Disturbance

The streets were in utter chaos.

The source of it all was the grand ritual ceremony by the river.

Old Man Li cast a worried glance toward the riverbank and lowered his voice. "A Qing, let's... keep the order in the surrounding waterways first..."

Chen Qing nodded silently. That was exactly what he had been thinking.

The Commandant had been assassinated. If they rashly approached the heart of the scene now, they might well be swept into the whirlpool—and even suffer disaster as fish caught in the spillover.

They were merely minor River Bureau officers. Preserving themselves was the wisest course.

The two struggled through the panicked crowd, moving against the flow.

Chen Qing asked in a low voice, "Old Li, what exactly happened?"

Old Man Li steadied himself, his voice still carrying lingering fear. "The ritual had reached its crucial moment when several black shadows suddenly burst from the river. They were all masked experts in black. Sleeve arrows and crossbow bolts flew at once, and one of them ran the Commandant through the chest with a single sword strike! Even the County Magistrate was injured... The whole scene exploded into chaos. Everything went completely out of control..."

Chen Qing's heart tightened.

No matter how skilled one was, it was hard to guard against arrows shot from the dark.

With that in mind, he secretly warned himself that in the future, whenever he acted, he had to strike before his enemies could make their move.

"Move!"

At that moment, a rough roar boomed out, and the crowd was forcibly split apart to form a passage.

Following the sound, Chen Qing saw squads of County Soldiers clad in jet-black armor charging madly toward the ritual platform like wolves and tigers, blades drawn and murderous intent billowing.

Old Man Li tugged at Chen Qing's sleeve and lowered his voice even further. "Listen to me. Take care of what's in front of us first."

Chen Qing understood. The two immediately began evacuating the terrified commoners around the Outer Perimeter, doing their utmost to maintain the crumbling order.

By evening, Chief River Commissioner Ke Yunqi hurriedly returned to the River Bureau office.

Everyone's faces were ashen, and their steps were heavy.

Before long, suppressed roars of fury came from Ke Yunqi's room.

Old Li whispered into Chen Qing's ear, "After all these years, this is the first time I've seen the Chief River Commissioner this angry..."

Chen Qing silently glanced at the tightly shut door.

Was this towering fury truly over the Commandant's assassination, or was there another reason?

Not long after, Cheng Ming emerged, dragging his exhausted body behind him. His expression was grave. "Let's talk outside."

Chen Qing and Old Man Li followed closely behind.

"The Commandant is severely wounded and unconscious. Whether he lives or dies remains uncertain. He has already been escorted back to the main camp."

Cheng Ming let out a heavy sigh, his tone weary yet indignant. "The Chief Commissioner was grilled by Deputy Commander Lin for quite some time just now, and he's been holding in a bellyful of anger. Those County Soldiers have been arrogant for far too long."

Chen Qing asked, "Boss, is there any lead on the killers?"

Cheng Ming said in a grave voice, "There were eight assassins. Five died on the spot, while three escaped. The entire city has been placed under martial lockdown, and the search is underway."

Old Man Li could not help clicking his tongue. "To dare lay hands on Commander Pang, these people are no ordinary lot."

Cheng Ming's eyes sharpened as he said quietly, "Among the bodies whose identities have been confirmed are the first and second chiefs of Reed Marsh, the chief of Vulture Beach Water Stronghold, and two others whose identities remain unknown. We're still investigating."

All river bandits?!

Chen Qing narrowed his eyes.

Pang Qinghai had barely resumed his post before he wiped out Bailang Bay, intimidating the bandits across the waters and marshes.

Their joining hands to carry out this assassination could indeed have been the desperate leap of dogs driven into a corner.

But could river bandits alone truly plan such a precise, earthshaking assassination?

Without an insider coordinating from within, it would have been absolutely impossible!

After pondering for a moment, Cheng Ming waved a hand. "You should head back and rest early as well. The Martial Arts Examination is near. Patrol Guard duty must be strengthened these next few days. There can be no slackening."

"Yes!"

Chen Qing and Old Man Li clasped their fists and accepted the order before turning to leave.

On his way home, Chen Qing saw constables packed throughout the streets and alleys. County Soldiers guarded every Key Passage, strictly interrogating anyone suspicious.

The display looked rigorous, but in truth, it was like fishing for a needle in the ocean. The hope of finding the real culprit was exceedingly slim.

Chen Qing frowned inwardly. "I just hope this won't affect my boxing practice."

This was most likely some filthy struggle among various factions. It would be better to stay far away from it.

He bore the destiny [Heaven Rewards Diligence]. There was simply no need to involve himself for such petty gains.

The next day, at Zhou Academy.

The disciples in the courtyard were discussing yesterday's earthshaking event.

"Those river bandits must have eaten bear hearts and leopard gallbladders to dare assassinate the Commandant!"

"I heard the County Yamen constables spent the whole night turning the city upside down, yet they didn't even catch a single hair. The killers seemed to have vanished into thin air."

"The Commandant's injuries are extremely grave. Whether he lives or dies is uncertain."

"Sigh, I wonder whether the Martial Arts Examination will be delayed because of this..."

Amid the discussion, Luo Qian stood alone in a corner, silently practicing her stance.

Zhou Yu and Li Rongrong spoke in low voices, their expressions grave.

Qin Lie sat alone to one side, his face incomparably ugly. He had no mind for boxing at all. Was the Commandant, this towering tree, truly about to come crashing down?

"Master's here."

Someone whispered, and the disciples in the courtyard immediately composed themselves and began practicing with affected seriousness.

Zhou Liang emerged from the Backyard, his lightning-sharp gaze sweeping over everyone as he said in a deep voice, "Qin Lie, Sun Shun, Zheng Ziqiao, Luo Qian, Qi Wenhan, Liu Xiaolou, Chen Qing... You seven, stay behind tonight."

After saying that, Zhou Liang turned and returned to the Backyard.

Everyone in the courtyard knew that their master had something to instruct them about.

The names called before had all belonged to the academy's elite disciples, each at least a Hidden Strength expert who had broken through the barrier twice.

But when the final two words, "Chen Qing," fell, quite a few disciples instinctively looked toward him, their gazes filled with confusion and astonishment.

Sun Shun was the first to react. He looked at Chen Qing in delighted surprise. "Junior Brother Chen, you broke through?"

Chen Qing smiled faintly and admitted openly, "By luck. I only succeeded some time ago."

Whoosh!

As soon as those words came out, the disciples in the courtyard looked at one another, their eyes full of disbelief.

In most people's eyes, Chen Qing was nothing more than an ordinary disciple of poor aptitude and impoverished circumstances. Aside from practicing diligently every day, there had never been anything about him worth remembering.

Many had regarded him as a second He Yan.

His ultimate outcome would be no more than wasting several years at the academy before slinking away in disgrace.

Luo Qian was slightly taken aback when she heard this.

Breaking through the barrier once could be called luck, but breaking through it twice could never be explained by the word "luck."

This undoubtedly showed that she had misjudged him before.

Qin Lie also raised his head, a fleeting trace of surprise crossing his eyes.

Chen Qing had actually managed to break through the barrier twice as well?

Suddenly, an idea arose in his heart.

Zhou Yu was initially stunned, then broke into a radiant smile. "Good! The academy has gained another Hidden Strength expert. This is truly cause for celebration."

Beside her, Li Rongrong stared at Chen Qing in astonishment, as though she could not believe her own ears.

"Good kid!"

Sun Shun gave Chen Qing's shoulder a hard pat and praised him sincerely. "You hid it deeply enough! Congratulations!"

Zhou Yu stepped forward a few paces and smiled. "Junior Brother Chen, congratulations on your breakthrough."

"Thank you, Senior Sister."

Chen Qing clasped his fists in return.

This senior sister was quite good. She looked after every disciple with great care.

When Chen Qing had reached Bright Strength, she had even given him a packet of Blood Vitality Powder.

After that, the other disciples also came forward one after another to offer their congratulations.

Even Zheng Ziqiao, who normally had little interaction with Chen Qing, walked over with a smile piled across his face. "Junior Brother Chen, congratulations, congratulations!"

Luo Qian cast a distant glance his way, her face still expressionless as she continued practicing her stance.

The Luo Family had no shortage of experts who had broken through the barrier twice. He was not worth her going out of her way to flatter.