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"Oh, Second Brother, you’re still busy?"

In the main administrative hall of Lyuzhou, although nominally the office location of the provincial government, it had been used for meetings by bigwigs like the Shen Family and Wei Gongcheng for so many years that the provincial government had simply changed its office hall.

Originally, it was heard that the Shen Family members and Official Wei were going to work in Heaven, so the provincial government was delighted, thinking they would finally move back into their rightful government office hall.

But then the Lyuzhou riots broke out, and the Shen Family members collectively returned. Once again, he had to be relocated to the side, feeling deeply resentful.

It was said that the next provincial government officials needed to be trained magicians in political spells.

Those from the old school lacking spell techniques could only wait for their next lifetime to join politics.

But this was the trend, and it seemed like he’d be in office next year, the last year he could indulge himself a bit.

Despite feeling resentful inside, when the Shen family approached him, he still had to smile and send them to find the Second Elder.

At this time, Second Elder Shen was investigating the spread of the riot’s effects under Wei Gongcheng’s orders and was slightly surprised to see the fat man approaching.

Shen Wu had always had a low presence in the Shen Family, but that was intentional.

Shen Wu was the Shen Family’s strongest magician, and he usually had to hide and present a harmless appearance to the outside to lower their guard.

But ever since he followed Chen Qing, he didn’t need to sacrifice for the family and could freely express himself.

With his talent as an Elemental Mage, becoming a powerful Array Mage seemed very fitting, but in reality, Shen Wu seemed to have completely lain flat after that.

Spending most of his time hiding in the library studying techniques, with no visible achievements or actions.

He loved to travel and do business, traveling with the Shen Family’s merchant caravans and regularly finding valuable technique-oriented professionals, seemingly becoming the manager of the Shen Family business.

This led many outsiders to initially think Shen Wu was just a manager.

But even though he roamed extensively, he would occasionally bring back information from outside that was quite accurate. For example, the northern families had intentions to move to Jiangnan, which he was involved in contacting. Over time, everyone got used to Shen Wu’s current role.

"What do you think?" Second Elder Shen glared at him and looked at the pile of headaches on the desk, including a letter from Xuu Hu.

Panic did not seem to have spread to the northern army but clearly had some impact.

Upon hearing that their families were involved in the riots, many soldiers expressed concern and even wanted to leave their wives.

But according to Xuu Hu’s letter, many soldiers still showed some anxiety.

Although it seemed unlikely to cause much trouble, it was the first time such emotions had spread in the barracks during his years leading the Warrior Army.

Moreover, he clearly felt the soldiers’ level of faith had dropped.

Such a decline in faith was a crucial issue, and Second Elder Shen finally understood why the master attached such importance to this monster. It was almost cutting to the divine root of the Divine Path Sect!

"What’s going on in Lyuzhou? They have the best life, yet they cause the most trouble.

I came from the Southeast, and it was peaceful there.

Although there were some rumors, most people were still honest. Unlike these Lyuzhou people, truly ungrateful wretches," Shen Wu said while casually munching on a fruit from the desk.

Second Elder Shen glared at him helplessly: "You’re already fat enough, eat less."

Shen Wu used to care a lot about maintaining his body, but after joining Chen Qing, he seemed to give up.

Oh... it seems there’s more to it. It was said that once the master trapped him on the Path of Yin Yang, he was cautiously starving for more than a month, nearly starving to death, and after that, he no longer had any thoughts of losing weight.

Wait a minute...

Suddenly, Second Elder Shen’s gaze shifted subtly, glancing at Shen Wu and a thought arose in his mind.

"The Southeast is different from Lyuzhou. They just joined Jiangnan recently and were attacked not long ago, so they’ve never lost their sense of crisis. They wish for a powerful leader to protect them, regardless of whether it’s human or something else, they just want a stable life."

"Aside from the initial disaster, Lyuzhou has been prosperous for over a decade. The shadows of the past have almost dissipated, naturally breeding more desires; it is human nature..." Second Elder Shen said, carefully observing Shen Wu.

"Human nature?" Shen Wu lazily sat on a chair. "Just a bunch of ungrateful wretches, they’ve eaten so much they’re bored!"

Old Five...

It was only now that Second Elder Shen realized that Old Five seemed to have changed quite a bit...

The past few years had been too smooth, with too many things happening, causing him not to pay attention to his brother. Even though they met frequently, it was mostly to chat about family matters, and due to his own indifferent personality, Old Five preferred to chat with Old San and Shiyi.

Even though they didn’t interact much, Second Elder Shen still noticed the change in Old Five’s character.

First, he became much more cheerful and talkative. In the past, he deliberately kept him hidden; he hardly had any friends and never went out. Now, traveling with merchant caravans, he appeared sociable, almost like a different person...

Like a different person!

Second Elder Shen’s pupils contracted, and he felt a slight heaviness in his heart.

Old Five stayed on the Path of Yin Yang for a month; that month, no one knew what he did or whether there was a possibility...

"What’s wrong, Second Brother?" Shen Wu looked at Second Elder Shen. "Why do you look unwell?"

"After a few years of business, you’ve even learned to read expressions?" Second Elder Shen grimaced and huffed, "With such a pile of troublesome things, if my face looked good, that would be something. Xuu Hu’s letter is all bad news; this time, it seems we’re in big trouble."

"What trouble..." Shen Wu stretched lazily. "All small matters, what scenes hasn’t the master seen? Would such a small problem hinder him?"

"That’s exactly how the King of Qin stumbled back then," Second Elder Shen murmured.

"How can the King of Qin compare to our master?

" Shen Wu smirked. "The King of Qin relied on momentum; apart from his family power, all the armies depended on allegiance from other noble families.

When his prestige was strong, he could command the world, but when it waned, the families dispersed, leaving him isolated.

Is our master the same? In the whole of Jiangnan, from technique resources to the army, when have we relied on outside families?

Tian Heng is a unique case, but his army is almost gone now.

Who beneath him dares to rebel like the Siao Family? Do they have that strength?"

Second Elder Shen looked at him with an eerie gaze. "I didn’t see it before, Old Five, you’ve been quite concerned about the situation?"

"Ahem... just a casual concern, haha, all from listening to merchants’ random talks." Shen Wu laughed awkwardly, then said, "Second Brother, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Second Elder Shen squinted.

"That fox... I’ve heard she’s been released, do you know where she is now?"

Second Elder Shen: "......"

Could it really be.....