I Have No Qualifications, The System Asked Me To Marry A Wife To Practice

Chapter 238: The Old Sow Wears A Cover

Chu Shen felt that he had always been careful and had concealed the situation at home very well. However, Wan Chen's revelation still surprised him.

"Master..." Chu Shen said.

Wan Chen waved his hand. "No need to say more. After the Yuan Tao incident, I helped you cover it up. Otherwise, do you think the Xiao family would only send a few peripheral personnel? I'm afraid their clan's patriarch personally took action, not to mention other prestigious families. I took you as my disciple because they have already suspected the motive behind the Xiao family's actions. If you stayed in the outer circle, I wouldn't be able to protect you."

So that's how it is!

Chu Shen didn't suspect that Wan Chen was taking credit for himself. He had underestimated the power of those cultivation families in Langxuan Heavenly Palace before, but all that contempt was completely shattered after Chen Danzi took action today.

With these powerful cultivators as a guarantee, how much weaker could the families be?

"Even so, didn't you encounter the disappearance of Shuzi and Song Xi?" Chu Shen asked. "Many young talents from prestigious families have experienced setbacks due to the unexpected incident at the Ling of Gongming Heavenly Lord's tomb. If they find out about the miracle of your opportunity, what do you think they will do?"

Chu Shen broke out in a cold sweat. He had only focused on cutting off the roots, but forgot that desperate people would do anything. "So, Master, giving me responsibilities and power is also to protect me?"

Wan Chen nodded. "That's right. With the position of acting vice palace lord, you are no longer just an ordinary disciple. Even if those prestigious families discover the secret of your opportunity, they can no longer resort to covert means."

An ordinary disciple getting into trouble is completely different from an acting vice palace lord of Langxuan Heavenly Palace getting into trouble.

Chu Shen understood that he must take on this responsibility: "Understood, Master, I thank you!"

Wang Chen looked at him and sighed, "However, the responsibility I forcefully gave you may still be insufficient. You also need to demonstrate some ability so that they won't dare to underestimate you. This is not an easy task."

Yan Shu serves as a cautionary tale. Despite having the support of Wang Chen, the Holy Lord of the Heavenly Palace, and the high-level experts of the orthodox faction, her personal character flaws still caused many things to go awry. It also led to her being looked down upon by the aristocratic factions and triggered changes in the Heavenly Palace's power structure.

Of course, this is also related to the strength of her opponents, which created immense pressure for her.

Now, Chu Shen is only at the Spirit Gathering stage, which worries Wang Chen about his ability to withstand pressure.

Chu Shen also understands this. Today, he experienced the terrifying pressure that Chen Danzi almost gave in to, which allowed him to understand the immense pressure Yan Shu usually faced. He also gained some understanding of his senior sister's actions that he used to criticize.

But he absolutely cannot be like Yan Shu!

After thinking for a while, he raised his head and said, "Master, I have some ideas that don't require your support!"

Unexpectedly, he immediately had "some ideas" after turning his head, which piqued Wang Chen's curiosity. "Tell me about them."

Chu Shen said, "The first idea is to ask for your support in conducting a complete census of the Heavenly Palace's internal population!"

"A census?" Wang Chen could understand the meaning from the term, but didn't understand Chu Shen's intention.

Chu Shen nodded, his expression serious. "As far as I know, the Heavenly Palace does not have a comprehensive population record. Only formal disciples are listed in the register, and the population of disciples' families is not well documented. Starting from the Chongxue Peak, scholars need to register at the Mingji Hall, but the families of scholars do not need to register, at most, they register with the law enforcement disciples of the Chongxue Collection ten times at home."

There is a significant loophole in population management here. For example, many servants he brought from Nanping City, and even the law enforcement disciples, do not have detailed registration information.

The inner palace is slightly better because it is an independent small world, with stronger barriers separating the inside and outside, and entry and exit require not only the official disciple seal but also the guidance of an escort.

However, the specific population statistics are still a mystery.

After detailing these loopholes that were not taken seriously by the big shots in the past, Chu Shen said, "These loopholes in population management have given capable forces a great opportunity. Whether it was the Xiao family's power that attacked our Chu family estate or the subsequent disappearance of Shuzi and Song Xi, they are all related to the loopholes in our Langxuan Heavenly Palace's population management system.

Now that I have become the acting vice palace lord, I have the responsibility and obligation to mend this loophole on the Heavenly Palace's wall!"

At the same time, it is also about increasing his own prestige and demonstrating authority.

Only by making practical changes and making people believe that he has the ability to change the rules of the Heavenly Palace can he be worthy of his position.

Otherwise, his situation may not be better than Yan Shu's!

Wang Chen is not unaware that there are many loopholes in the Langxuan Heavenly Palace's system, and the population management loophole is one of them. However, in the past, including himself, no one thought about it in such detail.

The main reason is that the management of cultivation sects is not as organized as a tightly-knit government, and they are indeed not interested in many detailed institutional developments.

But upon hearing Chu Shen's analysis, he nodded and agreed, and was even pleased with this disciple's talent in management.

Yan Shu did not ascend to power and establish authority as decisively as he did.

"~Sure, I support you!" Chu Shen's spirits were lifted.

As the saying goes, a new official will set three fires upon taking office. The reason for doing so is not to create trouble out of nothing, but to establish authority, to demonstrate that this "new official" is not just a figurehead, but capable of getting things done, and also to warn those who have ill intentions not to oppose him.

And he understood very well that he had already formed a grudge with certain old forces within the Langxuan Heavenly Palace, and it wouldn't be easy to resolve. So he might as well not resolve it at all.

Conducting a population census was the first step for him to suppress those old forces by leveraging the central power of the Langxuan Heavenly Palace.

Noble families often like to hide a portion of their people (Zhao, Li, Zhao) as hidden strength. The people from the Xiao family who attacked the Chu family estate were of this type. Conducting a census now is equivalent to assessing their strength and getting a clear understanding.

At the same time, it is also a test of the "loyalty" of the noble families.

Those who support the population census may not necessarily be loyal to the Langxuan Heavenly Palace, but those who do not support it definitely have some rebellious intentions. This can effectively help distinguish friend from foe.

Then, he can proceed to the next step.

Looking at his sinister smile, Wangchen pondered for a moment and said, "Do you have any other ideas? Speak them all out, and let me give you some advice."

Chu Shen was not intimidated and proceeded to explain his plan for the population census to Wangchen.

This made Wangchen's expression reveal a lot of complexity.

Wow, you little brat, you have so many tricks up your sleeve, and quite a lot of hidden thoughts!