Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

Gong Yulu slowly opened her mouth and said, "I am innocent. I did not kill Lord Yang on purpose."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingfeng remained unconvinced: "Throughout history, which criminal caught by the government hasn't cried out for innocence? If you're only here to plead your case, then I think there's nothing more to discuss between us."

Gong Yulu clasped his hands and said, "Commander Zhou, I am truly innocent. I implore you to investigate thoroughly."

Zhou Qingfeng calmly said, "You say you're innocent? Fine, then I'll hear what your grievances are. Tell me."

Gong Yulu hesitated, then shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I can't say right now. Commander Zhou must guarantee my survival, otherwise I won't say anything. I can only tell you that there are unknown secrets involved."

Zhou Qingfeng resolutely refused: "Impossible."

Although Gong Yuluo's body died and became a Fiend-level zombie, his three souls and seven spirits were still intact, and his life palace was still preserved. If he relied on all the magic power accumulated in his life palace, plus the techniques he had studied in the field of possession, he could possess the body of another person and live a second, or even a third or fourth life.

If the life palace is shattered, in most cases the soul will also be unable to escape death. After all, if the life palace is destroyed, it is extremely rare for the soul to survive.

The Life Palace is like a house built on an extremely dangerous sea of ​​suffering. The house is attacked by external forces such as tornadoes, mudslides, lightning strikes, hail, and tsunamis, and the house will be destroyed.

Is it possible for the homeowner to survive in the house? There is a chance, but the chances are usually not very high.

The probability of this is extremely small.

Let's take a specific case as an example.

When the physical body dies, it means that the supernatural powers cultivated are gone. After all, supernatural powers are related to the blood and qi of the physical body. All supernatural powers are contained within the physical body. If the physical body no longer exists, the supernatural powers also cease to exist.

The Life Palace stores all the magical power of a cultivator in the Devouring Fiend Realm, and the Life Soul resides within it.

When the physical body dies, the Palace of Destiny becomes a second life, through which one can use magic to possess another body and be reborn, living a second life.

If the life palace is shattered, the two souls and seven spirits will be scattered. The life soul is the third life. Even if the life soul survives from the enemy by chance, it will lose all its magic power and supernatural abilities.

In this situation, it is very difficult to possess a healthy mortal. One can only settle for second best and possess those who are weak-willed, physically weak, mentally in poor condition, in a long-term coma, and have blurred consciousness.

Alternatively, with the help of parents, elders, relatives, and friends, one can possess a mortal body, which is equivalent to a complete reincarnation and rebuilding. Except for the memories, all cultivation must be started from scratch.

Gong Yuluo's physical body is dead, but his life palace is still intact. If he wanted to be reborn, it would be very simple. If he were allowed to run out and possess any mortal, he could be reborn. The problem is that, given the crimes he committed, Zhou Qingfeng would not give him that opportunity, and no one has the right to promise Gong Yuluo that he can live.

Unless the city lord issues a special pardon to pardon Gong Yuluo's crime of murdering an official and plotting rebellion, which is impossible.

He was definitely going to die; for Gong Yulu to negotiate at this point was nothing more than a desperate last stand.

Gong Yulu knew she was going to die, but she still wanted to try, she couldn't just wait to die: "Commander, if you can't let me live, then I will never confess my guilt, and I will never reveal the secrets behind this case."

Zhou Qingfeng calmly said, "Whether you plead guilty or not is irrelevant right now. You killed an official in the street, and there were many eyewitnesses who saw you kill Lord Yang. The facts are clear, and that is enough to close the case. As for the hidden story you mentioned, I don't care. I have already earned my credit. It would be best if we could expand our victory, but even if we can't, it's still a great achievement."

"But you're in trouble. Given that you killed an official in the street, fled afterward, resisted arrest with force, and refused to confess after being caught, according to the laws of Sword Tower..."

At this point, Zhou Qingfeng paused slightly. He wasn't very familiar with the laws of the Sword Tower, because there were simply too many laws in the Sword Tower. Over the millennia, the laws had been added and subtracted, making it so numerous that it was enough to make one's scalp tingle.

An official specializing in trials could memorize only one percent of the law even after ten years of memorizing it.

It's hard to find an official in the entire Sword Tower who can recite all the laws. Most of the time, before a trial, the relevant officials would quietly dig out their dusty legal books at home and search through them line by line.

When Jin Wei saw Zhou Qingfeng looking over, he immediately stepped forward and interjected, "According to the laws of the Sword Tower, criminals who kill officials shall be executed along with their entire families, regardless of age or gender, leaving no one alive."

"If the prisoner has a good attitude in admitting his guilt and surrenders himself, he may be given a lighter sentence. Only the criminal will be executed, and his family members will be stripped of their free citizen status and demoted to slaves and sent to work in a country estate in the countryside."

“For someone like Gong Yulu to kill an official in the street, the crime is doubled, punishable by the extermination of three generations of his family. If he flees afterward and resists arrest by force, the crime is doubled again. If he refuses to confess to his crime, the crime is doubled again, punishable by the extermination of nine generations of his family.”

Zhou Qingfeng stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Gong Yulu indifferently, and said, "I heard you. Whether you say it or not is up to you. I have no loss."

Gong Yulu remained silent, his face showing a struggle.

Zhou Qingfeng pressed him at the opportune moment: "Fine, don't say anything then, Jin Wei. Let's prepare to close the case. This case has dragged on for quite some time, and we have to give the city lord an explanation. Whether there are hidden reasons or not, let's just use him to get by."

After saying that, Zhou Qingfeng turned and left, seemingly without any regrets.

Upon seeing this, Gong Yulu panicked. Wasn't Zhou Qingfeng known for his benevolence and impartiality? Shouldn't such a good official, praised by the people, be investigating the truth? How could he be just like other corrupt officials?

He shouted in a panic, "Commander, wait! I'll talk, I'll talk!!!"

Zhou Qingfeng glanced back at Gong Yuluo, a smile playing on his lips, then turned back and stood outside the cage, looking directly into Gong Yuluo's eyes, and said, "Speak, I won't turn back a second time."

Gong Yulu took a deep breath and said, "It's a long story."

Zhou Qingfeng reached out to stop him: "Wait a minute, Jin Wei, bring a chair."

Upon seeing this, Jin Wei immediately took out a small tea table and chairs from his storage bag, and also placed some pastries, fruits, and the young master's favorite iced lychee black tea on the small tea table.

Zhou Qingfeng sat in the chair, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, and said while cracking them open, "You continue."

"..." Gong Yulu had an urge to strangle Zhou Qingfeng, but when he looked back at Zhiqi standing in the cage, Zhiqi was still holding his life palace in his hand, so he couldn't use his magic power.

Gong Yuluo slowly said, "Commander, this matter needs to be explained from the beginning."

"I was not originally from the Sword Tower. I have been cultivating for three hundred years and only managed to reach the Devouring Fiend Realm by chance. It is extremely difficult to advance further. So I came to the Sword Tower to try my luck and seize an opportunity."

"After all, everyone knows that the Sword Tower is a place full of wealth, opportunities, and miracles. There are countless examples of people turning their lives around and transforming themselves into great ones. Which cultivator among us doesn't dream of the Sword Tower?"

Zhou Qingfeng nodded slightly in agreement: "Indeed, there are many opportunities in the Sword Tower."

Jin Wei and Zhi Qi nodded secretly. They both acknowledged that the Sword Tower offered many opportunities and was full of wealth, with miracles happening all the time, but the prerequisite was that one must have sufficient strength.

This strength doesn't just refer to combat power. In Sword Tower City, a place where powerful clans gather and nobles abound, what good is individual fighting ability? To survive in Sword Tower, you need background and influence.

No matter how good you are at fighting, if you don't have brains, you're destined to be a thug your whole life.

Being good at fighting doesn't guarantee success in life, but if you understand human relationships, know how to choose sides, are good at assessing situations, know how to seize opportunities, and have the ability to get things done, it's not particularly difficult to make a name for yourself.

There's absolutely no shame in being a lackey of the powerful in the Sword Tower.

Because those independent cultivators who want to be lackeys of the powerful and wealthy can circle the entire Sword Tower three times.

Gong Yuluo said, "I came here with a dream, hoping to make a name for myself in the Sword Tower."

"But after arriving, I found it was too difficult to settle down in the Sword Tower."

"For outsiders to settle in Jianta, they must make outstanding contributions to Jianta City or make direct investments in Jianta, with stable investment and a good tax record for three consecutive years."

"Or individuals with special talents who have made outstanding achievements in their areas of expertise, or those who have served as senior managers in business organizations for a long time, or whose spouses are citizens of Jianta and whose marital relationship has lasted for more than five years."

"Or you could work in Jianta long-term, with an annual income of no less than 600,000 fa coins and a tax payment of no less than 120,000 fa coins. Do you know how difficult it is to settle down in Jianta? I simply can't do it!"

Gong Yulu got angry as he spoke: "I wanted to marry a mortal woman with a Jianta residency, thinking I could get a permanent residence in five years. Who knew that a mortal woman from Jianta would look down on me, an outsider, and call me a country bumpkin, a toad trying to eat swan meat."

"Your Sword Tower is really bullying me. I'm a cultivator at the Devouring Fiend Realm, and I can't even get a household registration in the Sword Tower. I was even looked down upon by a mortal woman. If I go back to my hometown and tell people, no one will believe me."

"I, Gong Yuluo, have never suffered such humiliation in my entire life."

Zhou Qingfeng: "..."

As a native of Jianta, he had never experienced how difficult it was to settle down.

He had never known that a Jianta household registration was so valuable, because he had no access to that kind of information.

Zhou Qingfeng pointed at Gong Yuluo, who was getting more and more excited as she spoke, and reminded her, "Stop rambling and get to the point."

Upon hearing this, Gong Yulu said, "I'm getting to the point. It's difficult to settle down here, so I'm not going to settle down. Since I'm already here, I should at least earn back my travel expenses before leaving. So I tore up my travel permit and stayed in the Sword Tower slums."

“That place is simply not a place for humans to live. It’s difficult to even turn over when you lie down. If the rent wasn’t cheap, I really wouldn’t want to live there. Fortunately, there are many other cultivators like me who have gone undercover. I asked them how to make a living in the Sword Tower. Through their introduction, I started to make a living by fighting in underground boxing matches.”

Zhou Qingfeng gestured: "Stop, are we going to fight underground boxing?"

Jin Wei explained from the side: "Commander, underground boxing is when cultivators put on old shackles and fight bare-handed on a specially made ring until they can't stand up anymore."

"The fighters in underground boxing are all in the same weight class, for example, two cultivators in the Food Fiend Realm fighting each other."

"This kind of underground boxing is very barbaric, very bloody and cruel. Fighters must beat their opponents until they can't stand up. Many people like to see this kind of scene where every punch lands and blood flies everywhere."

"Especially for nouveau riche who have made money, they are in dire need of excitement to vent their emotions. Watching cultivators with higher levels of cultivation and stronger strength than them engage in savage and primitive fighting on the arena like mad dogs gives them an extremely morbid sense of pleasure, and they will even spend money to bet on their favorite opponents."

"The contestants earned tens of thousands of yuan by fighting in underground boxing matches. However, those who were reduced to fighting in underground boxing matches for people's amusement were mostly unregistered individuals. They did not pay taxes on their winnings, which constituted illegal profit-making. The organizers organized unregistered individuals to fight in underground boxing matches and did not pay taxes on their profits, which violated the laws of the Tower of Swords."

"However, tax evasion is under the jurisdiction of the Tax Superintendent, not the Fifth Division of our Censorate."

Zhou Qingfeng nodded slightly: "It's alright. Just remember not to confiscate it. Keep this underground boxing arena. It might come in handy when dealing with the tax inspectors in the future."

Upon hearing this, Jin Wei nodded silently, immediately understanding his young master's meaning. Investigating and raiding an underground boxing ring was like a dog catching a mouse, meddling in other people's business, and the tax authorities might not appreciate it.

But who knows, we might have to deal with the Inland Revenue Service Director-General in the future. To put it another way, if there's an opportunity to plant our own people in the Inland Revenue Service Director-General, we'll have to give them some credit so they can get promoted.

The Directorate General of Taxation does not necessarily have to be controlled by Zhou Qingfeng.

However, Zhou Qingfeng's own people must be in the Tax Compliance Department.

Gong Yulu continued talking about his situation: "When I fight against those professional underground boxers while wearing the old shackles, I can never win. I lose more often than I win, and I can only get a small appearance fee each time. At this rate, let alone making a name for myself in the Sword Tower, I don't even know when I'll earn enough to get my way home."

"Until one day, a mysterious person found me and gave me a bottle of medicine. As long as I took it, my body would continuously become stronger, and even if I wore the old shackles, I could still win in underground boxing matches."

Zhou Qingfeng keenly sensed the key information and immediately asked, "Mysterious person? What mysterious person? What are their physical characteristics? Are they male or female? What kind of medicine did they give you? Explain clearly."

Gong Yulu shook his head and said, "I don't know. I've never seen their face. The mysterious person was wearing a green cloak with the brim of their hat covering their face. Judging from their height, they seemed to be a woman, but their voice sounded like a man's."

"The medicine the other party gave me was supposedly a top-grade evil-level pill they had developed, called something like 'Super Strength Pill.' It sounded incredibly unreliable, so I didn't take it, ignored the person, and just put the pill away and left."

“Then one day, I couldn’t make any money from underground boxing anymore. If I didn’t make any more money, I wouldn’t even be able to pay the rent in the slums. Suddenly I remembered the super strength pill that the mysterious man gave me, so I thought I’d give it a try.”

"The result was very unexpected. My physical strength, endurance, recovery ability, physical strength, and the baleful aura contained in my body increased rapidly. I could feel a mysterious power in my body that was devouring my flesh and blood baleful aura, but at the same time it was making me stronger rapidly."

"I fight in underground boxing matches, and I win every single one. I'm like an unkillable cockroach; no one can completely defeat me. I'm intoxicated by this powerful force."

"I feel like I don't need to cultivate, my physical body is getting stronger at a rapid pace. Cultivators of the same level simply cannot compete with me in terms of physical strength, and are completely crushed by me."

"One day, I don't know why I lost control, and I almost beat my opponent to death."

“I know I am being influenced by that force. When I try to turn around and devour these foreign forces, I find that I can’t, because these foreign forces have become one with me.”

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