to cooperate obediently, even though the Seven Forms Sect was already quite struggling.
As for Fang Tiankui, although he appeared tough on the surface, dragging along such a large family like the Fang Family, even if he felt extremely stifled, what could he dare to do? What could he do?
As for the White Dragon Gang.
He didn't know what he thought of, but suddenly asked.
"How are the recent consecutive robbery incidents in the city progressing?"
"Reporting, my lord, the strength of those robbers is not weak. There are even traces of Bone Transformation Realm Martial Artists among them. Moreover, they are well-trained. Even if some captives are caught alive, they immediately commit suicide by taking poison, making it difficult to find any useful clues. Of course, according to your instructions, we haven't intervened too much in this matter, so the robbery incidents are still frequent, causing heavy losses to many businesses and wealthy households in the city. The wealth plundered by this group of robbers during this period is already an astronomical figure."
The trusted constable immediately replied. As he spoke, a look of confusion appeared on his face again, and he couldn't help but ask.
"My lord, by letting these robbers run rampant like this, aren't we allowing them to simply abscond with a large amount of wealth from the city? This is no small loss for us."
"Hehe... Just when I was sleepy, someone delivered a pillow. Now it's time to cast the net."
A cold smile appeared on Wei Bo's face.
"Originally, I planned to gradually drain these forces like boiling a frog in warm water. Now, perhaps it won't be so troublesome..."
Wanhua City, about three hundred li west of the city, in a gravel woodland.
Lin Sheng stood on the ground, his figure as straight as a javelin. His feet were hooked, giving a feeling of indescribable weight and solidity.
As if he were one with the earth beneath him.
"The Earth Vein Resonance talent indeed maximizes the defensive characteristics of this Scarlet Iron Rock Rhino. This Spirit Beast, already possessing extremely strong defense, is even harder to shake."
Lin Sheng carefully felt the friendly response coming from the earth.
After activating the Earth Vein Resonance talent, he only felt the earth beneath his feet instantly transform into his own barrier, giving him a solid feeling as if he were an unyielding mountain.
The effect of the Earth Vein Resonance talent was very simple. In his view, it was a plus version of Earth Affinity.
It could, to a certain extent, mobilize the power of the earth, trigger small-scale earth vein anomalies, and cause effects similar to earthquakes.
Of course, he experimented freely, and the approximate range was within ten zhang of him.
The earthquake effect was decent, but unfortunately, Martial Artists react extremely quickly. It could still have a good effect on Blood Transportation Warriors, but it was quite limited against Bone Transformation Martial Artists.
Although the power of this earthquake was decent, it was too easy to dodge and could not be used as a regular method. It could only serve as an auxiliary tool for unexpected effects.
Of course, this earthquake effect had an extremely strong restraining effect on Martial Artists with burrowing talents like Drilling Rat Pei Er.
In the future, facing enemies with such methods would give him a natural advantage.
Besides triggering small-scale earthquakes, the second effect of this Earth Vein Resonance, in his opinion, was its core.
As long as his feet were on the ground and connected to the earth, he could transfer a portion of the damage he received into the earth, while he himself would bear the remaining impact.
He had just tested it, and the transferred impact force was about 30%.
30% might seem low, but when it actually landed on his body, the perception was extremely real. An attack that could originally be fatal with one strike might at most result in a severe injury after transferring 30%.
With the amplification of high Physique, as long as he wasn't killed in one blow, he could quickly recover from his injuries, showing the tenacious vitality of this Scarlet Iron Rock Rhino.
At the same time, his heart tightened. To be able to kill the Scarlet Iron Rock Rhino in one blow when it was so powerful, the strength of the person who attacked was probably not as simple as Bones Transformation. They were very likely a God-Form Martial Artist.
He had never fought against a God-Form Martial Artist, and had very little contact with them. He had only personally witnessed Qi Ning making a move, toying with Shi Gu, who was at the sixth level of Bones Transformation, in the palm of her hand.
The further one goes in martial arts Realms, the greater the gap. The Divine Form Realm is definitely not on the same level as Bones Transformation.
And he was still extremely far from this Realm.
However, he believed that one day he would also enter this Realm, and go even further.
"15 points of Physique have been achieved. Next, only the Mingxin Realm remains."
After continuously carving wood during this period, his mental focus became increasingly effortless, but it still hadn't reached the level required for the Mingxin Realm.
"Indeed, cultivation in the spiritual aspect is only more difficult than martial arts cultivation, not easier."
With a light sigh in his heart, he had a faint feeling that with the outbreak of war between the two countries, the superficial calm of Wanhua City could be completely disrupted at any time.
Especially two days ago, Yang Niu sent him another letter stating that the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall had decided to withdraw from Wanhua City and return to the Fu City.
The Spirit Beast originally promised to him was completely lost.
Behind the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall stood the Yuanyang Beast Sect, one of the three major forces in Linjiang Prefecture.
In the current situation of Wanhua City, forces with backgrounds like the Ten Thousand Beasts Hall are the least affected. Yet, even so, they have already decided to withdraw, which cannot help but lead to speculation.
Seven Forms Sect, Qingniao Yard.
Lin Sheng stepped into it.
However, not long after entering, he found that the number of Disciples in the yard was much fewer than before.
Originally, there were nearly a hundred people in Qingniao Yard, but nearly half of them were usually stationed outside. On weekdays, he could see forty to fifty people each time he came, which was quite good.
But this time, he found it quite lively along the way, and upon arriving at the Elegant Courtyard, he found a rare number of seventy to eighty people.
And all these people had dispirited expressions, sighing from time to time.
This situation clearly indicated that something else had happened.
And it was very likely related to Xie Qingyun asking him to come this time.
As thoughts flickered in his mind, he had already arrived at the courtyard.
In the courtyard at this moment, except for Zhao Kongfang, all the core Disciples of the yard were present.
Seeing this scene, he was somewhat surprised. He knew that Wei Yun and Bai Qing should, by rights, still be stationed at Spring Wind Lake and Shuiguang Town, and should not leave easily.
Xie Qingyun gently stroked her forehead, her face full of exhaustion.
"Master."
Lin Sheng bowed in greeting.
"Sheng'er, you've come."
Seeing Lin Sheng arrive, Xie Qingyun squeezed out a smile, nodded to him, and then her gaze swept over Wei Yun and Bai Qing. Finally, she sighed before speaking.
"Alright, everyone is here. I believe you have all heard some rumors. This time, the wartime levy in the city is demanding a huge sum from the Sect. The Sect's finances were already extremely tight, and a lot of money was spent on purchasing properties. Therefore, in the coming period, the benefits for each yard will be reduced again. I hope you can understand..."
Lin Sheng listened quietly, having already prepared himself mentally.
Even the Zhao Family needed to pay three hundred thousand taels of silver. For the Seven Forms Sect, a giant in the city, this was undoubtedly an astronomical figure.
The financial situation of the Seven Forms Sect had already fallen into crisis. Originally, they hoped to reverse the situation by relying on the beast mine of Da Cui Peak, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be nothing. Facing the strong intervention of the Prefecture Yamen, a number of industries in the city were greatly affected. Now, with such a wartime levy, it was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.
After leaving the Elegant Courtyard, Lin Sheng learned from Bai Qing that the situation was even more difficult than he had imagined. In order to raise the funds for this temporary levy, the properties in Shuiguang Town and Spring Wind Lake, which had only been bought recently, had already been sold externally.
Because time was very tight, the only entity they could sell to was the Prefecture Yamen.
Therefore, the prices of these properties were suppressed to an extremely low level, even thirty to forty percent lower than when they were purchased.
This was undoubtedly another huge loss for the Seven Forms Sect.
Not only were the original benefits reduced to a pitifully low level, but even the rewards for being stationed could not be fulfilled. The blow to the morale of a Sect was almost unimaginable.
And the fatal thing was that facing the Imperial Court's successive measures, the Seven Forms Sect's only choice was to silently accept.
This made many Disciples within the Sect feel stifled, while also harboring some careful thoughts. After all, if things continued like this, anyone could see what the final outcome for the Seven Forms Sect would be.
Joining a major force in Wanhua City like the Seven Forms Sect was undoubtedly something that brought glory to one's ancestors in the past, meaning that one's path of martial arts cultivation could go further. But now, that was no longer certain.
The situation deteriorated far more rapidly than he had imagined. However, that very night, the Yamen released news externally, recruiting Blood Transportation and Forging Tendons Realm Martial Artists.
As long as they were Blood Transportation Warriors, they could directly join the Prefecture Yamen and become constables. Not only could they cultivate true techniques directly, but their monthly salary was as high as a thousand taels of silver, and they also had Qi and Blood Pills to aid cultivation.
As for Forging Tendons Realm Martial Artists, as long as they could pass the assessment, they could also join the Prefecture Yamen.
Moreover, the difficulty of the assessment was greatly reduced compared to before. Basically, as long as they were above the average level and showed the potential to enter Blood Transportation, they could join.
As soon as this news was released, it immediately caused a huge uproar in the city. It should be known that the Imperial Court's benefits had always been the best among all forces. Although there were more restrictions, both status and various resources surpassed those of many Sects and aristocratic families.
It was not easy to enter, but now it had been relaxed to such an extent. In the past, this would have been absolutely unthinkable.
As long as one could enter the Prefecture Yamen, it was also possible to enter the Dragon Demon Army in the future. That was truly taking a step to heaven.
Of course, everyone knew that the reason for such leniency was definitely related to the war between the two countries. Joining the Prefecture Yamen now meant that one might be used as cannon fodder in the future. However, wealth is sought through risk, and people were even more aware that if they missed this opportunity, it would definitely not be so easy to join the Prefecture Yamen in the future.
Therefore, a large number of Blood Transportation Masters and Forging Tendons geniuses throughout Linjiang Prefecture poured into the Prefecture Yamen like crazy.
Of course, top forces in the Fu City like the Tianxiang Sword Sect, Yuanyang Beast Sect, and Situ Family were not affected much.
The real forces affected were the small and medium ones, and the most severely affected was undoubtedly Wanhua City.
Various forces in Wanhua City were already extremely struggling due to the strong intervention of the Prefecture Yamen.
Now that this news was released, many Blood Transportation and Forging Tendons Disciples within various forces had the idea of leaving their original forces and joining the Yamen.
Betrayal within a Sect was an act of great rebellion. In normal times, one would definitely not escape being hunted down by the Sect. However, joining the Prefecture Yamen had no such worries, as even a powerful force like the Tianxiang Sword Sect would not dare to openly assassinate someone from the Imperial Court.
As soon as this news was released, the next day, Lin Sheng received a message and came to Qingniao Yard again.
And this time, the situation in the yard had already changed significantly compared to the previous day.
Compared to the previous day, he only saw just over a dozen Qingniao Yard Disciples on his way to the Elegant Courtyard.
Most of them were older members of the yard.
By the time he saw Xie Qingyun, besides Zhao Kongfang, Xiao Yan had also disappeared.
Seeing this scene, Lin Sheng's heart was moved.
At this moment, Xie Qingyun's cheeks were flushed red, and her slender, fair hands were clenched, cracking audibly. She was clearly suppressing the anger in her heart. Only after seeing Lin Sheng appear did her expression slightly soften.
"Master, I apologize, I was delayed by something."
"It's alright, as long as you're here."
Xie Qingyun shook her head and spoke softly.
"Yun'er, go call the remaining Disciples in the yard over."
"Yes, Master." Senior Sister Wei Yun's face was also flushed red, clearly with rising anger in her heart. She responded heavily and turned to leave.
Not long after, the dozen or so Qingniao Yard Disciples he had seen along the way were all gathered in the Elegant Courtyard.
Xie Qingyun's gaze swept over the group. Her flushed face gradually returned to its original paleness, her tightly clenched fists also loosened, and a bitter smile appeared on her face.
"I didn't expect that in just one day, such a large Qingniao Yard would only have this many people left. But this is also good. At least you are the true Disciples of my Seven Forms Sect. If they were all people who forgot righteousness for gain, what use would there be in having more people?"
"From now on, there will be no distinction between inner and outer Disciples. You are all Disciples of my Qingniao Yard. If you have any confusion in your cultivation in the future, just come to me first."
Xie Qingyun offered a few words of encouragement, and finally waved her hand, looking a bit tired, before letting everyone disperse.
She had a gentle exterior but a strong interior. However, thinking of the many Disciples who had left her, she couldn't help but feel sad. Especially when even her own core Disciples chose to leave, it made her heart heavy.
Zhao Kongfang, being the direct descendant of the Zhao Family, although he was her core Disciple, she was well aware that he would eventually return to the Zhao Family in the future.
But Xiao Yan was different. She had followed her for many years. Although her personality was indifferent, she had always regarded her as both a Disciple and a daughter. She didn't expect her to leave so decisively.
However, Lin Sheng, who had only joined the Sect for just over half a year, still chose to stay, which brought her some comfort.
