Chapter 218: Chapter 139: Your Fiancée Is Not Bad
The crowd gazed up at the lone, blade-wielding figure on the high platform. A heavy weight seemed to settle in their chests, and their breathing grew labored.
No one had expected Chen Sheng to be so overwhelmingly powerful.
The esteemed Patriarch Song, Song Renyi, had been steeped in the Earth Fiend Realm for many years, renowned for a Coiling Dragon Staff that could ’sweep through Qu Shui.’ Yet, he had been defeated so swiftly, so miserably. And it wasn’t just a defeat—he had been utterly obliterated, not even a trace of his body left behind.
Before the fight, most onlookers had been certain that unless other experts from the Jingwu Bureau intervened, Chen Sheng, a newcomer to the Earth Fiend Realm, stood no chance of gaining any ground against Song Renyi’s heavy and domineering Coiling Dragon Staff.
After all, in terms of cultivation, experience, foundation, and insight—in every conceivable aspect—Song Renyi had seemed to hold an overwhelming advantage.
Reality, however, had delivered a resounding slap to everyone’s face.
Chen Sheng hadn’t just won. He had done so with crushing, overwhelming force, ending what was supposed to be a duel of equals in a shockingly short amount of time.
His decisiveness, his ruthlessness, and the profound depth of his power that he had kept so well hidden left all who thought they understood the situation utterly dumbfounded, a chill creeping up their spines.
They finally realized that the young man before them was young only in age.
The power he displayed, his battlefield audacity, and his mindset—so decisive in slaughter, so thorough as to rip out the problem by its roots—were far beyond those of any ordinary Jianghu Traveler.
Lu Maozhi stared venomously at Chen Sheng on the high platform. A toxic mix of fury and jealousy blazed in his eyes, threatening to erupt. Beneath his wide sleeves, his fists were clenched so tightly that his nails had dug deep into his palms, drawing blood.
He had hoped Song Renyi would critically injure, or even kill, Chen Sheng, to shatter the arrogance of that upstart who didn’t know his place. But who could have predicted this? Instead, it was Chen Sheng who now stood upon Song Renyi’s mangled, bloody remains, his own sharp, fearsome presence on full display.
It was tantamount to another public slap in the face.
In stark contrast, Wang Zilan, the legitimate daughter of the Wang Family, watched with a strange, continuous gleam in her eyes. The light swirling within them grew increasingly complex and inscrutable.
The idea of befriending Chen Sheng spread through her heart like wildfire, burning with ever-increasing intensity.
If she could secure such a powerful ally to aid the Wang Family in the upcoming Battle of Wushan Mountain—a battle that would determine her family’s fate—then perhaps there was a real chance to alter, or even completely overturn, this marriage to Lu Maozhi that she so fiercely resisted.
It was a lone glimmer of hope in the depths of her despair.
No matter what, she had to try again.
She had always been repulsed by Lu Maozhi’s arrogance and hypocrisy. But today, after seeing him put on a fierce front only to shrink back in disarray before Chen Sheng’s power, her disgust had reached its absolute peak.
’Marry a man like that?’
She would rather take the gamble.
Among the guests, another man watched with a burning intensity, his thoughts in turmoil.
Hao Tong, Vice General of the Military Preparation Army, was sizing up Chen Sheng with a thoughtful expression.
He recognized Chen Sheng—or rather, he had long known the name.
His old acquaintance, Lin Shou, the former Prefect of Changshan County, had once written to him for aid. He wanted to deal with a young man—also named Chen Sheng—but Hao Tong had flatly refused, citing "the greater strategic concerns of the Prefecture City."
It was only later, when the shocking events at the Iron Sword Sect occurred and Chen Sheng’s name once again rocked Ning’an, that he put the two names together.
He had long wanted to befriend such a young, promising, and powerful rising star of the Government Office, one who possessed both backing and personal strength.
Just moments ago, he had even considered stepping in to help if Chen Sheng seemed to be losing to Song Renyi, hoping to earn a favor. But he never expected Chen Sheng’s power to be so far beyond anything he had imagined.
That arrogance, it turned out, was backed by the absolute confidence of being able to crush his opponent. Approaching him now to curry favor would seem cheap and opportunistic. Hao Tong sighed inwardly with regret, deciding to hold back for now and wait for a better opportunity.
Chen Sheng seemed oblivious to the buzzing discussions and the varied gazes from all around.
His gaze swept indifferently over the ruined courtyard, pausing for a fraction of a second on Lu Maozhi. Deep in his eyes, an inscrutable, calculating flicker came and went.
Inside the Song Mansion, with the brutal death of their Patriarch, Song Renyi, the morale of the Song Clan members—already struggling to withstand the assault of the Jingwu Guard—instantly shattered.
Wails, pleas for mercy, and desperate curses erupted into a cacophony. The people scattered like ants from a shattered nest, fleeing in every direction in a desperate search for a sliver of hope.
But it was all in vain.
Chen Sheng’s order was law, and his Jingwu Guard, a pack of wolves and tigers, showed not an ounce of mercy.
The cold flash of steel reaped a grim harvest of lives. The old, the weak, women, children—all fell before the merciless blades.
The thick, cloying stench of blood rose to the heavens, blanketing the entire Song Mansion. It made many of the pampered guests turn pale and sick to their stomachs, their eyes, when they looked at Chen Sheng, now filled with pure terror.
But Chen Sheng himself seemed utterly detached from it all. He slowly descended the high platform, found a nearby wine table that was still relatively intact, and calmly sat down. He even seemed to be in the leisurely mood to pour himself a drink.
The matter of exterminating a clan was something his elites could handle. He had no need to dirty his own hands.
For this operation, he had not only mobilized the main force of G Camp, but had also borrowed numerous other experts for support: a full seven Peacekeeper Envoys of the Chaoyuan Realm, and three hundred Jingwu Guard who moved as extensions of his own will.
A force of this magnitude was more than enough to surround and kill an ordinary Profound Gang Realm Martial Master, to say nothing of the insignificant Song Family of Qu Shui.
However, just as Chen Sheng reached for the wine pot, a slender, trembling hand, its nails painted a vibrant red, grasped the handle first.
Beside him, a woman in a brilliant red wedding gown, her face ashen, fought to suppress her terror as she shakily poured him a cup of wine. It was none other than the legitimate daughter of the Song Family, the one who was supposed to be betrothed to Gao Qilin today.
