Chapter 10: First to Behead You
By the time Fang Chen emerged from the Imperial Palace, the empress’s carriage had been waiting for quite some time. After calling for him to get on, they headed to the family manor.
“Chen'er, has His Majesty restored your position?” the empress asked softly.
Fang Chen smiled and said, "His Majesty asked me to rest and recuperate in the manor. He said that my cultivation has just recovered and I need to take care of myself.”
“Is that it?” The empress was somewhat disappointed.
"Auntie, has Consort Hua been causing trouble for you?" Fang Chen asked.
“The crown prince respects me as the empress, but he’s Consort Hua’s son at the end of the day. She has stirred up trouble and controversy within the Imperial Harem relying on his status as the crown prince. She doesn’t dare to provoke me openly, but she has been testing my limits. I’m afraid that she has already set her sights on my position....” The empress couldn’t help but reveal a forced smile. She went silent for a brief moment. "Oh, my, why am I telling you all of this? You've never liked the politics in the palace. Since His Majesty has asked you to rest at home, you should focus on taking care of yourself.”
Fang Chen smiled and didn’t say anything else.
He was well aware of the emperor’s temperament.
In the past, his reputation was like the sun in the midday sky. He was the revered Divine General of the Grand Xia Empire. His position in the hearts of the masses was even higher than that of the emperor. That point alone crossed a line, and the emperor had never been happy about it.
Fang Chen had no choice. If he wanted to defeat the Qingsong Empire, and all those who wished harm upon the empire, he needed that level of reputation in order to command his troops with unwavering loyalty!
Now that his reputation had hit rock bottom, the emperor would never allow him to build it back up. There was no way the position of the supreme commander of the army would be given back to him.
What very few people knew was the fact that the emperor was the one who had incited those vicious rumors about him over the past five years. When Fang Chen's soul left his body one day, he stumbled upon the emperor instructing the crown prince to spread the rumor that the reason behind their defeat at Three World Mountain was Fang Chen’s eagerness to gain personal glory, which caused him to disobey the orders of the Imperial Palace.
Even if I don't have a massive army under my command, I will still be able to protect the empire from Qingsong’s invasion with my ability to cultivate. In the future, I will no longer involve myself in the matters of the court. After I enter the Foundation Building Realm, I will head toward the Central Continent and join the Three Thousand Dao Sect, Fang Chen pondered silently.
He was merely at the first stage of the Qi Refinement Realm, and yet he could craft Purple Lightning Talismans. With them, he could easily defeat experts in the Qi Manipulation Stage. These things granted him powers far beyond what he could get by practicing martial arts.
He was anticipating the level of strength he would attain once his cultivation improved. He longed for the carefree days where his Nascent Soul could leave his body and wander for thousands of miles like Daoist Yun He.
"I was wrong, I was wrong. Please, sir, have mercy! I was at fault for not keeping an eye on my child. Please, sir, whip me, but don't punish my child!” There was a sudden commotion outside as someone pleaded for mercy.
A frown appeared on the empress’ face. “What’s happening out there?”
A palace maid lifted the curtain and whispered, "A martial artist from Qingsong is beating a street vendor in public."
A trace of fear could be seen in her eyes.
“A martial artist from Qingsong?” The empress’s expression turned solemn.
Fang Chen stood up.
Leaving the carriage, he said, ”I will take a look.”
The empress was slightly taken aback, but when she recalled that Fang Chen had already recovered his cultivation, she heaved a sigh of relief.
Lifting the curtains a little, she peered outside.
She saw a street vendor clinging onto the leg of a martial artist, desperately pleading for mercy. A three-year-old child with red cheeks wailed loudly beside her. He seemed to have received a number of harsh slaps.
Everyone around stared at the scene with looks of disgust, but none were brave enough to intervene.
“Your child dirtied my shoes. It’s only fair for me to cut off one of your legs, don’t you think?”
"Sir, please spare me, please spare me. If I lose my leg, no one will be able to support my family and we’ll all starve! Please have mercy,” pleaded the street vendor.
“That’s none of my business. So what if a few lowly commoners from Grand Xia die?”
Anger surged in the hearts of those standing around, and the guards nearby clenched their fists tightly in response, their eyes stinging with killing intent.
“Divine General Fang.” The head of the guards saw Fang Chen and quickly clasped his fist in greeting.
Fang Chen nodded faintly and walked up to the martial artist from Qingsong, "I remember you. Your name is He Longsheng, right?”
“Divine General Fang has returned!” The spirits of those in the surroundings were lifted.
Even though they had mocked him over the years, they knew that it wasn’t a coincidence that he had made an appearance.
"Oh, isn't this our granduncle from the Xiao Family? Did you settle your marriage with Goddess Xiao? When will you be getting married?” He Longsheng mocked the moment he saw Fang Chen.
Fang Chen ignored him.
He looked at the vendor kneeling on the ground and muttered, “Aren’t you leaving?”
“Thank you, thank you!” The vendor thanked him repeatedly before picking up the child to leave.
A trace of anger flashed through He Longsheng’s eyes. He wanted to stop them from leaving, but when he took a step to do so, he felt a chill run down his spine.
A pair of dead, gray eyes met his, and he backed down.
“Hey, don’t you think you’re being too much of a busybody? You’d best remember that you’re a citizen of our Qingsong Empire from now on. You better not side with outsiders!” he growled coldly.
“Hahaha. You guys probably still don’t know, but your heroic Divine General Fang will be the son-in-law of the Xiao Family. He’s going to be calling the great Marshall Xiao Long ‘Father’ in the future!”
“Do you really think he will stand up for you? That Divine General Fang you know and love died five years ago!”
Numerous martial artists from Qingsong threw sarcastic comments from the side.
The citizens of Great Xia were lost for words. They didn’t know what to say and they could only let anger and despair show on their faces.
You Longchang suddenly arrived with his squad.
Noticing Fang Chen, he approached him, and curious, he asked, “What’s going on here, Divine General Fang?”
“Have you sent Goddess Xiao out of the capital?” asked Fang Chen with a faint smile on his face.
“Yes, I have.” You Longchang nodded in response.
Goddess Xiao left?! Why didn’t he follow her out of the city? Didn’t Goddess Xiao arrive in the capital this morning? Why is she leaving so soon?
He Longsheng and his company were in a state of doubt.
"You call me your uncle, which, I must say, is a little flattering.” Fang Chen smiled faintly. “It is a pity, however, that I won’t be marrying into the Xiao family. So I’m just me and not your uncle.”
“How is that possible...?” He Longsheng was shocked.
“You Longchang, lend me your sword,” Fang Chen said, reaching his hand out.
You Longchang was taken aback. He glanced at He Longsheng, whose eyes flashed with fright.
“Divine General Fang...”
“Don’t start.”
“Yes!” You Longchang drew his sword and handed it over to Fang Chen.
“I’ve said this before. The day I raise a sword, you, He Longsheng, will be the first one I kill.” Fang Chen gripped the sword carefully and raised it into the air.
Was Divine General Fang going to slay a martial artist from Qingsong?
The citizens around stared at him in fright. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Even the empress widened her eyes in shock.
Astounded but amused, He Longsheng burst out with laughter. “You want to kill me? I have the whole Qingsong Empire behind me!”
“Hahah!”
The martial artists from Qingsong around He Longsheng roared with laughter one after the other. Fang Chen’s words seemed to have been quite the joke to their ears, probably the best they heard in the past five years. Tilting his head to the side, He Longsheng stretched his neck out and taunted, “Divine General Fang, come at me. If I so much as make a sound, I...”
Chop!
The sword came slicing down, and He Longsheng's head separated from his body. It fell to the ground with a thud before rolling around ten feet away. Blood gushed out from his neck like a fountain.
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