Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 634 The Leader

After another class, it was lunchtime.

The students went to the nearby public canteen for lunch in groups.

The cafeteria provides free meals for the elderly and children, three meals a day.

If they are fairies or monsters, their age is determined by their mental capacity, and they receive special food.

The children laughed and chatted as they lined up to get their food.

The cafeteria offers a wide variety of food, with both meat and vegetables to choose from. As long as you don't waste food, you can eat your fill at every meal.

For many people, this was a day unlike any they had ever experienced before.

The fox, still small and unformed, was held up by an adult and allowed to choose its favorite food. It then sat down with a group of human and demon children to enjoy its lunch.

Hu Qing saw a familiar face among the demon guards patrolling the street and beckoned him over.

"Senior..."

The demon guards recognized the group of cultivators from the Desire Sect and quickly stepped forward, bowing their heads in greeting, not daring to look directly at them.

After some questioning, Hu Qing and the others learned that the adults and children were receiving free compulsory education, and it was only the most basic level of education.

Because there are too few teachers and too many people who need education, the teaching is arranged to be conducted in an open square.

There are also many schools and academies in the city.

Everyone will learn a lesson depending on the circumstances.

Guards patrolling the city, after their night shift change, would attend classes on etiquette and morality, and would be assessed.

Hu Qing looked at the monster in front of her and said with a smile, "You seem quite happy with your current life? What, is working under him better than working under Huai Jun?"

Upon hearing this, the monster couldn't help but whisper, "This... is better..."

He is now a convict, but for a relatively minor offense, so he has been assigned to patrol duties. Of course, in addition to patrolling, he has other tasks every day, making his work much harder than before.

But this hard work is worthwhile. If he performs well, he will have the opportunity to own a share of the business and obtain more cultivation resources and advanced techniques.

In the past, his meager salary wouldn't have been enough to cover his expenses. He also had to be mindful of the attitudes of various powerful figures, so his status was only slightly higher than that of ordinary people. His life was a predictable and unchanging one.

Now, as long as he does his job diligently and doesn't make any rule-breaking mistakes, no superior will bully him for no reason, and he doesn't have to worry about the opinions of any important figures.

After receiving some answers, Hu Qing waved her hand and said, "Alright, go do your thing."

The demon hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "Seniors, please abide by the rules and don't cause trouble in the city. Some people from the demon kingdom didn't know the rules and caused trouble before. Young Master Lu happened to be here and personally intervened to suppress them. Those people died a horrible death..."

When this matter was mentioned, fear and awe were evident in the monster's eyes.

A few days ago, a nobleman from the demon kingdom entered the city. Whether he was truly unafraid of the rules or was testing them, he had his subordinates find an excuse to severely injure the city's people.

As a result, Lu Zheng descended from the sky and arrested all those involved. Then, in front of the locals and some outsiders, he skinned the troublemakers alive and slowly burned them to death.

The skin and bones of those people are still hanging on the city walls.

Upon hearing the monster's description, a woman from the Desire Sect couldn't help but mutter, "Wasn't he supposed to be a Confucian and Taoist cultivator who studied the classics? Why would he do something like this himself?"

Such punishments were uncommon even in dynasties.

The monster swallowed hard and whispered, "I remember Young Master Lu once said that mercy and kindness are for good people; when facing demons, one must be more wicked than the demons themselves..."

At this point, the monster was somewhat relieved that he hadn't chosen to flee when he learned of Huai Jun's death; otherwise, he would most likely be hanging on the wall too.

Hu Qing and her group then visited other parts of the city and indeed saw many newly built schools and some workshops.

Places where certain businesses used to be conducted were demolished and banned; even gambling dens and brothels disappeared.

The teahouses and restaurants that opened in the city all clearly displayed signs indicating that they did not offer companionship services.

There will no longer be anyone who sells themselves into slavery or service.

There will no longer be powerful figures who wantonly oppress and kill others.

Hu Qing's eyes showed a strange look. She did not expect that Lu Zhengzhen could do such a thing, and in such a short time.

Everything Hu Qing and the others are seeing now is built upon Lu Zheng's powerful methods; this place has been baptized by blood and fire.

A woman exclaimed in surprise, "Sister Qing, is this still the Northern Region? Could it be that the cities of the Great Dynasty are like this...?"

Hu Qing opened her mouth, thinking that she didn't know what Anguo was like, but the towns in Wei were not like that.

"The world belongs to all..."

Hu Qing said slowly, "I'm afraid this is how things are here in the world."

Hu Qing and the others did not linger in the city. After seeing many new and interesting things, the group prepared to go find Lu Zheng.

Arriving outside the city, they flew over fields of farmland. Suddenly, Hu Qing sensed something and looked down, seeing several people gathered in a field, one of whom was Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng noticed Hu Qing and the others in the sky immediately, but only glanced at them before looking away.

This region can be said to be supported by his reputation alone.

During this period, he had to travel around, make appearances everywhere to intimidate certain people, and check on the construction progress in various places, keeping him extremely busy.

He had just come from a workshop and passed by this field. He noticed that the crops in this area were not growing well, and he was talking to the people who were tending the farmland nearby to find out what was going on.

Lu Zheng held up a clod of soil. "It's lacking fertilizer, a mineral. You can go and prepare some phosphate rock..."

Lu Zheng passed on his farming experience to others.

"I've already instructed the alchemists to research and formulate fertilizers, aiming to produce them in large quantities and efficiently in the future. Then..."

After Lu Zheng said a few things, he dismissed everyone.

Hu Qing approached lightly with her entourage, smiling as she said, "I didn't expect Young Master Lu to be so skilled in spiritual plants."

Lu Zhengdao said, "It's not really about spiritual plants, but it can help ordinary people grow some crops."

Lu Zheng paused, then asked, "Has the young lady made her choice?"

Hu Qing blinked and smiled, "Oh dear, how could it be so fast? I just brought some of my sisters over to take a look. After all, I'm not the only one who makes the decisions there."

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "Then the young lady can lead the group on a leisurely tour, as long as they don't break our rules. By the way, you'd better hurry..."

Lu Zheng said unhurriedly, "Things on my end are pretty much stable now. After that, I'll be able to spare some time to visit other places."

"I have a good memory and I'm not bad at arithmetic. A lot of things have happened recently, and I need to settle accounts with some people."

Lu Zheng's tone was very calm, so calm that others would think he was talking about some everyday trivial matter.

But Hu Qing clearly sensed that Lu Zheng was about to get serious again, and she wondered who would be the next Huai Jun.

Upon hearing this, a woman said, "I've heard that many forces have joined together to form an alliance to attack you. How dare you come to visit me?"

This is not something that can be based on hearsay.

Instead, someone had approached Hu Qing, hoping to get her side to form an alliance, but Hu Qing declined.

Lu Zheng smiled faintly, "They're just a bunch of rabble. If they had the ability and wisdom, they should have joined forces to kill me back in Qinghuai Mountain. At that time, they would have had a much better chance of suppressing me..."

Lu Zheng then looked at Hu Qing and asked, "What, did they invite a big shot from the Dao Inquiry Realm?"

Hu Qing's eyes flashed upon hearing this, thinking that Lu Zheng's words completely looked down on the Tongxuan experts, as if even the Daodao experts might not be able to do anything to them.
Hu Qing said quietly, "It seems I underestimated Young Master Lu again."

Lu Zheng said, "It's not that I look down on them, but these evil cultivators and demons don't follow the righteous path. How can they suppress me? Don't you know, good will always prevail over evil?"

Lu Zhengzhen was not afraid of evil cultivators and demons of the same realm at all, after all, there was a restraint relationship between them.

If it were a powerful figure from a Buddhist or Taoist sect, Lu Zheng would pay more attention to them.

"Young Master Lu's methods are even more terrifying than those of evil cultivators," someone whispered.

Lu Zheng remained calm, saying, "Acting on behalf of Heaven."

Beside Hu Qing, another beautiful woman said, "What benefits would we get from joining you? You know, many of your rules here affect our cultivation. Shouldn't you compensate us for that?"

Within their faction, some people rely on furnaces for cultivation. For those who join this place, it's practically the end of their future cultivation path.

Lu Zheng looked at the man and said, "First of all, you need to understand one thing: I'm not begging you, but giving you a choice."

"Secondly, you can choose other cultivation methods. If you still want to practice Buddhism, I will find a way to provide you with better Buddhist teachings."

"Here, you have to follow my rules. I don't give out benefits for free. Once you join, you'll be part of one big family, and there are things we can create together..."

If it weren't for Hu Qing being quite pragmatic and not having any of the opposing forces causing trouble recently, Lu Zheng wouldn't have bothered with all this and would have just launched a decisive attack.

At a time when manpower is scarce, if we can persuade some local forces to join us, we can work less in the future and stabilize the situation here more effectively.

Upon hearing this, everyone reacted with varying expressions, each having their own thoughts on Lu Zheng's words.

Hu Qing narrowed her eyes slightly, "A better form of Buddhism?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Guess why I had a Buddhist master at the Tongxuan Realm by my side before?"

Hu Qing asked with surprise and doubt, "Do you really possess profound Buddhist knowledge?"

Lu Zheng said unhurriedly, "As long as you have the talent, it's not impossible for you to become the leader of the entire Buddhist Desire Sect, or even more than just the Desire Sect... Of course, you can think I'm bragging, don't worry about it."

If it were anyone else, even a highly accomplished elder, Hu Qing wouldn't have been so inclined to believe it.

But Hu Qing believed seven or eight parts of what Lu Zheng said.

(End of this chapter)