Daqian Martial Saint

”He’s dead?” Chen Ping’an’s expression turned grim as he listened to Cheng Renjing’s report. ”Are you saying the new Commander Fu died on his way to his post?”

”Yes, my lord.” Cheng Renjing’s face was not just grim; it was deathly pale. ”He died on the main road. All eleven people in his party died a horrific death!”

The new Commander-in-Chief, dead on the way to his post. This was... this was a blatant provocation against the Garrison Commandant’s Office.

No, it was more than just a provocation. It was tantamount to a declaration of war!

The viciousness of this incident was beyond imagination!

In the last ten years—no, twenty, even thirty years—when had anything like this ever happened!?

”Who did it? Are there any leads?” Chen Ping’an asked.

Cheng Renjing shook his head. ”Not yet.”

Chen Ping’an glanced at Cheng Renjing without a word. He rose from his chair, walked to the window, and looked outside.

”The Chiefs and Vice Chiefs of the Patrol from every district, the Supervisors and Deputy Supervisors of every department... get everyone over here for an emergency meeting!”

...

「Weishui Garrison.」

Inside the council chamber, the atmosphere was oppressive. Fu Wanyu’s death was a vicious slap in the face, and it stung.

They had just selected the candidate, and before he could even take office, he was dead on the road. Could anything be more mockingly ironic?

”Who did it? The Ten Thousand Demons Sect? The Rising Dragon Dao? The Celestial Lotus Sect? Or some other power?”

Elder Liu of the Weishui Garrison slammed his palm on the table. Fortunately, he held back; otherwise, the table would have been obliterated.

”How outrageous! The sheer audacity!” an elder of Commander-in-Chief rank raged, his chest filled with fury.

The matter of Feng Shixian was still unresolved, and now Fu Wanyu’s death was laid before them. This series of events made their anger boil over.

”Are they trying to bully the Weishui Garrison as if we have no one left?!”

Everyone present vented their fury. It took a long while before they gradually calmed down and began to discuss the matter rationally.

”Fu Wanyu’s combat strength was considerable. Within the Inner Qi Realm, someone might have been able to defeat him, but almost no one could have killed him. Could the attacker have been at the Profound Light Realm?”

”Profound Light Realm? I checked the intelligence reports. On the day Fu Wanyu died, none of the Profound Light Realm masters from the various houses in Weishui County City made any unusual moves! It’s unlikely a Profound Light Realm expert was involved!”

”Couldn’t it have been a power from outside the County City?!”

”Hmm... that is a possibility. If a Profound Light Realm master from a faction like the Ten Thousand Demons Sect or the Rising Dragon Dao were to appear, we should generally be able to detect them. But we can’t guarantee our surveillance is one hundred percent effective.”

”Whether it was a Profound Light Realm master or not isn’t the main point. The priority now is to find out who is pulling the strings from the shadows.”

”Exactly! We must investigate thoroughly!”

”...”

The discussion inside the Weishui Garrison was heated. In the end, they decided on a series of rigorous investigation plans, including but not limited to dispatching arrest and investigation teams and deploying covert squads for targeted searches.

”Everyone, implement the plans we’ve just established as soon as possible so we can root out the mastermind behind this. And listen, we have no room for retreat this time. If we fail to counter with decisive force, our authority will be utterly destroyed!”

”Mm, that’s right.”

Those present were united against a common enemy.

Everyone reached a consensus on the investigation. During the implementation phase, they would temporarily set aside their preconceived notions born from conflicting interests, put away their personal schemes, and focus primarily on getting the job done.

”With Fu Wanyu dead, the positions for patrolling the outer Trade Route and for Commander-in-Chief of White Stone City are vacant again! Let’s discuss the candidates.”

A silence fell over the chamber. No one spoke up.

Two Commanders-in-Chief had died in succession, and the mastermind was still at large. Who knew if the next person sent would suffer the same fate?

In this matter, the enemy was in the shadows while they were in the open; it was impossible to guard against every attack.

The selection of a Commander-in-Chief for the White Stone Town Pacification Bureau had undoubtedly reached an impasse.

”I have a suggestion. Let’s first set aside the idea of having one person hold both the Trade Route patrol and White Stone City Commander-in-Chief positions. Let’s separate them. All information indicates that the Trade Route involves immense profits, and the hidden powers are clearly making their moves because of it. If we send someone weak to that post, it will be inappropriate.

Instead of waiting for more problems to arise, let’s solve this once and for all by dispatching a Profound Light Realm master to take charge.”

”That makes sense. Who do you have in mind?”

”The Trade Route is about to become fully operational. Guan Yu Ping’s duties in pioneering and coordinating defenses have eased up, so he would be perfect for the outer Trade Route patrol! We can even give him an exceptional promotion in rank!”

”Agreed! Then what about the White Stone City Commander-in-Chief position...”

The chamber fell silent once more.

Without the additional duty of patrolling the outer Trade Route, the position of White Stone City Commander-in-Chief alone lacked weight. In terms of rank, it was only equivalent to a Chief Duty Officer Level in Weishui County City.

For such a position, the strong were unwilling to go, and the weak dared not.

”Is no one going to speak? We can’t just leave the White Stone City Commander-in-Chief position vacant!”

After a moment of silence, a voice broke the stillness.

”In my opinion, why not promote Chen Ping’an to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the White Stone Town Pacification Bureau? What do you think?”

”An excellent idea!”

”Agreed.”

”No objections.”

”...”

...

News that the new Commander-in-Chief, Fu Wanyu, had died on his journey spread like wildfire throughout White Stone City, causing a massive uproar.

This incident was another severe blow to the prestige of the Garrison Commandant’s Office.

If Feng Shixian’s death could be partially offset by the Weishui Garrison’s swift action to restore some of its authority, then Fu Wanyu’s death utterly disgraced them.

This made the various powers within White Stone City grow restless.

However, everyone remained on the sidelines, not daring to make any major moves for the time being, fearing that the Weishui Garrison would retaliate ruthlessly.

But when the news arrived that the Weishui Garrison had appointed Chen Ping’an as the Commander-in-Chief of the White Stone Town Pacification Bureau, the powers within White Stone City breathed a collective sigh of relief.

”HAHAHA... A Commander-in-Chief at the Second Stage of Inner Qi!”

”It seems the Weishui Garrison is short-staffed. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have promoted Chen Ping’an under these circumstances.”

”The Second Stage of Inner Qi is decent, but to suppress the situation in an entire city... he’s probably a bit too green for that!”

”He can’t control it? Even better! That just means more profit for us!”

”Hahaha, exactly, exactly!”

”...”

The news reached the White Stone Town Pacification Bureau, where reactions were mixed. Some were optimistic, others were not.

”Lord Chen... can he really handle it? Of course, I mean no disrespect to Lord Chen. I deeply admire his methods, but his Martial Arts Realm... to suppress a whole region... isn’t it a bit rash? The families and alliances in the city all have experts at the Perfect Second Level of Inner Qi!”

”Except for the Iron Fist Gang, all the major powers have masters at the Perfect Second Level of Inner Qi presiding over them. But our Garrison Commandant’s Office doesn’t. This means we’re lagging behind in terms of top-tier combat strength. What are we going to do...?”

”Exactly! We managed to win back some ground before, but that was because we had the Weishui Garrison and Commander Feng. Now Commander Feng is dead, and the Weishui Garrison has its own hands full. This...”

”What are you all talking about? Haven’t you seen Lord Chen’s methods!? Have faith in Lord Chen! He’ll lead us to glory!”

”Glory!? On the strength of his Second Stage of Inner Qi cultivation?”

”Old Li, it’s not that I don’t believe in Lord Chen. To be honest, I truly admire him as a person! It’s just that Lord Chen is still too young. Compared to the others, his cultivation is just a bit lacking!”

”...”