Scripture of Days Past

Early one morning, Ning Chigong arrived at Earth Gate Fort to deliver a report. His hair was greasy and unkempt, and dark circles from a lack of sleep surrounded his eyes.

He ran into Liu Yao on his way into the fort, and the two exchanged greetings.

”You’re starting to grow white hairs, Brother Liu,” Ning Chigong sighed.

”You’re not looking so good yourself, Brother Ning,” Liu Yao replied with a wry smile.

Before they could continue chatting, a bell rang in the distance, and Liu Yao’s expression instantly changed.

”I’ve got to go.”

Ning Chigong nodded. He knew that Liu Yao had an assignment to complete, and if he arrived late, not only would his pay be docked, but he would also be reprimanded by Chen Gang in front of everyone.

Chen Gang had Chu Qiguang’s backing, so they were naturally powerless to resist him. They had to follow the rules if they wanted to avoid punishment.

Never Ning Chigong nor Liu Yao had ever experienced such a strict working environment.

There were limits on how much time they could spend eating and sleeping each day, and they also had to meet all kinds of KPI targets and attend meetings to assess their performance.

However, despite the high-pressure working environment, everyone remained dutiful and diligent. This was simply because of the compensation Chu Qiguang provided.

Not only did everyone receive a monthly salary of five taels of silver, but they were also given three square meals a day, with meat served for both lunch and dinner.

Furthermore, those who exceeded their KPIs received additional rewards. Although the work was difficult and intense, they were never in any real danger.

Whenever they went out to hunt fiends, they were always able to quickly gain a decisive advantage. Often, the soldiers didn’t even have to do anything other than charge onto the battlefield behind Liu Yao, Zhang Jitian, Ning Chigong, and Chen Gang.

Overall, the soldiers couldn’t have been more satisfied with their working conditions.

To provide further incentives and keep everyone in line, Chu Qiguang had also implemented a clear reward and punishment system. Those who performed poorly were always punished swiftly and fairly, while those willing to go above and beyond were rewarded for their efforts.

These rewards included martial arts and pills, and even techniques like the Primordial High Zenith Qigong, the Vajra Laws, and the Heavenly Demon Vanquishing Palms were up for grabs.

Some of the rewards were extremely tempting even to Ning Chigong, let alone the other soldiers.

After arriving at Chu Qiguang’s study, Ning Chigong began delivering his report.

”The cow fiend that was charging a toll outside South Screen Village has been captured. However, he hasn’t killed anyone, so we sent him to the south.”

The south referred to the new village Chu Qiguang was establishing.

”We’ve managed to get to the bottom of the hauntings on River Stone Mountain,” Ning Chigong continued. ”The culprit was a dog fiend. I tied a red thread soaked in dog blood around its neck to subjugate it, and my subordinates secured its remains before sending it to the afterlife. The missing hunters in the east have also been found.

”They were abducted by a group of fox fiends and were nearly dead by the time we found them. The fox fiends have also been sent to the south. The Heavenly Master Religion recently reported that followers of the Tribulation Religion were conducting illegal rituals at the Wang Clan Dock. Normally, this would fall outside our jurisdiction, but I sent some people to the dock as a favor to Zhang Fengyun.

”A small-scale demonic tainting incident occurred there, and two followers of the Tribulation Religion were demonified. However, our people arrived in time and killed all the Tribulation Religion followers at the scene before the incident could escalate any further. The day before yesterday, we slew two bashe serpents on Parting Buddha Peak. During the battle, two people sustained severe injuries, while three others suffered minor injuries.”

”Compensate them, and don’t be stingy with the compensation,” Chu Qiguang said.

Ning Chigong nodded, then continued, ”The monkey fiends on Old Forest Mountain were also captured yesterday, and they’re currently being interrogated.”

After listening to Ning Chigong’s report, Chu Qiguang gave a nod of approval and praised, ”Good job.”

The past few days had been an eye-opening experience for Ning Chigong. He had never imagined that the fiends in the manor could truly be eradicated, but with the combined efforts of Chu Qiguang and Omniscient, the goal no longer seemed so far-fetched.

”I can tell you’ve been working hard,” Chu Qiguang said as he handed a scripture to Ning Chigong. ”This contains the first level of the Vajra Laws.”

Ning Chigong’s eyes instantly lit up as he accepted the scripture with both hands. He had thought he would never get the chance to come into contact with martial arts of this caliber. Yet Chu Qiguang’s arrival had brought about a change in fortune for both him and the Ba Manor.

”By now, I’m sure you can already tell just how vast our network is,” Chu Qiguang said. ”We have people in the imperial court and throughout the entire empire.”

This was the first time Chu Qiguang had revealed this kind of insider information to Ning Chigong, and his heart began racing with excitement.

”Our vision is to rule over both humans and fiends,” Chu Qiguang continued. ”Humans can become fiends, and fiends can also become humans as well.”

Ning Chigong couldn’t help but be stunned by this bold statement. He would have scoffed if those words had come from anyone else. However, given Chu Qiguang’s ability to transform humans into fiends and vice versa at will, the vision no longer seemed so unrealistic.

If we can pull this off, it may be the greatest accomplishment in the history of the world!

With that thought in mind, Ning Chigong was suddenly overcome by a sense of awe and excitement.

”We have many supporters in the imperial court and the Heavenly Master Religion, far more than you can imagine,” Chu Qiguang continued. ”All of us have realized that without drastic reform, the Great Han Empire will most likely perish within a few decades.”

Ning Chigong fully agreed with this sentiment. He was familiar with the rampant corruption and injustice in the Great Han Empire, and he knew that Chu Qiguang was right.

”I’m leaving tomorrow, and I may be gone for a while,” Chu Qiguang declared. ”Chen Gang will take over my duties in my absence. All you need to do is continue carrying out the fiend eradication campaign.”

”You can count on me, Master Chu,” Ning Chigong replied with a firm nod.

All the most powerful fiends in the Ba Manor had already been eradicated, and Omniscient was still lurking in the shadows. Thus, Ning Chigong didn’t expect to encounter any problems, even in Chu Qiguang’s absence.

”Keep it up,” Chu Qiguang encouraged. ”If you continue working hard, you’ll eventually be able to earn the remaining three levels of the Vajra Laws, and perhaps even not just the Vajra Laws.”

Not just the Vajra Laws?

This promise immediately lit a fire under Ning Chigong, leaving him more motivated than ever.