Cultivation: From Poor Peasant to Celestial Lord

Chapter 266: Chapter 147: Foundation Establishment’s Might

Whenever Wei Chuan’s Saber Qi threatened to breach the Hundred Battles Armor’s defense, Chu Bai would always anticipate the attack with his Divine Thought, using his Guardian Shield to block the fatal blow from the most bizarre of angles.

On the rare occasion the shockwaves from the potent Magical Power injured his internal organs, the Rejuvenation Seal within Chu Bai’s body would automatically activate. A cool strand of vitality would continuously nourish his meridians, ensuring his combat strength remained at its peak.

After thirty exchanges, the aftershocks of their Magical Power had sheared several feet off the surface of the Chaotic Stone Beach, shattering all the reefs into dust.

After fifty exchanges, Wei Chuan’s composure began to crack.

His once-resplendent Bright Silver Flying Fish Robe was soaked through with sweat, his predatory eyes filled with incredulity and madness.

”Hand over the Seal and Ribbon!”

Wei Chuan roared, pouring all his Magical Power into a massive, golden beam of light that forced Chu Bai back.

”This Seal and Ribbon you speak of, Lord Wei... I’m afraid I don’t know what it is.”

Chu Bai landed, and the reef beneath his feet instantly crumbled under the force.

He steadied himself, his hand moving to press the still-warm golden object nestled within his robes.

Though his face was slightly pale from the rapid circulation of his Spiritual Power, his eyes shone as brightly as winter stars after a fresh snowfall.

They fought for another hundred exchanges, yet the battle remained a stalemate.

”So this is all it amounts to.”

Chu Bai leisurely brushed the dust from the cuffs of his official robe, his voice icy and laced with disdain.

Wei Chuan stood with his saber in hand, his chest heaving violently. His expression was so thunderous it looked as if he was about to burst.

He never would have dreamed that, despite wielding his lord’s Foundation Establishment Hand Order to seal the Law Net, he would fail to defeat a junior from Anping with less than two years of service in a head-on battle.

’This kid... with his Micro-Level control, monstrous physique, and two-hundred-zhang range of Divine Thought, he actually managed to bridge the gap of two Small Realms.’

The two stood thirty feet apart, their auras surging and clashing once more above the ruins, only to fall into an absolute stalemate in the deathly silent standoff.

A draw!

Just as their two auras reached the apex of their confrontation, causing the very air to crackle under the pressure, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from the sky above Threadline Gorge.

It wasn’t thunder, but it was far more violent.

A streak of white light, like a spear tearing through eternal night, brutally smashed its way through the ten-li restricted zone that had been sealed by the Inspector Token.

The air filled with a series of sharp cracks, like countless panes of glass shattering at once.

That was the Silver Official Spirit Law Net cast by the Token in Wei Chuan’s hand. Under the impact of this crimson-purple torrent, it was shredded inch by inch like a fragile spiderweb, dissolving into a sky full of scattered silver motes.

The pressure from the Foundation Establishment expert, which had weighed down on everyone and immobilized the hundreds of guards, was instantly neutralized by another, even heavier and more violent aura that felt like the earth itself was turning over.

A Magic Power Shuttle, wreathed in flowing Purple Qi, broke through the clouds and descended. Zhang Cheng, clad in his Regular Seventh-Grade County Captain’s Robe with its great, billowing sleeves, stood poised in the air above it.

Countless crimson-purple motes of light, as fine as grains of sand yet radiating an aura of pure destruction, swirled around him—it was his Foundation Establishment Dao Foundation, the Scattered Spirit Dust.

The might of his Dao Foundation instantly enveloped the entire scene!

”An Inspector Captain from Dayuan Prefecture, drawing his blade on a commissioned Demon Slaying Officer within the borders of my Anping County? Who gave you the nerve?!”

Zhang Cheng’s voice wasn’t high-pitched, but it carried the weight of a mountain, shaking the river’s surface into roiling waves and forcing the black fog at its center down by three feet.

His weathered, tigerish eyes were brimming with killing intent. A single, cold glance from him was enough to make Wei Chuan, a cultivator at Qi Cultivation Perfection, freeze as if struck by lightning. The once-imperious Silver Saber in his hand trembled involuntarily.

”D-Director Zhang?!” Wei Chuan’s face was deathly pale. He swallowed, his throat dry, and stammered, ”You... you dare forcefully break the seal of Lord Commander Sima’s decree?!”

Zhang Cheng completely ignored the ”junior,” Wei Chuan. His gaze was like lightning, shooting past the devastated Chaotic Stone Beach to fixate on the trembling Inspector Token suspended in mid-air.

The Token, sensing the impact of Magical Power from an expert of the same realm, flared with brilliant silver light once more. The aged, cold voice from before spoke slowly, now tinged with obvious anger, ”Quite the display of authority, Director Zhang.”

”The Inspection Department is overseeing this case by the will of Dayuan Prefecture. Are you resisting a direct order with force? Are you trying to end your own official career?”

”I wouldn’t call it resisting an order.”

Zhang Cheng let out a cold snort, the white Scattered Spirit Dust around him swirling in the wind. His tone was as unyielding as striking steel. ”But this is the territory of my Anping County. The Water Uncle was assassinated within my jurisdiction. I have a duty to defend my land—that is a right granted to this official by the Great Zhou Laws!”

”My Evil Suppression Department’s Demon Slaying Officer disregarded his own safety to desperately protect evidence at the scene within the forbidden black fog. What crime has he committed?

”But your Inspection Department arrives, ignores the real culprit, and instead tries to search and disarm a meritorious officer, even using a Foundation Establishment Decree to coerce him. Even if this matter reaches the Qingzhou Celestial Decree Department, this official will file a petition and demand an explanation!”

”Furthermore...”

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Cheng made a beckoning gesture toward the empty air.

Responding to his call, the Golden Seal in Chu Bai’s robes, which had been warm and pulsing, instantly transformed into a streak of golden light that landed securely in Zhang Cheng’s hand.

Zhang Cheng held the Golden Seal in one hand and took out his own Regular Seventh Grade County Captain Official Seal with the other. As he infused them with Magical Power, the two Seals shone in unison.

He took a deep breath and shouted sternly at the Token in mid-air, ”As for this case, I have already used the Evil Suppression Department’s internal channels to report it directly to the head office in Dayuan Prefecture! If anyone is to be held accountable, they can come for me afterward!”

”As you can all see, the Divine Dao Seal and Ribbon is not lost, and the Spirituality of the Stream Water Spirit remains! This is the heart of the case. Until the truth comes to light, this Seal must not fall into any private hands. This matter has nothing to do with your Inspection Department!”

At these words, the Divine Thought within the Token fell into a brief, awkward silence.

Clearly, the expert from the Prefecture City concealed within the Token had not expected Zhang Cheng to be so brazen.

To protect a mere Ninth-Grade subordinate, Zhang Cheng had not only resorted to forcefully breaking the seal, but had also immediately followed official procedure to bring the case before the Prefecture City’s head office. This prevented the Inspection Department from exploiting an information gap to operate in secret.

The Divine Seal was present, and the Water Uncle’s Spirituality still lingered.

Zhang Cheng strode down from his shuttle, positioning himself in front of Chu Bai.

No one present could withstand the might of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

He addressed the Token in mid-air in a clear voice, ”Lord Envoy, since both sides have different accounts of the case, and since this place is nothing but a fog-shrouded wasteland, arguing here is pointless. This official proposes that everyone withdraw for now. We will take all involved parties back to my Anping Evil Suppression Department!”

”Any conclusions, any testimony—we can settle it all there, within the sanctum of the Department’s Law Net, in the presence of each department’s Commanding Officer and the overseer from the Prefecture City. How does that sound?”

The silver light within the Token flickered erratically, as if the expert was weighing his options. After a long moment, the aged voice finally spoke again, its tone heavy with a barely concealed grimness:

”Very well. Wei Chuan, sheathe your saber.”

Although Wei Chuan was filled with bitter reluctance, his eyes still burning with hatred for Chu Bai, he knew that in the presence of Zhang Cheng, a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, he wouldn’t even get the chance to draw his blade.

While Lord Commander Sima might be half a rank higher than Zhang Cheng in power and influence, distant water can’t extinguish a nearby fire.

Zhang Cheng was here in person and clearly had justification on his side. If a real fight broke out, he could kill Wei Chuan on the spot and it would be dismissed as an unfortunate accident.

He shot Chu Bai a venomous glare and sheathed his saber without a word. Amid the low hum of the giant Mechanical Golden Falcon, he and the other grim-faced cultivators in Flying Fish Robes sullenly retreated to the side.

”Han Xingmo, take Qii Pan! Everyone, fall in!”

Zhang Cheng commanded with a wave of his hand, his order directed at the still-dumbfounded Han Xingmo and the rest of the Demon-slaying Guards.