Chapter 676: Flattering Du Jianchuan

Jiang Feng's voice was like a stone tossed into a deep pool, the ripples causing everyone present to pause their movements for an instant.

Zhongcun Jiben's figure had already reached the doorway, the wide teal‑gray kimono's hem lingering at the threshold, but he stopped the moment his words fell.

His foot hovered in mid‑air, like a stone statue frozen by a pause button.

Then he slowly turned around, those eyes that had narrowed reopening, revealing a gaze as sharp as a sword beneath.

His gaze swept the main hall once, finally landing on him.

"You said what?"

Zhongcun Jiben's voice was neither loud nor soft, carrying the hoarseness typical of an elder, yet within that hoarseness lay a chill that tightened one's spine.

His gaze lingered on Jiang Feng for several breaths, as if identifying something. Then his complexion shifted slightly, his brows imperceptibly furrowing for a moment.

He discovered something.

He could not sense the young man's aura.

He could clearly perceive Qiao Zhenyu's aura, the dense true Qi of a Heavenly Person Mid-stage flowing unmistakably within his perception…

But the young man seated on the side chair was a blank in his perception.

When his divine consciousness probed, it was like reaching into a bottomless well—nothing could be touched, nothing could be felt.

That feeling was more unsettling than facing a powerful opponent. A powerful opponent is at least a mountain; he can see its height and gauge his own climbing ability.

But the young man before him was like a mountain hidden in clouds—he could not even discern its outline, let alone gauge its height.

Either this young man was an ordinary person with no strength at all, or… his cultivation far surpassed his own.

Zhongcun Jiben's finger twitched slightly inside his sleeve.

The latter possibility cracked the first fissure in his previously composed confidence.

He had entered the Half-step Martial Ancestor realm for decades, and throughout the Ying Kingdom's martial world, aside from those ancient monsters long withdrawn from society, no one dared speak so casually before him.

He had crossed the sea from thousands of miles away, even the Governor of Tianzhou had to accompany him with a smile; his words now were a decree, and no one dared defy them.

But now a young man seated on the side chair, using a tone like haggling with a street vendor, stopped him.

Jiang Feng did not stand. He sat on the hard wooden chair, back against the backrest, one hand on the armrest, the other holding a teacup, his gaze calmly fixed on Zhongcun Jiben as if looking at a merchant selling goods in his home.

He took a sip of tea, then spoke, his tone as casual as if discussing what to eat for lunch.

"I say, no need to wait three days."

"I can give you an answer right now. Your foolish grandson died a needless death."

The air in the main hall seemed completely drained of something.

The Tianzhou officials huddled in the corners wished they could bury their heads in their chests, even their breathing became cautious. They could feel Zhongcun Jiben's deliberately restrained aura loosening, as if something beneath an ice sheet was slowly cracking.

Zhongcun Jiben's complexion twisted slightly in that instant, a razor‑sharp glint flashing in his eyes, like a blade hidden in its sheath for years being suddenly drawn out by an inch.

His lips pressed together, the muscles of his jaw tightened to death, yet he was restraining, he was waiting.

After a long while, he smiled.

That laugh was colder than any before, as if squeezed out from the depths of an ice cellar, bearing a suppressed, raging fury that was forcibly held back.

He laughed several times, then ceased, his gaze steadied again, sharp as before.

"Good, very good."

He nodded, as if savoring something extremely interesting.

"Governor Du, is this the answer this person gave on behalf of Tianzhou for me?"

Du Jianchuan's spine snapped straight.

He could feel Zhongcun Jiben's gaze like an invisible sword landing on him, the weight making his spine creak.

He hurriedly rose from the main seat, his face plastered with a perfectly timed flattering smile, hurried to Zhongcun Jiben, his waist bent three degrees lower than usual, his voice tinged with a eager desire to ingratiate himself.

"Sword Saint Zhongcun, calm your anger; this must be a misunderstanding! This person is not a Tianzhou official; his words cannot represent Tianzhou's stance!"

He said, turning his head toward Qiao Zhenyu, his voice rising a few notches.

"The one who killed Young Master Zhongcun is Lu Zhanlian; I decree it! Immediately issue orders to seize Lu Zhanlian and hand him over to Sword Saint Zhongcun for punishment!"

The main hall erupted with a chorus of sharp inhalations.

The officials each stared wide‑eyed at Du Jianchuan's slightly distorted, flattering face, as if witnessing something unbelievable.

Who is Lu Zhanlian?

He is the last guardian of Tianzhou Martial Arts, the elder who risked his life on the arena to win dignity for Tianzhou, the meritorious official who exchanged half his life for the Zhenhai Technique.

Du Jianchuan would hand him over with a single sentence?

"Who dares!"

Qiao Zhenyu's voice cracked like a thunderclap exploding in the main hall.

He stepped forward two paces, standing before Du Jianchuan, his gaze like two red‑hot iron tongs gripping Du Jianchuan's slightly flickering face born of insecurity.

"Old Lu fights for Tianzhou! Governor Du, by this, aren't you afraid of chilling the hearts of all Tianzhou people?"

Du Jianchuan was forced back half a step by his momentum, but quickly straightened his back again.

The muscles on his face twitched, his voice rose a few notches, bearing a ruthless, reckless ferocity.

"Practice is practice! Lu Zhanlian killed someone, he must pay the price! Commander Qiao, if you refuse to hand over Lu Zhanlian, are you making all of Tianzhou's people pay for his mistake? How can you bear this in your heart!"

His words were righteous and severe, as if he truly considered Tianzhou's people.

But the officials in the main hall looked at him with completely changed gazes, some with extremely complex looks toward the governor who once commanded their awe.

They all knew in their hearts that Du Jianchuan was using Lu Zhanlian as a sacrificial pawn to preserve his own position.

Commander Qiao watched Du Jianchuan's flushed face from excitement, silent for a few breaths.

"Du Jianchuan, you have no right to be Tianzhou Governor."

His gaze swept over the officials seated on chairs, his voice becoming steady and powerful again.

"In the name of the Tianzhou Military Commander, I declare that no one may dare harm Old Lu a single hair. He is Tianzhou's hero; if Tianzhou cannot even protect its own hero, what right do we have to speak of martial arts, of dignity?"

The main hall fell quiet again.

Du Jianchuan's complexion turned extremely grim, his Mouth trembling as if something had choked him, his eyes fixed on Qiao Zhenyu, yet he could not utter a single word.

Zhongcun Jiben was Standing at the doorway, watching the farce before him, the hint of Laughter at the corner of his mouth deepening.

He tilted his brain, that sluggish motion typical of the elderly now carried a chilling composure. He spoke, his voice cold and hard as if he had finally lost all patience.

"Very good. Commander Qiao, is this to start a national war?"

He stepped half a pace forward, that None-shaped oppressive pressure spreading again from him, denser and heavier than before.

"So it is indeed so, then Old brother will now first kill a Thousand people, to see if Commander Qiao's neck is truly that hard."

The temperature in the main hall seemed to drop a few degrees again.

Du Jianchuan then, as if clutching a lifeline, pointed at Qiao Zhenyu with even more vigor, his voice sharp as a broken gong.

"Qiao Zhenyu! Look at the mess you've made! Do you intend to drag the entire Tianzhou down by yourself? Such short-sightedness, I will certainly petition the Emperor to remove you as the Military Office Commander!"

Just as his voice hoarsened from shouting, a lazy voice drifted in from the side.

"Today, if you can kill a person, I'll consider that this old turtle of yours has skill."