Chapter 690 - 146: Preparations for the Grand Assembly (Part 2)

"If you want to tempt fate, go take a stroll through Senior Sister Rushuang’s private bathhouse at White Butterfly Lake on Celestial Spirit Peak tomorrow. Then come out and try bragging about it. See if you can still keep your research position in the Array Department after that."

"So, don’t bury your head in array research all day until you’ve turned into a fool. None of your fellow disciples in the Sect are stupid. As for these rumors, just listen to them and leave it at that."

"A kept man?"

"Heh, it’s not even clear who’s the one living off the other!"

Wang Chengke’s words plunged the assembled disciples into silence.

"Sigh, I’d better just hide out in the Array Department and stick to my research. I doubt I’d be able to make it in any other department in the Sect." After a long silence, one of them suddenly lamented. His words drew nods of agreement from many others.

Wang Chengke and Fang Qing exchanged a glance and both shook their heads. People like this were most common in their Array Department.

’Even in his past life, there were plenty of people like this. They were probably called research fanatics, the academic types, and so on!’

······

After leaving Fang Qing and the others, Zhang Deming passed through the Light Gate and arrived at the Bloody Plaza in Pann Town, where people were also standing guard.

Dang Rushuang was there with the same team from before, organizing things in the surrounding area. From the looks of it, they were planning to establish an Affiliated Family here.

Just as Zhang Deming crossed the plaza, the group not far away sensed his arrival. Dang Rushuang, along with Wang Qian and Qin Shizhong, came forward to greet him.

"Junior Brother... no, Martial Uncle, how did things go with my second great-uncle?" Dang Rushuang asked. She stared at the Jade Pendant at Zhang Deming’s waist, paused, and spoke with clear awkwardness.

Zhang Deming grinned and said, "And which peak might you be from, Martial Niece, to be so impolite? Are you not required to salute this Peak Master upon seeing me?"

Dang Rushuang’s expression stiffened. She bit her lip and shot a hard look at the pendant on Zhang Deming’s waist, but ultimately, she didn’t dare to be impertinent. Gritting her teeth, she prepared to offer a formal salute.

"Alright, alright, Senior Sister, I was just joking! Don’t take it so seriously. If Juan’er finds out about this, I’ll be in for it!"

Seeing that Dang Rushuang was actually about to salute, Zhang Deming quickly stopped her. "My status as Peak Master hasn’t even been announced to the entire Sect. And even when it is, let’s just keep things the way they were between us in private."

The two were only acquaintances at this point. Joking around was fine, but if he pushed it too far, their future interactions would become stiffly formal—a martial uncle meeting his martial niece with all the required deference.

’Once they knew each other better, he could probably handle the formal greetings. Then again, once they knew each other better, given Dang Rushuang’s personality, she probably wouldn’t bother with the obedient salutes anyway.’

Upon hearing this, Dang Rushuang immediately said, "You’re the one who said it. If you try to take it back later, I won’t let you."

Seeing her face light up with joy, Zhang Deming smiled and nodded. "That’s right, I said it. In fact, if you’d been quick enough just now, you should have made a recording."

"Er..." The joyful look on Dang Rushuang’s face froze. She stood there, completely stunned, as if she’d just missed a heaven-sent opportunity, and at the same time, as if a whole new world had just opened up to her.

Zhang Deming ignored her and turned to Qin Shizhong. "What are you two doing here?"

Qin Shizhong paused for a moment before replying, "Martial Uncle, Master Dang said you wanted her to watch over the two of us. She wasn’t comfortable leaving us behind in Pann City, so we were escorted over."

Zhang Deming glanced at Dang Rushuang. "So, how have things been handled back in Pann City?"

Qin Shizhong nodded. "It’s mostly settled. The various teams are about to complete the initial administration of the entire Panzhou and finish all disaster relief work."

"About half a day ago, the ’Canon’ ancestor asked which Seal Orders needed to be recalled, and which seals should retain their subsidiary communication and other functions."

Zhang Deming pondered for a moment before speaking. "I want you to select five cities from Panzhou. You’ll need to consider their geographical location, prosperity, transportation, and other factors."

"Choose five hub cities in Panzhou. These five will house a Canon Official Seal. All other cities will be organized under these five, dividing Panzhou into five regions. With these five cities as their cores, they will be linked together into a single, cohesive whole."

"Establish the position of State Governor in Pann City, a role to be temporarily filled by the current City Lord of Pann City. For the other four cities, establish the position of Mansion Master, which will also be held concurrently by their respective City Lords."

"The City Lords within each Mansion Master’s jurisdiction will be managed by that Mansion Master. The Mansion Masters, in turn, will be governed by the State Governor. This way, the entire Panzhou will be consolidated into a single administrative entity."

"As for the future branch departments for handling mortal affairs like politics, public welfare, and law, I will provide a draft proposal later. You all will be responsible for its implementation."

Upon hearing this, Qin Shizhong immediately produced a map with a flip of his hand. Tapping it open, he asked, "Which cities do you think are suitable, Martial Uncle? I’ve already marked a few."

Zhang Deming looked at the map, taken aback. Panzhou wasn’t small; it contained nearly a hundred cities of various sizes. On this map, a dozen or so had already been marked.

"You prepared this in advance?" Zhang Deming asked, surprised.

Qin Shizhong nodded. "Because the Canon can only be divided into three hundred parts. Martial Uncle, if you want to unify the Sect’s entire territory, it would be impossible to give a seal to the City Lord of every single city, large and small."

"The previous distribution of the Official Seals must have been to suppress the recent turmoil and allow them to hold their ground."

"Therefore, I considered some potential cities in advance. I just didn’t expect you only planned to leave five seals per state, Martial Uncle."

"Since you’ve already done the prep work, you can pick the other four cities. I can’t be bothered with it," Zhang Deming said. The truth was, he wasn’t familiar with the mortal political landscape; giving blind commands was worse than letting someone competent handle it.

"I understand," Qin Shizhong said.

Zhang Deming gestured to Dang Rushuang, then led the two of them towards Pann City.

On the way, Zhang Deming continued, "After this, we’ll continue with this tree-like network structure. Every four states will form a single domain. We will appoint a Domain Lord to govern all the Prefectures within it."