Fang Ze also felt that peculiar kind of gaze that came from a lack of strength: the Judicial Department itself was the ace of the Security Bureau, most of the heads of its branches were almost at the peak of Fusion, and there were even some who had reached the level of Spirit Ascension.
Indeed, his own strength as a department head was somewhat insufficient to command authority. Especially since his level of Spirit Ascension was a bit special and could not be exposed, which made things even trickier.
He guessed that only after reaching the Yang Transformation stage would he be able to conceal any abnormalities from others. That meant he needed to increase his strength to the Yang Transformation stage to reveal his true power all at once.
The problem was... his path to cultivation was different from others. He was also at a loss as to how to enhance his own strength.
With these thoughts in mind, Fang Ze decided that, after finishing his duties for the day, he would return home in the evening to probe the Flower God to see if she had any experience that could offer him some guidance. He also planned to transform into Jiang Cheng at the Yang Transformation stage once again and compare it to his current state, hoping to find his own way forward…
Time was consuming, and soon, the morning had passed.
In the afternoon, a line of luxury cars pulled up to the Provincial Government's Parliament Building.
Council Members dressed in formal attire disembarked from the cars, exuding an imposing presence, and made their way into the building one after another.
Since they all knew each other, those who encountered fellow Council Members along the way would join them and casually chat.
"Ah, Councilor Jia. Long time no see."
Upon hearing the greeting, Councilor Jia looked over and, recognizing the other person, couldn't help but smile and say, "Ah, Councilor Shi. It has indeed been a while. At least two days, right? Hahaha."
Hearing Councilor Jia's words, Councilor Shi laughed and said, "A day apart feels like three years. Moreover, with so much going on these past days, every day feels as long as a year."
Councilor Jia waved his hand dismissively in response, "It's not that bad. At first, when Huang Yuan and the others were arrested, no one knew what was going on, and the Chairperson and others were making such a fuss, so everyone was in panic."
"Now that we know it's because of involvement with the Demigod, us Council Members who have already been inspected once here in the Provincial Government have nothing to worry about."
"Today we're just here to be spectators, to watch the excitement."
Upon hearing Councilor Jia's words, a smile emerged on Councilor Shi's face. Clearly, he also knew that he and the others were not the main characters today but mere onlookers. So, leaning closer to Councilor Jia, he asked softly, "Old Jia, who do you think among the Council Members not in the Provincial Government might be the traitor?"
Upon hearing this, the wily old Councilor Jia laughed and waved his hand, "How could we privately speculate on that?"
He spoke without revealing anything, "I believe that the vast majority of Council Members are loyal to Xida State and the federation. There are only a couple of faithless scoundrels lurking in the shadows."
"And the Security Bureau and the Special Service Department will surely detect even the slightest irregularity and root out these harmful elements."
"So let's not speculate and instead wait patiently for the results."
Seeing Councilor Jia's impeccable response, Councilor Shi was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Old Jia, you, you're really something."
While saying that, he patted Councilor Jia on the shoulder and laughed, "Forget it, let's not talk about this sensitive subject. Let's talk about something else."
"What's your take on Fang Ze?"
Possibly fearing that Councilor Jia would still beat around the bush, Councilor Shi preemptively shared a bit of his own thoughts, "I don't have any prejudices against Fang Ze. However, there are quite a few Council Members who are a bit upset with him for using the pretext of paying visits to secretly investigate the Council Members."
"They think this kind of covert investigation crosses the line, dropping all the Council Members' dignity to the ground. Once this precedent is set, it'll no longer be straightforward dealing between Council Members in the future."
"What's more, some feel that his abilities are a bit off."
"He's a descendant of the Si Family, and his abilities should clearly be about command, creation, or related to darkness. But based on this incident, his abilities seem to be of the mind-reading, privacy-invading, or prophetic kind. That clearly doesn't add up."
"And the fact that his abilities can even see through Demigod Believers is even more terrifying."
"This indicates that the World Origin protection of the Demigods has been breached by him. Whether it's the Demigods of the Outer Realm or the nobility, they will have no secrets before him."
"As far as I know, quite a few nobles from other states have started paying attention after hearing about the matter and are considering coming to Xida State to investigate what exactly happened."
Listening to Councilor Shi's words, Councilor Jia's expression also became serious.
In actuality, he had heard these rumors over the past two days as well. Although he didn't know how these rumors started, he understood that they would be extremely detrimental to Fang Ze. In essence, it was like putting Fang Ze on a spit over the flames, making him the target of many arrows.
Luckily, Fang Ze exhibited a display of the Si Family's influence yesterday, deterring families below the nobility from taking hasty actions. Eighty percent of the coveting eyes were repelled. However, the current influence of the Si Family, although considerable compared to the Awakened Clans, was not sufficient against the nobility that had thrived for fifty years or the Outer Realm Demigods that were seeking all means to invade. Who knew what kind of troubles might arise…
Compared to these Council Members from the Provincial Government who had been cleared of suspicion and could chat and gossip freely, those Council Members who had rushed from other cities were not nearly as relaxed.