Chapter 942: Minister Zhang Moves Forward Under a Heavy Burden, Zhang Yu’s Three-Way Split!
Seeing the statements coming one after another from Le Mulan, Bai Zhenzhen, and Bu Yingshu, everyone present was repeatedly shocked.
Shi Yunxiang, who had originally stepped forward along with Yu Xinghan, thought to himself, “I actually thought that if I went in and did time for a few thousand or ten thousand times, I could become a Big Brother when I came out, but I didn’t expect…”
Mo Shangjin was shaken inwardly, “Minister Zhang had already solved the problem in secret. He didn’t need us to sacrifice ourselves to shoulder it at all. Minister Zhang is truly…”
“Who still says Minister Zhang has a problem with his lifestyle?”
Feng Tingting had already thought about what to talk about in her next livestream: “He, together with Divine Monarch Le, Divine Monarch Bai, and Profound Monarch Bu… shouldered the entire department’s dual cultivation quota just like that. Could this be considered having a problem with his lifestyle?”
“There is absolutely no problem at all! He is as upright as can be, acting with complete integrity. His Sect Nature is practically overflowing!”
On the other side, Yu Xinghan sighed in his heart, “Zhang Yu, oh Zhang Yu, just how much work have you done in secret? Just how many places have you silently moved forward under a heavy burden for us?”
At this moment, the crowd felt that Zhang Yu’s back was infinitely tall, propping up the entire Netherworld Assets Department.
Besides them, the cultivators of the Dual Cultivation Support Department were equally shaken.
Zhu Yan had originally made up his mind to risk bankruptcy this time to conduct an exhaustive investigation.
It could be said that he came with the determination to make everyone in the Netherworld Assets Department give birth, producing enough offspring to explode their nine generations.
Yet unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye… the situation had already taken a sudden turn for the worse.
First was Le Mulan, this mysterious female cultivator from the Heavenly Surveillance Hall.
The moment he investigated her information, a series of thoughts surged in Zhu Yan’s mind: “This woman comes from a classified agency and has a profound background. Nine times out of ten, her backer is related to the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor.”
“If she has been secretly engaged in dual cultivation with Zhang Yu for many years, then it is perfectly normal that we couldn’t find any dual cultivation data.”
On the other side, when Le Mulan saw Bai Zhenzhen and Bu Yingshu arrive afterwards, she felt a burst of surprise in her heart: “Besides me, Zhang Yu also called Bai Zhenzhen and Bu Yingshu over?”
The next moment, she sighed inwardly: “Among the three of us, I’m afraid I am the only one who is faking a dual cultivation relationship with Zhang Yu, right?”
The moment she thought of this, Le Mulan felt as if she were more than a head shorter than Bai Zhenzhen and Bu Yingshu.
“Clearly… clearly I was the first one to come into contact with Zhang Yu’s seed, yet I ended up not getting a single drop of the benefits.”
“I can only blame my high school self for being too naive. I didn’t learn the basic skills of extorting and freeloading at all.”
Le Mulan lamented in her heart, even feeling a sudden urge to offer a suggestion for the modern education system of the lower realm: “High school’s Sterilization Cultivation still has its flaws. Although it allows students to focus entirely on their studies, it also causes them to lose competitiveness in other areas.”
Meanwhile, Zhu Yan’s attention had already converged onto Bu Yingshu.
It was simply because after Bu Yingshu grabbed his head, the constantly jumping fine notifications made Zhu Yan feel as though his heart was bleeding.
“Damn it, why did this Bu Yingshu have to step in and interfere too?”
At this moment, fragments of rumors flashed through Zhu Yan’s mind.
“I originally thought the story about Zhang Yu having an abortion for Bu Yingshu… was just a rumor. Looking at it now, could it actually be true? Has this Zhang Yu always been Bu Yingshu’s underground cauldron, and the two have been secretly engaging in dual cultivation all along?”
But the moment this thought appeared, Zhu Yan’s mind rejected it: “No, touching Bu Yingshu requires paying a fine, and the fine for dual cultivation is even more severe. I heard before that someone was willing to bear most of the fine, and it still didn’t happen.”
“Could Zhang Yu have borne the entire fine? Impossible, where would he get that much money? He couldn’t possibly be using public funds for dual cultivation, right?”
With Zhu Yan’s cognitive capacity and speed, various possibilities flooded his mind in a split second.
And as each possibility was tossed aside, a conclusion he found incredibly hard to accept gradually surfaced.
“Could it be that Bu Yingshu subsidized him? Did she bear the fine herself?”
Meanwhile, on the other side, Bu Yingshu thought to herself, “Le Mulan, Bai Zhenzhen, and me… out of the three of us, I am the only one lying and haven’t actually engaged in true dual cultivation with Zhang Yu, right?”
“Do Le Mulan and Bai Zhenzhen know this? Do they know I’m lying?”
“My carefully nurtured little pet has been secretly devoured and enjoyed by those two… and I haven’t even used him myself yet…”
“If people found out, wouldn’t I become a famous sucker?”
At this thought, Bu Yingshu couldn’t help but squeeze Zhu Yan’s head harder, drawing a cry of pain from him: “The fine just went up! Stop it right now!”
With a soft boom, Zhu Yan’s body instantly dissolved and completed reorganization a few meters away, escaping Bu Yingshu’s restraint.
He looked at Bu Yingshu with eyes full of suspicion. “This woman… with such a heavy fine for dual cultivation with Zhang Yu, did she really pay for it out of her own pocket? Damn it, the Myriad Laws Immortal Clan… especially the fine records concerning her, are a bit hard to look into.”
Facing Zhu Yan’s doubtful gaze, Bu Yingshu’s heart gave a jolt. Having felt a little guilty just a moment ago, she immediately shouted, “What? Do you think I’m lying? Do you suspect I haven’t done dual cultivation with Zhang Yu?”
“Let me tell you, it’s only their turn after I’m done playing!”
Bu Yingshu glared fiercely at Zhang Yu and demanded, “Zhang Yu, tell them! Out of the three of us, who did you engage in dual cultivation with the longest?!”
Feeling the sudden gazes of the crowd fixed upon him, Zhang Yu smiled bitterly in his heart, “Just who… called A-Zhen and Bu Yingshu over?”
Originally, Zhang Yu had only planned to call Le Mulan over, just like in the past… relying on the Dharma-Warding Talisman to survive this ordeal.
After all, in his view, although the other party possessed the Immortal Venerable techniques of Supreme Truth, the Dharma-Warding Talisman was granted by the Reincarnation Immortal Emperor. If the two were to compete… the Dharma-Warding Talisman still had a higher chance of winning.
But at this moment, the situation had drastically changed. Looking at the stares directed at him, Zhang Yu knew that he definitely could not tell the truth.
He thought to himself, “The sect’s legal reform is imminent. The Law Edict Expiration Date that I am pushing to transform Kunxu… this step absolutely cannot be affected.”
“In that case… I can only admit that I have engaged in dual cultivation with all of them… the current Heavenly Surveillance Hall cultivator and secret weapon in the hands of the Myriad Laws Immortal Emperor, Le Mulan; the female Sword God of the Heavenly Sword Sect who joined the sects alongside me, Bai Zhenzhen; and Bu Yingshu of the Myriad Laws Immortal Clan.”
“I can only suffer this unredressed injustice.”
Hearing Zhang Yu’s inner thoughts, Fu Ji cursed in her heart, “You motherfucker… are you just praising yourself right now?”
Fu Ji said, “Zhang Yu, at a time like this, you absolutely cannot admit that you haven’t dual cultivated with any of them. Even if there’s irrefutable evidence, you can’t admit it. As long as you don’t admit it, there’s room to maneuver.”
The Herald God also suggested, “It’s best… to keep it from the three of them as well. Keep it a secret from them… that you haven’t dual cultivated with the other two parties. After all, the fewer people who know the truth, the better.”
The Auspicious God asked, “Then how do we answer Bu Yingshu’s question? Who exactly should we say you dual cultivated with the longest?”
Fu Ji snorted coldly and said, “Is there even a need to ask? There’s only one answer.”
In his mind, Zhang Yu completed various thoughts in an instant, and at this moment, he made up his mind.
At the same time, Bu Yingshu was already glaring deadly at Zhang Yu, thinking to herself, “If you dare to speak nonsense, I’ll kill you right here.”
Bu Yingshu had already sent a message to Zhang Yu: “[Knife]”
Zhang Yu took a step forward, held his head high and chest out, and looked at the crowd without avoiding their gazes. He spoke up, “It’s you, Profound Monarch Bu. The time I spent dual cultivating with you is definitely the most and the longest.”
Hearing these words, Bu Yingshu breathed a sigh of relief in her heart and proudly scanned the crowd.
At the same time, Zhu Yan cried out inwardly in bitterness, not only because he heard the conversation between Zhang Yu and Bu Yingshu, but also because he saw a series of notices demanding the payment of fines.
Now, for the sake of exhaustive investigation, his personal finances were in a critical state, and he was most afraid of this kind of sudden, unexpected fine.
Fortunately, before coming here, he had already prepared. With a thought, he commanded: “Debt Transfer!”
In an instant, in a distant minor realm, a herd of pig monsters who owed Zhu Yan a mountain of debt let out miserable screams before being swept up by the sky full of divine light, used as a price to offset the fines Zhu Yan had incurred.
Having survived this fine crisis, Zhu Yan’s heart was on 120 percent high alert, constantly on guard against Bu Yingshu.
At the same time, he continued to ponder the current situation in his heart.
“Le Mulan, Bu Yingshu, and this… Bai Zhenzhen from the Heavenly Sword Sect.” When he first saw the message sent by the other party, a thought arose in Zhu Yan’s mind: “Diplomacy is no small matter.”
Especially once their investigation involved an external sect, it would inevitably add countless obstacles and troubles.
So Zhu Yan immediately started looking up information about Bai Zhenzhen.
Photos of an aloof Sword Immortal instantly rushed at him, making Zhu Yan’s heart tremble upon seeing them.
“Heavenly Sword Goddess? A single sword changing the world?”
“Independently upgraded the grade of her sword technique, a peerless genius buried in the lower realm?”
“After multiple Heavenly Sword Immortals reviewed her sword technique, they all said they would consider making an exception to admit her and take her as a disciple?”
Looking at this series of news, Zhu Yan felt one shock after another; it turned out to be the mandatory vibration notification of the Shock Sword.
He hurriedly closed all the news interfaces of the Heavenly Sword Sect, but a wild storm was surging in his heart: “This Bai Zhenzhen is actually a peerless Sword Dao seed recognized by several Immortals of the Heavenly Sword Sect?”
Looking at that piercing sword light sent down by Bai Zhenzhen, Zhu Yan seemed to see another high and mighty Sect Staff member with a profound background and boundlessly developed Immortal Dao Potential.
Meanwhile, inside the Heavenly Sword Sect, Bai Zhenzhen, who was watching this scene across the Spirit Realm, thought to herself: “Yu Zi, since I’m helping you, I’ll help you to the very end. You don’t need to thank me.”
With everyone uplifting you together this time, we will definitely help you tide over this crisis.”
Bai Zhenzhen licked her lips, feeling the four types of sword techniques within her body stimulating and engendering one another.
Supreme Bliss triggered Extreme Emotion, Extreme Emotion then triggered Sorrow, Sorrow triggered Shock, and Shock once again triggered Supreme Bliss.
The series of stimulations caused Bai Zhenzhen’s Dantian to tremble slightly.
Bai Zhenzhen could feel a continuous impulse surging from her Feather Spirit Root, an urge wanting to enter Zhang Yu’s body.
“Just thinking about the sight of you being uplifted by everyone, Yu Zi, makes me incredibly happy.”
Right at this moment, the mysterious person’s voice came over: “Bai Zhenzhen, it is your turn to go on stage and give your speech.”
Bai Zhenzhen took a deep breath, suppressed the trembling of her magic power, and thought to herself, “Perfect, I will let you all witness my method of Sword Dao Mutual Generation.”
Bai Zhenzhen walked into the spotlight. Enduring the turbulence within her body, she said, “Regarding the mutual generation relationship between the sword arts of Extreme Emotion, Supreme Bliss, Sorrow, and Shock, I have recently gained a bit of new understanding…”
A moment later, as four streams of Sword Intent rose into the air, continuously triggering and strengthening each other, it drew a wave of shock from both on and off the stage.
“Holy crap, it formed its own cycle?!”
“As expected of a lower realm meme stock, so many fierce tricks. I’m investing in this project!”
“Tell Zhenzhen to stop vibrating, I’m afraid she’ll get hurt.”
Meanwhile, in the Netherworld Assets Department building of the Former Days Graveyard.
Just as everyone was feeling surprised by the change in the situation, another sword light descended in the Spirit Realm.
“I am Wen Wuya of the Heavenly Sword Sect, and I have also cultivated with Minister Zhang.”
Immediately after, stream after stream of Spirit Realm messages fell: “I am Wang Yin of the Netherworld Palace, and I have also cultivated together with Minister Zhang.”
“I am Ying Mingduan of the Celestial Monster Sect. When Minister Zhang was in the Lower Realm, he already exchanged vital essence with me…”
Looking at these messages from external sects, Zhang Yu’s heart jolted: “Who notified them?”
Right after that, people from within the sect also sent messages.
A message came from Gu Qingya, Zhang Yu’s old minister from the Edict Pavilion Review Department: “When Zhang Yu was in the Edict Pavilion, he cultivated with me and learned upward networking.”
From Si Shian and Ban Jinchen on the 16th layer: “When Minister Zhang saw us this year, he directly adapted downward and cultivated together with us.”
Looking at this scene, a trace of realization flashed in Ye Xingli’s eyes: “No wonder… In order to lighten our burden, Junior Brother probably hasn’t had a single moment of free time over these past few years. It’s also no wonder he never sought me out for dual cultivation.”
And looking at the messages gathering one after another, Immortal Slayer also sighed with emotion in his heart, as if he saw one cultivator after another, all sacrificing themselves to stand in front of Zhang Yu.
Immortal Slayer was heard saying, “Zhang Yu… before you know it, you already possess such influence.”
Zhang Yu thought to himself, “These guys received the news from here so quickly?”
Fu Ji said, “It seems Wen Wuya is spreading the news everywhere. She happens to be staying in the Former Days Graveyard, cultivates the Shock Sword Dao, observes us every day, and reports our news…
“Hmph, many of the guys who heard the news probably just want to put on a show in front of us. Some of those poor ghosts might even want to make the fake act real and take advantage of us!”
At the same time, Fu Ji secretly thought to herself, “Wen Wuya is working so hard. Is it entirely her own will? Or is it under Bai Zhenzhen’s instruction behind the scenes?”
Zhang Yu had to admit that seeing so many people standing in front of him, he felt a trace of emotion in his heart, but at the same time… also a trace of awkwardness: “Damn it… actually, you guys could just transfer some money to me. It’s totally fine if you don’t send these messages…”
Just as Zhang Yu was thinking this, he saw the projections of Magnetic Pole and Old Gao arriving together: “We testify…”
The moment he heard the two speak, Zhang Yu was shocked, roaring wildly in his heart: “No! Teachers, please don’t…”
Magnetic Pole and Old Gao were heard saying: “This child Zhang Yu has loved dual cultivation since he was young. In university, he was a famous dual cultivation prodigy. After joining the sect, he didn’t give up this hobby and has been silently cultivating…”
Listening to the two speaking with proud expressions, Zhang Yu looked helpless, constantly muttering in his heart: “Stop talking… Everyone, stop talking…”
Watching these scenes unfold, a trace of doubt couldn’t help but rise in Zhu Yan’s heart.
Was he really here to crack down on the unhealthy trends and evil practices within the Sect? Or had he struck the Myriad Laws Branch Hall of the Joyful Union Sect?
Seeing that Zhang Yu seemingly had no lifestyle issues at all, a trace of suspicion couldn’t help but rise in his heart, wondering if he had actually wronged a diligent Sect Staff…
But in a mere instant, this trace of thought dissipated.
Because Zhu Yan knew that whether Zhang Yu was wronged or not did not matter.
“For the great cause… so what if you really are being wronged?”
However, Zhu Yan also understood in his heart that involving so many Sect Staff all at once today, especially multiple external Sect Staff, required caution. The slightest misstep might alarm the friendly sects, which would instantly skyrocket the difficulty of the investigation and greatly diminish the legitimacy of his operation.
“If I continue to forcefully take Zhang Yu away…”
Glancing again at Bu Yingshu to the side, Zhu Yan coldly snorted and said, “Minister Zhang, this matter will not just end here. We will continue to investigate the situation.”
Saying this, Zhu Yan gave Zhang Yu a deep look, as if silently declaring that he would always be watching him.
Zhu Yan thought to himself, “A new Dao Lineage is about to be born. The so-called reform of the sect’s legal system… what does it amount to in the face of this? Ultimately, it must make way for the Dao Lineage. Just how much longer can you hold out, Zhang Yu?”
The next moment, as Zhu Yan turned and left, everyone in the office revealed a hint of a smile.
But looking at Zhu Yan’s retreating back, Zhang Yu knew that all of this was far from over.
“This is just the first wave of their tactics, right?” Zhang Yu thought to himself. “After the true Law Establishment tomorrow, I’m afraid there will be an endless stream of struggles to follow. Unless… I freeze all of their Law Edicts.”
Amidst his thoughts, with a stir of his mind, Zhang Yu had already placed Zhu Yan’s information into his favorites folder, putting it together with the files of Ban Jinchen, Si Shian, and the others.
Right at this moment, Bu Yingshu had arrived beside Zhang Yu at some unknown point. Stretching out her hand, she said, “Give it to me.”
Zhang Yu was slightly taken aback. “What?”
Bu Yingshu said, “Your Yang Artifact. Leave it with me, and from now on, just say that it is occupied by me every day. I guarantee the Dual Cultivation Support Department won’t come looking for trouble with you again.”
Fu Ji exclaimed in shock, “This is bad, Zhang Yu! After seeing what happened today, this woman really wants to ruthlessly control you.”