Chapter 114: Breaking Ten Thousand Laws with a Single Force

As a villain, shouldn't you all be coming out to challenge me?

Question my status, my abilities, and glare at the Star Lord of Water Virtue in public. Shouldn't you let out a cold snort and clamor, "Such a mere child, he is surely replaceable by one such as I"?

No matter how powerful a force I display or how noble a position I occupy, you ought to be jumping out to make trouble for me incessantly—that is the standard trope!

Looking at face after face filled with reverence—well, at least outwardly filled with reverence—Luo Feng felt a pang of disappointment. As cannon-fodder supporting characters, you shouldn't have this level of intelligence! Please, just let one chicken jump out so I can slaughter it to warn the monkeys.

However, the Department of Water remained deathly silent. All the presiding immortals were like clay bodhisattvas, motionless, while the vast ranks of divine generals and immortal officials behind them stood with the air of "I shall not move unless you move."

Luo Feng sighed inwardly; they were all a pack of old foxes. At the same time, the smile on his face grew even brighter. With no idiots jumping out for him to use as an example, he had to abandon the notion of deploying the six sect-master puppets of the Xuanyuan Alliance to ascend to heaven and replace the heads of each bureau. After all, if he couldn't find fault with the six bureau chiefs, he couldn't just fire them because they stepped through the door with their left foot first. Acting in such a manner would surely be seen as lacking the virtue required for the position and would invite criticism.

Immortals roam the mountains and rivers, naturally acting as they please, free and unfettered. But deities are born upholding the Heavenly Dao; their every word and action must be impartial, and they place extreme importance on merit. Furthermore, the Department of Water is a vital organ of the Heavenly Court; he had to exercise a bit of restraint. Being too aggressive would look forced; one must remember that "great perfection appears flawed."

Surveying the many divine officials, Luo Feng said with a calm smile, "During my absence, thanks to all your efforts in managing the Water Mansion, you have truly labored with great merit."

The many divine generals and immortal officials replied in unison, "We dare not, we dare not."

Luo Feng nodded and asked, "Where are the scrolls detailing the clouds and rains and the distribution of water essence over the years?"

An official from the Ministry of Rain stepped forward and said, "Reporting to the Star Lord, they are all in the Archives Hall."

There are the offices of Wind, Rain, Clouds, and Mist, plus the Inspectorate and the Archives. Among them, the Ministry of Rain holds the greatest authority, roughly serving as the head of the six bureaus. There is no other reason: rain is close to water. Water is the foundation of the Department of Water.

Luo Feng said calmly, "Bring the scrolls from the past three thousand years. I wish to review them."

At this, the head of the Archives Bureau stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Reporting to the Star Lord, the Water Department has been without a presiding Star Lord for many years. The records are scattered and disorganized; it will take some time to put them in order."

Luo Feng raised an eyebrow. "And how long would that take?!"

The head of the Archives bowed his head. "Three days will suffice."

"Three days?!" Luo Feng let out a cold laugh.

Three days would indeed suffice—suffice to wipe away every trace of evidence. With no one in charge, the immortal officials below had formed their own cliques. Embezzlement and graft were certain; the only questions were the extent, the secrecy, and the arrogance of it.

The Jade Emperor had suddenly appointed him as the Star Lord of Water Virtue. The officials of the Water Department must have been scrambling, caught off guard and unable to destroy the evidence in time. A single year's records might not show a problem, but if one compared the records of a hundred or a thousand years, the patterns would emerge, revealing the clues.

But he had to act fast. A new official takes office with three fires to burn. If he didn't burn them now, they would cook the books and make all the necessary arrangements. Then, no matter how great his abilities, he wouldn't be able to find a single shred of evidence.

Luo Feng waved his hand and sneered, "There is no need for three days. I shall go to the Archives Hall right now. Lead the way."

Once these words were spoken, the scene fell into a stalemate. The heads of the six bureaus lowered their eyes, while the lesser officials and divine generals remained silent. No one dared to speak, and no one was willing to stick their neck out.

A cup of tea's time passed. The divine officials remained motionless, employing a stalling tactic. As the saying goes, "Drag out the big issues until they become small, and the small issues until they vanish." They believed that if they could just survive this, the rest would be easy. After all, the law cannot punish the masses. He couldn't possibly dismiss every immortal in the Water Department; if he did, he would become a commander with no troops, and he wouldn't be able to answer to the Jade Emperor.

Fiddling with the exquisite seal of the Star Lord of Water Virtue, Luo Feng scanned the officials and finally cast his gaze toward the lesser officials behind the heads of the eight bureaus.

"Apart from the heads of the six bureaus, who else is willing to lead the way?"

A moment later, an official wearing a water-cloud crown stepped forward, bowed, and said, "This minor deity, Yang Sishui, is willing."

Seeing this, Luo Feng revealed a faint smile. A primordial spirit practitioner on the verge of immortality—it seemed the Department of Water wasn't such an impenetrable wall after all.

"Hold your tongue!"

"Before the Water Hall, is it a place for a minor deity like you to speak?" The head of the Ministry of Rain was furious and immediately scolded him, for this official, Yang Sishui, was his own subordinate.

"Star Lord, do not be impatient. This subordinate will go and organize the scrolls for your review immediately." The head of the Ministry of Rain bowed to Luo Feng, putting on a show of unwavering loyalty.

Luo Feng laughed heartily. "Bureau Chief of Rain, why be so formal? Let Official Yang accompany us. After all, the scrolls are of utmost importance. We must be careful and cautious—let us hope the Archives Hall does not catch fire."

Luo Feng spoke the last sentence with profound meaning. For the Department of Water, which possessed the most proficient water-based supernatural powers and was filled with immortals who excelled in water, to suffer a fire would undoubtedly be a gargantuan joke. However, if Luo Feng had not said it, such an incident was highly likely to occur.

The head of the Ministry of Rain was suddenly startled; had he not possessed a pure immortal body, he would have been drenched in cold sweat. He quickly signaled the other bureau heads. They were all colleagues who had shared the spoils; for the sake of past relations, save your brother!

The head of the Archives Bureau sighed inwardly. He stepped forward and bowed. "Reporting to the Star Lord, I am the master of the Archives Hall and am most familiar with it. Please allow me to accompany you."

Luo Feng nodded in agreement. "Bureau Chief of the Archives, well said. Many hands make light work."

He stood up abruptly, flicked his sleeves, and released four Earth Immortal puppets.

"Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, Wang Chao, Ma Han! Follow Official Yang Sishui and accompany these two bureau chiefs to the Archives Hall."

To the side, Yang Sishui was overjoyed. He was about to cross his tribulation and ascend, but all the positions in the Water Department were full. With Luo Feng's arrival, he had decided to take a gamble. He hadn't expected the new Star Lord to be so capable. Although his cultivation was only at the Earth Immortal level, he possessed vast resources and a deep background—bringing out four Earth Immortal guardians just like that.

In contrast to Yang Sishui's delight, the six bureau heads turned pale.

Luo Feng narrowed his eyes and snorted. "Head of the Rain Bureau, Head of the Archives Bureau, what are your opinions? Hmm?!"

Be as slippery as you want, be as cunning as you want—I will break all your schemes with sheer force. I may be a minor cultivator, but I will not be bullied by the likes of you. Dealing with the Jade Emperor, I only have an eighty percent chance of success. But dealing with you lot—my direct subordinates—I have a ninety-eight percent chance. The remaining two percent depends on whether the Heavenly Dao decides to act crazy or if someone in the Water Department has close ties to a Great Luo Golden Immortal.

The heads of the Rain and Archives bureaus exchanged a glance, bowed tremblingly, and smiled bitterly. "This subordinate obeys your decree."

Half an hour later, the scrolls of the Water Department for the past three thousand years were laid upon Luo Feng's desk. The great hall remained quiet, but the mindsets of Luo Feng and the divine officials had shifted. One was leisurely reviewing the scrolls, while the others were waiting in a state of anxious, burning distress.

Many immortal officials were cursing inwardly: "The new Star Lord is a total old schemer. If you had just told us you had four Earth Immortal guardians, we would have behaved from the start."

"Playing this game of fishing for lawbreakers—is it really that fun?!"