Chapter 78 - 77: Shielding
「Two days later. The White Tiger Hall, Lujiang Prefecture.」
Feng Wushang found it strange when one of his men reported that Chen Yuan had sent him something.
’The boy’s only been Guardian Envoy for two days. What could he possibly send me?’
"Bring the man and the delivery to my private residence," Feng Wushang ordered, his curiosity piqued.
Lu Li guided the horse-drawn carriage to Feng Wushang’s private residence, feeling a little nervous.
This was his first time meeting the Hall Master. Until now, the most powerful figure he had ever met within Zhenwu Hall was Qi Yuanming, the Inspector of Kaiping Prefecture.
"What did that boy Chen Tian have you bring?"
Lu Li quickly pulled back the tarp on the carriage, revealing a load of glittering, dazzling gold, silver, and jewelry.
"To answer the Hall Master, His Excellency the Guardian led us White Tiger Guards of Linyuan City to annihilate Qingyang Palace for smuggling contraband to the Grassland. These items were all seized from the Qingyang Palace Treasure Vault. His Excellency said they should be handed over to you, Hall Master, for your disposal.
Furthermore, Captain Huo Tianying of Linyuan City committed insubordination and was executed by His Excellency the Guardian."
Feng Wushang’s eyes lit up as he gazed at the cart of gold, silver, and jewelry, a flicker of surprise on his face.
As a Grandmaster of the Primordial Pill Realm and the Hall Master of the White Tiger Hall—one of the Four Martial Halls of Zhenwu—he was not so easily impressed by a single cart of jewels, despite his own greed.
What surprised him was Chen Yuan’s decisiveness and speed. He had found a pretext to wipe out a Sect barely after taking his post.
And the man was so tactful, knowing what he liked and proactively offering a cart of treasure.
As for the killing of Huo Tianying, Feng Wushang couldn’t have cared less.
He was just a White Tiger Captain in the Qi Casting Realm. His death was inconsequential.
He could guess, more or less, why the man had died.
It was a classic case of someone relying on his connections and seniority to try and put a new superior in his place.
’But just because he had connections, did that mean no one else did?’
Chen Yuan’s connection, after all, was with the Military Advisor, Liu Suifeng.
’He had seniority, but could the weight of that seniority possibly compare to the weight of this cart of jewels?’
Feng Wushang instantly weighed the pros and cons, then smiled at Lu Li. "Go back and tell your superior he did well. Very well."
Seeing Feng Wushang’s attitude, Lu Li knew his superior was in the clear.
He quickly said, "Hall Master, if there’s nothing else, I will take my leave."
Not long after Lu Li departed, Qi Yuanming stormed into the Main Hall in a fury.
He was about to go mad with rage upon receiving the news of Huo Tianying’s death.
Huo Tianying’s sister was only one of his many concubines, and not even his most favored one.
But Huo Tianying himself had made him proud; both his Cultivation and his prestige in Linyuan City far surpassed that of the other Captains.
Qi Yuanming had invested heavily in him, providing him with Cultivation Techniques and Elixirs, all in the hope that Huo Tianying would be able to help him after becoming a Guardian Envoy.
That was why Huo Tianying, his brother-in-law of convenience, was so important to Qi Yuanming.
In the end, not only had Huo Tianying failed to become the Guardian Envoy, but the man Qi Yuanming had spent so many resources grooming had been killed by that upstart, Chen Tian. How could he possibly swallow this insult?
When Qi Yuanming burst furiously into the White Tiger Hall headquarters, Feng Wushang was idly toying with a string of Agate Prayer Beads.
The moment he stepped through the door, Qi Yuanming roared, "Hall Master, that Chen Tian is completely out of control!"
Feng Wushang put down the Prayer Beads and frowned. "What now?"
"He just took office and killed one of his own Captains without any cause or reason! What Guardian Envoy has ever been so outrageous?"
Feng Wushang said flatly, "I’m aware of the matter. You are dismissed."
Qi Yuanming froze, staring at Feng Wushang in disbelief.
’How could the Hall Master just brush off something so serious?’
"Hall Master, word of this has already spread throughout the White Tiger Hall! He must be punished severely, or what will become of the rules of our Zhenwu Hall?"
Feng Wushang’s expression darkened instantly. "Qi Yuanming, are you trying to teach me how to do my job again? ’Must be punished severely,’ you say? Since you’ve already made the decision for me, why bother coming to me at all? Why don’t you just go and punish Chen Tian yourself?"
Seeing Feng Wushang’s fury, Qi Yuanming immediately fell silent. He quickly bowed his head. "I wouldn’t dare."
Chen Yuan might have dared to kill Huo Tianying on a whim, but Qi Yuanming certainly didn’t have the nerve to kill Chen Yuan on a whim.
A city’s Guardian Envoy was part of the backbone of Zhenwu Hall.
As an Inspector, Qi Yuanming only had the authority to mobilize Guardian Envoys; he was not their direct superior. If he were to act so rashly, he would be the one facing severe punishment.
Feng Wushang snorted. "Qi Yuanming, it’s not that I’m covering for Chen Tian. It’s that your brother-in-law went too far.
The Guardian Envoy had just arrived, and he immediately tried to put him in his place. Was he doing that for Chen Tian to see, or for me to see?
And don’t think for a second I don’t know about all your little schemes behind the scenes. I just couldn’t be bothered to deal with them before!
When I followed the Grand Commandant to establish the Celestial Martial Alliance, I suppressed the Jianghu Forces of Ning Province and battled the elite armies of the Court. I’ve charged in and out of enemy lines seven times!
I’m not young anymore. Sooner or later, I will have to step down.
But as long as I remain Hall Master of the White Tiger Hall, it is not your place to be giving orders or trying to force my hand!"
His words were harsh, and they frightened Qi Yuanming so much that he immediately dropped to his knees.
"I wouldn’t dare! I absolutely didn’t mean that!"
He couldn’t kill Chen Yuan on a whim, but Feng Wushang could easily kill him.
Regardless of Feng Wushang’s current state, he was, after all, a veteran of Zhenwu Hall. Even after he retired, the Grand Commandant himself would have to treat him with respect.
"Get out!"
Feng Wushang waved a dismissive hand, his expression dark.
After Qi Yuanming had left, Feng Wushang snorted. "These fellows are becoming more useless as they age. They’re not even as perceptive as a newcomer."
After leaving the White Tiger Hall headquarters, Qi Yuanming clenched his fists, his eyes filled with a dark light. ’This isn’t over!’
’And the Hall Master claims he isn’t covering for Chen Yuan? He’s brazenly taking his side!’
It wasn’t that Qi Yuanming didn’t understand the rules of the game; rather, his resources were too limited for him to be as "perceptive" as Chen Yuan.
Feng Wushang was old, and his old injuries had never fully healed.
He would likely be the first among the Hall Masters of the Four Martial Halls of Zhenwu to retire.
Since it was uncertain who the new Hall Master would be, Qi Yuanming needed to save most of his resources to curry favor with the successor. Naturally, this made him a bit "stingy" toward Feng Wushang.
But Chen Yuan had no such concerns. Whoever was Hall Master, he would make sure they were well-fed.
As for the future... ’Zhenwu Hall might not even exist in the future, so why worry about it?’
After returning to Linyuan City, Lu Li first headed home.
But the moment he walked through the door, his father, Lu Wenxing, gave him a hard smack on the head.
"Dad, what was that for?"
Lu Wenxing, furious, slapped him twice more. "That’s for showing off! That’s for sticking your neck out!"
As a veteran with decades of service in Zhenwu Hall, Lu Wenxing had always prioritized caution and stability.
He never imagined his own son would be so reckless, insisting on putting himself in the spotlight and, as a result, forcibly tying their family’s fate to Chen Yuan.
In everyone else’s eyes, his son had won the favor of the new Guardian Envoy. It went without saying that he, the father, was now considered part of that faction.
Lu Li clutched his head, looking aggrieved. "Dad, Guardian Chen treats us well. Have any of the past Guardian Envoys ever been as generous as him?"
"They weren’t as generous as Guardian Chen, but none of them were as insane as him either! Killing a Captain and wiping out a Sect on his first day in office!"
Lu Wenxing grumbled at his son before asking, "What did the Hall Master have to say?"
"The Hall Master accepted the gift and said Guardian Chen did very well."
Lu Wenxing let out a long sigh of relief. "That’s good. Since the Hall Master has stated his position, things should be fine."
Lu Li said, "Father, I don’t think you need to be so cautious.
Guardian Chen is powerful, resourceful, and decisive. I’ve been in Zhenwu Hall for years, and he’s the most impressive Guardian Envoy I’ve ever met. I believe there’s a future in following him!"
"A future? You need to stay alive to have a future!"
Lu Wenxing scolded, "I’ve eaten more salt than you’ve eaten rice! Are you trying to lecture your own father?"
"Back when you joined the Celestial Martial Alliance and rebelled against the Court, did you ever stop to think you might lose your life? Wasn’t that far more dangerous than what we’re doing now?"
Lu Li stared at his father and said in a low, serious voice, "Dad, back then, you had the courage to risk everything with your blade. That’s how you rose from a common Jianghu Wanderer to become a White Tiger Captain in Zhenwu Hall.
My strength is greater now than yours was then, and my blade is faster. How can I lack the courage to take that same gamble?
Once you step into the Jianghu, you must use the blade in your hand to carve out a future for yourself!
I don’t want to see you bowing and scraping to people like Huo Tianying ever again just to get me a single Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill!"
Lu Wenxing looked at his son, stunned, then suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"Fine, fine. The older you get in the Jianghu, the smaller your courage. Ever since the Celestial Martial Alliance accepted amnesty and became Zhenwu Hall, decades of peace have worn away my nerve."
Sighing, Lu Wenxing said resignedly, "Everyone out there now sees us, father and son, as the first to throw our lot in with Guardian Chen. It’s too late to back out, even if we wanted to.
Since you think so highly of this Guardian Chen, then you must serve him wholeheartedly. And of course, I will do the same.
Guardian Chen is in seclusion right now. It’s good that you’re back. Come with me to make our report."
「Meanwhile, in a sealed cultivation chamber.」 True Qi surged around Chen Yuan’s body, and a white mist swirled, making the room look like a celestial paradise.
Chen Yuan had felt he was on the verge of a breakthrough for some time. On his way to Zhenwu Hall, he had been using every spare moment to refine the Spirit Pills he had obtained from the Sealed Demon Valley.
Over the past two days, Chen Yuan had also consumed the Spiritual Medicine from Qingyang Palace. With such profound accumulation, he finally broke through to the late stage of the Qi Casting Realm.
Because his foundation was so profound, Chen Yuan needed to accumulate far more power than an ordinary Martial Artist of the same rank to achieve a breakthrough.
By the same token, however, once he broke through even a minor realm, the increase in his Inner Strength True Qi was several times greater.
In addition to breaking through a minor realm, Chen Yuan had also gained a preliminary mastery of two Cultivation Techniques: the Profound Celestial Finger and the Fish Dragon Transformation.
Their true power, however, would have to be tested in actual combat.