Sage of Humanity

Du Quan respectfully said, "Lord Governor is a main branch cultivator of the Du family, whereas I am from a collateral branch."

The main and collateral branches are, strictly speaking, still of the same clan.

Lu Ye understood and looked up at him, "What's the matter?"

Du Quan smiled slightly and said, "I am here by order of Lord Governor to collect the spoils of war!"

"What do you mean?" Lu Ye frowned.

Wang Xun couldn't hold it back any longer and cupped his fist, "Sir, he's asking us to hand over twenty percent of the spoils from this battle!"

Du Quan quickly said, "Fellow Daoist, you shouldn't speak carelessly. It's not I, Du Quan, who wants your spoils. This is a rule set by Lord Governor before, that twenty percent of all the spoils from this stronghold belong to Lord Governor. I am merely here to collect them."

Wang Xun laughed in anger, "Where is there such a rule?"

Du Quan looked at him askance, "That's because you're short-sighted. Lord Du Feng is the governor of this stronghold, the strongest combat power, a form of security, and a deterrent to others. In times of major wars, the governor puts in the most effort. Doesn't he have the right to receive his own spoils? Though the governor is a Dao Fusion, even he needs to cultivate, requiring Dao force to maintain his strength. If everyone is as unwilling as you to contribute, how will Lord Governor exert effort when enemies attack again? A governor's Dao force doesn't appear from nowhere."

Wang Xun was infuriated but somehow felt there was some truth to what he said, wanting to argue but not knowing where to start.

His nature was more reckless, not so meticulous, and after holding back for a long time, he finally said, "Anyway, I've never heard of such a rule."

Yang Mingfang said, "In various battle zones, many governors have set such rules. Brother Wang, you've always been in Blue Water, so you probably haven't heard. After all, governors as considerate of their subordinates as Lord Zi Ying are rare."

Wang Xun turned angrily to him, "Which side are you on?"

Yang Mingfang smiled slightly without explaining and instead looked at Du Quan, "But as far as I know, the basic rule set by governors generally requires only ten percent of the spoils. Why is it twenty percent here?"

Du Quan said flatly, "In the previous battle, Lord Governor consumed a lot and it's not easy for a Dao Fusion to recover, so an additional ten percent is required. From your words earlier, you seem like a reasonable person; you should understand that if strong enemies come again, the stronghold will still need Lord Du Feng to fight, and he must quickly recover his strength."

Yang Mingfang snorted, "If strong enemies do come, would our Lord Governor still have the courage to engage?"

Du Quan's face changed, and he shouted lowly, "You're being presumptuous!" He also knew that Du Feng's earlier escape was a blemish; now that the stronghold has been held, the matter could either be significant or not, but if the stronghold fell, he would need to be held accountable.

Yang Mingfang said indifferently, "If Lord Governor had fought to the death earlier with the heart to protect his subordinates, we would naturally be willing to hand over the spoils. After all, with a Dao Fusion overseeing, we do feel more secure. But everyone knows the real reasons for today's victory, which had nothing to do with Lord Governor. Moreover, don't forget, who allowed you to live at this moment."

Du Quan coldly said, "I, Du Quan, dare not forget the life-saving grace of you all, and I believe every Fellow Daoist in the stronghold is grateful to you, but you don't really think you killed the Insect Race Dao Fusion without Lord Governor's merit, do you?"

Wang Xun looked surprised, "I don't remember Lord Governor showing up when that Insect Race Dao Fusion died!"

Du Quan nodded, "Yes, Lord Governor was indeed not present then, but if he hadn't fought life and death earlier with that Insect Race Dao Fusion, how could the Insect Race have been left in a weakened state? Your ability to strike the weak with strength and kill Dao Fusion isn't set by the foundation Lord Governor laid?"

These words were said by Du Feng earlier with his confidants, and thinking carefully, indeed, they made sense.

At that time, Du Quan and others, upon seeing the Insect Race Dao Fusion killed, were full of shock and post-danger happiness, not thinking too much. But after listening to Du Feng, they realized the Crane Wings Camp got a huge advantage. The Insect Race Dao Fusion was simply too careless, thinking its higher realm was invincible, otherwise, it shouldn't have died at the hands of a group of Enter the Path cultivators.

So even if they appreciate Crane Wings Camp's kindness, it doesn't stop him from coming to collect the spoils. Moreover, this is Du Feng's order.

This speech left Wang Xun and others at a loss for words, because from the standpoint of all the stronghold cultivators, Du Quan seemed... not wrong!

At that time, the engagement with Dao Fusion was just a momentary affair, and the opponent died, seeming almost fragile.

For a moment, they couldn't help but wonder if they really took a great advantage and if the Insect Race Dao Fusion was indeed weakened?

Only Lu Ye knew that the opponent was not in a weakened state, but the Dao Fusion died entirely due to a disparity in strength.

Besides, how could things that have already been consumed be returned? The Dao Bones he had already refined were mostly done, and even if Du Feng wanted them, he had nothing to give.

"Commander Lu," Du Quan saw Wang Xun and the others go mute and turned his gaze to Lu Ye, cupping his fist, "I am only following orders, please don't make things difficult for me."

Lu Ye pondered briefly, nodding, "I understand."

Saying this, he took a few Dao Bones from his storage ring and handed them to him.

Du Quan stared in a daze.

Lu Ye said, "During the battle, our Crane Wings Camp was at the forefront, only focused on killing the enemy, and did not collect many spoils. These are twenty percent of all we gathered."

Since it's a rule set by the Lord Governor, there's no harm in following it.

Anyway, only the insider knows how many spoils Crane Wings Camp really has collected. Du Quan wouldn't know, and he couldn't possibly check every individual's storage ring.

Du Quan was dumbfounded.

Beside him, Wang Xun and Yang Mingfang held back their laughter. They hadn't expected Lu Ye to handle it this way, handing over a few Dao Bones like he was throwing scraps to stray dogs.

"Commander Lu!" Du Quan's face darkened, "I can't report back like this!"

Even if he didn't know how much Crane Wings Camp had harvested, it couldn't possibly be just this little. What were a few Dao Bones supposed to mean?

"Just report it truthfully." Lu Ye looked at him calmly. When Du Quan didn't take the bones, Lu Ye threw them to his feet and then closed his eyes.

It seemed even more like he was throwing scraps to stray dogs!

Under the public gaze, Du Quan's face alternated between green and red but in the end, he dared not say anything more. He bent down to pick up those few pieces of Dao Bones, snorted coldly, and left.

"Commander," Wang Xun, who was just arguing fiercely with Du Quan, now felt a bit nervous, "Doing this, aren't we offending Du Feng?"

Lu Ye opened his eyes and looked at him, "Are you willing to hand over twenty percent of your spoils?"

Wang Xun shook his head vigorously while clutching his storage ring, "Those are the fruits of our brothers' bloody battles. Du Feng is a coward, fleeing from the battlefield. Now that the stronghold is defended, he comes back to give orders with authority. I'd rather feed the Dao Bones to dogs than give them to him."

"That's exactly it." Lu Ye replied calmly, "As for offending him... Crane Wings Camp was formed by Lord Zi Ying, we are under Zi Ying. This time, we just came to Fengtai for urgent military support."

Wang Xun's eyes lit up, "Right, we are under Lord Zi Ying, not his subordinates!"

According to the original plan, Crane Wings Camp was supposed to rendezvous with Zi Ying, but was temporarily dispatched by Huang Quan's battle planet for support.

Lu Ye had asked Zi Ying about this, and Huang Quan's side had informed her in advance.

So Lu Ye was certain, they wouldn't stay here long. Once the situation stabilized, they would leave to join Zi Ying and serve under her command.

Therefore, it didn't matter if they offended Du Feng, and Lu Ye wasn't afraid of offending such a Dao Fusion. To be blunt, someone like Du Feng didn't even register to Lu Ye now.

As they talked, Wang Xun remembered something, "If the stronghold had really fallen it would be one thing, but now that it's defended, Huang Quan's battle planet will certainly blame him once they find out about Du Feng fleeing!"

Lu Ye remarked calmly, "The details of the battle report are drafted by him, so he can say whatever he wants."

Although he hadn't directly met him, just seeing Du Quan's way of handling things, Lu Ye roughly knew what kind of person Du Feng was.

How could such a person honestly report this battle? Huang Quan would most likely hear that Du Feng was brave and heroic, leading the forces not only to defend the stronghold but also to slay an opposing Dao Fusion.

Wang Xun was stunned, "Isn't he afraid of being exposed? Huang Quan will definitely send someone to verify the battle details."

There were quite a few people at Fengtai Stronghold, and not all were Du Feng's cronies. When Huang Quan's side sends someone to verify this battle, just a little investigation will reveal the true situation.

"So what if it's exposed?" Lu Ye replied slowly, "In the end, he's still a Dao Fusion. Even if Huang Quan finds out, they'll just make him atone with merits, and... which cultivator at this stronghold dares to offend him?"

In the stronghold, under the wings of a Dao Fusion, offending him means you'd die without even knowing how.

"That's true!" Wang Xun nodded, then said indignantly, "This is just too shady. It's much more straightforward under Lord Zi Ying."

Yang Mingfang shook his head, "A governor like Lord Zi Ying is actually quite rare. In the current battle alliance, powerful families run rampant, and most are selfish individuals."

"Alright, everyone take a break and quickly refine the Dao Bones you have." Lu Ye instructed.

Only then did everyone hurriedly disperse.

They had just gone through a major battle where even one of the enemy's Dao Fusions perished. Before the Insect Matriarch comes up with a suitable response, it should be a rare moment of leisure for the cultivators at all the strongholds.

Though they can't go into battle to obtain Dao Bones, cultivating diligently can also gain Dao force, albeit much slower.

Lu Ye refined the few remaining Dao Bones in his hand thoroughly and also entered into a state of concentrated cultivation.

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