Chapter 223 People from the Army-Breaking Sect Are Coming to Seek Revenge!
The Jinyiwei stood neatly in rows, all gritting their teeth as they endured the dead stance. Cold sweat broke out across their foreheads.
Cheng Yu silently circulated the Demon-Slaying Dao Canon and cultivated Longevity and Origin-Replenishing, while the system’s voice continued ringing in his ears without pause.
The rewards had not stopped at all.
Although their quality was not high, they won out in sheer quantity. There were all sorts of miscellaneous things.
Martial Dao Internal Energy, comprehension in the use of all kinds of weapons, and various small tools.
Cheng Yu basked in the joy of harvest and nodded in satisfaction.
Perhaps he was not an instructor with good teaching methods, someone who could educate others in the best possible way.
But if one asked him what would be most beneficial to the development of the Jinyiwei...
No one understood that question better than him!
The system would give the answer!
He just had to train them according to it. Train first, then talk!
Once these people experienced tangible benefits when the time came, they would naturally be grateful to him.
...
The most prosperous district of the Great Qian Capital.
A row of grand and magnificent estates rose from the ground.
Yet very few people dared approach them.
Because everyone in the entire Great Qian Capital knew that this was where Elder Grand Secretary Qi and other high-ranking court officials lived.
Among them, the estate in the very center occupied the largest area and had the most elegant architectural layout.
It was none other than the Qi Residence.
Amid the artistic scenery of artificial mountains, flowing water, pavilions, terraces, and waterside halls, several people sat around a stove, savoring fragrant tea.
They were none other than the current Elder Grand Secretary Qi and the others.
Although the atmosphere here was beautiful and the tea tasting elegant, someone’s expression had nothing in common with that mood at all.
“The Jinyiwei are too hateful. They actually brought people and ran straight to Duke Dingguo’s Estate, smashing, looting, and killing the moment they arrived. They simply showed no regard for the dignity of princes, dukes, and nobles!”
The one who spoke was an obese man.
He was Qian Sunbao, the current Minister of Revenue, who was in charge of population, money, and taxes.
His other extremely important identity was that he was the second-in-command, second only to Elder Grand Secretary Qi, among the faction in the Great Qian Court that was close to the Jianghu.
In his early years, in order to climb upward, he had used every possible means in dealing with people and matters.
Falsifying records, bribing those above and below, eliminating political enemies, and preying upon the common people—he had used all these methods again and again.
His temperament was extremely violent and irritable.
“The Jinyiwei are nothing more than dogs raised by the emperor, yet they actually dared to bite into the homes of princes, dukes, and ministers. This is simply turning the world upside down!”
Qian Sunbao was very anxious now.
Ever since the current emperor, Xiao Wuji, had ascended the throne, those who truly held high positions and great authority in Great Qian had all maintained a harmonious surface.
When had anyone ever encountered something like what happened to Ning Dingyuan?
Killing people at their door, raiding their household, and exterminating their family!
If this sort of thing truly set a precedent, the next target might be his Qian Residence.
When the others from the Moderate Faction saw Minister Qian so agitated, they also began to worry. If the raiding of major figures began, they would not be able to escape either.
Qi Han was not as anxious as he was, and he continued drinking tea calmly.
“Minister Qian, why be so agitated? Duke Dingguo, Ning Dingyuan, was a rebel who colluded with Prince Chu and thoroughly crossed His Majesty’s bottom line. It is very normal for him to end up like this.”
Prince Chu.
He was a rebel whom the court publicly acknowledged as having the ambition to replace Xiao Wuji and ascend the imperial throne.
If one was in the Great Qian Capital and still dared get involved with him, once discovered, there would only be a road to death.
As for them...
Their background was the vast Jianghu.
Legally speaking, they were all lawful forces that had obtained the court’s recognition.
Normal association with them could not be used as a reason to turn hostile at all.
There was no need to worry that much.
Qian Sunbao was still furious. “I know all that, but what truly angers me is that Cheng Yu. He is simply lawless!
“He acted recklessly in Jiangnan, and after arriving in the Great Qian Capital, he still carries himself with such unbridled arrogance. He simply does not put us in his eyes!”
The moment Cheng Yu was mentioned, Qi Han’s originally calm expression immediately turned cold. He even set down the tea in his hand.
For people like them, who had the Jianghu at their backs, after more than ten years of balanced development, the old ministers in the court who firmly supported Xiao Wuji were not frightening.
A madman like Cheng Yu, who had once slaughtered Jianghu forces, was the real major trouble.
If they failed to handle him properly...
And provoked a massive problem that could never be reconciled...
Then their current good days of profiting from both the Jianghu and the court would be completely disrupted.
“What’s even more hateful is this!” Qian Sunbao slammed his fat hand on the table. “The emperor seems to still be unwilling to give up. He actually promoted that fellow again, and even removed Lu Zhi from office!”
“Could he be planning to make the Jinyiwei surnamed Cheng, and then have them directly fight a decisive battle with the Jianghu?”
Qi Han’s expression grew colder and colder. Old Qian’s concern was not groundless.
The relationship between Cheng Yu and the Jianghu, judging from both sides’ attitudes, could absolutely be described as irreconcilable as fire and water.
No matter where Cheng Yu went, what he did to Jianghu martial artists and forces had always been very pure and very simple.
He slaughtered them all!
And killing was one thing, but he could always find reasons that Xiao Wuji had no way to refute.
While enjoying raiding households and killing to his heart’s content, he could also establish merit.
The ministers of the Moderate Faction, pressured by the Jianghu forces behind them, had long since grown so angry that their teeth itched.
If the Jinyiwei truly underwent a major change and became surnamed Cheng...
Perhaps Cheng Yu would truly wage a great war against the Jianghu. In that case, these middlemen would be in complete trouble.
Qi Han shook his head. “There is no need to be too anxious. His Majesty has always had certain thoughts in his heart, but he has too many concerns and does not reveal them. After Cheng Yu appeared, he may act somewhat more boldly, but he will not go too far in the end. Great Qian can no longer withstand turmoil.”
As the most powerful and influential high officials in Great Qian...
Qi Han and the others understood Great Qian’s current situation better than anyone. On the surface, it maintained its dignity, but in truth, it was already on the verge of collapse.
The Jianghu had dominated the Progenitor of Qian’s Inheritance for nearly three hundred years.
More and more experts from the Nine Great Sects were stepping into the Ninth Rank and advancing toward the Grandmaster realm.
Their overall strength was flourishing day by day.
As for the court, after the Northern Suppression Army separated because of Prince Chu, the progress speed of the other military organizations and the experts of the imperial clan could not keep up with the Jianghu at all.
In these past two years...
They could still forcefully wrestle against each other.
They could destroy a force like Sword-Forging Manor to demonstrate their strength and attitude.
But everyone knew clearly.
The Nine Great Sects were not the Ten Great Sects, after all.
A force like Sword-Forging Manor, which had no Grandmaster, did not count for anything at all.
The Jianghu’s Grandmasters were constantly becoming more numerous than those on the Great Qian Court’s side. There would always come a day when the balance could no longer be reversed.
As the emperor, Xiao Wuji did not dare offend any Grandmaster on his own side.
Take the Lu Family, for example.
Although he had removed Lu Zhi from the position of Commander, Fang Xiaolin, who was acting commander in his place, was in fact Lu Zhi’s brother-in-law.
He was Old Commander Lu’s son-in-law.
The highest command authority of the Jinyiwei was passed back and forth, but it still remained within the same family.
This was the answer Xiao Wuji gave to a Grandmaster expert.
“Cheng Yu may seem to have limitless talent, but as long as he cannot compare to a Grandmaster for even one day, Xiao Wuji will not dare fully employ him.”
“Let us not even discuss whether such a thing is possible. Even if it is possible, reaching that point would be far, far too difficult. How many people of outstanding talent under heaven have been stuck before that final threshold?”
“After the Progenitor of Qian’s Inheritance half a year from now, the general trend under heaven will be completely settled. Both Cheng Yu and His Majesty will be too late.”
Once Qi Han said this, the others immediately felt much more reassured.
Grandmaster was very difficult!
It would absolutely not be easy for Cheng Yu to reach that step.
As long as the general trend under heaven was settled, there would be no need to care about Xiao Wuji’s attitude anymore. Dealing with a single Cheng Yu would then be simple.
A sinister look flashed across Qian Sunbao’s face. “Then how about this? Why not find some trouble to delay Cheng Yu and ensure nothing goes wrong? For example, capture the people around him?”
Qi Han shook his head.
“There is no need. He has made too many enemies, so trouble will come to him on its own. Someone is already coming to cause trouble for him.”
On the way to take up his post, Cheng Yu had once slaughtered people from the Army-Breaking Sect.
Now, someone had already come to seek revenge!