The Dao Sovereign of Shennong

The flood season of the Canglan River spans from April to July, divided into major and minor floods.

Zhao Xing left Ten Sun Cave-Heaven at the end of February, crossed the river on the seventh of March, and arrived in Yuncheng after the "Awakening of Insects."

He spent five days dealing with Shao Wanjie, bringing down the corrupt official, and enjoyed three days of leisure at Shao's mansion.

The Inspection Department from Fucheng resolved the Shao Wanjie issue within just two days.

On March 16th, Xia Jing and his batch of warriors arrived in Yuncheng to take office.

Mechanists, Shennong officers, priests, ritual masters, and physicians followed in separate waves, and by March 21st, most had arrived.

As for the seventh-ranked chief officials of each division, they were all in place by March 18th.

The list of Yuncheng's main officials is as follows:

County Magistrate: Duan Ren, lower seventh rank.

County Captain: Xia Jing, lower seventh rank (temporary).

Priest of Yuncheng Temple: Shen Mingyu, lower seventh rank.

County Water Officer: Zhao Xing, lower seventh rank (temporary).

Chief Mechanist: Wang Ji, lower seventh rank (temporary).

County Physician: Yuan Yang, upper eighth rank (temporary).

In addition to these main officials, several eighth- and ninth-ranked assistants were either newly assigned or replaced.

The chief of the temple, Shen Mingyu, was not moved, and his rank was not temporary.

Duan Ren was not from Ten Sun Cave-Heaven but was transferred from another region under the Nine Heavens Yingyuan Prefecture.

Those with temporary appointments were mostly reservists from Ten Sun Cave-Heaven.

From March 16th to March 19th, Zhao Xing, Xia Jing, Wang Ji, and Yuan Yang were constantly hosting banquets—not for the sake of enjoyment, but to get to know people.

This time, more than two thousand officials were assigned to Yuncheng. While the chief officials were familiar, many of the subordinates were not, so these few days were spent in meetings disguised as meals.

By March 20th, Zhao Xing, Xia Jing, Wang Ji, and Yuan Yang gathered again with the assistant officials from each division. Han Bing, Che Shihai, Zhang Jie, Chen Fang, Hu Bing, Zhang Yi, Cao Shuang, and others, all eighth-ranked officials, were present.

Though fewer in number, most of the key figures in Yuncheng, excluding Duan Ren and Shen Mingyu, were gathered here.

Earlier gatherings were internal to each division, but now, Zhao Xing, Xia Jing, Wang Ji, and Yuan Yang were bringing together all the eighth-ranked assistants for a more strategic discussion about the road ahead.

Zhao Xing had already planned the meeting agenda in advance, and Zhang Yi, as the master of ceremonies, was responsible for hosting.

This method of conducting meetings was unique but familiar to most of those present. Zhao Xing had used a similar structure in the large-scale drills at Ten Sun Cave-Heaven: chief meetings, expanded meetings with assistants, and discussions of main agendas—highly efficient.

Zhang Zhong, Jiang Xi, and He Fengnian, brought along by Zhao Xing, found the whole gathering intriguing, particularly when they saw Zhang Yi, an eighth-ranked priest, starting off the meeting.

"...The specific tasks vary for each profession, but the overall direction remains aligned," Zhang Yi began.

"Those with the highest level of tasks are the officials who enjoyed A-rank treatment at Ten Sun Cave-Heaven. Here in Yuncheng, we have 46 such individuals."

"The more tasks you have, the more detailed the military intelligence you'll receive. Over the past few days, I've compiled this information. On the left side of your desks, you'll find the first document. Please open it and check if anything is missing or incorrect," Zhang Yi finished and returned to his seat.

Per Zhao Xing's plan, the first item on the agenda was to share personnel information and task details from each division.

Warriors, Shennong officers, mechanists, ritual masters, and priests—all had different tasks.

Though the people had arrived, they needed to unite around common objectives. Without alignment, they couldn't coordinate their efforts effectively.

Zhao Xing picked up the document and began reviewing it. Even though he had done similar tasks in his previous life, he couldn't assume things would be the same this time.

After a quick scan, he was reassured.

While each division had different tasks for the third phase, the evaluation criteria and goals were all tied to warfare and the campaign against the Southern Barbarians.

"Brother Xia, Brother Chen… To get an A-rank evaluation, you have to kill thirty eighth-ranked barbarian officers?" Zhao Xing asked as he reviewed Xia Jing and Chen Fang's tasks.

"That's right," Xia Jing nodded. "To get the highest rating, at least half of those eighth-ranked officers must be from the mid or late stages of the Spirit Bridge Realm."

"For those of us from the Azure Dragon Martial Division, taking on a hundred enemies isn't difficult. It's more about the challenge of finding enough targets," Chen Fang added. "A C-grade evaluation only requires killing two from the Spirit Bridge Realm. There's no real difficulty in that—it's just a matter of encountering the enemy."

Zhao Xing nodded in agreement.

Right now, they were in a war-preparatory phase, with only small-scale skirmishes and probing actions. Major conflicts hadn't erupted yet, so finding enough enemies to kill was the real challenge.

Although the Nine Heavens Yingyuan Prefecture was located south of the Canglan River, the buffer zone between them and the Southern Barbarian defense line was still quite large.

To kill enemies, they either needed to infiltrate deep into enemy territory or get lucky.

If they were lucky, they wouldn't have to venture far and could quickly complete their tasks. If not, they might go months without finding any targets.

"For us physicians, the task is a bit more complex," Yuan Yang said. "Our third phase task is evaluated based on combat-related casualties in Yuncheng."

"I must treat any injuries sustained by the officials and civilians here. The more casualties there are, the lower my evaluation."

Cao Shuang looked at the physician's task document, confused. "If there are no battles and no one dies, don't you just get an A-grade evaluation by doing nothing?"

Yuan Yang replied, "Physicians always hope their medicine collects dust on the shelves, but that's not realistic."

"The Southern Barbarians control the upper reaches of the river. They'll use natural disasters to strike the Nine Heavens Yingyuan Prefecture. The diseases brought by these disasters will be severe. Even if the officials can handle it, the civilians won't. That's when my workload will skyrocket."

"And besides, it's impossible for you warriors to avoid going into battle."

Wang Ji rubbed his gleaming bald head. "The Tiangong Workshop has a lot of work too—repairing and replacing siege weapons, building defensive formations. But the hardest part will be the tasks assigned by the Shennong Division. Yuncheng has been neglected for years, and there's been little infrastructure maintenance. I fear my hair will be completely gone by the end."

The Shennong Division's workload was indeed massive, as flood control was their top priority. Most of Wang Ji's tasks for the third phase were tied to the flood prevention work overseen by the Shennong Division.

Zhao Xing grinned and offered Wang Ji a salute. "I owe you one, Wang Ji. Later, I'll have Yuan Yang prescribe you some hair-growth medicine. Whatever food you want, just say the word, and I'll get it for you!"

"Can you get a Southern Barbarian girl for Wang Ji?" Hu Bing joked. "He's mentioned that idea before."

"Get lost!" Wang Ji's face turned red. "I never said that! And you, Hu Bing, were watching Zhang Jie take a dump last time!"

"Wang Ji!" Zhang Jie shouted, outraged. "Why would you bring that up?!"

"Ha ha ha!" The room burst into laughter.

"Quiet! We're off track!" Zhang Yi knocked on the table, trying to restore order. "Let's move on to the second agenda."

The first agenda was about aligning their goals.

The second agenda was determining where to start.

Zhao Xing spoke first, "Yuncheng is situated along the Canglan River, with numerous tributaries passing through. Flood control is our top priority."

"If we want to keep the enemy at bay, we can't allow the Southern Barbarians to ravage our home base."

"If a natural disaster strikes Yuncheng and causes significant damage, all of our tasks, including mine, will be for nothing. Therefore, protecting Yuncheng must be our primary objective. Do you all agree?"

"I agree," Xia Jing immediately supported. Zhao Xing's third-phase task involved dealing with the Canglan River's flood season and the potential disasters caused by enemy shamans. If the Shennong Division couldn't handle the situation, Xia Jing couldn't lead his troops into Fengming Mountain to fight the Southern Barbarians.

They wouldn't even have supplies if Zhao Xing wasn't available.

As County Captain, Xia Jing was responsible for protecting Yuncheng, so of course, he agreed.

"I agree," Yuan Yang added. If they couldn't prevent a natural disaster, his third-phase task would be impossible to complete. Epidemics would spread after the disaster, and if Yuncheng suffered a major blow, he'd be packing up to leave.

Wang Ji also agreed, as his tasks were closely tied to Zhao Xing's. Putting Zhao Xing's tasks first meant putting his own first.

"I agree," the others echoed their support.

Zhang Yi voiced a concern, "I am not the chief of the temple; Shen Mingyu holds that position. Nor am I the county magistrate; Duan Ren is. If I work with Liu Jingwen to sideline Shen Mingyu and Duan Ren, it would violate propriety and could lower our evaluations."

Everyone turned their attention to the young scholar sitting upright in his ceremonial attire.

Liu Jingwen, a ritual master and military strategist, hadn't performed particularly well during training and wasn't even ranked among the B-tier at Ten Sun Cave-Heaven—only a C+.

However, during the final large-scale drill, he had followed Zhao Xing and Xia Jing.

Several ritual masters had been dispatched, but Liu Jingwen was the only strategist familiar to them.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yi had entered the Four Saints Court of the priests toward the end of training.

Both of them adhered to the principles of li (propriety). While Zhao Xing and Xia Jing could act boldly, Zhang Yi and Liu Jingwen could not. Violating li would weaken their powers, and in severe cases, it could even lead to a regression in their cultivation.

"That's a minor issue," Xia Jing said. "Just have them hand over full authority for administrative matters to the two of you."

"Will they agree?" Liu Jingwen hesitated. "Shen Mingyu might step aside, given his negligence in the Shao Wanjie case, but Duan Ren is newly appointed."

"I'm telling you, they will," Xia Jing smiled. "Did I forget to mention? Duan Ren was a clerk in the year 241 of the Dingxin Era and was promoted to the rank of ninth-grade county magistrate in the first year of the Jingxin Era. He couldn't even get a rank for five years, but after serving three years in Huangyan County, he quickly rose to the eighth grade."

The group didn't understand the significance until Xia Jing added:

"Huangyan County is part of my father's fief."

Everyone: "…"

"Damn, Xia Jing, you tricked us!" Chen Fang banged the table.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier that Duan Ren used to be your family's subordinate?"

"Someone's been cheating!"

"Xia Jing, did you give up a bodyguard just to have him?"

"Ah, so you anticipated becoming the County Captain and brought along a county magistrate. Wherever you go, you'll quickly take control of both military and civil affairs."

"This guy's dangerous!"

"We should punish Xia Jing by making him eat a whole stone of Horse Fish Fruit!"

"Ugh… Zhang Jie, I swear I'll rip that mouth of yours off!"

"Don't blame me, it was Chen Fang mimicking someone! You know this guy aced his speech class!"

"Quiet!!"

Zhang Yi banged the table loudly, casting a silencing spell.

Watching the scene unfold, Zhao Xing couldn't help but laugh.

This was why he had wanted to recruit Xia Jing into his team. A top-tier genius like Xia Jing came with connections akin to having a personal bodyguard.

With Xia Jing's background, he had a much larger pool of people to call upon. Arranging for someone like Duan Ren to be transferred was only possible because Xia Jing was a marquis's son.

Summer Marquis… The weight of that title carried influence across the entire Pinghai Province.

While Zhao Xing and his team discussed their plans for Yuncheng, three thousand miles to the south, in the Fengming Mountain Range…

Mist drifted across a landscape filled with massive stone structures, all bathed in sunlight.

At the center of the stone complex stood a meticulously carved stone palace. Outside the palace were two statues of beast-headed, human-bodied figures holding staffs, exuding an aura of solemnity.

The palace radiated a sense of majesty, and surrounding it were countless beast-skin tents. Strong Southern Barbarian soldiers, armed with sharp weapons, patrolled the area, while numerous captured exotic beasts roared within their enclosures.

Wearing totem robes and adorned with intricate facial markings, shamans moved among the tents, quietly chanting incantations.

Whenever the shamans passed, the barbarian warriors would halt and bow with deep reverence.

These were the most esteemed members of their tribes—the shamans.

As the shamans moved, faint glows of light emanated from the ground, causing verdant grass and foliage to grow from the barren earth.

Soon, barbarian soldiers came to harvest the newly grown plants to feed the captive beasts.

One young shaman, dressed in a black embroidered robe, wearing a feathered helmet, and with a matching black cape flowing behind him, exuded an air of nobility as he approached the central stone palace.

The air inside the palace seemed to pulse, as though the space itself was breathing, giving off an ancient and mysterious aura.

Moments later, the young shaman entered the palace's grand hall. It was vast, with only one object placed inside—a glowing, purple throne.

Upon the throne sat a massive figure, cloaked in shadow, radiating purple light.

The young shaman bowed respectfully. "I greet the messenger of the Cang Gods."

"Summon Kel," the figure on the purple throne spoke, his voice booming like a great bell. "The gods of the sacred mountain have issued their command. The shamans of your Hahna Tribe are tasked with unleashing Heaven's wrath upon the Nine Heavens Yingyuan Prefecture. You must complete this within a month."

As the figure finished speaking, light shot from the throne's armrest, forming a map in front of Kel's eyes.

"Have you memorized it?"

"I have," Kel replied, studying the map before bowing once more. "The Hahna Tribe will not fail the will of the gods."

The purple figure transformed into a beam of light, throne and all, vanishing from the palace in an instant.

Kel quickly transcribed the map, comparing it to a map of the Nine Heavens Yingyuan Prefecture, and focused his gaze on a specific point.

"Yuncheng," Kel murmured. "The target for our disaster strike lies here."