Wizard: I Can Refine Everything-Chapter 514 - 59: Stabilizing the Rear, Wuxiang Valley

Richard’s questioning startled Kong Xiong, and the treasure sword he had scavenged from the Taiyue Sect’s warehouse fell to the ground.

"Master, who dared to offend you? Just say the word, and I’ll boil them alive for you."

Kong Xiong’s response silently made Richard shake his head; his subordinate’s intelligence clearly wasn’t very high.

"Idiot!" Richard coldly said, "Who could possibly trouble me? Who would dare? I entrusted you with the task of taking over other sects’ territories. How did you manage that?

Chengshan City is about to be turned into complete chaos by our disciples!"

Only then did Kong Xiong realize that his master was talking about this issue.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief and said with an air of indifference, "Master, our disciples have been suppressed for so long; let them make a fuss."

He thumped his chest, guaranteeing, "I assure you, the tax burden will definitely be met this year!"

Kong Xiong’s chest-thumping promise didn’t satisfy Richard; what he wanted was not the tax revenue, but the people’s hearts and stability.

"You fool! Do you think I don’t know how to exploit the people?" Richard reprimanded harshly, "I want stability! Now, go out there immediately and summon back all the disciples.

And you’re still letting them run wild? Do you have any idea how many people could die this year? Does the Banshan Sect still want to recruit disciples in Chengshan City?"

After being scolded, Kong Xiong didn’t understand Richard’s thinking but still hastily put down what he had in his hands and left the warehouse.

In the eyes of Kong Xiong and the vast majority of Wild Beastman Martial Artists, mortals are like weeds on the ground; cut them down this year, and they will grow back the next.

There are plenty of people in the Wilderness who want to enter the city; even if Chengshan City’s populace dies out, they could still bring in enough outsiders to fill the gap.

Hearts of the people? Can that be eaten or can it strengthen a sect?

As long as I am willing, there are plenty of robust young men in the Wilderness ready to join the sect.

Compared to the perils of Wild Bandits, Wild Beasts, and various natural disasters in the Wilderness, these city taxes are not unbearable.

But Richard wanted more than just the survival of the Banshan Sect; he wanted it to grow strong enough to serve as a standard. Only then would the Banshan Sect be worthy of being supported by the Wizards.

Not long after Kong Xiong left, a long, resounding bell echoed throughout Chengshan City.

Hearing the bell, the Banshan Sect disciples returned to headquarters, though puzzled.

One hour later, the disciples of the Banshan Sect gathered in a plaza at the headquarters.

Richard stood in the sky with a stern expression and said, "I don’t like idle talk, so I’ll be blunt. Concerning the recapture of other sects’ territories, I am very dissatisfied with your actions.

Extortion, robbery, rape, and pillage—do you act like disciples of the Banshan Sect? If people didn’t know better, they might think Wild Bandits had broken into the city!"

As Richard spoke, he intentionally used Soul Witchcraft, and under his rebuke, martial artists on the ground bowed their heads in shame.

Although their morality was very low, it was not nonexistent.

Under the effect of the Soul Witchcraft, their tiny sense of morality magnified, and feelings of shame surged from their hearts.

"I won’t say much else. From now on, all disciples of the Banshan Sect must strictly follow the new sect rules. No exceptions for anyone!

If I find out about any more rape and pillage, whoever is responsible, I’ll boil them!"

After speaking, Richard passed a sheet of paper to Kong Xiong and then swept his sleeve as he left. Kong Xiong opened the paper and looked at the numerous rules, his face turning embarrassed.

Richard had added a lot of provisions in the new sect rules about not disturbing the people and not oppressing the commoners, and violations were punished severely with penalties such as amputation, branding, or even beheading.

"As martial artists, we can’t oppress those mud-legged peasants... Ever since Master went into retreat, he’s been getting weirder and weirder."

...

The implementation of the new sect rules went smoothly; after Richard beheaded a few disciples himself, all Banshan Sect disciples began to follow the rules.

Under the constraints of the new rules, the turmoil in Chengshan City soon ended. The local snakes from various areas also left their names at the Banshan Sect, who would collect taxes from them in the future.

The power over eleven great sects’ territories, which covered more than half of Chengshan City, along with the smaller sects that swore fealty beneath them, almost turned Chengshan City into the word of the Banshan Sect alone.

This had never happened before in the history of Chengshan City.

It took Kong Xiong one week to compile the treasury of the eleven great sects, along with the submitted sect disciples, into a record.

Among these, the Magic Essence, referred to as Yuan Crystals by the Wild Beastman, totaled a massive fifty million, not to mention various medicinal elixirs, Treasure Soldiers, and tradeable Holy Sect Coins.

When adding these up, the total assets of the eleven great sects were nearly one billion Magic Essence.

Even for a Wizard Academy, this was a substantial sum.

"Our base wealth is indeed substantial," Richard remarked as he glanced at the records with a faint sigh.

The thought that a city’s sects could amass so much made him consider that a historical sect with a longer heritage could result in looting that could fund an entire Plane expedition.

Among these records, Richard selected some materials useful to Qi Men, and the rest he tossed into the warehouse.

There was no use for these items at the moment, and keeping them in the warehouse would build his persona.

The major reshuffle caused by the dissolution of the eleven sects quickly passed, and thanks to Richard’s deliberate maintenance, Chengshan City did not experience any chaos. The city’s populace began living their lives as normal.

If nothing unexpected occurred, this year’s tax burden should not be lethal.

In the past, sects’ exploitation of commoners was so severe that death was a common occurrence. So, as long as Richard ensured no deaths, Chengshan City’s foundation would be very solid.

Among a group of inhuman things, to humanize is also a form of progress.

After completing his work in Chengshan City, Richard sent news of the slain Magic Martial Artist to Wuxiang Valley.

To hide his own strength, Richard even returned to the manor house on purpose, creating a multitude of signs of combat, and used Mind Witchcraft to brainwash the mortal servants to ensure they would not speak out of turn.

A week after sending the message, a response finally came.

Wuxiang Valley sent a team specifically to escort that mask.

...

"May I ask, where is the mask?"

In the main hall of the Banshan Sect headquarters, disciples from Wuxiang Valley were lined up in two rows, and a middle-aged Wild Beastman leading the team asked Richard.

"It’s here."

Richard took out the box, which had been previously prepared, from the Qiankun Gourd, then discreetly observed the disciples of Wuxiang Valley.

Wuxiang Valley, an ancient sect with a history of several epochs, possesses the Sect Martial Arts known as Faceless Holy Scripture, claiming to be formless and faceless, and able to emulate the martial arts of a hundred different sects.

However, in recent years, there has been a generational gap among the disciples of Wuxiang Valley.

It is rumored that this sect’s martial arts place a significant emphasis on the Divine and Qi. Those who practice this art need not break the physical shackles but rather overcome the Void Heart Tribulation.

Judging by the elite status of these disciples, either the rumors about Wuxiang Valley are false, or the Valley regards this mask with extreme importance.

The middle-aged leader carefully took the box, then took out an Elixir from the gourd at his waist and swallowed it. Once the medicine began to take effect, he carefully nudged the box open a sliver.

The allure of the mask seeped through the small opening to the middle-aged man, who immediately closed the box upon feeling this seductive force.

After completing all this, he respectfully performed a cupped-hand salute to Richard.

"Who would have thought, in this small Chengshan City, there would exist such a Martial Arts Master. This Evil Demon was fated to meet its end at the hands of the Master.

However, I have a question for the Master. Have you ever worn this mask?"

Richard frowned slightly upon hearing this, "Of course not. This mask is so sinister; I try my best to avoid it, how could I possibly wear it?"

Upon hearing Richard’s words, the middle-aged man’s expression shifted, seemingly shocked that Richard could resist the temptation of the mask.

The middle-aged man saluted again, "The Master is formidable. May I ask what the Master desires?"

Richard nodded slightly, and voiced the answer he had prepared in advance.

"I wish to browse the Book Collection Building of Wuxiang Valley."

The middle-aged man wasn’t surprised by Richard’s response. Since Richard had managed to slay a Magic Martial Artist single-handedly, his strength was naturally extraordinary.

A martial artist of this realm would certainly seek to advance further.

"Please, Master, wait a day. After we investigate the residences of these Evil Demons, we will escort the Master back to the Sect."

...

In the manor where Mr. Wu lived, the disciples of Wuxiang Valley began to question the servants who served Mr. Wu one by one.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged leader silently observed Mr. Wu’s residence.

"Second Uncle, what are you looking at?"

A crisp voice came from behind the middle-aged man. He turned to see a short-statured female disciple of Wuxiang Valley curiously looking at him.

"Nothing much, I’m just pondering how the old Sect Leader of Banshan managed to suppress that Evil Demon."

"What is there to ponder?" the disciple wondered, "The martial arts of these small Sects aren’t worth imitating."

The middle-aged man shook his head, "It’s not that simple. Look around at the surroundings. Although these houses are damaged, overall, it seems the Evil Demon was entirely suppressed by the old Sect Leader all along.

But do you know who this Evil Demon was?"

"Who?"

The middle-aged man sighed slightly, "It was Bing Monkey."

Within the Demon Sect, those who have the masks number one hundred and twenty, and their titles are combinations of the Twelve Animals and Heavenly Stems. Bing Monkey is among the top thirty-six most ferocious among these one hundred and twenty.

Even he would not dare claim to be able to slay Bing Monkey.

Not to mention, the old Sect Leader fought within Bing Monkey’s lair.

Although the middle-aged man wasn’t versed in Qi Men techniques, he knew some strange means. The local Qi here had clearly been altered, indicating there was once a Qi Men Array in place.

To suppress Bing Monkey with a full Qi Men Array, the old Sect Leader’s strength might be even more terrifying than the rumors suggest.

"Second Uncle, the questioning is finished; they know nothing."

A disciple approached the middle-aged man and reported with a bow.

"Know nothing?" The middle-aged man frowned slightly. He had thought that with survivors, they might uncover something, but it turned out to be nothing.

"Let’s go back then."

"What about these people?"

"What else can we do? They’ve been with that Evil Demon for so long, who knows if they’ve been infected. Kill them all; collect their ashes and bring them back to the Sect for burial."

"Yes!"