The Soldiers were rough, shoving them around and patting them down crudely.

The women’s faces were flushed, and the men beside them gritted their teeth.

But everyone endured it.

Soon, a Soldier came to Zhao Chi’s side.

A faint light glowed in his hand as he slapped Zhao Chi on the back.

Zhao Chi felt a sharp pain in his back, followed by a wave of dizziness that clouded his mind.

"Hm?"

The Soldier had been about to leave, but now he stepped back.

He stared intently at Zhao Chi, the light in his hand flaring up again.

This time, the Soldier pressed his hand firmly on Zhao Chi’s shoulder.

Another wave of dizziness washed over him.

The Soldier suddenly shouted, "Lord Zhao, this kid’s data is abnormal!"

Zhao Quan sneered. "Abnormal data? Haha, good! Drag him out!"

Zhao Chi stared at the Soldier in astonishment.

But the Soldier looked at Zhao Chi with glee, as if he had found a treasure.

He excitedly grabbed Zhao Chi, shoved his way through the crowd, and dragged him before Zhao Quan.

Zhao Quan looked at Zhao Chi with a hint of interest.

"Kid, are you hiding rebels?"

All the Zhao family members watched Zhao Chi nervously.

Zhao Chi, of course, shook his head.

Zhao Quan chuckled and asked the Soldier, "What’s wrong with his data?"

The Soldier replied loudly, "Reporting to you, my lord, his territory’s overall data suddenly surged today. The increase was huge, exceeding 300%. It’s highly likely he’s hiding rebels, causing the data anomaly."

When he said this, all the members of the Zhao family became extremely tense.

They stared at Zhao Chi, their hearts pounding with fear.

If Zhao Chi was really hiding rebels, the rest of the family would definitely be implicated.

Zhao Quan smiled. "Well, kid? Tell me what’s going on."

Zhao Chi frowned.

This situation was also beyond his expectations.

’The Soldier said my data was abnormal today, with an increase of over 300%.

It was simply because I captured 14 Harpies and 16 Naga Warriors, which increased my Combat Power.

During the battle, everyone leveled up two or three times, which also increased their strength.

Then there was me promoting Tang Ruan to a Hero and unlocking Level 2 Affinity with both of them.

And also the Slime bloodline Improvement, which increased the strength of the Peach Blossom Women, especially Gu Qing and Tang Ruan.

All things considered, a 300% increase in strength wasn’t strange at all.’

Zhao Chi quickly organized his thoughts.

Just as he was about to speak, Zhao Shizhang spoke first.

"Your Highness Zhao Quan, he just participated in the academy’s opening assessment today and won first place, so the academy gave him quite a few rewards. Our clan also gave him a commendation, which is why his territory’s strength has advanced by leaps and bounds."

Zhao Chi was stunned. ’The Clan Leader knew I won first place?

But his claim that the clan gave me a commendation was completely fabricated.’

However, Zhao Chi understood that the Clan Leader was protecting him.

Zhao Quan was slightly surprised.

He raised an eyebrow and took a step closer. "First place? You? What’s your name?"

"I am Zhao Chi."

"Zhao Chi? What a garbage name! Which academy?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"The Lord’s Eighth Academy."

"Hmph, a garbage academy. Zhao Tan, look him up."

A beautiful female noble behind him replied, "Right away!"

A moment later, Zhao Tan replied, "I’ve found it. He did indeed win first place in the Eighth Academy’s opening assessment today and received Learning Points and a Treasure Chest as a reward."

Zhao Quan sneered. "He actually managed to get first place? The Eighth Academy really is garbage."

Zhao Tan added, "He’s Li Ruanyu’s student."

Zhao Quan let out a soft laugh. "Ha, Li Ruanyu? Did she give you a lot of benefits? Or did she help you cheat?"

Zhao Chi didn’t know how to answer.

Li Ruanyu had indeed helped him a lot, but it was all in terms of knowledge, nothing tangible.

But even if it was just help with knowledge, Zhao Chi was very grateful to her.

But right now, he didn’t know what to say.

Zhao Quan didn’t seem to want an answer anyway. He also reached out and slapped a hand on Zhao Chi’s shoulder.

Zhao Chi didn’t flinch.

Just like before, his mind grew muddled and his consciousness became hazy.

It felt like he wasn’t fully awake.

The next moment, Zhao Quan pulled his hand back. "Go on, get back."

Zhao Chi immediately retreated into the crowd.

The other members of the Zhao family also let out a collective, silent sigh of relief.

Not long after, two other family members were also dragged over, but after a simple check, they too were found to have no issues.

Zhao Quan said slowly,

"Very good. It seems you’re all behaving yourselves, so I won’t make things difficult for you.

The rebels are getting more and more rampant, and we need to pull people away to hunt them down and exterminate them.

Because of this, our city-guarding forces are insufficient. We’ll need to divert some extra Magical Beasts for you to handle.

You should be willing to share our burden, right?"

The members of the Zhao family looked at each other in dismay.

Zhao Shizhang murmured, "Your Highness Zhao Quan, we’ve already been assigned a large quota. Everyone is already operating at full capacity. If you add more, I’m afraid we won’t be able to hold on."

Zhao Quan sneered. "What do you mean you can’t hold on? Your younger generation is so outstanding, able to place first in the academy. He’s naturally capable of making a Contribution."

"In that case, Your Highness Zhao Quan, could you help us temporarily adjust the tax rate? That way we can increase our Efficiency somewhat..."

Zhao Quan’s expression turned cold.

"I didn’t hear you. Say that again."

Zhao Shizhang naturally didn’t dare to mention it again and could only sigh softly.

Zhao Quan said, "Someone will send you the new quota tomorrow. You can arrange the rest yourselves. If you capture any rebels or provide clues about them, I can retract the quota, maybe even temporarily reduce your taxes. But right now, you’ve got nothing, so you’ll just have to work harder. Let’s go!"

Zhao Quan turned and left.

The nobles behind him and the surrounding Soldiers followed closely.

Soon, Zhao Quan led everyone toward the north of the village, which was the Liu Family’s territory.

After Zhao Quan and his people left, the Zhao family members remained standing in place for a long while.

Several of the clan elders gritted their teeth and cursed under their breath, but they were powerless to do anything.

Zhao Shizhang shook his head and said to them, "You all go to the meeting room and wait for me. Everyone else, go home. Zhao Chi, you come with me."

The family members slowly dispersed.

The elders entered the meeting room.

Zhao Shizhang walked toward his room, and Zhao Chi hurried to his side to support him.

Zhao Shizhang had always taken good care of Zhao Chi.

From the very first day he transmigrated, it was Zhao Shizhang who had organized the clan to build him that small Wooden House.

It was also Zhao Shizhang’s decision to send him to the Lord Academy; otherwise, Zhao Chi might be working some menial job somewhere right now.

Zhao Shizhang shook his head. "You don’t need to help me. I may be old, but I can still fight. It’s just a shame our Zhao Family has no worthy successors."

Zhao Chi listened in silence, offering no comment.

In truth, he didn’t need to say it. Zhao Chi already knew that the Zhao Family’s overall strength was very low. Even in this tiny village, they only ranked as the fourth family.

And there were only four families in the village.

There were also some unaffiliated individuals, but a proper family was, of course, in a different league.

Besides, most of these unaffiliated individuals had already pledged allegiance to one of the families, serving as vassals.

Zhao Chi followed closely behind Zhao Shizhang into the house.