As Jing Qian walked along, he carefully contemplated the organizational structure of the Hunzhou Prefecture Office.
The Prefecture Office had Three Departments and Two Bureaus, the true governing bodies beneath the Overseer, responsible for managing the entire island.
The Military Affairs Department, Civil Affairs Department, and Maritime Affairs Department each oversaw their respective domains, handling all executive functions.
The Craft Bureau and the Academy Bureau were more specialized:
The Craft Bureau managed the forging of artifacts, refining of magical treasures, and trade in spiritual materials.
The Academy Bureau oversaw the Prefecture's three great Life Furnaces and maintained the sealed vaults containing countless cultivation methods.
In this cultivation world, the Three Departments and Two Bureaus were not only symbols of secular power but also vital links between the mortal realm and the cultivation world.
Those who held office in the Prefecture were all cultivators themselves.
Among the heads of these divisions, only Wu Liuyuan, director of the Craft Bureau, held an eighth-rank Hundred-Refinement cultivation, yet had been promoted above his station. All the other division heads were of the seventh-rank Longevity realm.
Any one of them, if sent outside, had the power to open and sustain a Fate Island on their own.
Beneath these five heads, each Department and Bureau had several eighth-rank Dragon Elephant cultivators acting as supervisors, mid-level managers commanding large numbers of ninth-rank cultivators to carry out their duties.
The Jing family's ancestor, Jing Chuan, as well as the man beside him now, Qian Yuan, were such supervisors under the Maritime Department.
One old, one young, walking one before and one after each carried their schemes.
Qian Yuan had long coveted the Jing clan's official trade license and had worked for years to suppress them. If not for Jing Qian's unexpected intervention, the Dragon Elephant-rank family would have already been erased from the registers.
He was the perfect image of a smiling tiger, gentle in appearance, yet ruthless, calculating, and strong.
But Jing Qian was no innocent lamb either. Disguised with great care, he had thrown himself into the game, seeking to deceive everyone, willing to shoulder karmic consequences just to seize the Jing family's legacy as a foundation for his cultivation.
Though mortal enemies, before the Prefecture's gates, the two put on their masks, pretending at civility, as if there had never been blood and hatred between them.
Once they stepped into the dragon python's maw, the creature slowly closed its jaws and continued along the winding river road through the heart of Hunzhou Island.
Its speed held steady at two hundred kilometers an hour, a moving calamity striding across the great island.
Before long, it passed by a small human settlement.
The townsfolk, it seemed, had long awaited the beast's arrival. At the edge of the python's path, they had erected a black-stone grill piled with the skinned and blood-drained carcass of a massive ninth-rank White-Tusk Ox.
The aroma of roasting meat filled the air.
As the dragon python slid past, its tongue flicked out and swept the giant ox straight into its belly, before continuing on its way.
From a bird's-eye view high above, one could see the winding Serpent Path spreading across Hunzhou Island, connecting every human settlement.
The dragon python slithered back and forth along this road, and at every stop, humans offered up prepared sacrifices of flesh and blood.
The creature needed to do nothing, simply travel the path each day and devour the food laid out for it.
For the settlements, preparing this food was both an essential duty and a crushing burden, a sword hanging over their necks.
From this perspective, Hunzhou Island was nothing but a prison built to raise and feed the dragon python.
Millions of humans were nothing more than livestock, and the python was the true master.
Following Qian Yuan's lead, Jing Qian walked along the serpent's tongue into the Prefecture Office, winding through halls and corridors until they arrived at a three-story administrative pavilion.
Qian Yuan raised his voice toward the pavilion:
"Master of the Department, this is Jing Chuan's great-grandson, of the Jing clan, named Qian. He has struck the Dragon-Drinking Gong!"
"He claims that Jing Chuan left his descendants a chance to strike the gong once. I ask that my lord verify this!"
As those words fell, Jing Qian's entire spirit tightened like a drawn bowstring.
Following his plan, he had made it this far, and now the true test was at hand.
If he failed here, there would be no choice but to leap into the void and flee.
But doing so would shatter the best cultivation path he had worked so hard to secure.
He waited quietly for the reaction of the Maritime Department Head. Yet, to his surprise, the man seemed to harbor no doubts at all about his identity.
From the third floor of the pavilion, a figure appeared, gazing down at the two from above.
Jing Qian carefully restrained both his spiritual power and divine sense, not daring to let a trace leak out.
The figure spoke:
"Jing Qian, did you follow the Hunyi Ship out to sea and recover the relics of Jing Chuan?"
At this, Jing Qian drew out the Tidal Turtle Divination Shell, which he had prepared in advance, and raised it high above his head.
"My lord, I have indeed recovered my clan's inheritance. I come to apply for my ancestor's death compensation, so that I may stabilize my fate, step onto the path, reforge the Tidal Arts, and continue to serve Hunzhou's navy!"
The figure on the third floor nodded slightly.
"Your great-grandfather Jing Chuan was blessed by fortune. He once ate a Red-Scaled Dragon Carp, absorbed its spiritual resonance, and in the end forged the Dragon Carp Dharma Form, ascending to the eighth rank.
"This Tidal Turtle Divination Shell, back then, I petitioned the Academy Bureau to obtain it for him.
"I see that your flesh also brims with the Dragon Carp's resonance. Your bloodline inheritance is strong.
"Since that is the case, I shall bestow Jing Chuan's compensation upon you.
"Moreover, since you have struck the Dragon-Drinking Gong, you may make one request. I shall see to it that your compensation is elevated one tier.
"Later, you may go to the Academy Bureau and attempt to stabilize your fate with the sixth-rank Violet Life Furnace.
"Your clan's treasure-ship will also be raised to the eighth rank.
"If you succeed in stepping onto the path, you may then enter the Academy Bureau's sealed vaults and claim a new Life Pattern inheritance."
"My deepest thanks for my lord's great generosity!"
Jing Qian bowed deeply, relief flooding his chest.
The figure then left them with a final command before returning to the pavilion:
"Qian Yuan, take Jing Chuan's descendant to the Academy Bureau and see that he receives what was granted."
"Yes, my lord!"
Turning, Qian Yuan cast a glance at Jing Qian and said coldly:
"Consider yourself lucky. Come with me."
Jing Qian followed in silence as they wound their way into one of the side courtyards of the Prefecture.
The moment he stepped inside, a scorching force pressed down upon his very soul, as if his spirit were being seared in a blazing furnace, forcing it to curl in on itself.
And yet, this raging fire was confined entirely within the courtyard beyond its walls; there was no trace of it.
As soon as they entered, a middle-aged scholar approached them.
Qian Yuan gave a respectful bow and said:
"Brother Tao, is the Sacrificial Wine in?
"I have brought a naval disciple to claim the Hunling Ship's death compensation.
"Our Department Head has specially approved him to use the sixth-rank Violet Life Furnace to forge his fate. I ask that you inform the Sacrificial Wine."
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