Chapter 523 - 257: The Director’s Attack

Chapter 523: Chapter 257: The Director’s Attack

"Where is Chen Cheng?"

Xiao Nianci’s voice was serene and not particularly loud.

But upon hearing those four words, everyone present started, their eyes instinctively turning to Chen Cheng.

Their gazes held a complex mix of surprise, envy, and jealousy.

’Even the Vice Director of the Inspection Department, who came all the way from the Great Dao Sect, knows Chen Cheng by name. He really is about to soar to the heavens!’

However, a few insiders knew that Xiao Nianci seeking out Chen Cheng was not necessarily a good thing.

Any trace of a smile had long vanished from Xia Lingfeng’s rugged face, replaced by a grave expression.

Patriarch Shen Mingyuan of the Shen Family also furrowed his brow, a hint of worry clouding his features.

He had also heard whispers of the bad blood between Xiao Nianci and Zheng Hun.

’For Xiao Nianci to ask for Chen Cheng by name... I fear she has ill intentions.’

Clad in armor, Patriarch Qin Qiyuan of the Qin Family wore a solemn expression.

City Lord Jiang Botao appeared calm, but a faint trace of mockery flickered in the depths of his eyes.

’The inevitable has arrived. Chen Cheng can’t escape the consequences of his actions.’

Patriarch Wang Tingxuan of the Wang Family had a sharp glint in his eye, gloating inwardly. He glanced at Chen Cheng, then turned his attention to a man standing behind Xiao Nianci. The man was tall, around thirty or forty years old, with an aquiline nose, and wore the uniform of a Chief-level Brocade Guard.

This aquiline-nosed man was none other than Wang Tingxuan’s sixteenth son, Wang Xiaowu.

The Wang Family had used its connections within the Great Dao Sect to secure Wang Xiaowu the position of Chief of the Brocade Guard in the Linji City Inspection Department.

The Inspection Department, being a supervisory body, was inherently a rank above other government offices. The position of Chief of the Brocade Guard was one of considerable power and influence.

With Wang Xiaowu in that position, the Wang Family’s power would naturally become more stable. They could even leverage the authority of the Inspection Department to suppress Chen Cheng and the Shen Family.

Wang Xiaowu was an extremely arrogant man. Before he left for the Great Dao Sect, he was the number one Martial Artist of Linji City’s younger generation.

Of course, his title as the top Martial Artist of the younger generation was different from Jiang Lang’s. Jiang Lang had relied more on his family’s prestige and his Martial Arts Realm to dominate his peers.

Wang Xiaowu had reached Bone Forging Realm Perfection before the age of thirty and proclaimed himself the number one Martial Artist of Linji City’s younger generation.

Anyone who dared to disagree was brutally put in their place by him.

The younger members of the Jiang and Qin Families were no exception!

One could say that while Wang Xiaowu’s title as Linji’s top young Martial Artist was self-proclaimed, it was also earned through countless battles, and he had always taken immense pride in it.

Wang Xiaowu had trained at the Great Dao Sect for nearly a decade, but with no hope of becoming a True Disciple or a Steward, he failed to distinguish himself.

But he had, after all, tempered himself in the State City and seen the wider world. Upon returning to Linji City, he quickly rediscovered his former arrogance and domineering nature, looking down on the younger Celestial Prides of the city.

In Wang Xiaowu’s eyes, neither the previous Jiang Lang nor the current Chen Cheng had any real combat achievements to their names; their reputations were merely empty hype.

Wang Xiaowu had noticed Chen Cheng long before, and he now stared at him with a look of pure contempt.

Beside Wang Xiaowu stood three other Brocade Guard Chiefs. Two were about his age but had a calmer, more composed demeanor.

These two were Jiang Xingcheng of the Jiang Family and Qin Zhenyue of the Qin Family.

Their Martial Arts Talent was actually on par with Wang Xiaowu’s, but back in Linji City, they had never competed with him and were thus outshone.

However, after joining the Great Dao Sect, Jiang Xingcheng and Qin Zhenyue slowly began to distinguish themselves, faring even better than Wang Xiaowu.

Upon their return to Linji City, Wang Xiaowu had to pull strings to become a Chief of the Brocade Guard in the Inspection Department, whereas Jiang Xingcheng and Qin Zhenyue had been chosen and assigned to their posts by the Sect itself.

As natives of Linji City, both Jiang Xingcheng and Qin Zhenyue naturally paid close attention to the city’s younger generation of Martial Artists.

They too had noticed Chen Cheng early on, and their gazes now held a hint of curiosity.

The final Chief of the Brocade Guard appeared to be only twenty-seven or twenty-eight, yet he stood positioned slightly ahead of Wang Xiaowu’s trio.

He also seemed rather close to Xiao Nianci.

His name was Qi Jiancong. He had a face as fair as jade and eyes as bright as stars. Though he wore a faint smile, he unconsciously exuded a sense of lofty arrogance.

Qi Jiancong had, in fact, noticed Chen Cheng, but his gaze merely swept past him before moving on to scrutinize the various major and minor officials of Linji City.

His gaze then settled on the officials of the City Guard Department. More precisely, it was fixed on a single figure among its many Chiefs—a peerlessly beautiful woman in a purple robe with a cold, aloof expression.

This person was none other than Shen Qingshuang, the Chief of the South City District City Guard Headquarters.

Shen Qingshuang, however, was clearly oblivious to Qi Jiancong’s attention. At that moment, her worried gaze was fixed on Chen Cheng.

Although Shen Qingshuang was devoted to cultivating the Martial Dao, she was intelligent and understood, to some extent, the predicament Chen Cheng was in.

’Chen Cheng’s promotion to Vice Director of the Demon Suppression Department and his title as Linji City’s top young Martial Artist seem glorious, but in reality, a tall tree catches the wind. All kinds of trouble are bound to find their way to him.’

’His previous encounter with Su Qiluo and Su Nishang, the True Disciples from the Sutra of Ultimate Sect, was a clear sign.’

’Now that Xiao Nianci has taken notice of him, it can’t be anything good, either.’

But now that Chen Cheng had reached this point, it was clear that Shen Qingshuang couldn’t help him. Even the entire Shen Family could offer little assistance.

He would have to face all this trouble on his own.

’The only thing I can do,’ Shen Qingshuang thought, ’is to cultivate the Martial Dao with all my might, catch up to him, and do my best not to be a burden.’

...

As Xiao Nianci and her retinue arrived, Chen Cheng had been observing them in secret. He watched not only Xiao Nianci herself, but also the Purple-clothed Guards who accompanied her.