Big Data Cultivation

Feng Jun's demand for sincerity goes beyond mere compensation; first and foremost, he wants a reasonable explanation.

If the explanation isn't reasonable, he's not even interested in discussing compensation.

Prefectural Governor Zhao hesitated for a moment, glanced at Elder Liao Brother, and then steeled himself to speak haltingly, "Actually, when I took office, I held Mount Zhige in high regard and even sent someone specifically to seek an audience with Mountain Master Feng…"

At first, his narration was a bit stilted, but as he continued, it became increasingly fluent.

The Magistrate and County Prefect beside him were utterly dumbfounded at this scene. For heaven's sake, how could you, as a chief official of a prefecture, speak in such a lowly and almost flattering manner, is that really appropriate?

Governor Zhao also wished he didn't have to act that way, but even Cultivator Liao deferred to Mountain Master Feng, and he was not even on par with Cultivator Liao. Should he still stand on ceremony with Mountain Master Feng?

There's no need to seek death so eagerly—he had already done so once, and this time he should really let it go.

After hearing the reasons through the intercom, Feng Jun was directly shocked, "Are you saying that whatever the previous prefectural governor had, you should also have?"

Governor Zhao had already set aside his pride and decided to abandon it entirely, "Yes, after holding office for a long time, many things become habitual. One always thinks about competing in official circles but forgets one's own weight and now I've finally realized…"

The self-reflection level was high, and Feng Jun listened in silence, gaining a new perspective on this prefectural governor.

To be fair, after lowering his stance, Governor Zhao provided various causative analyses quite thoroughly. He didn't hide his greed and ambition while also mingling with strong feelings of remorse and intent to reform.

At the end, he didn't forget to summarize, "Actually, this relates to human nature. When you Immortals cultivate, you must emphasize the word 'strive' because without it, nothing is achieved. In a certain sense, my behavior was also a form of striving. Unfortunately, excessive greed led me to overlook my insignificance, resulting in a grave error."

Then he added a line for exoneration, "Fortunately, the losses weren't particularly severe."

Not particularly severe losses? Feng Jun laughed in anger, "Leaving aside whether the losses are severe, your tone certainly isn't small. The mortals causing trouble against my Mount Zhige, I was originally intending on executing to extinction… Do you know how many people I would have had to kill?"

Governor Zhao hesitated for a moment before answering, "Strictly speaking, I think they are mortals connected to the Hunting Alliance envoy, and they did indeed damage the interests of Mount Zhige but might not necessarily be considered as directly offending the Immortals."

"Ha," Feng Jun chuckled dryly, "That eloquent tongue. Whose land deed sanctioned their insolence?"

Governor Zhao was left speechless, unable to argue.

Feng Jun sighed deeply, "Although there is a difference between immortals and mortals, I don't wish to kill too many mortals. However, the problem now is if I don't severely punish a group, everyone thinks I, Feng, can be bullied, and thinks Immortal Masters can be bullied…"

At this point, his voice suddenly increased significantly, "The reason I'm in this passive situation is entirely caused by you, Governor Zhao. And now, you're telling me my losses aren't serious, huh?"

Governor Zhao truly hadn't considered it from this angle, but he could easily understand this sentiment—I'm very concerned about saving face myself, wouldn't Immortal Masters care even more?

Then he decisively knelt down, "Alright, it's my fault. I didn't anticipate the situation would become so complicated. Now we can hypothesize… if I hadn't intervened in this matter, how would those two envoys from the Alliance have dealt with Mount Zhige."

"At most, kill two people," Feng Jun answered nonchalantly—without even considering the business impacts, at least the Destiny Stone wouldn't have been exposed.

Governor Zhao squinted at Elder Liao Brother, "So… would Cultivator Liao be in great danger?"

Are you kidding me? Feng Jun was about to mock him, saying that envoys in the Mortal Realm are not supposed to battle each other. Then he recalled his own experience—he and Luo Shuchen had indeed jointly fought against the emissary from Pine Cypress Peak Yan Family.

So the rules are dead, while people are alive; it's not about committing offenses but avoiding getting caught.

Then he too glanced at Elder Liao Brother, considering that the person might be jointly taken down by the others, he felt a bit conflicted.

If it had been two years ago, Elder Liao Brother's death wouldn't have mattered. Back then, Feng Jun's perception of him wasn't great, but this time, during the incident at Mount Zhige, Elder Liao Brother's actions were commendable, prompting Feng Jun to change his perspective.

So he nodded, "Alright, you pass… just barely. It's not absolutely necessary to kill you. Now, you can demonstrate your sincerity."

Governor Zhao's sincerity was also held by Elder Liao Brother. He shook his hand, releasing a large quantity of gold, silver, jewels—and antique paintings and calligraphy.

Feng Jun rubbed his forehead helplessly, "This is your sincerity? What kind of nonsense is this…"

Gold, silver, and jewels could perhaps barely be used in the Earth Realm, but paintings and antiques… would these things have any significance in the Earth Realm?

Elder Liao Brother hesitated before speaking softly, "Li Runran's paintings are quite favored by the Kongming Mountain Liu Family Brothers, who said he is the only painter in the Mortal Realm worth mentioning in five thousand years."

Kongming Mountain is also a loose cultivator power, and the Liu Family Brothers are the only two Golden Cores. Their favor could have considerable influence on the loose cultivators of Kongming Mountain, thus Li Runran's paintings would be worth some Spirit Stones just based on that.

In fact, his paintings are wildly popular in the Mortal Realm, and they are hard to come by.

"If you like it, take it," Feng Jun waved his hand. He didn't believe that this painting could be worth many Spirit Stones; the cultivators' disdain for the Mortal Realm was deeply rooted.

Take a painter, for example. Even if Li Runran had extraordinary skills, how long could a mortal live? At most a hundred years!

And cultivators? Not to mention the Golden Core Stage, even dust-free cultivators can live up to five hundred years—if a dust-free cultivator were to enjoy painting, he would have five hundred years to gain insights and improve. Could Li Runran, no matter how talented, match the level honed over centuries?

Feng Jun admitted that there are geniuses in the world, but generally speaking, being obsessed with a skill means that the accumulation of years is very important.

Elder Liao Brother also knew he was right, so he gave a dry laugh and took out an oval blue egg, "This one is kind of special, but I'm not too sure what it is."

"Flood Dragon's Cyan Carp Egg," before Feng Jun could swipe his mobile phone, the Big Boss's thoughts had already been transmitted, "Not very significant, just an innate desolate beast, but there is a certain chance it could transform from carp to flood dragon."

Innate desolate beast, which is born at the dust-free stage, plus being a growing beast—it is indeed impressive.

Feng Jun felt a bit strange, "Is it that transforming from carp is required to become a flood dragon? Isn't it transforming from carp that you become a dragon?"

"You need the Dragon Transformation Pool for that," the Big Boss replied disdainfully, "Transforming from carp to flood dragon is proper; only after becoming a flood dragon can you become a dragon. Your knowledge structure… huh, does your realm surprisingly have a Dragon Transformation Pool?"

"No," upon hearing her tone as if she discovered a new continent, Feng Jun immediately denied it. If it was something that even the Big Boss considered precious, he had to deny it to avoid bringing unforeseen disaster to Earth, "There is something called a Dragon Gate, but I don't even know if it's real."

"Dragon Gates are generally fake, ha-ha… transforming from carp to dragon still requires a Dragon Transformation Pool," the Big Boss answered indifferently, "But this growth-type desolate beast egg is also quite good, at least very formidable in this realm. However, its aura seems a bit lifeless."

"What's meant by lifeless?" Feng Jun lit a cigarette—he couldn't afford to daze for too long, "Is it that it can't be hatched?"

"I'll hatch it for you," the Big Boss responded confidently, and the next moment, became irritated, "Pfft, as if I could hatch it. I mean, I'll help you figure out a way to hatch this egg… don't misunderstand."

Feng Jun took a puff of his cigarette and a bitter smile appeared on his lips, "If you hadn't emphasized it, I really wouldn't have misunderstood."

No matter what, a desolate beast egg, even in the Cultivation World, starts at two thousand Spirit Stones, and a growth-type desolate beast is at least five thousand Spirit Stones, right? Even if it's a bit lacking in vitality, isn't this… was the Big Boss planning to help hatch the egg?

So, Feng Jun felt that this egg could at least be worth one thousand Spirit Stones.

If it were in the Cultivation World, causing him such a big trouble, one thousand Spirit Stones definitely wouldn't satisfy him, even ten times that wouldn't be enough.

But in the Secular World, where personal possession of Spirit Stones would lead to clan extermination, a thing worth one thousand Spirit Stones… is quite a lot.

Moreover, although the Prefectural Governor was a bit greedy, he did write a good self-examination, deeply analyzing his own humble and shameful heart.

In addition, it can also be said that this person indirectly saved Elder Liao Brother's life, which adds some points, not to mention he also provided a companion for Elder Liao Brother.

So let's leave it at that, Feng Jun nodded slightly, "This egg will do, but the other wealth is a bit lacking. Give another ten times this amount… then, kneel at my mountain gate for ten days, and this matter will be settled."

However, the Prefectural Governor Zhao was a clever person, and knowing he had passed, couldn't help but speak, "Kneeling at the mountain gate for ten days… Mountain Master Feng, this concerns the dignity of the Imperial Court."

He didn't argue over wealth, because for him, wealth wasn't an issue. He had been a local official for a long time, reaping plenty, unlike the capital officials, where the poor are destitute and the rich live lavishly, and his family also had substantial assets.

Coming here as the Prefectural Governor, he couldn't bring much money, so what he contributed was essentially his gains from the past two years in Fushan County. If really calculated, it was under ten thousand taels of gold, and compensating ninety thousand more wouldn't pain him much.

But kneeling for ten days on Mount Zhige—this was not something he could endure. Where would the dignity of the official government be?

Feng Jun gave him a smirk, "And allowing others to enter private territory, does that give the official government dignity?"

"But you also killed quite a few people," Prefectural Governor Zhao wept bitterly, "We can't possibly arrest you, and the result of your Wrath of Thunder has already spread… isn't that enough?"

"Bastard," Feng Jun angrily slapped the table, "Get it straight, you also sent troops over."

At this moment, Prefectural Governor Zhao felt a bit bewildered, "But you also killed several of our soldiers, I'm not holding it against you… isn't that even?"

Damn your even, Feng Jun sneered coldly, "Then they requisitioned so many of my things, damaged quite a lot, am I just supposed to accept it?"

(The first update, celebrating the main fan "Not-So-Stupid Sha Gu," loudly summoning monthly tickets.)