"Is it really that important?" Duan Ling Tian asked in return.
Qin Yu was taken aback when he heard this. When he regained his composure, he looked at Duan Ling Tian meaningfully with a faint smile on his face and replied via Voice Transmission, "No, it's not important."
Based on the meaningful look Qin Yu had shot him, Duan Ling Tian knew Qin Yu had ascertained that he had only ascended to the Spirit Overarching Heaven half a year ago. It seemed like Qin Yu also knew how he had gotten so strong. He thought to himself, 'Qin Yu is not an ordinary person.'
After that, they no longer conversed.
Since they met the robbers, the Black and White Heroes, they no longer encountered other robbers. Duan Ling Tian was not surprised since Zheng Qiu, the special envoy sent by the County Governor of Nine Specters County, who was a Violet Sun Golden Celestial served as a deterrence. Robbers with a weaker cultivation base would not dare to approach them after they probed Zheng Qiu's cultivation base from afar. Only the Black and White Heroes, who were Violet Sun Golden Celestials, would dare to attack them. Alas, all of them were unlucky and were killed!
...
Three months later.
Zheng Qiu suddenly said, "The County City of Nine Specters County lies ahead of us."
Duan Ling Tian who was silent felt his heart skip a beat. 'We've arrived at the County City of the Nine Specters County?' He looked in the distance and saw an incredibly large plain. The little dot gradually grew larger and larger, looking like a giant beast.
'So this is the County City of Nine Specters County?' Duan Ling Tian thought to himself when the complete sight of the County City of Nine Specters County appeared before his eyes.
The city was ten times bigger than Bloody Specter City. Its visual impact was strong, and it had a majestic and magnificent air about it. Numerous carriages and people could be seen coming in and out of the city in the hundreds.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Duan Ling Tian and Qin Yu followed behind Zheng Qiu as they flew above the County City in just a blink of an eye. Duan Ling Tian discovered their surroundings were getting more and more crowded. The city was bustling with people. Most of them seemed to be in a hurry, there were only a few people who were standing around and chatting.
'It took three months for us to arrive. I didn't expect it would take so long to travel here from Bloody Specter City. If I were to travel at top speed without using the Devata Artifact, the Seven Orifices Exquisite Sword, it would only take me half a month to arrive,' Duan Ling Tian thought to himself. Naturally, he knew they took longer because they were accommodating Qin Yu whose speed was the slowest among the three of them.
The County Governor's estate was the most powerful force in the entire Nine Specters County with many affiliated families. These families managed the industries in the County City. Every month, they would have to submit 50% of their profits to the County Governor's estate as a form of taxation.
"Among these families, there are five families who are the strongest. My Zheng family is one of them," Zhen Qiu said with a hint of pride. Although he had helped the Zheng family a lot, if the Zheng family was not capable, they still would not be able to come this far. For instance, there was the family of an elder of the inner estate who was a Great Overarching Golden Celestial, but his family did not attain much success even with the help he had given them. This was due to the existence of many rotten apples in the Great Overarching Golden Celestial's family.
In the County City of the Nine Specters County, the physical strength of the family was not the most important, the family had to be skilled in other areas as well. Moreover, there was also the unspoken rule that the families could not be stronger than the City Governor's estate.
When they arrived at the inner city located in the east of the County City, they saw a magnificent place that looked like an Imperial Palace with its golden tiles and red bricks, Zheng Qiu said, "We've arrived at the County Governor's estate."
'So this is the County Governor's estate?' Duan Ling Tian and Qin Yu were both dumbstruck by the opulence of the estate that occupied half of the inner city in the east of the County City. The area it occupied was two times bigger than Bloody Specter City.
When Zheng Qiu brought Duan Ling Tian and Qin Yu to the main gates, he reminded them, "The County Governor's estate has a rule whereby those who aren't Great Overarching Golden Celestials or stronger can't enter or exit by crossing the wall. If caught, the person would be severely punished!"
Upon hearing this, Duan Ling Tian finally noticed many people shuffling in and out of the main gates. No one dared to take a shortcut and jumped over the wall. It could be seen that the rule was strictly enforced.
At the main gates of the County Governor's estate, two rows of golden-armored soldiers who were guarding the gates greeted Zheng Qiu respectfully when they saw him. "Elder Zheng Qiu."
Apart from that, people who were entering and exiting the estate also respectfully greeted Zheng Qiu when they saw him.
Duan Ling Tian was not surprised since Zheng Qiu was an inner-estate elder. Moreover, Zheng Qiu was the second strongest Golden Celestial. In other words, he was the fourth strongest person in the county after the two Great Overarching Golden Celestials and the strongest Golden Celestial in Nine Specters County. How could anyone dare to be disrespectful to him?
Zheng Qiu looked at one of the golden-armored soldiers and asked, "Have the other inner-estate elders arrived?"
"Elder Zheng Qiu, eight inner-estate elders had arrived before you," the golden-armored soldier replied hurriedly.
'It seems like Bloody Specter City is located furthest away from the County City of Nine Specters County.' It was not difficult for Duan Ling Tian to come to this conclusion. The other inner-estate elders were probably sent to fetch the other candidates from the other cities in the Nine Specters County as well.
"Okay." Zheng Qiu nodded slightly toward the soldier before he entered the County Governor's estate. Duan Ling Tian and Qin Yu followed him in. They were not stopped by the guards.
When Duan Ling Tian entered the County Governor's estate, he heard the whispers in his surroundings.
"So they are the people Elder Zheng Qiu went to fetch?"
"Which city was Elder Zheng Qiu sent to? I heard people talking about it, but I've forgotten about it."
"Elder Zheng Qiu went to Bloody Specter City, right?"
"Bloody Specter City? That's the city that's governed by Lord Liu Feng Gu, right?"
"Yes, it is! It's also the furthest city from the County City of Nine Specters County. I wonder why Lord Liu Feng Gu left the County Governor's estate to become a City Governor in a city so far away."
"I heard there are more to the matter than what we've been told."
At this moment, Zheng Qiu scoffed loudly.
Upon hearing this, many of those people shuddered in fear and stopped gossiping immediately.
'It looks like the City Governor used to be famous in the County Governor's estate. Otherwise, people wouldn't have remembered him,' Duan Ling Tian thought to himself.
"Elder Zheng Qiu, did Lord City Governor of Bloody Specter City use to stay in the City Governor's estate?" Qin Yu asked. He was not privy to what happened in the past, therefore, he was surprised.
"Yes. City Governor Liu used to be an outstanding advisor of Lord County Governor. However, due to certain matters, he went to Bloody Specter City."
"What matter was it?" Qin Yu asked curiously. He could not figure out why Liu Feng Gu would leave the County Governor's estate to become a City Governor in Bloody Specter City. Bloody Specter City seemed small and insignificant compared to the large and rich County City of the Nine Specters County.
"It's not convenient for me to speak of that matter." Zheng Qiu shook his head. Then, he seemed to recall something as he turned to Duan Ling Tian. He advised him, "Duan Ling Tian, if… I said if, Lord Revered Elder Zhou Tong wants to take you in as his disciple, do not reject him!" He had just recalled that one of the two men from the Bloody Specter City was highly talented, and it was possible that the Revered Elder might want to accept him as his disciple.