Daqian Martial Saint

Reports from each city district were sent one after another to their respective Garrison Commandant’s Offices. But the directive they received in return was still the same: contract all forces and defend to the last.

"Son of a bitch!"

"What the hell is going on!"

The Chiefs of the Patrol Offices in every district couldn’t help but curse.

The chaos outside didn’t disturb Chen Ping’an’s Cultivation in the slightest.

+1!

+1!

...

Streams of Cultivation Experience flashed before his eyes as Chen Ping’an cultivated.

This feeling... there was simply no stopping it.

A faint golden light trembled between Chen Ping’an’s eyebrows.

After stepping into the Profound Light Realm, what circulated within his body was no longer simple Inner Qi. After his Celestial Gate opened, the Inner Qi in his body had transformed into True Qi!

True Qi surged, granting immense power with every move!

If Chen Ping’an were to swing his saber, he could easily condense a saber gleam thirty or forty feet long. If he were to swing his sword, the Sword Aura would flicker like a dazzling thunder serpent.

After the Profound Light Realm, combat methods became somewhat divine and wondrous. It completely surpassed Chen Ping’an’s previous understanding of Martial Arts.

+1!

After another stream of Cultivation Experience flashed by, Chen Ping’an slowly stopped his cultivation. Cultivating the Vajra Unbreakable Divine Skill required True Qi to circulate at high intensity along his meridians. Each cycle consumed some True Qi, and prolonged cultivation resulted in immense expenditure.

Name: Chen Ping’an

Realm: Profound Light - Spiritual Clarity’s First Illumination

Martial Arts: Iron Cloth Shirt Perfection, Flying Locust Stone Perfection, Public Door Thirteen Blades Perfect, Thirteen Grand Protectors Cross Training Perfect, Golden Bell Shield Perfection, Gale Blade Technique Perfection, Eight Steps Chasing Cicada (Perfection), Flying Star Swordsmanship (Great Success) (157/400), Great Vajra Palm Mastery (108/400), Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill Introduction (195/240)

...

’Almost there! Almost there! I’m about to break through!’ A flash of joy crossed Chen Ping’an’s face.

These past few days of painstaking cultivation had really paid off!

Chen Ping’an stood up and poured a cup of tea. Before he could take a sip, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in!" Chen Ping’an said in a deep voice.

"Lord Chen." Cheng Renjing walked in, his face anxious.

Chen Ping’an was curious, wondering if the Blood Oath Alliance and the Iron Fist Gang had made another move. Then he heard Cheng Renjing say that someone had been caught by his men trying to sneak into Chen Ping’an’s home with malicious intent.

"Lord Chen, the men found them in time. Your family is safe." As Cheng Renjing was speaking, he felt a suffocating chill fill the room, freezing him to the bone.

"Who did it!?" Chen Ping’an’s face was as cold as sunken ice, his eyes shimmering with a profound, invisible chill.

Ever since taking office, he had never once slacked on protecting Chen Erya. After his promotion to Commander-in-Chief, he had even arranged for Inner Qi Realm experts from the Garrison Commandant’s Office to guard her secretly.

He treasured Chen Erya beyond measure!

’And now someone... dares to go after her?’

Flames seemed to dance in Chen Ping’an’s eyes—the barely suppressed flames of his fury.

"Lord Chen, the person has been taken to the Garrison Commandant’s Office. You can interrogate them whenever you’re ready." Cheng Renjing felt a chill run through him, and even the flow of his Qi Blood seemed to falter. He felt Chen Ping’an’s wrath and asked cautiously.

"That won’t be necessary!" Chen Ping’an rose slowly, his movements filled with undeniable power.

"It no longer matters who did it!"

"You took my temporary retreat as a sign of weakness, as an invitation to be bullied! Fine... just fine!" Every word from Chen Ping’an seemed to be squeezed through gritted teeth.

Standing before Chen Ping’an, Cheng Renjing felt an unprecedented sense of pressure.

"Since you’re all looking to die, then die!" Chen Ping’an’s words were filled with absolute and ruthless finality.

Cheng Renjing looked at the man before him. This Chen Ping’an was completely different from the one in his memory, as if he had become another person entirely.

...

’Starting as a temporary constable, he had always been cautious and meticulous, thinking through every action, terrified of bringing even the slightest harm to his family.’

’The people who had once used his family to threaten him now had graves overgrown with weeds.’

’He thought that as his status grew, such things would become a distant memory. He never imagined...’

’But today, someone had used their actions to teach him a harsh lesson.’

’He’d come all this way, become the Commander-in-Chief of a city, and still, someone dared to threaten him using his sister.’

’It seemed his methods had been far too merciful!’

’The Commerce Alliance? The Blood Oath Alliance? The Iron Fist Gang? The three great families?’

’It doesn’t matter who did it!’

’Since this has happened, they can all just die!’

...

「The Chu Family.」

In a lounge on the east side of the main hall, Chu Mingwei, Patriarch of the Chu Family, had his eyes closed, enjoying the services of a beautiful concubine behind him. At that moment, his mind was calculating the situation in White Stone City.

The Garrison Commandant’s Office’s weakness was now common knowledge. The carving up of the properties formerly under the Quicksand Gang and Crocodile Gang was a foregone conclusion. And all these years of "donation silver" and transaction taxes would likely become a thing of the past.

Their alliance of several families, working together against the Garrison Commandant’s Office, was undoubtedly a victory. It was just that...

’How to gain the greatest benefit for their Chu Family in this process was a question worth deep consideration. The other two great families, the Commerce Alliance, the Blood Oath Alliance, and the Iron Fist Gang—none of them were pushovers.’

’Right now, they were probably all scheming about this very matter.’

Just as Chu Mingwei was pondering which angle to approach this from, the sound of footsteps echoed from outside the door.

Hm?

Chu Mingwei’s hearing was astonishing; he easily caught the sound. He slowly opened his eyes, and a moment later, a steward appeared before him.

"Patriarch, outside... a group from the Garrison Commandant’s Office has come and surrounded the residence."

"What?" Upon hearing this, a flicker of alarm crossed Chu Mingwei’s face, and he shot upright. "Surrounded us? How many people!?"

"About seventy or eighty men!" the steward answered cautiously.

Hearing this, Chu Mingwei relaxed slightly.

’That gave me a scare. I thought the Garrison Commandant’s Office had gone crazy and was launching a final, desperate counterattack straight at us. But only seventy or eighty men? Then it’s not what I thought!’

"What the hell is the Garrison Commandant’s Office up to!" Chu Mingwei rose abruptly and looked outside. "Let’s go see!"

"Yes," the steward acknowledged.

The two had not been outside for long when they heard an increasingly raucous commotion. While Chu Mingwei was still bewildered, he saw a young man with a grim expression walking over from a distance. Behind him followed a group of elite Garrison Commandant’s Office troops, fierce as wolves and tigers, locked in a standoff with the Chu Family’s men, sabers drawn.

Chen Ping’an’s face was ice-cold as he walked straight forward. "Patriarch Chu, we meet for the first time. Allow me to introduce myself. Chen Ping’an, Commander-in-Chief of the White Stone Town Pacification Bureau."

Seeing the scene before him, Chu Mingwei grew angry. He hadn’t expected Chen Ping’an to come to his door personally and force his way into the Chu Family estate.

"Commander Chen, why have you trespassed into the Chu residence!? If you don’t give me a reasonable explanation today, don’t blame me for being discourteous!"

The Chu Family naturally had its Martial Dao experts. Hearing this, they glared, ready to make a move at any moment.

"Patriarch Chu, I didn’t want to appear here like this. But it’s a pity. It seems everyone has forgotten that the peace and tranquility of White Stone City must be protected by all of us! What you’ve done... has made me very unhappy!"

Chu Mingwei stared intently at Chen Ping’an. "What is Commander Chen referring to? Please, speak freely."

Chen Ping’an shook his head, having no intention of wasting any more words on Chu Mingwei.

Eight Steps Chasing Cicada!

In Chu Mingwei’s vision, he saw Chen Ping’an’s footwork change as his body approached with ghostly speed.

"You’re courting death!" Chu Mingwei roared. He hadn’t expected Chen Ping’an to actually dare to attack.

’Fine, attack!’

’Let him see the power of the Perfect Second Level of Inner Qi! Let him clearly understand the gap between us.’

"Lord Chen..." Cheng Renjing was also startled.

’He hadn’t expected Lord Chen to attack so directly! Chu Mingwei had been famous for years; his combat prowess was well-known. In his mind, although Chen Ping’an’s strength was impressive, he was no match for Chu Mingwei.’

’Lord Chen’s bold attack showed astonishing courage. But a gap in strength couldn’t be overcome by courage alone.’

’With this move, Lord Chen was probably just humiliating himself—like an egg smashing against a rock!’

HUMMM—

Inner Qi surged, and a boundless power erupted from Chu Mingwei’s side.

Chu Mingwei was fully confident he could block the attack with one move, then turn the tables and force his opponent back with a second.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The gleam of a saber flared.

The long saber in his hand drew a brilliant silver arc through the air.

With a sound of tearing air, his saber was already resting on Chu Mingwei’s neck.

"This... this... impossible!" The composure and disdain on Chu Mingwei’s face instantly froze. His eyes were wide with shock, completely unable to believe what was happening.

’Inner Qi Third Level Perfection, Martial Dao combat power far surpassing Feng Shixian’s!’

The sudden turn of events stunned everyone present. They all stared wide-eyed, finding the scene before them utterly unbelievable.

Cheng Renjing’s face was a mask of shock. His chest heaved, his eyes filled with sheer disbelief.

’One move!’

’Just one move!’

’Lord Chen...’

’He won!’

"What... what did we do wrong?" Chu Mingwei’s voice held a trace of trembling and unease.

A complex mix of regret and terror welled up inside him. Only now did he truly realize how foolish their recent actions had been.

Chen Ping’an didn’t answer. He looked at Chu Mingwei with a blank expression. "Patriarch Chu, I’ll have to trouble you to make an appearance. Call over the other patriarchs and gang leaders. I’m inviting everyone for tea!"

Chen Ping’an’s voice rang out, filled with an undeniable authority.