Chapter 73: Insolence Towards a Superior Deserves Death! (Eighth Update)

Inside the Council Hall of the Town Guard Headquarters in Linyuan City.

Five Foundation Establishment Realm Garrison Commander Lieutenants sat in a circle, some old and some young. The younger ones were in their thirties, while the older ones were already past fifty.

“I say, the new Garrison Commander should be arriving soon. Even if we don’t actively welcome him, we should at least announce it within the Town Guard Headquarters.”

Among the five, the old Lieutenant Lu Wenxing, already over fifty with graying hair, couldn’t help but speak up.

“Welcome him? Who says we have to welcome a new Garrison Commander when he takes office?”

The youngest Lieutenant among the five, Huo Tianying, looked at Lu Wenxing and said with a sarcastic tone, “Old Lu, are you scared? Can’t wait to curry favor with the new boss already?”

“Don’t forget, you once accepted a Marrow Cleansing Pill from me. Without that pill, with your son’s Aptitude, he wouldn’t have been able to break through to the Blood Moving Realm!”

Lu Wenxing shrank his head and immediately fell silent.

Seeing this, the other three Lieutenants also didn’t dare to say anything more.

A month ago, the former Garrison Commander of Linyuan City, Peng Jing, died. Since then, Huo Tianying had been scheming to become the Garrison Commander.

Among the five Lieutenants of the Linyuan City Town Guard Headquarters, Lu Wenxing was the oldest, but his strength was mediocre, and he was already old, having reached the limit of the Foundation Establishment Realm in this lifetime.

Meanwhile, Huo Tianying, in his early thirties, was already at the Middle Stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm, undoubtedly a young talent.

Most importantly, his sister was the concubine of Qi Yuanming, the Inspector of Kaiping Prefecture. Qi Yuanming had already promised to help him maneuver with the Hall Master.

There were no vacant Lunhai Realm Martial Artists in the White Tiger Hall recently, so Huo Tianying was very likely to take charge of Linyuan City with his Foundation Establishment Realm strength.

For this reason, Huo Tianying had specifically sent gifts to the other four Lieutenants, including Lu Wenxing, to ensure their cooperation in the future.

None of the four had any ambition to compete with Huo Tianying, so they naturally accepted the gifts and agreed without hesitation.

Who would have thought that after waiting a month, instead of Huo Tianying’s appointment, a Garrison Commander was parachuted in from above, also at the Foundation Establishment Realm. How could Huo Tianying swallow this anger?

Thus, today’s show of intimidation came about.

Lu Wenxing and the others didn’t want to make an enemy of the new Garrison Commander, but they also didn’t want to offend Huo Tianying, leaving them in a difficult position.

“I’m not some big shot; there’s no need to welcome me.”

At that moment, the door of the Council Hall was suddenly pushed open. Chen Yuan stood outside, looking at the people present with a half-smile.

The expressions of Lu Wenxing and the others immediately changed.

This new Garrison Commander had sharp hearing. Had he heard everything they said just now?

Huo Tianying, however, looked indifferent. What if he did hear?

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“I am Chen Tian, appointed by Master Feng to the position of Garrison Commander of Linyuan City. I ask for your guidance and support.”

Chen Yuan smiled and cupped his hands in greeting.

But the people present didn’t return the greeting immediately. Instead, they instinctively looked at Huo Tianying.

Huo Tianying casually cupped his hands, his smile not reaching his eyes. “Huo Tianying greets the Lord.”

Seeing Huo Tianying return the greeting, the others quickly followed suit.

“Lu Wenxing greets the Lord.”

“Yu Dong greets the Lord.”

“Shen Xingming greets the Lord.”

“Song Gang greets the Lord.”

Chen Yuan waved his hand and walked to the main seat of the Council Hall to sit down.

Seeing Chen Yuan sit in the position he had dreamed of occupying, Huo Tianying couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his eye.

“Gentlemen, I’m new here. If there’s anything I don’t understand, I’ll rely on your support and guidance.”

Huo Tianying suddenly spoke up, “Lord Chen, there’s no need to be modest. For you to become a Garrison Commander with Foundation Establishment Realm strength, you must have exceptional qualities.”

“Coincidentally, there’s an unsolved case in Linyuan City that urgently needs resolution. It’s been pending here, waiting for you to take over, Lord Chen.”

“Oh? What unsolved case?”

Huo Tianying said solemnly, “The former Garrison Commander Peng Jing went out on patrol and was surrounded and killed, but we’ve never been able to find out who the murderer is.”

“Now that Lord Chen is in charge of Linyuan City, you should thoroughly investigate this case, find the murderer, and bring justice to Lord Peng. Only then can you gain everyone’s trust!”

The expressions of Lu Wenxing and the other four changed slightly.

Huo Tianying was truly ruthless, digging such a big pit for his new superior right from the start.

The case of Peng Jing’s death was complex, with more than one party involved in the attack. Anyone who investigated it would be in trouble.

If this new superior really investigated, he might end up worse off than Peng Jing.

Chen Yuan looked at Huo Tianying with a half-smile. “Lieutenant Huo makes a good point. This case should indeed be investigated.”

“I’ve heard that although the Qingyang Palace outside Linyuan City is called a Daoist temple, it acts like bandits, behaving tyrannically. It’s likely they killed Lord Peng.”

“I ask all of you to immediately gather all the White Tiger Guards in Linyuan City and surround the Qingyang Palace!”

There were five major forces inside and outside Linyuan City: Three Families, One Gang, and One Palace.

This palace was the Qingyang Palace a few miles outside the city, with thriving incense offerings. It happened to contain something Chen Yuan wanted.

How the former Garrison Commander died, Chen Yuan couldn’t be bothered to care, and he had no interest in avenging him.

But with this excuse, he could openly take what he wanted.

Huo Tianying frowned tightly. What was all this?

He had a good relationship with those Daoists from the Qingyang Palace; they often gave him gifts.

What was wrong with this Chen Tian? He suddenly shifted the target to the Qingyang Palace.

“Lord Chen, don’t act recklessly. The Daoists of the Qingyang Palace have always been peacefully chanting scriptures outside the city. What does that have to do with Lord Peng’s death? If you want to investigate, you should start within Linyuan City.”

Chen Yuan, who had been smiling all along, suddenly darkened his expression. “Are you telling me how to do my job?”

Huo Tianying said calmly, “Not telling you how to do your job, but the Town Martial Hall also needs to follow rules when handling matters.”

“Although the Town Martial Hall nominally suppresses the Martial Forest of Ning Province, we must provide evidence for our actions. Otherwise, how can we convince the public?”

“If it causes unrest among the local Jianghu forces, how will you explain it to the Hall Master, Lord?”

“Lord, don’t think being a Garrison Commander is easy. Guarding a city involves many connections; every step is like walking on thin ice.”

“If you don’t understand, you can learn, but you mustn’t act recklessly.”

“A tiny city and you talk about walking on thin ice? You’re useless and think everyone else is too.”

Chen Yuan stared at Huo Tianying and said coldly, “I said gather the White Tiger Guards and surround the Qingyang Palace. Are you refusing to obey orders, Lieutenant Huo?”

Seeing that Chen Yuan was unyielding, Huo Tianying’s expression also turned cold. He stood up directly, snorted, and said:

“Chen Tian! You’re just making a joke out of our Linyuan City Town Guard Headquarters!”

“If you recklessly surround local Jianghu forces and provoke public outrage, can you bear the responsibility?”

“Acting arbitrarily and recklessly as soon as you take office—I will definitely report you to the Inspector and the Hall Master!”

Lu Wenxing and the other four stood to the side, stunned.

Everything was fine just now. How did it suddenly become so intense?

Chen Yuan suddenly revealed a faint smile and looked at Lu Wenxing and the others.

“You all saw it. Huo Tianying, as a Lieutenant of Linyuan City, disobeys orders, shows insolence towards a superior, and relies on his troops for self-importance. His crime deserves death!”

Huo Tianying’s face suddenly changed. “Chen Tian! You’re slandering me!”

As soon as the words fell, Chen Yuan’s True Qi erupted around him. The tyrannical Devilish Qi surged like a raging sea.

With a punch thrown, a deafening roar immediately erupted.

Huo Tianying never expected Chen Yuan to attack so suddenly.

He immediately retreated, hastily crossing his hands in front of him. A large amount of golden True Qi condensed before him, trying to block Chen Yuan’s punch.

But Chen Yuan’s foundation of strength was profound, and the Devilish Qi cultivated from the Tathagata Freedom Demon Secret Canon was extremely tyrannical and pure.

This punch landed, directly shattering Huo Tianying’s protective True Qi. He immediately felt an overwhelming force surge in, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood and be sent flying several steps!

Chen Yuan took a step forward, his body leaping like a cannonball as he threw another punch.

Huo Tianying roared angrily, his Qi and blood burning wildly. The golden True Qi even carried a hint of blood-red.

He could sense that Chen Yuan was aiming to kill him!

How dare this madman? How dare he start an internal fight and attack as soon as he took office?

The predecessor of the Town Martial Hall, the Tianwu Alliance, was crude in its early days. There were many incidents of fighting for merit and internal conflicts within the Tianwu Alliance.

Later, Liu Suifeng established strict rules. Military merit was distributed layer by layer, forbidding the seizure of merit. Superiors couldn’t arbitrarily kill subordinates, or they would face severe punishment.

So, even if Chen Yuan wanted to kill a lowly Third-Class White Tiger Guard, he had to follow the rules.

Killing without cause was a serious crime!

Huo Tianying threw a punch, his golden-red True Qi surging and roaring.

But he didn’t intend to fight Chen Yuan to the death. Instead, he moved his feet, wanting to escape directly.

Just one punch had shattered his courage.

That extremely powerful, pure, and profound True Qi, vast like a deep sea, even made Huo Tianying feel like he was facing a Lunhai Realm expert.

As long as he escaped, he would go to his brother-in-law, Qi Yuanming, the Inspector of Kaiping Prefecture, and have him report Chen Tian harshly to the Hall Master!

Even if he didn’t die, he’d make him suffer!

Their fists collided. The pure Devilish Qi on Chen Yuan’s punch instantly tore apart and shattered Huo Tianying’s golden-red True Qi.

Huo Tianying grunted, the tiger’s mouth of his right fist instantly splitting open, feeling as if a large hammer had struck him.

Using this force, Huo Tianying’s body suddenly shot backward, trying to escape.

But the next moment, Chen Yuan’s right hand coiled like a spiritual snake, instantly wrapping around his arm and pulling him back forcefully!

Before Huo Tianying could react, the Shattering Jade Energy wrapped in Devilish Qi erupted violently, instantly twisting and shattering his right arm.

Huo Tianying had just let out a scream, his face full of terror. “Don’t kill me! My brother-in-law is Qi Yuanming, the Inspector of Kaiping Prefecture! If you kill me, you’ll definitely be severely punished! I’ll gather the White Tiger Guards to obey your orders right now. Everything can be negotiated. Don’t kill me!”

But Chen Yuan acted as if he didn’t hear. With a punch thrown, powerful Devilish Qi instantly erupted. Huo Tianying’s body was sent flying like a ragdoll, even smashing through the door and landing on the open ground outside the Council Hall.

Chen Yuan’s final punch erupted with True Qi at close range, directly blasting a bloody hole in Huo Tianying’s chest.

His vitality was tenacious; even like this, he didn’t die immediately. Instead, he foamed at the mouth with blood, struggled a few times, and then lost all signs of life.