Chapter 228: Chapter 135: Ruthless Despoiler of Flowers
With Yan Jian’s disappearance, the Lotus Pier jurisdiction was left unsupervised. Ji Jingbei planned to have his nephew, Yang Xingyao, temporarily lead Yan Jian’s squad of constables, but after Shen Qingshuang learned of this, she asserted her authority and had Sun Xinyang manage both jurisdictions at once.
Clearly, the Shen Family would not give up a Chief Constable position in the Lishui Sub-Department. Ji Jingbei’s plan to promote his nephew, Yang Xingyao, to Chief Constable had fallen through again.
In the blink of an eye, the new year arrived. Chen Cheng took leave and went to the Inner City’s Zheng Martial Arts Hall to bring Mu Xiaowan home for the festivities.
Mu Xiaowan’s Martial Arts Power had progressed extremely quickly. She was already a Martial Artist at Small Success in the Skin Grinding Realm, and her Phantom Sword Technique had reached the Great Success Level.
The two spent most of their time at home behind closed doors, Cultivating their Martial Dao. It was a harmonious year for the Chens’.
Time flew by. In what felt like the blink of an eye, another two months had passed. Winter gave way to spring, and soon it was the third month.
During this time, Chen Cheng remained focused on Cultivating his Martial Dao every day, and his jurisdiction was peaceful and quiet.
The Shen Family finally sent someone else to Lishui District to serve as Chief Constable and take over the Lotus Pier jurisdiction.
No major incidents occurred in Lishui District. Yan Jian’s disappearance was gradually forgotten, and the Demon Suppression Department’s investigation into the Black Lotus Sect made no progress. All signs indicated that the Black Lotus Sect did not dare cause trouble within Linji City.
In the second month, another strange incident occurred in the South City District. The Zhou Family Patriarch, Zhou Hongjun, went out on business and was never heard from again.
Because of this, Zhou Xu even reported the matter to the Linji City Guard Headquarters, demanding an investigation into Zhou Hongjun’s disappearance.
Zhou Hongjun was a Bone Forger Realm Martial Artist, and Zhou Xu was an Official at the South City District City Guard Headquarters, so the matter had significant repercussions.
The Lord Chief Director of the Linji City Guard Headquarters took the matter very seriously and assigned a Vice Director to investigate the case thoroughly. However, after more than half a month of investigating, they found no clues, and the case went cold.
However, with Zhou Hongjun’s disappearance, all sorts of rumors flew through the city. The most common one was that the Zhou Family had offended the Shen Family over Yan Jian’s disappearance, and the Shen Family had dispatched a powerful expert to secretly kill Zhou Hongjun.
Another rumor claimed that Zhou Hongjun had been abducted by Black Lotus Sect marauders while on business outside the city.
The stories grew wilder and wilder until nearly everyone in Linji City had heard them. It was clear that Zhou Xu was fanning the flames from behind the scenes, hoping to escalate the situation and attract the attention of the City Lord’s Mansion.
The City Lord’s Mansion was indeed stirred into action. It was said that the City Lord, Jiang Botao, personally summoned Patriarch Shen Mingyuan of the Shen Family. After a discussion, it was confirmed that the Shen Family was not involved.
Meanwhile, the Demon Suppression Department also gave their response: no trace of Black Lotus Sect members had been found in Linji City.
Consequently, the City Lord’s Mansion personally issued an official notice explaining that Zhou Hongjun’s disappearance was unrelated to the Shen Family and was not the work of the Black Lotus Sect.
Zhou Hongjun’s disappearance became a cold case.
The mysterious disappearance of a Bone Forger Realm Martial Artist naturally caught Chen Cheng’s attention as well. He had subtly questioned Shen Qingshuang about it, and according to her, the Shen Family had indeed considered dispatching experts to kill Zhou Hongjun.
But killing a Bone Forger Realm Martial Artist without a valid reason would have massive repercussions. If word got out, it would inevitably damage the Shen Family’s reputation, and the other three major families would intervene. They had to be cautious.
Before the Shen Family could reach a decision, Zhou Hongjun had already met with misfortune.
With Zhou Hongjun’s disappearance, the Zhou Family’s power was weakened once again. Their influence in the South City District plummeted, and both Zhou Xu and Zhou Hongda became low-key and cautious.
Zhou Hongjun’s disappearance also made Chen Cheng realize that Linji City was fraught with hidden dangers, where one’s life could be forfeit at any moment. He became even more focused on Cultivating his Martial Dao.
That morning, after morning roll call, Chen Cheng was in his courtyard practicing the Deer Cutting Saber Technique.
Chen Cheng’s figure was erratic and unpredictable, so fast he looked like an afterimage. Layers of light from his saber flashed up and down, sharp and relentless.
As his practice reached a crescendo, Chen Cheng’s figure suddenly flickered, appearing next to a flowerbed. In a flash of saber light, the pink petals on a plum blossom branch extending from the flowerbed fluttered to the ground, leaving it bare in an instant.
Chen Cheng sheathed his saber and stood still, holding his breath and focusing his mind. He slowly raised his hand, forming it into a faint claw shape, and aimed it at another plum blossom branch about ten feet away.
As his Qi Blood Power circulated, ripples appeared in the empty air around the plum blossom branch. They then formed into vortex-like gales that enveloped the branch, squeezing it fiercely.
"CRACK!"
After a dull hum, the plum blossom petals, along with the branch itself, were forcefully crushed into splinters. They then burst apart, scattering across the ground.
’I can even destroy flowers from a distance now!’ A faint smile touched Chen Cheng’s lips as he summoned his panel to check it.
[Name: Chen Cheng
Realm: Muscle Strengthening (Great Success)
Skills: Iron Armor Skill • Muscle Strengthening (Great Success 1360/10000)
Dragon Eagle Muscle Strengthening Technique (Great Success 5580/10000)
Powerful Eagle Claw Skill (Perfection) (Powerful Eagle Claw Stance) (First Layer of the Great Power Realm 112490/200000)
Deer Cutting Saber Technique (Perfection) (Horn-Cutting Saber Stance 79520/100000)
Wind Chasing Saber Technique (Perfection, Wind Chasing Saber Stance) (Deducing... Progress: 42/100. Upon completion, technique will advance to Superior Technique.)]
After more than two months of dedicated cultivation, his strength had increased significantly, but his progress on the Iron Armor Skill was getting slower and slower.
He had used up all his Low Grade Muscle Strengthening Pills, bringing his Dragon Eagle Muscle Strengthening Technique progress past the halfway mark. However, as his Major Tendons grew stronger, the medicinal power of a single pill could now increase his progress by less than 900 points.
Instead, his fastest progress was in his Deer Cutting Saber Technique and the Great Power Realm.
These past few days, Chen Cheng had been training frantically, spending nearly six hours a day on the Deer Cutting Saber Technique. His progress was gratifying, and he was already on the verge of developing its Momentum.
At this rate, he estimated he could develop the Horn-Cutting Saber Stance in another half a month.
To develop a Saber Momentum in three months was an astonishingly fast rate of progress.
The cultivation progress of his Great Power Realm was even more pleasing. As Chen Cheng’s Major Tendons strengthened, the time he could practice it daily increased to over two hours, allowing him to gain more than a thousand progress points each day. His current progress was also past the halfway mark.
In another three months, he should be able to reach completion.
And at his current progress level, Chen Cheng only needed less than a third of his total Qi Blood Power to use the Great Power Realm.
If he went all out, he could use the Great Power Realm three times, which was already very powerful.
’Being able to use the Great Power Realm three times means I should be able to hold my own even against a Martial Artist at Small Success in the Bone Forging Realm.
’But my Iron Armor Skill has stalled, and my Dragon Eagle Muscle Strengthening Technique is held back by a lack of Elixir Pills. This is really slowing me down. I can’t let this continue!
’Dangers lurk everywhere in the outside world. If my Cultivation Progress is delayed, I could lose my life. I have to think of something!’
Chen Cheng’s gaze sharpened, his expression turning grim. He began to wonder if he should make a move against the Zhou Family.
The Zhou Family had been keeping a low profile lately, but business at Zhou’s Blacksmith Shop was still booming. They definitely had a stock of Black Gold.
Only by obtaining Black Gold and increasing his weight training could he continue to cultivate his Iron Armor Skill and catch up on his progress.
In the Zhou Family, Zhou Xu was a Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm and had likely developed Sword Momentum. Zhou Hongda was of similar strength.
As for the so-called Black and White Double Slaughter, they were nothing but pushovers, unable to withstand a single blow.
After carefully weighing the Zhou Family’s strength, Chen Cheng’s gaze gradually hardened, and he clenched his fist slightly.
’It’s time to make a move.’
"Master, there’s a letter for you."
Just then, the maid, Xi’Er, came running over to report, holding a piece of yellow paper. Dong’Er trotted happily behind her.
Chen Cheng took the yellow paper, glanced at it, and couldn’t help but frown.
"Where is the messenger?"
Xi’Er tilted her head up, blinking, and said, "The person left right after delivering the letter."
"Mm, I understand. You two go and play now." Chen Cheng smiled and reached out to ruffle Xi’Er’s hair.
The letter’s contents were simple. It was an invitation for Chen Cheng to join the sender on a painted pleasure boat on Jishui Lake to enjoy the spring scenery. The signature read: Shen Qingxuan.
The time was now; Shen Qingxuan was already waiting on the boat.
Shen Qingxuan hadn’t contacted Chen Cheng recently, and Chen Cheng, for his part, wouldn’t have sought her out.
’For her to take the initiative and invite me now, there’s probably news from the Demon Suppression Department.’
After some thought, Chen Cheng decided to go and see what she wanted. After all, they would eventually be colleagues in the Demon Suppression Department, so it was best not to be too distant.
