Chapter 46: 46 Lacking Martial Virtue

Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Lacking Martial Virtue

No wonder Li Mingqi appointed the arrest officer so swiftly—it turns out Wu Qingfeng was also eyeing this position and even went so far as to shed all pretense to fight for it!

Does he think that by obtaining the position of arrest officer, he can strip Li Mingqi of his authority?

Is becoming a Gang Condensation expert really that simple?

Chen Yuan found it somewhat incomprehensible—if he were Wu Qingfeng, he would have taken the gains and stopped, never pressing aggressively at such a time.

While the position of arrest officer was made a subject of contention, the position of head jailer was deliberately ignored. Chen Yuan speculated that perhaps Wu Qingfeng had already secured the latter position,

but he was not satisfied!

...

“Twenty moves!”

Li Mingqi’s face was somber, his gaze unsettled.

A Bone Refining Martial Artist’s skeleton is robust, and after three rounds of Blood Refining, their physical body is greatly enhanced, rarely matched by a Blood Refining Martial Artist.

But lasting through twenty moves seemed to offer some hope.

“If Lord Li disagrees and insists on doing things his own way, I will definitely report Lord Li’s decision to Shangguan, and let Shangguan decide if Lord Li is right or not!”

Wu Qingfeng said in a timely manner.

Chen Yuan squinted his eyes; this seemed all too cliché to him. At the critical moment, there would always be a disruption—indeed, art imitates life. He suddenly understood the dime novels he had read in his past life.

“Since County Magistrate Wu has said so, let’s give it a try…” Li Mingqi turned his gaze to Wang Lin, paused for a moment, then finally rested on Chen Yuan, whispering:

“Chen Yuan, you’re up!”

Compared to Chen Yuan, Li Mingqi felt that Wang Lin’s strength was stronger, and he was already his man. Did he really think he was unaware of Tie Xuan’s defection to Wu Qingfeng?

The ones who had previously rushed into the Arrest Room to inform Huang Xing, as well as those sent to notify him, were all Wang Lin’s confidants.

If promoting a Blood Refining Martial Artist hadn’t seemed too abrupt and if the Government Officials in the government wouldn’t have been convinced, Li Mingqi would have directly promoted Wang Lin to the position of arrest officer.

He was well aware of Wang Lin’s strength; in the Blood Refining Level, he certainly belonged to the very powerful few. One could say that the position of arrest officer was actually almost secured.

Now was the perfect time to use Chen Yuan to test and wear down Li Mu’s strength!

Chen Yuan was taken aback—shouldn’t he be the one to appear last and turn the tide? Why was this deviating from the norm? However, Chen Yuan did not show his surprise and quickly bowed, saying:

“This subordinate obeys!”

“Li Mu, he’s yours,”

Wu Qingfeng said with a faint hint of a cold smile at the corner of his mouth.

The muscular man bowed:

“This subordinate obeys!”

Having said that, he suddenly stamped his foot on the ground, leaped into the air several meters high, and landed on the stage with a dull thud.

Chen Yuan’s face was filled with solemnity. A Bone Refining Martial Artist, whether in speed, defense, or attack, was many times stronger than a Blood Refining one—a formidable opponent indeed!

Yet, he did not back down but instead felt a surge of combativeness.

The path of Martial Arts, fraught with hardships, is about stepping over rivals to reach the pinnacle.

“Begin!”

Li Mingqi barked the command, and Chen Yuan’s eyes lit up. He chose not to defend but to attack because offense was the best defense!

The blade flashed, the long saber unscathed instantly; Sword Drawing Skill, unleashed!

The two were about eight meters apart. In the blink of an eye, Chen Yuan had closed the distance and a bright gleam of the saber aimed straight for Li Mu’s neck!

Li Mingqi narrowed his eyes. Chen Yuan’s strike was even faster than before—he had been holding back!

Below, Wu Yushan stood with his mouth agape in astonishment, goosebumps rising on his skin.

“Clang!”

Li Mu was calm, the Nine Ring Great Saber strapped to his back used to shield himself at the very instant Chen Yuan moved, emitting a sound of metal clashing and sparks flying…

Li Mu’s brow furrowed as he took a step back, finally offsetting the huge force from just a moment ago.

The people below were full of shock, but none dared make a sound, their gaze fixated on the scene. Chen Yuan, at the Blood Refining Level, had actually managed to push back a Bone Refining Martial Artist!

“Hmm?”

Li Mu let out a cold snort, feeling humiliated. His right hand gripped the hilt of his saber tightly, and he swung down directly at Chen Yuan, while the latter dodged to the side.

“Bang!”

A layer of dust rose from the ground as the bluestone platform, under that strike, unexpectedly bore a fine crack from the saber.

Saber splitting bluestone!

One could imagine how strong that force had been.

Seeing Chen Yuan dodge to the side, Li Mu changed his chop to a sweep, the blade sweeping horizontally, aiming to sever Chen Yuan’s legs. Yet, Chen Yuan’s eyes sharpened, and with a close shave, he leaped up. His flesh unable to stop falling, Chen Yuan tapped his leg on the blade, borrowing the force to surge forward and kicked towards Li Mu’s chest.

“Scram!”

Li Mu uttered in a low shout, his left fist charged and hammered onto the bottom of Chen Yuan’s foot.

“Stomp stomp stomp…”

Chen Yuan was sent flying, landing heavily on the ground before continuing to retreat several steps to dissipate the force.

The strength of a Bone Refining Martial Artist was indeed strong!

Li Mu repelled Chen Yuan, not giving him a chance to react. He stepped forward swiftly, bringing with him a gust of cold wind, and in the blink of an eye, he was right before Chen Yuan, chopping down towards his head.

Chen Yuan’s pupils constricted, sensing danger, and immediately raised his saber to block.

“Ding!”

The Nine Ring Great Saber actually chipped a notch in Chen Yuan’s standard-issue long saber, the bluestone underfoot shook as if a giant stone had fallen. Chen Yuan’s right leg bent sharply, he gritted his teeth, at this moment, he could not worry about being discovered anymore.

The next moment, his clothes filled with golden paint, his blood qi surged throughout his body, bracing against Li Mu’s powerful strength as he straightened his bent right leg, looking at him:

“Get lost!”

Chen Yuan suddenly raised his right leg, slamming it straight towards the space between Li Mu’s legs.

Li Mu was instantly startled, his legs clamping together, attempting to retract his stance, but at this moment, it was already too late.

“Bang!”

Chen Yuan’s kick connected squarely, Li Mu’s face went dark as he staggered back several steps, propping the Nine Ring Great Saber on the ground, grinding his teeth as he roared:

“You, have no honor!”

Obviously, although Li Mu had managed to retract a bit, Chen Yuan had still grazed him.

“There were no rules stated before the bout!”

Chen Yuan scoffed, taking two steps and lunging forward, leaping up!

…

…

“County Magistrate Wu, it has been twenty moves already,” Li Mingqi said indifferently, his eyes showing a hint of admiration for Chen Yuan at this moment.

Thanks to those few preemptive strikes, Chen Yuan had stubbornly fought through the first dozen moves. Although later on he was overpowered by the furious Li Mu, he had managed to hold his ground without any injury.

And had not lost face.

Hearing Li Mingqi’s words, Wu Qingfeng’s expression turned ashen, and he said coldly:

“Li Mu, that’s enough!”

Li Mu, standing on the platform, suddenly stopped, his hands gripping the Nine Ring Saber tightly in mid-air, refraining from making another move, as he glared at Chen Yuan, begrudgingly retracting his saber.

Chen Yuan grinned, though injured, his wounds were fortunately superficial.

Wu Qingfeng didn’t exchange any further words with Li Mingqi. Instead, with a face still ashen, he scrutinized Chen Yuan carefully, as if etching his image into memory.