Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 744 Yongding Demon City

Sending a great Confucian scholar like Zhang Wencheng to talk to those forces could indeed exert some pressure, but that's not what Lu Zheng wanted.

Those who don't know the situation might think that Lu Zheng doesn't have the ability and can only rely on the strength of others to make the local forces in the Northern Region bow down.

Lu Zheng said, "Let me do this kind of thing that might involve fighting and killing, and that could easily offend people."

Zhang Wencheng couldn't help but ask, "So many forces are involved. If you go alone, do you have that much time?"

Zhang Wencheng stayed here for a while and found that Lu Zheng was the busiest person. He had to do everything himself and he almost never had a break.

Lu Zheng said leisurely, "It is a bit troublesome... It seems that we have to make an example of someone to warn others, otherwise some people will still think that the appeals and advocacy letters I wrote are just a joke."

Lu Zheng originally thought his influence in the Northern Region was not small, but it turned out that very few forces responded to his advocacy.

They either treat it as a dead letter or remain on the sidelines, with few local forces taking any proactive action.

There are always some people who only realize their mistakes when the blows land on them.

Kill the chicken to scare the monkey? Zhang Wencheng had a general understanding of the situation in the northern region. If he wanted to deter so many "monkeys", the chicken that needed to be killed had to be of considerable importance.

Zhang Wencheng's eyes flickered slightly, and he said in a low voice, "You mean..."

Lu Zheng looked at Zhang Wencheng and smiled, "Sooner or later this day will come. In a few days, we will take some people to go deeper into the Northern Region to take a look. At that time, we will probably have to trouble Mr. Zhang to handle some of the aftermath."

Zhang Wencheng didn't understand what Lu Zheng was trying to do, but he still nodded and said, "As long as it's within my power, I will definitely do it."

Lu Zhengdao: "Alright. Mr. Zhang, go ahead and attend to your business."

Lu Zheng and Zhang Wencheng separated and went to their respective residences in the area, where they took out several maps of the Northern Region and studied them carefully.

Some time later, An Dingyuan came excitedly to find Lu Zheng and handed in a reflection article.

Lu Zheng glanced at the article and found it to be well-written, containing genuine feelings.

An Dingyuan whispered from the side, "Is there anything wrong?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "If you pass, it proves that you listened attentively and won't be classified as a poor student."

An Dingyuan was immediately relieved and said with a smile, "That's good, that's good! Thank you, Mr. Lu!"

He came here representing Anguo. If he does something shameful here and reports it back, he might be punished by certain people when he returns to Anguo.

After receiving the evaluation, An Dingyuan did not leave immediately, but remained there, seemingly hesitant to speak, his expression slightly conflicted.

Lu Zhengdao said, "Just say what you have to say."

Upon hearing this, An Dingyuan said in a low voice, "That's how it is. I feel like I've been here for quite some time now and I've adapted to life here. I can do any kind of hard work, and I know all the rules of Taiping Domain very well... I heard that there are some new districts under construction further north. Do you think you could transfer me there to do some more important things?"

"It's not that I look down on what I'm doing now, it's just that I feel I still have some talent, and staying here really doesn't allow me to contribute more..."

An Dingyuan nervously rubbed his hands together. He knew Lu Zheng was a very strict person, but there were some things he just couldn't hold back.

He was worried that he would be assigned a random position here and stay there for a long time, so he thought he should recommend himself now.

His proactive performance was also a promise he made; if he couldn't achieve something great here, he wouldn't have the face to go back and face certain people.

Before coming, An Dingyuan was full of confidence, thinking that Lu Zheng was short of talent and that he would definitely be given important responsibilities.

But once he got there, he realized he was wrong. The management system here decentralized power, didn't require highly professional managers, and no one was indispensable. The management team could function even with fewer people.

This isn't because he's the governor of Hongzhou; losing the governorship would trigger a series of destabilizing factors.

Moreover, the region has no shortage of talent in all sectors; there is plenty of talent to cultivate locally.

There were also many outstanding individuals who came from other places, including those with lofty ideals and those who had gained experience.

The skills he had learned in the past were simply not enough to create a competitive advantage here.

This made An Dingyuan feel a lot of pressure.

Lu Zheng said, "It seems you are very confident in your abilities. In that case, go back and prepare. Wait for my notification, and you will have a chance to demonstrate your skills later."

"With me, the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility, and the more things you have to do. You should understand that."

An Dingyuan nodded emphatically and said, "I understand, I understand! Then I won't bother Mr. Lu any longer!"

Satisfied with the reply, An Dingyuan rushed back to make preparations.

Not long after, Lu Zheng received a number of more articles.

I counted the number of articles, and it turned out that everyone who attended the class had submitted their assignments.

It seems no one would risk going against Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng read through all these articles and found them to be fairly well-written.

After all, those who attended his classes were all young talents from big cities, and it wouldn't be difficult for them to write an article.

However, everyone's feelings are different, which also reflects the different inner world of each person.

Lu Zheng silently put away the articles, thinking to himself that people's hearts are complex, and changing some people's minds cannot be done by giving them one or two lessons.

Two days later, Lu Zheng, along with Zhang Wencheng and An Dingyuan, selected some trainees from various major forces, as well as several local managers, and they headed north together.

The group boarded a spirit boat and flew at high speed through the air.

Standing next to Lu Zheng, An Dingyuan asked excitedly, "Are we going to build a new district?"

Seeing Lu Zheng's posture, he immediately began to have some guesses.

Lu Zheng calmly said, "More or less. Let you travel to other places in the Northern Region and broaden your horizons."

Lu Zheng personally piloted the flying boat, passing through many places along the way.

There are areas under construction in the Taiping Domain, as well as cities belonging to other forces.

After comparing them, the difference between the two is quite significant.

Lu Zheng and his group also saw that some forces were also carrying out planning and construction, and some places were obviously different from what Lu Zheng had seen before.

It seems that those forces closer to the Taiping Domain are still somewhat fearful and have responded to Lu Zheng's proposal.

Lu Zheng continued his journey without stopping, venturing deeper into the Northern Region.

The deeper you go, the denser the demonic energy in the world becomes.

Even An Dingyuan and the others felt a little uncomfortable.

During their time in the Taiping Domain, they had come into contact with various demon races quite often, but none of them had ever felt this uncomfortable.

An Dingyuan muttered to himself, "The demonic aura in this place is so strong, it's almost eerie."

Demonic energy doesn't necessarily mean evil, but if the aura of a place can be perceived as malevolent, then that place is definitely problematic.

The demonic energy in the Northern Region is the result of the local climate accumulated over many years. The same was true for the former Peaceful Region, but after everyone worked together to transform it, the human, demon, and ghost energy in the world became purer.

The environment nurtures people, and people can also change the environment.

Before the various demon clans migrated here, the environment of the Northern Region was not like this...

Lu Zheng remained calm and continued flying north along his planned route.

Along the way, they passed through several places where demonic energy was overwhelming, but Lu Zheng did not stop for long.

An Dingyuan and some other young people, however, had their eyes shining, looking eager to see if they could get a chance to make a move.

Unable to contain his excitement, An Dingyuan asked, "We didn't just come out to take a look, did we?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "What, do you have the ability to kill a few Transcendent or Dao-Seeking cultivators?"

"Uh……"

An Dingyuan's expression froze. Did they really think that people at the sixth or seventh realm weren't strong? They just casually mentioned killing several people?

An Dingyuan couldn't help but say, "I don't have your abilities, but if I were to encounter a powerful demon at the Tongxuan level, I should be able to kill one or two if I risked my life..."

An Dingyuan's martial arts skills are not very high, but as a member of the royal family of An Kingdom and someone chosen by An Taixuan, how could he not have some trump cards to protect his life?

If Lu Zheng really wanted him to deal with someone at the Tongxuan Realm, he would still dare to fight, because he couldn't let the An royal family lose face.

As for experts who have reached the seventh level of the Dao Inquiry Realm, forget about it...

Kill? He probably wouldn't even be able to scratch the surface of such a powerful expert.

Lu Zhengdao said, "I never realized you were so capable."

An Dingyuan coughed lightly and chuckled, "As the saying goes, a wise man keeps his talents hidden until the right time to act. Before, in Anguo, I didn't have the opportunity to use them, so I could only keep a low profile. But now it's different..."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Then you should continue to keep a low profile. There's no need for you to risk your life for now."

Lu Zheng paused for a moment, then said, "We should be arriving soon."

An Dingyuan asked curiously, "Where?"

Lu Zheng slowly said, "Yongding."

Yongding, also known as Yongding City, was a city built in the central area of ​​the Northern Region by various demon clans when they migrated there. It served as the political center for managing the region.

However, the Northern Region later fell into chaos, with numerous local demon clans emerging, and Yongding City lost its former political status.

However, due to the special location of Yongding City, which is not only close to a large area of ​​sacred mountains and treasure lands, but also a transportation hub leading to various places in the northern region, Yongding City was not destroyed.

Yongding City remains prosperous today, but the ruling power is not a single dominant force. Instead, it is jointly governed by several forces, and the major demon kingdoms also hold certain administrative authority.

In places controlled by these powerful forces, beneath the surface of prosperity, there is inevitably all sorts of filth and corruption...

In the eyes of some demons, Yongding City is a dangerous and terrifying place where prosperity does not belong to everyone.

After flying over a range of towering mountains, the terrain in everyone's view became flat.

In the distance, a city shrouded in a dense demonic aura emerged.

From a distance, it looks like a huge, ferocious beast lurking on the earth.

"The demonic aura soars to the heavens, gathering energy to form the power of heaven and earth. The feng shui of this place is extraordinary... There are probably powerful demons at the Dao Inquiry Realm within, and more than one..."

Inside the airship, a young man spoke in a deep voice, his eyes gleaming.

This young man was a Qi Refiner from a certain immortal sect. He was highly skilled in the art of observing Qi and could see things that many people could not detect at a glance.

Upon hearing the young man's words, some people's eyes flashed with a hint of seriousness.

The great demon who asked the Dao was no ordinary being; they also had a great Confucian scholar on their side, so they hadn't really lost the battle.

But if such powerful individuals were to fight, the aftershocks of the battle would be enough to cause them considerable trouble.

Zhang Wencheng knew the purpose of Lu Zheng's trip, but he did not expect Lu Zheng to choose such a place to make an example of someone.

He couldn't help but look at Lu Zheng, trying to figure out what he was thinking, but unfortunately he couldn't fathom Lu Zheng's true intentions.

When they approached Yongding City, Lu Zheng directly steered the flying boat to a stop on a mountain.

"You all rest here for a while. I'll go into the city to check on the situation. If anything happens, I'll let you know before we proceed..."

Lu Zheng gave an order, telling everyone not to act without authorization.

Everyone felt that Lu Zheng's visit was not just a simple matter of checking on the situation.

Zhang Wencheng said, "I'll keep an eye on them. You... be careful."

Lu Zhengdao said, "I know what I'm doing. Just take care of yourselves."

After saying that, Lu Zheng vanished in a flash.

Zhang Wencheng raised his hand and waved, a wisp of literary energy covering the surroundings, concealing everyone from being spied on and sensed by powerful figures.

In a short while, Lu Zheng appeared outside Yongding City.

The towering city gate stood before us, with various demon races coming and going. Most of them were monsters that had not yet fully transformed into human form, and they had ferocious appearances.

Some of the monsters sniffed, suddenly turned their heads, and stared straight at Lu Zheng with eyes that seemed to want to devour him.

These monsters smelled the human scent emanating from Lu Zheng.

In a place like Yongding City, the scent of people is very distinctive to them and is easy to distinguish.

Facing the gazes of the demons, Lu Zheng remained calm and composed.

Some of the monsters were tempted, but they didn't actually do anything.

Reason prevailed over greed; after all, a human who could come here alone was no ordinary person.

They are probably human cultivators who are even more powerful than these demons.

If you try to go up and eat someone else, you'll likely lose your life.

However, even if some demons suppressed their impulses, their eyes were still burning with desire, and they even sniffed and took a few deep breaths, looking as if they hadn't smelled this scent in a long time and were feeling blissfully ecstatic.

Lu Zheng observed his surroundings for a moment, then raised his hand and took out a letter, showing it to the nearby monsters.

"Someone in the south has written a petition advocating that all the major and minor demon clans in the Northern Region unite to build a prosperous Northern Region... Has Yongding City received any news about this?"

Upon hearing this, one of the demons' eyes lit up, and it quickly moved closer to Lu Zheng, excitedly saying, "I know about this! A few days ago, someone posted this kind of thing in Yongding City, and it was posted in quite a few places, but it's all been cleaned up..."

"Hey, unity? Unity what? Even the great demon sages of the past didn't have the ability to unite us demons. What's the use of this book? It's utter nonsense..."

The monster chuckled and spoke, revealing many of the things it had been wanting to say.

Then, the demon stared directly at Lu Zheng, took a deep breath, and said, "Young man, you have a very strong human scent. You shouldn't be a half-demon, but a proper human, right?" (End of this chapter)