First-Year Internship—And You Went to Site 749 to Contain Monsters?!

.....

Ziyin, whose mind had been clouded by anger, finally regained some clarity.

He had been foolish. Truly foolish.

After all, talents like Yu Ci were hard to come by—she had a Clear Sword Heart!

To let her die just like that—what a waste, what an infuriating loss!!

Caught up in his emotions, Ziyin didn't want to think about what Yu Ci had done in her youth. Who hadn't made a few mistakes when they were young? They weren't sages—who could be flawless? But so much time had passed, and was he supposed to give up Yu Ci for the sake of an ordinary little girl?

A powerful Qi Refiner stood high above the masses. Not just one little girl—even a hundred, a thousand little girls couldn't compare to a single Yu Ci in Ziyin's heart.

After all, before the Great Han had arrived, the feudal ideology of the Second Circle had been deeply entrenched. It wasn't so easy to change.

But now Grand Duke Lu was serious. If he pursued this matter strictly according to Great Han law, Yu Ci's crimes were no small matter!

And as the leader of Purple Cloud Sect, with the entire sect openly supporting Yu Ci today, once the investigation came through, Yu Ci would be a criminal. Ziyin, as the sect leader, could claim ignorance of the earlier events, but everything after that was blatant obstruction of justice, subject to legal judgment.

As for the Purple Cloud Sect disciples present who had supported Yu Ci—they were accessories to the obstruction. While they might not face legal punishment themselves, the sheer scale of such a conspiracy would never allow the Great Han to permit Purple Cloud Sect to continue establishing itself on this land.

Once the sect license was revoked, Purple Cloud Sect would be dissolved on the spot.

With the very roots of Purple Cloud Sect gone, what was there left to say about formations, mountain gates, or any of that...

Ziyin lifted his head with difficulty: "I... I'm sorry, Grand Duke Lu... I... I'm old and muddled, I committed a grave offense. I apologize to you, and I hope you..."

Before he could finish, Lu Ding cut him off: "Now you realize you have a problem? Now you apologize? Too late. If you have anything to say, say it to the Review Office and the 749 special agents who will be handling this later. When I didn't spell it out, you couldn't figure it out. Once I spelled it out and the bodycam recorded everything, it has to be handled by the book."

Originally, he had thought Purple Cloud Sect wasn't so bad. It didn't have to come to this. Minor issues were within the scope of giving chances—as long as Ziyin got on the same wavelength as him, everything could have been worked out.

But this man was too stupid.

He had insisted on having it spelled out.

And once it was spelled out, they had to follow procedure.

Lu Ding released his grip on old man Ziyin's hair: "Get your materials ready. I'm submitting the bodycam footage to headquarters shortly. As for Purple Cloud Sect—don't bother opening it anymore. All of you, go home and farm, become peasants down the mountain. Practicing cultivation? Cultivate this, you bunch of idiots—your brains have rotted from all that cultivation!"

"Let's go!!!"

Lu Ding called out to Zhan Tingzhou and turned around.

Behind him, Ziyin dragged his body—which looked seriously injured but hadn't been fatally wounded by Lu Ding—and chased after him.

"Grand Duke Lu... Grand Duke Lu... Please show mercy... Purple Cloud Sect has been passed down on this land for a thousand years. It can't end in my hands. If you take away our sect license, Purple Cloud Sect's legacy will be lost..."

Lu Ding kicked him flying: "Get the hell away from me! Where were you earlier? I'm not afraid of being investigated—I stand straight and don't fear a crooked shadow. You brainless fool, and you call yourself a sect leader? Don't come dragging me into making mistakes!"

Ziyin, sent flying backward, scrambled back again.

Seeing this, the other members of Purple Cloud Sect finally understood the gravity of the situation.

They all rushed forward, falling to their knees and begging.

"Grand Duke Lu, please show mercy. We truly didn't know."

"Purple Cloud Sect is innocent. Even if we've accomplished nothing remarkable, we've still put in effort over the years. Please, in your mercy, don't cut off our sect's legacy."

"Grand Duke Lu, I'm kowtowing to you. I've been at Purple Cloud Sect since I was a child—I came up the mountain at seven years old. This is my home. Please, spare my family."

"Grand Duke Lu, I'm begging you, I'm begging you..."

Cries for mercy, one after another. Kowtows, one after another.

They looked so pitiful.

But again—where were they when they had the chance to act?

They couldn't figure things out on their own. Did they think the 749 bodycam was a joke?

Things had escalated to this point, and now they were playing the sympathy card. If Lu Ding didn't handle this by the book, and one day an audit review pulled up this footage, he'd be the one in trouble.

This was big enough to be a true major violation.

And if word got out, it could easily become "the masses of Purple Cloud Sect bowing to coercive authority."

That would damage 749's reputation.

Not that New City 749 had a good reputation to begin with.

But now that Lu Ding had pushed through reforms and development in the western region, with everything steadily improving, how could he allow himself to face those risks?

Giving them the chance to figure it out without having it spelled out was already as humane as it got. But these idiots had to force him into being procedural, mechanical, and standardized.

Down the mountain steps.

On the stairs.

Voices continued behind them, but both men turned a deaf ear, walking their own path in silence.

Finally, Lu Ding couldn't hold back.

He raised his hand: "I swear to..."

Zhan Tingzhou flinched instinctively, ducking his head in submission.

In the end, Lu Ding didn't strike.

"You're a damn fool too. All that information about Yu Ci, and you didn't say a word. Instead, you launch a surprise attack and dump all that out. I really want to slap the hell out of you."

Zhan Tingzhou knew he had messed up, but he honestly didn't know how to bring up all those details.

Still, wrong was wrong.

He lowered his head: "I'm sorry."

Lu Ding gave a cold, mirthless smile, repeating his words: "Sorry? That's it? Go back, write a review and a report—one copy each. I'll have Feifan personally do a strict inspection. Standardized, procedural punishment."

"Also, your bonus is gone."

"Next, after Overcast Mountain is dealt with, report to the isolation room for some time to cool off."

"Lastly, cooperate with the Review Office's investigation. Say what needs to be said, don't say what doesn't need to be said. Use your head."

Hearing that last sentence, a faint smile crept beneath Zhan Tingzhou's mask: "Understood."

Lu Ding shot him a glare: "You're like someone who hasn't sobered up, doing nothing but stupid things. How many dishes did you have to drink that much? No backing, no solid strength, no shining achievements, and you're trying to pull the same stunts as me—reasonable and legal but not compliant."

"If the higher-ups come down hard on you, do you have the talent and strength to dominate at the same level and dominate across levels? Or do you have the special merit medals from making monumental contributions to the Great Han to shield you?"

Everything Lu Ding had done to get away with it all this time—none of it had been for nothing.

Every bit of it was built on merit!

And yet this kid Zhan Tingzhou, without the diamond, was trying to handle the porcelain.

He also understood that Lu Ding was disappointed that the iron hadn't become steel. Zhan Tingzhou had gotten a bit arrogant—it was expected of a reincarnator. Especially following Lu Ding all this way, things had gone so smoothly for him. But precisely because of that, he didn't respect anyone but Lu Ding, subconsciously trying to emulate him without having Lu Ding's strength, talent, achievements, or effort.

Naturally, he couldn't avoid the consequences of breaking the rules.

Zhan Tingzhou gave his promise: "I guarantee it won't happen again. Don't be mad."

Lu Ding waved him off: "Get out of here, you're annoying. I don't have time to worry about everything every day."

He still hadn't checked his Golden Finger rewards.

Just as he was about to open it, Zhan Tingzhou beside him suddenly wrapped his arms around his head and started rolling down the stairs of Purple Cloud Sect's mountain gate.

Like a damn wheel rolling downhill.

It even made Lu Ding laugh: "Are you insane?! Stop rolling!!! Roll back here!!!"

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[This is an additional chapter for the Gift King sent earlier by Jun Shen Hongchen. Thank you, big spender. Yesterday wasn't busy, and it was my last night of gathering material, so I wrote an extra chapter. Babes, hit that urge to read more button!]