Adult Si An continued, "Si Lianghong is a title-level mage who has already lived for over five hundred years! Normally, the lifespan of a mortal does not exceed two hundred years, but Grand Mage Si Lianghong successfully transformed herself into a blood demon, thus extending her life greatly. This five-hundred-year-old old demoness... her strength is unfathomable. The Blood Demon Tower where she practices is filled with countless dangers, even extraordinary beings are unwilling to intrude."
"The Si family is also the first family in the entire Qinghe County! The governor of Qinghe County, the general of the city guard, and the mayors of various cities within the county, such as Yishui City and Feng City, are almost all members of the Si family! Many important positions in various places are also held by the Si family."
"In other words, in Qinghe County, the Si family rules with an iron fist." Si An spoke calmly.
Dongbo Xueying was surprised, "The governor, the general, and many mayors... so many important positions are held by the Si family?"
"That's how the entire empire works."
"This is not a world for mortals, but a world for the extraordinary!" Si An said, "Although Old Demoness Si Lianghong is not extraordinary, she is nearly so, and she has very good relations with some great families that have extraordinary beings. Thus, she obtained the management power of Qinghe County. All the power is in the hands of the Si family, so... if the Si family says you are guilty, you are guilty even if you are not! If the Si family says you are not guilty, you are not guilty even if you are!"
Dongbo Xueying was somewhat shocked, "This, this..."
"Have you forgotten that although your parents were nobles, they were also arrested because of an imperial edict?" Lord Si An said.
Dongbo Xueying's face darkened slightly.
"Extraordinary beings can issue edicts! Within a certain range, they can transcend the law!" Lord Si An said.
"Does the Moyang family have an extraordinary being?" Dongbo Xueying asked urgently.
"An extraordinary being, but a pseudo-extraordinary one." Lord Si An said, "This pseudo-extraordinary is the weakest among extraordinary beings. I'm afraid that Old Demoness Si Lianghong and the madman Xiang Pangyun are as powerful as the extraordinary being of the Moyang family."
"Pseudo-extraordinary?" Dongbo Xueying was somewhat puzzled.
"The Moyang family has a long lineage, founded by a very powerful extraordinary being. However, after that extraordinary being died, the Moyang family declined... Fortunately, they have deep roots. A few decades ago, a title knight of their family used some clever means to enter the extraordinary realm, but that is the lowest level of the extraordinary. Some of the top title-level beings might even defeat them!"
Dongbo Xueying immediately recalled.
The 'Woodcutter Knight' he had read about in a book, who had awakened ancient bloodline.
This Woodcutter Knight, at the title level, once killed an extraordinary being with one axe! It is entirely possible for a title-level being to defeat an extraordinary one.
After the Woodcutter Knight became extraordinary, he was invincible among the extraordinary and was revered as the 'Strongest Extraordinary' of his era.
"Extraordinary matters are too far away." Lord Si An smiled, "What I want to tell you is, never offend a title-level being, each one possesses terrifying power! And Si Lianghong and Xiang Pangyun are the most terrifying in Qinghe County, they are the two skies of Qinghe County."
"The Si family has deep roots."
"Xiang Pangyun is a very terrifying madman." Lord Si An said.
"Madman?" Dongbo Xueying was puzzled.
"Yes." Lord Si An said, "On the Blood Blade List, which is a list of assassins, very few real names are published. Xiang Pangyun is one of the few who published his name. He loves killing, and since he always takes missions from the Blood Blade Tavern, he is not guilty of murder."
"Murder is not a crime if it's a mission from the Blood Blade Tavern?" Dongbo Xueying was confused.
"You can also issue missions at the Blood Blade Tavern, but the reward... is set by the Blood Blade Tavern! The Blood Blade Tavern takes eighty percent, and twenty percent goes to the assassin." Lord Si An said, "The reward set by the Blood Blade Tavern is determined based on the target's title, strength, background, and other factors, so the price is always high."
Lord Si An lowered his voice, "Let me put it this way, the Blood Blade Tavern has existed for countless tens of thousands of years in this world, it and the Earth Temple are the two oldest forces."
Dongbo Xueying nodded.
This world has deities.
And the 'Earth Temple' is a temple that appeared almost as soon as this world was created, its history is almost as long as the world's. It is the only temple recognized by the empire today! All others are considered evil or demonic.
The 'Blood Blade Tavern' serves assassins and is equally ancient.
Lord Si An said, "Xiang Pangyun is a terrifying madman, but it's rare to encounter him. Unless someone puts a bounty on your life at the Blood Blade Tavern! The Si family is different... the Si family has infiltrated every aspect of Qinghe County, so it's easy to run into someone from the Si family. When you encounter someone from the Si family, you have to be careful. After all, they can arrest you for any reason!"
"Unless you have title-level strength and obtain the Bronze Order!" Lord Si An smiled, "Then you will have much more power, and the Si family won't have the right to deal with you arbitrarily. If you become extraordinary, the Si family will tremble before you... provided you are a normal extraordinary, not a pseudo-extraordinary."
"The power of the Bronze Order?" Dongbo Xueying was curious.
"Yes."
"This is what I want to tell you next, the Black Iron Order not only represents your identity but also some special powers." Lord Si An flipped his hand, and a thick book and a dossier appeared in his hand.
Lord Si An handed the dossier to Dongbo Xueying, "Our Xia race stands tall in this world because of the countless strong individuals who have come forward. So, a long, long time ago, a great alchemist of our Xia race established rules! He divided many tasks that require blood and sweat into different levels, for the strong to carry out."
"Those who succeed can earn merit points."
"Merit points can be exchanged for almost anything you want."
Lord Si An handed another thick book to Dongbo Xueying, "This is the exchange manual, from some mundane gold coins to many wondrous items... even if you want to kill an extraordinary being or become the emperor of the entire empire! As long as you have earned enough merit points for the Xia race, you can become the emperor."
Dongbo Xueying was stunned.
The rules set by the great alchemist of the human Xia race are too powerful! Enough merit points can achieve anything?
"Saving my parents?" Dongbo Xueying couldn't help but ask.
"Enough merit points, and destroying the Moyang family is just a matter of a word, let alone saving your parents." Lord Si An shook his head and smiled, "Of course, everything requires merit points! It depends on how much you have contributed to humanity and your race! These are Black Iron-level tasks, and the rewards are few. With these few merit points, you have no hope of destroying the Moyang family, even after ten thousand years of hard work."
Dongbo Xueying looked at the dossier.
It listed various tasks.
For example, killing a certain bandit, rewarded with ten merit points!
For example, entering the Ruin Mountains to find a special lost necklace, rewarded with fifty merit points.
...
Lord Si An looked at Dongbo Xueying and said, "This Black Iron task list and the exchange manual are the most important... you can take a careful look. As long as you earn more than a thousand merit points, you will automatically be exempt from most laws, except for some ironclad laws of the empire. Even extraordinary beings can transcend most laws, but some ironclad laws... they cannot violate."
"A thousand points?" Dongbo Xueying was speechless.
Killing someone like Gaibin, generally earns only ten merit points.
Going to the Ruin Mountains to find lost treasures is dangerous, time-consuming, and uncertain, yet only fifty merit points.
To gather a thousand points, how difficult is that?
"The rewards for Black Iron-level tasks are generally between ten and a hundred merit points." Lord Si An smiled, "Bronze-level tasks, the minimum reward is a thousand merit points."
"I want to ask, how can I save my parents?" Dongbo Xueying asked.
"There are many methods in the exchange manual." Lord Si An said, "But we need to find the method that requires the least merit points. I will immediately use our Longshan Tower's intelligence network to investigate the current situation of your parents. Based on their current situation... I will find a way to save them."
Dongbo Xueying couldn't hide his excitement, "Thank you, Lord Si An, please investigate as soon as possible and find out how my father and mother are doing now."
"Leave it to me. Since the Moyang family is in the Dongyu Province, it will take more time, about a month to investigate the current situation of your parents. Then I will help you find the easiest way to save them." Lord Si An said.
"Thank you." Dongbo Xueying's heart was racing.
Father, Mother, are you both well?
"Alright, I'll take my leave." Lord Si An stood up, "Every month, my Longshan Tower will send you an imperial newspaper and a task list. You can take on tasks at any time to earn merit points for the entire human Xia race."