Wang Sheng had arrived at Dishui County for the second time.
The previous time, he had sneaked in, but this time there was no need for subterfuge; he simply paid to enter.
There were more people outside the city again, as not everyone could afford to pay to enter the city. The fee charged by the guards at the gate was certainly not low; it was blatantly clear they wanted to scrape up some money.
He didn’t say much, simply took his Black Dragon Spear and entered the city.
The guards at the city gate did not even dare to charge him and let him in directly. In these troubled times, the more insignificant the power, the better they were at judging who to provoke and who not to.
Wang Sheng ignored these people; his priority was to eliminate the head of evil. Once that was done, others would take care of these men.
Moreover, he intended to resolve the issue once and for all, otherwise, there would be someone else taking their place next time.
Of course, if the officials could restore order, even if they were somewhat corrupt, as long as they could do their job, he actually did not want to bother with this matter. Unfortunately, those people were a gang of ruthless killers.
The officials still had to maintain a semblance of legitimacy, but this group killed anyone who did not fit their desires.
On his way here, he had seen many villages and knew what this group had done.
If you didn’t pay the grain tribute, they would kill you; and if you did pay and they found more upon searching, they would still kill you. They never considered leaving anyone a way out.
When order collapsed, all of humanity’s darkness would be exposed.
He had killed many people on his way here; his Black Dragon Spear had long been stained with blood.
Now it was the turn of that Ninth Grade Martial Artist, no, it should be said a Grandmaster Level Martial Artist.
And his group of subordinates.
Just now at the city gate, he had heard that today was the monthly meeting when that group of people would return to report their activities. All the high-ranking and important figures would be present.
It was a case of timing is everything; this saved him the trouble of figuring out how to kill them all together.
As for other news, he did not plan to inquire any further.
Among those he had killed was a Seventh-Grade Martial Artist, who probably held significant status within that group, and was likely expected to return today. If they realized what had happened, it would be troublesome.
Soon, he reached the county government office.
That was where the people who occupied three counties were entrenched. There was no one guarding the entrance; they must have been very confident in their own strength.
After all, having guards at the entrance was not very useful for a power with Martial Artists, except for show and fending off minor characters.
However, there should have been someone in charge of the gatehouse.
Of course, Wang Sheng had no intention of giving proper notice and following procedure.
He gripped the Black Dragon Spear in his hand.
Just as he was about to make his move, an old man approached him.
“Young man, although I don’t know what feud you have with them, don’t stand around here. If you’re seen, they’ll kill you.”
When he turned his head, the old man saw a mask that he could never forget – it was the same mask worn by the man who had slain the Evil Flood Dragon.
He tried to kneel on the spot to thank him for saving his life.
Wang Sheng supported the old man and said, “Old man, stay back a bit. The effects might be quite extensive soon!”
After all, he was facing a Grandmaster Level Martial Artist, and he was not certain how loud the battle would be.
It was easy for bystanders to get caught in the crossfire.
The old man instantly understood what Wang Sheng intended to do. Being an old man close to the end of his days, he almost shed tears.
He knew, the three counties could be saved.
Then he quickly left; he had seen the destructive power of a battle before.
After the old man left, Wang Sheng concentrated his Qi Blood Power on the Black Dragon Spear, then casually threw it towards the county government office.
“Boom!”
In the blink of an eye, the Black Dragon Spear transformed into a black lightning bolt streaking crimson, utterly demolishing the grand entrance of the county office.
The spear did not stop there, cutting through everything it passed and leaving a huge, perfectly straight ravine in the ground, ending with an explosion in front of the great hall of the county office.
The entire county office was nearly obliterated by that single spear throw, leaving nothing but rubble and dust shooting into the sky.
His own Qi-Blood Power was very useful when eliminating these small fry.
As he listened to the screams coming from within the county office, Wang Sheng felt no stir in his heart.
Since they had enjoyed the benefits, they had to bear all the consequences of revenge.
Cheng Jiang was stunned for a moment amidst the dust, then quickly came to his senses, grabbing his weapon.
Soon, he saw a figure emerging from the dissipating dust, dressed in blue with an iron mask, holding a black long spear.
The spearhead of the long spear glinted coldly, as if it could slice through the skies.
“Who are you? We have no grudge against each other…”
“Did the commoners of the three counties wrong you?”
Wang Sheng found it difficult to understand these people.
In his past life and the current one, he had never held a high position.
It was hard to grasp this mentality; why would they not leave any way out?
To seize all the grain, which they could never eat in a lifetime, and not even have an army to support, what was the purpose of collecting the grain?
The more he thought about it, the deeper the anger built up inside him.
Even though he practiced immortal cultivation, adding his age from the previous life and the time spent in this world, he was only in his twenties, and some emotions could not be concealed.
Just a little could have allowed them to live comfortably, but they were insatiable, desiring everything, even things that held no significant use for them.
Deep down in this anger, he also had some understanding: some people just relished the feeling of wielding life and death over ordinary people.
What did it matter that they left no way out, since they couldn’t resist anyway?
This person probably thought the same!
Wang Sheng knew these kinds of people could never be completely eradicated, but who told this person to appear before him?
“Please do me a favor and die!”
Cheng Jiang never expected that this person had actually come for the common people of the three counties.
“Do you think it’s worth it? Those are just common people, even if they die, in a few decades, there will be lots of others. We Grandmasters can live for at least 200 years…”
Wang Sheng took action without another word.
There was no need to reason with such a person.
Two hundred years?
Today, you must die!
Cheng Jiang hadn’t expected that this person would strike without a word of disagreement; seeing the iron mask, he had guessed who this person was, but why, just for those common people?
But he couldn’t utter a single word.
With every thrust of Wang Sheng’s spear, the force was astonishingly great, leaving Cheng Jiang only able to passively defend; with each strike, a deep pit appeared on the ground.
Cheng Jiang only felt his body trembling, his Qi Blood Power seemingly suppressed after being hit with such tremendous force.
The collision of Qi Force overturned everything nearby.
Some of Cheng Jiang’s subordinates were actually still alive; they wanted to run, but while maintaining the suppression on Cheng Jiang, Wang Sheng did not miss a single one of his men, killing them all.
“What exactly are you doing this for? Justice? Don’t you find that concept laughable? Back in the day, I…”
“What does the past matter, did you suffer? What does that have to do with me, and even if I said I was doing this for justice, what then?”
Everyone has their own story, but that has nothing to do with him; past suffering does not negate current actions, and maybe after hearing the story, he would feel sympathy, but what does that have to do with those ordinary people who just want to live peacefully?
So, just die already!
In a matter of life and death, what’s the point in talking about kindness and morals?
Wang Sheng finally spoke, but his words only brought Cheng Jiang despair.
He understood this person intended to kill him without fail.
“If that’s the case, then don’t blame me for not… being polite…”
Cheng Jiang never finished his sentence because Wang Sheng’s Black Dragon Spear had pierced through his heart, the Qi Blood Power on the spear creating a huge hole in his chest cavity.
At first, no blood flowed out.
It was only after he fell that blood began to ooze out slowly.
Soaking the ground completely.
However, Wang Sheng did not, directly slicing with his spear to sever the corpse.
Given that creatures like Xu Qu existed, it wouldn’t be surprising if this man also had some unique abilities; better to be safe than sorry.
After dismembering the corpse, he concentrated his Qi Blood Power in the spear and struck Cheng Jiang’s body.
Following an explosion, the body was completely obliterated.
As for the head, it could still be of some use for a while.
“Grandmaster?”
He wasn’t being arrogant, but Cheng Jiang was indeed not much of an opponent; a bit of seriousness from him was all it took to end the man instantaneously, hardly any effort involved.
He felt that this man was not even a match for Yue’s combat strength.
But that was fine too; if there had been some powerful trump card, that wouldn’t have been his wish.
The county government office had been utterly destroyed.
Though he was slightly to blame, considering he had slain the Evil Flood Dragon and cut down a chaos-causing Grandmaster, destroying a county office shouldn’t be much of an issue.
These were necessary sacrifices!
He casually lifted Cheng Jiang’s head, letting it fall onto the mainland outside.
At this time, some courageous souls, drawn by the noise that had now ceased, were coming near, only to see a head falling to the ground, with some blood splattering out.
“Isn’t that Cheng Jiang’s head?”
“There’s no mistaking it; who was the valiant one who killed him?”
Soon after, Wang Sheng leaped out from the deep pit of the county government office and appeared before everyone.
“Can someone in charge come here?”
He had already shown himself in Dishui County once before, and coupled with the martial prowess capable of directly killing Cheng Jiang, many recognized him.
This was the man who had saved them before.
Before long, someone arrived.
Having been in charge until Cheng Jiang and his forces arrived and made him step down, he was grateful he hadn’t been at the county office at the time.
“Sir, what would you like to instruct?”
With an iron mask, Wang Sheng spoke, “Hang this head on the city gate. If anyone in the future wants to take charge of the three counties, let them know: they can live peacefully, or hang alongside it. And, try to return the grain collected by these people, can you do that?”
He intended to deter certain individuals once and for all.
Taking charge of the three counties was not a problem; he did not want to interfere, but those in charge should act like normal people.
“I understand, of course, sir!”
The person in charge immediately accepted the task; whether it was feasible or not, it had to be done!
This gentleman’s reputation had been enough to intimidate the surrounding area for over a year.
However—
“Sir, don’t you want the three counties for yourself?”