Cao Mansion, Front Courtyard.
Cao Guangsheng remained silent for a long time, then closed his eyes.
"The Cao family surrenders!"
Seeing this, Jiang Ning waved his hand. "Take them all away!"
"Yes, sir!" Ruan Hongmei cupped her hands and responded.
At that moment.
"Jiang Ning, you'll regret this! Brother Cao Rong will avenge us" A boy of about eleven or twelve years old began to speak, but before he could finish, a middle-aged woman beside him quickly covered his mouth.
Seeing Jiang Ning's gaze, the middle-aged woman's eyes flashed with a pleading look.
"Take them away!" Jiang Ning waved his hand.
Xie Xiaojiu and Ruan Hongmei immediately moved into action.
A short while later.
With Cao Guangsheng having lost the will to resist, the entire Cao Mansion quickly returned to calm.
Those still alive had stopped resisting and surrendered.
"Commander Jiang, mission accomplished!" Deputy Liu brought a group of captives to Jiang Ning.
"Thank you, Deputy Liu!" Jiang Ning cupped his hands.
"No trouble at all! No trouble at all!" Deputy Liu chuckled. "I dare not accept the title 'sir'!"
He then added, "Some of the Cao family members who tried to climb the walls resisted. In the heat of the moment, we had to kill a few. I hope Commander Jiang won't hold it against us."
Jiang Ning pointed to the bodies in the front courtyard. "Director Hong's orders were clear: those who resist are to be killed without mercy. Deputy Liu, you acted within your authority and even deserve credit!"
"As long as I didn't overstep, that's fine!" Deputy Liu chuckled.
He then glanced at the bodies in the front courtyard. The rain mixed with blood, staining the entire front courtyard red.
"Commander Jiang, you must be careful of Cao Rong from now on!"
"I understand," Jiang Ning nodded slightly.
Before setting out, Jiang Ning had already prepared himself.
Leading the operation to raid the Cao family today meant that Cao Rong, far away in Dongling City, would inevitably seek revenge in the future.
He had already mentally prepared for this.
The next day.
News of the Cao family being raided by Jiang Ning spread like a storm throughout Luoshui County.
Overnight, Luoshui County underwent a drastic change.
With the Cao family raided and the remaining two hundred or so members imprisoned in various jails across the county, the industries controlled by the Cao family were suddenly up for grabs, becoming a feast for others.
The Green Snake Gang, due to the fall of the Cao family, was immediately invaded by the other two major gangs, leading to intense conflicts.
Inspector's Office.
"Sir!"
As soon as Jiang Ning stepped into his courtyard, he saw Xie Xiaojiu, who had been waiting for him for some time.
"What is it?" Jiang Ning asked.
Xie Xiaojiu said, "Sir, please follow me. Last night, I took some valuables from the Cao family under the cover of darkness."
"You're telling me this?" Jiang Ning chuckled.
Xie Xiaojiu replied seriously, "Without your help earlier, I, Xie Xiaojiu, wouldn't have the status I have today. This is only right!"
Jiang Ning smiled.
Last night, in the heavy rain, with his heightened senses and water affinity, his perception had reached an extraordinary level.
Especially after his mental energy breakthrough, he could feel his perception had increased again. Under such circumstances, every movement in the Cao Mansion was in his mind.
He had noticed Xie Xiaojiu's actions last night but chose to turn a blind eye.
Then, Xie Xiaojiu led Jiang Ning to the inner hall. She removed a black cloth covering a table.
Instantly, a small treasure chest, slightly larger than a palm, appeared before Jiang Ning.
The chest gleamed with gold and silver, reflecting dazzling light under the sun.
Seeing this, Jiang Ning's heart stirred.
Xie Xiaojiu said, "Sir, I estimate there are about thirty thousand taels of silver here. I didn't dare take more. After all, Commander Ye arrived quickly last night, and there were too many eyes around."
Jiang Ning couldn't help but smile.
Xie Xiaojiu didn't dare take more, but he had taken plenty.
The Sumeru Ring had been very useful last night.
Especially since the heavy rain he summoned had made visibility in the Cao Mansion extremely poor.
Using the Sumeru Ring, he had looted a great deal.
By the time Ye Qiu arrived, he was empty-handed, perfectly avoiding suspicion.
However, looking at the wealth before him now, Jiang Ning was quite surprised.
He had roughly estimated the value of what he had taken last night. It seemed like a lot, but it was only a little over twenty thousand taels.
What Xie Xiaojiu had here, though seemingly less in quantity, was clearly high-value gold, silver, and jewels.
Especially the jewels and gold, which were extremely valuable.
"As expected of someone from a prominent family!" Jiang Ning thought to himself.
Then he said, "Take these and convert them into silver. Give me twenty thousand taels in silver notes. The rest is yours."
"Thank you, sir!" Xie Xiaojiu didn't hesitate and quickly packed everything up.
At this moment, Jiang Ning was in a great mood.
After raiding the Cao family's assets last night and gaining this windfall, he now had a way to quickly increase his Source Energy points.
He then glanced at his status panel.
[Name]: Jiang Ning
[Source Energy]: 197.3
[Skills]:
Firewood Chopping Saber Technique (Fourth Breakthrough: 5000/5000) (Traits: Versatility, Swift as the Wind, Mastery of the Saber, Unity of Man and Saber)
Water Affinity (Fourth Breakthrough: 5000/5000) (Traits: Underwater Breathing, Water Manipulation, Water Spirit Affinity, Cloud and Rain Control)
For him now, Source Energy points were in extremely short supply.
The experience points for both the Firewood Chopping Saber Technique and Water Affinity had been maxed out for a long time. The only thing holding him back was the lack of Source Energy points.
The fifth breakthrough for these two skills required a full two hundred Source Energy points.
In other words, just to break through these two skills, he was short by over two hundred Source Energy points.
Not to mention the sixth and seventh breakthroughs...
Both the Firewood Chopping Saber Technique and Water Affinity were relatively easy to level up.
So, the only thing limiting his progress was Source Energy points.
Now, with the windfall from raiding the Cao family and the tens of thousands of taels of silver, he had a way to quickly increase his Source Energy points.
Like the fifty-year-old blood lotus he had found in Luo River. The medicinal power of that lotus had given him over twenty Source Energy points in a single day.
And that blood lotus was quite cheap compared to his current wealth.
At market price, it only cost eight hundred to a thousand taels.
Even though the fifty-year-old blood lotus had little effect on him now, for less than a thousand taels, getting over twenty Source Energy points was a bargain.
As long as his skills broke through, it would mean a huge improvement for him.
At that moment.
"Commander Jiang!!" A voice called from outside the courtyard.
The two of them recognized it as Feng Jiuge.
Xie Xiaojiu quickly packed up the box on the table and covered it.
Jiang Ning walked out.
"Captain Feng, what's the rush?"
"Sir, you're here!" Feng Jiuge stopped and said, "The Director wants to see you!"
"Understood," Jiang Ning nodded.
Then he turned to the room. "Xiaojiu, go take care of your tasks. I need to see the Director."
Xie Xiaojiu, dressed in a black outfit with her hair tied in a ponytail, walked out.
She appeared empty-handed in front of the two. "Sir, don't worry! It'll take at most two or three days to complete the task you assigned me."
Jiang Ning nodded, then said to Feng Jiuge, "Let's go!"
In the pavilion.
"Director!" Jiang Ning cupped his hands, seeing Hong Minghu standing with his back to him, looking at the scenery beyond the railing.
"You're here!" Hong Minghu turned around.
Then he said, "You did well last night!"
"It was my duty," Jiang Ning replied.
"Do you know that last night, at the Cao Mansion, you destroyed a God Worship Cult stronghold and killed one of their incense masters?" Hong Minghu's gaze was sharp as he looked at Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning said, "I know."
"Oh?" Hong Minghu showed slight surprise. "Do you know that every incense master of the God Worship Cult is at least a seventh-grade martial artist?"
"I didn't know that," Jiang Ning said.
Hong Minghu fell silent, staring at Jiang Ning.
Early this morning, after hearing Ye Qiu's report, he had been utterly shocked.
As he had just said, every incense master of the God Worship Cult was a seventh-grade martial artist.
Moreover, those who worshipped the deities and received their blessings could transform into so-called divine forms.
In this form, they possessed immense strength, were nearly invulnerable, and had incredible regenerative abilities, making them almost immortal.
Once transformed, even a sixth-grade martial artist would struggle to deal with a seventh-grade divine being.
Hong Minghu hadn't expected that the Cao Mansion housed a seventh-grade incense master capable of transforming into a divine form, yet he had been killed by Jiang Ning without causing any trouble.
"Could this kid have broken through again?" Hong Minghu thought, looking at Jiang Ning's calm expression.
"Director, why are you looking at me like that?" Jiang Ning suddenly asked.
Hearing this, Hong Minghu decided not to keep his doubts to himself.
He said, "Commander Jiang, did you make another breakthrough in strength last night, given your outstanding performance?"
"A little. But last night's success was mainly due to the enemy underestimating me."
Seeing Hong Minghu's expression, Jiang Ning knew what he was thinking and quickly came up with an excuse.
Hong Minghu nodded slightly. "At your age, it's normal for the incense master to underestimate you."
This explanation seemed perfectly reasonable to Hong Minghu.
After all, based on his understanding, the incense master could transform into a divine form but had died in his human form.
This fact supported Jiang Ning's claim.
The incense master had been too careless.
If he hadn't been careless, he wouldn't have died so pitifully.
Then, Hong Minghu pulled something out from under the table.
He tossed it to Jiang Ning. "Take these contribution points to the internal affairs office to register or use them. They're your reward for last night's outstanding performance."
Jiang Ning took the small pouch from Hong Minghu.
He shook it lightly, hearing the pleasant jingling inside.
"Thank you, Director!" Jiang Ning cupped his hands.
As he walked out of the pavilion, Jiang Ning's mood improved even further.
Hong Minghu had been extremely generous this time.
He had just opened the pouch and seen that it contained at least ten thousand contribution points.
In terms of value, that was equivalent to over ten thousand taels of silver.
If he were to exchange silver for contribution points, it would cost over twenty thousand taels to get this much.
This was a huge windfall!
"Sir, what did the Director want?" Feng Jiuge approached as soon as Jiang Ning appeared.
Jiang Ning said, "Nothing much. Just giving out rewards."
Then he looked at Feng Jiuge.
"By the way, why are you waiting for me here?"
Feng Jiuge smiled. "Do you want my family's Blazing Spear Technique?"
Jiang Ning was momentarily stunned.
Then he looked at Feng Jiuge. "Your father agreed?"
Feng Jiuge nodded. "He agreed."
Then she said, "Do you want to trade?"
"Yes!" Jiang Ning continued. "Now?"
Feng Jiuge shook her head. "Three days. It'll take three days for the Blazing Spear Technique manual to arrive. I'll come find you then."
"Alright," Jiang Ning nodded, then added, "In three days, I'll bring the Surging Waves Saber Technique."
Internal Affairs Office.
"Elder, I need to exchange for a copy of the Wind and Thunder Arrow Technique."
"Wind and Thunder Arrow Technique?" The old woman at the internal affairs office looked at Jiang Ning in surprise.
The Wind and Thunder Arrow Technique was a mid-level martial art and a rare archery technique.
This technique originated from the Wind and Thunder Sect's signature skill.
In the past, disciples of the Wind and Thunder Sect had made quite a name for themselves with this technique.
But times had changed.
The once-glorious Wind and Thunder Sect had long since fallen, and the Wind and Thunder Arrow Technique had been stored in the Martial Sage's Mansion.
"The Wind and Thunder Arrow Technique isn't cheap. It costs thirteen thousand contribution points," the old woman said.
"I understand," Jiang Ning replied respectfully.
He then took out thirteen silver jade tokens from the pouch.
Each silver jade token represented one thousand contribution points.
This was the internal currency of the Inspector's Office.
Bronze tokens represented one hundred contribution points, while silver jade tokens represented one thousand.
After counting, Jiang Ning realized that after spending these thirteen thousand contribution points, he still had two thousand three hundred left.
Seeing this, the old woman took the silver jade tokens from Jiang Ning and carefully inspected them, then nodded.
"Correct!"
Then she looked at Jiang Ning. "The Wind and Thunder Arrow Technique, right?"
"Yes," Jiang Ning nodded again.
The old woman said, "Come back tomorrow to collect it."
With that, she whistled.
A moment later, a green light shot through the door and landed on the counter.
The green light was a small bird of prey, about the size of a palm.
Its beak was hooked, its claws sharp, and its feathers a deep green.
The old woman wrote "Wind and Thunder Arrow Technique" on a piece of paper and tied it to the bird's leg.
"The Wind and Thunder Arrow Technique is only available in the county capital. It will take a day to retrieve. Come back tomorrow at this time, and you can collect it," the old woman said as she secured the paper to the bird's leg.
"I understand," Jiang Ning said.
Now he realized why the internal affairs office, despite having such a long list of items, seemed so empty.
All the good stuff had to be retrieved from elsewhere.
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