I Become a Martial Arts God in the Chaotic Demon World

In the Council Hall of the Demon Cleansing Bureau.

Pei Xiuyuan and Zhao Rongye watched as the representatives from all the major powers left, showing absolutely no respect for Han Zheng.

"I think Mr. Han has stumbled this time; did he really think these ruthless individuals could be dealt with so easily?

If they were that easy to persuade, the previous Demon Sweeping Captains in charge of Smoke Wave Prefecture wouldn't have found it so troublesome."

Pei Xiuyuan seemed somewhat schadenfreude.

With the victor's prestige, Han Zheng had returned and used generous rewards to win the loyalty of both the middle-ranking Team Leaders and the lower-ranking Xuanjia Guards at the Demon Cleansing Bureau, extinguishing his intention to cause trouble for Han Zheng.

At this point, if he were to provoke Han Zheng again, it would be simply seeking his own death.

However, not actively undermining Han Zheng didn't mean he truly respected him; he would still take pleasure in Han Zheng's misfortunes.

Zhao Rongye shook his head gently, "The Martial World is perilous, and human hearts are unpredictable.

Mr. Han, young and strong, can handle Demons, but dealing with people is still a challenge.

However, it's better not to speak of such matters in front of Mr. Han; he still deserves some respect."

Pei Xiuyuan responded indifferently, "Of course I know. I'm not going to make myself uncomfortable at this time.

Mr. Han must be fuming with frustration right now, right?

It doesn't concern me anymore. Recently, there's been a Tiger Demon appearing in East Mountain Valley; rumors say it might evolve into a Great Demon, and it even swallowed a village.

I'll take Zhao Jinhua and the others to deal with that Tiger Demon. As for Smoke Wave Prefecture, I'll leave it to Mr. Han to play with slowly."

Pei Xiuyuan had a good quality; when it was time to bear, he could indeed bear.

After the former Demon Sweeping Captain Liao Hongsheng had died, Pei Xiuyuan thought he would take over Smoke Wave Prefecture, but instead, Liao Hongsheng came.

He had tried to compete with Liao Hongsheng, using various schemes.

Though Liao Hongsheng wasn't as cunning as Han Zheng, he had also been a Colonel in command of a camp at the Demon Cleansing Bureau Headquarters; how could he be troubled by Pei Xiuyuan's petty schemes?

Most importantly, Liao Hongsheng nearly crushed him in terms of strength, and after several clashes, Pei Xiuyuan ended up humbly obeying orders.

Even when attacking the Red Flag Thieves, Pei Xiuyuan was extremely reluctant, but still had to dutifully follow orders.

Now, with Han Zheng taking over from the outside, exercising both grace and authority, directly seizing control of Smoke Wave Prefecture's government office of the Demon Cleansing Bureau, Pei Xiuyuan knew he had to endure again.

Out of sight, out of mind; let Han Zheng do whatever he wants, he wasn't going to serve him anymore.

Having said that, Pei Xiuyuan left directly, preparing to take Zhao Jinhua to East Mountain to handle the demon.

Zhao Rongye watched Pei Xiuyuan leave, smiled, and lay back in his chair, half-closing his eyes as if ready for a nap.

Meanwhile in the reception hall.

Han Zheng was not fuming with frustration but wore a thoughtful look on his face.

The reactions of the major powers were actually within Han Zheng's expectations.

Ye Liuyun had previously told Han Zheng that the thought processes of the Martial World Sects differed from those of the Demon Cleansing Bureau, commonly being greedy and short-sighted, only focusing on immediate benefits, so their refusal was actually quite normal.

Naturally, Han Zheng had hoped to solve the problem peacefully, but since they were not willing to settle peacefully, they could not blame him for being ruthless.

After all, he still needed to investigate the cause of Liao Hongsheng's death, and these Martial World Sects were still suspects.

At that moment, Zhang Yan cautiously poked his head in, "Mr. Han, are you alright?"

"What could be wrong with me?"

Han Zheng smiled. Did Zhang Yan think he would explode in rage?

Zhang Yan sighed in relief, saying, "You've always come out on top in your previous actions, but this is the only time you've failed.

Of course, the men below don't feel disappointed, they just thought you might have a hard time accepting it."

Han Zheng gently shook his head, "What do you mean by failure? This isn't my failure; I gave them a choice that was good for everyone, and they foolishly rejected it.

'Winning guests, beheading, taking them as dogs.'

I gave them a chance to be human, but they didn't cherish it; I'm not to blame."

"Let's see if they want to die or become dogs," Han Zheng said with an eerie calm, yet Zhang Yan sensed a chilling murderous aura in his words, just as when Han Zheng had faced the two Demons and the Red Flag Thieves.

"Send the detailed information of those seven families to my room, the more detailed the better."

Zhang Yan didn't dare to delay and immediately delivered the information to Han Zheng.

The Demon Cleansing Bureau of Smoke Wave Prefecture undoubtedly had the most detailed information on these Martial World powers.

After all, the Bureau had been collecting data on these Sects for decades, so the details were unsurpassed.

Han Zheng locked himself in the study and carefully examined the information on these seven powers.

The unique situation of Smoke Wave Prefecture made the relationships among these seven powers extremely complex.

Normally, they fought one another, and sometimes the conflicts could even result in death.

However, once the Demon Cleansing Bureau moved against them, they would immediately unite, resembling branches of the same tree, and none would hold back.

Thus, breaking them from the outside was very difficult, and the most effective method was to disintegrate them from the inside.

What Han Zheng was looking for now was a target to attack.

After examining the data on all seven, Han Zheng finally chose his target, the Black Water Gang.

The Black Water Gang had a completely different point from the other seven, as it also belonged to Martial World powers, but it had little conflict with Smoke Wave Prefecture regarding matters like spiritual fields and mining veins.

The Black Water Gang had risen just over a decade ago. Its Gang Leader, "Cross-River Dragon" Chen Jiuzhen, had come from humble beginnings as canal workers and established the Black Water Gang with a dozen brothers. It developed along the shore of Smoke Wave Prefecture and eventually gained complete control over nearly all the docks along Smoke Wave Lake, commanding tens of thousands of gang members.

Furthermore, the boatsmen and canallers, as well as the coastal people, depended on the Black Water Gang for their livelihoods.

Thus, strictly speaking, the Black Water Gang was not quite like the other traditional Martial World powers.

They had not participated in the chaos caused by the Black Mountain Demon, so they had not occupied any spiritual field mines.

The Black Water Gang was mixed with these Martial World powers simply because they had once promised not to interfere in any of the Black Water Gang's businesses, only asking Chen Jiuzhen to stand with them in critical moments.

Although this rule seemed domineering, Chen Jiuzhen had no choice but to agree.

After all, the Black Water Gang was too young and its foundation too weak; not agreeing to the demands of these Martial World powers would mean instant ruin once suppressed.

What Han Zheng had to do was simple: bring the Black Water Gang to his side.

With his mind made up, Han Zheng went directly alone to the largest dock on the west side of Smoke Wave Prefecture, where the headquarters of the Black Water Gang was located.

When Han Zheng saw the headquarters of the Black Water Gang, he was slightly taken aback.

Not because the headquarters was too grand, but because it was rather too simple.

The headquarters of the Black Water Gang resembled the waterfront stilt houses built by fishermen along the shore, only larger and painted entirely in black.

At this time, many topless gang members with black bandanas tied around their heads were directing the incoming and outgoing boats at the dock.

Others, also gang members, were pulling the boats toward the dock with steel cables and even handling cargo. This scene barely resembled that of a Martial World gang.

As Han Zheng stepped through the main gate, two tall and burly Martial Artists immediately stopped him.

"What business do you have at the headquarters of the Black Water Gang?"

"Demon Sweeping Captain Han Zheng, seeking an audience with Gang Leader Chen."

The two gatekeepers were instantly shocked.

The animosity between Martial World Sects and the Demon Cleansing Bureau was well known, and with Han Zheng showing up, they instinctively felt it couldn't be good news.

"Mr. Han, please wait a moment while I report this."

One of the members went inside to inform, and shortly after came out and gestured for Han Zheng to enter.

"Mr. Han, please come in. The Gang Leader is waiting inside for you."

Han Zheng smiled lightly, noting that Chen Jiuzhen wasn't very welcoming.

After all, as the Demon Sweeping Captain of Smoke Wave Prefecture, Chen Jiuzhen didn't even come out to greet him; his attitude was quite evident.

But it didn't matter. It would have been strange if the other party's attitude had been welcoming.