Chapter 12: How Should I Quell My Anger?!
Both sides stopped fighting for a moment as everyone fixed their attention on Xiao Tianci.
“Fang Chen, what are you doing?!” Xiao Tianci stared coldly at Fang Chen, a hint of doubt in his eyes.
The other party had stayed put for five years, five years of nothing. However, today, he brought an army, a rowdy mob, to attack the Qingsong Superior Academy.
That was right. In his eyes, they were nothing but a rowdy mob.
To him, the crowd next to Fang Chen had little to no combat power at all! He could easily take them on all alone.
A Qi Manipulation expert was not some useless decoration! On the battlefield, such an expert could match a thousand soldiers.
“Marshall Xiao Lang arranged for you to plot against us with a certain group of people in the city. I could’ve turned a blind eye to that. Those people you’re working with can’t influence the state of affairs within Grand Xia as a whole.” Fang Chen sighed. “But you shouldn’t have allowed the martial artists from your empire to run rampant around the city.”
“What qualifications does a defeated general like you have in order to make such demands?” Xiao Tianci glared at Fang Chen. “It won’t be long before you marry into the Xiao Family. On the account of the lady, I will not report what happened here to your emperor should you leave right now.”
Suddenly, a loud voice boomed from outside the academy. “Master Xiao, is there someone crazy enough to stir up trouble here? There’s no need for you to worry. I, Li Huang, will take care of the situation!”
Everyone looked ahead toward the source of the voice.
They saw a chubby young man walking over with several guards tailing behind him. The guards' cultivation was pretty decent, too.
“Why is he here?” You Longchang's brow furrowed slightly.
Li Huang, like Fang Chen, had an aunt who was a consort of the emperor and could be considered a relative of the imperial family.
“Fang Chen? You Longchang of the West Tiger Battalion?” Li Huang froze in his tracks when he saw Fang Chen, a hint of fear and resentment appearing in his eyes.
“Young Master Li, I can handle this matter myself,” Xiao Tianci said, smiling lightly.
“Good, good. Master Xiao, you can deal with the ruckus here,” Li Huang replied swiftly.
He then took a step to the side, secretly sizing up Fang Chen.
He didn’t understand why the cripple would show his face at the academy.
“Fang Chen, it's time for you to leave,” Xiao Tianci said indifferently.
A hint of hesitation appeared on You Longchang’s face, and the “unruly mob” he led started to feel uneasy.
They knew that the person in front of them was an expert at the Qi Manipulation Stage!
“There are three Qi Manipulation Stage martial artists in the Qingsong Superior Academy. Two of whom are in the early-level Qi Manipulation Stage, and the last is in the middle-level Qi Manipulation Stage. There are fifteen martial artists at the peak of the Qi Detonation Stage. Not to mention the other thousand martial artists inside,” Fang Chen spoke slowly.
The crowd gasped at this information.
They had no idea Qingsong Superior Academy could be hiding such terrifying forces. One had to know that there were only close to ten experts in the Grand Xia Empire at the peak of the Qi Detonation Stage!
As for those at the Qi Manipulation Stage, there were only a few of them left after the defeat five years ago. In fact, they could be counted on one hand!
This is merely one of the academies founded by the Qingsong Empire. How many more experts are there?!
Nigh-imperceptible surprise flashed through Xiao Tianci's eyes. How did he accurately guess the number of martial artists we have in the capital city?!
The troops he had, If he were to gather them all, they would be able to launch a small-scale war! With their strength, charging into the Grand Xia Imperial Palace might not be an impossibility!
For some reason, Xiao Tianci suddenly felt an ominous premonition. He had thought that Fang Chen had given up on everything after five years of silence. But what he heard just now showed that Fang Chen was still paying attention to everything!
“Divine General Fang, what is your purpose in coming here? Don’t forget that you are about to marry into our Xiao family soon...” Xiao Tianci's words carried an underlying threat.
“Do you still not know that Lady Xiao has left the capital?” Fang Chen smiled in response.
Left the capital? Xiao Tianci was greatly taken aback. He was indeed unaware of the news.
“It doesn’t matter. Even if you knew, it wouldn’t change what I’m about to do next.” With a wave of his sleeve, a flash of lightning struck Xiao Tianci, who was unable to react in time.
When the flash of lightning subsided, all that remained was a pile of charred remains.
A Qi Manipulation expert, dead.
Hiss. Everyone sucked in a cold breath.
This wasn’t the first time You Longchang saw such a sight, but it still left him reeling with shock.
The citizens of Grand Xia stared at Fang Chen in awe and admiration.
“Divine General Fang truly lives up to his title! He never admits defeat!” the citizens couldn’t help but let out an excited scream.
“Now, there are only two Qi Manipulation experts left in the Qingsong Superior Academy,” Fang Chen said softly. "General You, carry on with your duties. Do not spare a single martial artist from Qingsong.”
You Longchang roared in acknowledgement, “Yes!” He then led his troops and charged toward the Qingsong martial artists, who were still in a state of deep shock.
Now that things had progressed up to that point, there was no turning back! He could only serve as Fang Chen’s sword. He would strike wherever Fang Chen desired.
"N-No, it's impossible... How could he... Xiao Tianci is an expert in the Qi Manipulation Stage! How could he be defeated in a single move?! Did Fang Chen’s cultivation recover?! Where did that bolt of lightning come from? How did he do that?!" Li Huang's face turned deathly pale, chaotic thoughts invading his thoughts.
He couldn’t help but tremble when he saw how the martial artists of Qingsong were being slaughtered by You Longchang and his troops.
"Li Huang, let’s catch up." Fang Chen passed by Li Huang and left behind a few words before stepping into the Qingsong Superior Academy’s premises.
A grim look appeared on Li Huang’s face, and he glanced all around. Gritting his teeth, he followed Fang Chen inside.
Catching up to Fang Chen, the anxious young master heard him speak. “You’ve been getting pretty close with Xiao Tianci in recent years.”
Li Huang plastered a smile on his face. "We’re not that close. I just come here every once in a while to exchange moves with the students.”
After a brief pause, Li Huang cautiously advised, "Divine General Fang, if you kill Xiao Tianci, you might provoke the discontent of both the court and the public. If His Majesty learns of this, he might blame you..."
"So what if I kill the martial artists of Qingsong? Why would His Majesty blame me?" Fang Chen revealed a vague smile.
“That… that… You will incur the wrath of the Qingsong Empire by doing so! When that happens, how many of our citizens will have to die just to appease their fury?” answered Li Huang.
“Let me ask you another question. How many people from the Qingsong Empire should I kill to appease the fury in my heart?” Fang Chen replied with a question of his own.
By the time he said that, Fang Chen had already arrived in the backyard of the academy. It seemed as though the martial artists of Qingsong there were unaware of the situation outside. Many of them were shirtless. They ate and drank to their heart’s content. From time to time, they would reach out their fingers and point at some living targets in the distance.
Over there, there were dozens of people dripping with blood, bound and lying on the ground. All of them were citizens of Grand Xia.
"Li Huang, what’s going on outside? Is everything okay? You know what, whatever. Since the academy master has arrived, there’s no need for us to worry too much. By the way, it’s your turn now. Earlier, I shot an arrow right through a commoner's head. You lose if you can’t do the same. Uh! And don’t forget, you owe me a thousand silver taels!" A martial artist of the Qingsong Empire greeted Li Huang, his voice booming with laughter.
The crowd instantly erupted in cheers.
Li Huang had lost quite a bit of silver to them over the years; he was quite the easy money.
Combining Fang Chen’s words and what they said, Li Huang turned incredibly pale and his trembling intensified, especially after hearing what Fang Chen said next.
“You still haven’t answered me. Tell me, how should I quell this anger within me?” Fang Chen spoke softly as he gazed at the lifeless bodies whose eyes were wide open with indignance.
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