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"Liu Xie, graduated from Jiangnan Academy in the 24th year of the Jinwu era, actively participated in the administrative work of Lumings County, a subsidiary of Lyuzhou."

"During his tenure, he worked diligently, running everywhere to draw resources for Lumings County which had fallen behind.

Not only did he handle political affairs in an orderly fashion, but he also blazed new trails by utilizing the abundance of spirit deer in the forests of Lumings County.

He invited seniors from the academy who specialized in researching species to conduct studies, eventually finding a new direction for Lumings County. "

"Today, the spirit deer produced in Lumings County are large and agile, skilled at forest combat, and have been listed as military mounts. This project has added the profession of deer breeding in the county, greatly enhancing the livelihoods of the townspeople. The industries accompanying deer breeding -- quality fodder, honey, and various pastures -- stimulate the commercial flow of Lumings County. In addition, deer antlers are excellent medicinal materials for brewing wine. The now-famous Deer Spirit Wine’s most important ingredient, the deer antlers, comes from Lumings County.

In just half a year, the private wealth of Lumings County has more than tripled! "

On the newly constructed podium, Wei Gongcheng, wearing a mask, stood high above and narrated the experience of Liu Xie’s government work over these years.

The crowd nodded in agreement as they listened, while Liu Xie’s eyes reddened a bit...

So it turned out... all the hard work he had put in, someone had seen it...

So it turned out... it wasn’t all in vain!

Meanwhile, the listening citizens all had revelations, one by one.

Although the wisdom of the people in Jiangnan now surpassed most levels, it was still not at the height of modern people.

They had no concept of an official’s achievements and appraisals; everyone only knew that many things now came from the academy, and it was the academy’s novel contributions that made the people of Jiangnan wealthy, so they all admired the magicians from the academy.

They also knew that the safety of Jiangnan was due to the Warrior Army, who fought bloodily at the front. Since most had been saved by the Warrior Army before, everyone respected them greatly.

However, attitudes toward administrative officials were always distant and respectful, for a simple reason: most officials loved to exploit and never truly stood with the people, at least in the traditionally commercially minded Jiangnan.

Few paid attention to what those administrative officials did, and even if some did speak up, few would believe them.

But now, to have a deity with immense prestige like the Lyuzhou City God himself explicate the merits of an administrative official, it not only convinced everyone but also led them to sudden understanding...

So it turned out... this newly appointed young official from Lumings County did so much?

So it turned out the prospering spirit deer in Lumings County were drawn in by him? Initially, everyone thought it was the achievement of that magician alone, but it turned out that this young county magistrate also had a part in it?

So it turned out... that Lumings County had improved so much because of him?

Many people from Lumings County stunnedly looked up at the young official on the stage, their hearts warming up in an instant.

The people of Lyuzhou burst into applause, realizing that the visible improvements in Lumings County over the past year were actually the achievements of this young county magistrate. This certainly deserved their cheers.

Liu Xie, watching the audience with wide eyes and listening to the enthusiastic applause, could no longer contain his emotions. He covered his eyes with his long sleeves to hide the shame of a man crying...

Chen Qing watched without speaking, as did Chen Ying. The little guy was quite steady in his work, but after all... he was just a teenager not yet in his twenties.

All the citizens, moved by the sight, clapped even harder, especially those from Lumings County, whose vigorous applause clearly showed their excitement. Emotions are contagious; the young man said nothing, but this poignant, tearful moment spoke louder than any words.

Wei Gongzhan watched and a smile flickered in his eyes. Today’s Jiangnan was getting better and better. With sufficient platforms, capable people were able to demonstrate their strengths and receive the recognition they deserved. In this world, what could be better than that?

"Lumings County administrative official Liu Xie, your political achievements have been comprehensively evaluated and ranked fourth, which is extremely outstanding.

On behalf of Lyuzhou Hell Ruler, I recognize you, and so do Lord Chen Qing and Jiangnan Academy.

Now, you need to speak a few words for yourself.

If you want to become a county Hell Ruler, you need enough votes, and those votes, come from the citizens of Lyuzhou! "

These words excited the citizens of Lyuzhou. At that moment, everyone sat up straight with pride, even though they already knew the rules, the opportunity to exercise their power filled them all with overwhelming excitement.

An official of a region had made enough political achievements but still needed their approval?

Their will could determine the promotion of an official, and it even pertained to such an important position as the Hell Ruler!

Suddenly, those with voting papers turned red-faced with excitement. The feeling of participation in this world made them realize the importance of the citizens of Lyuzhou...

"I... I..."

Liu Xie, standing on the stage, was too emotional to remember any of the speech he had prepared. He had never faced such a situation before; how could he respond to this on the spot?

Eventually, he could only stammer with closed eyes, "I will try hard... I will work even harder than before. If I can become the City God, I will give my all to do well!"

An extremely poor speech...

The group of Westerners below heard it and immediately scoffed, shaking their heads. Silly yellow-skinned monkeys, even their basic speech is so foolish...

If he became the City God? Would he then give his all to do well?

Did that mean he hadn’t given his full effort while serving as an auxiliary politician?

Did that mean he would only give his full effort if given the position of City God?

Such foolish speech—if this were on the debate stages of the Western world, any politician could easily tear him to shreds, even a novice politician wouldn’t utter such stupidity.

But oddly enough, the commoners below were animated and burst into applause again, with cheers such as "well done" rising and falling in succession!

Seeing this, that group of Westerners grew even more disdainful; merely roused by such primitive emotions they could be appeased, truly a bunch of ignorant masses...

But that was alright, if the political acumen here was just as such, it would be greatly advantageous to them in the future.

Amid the thunderous applause, Liu Xie wept with joy, while Chen Qing sat on the high platform, taking in everything below, including... the Westerners’ haughty contempt.

But he merely looked on coldly, and made no other move, he would even fulfill his promise to allow these Westerners to be reincarnated back into the mortal world, retaining as much memory as possible, to fairly join the competition... because he had agreed to these terms himself!

The conditions proposed by the Federation weren’t excessive, after all, they merely requested the sovereignty of a county hell ruler, and he had control over the Southeast Nine Provinces, with ample territory to allocate.

The control rights over a single county’s hell in exchange for the Federation’s full support was a very good deal.

Yet, he did not agree and instead proposed a condition that seemed very unfavorable to himself...

Free competition!

In divine path forces, power is the foundation of a divine path person’s strength, and what they most dread within their power is the presence of people with divergent hearts.

The Federation’s people came from various different forces and would naturally harbor divergent intentions, while also being quite capable.

Ancient people would find it very hard to outcompete modern people, whether in thought or inherent gifts.

But still, Chen Qing had made this choice...

The Federation’s entrance was unavoidable, so why not have it under his own eyes?

King of Qin said, humans and demons cannot coexist!

When the day comes that your identity is revealed, all the prestige you have built up will vanish like dew at dawn, for humans will not be grateful for the aid of a different kind; no matter how great their contributions!

Is that truly the case?

Chen Qing didn’t know, perhaps... King of Qin was right, after all... he had done so much and still suffered betrayal.

But he still wanted to try!

An invasion by the Federation was inevitable; people who were once his brethren would surely flood in here in large numbers, to become part of this place.

He could not bring himself to view his former brethren as foreign enemies, nor could he sacrifice the people here, using them as nourishment to support the incoming compatriots!

He wanted to try starting with those harboring divergent intentions, carrying various governmental purposes as tourists...

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"Have you all seen it clearly?"

In the Federal Parliament hall, on the virtual screen, already the fourth Auxiliary Politician had been accepted, becoming the lord of some county hell.

All present were top politicians, witnessing this excellent public election, their eyes gleamed with excitement.

"I would like to confirm once more," Wills inhaled deeply and asked, "this person named Chen Qing, does he mean that our people can be born normally within his area of influence, grow up safely, study safely, and participate fairly in all of this?"

Wu Xiaoli looked at the other party and asserted, "According to the agreed-upon treaty, that is the case!"

Wow!

The whole Parliament hall instantly became lively, with the representatives of different districts discussing among each other, as boisterous as a marketplace.

In the Huazhong District area, it was also lively, but the few veterans at the forefront, including Zhang Zhengyuan who had personally negotiated with Chen Qing, were narrowing their eyes as if sleeping, a smile curling at the corner of Zhang Zhengyuan’s mouth.

Seeing the outcomes, he smiled slightly.

That young fellow’s last condition had taken him quite by surprise; he had originally thought that his own proposal would be more acceptable to the other side, because narrowing it down to a single province would allow for better control and surveillance, but the other party was willing to let the Federation’s people scatter in every corner of his territory, even willing to let them compete fairly.

What was he thinking?

If he was said to be entirely on the side of the Federation, it didn’t quite seem so.

Or perhaps, he was overly confident?

Believing that even if the Federation’s influence completely infiltrated his forces, he would still be able to maintain control over the situation?

If that was the case, this young fellow truly was as arrogantly self-assured as can be...