Instant Kill

The Scripture Pavilion was already surrounded by quite a few curious Imperial Guards, both inside and out.

It wasn't often that two Company Commanders openly clashed.

Many had rushed over upon hearing the news, packing the corridors and stone steps. Even a few Imperial Guards on patrol slowed their pace, stopping to secretly watch the spectacle.

Everyone watched with amused expressions as Zhao Gaozhong was left speechless and red-faced by Bai Yan's retort.

They all wanted to see how Zhao Gaozhong would respond.

Everyone knew that Zhao Gaozhong had initiated the confrontation. Being publicly humiliated by Bai Yan like this, if he couldn't handle it well, he would lose all face. Especially for someone like him, who relied on his superior's reputation to bully others, he probably wouldn't be able to hold his head up in the Pacification Bureau again.

The two Company Commanders stood facing each other, the contrast incredibly stark.

Zhao Gaozhong, who had started the trouble, was short in stature. Now, his neck was flushed red all the way to his ears from sheer anger, making him look both comical and ugly.

In contrast, Bai Yan was eight feet tall. His brand-new Company Commander Flying Fish Robe made him appear even more upright. A calm and sharp aura emanated from him, and he firmly held the initiative.

When compared, the difference in their standing was immediately apparent.

Adding to the scene, there were even female officials among the onlookers.

One female official, with her hair styled in a double-ringed bun, gazed at Bai Yan, a flash of admiration in her eyes. She murmured, "Is this the newly promoted Company Commander Bai? He truly is remarkably handsome. I heard he's only eighteen this year. I wonder if he has a special someone?"

Another female official glanced at Zhao Gaozhong and chuckled, covering her mouth. "The Zhao Company Commander opposite him is much older, I heard he's over thirty."

"Ah? Over thirty? But he looks like he's over forty..."

Their hushed whispers weren't very loud, but they happened to drift into Zhao Gaozhong's ears. This completely ignited the rage within him.

The primordial power within him surged and erupted.

"Bai—Yan—!"

Zhao Gaozhong roared in anger, gritting his teeth, each word forced out through clenched jaws.

He no longer cared about rules and raised his palm, striking towards Bai Yan's chest.

Thick True Essence condensed in his palm, carrying a bone-chilling cold that caused the surrounding temperature to drop sharply.

"Good!"

Bai Yan sneered inwardly. He had been waiting for Zhao Gaozhong to make the first move. If the other party had only dared to use words, it would have been difficult for him to retaliate. But now that the other party had attacked first, his counterattack was perfectly justified.

Gathering his strength and True Essence, he unleashed a palm strike – Dragon Appearing in the Field – in return.

Their palms met, and a faint dragon's roar echoed. A golden dragon burst from Bai Yan's palm, charging directly at Zhao Gaozhong's chest.

Zhao Gaozhong's body stiffened abruptly, the ferocity on his face freezing in place.

The next moment, he was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, blood gushing from his mouth and nose, painting a dazzling red line through the air.

A series of cracking sounds followed as Zhao Gaozhong's right arm twisted at a bizarre angle.

White bone pierced through flesh and skin, a gruesome and terrifying sight.

He slammed heavily into the stone lamppost behind him. The sturdy lamppost snapped in half from the impact, sending碎石 flying. Zhao Gaozhong fell to the ground, spitting out another mouthful of blood.

In just a single breath, his face turned ashen, his eyes rolled back, and he completely lost consciousness.

Defeated in one move!

The surroundings fell into deathly silence, followed by a chorus of sharp intakes of breath.

Everyone's eyes were wide, their mouths agape, their faces filled with disbelief.

No matter how incompetent Zhao Gaozhong was, he was still a Company Commander who had broken through to the Innate realm years ago.

Yet, he couldn't even withstand a single move from Bai Yan.

Bai Yan clapped his hands and looked at the stunned crowd with a helpless expression, shrugging his shoulders. "Everyone saw it, right? He was the one who came looking for trouble, and he was the one who attacked first. I was merely forced to defend myself."

"Tsk, who knew he was so weak? He couldn't even take one move from me."

"I strongly suspect he was trying to set me up. If you have any issues, take it up with him. It has nothing to do with me."

With that, Bai Yan strode away with Ren Hong and Li Kaiyao.

Zhao Gaozhong's two Brigade Leaders dared not say a word and obediently cleared the path.

Only after Bai Yan had left did they dare to step forward and help Zhao Gaozhong up.

Looking at Zhao Gaozhong's broken arm and blood-covered face, the two were terrified and quickly carried him off to find a doctor.

They didn't know that Bai Yan had already held back.

If this had happened elsewhere, not within the Pacification Bureau, Zhao Gaozhong would have been turned into a mist of blood by Bai Yan's palm.

"Sir, is it really alright to do this? Zhao Gaozhong is a Company Commander, and rumor has it he's allied with Battalion Commander Wang Zheng."

Walking down the road, Ren Hong couldn't help but speak, his tone laced with clear worry:

"But Wang Zheng... he's the biological grandson of Grand Secretary Wang Qingquan..."

"I know."

Bai Yan's steps didn't falter, his face still calm:

"Don't worry about him. No matter how powerful Wang Zheng's background is, it can't reach us. You just need to know that our direct superior is Battalion Commander Zheng. That's all you need to know."

"Besides, today's incident has nothing to do with Wang Zheng. It's highly likely that Zhao Gaozhong was just looking for trouble for no reason."

Bai Yan had already figured it out. The cause of this conflict was probably still related to the Flower Thief case.

This case was a big prize, and Zhao Gaozhong was unwilling to let Bai Yan take it all for himself, so he came to cause trouble out of spite.

Although Wang Zheng had a powerful background, he only became a Battalion Commander because of it.

In terms of status and power, he was far behind Li Kaiyao.

Among the sixteen Battalion Commanders in the Northern Commandery Investigation Bureau, Zheng Haihan was truly the top one.

Even if Zheng Haihan couldn't handle it, he still had Commander Qiu Qianlong of the Imperial Guard behind him.

As far as Bai Yan knew, Qiu Qianlong had always been at odds with Grand Secretary Wang Qingquan; they were mortal enemies.

Zheng Haihan was Qiu Qianlong's man, and Bai Yan was Zheng Haihan's man, which also meant he was part of Qiu Qianlong's faction.

So, it's a battle of backgrounds? Who's afraid of whom?

Even if they couldn't win the background battle, Bai Yan still had his strength.

If it really came down to strength, a mere Wang Zheng was nothing. Bai Yan could crush him with one palm!

The Imperial Guard was filled with a bunch of thugs; very few truly followed the rules.

Although the regulations stated that colleagues could not kill each other or engage in random brawls, private conflicts and physical altercations still happened occasionally.

As long as no one was killed or permanently disabled, most incidents were handled internally, and superiors were too lazy to investigate deeply.

In less than half a day, the news had spread throughout the entire Northern Commandery Investigation Bureau.

Everyone in the Northern Commandery Investigation Bureau had heard that a newly promoted Company Commander had knocked out an old Company Commander with a single palm strike on his promotion day – fierce and ruthless.

The cause of the incident also became more and more exaggerated as it spread.

At first, it was fine. Those who witnessed the conflict could guess that Zhao Gaozhong was jealous of Bai Yan "taking the prize."

But as the story spread, things started to get a little strange.

Some said that Zhao Gaozhong was jealous of Bai Yan's handsome looks, so he wanted to teach him a lesson, but instead, he got beaten.

Some said that Zhao Gaozhong, seeing Bai Yan's youth, wanted to act like an elder and give him pointers on martial arts, but it turned out he was the weaker one.

After being knocked out by Bai Yan's palm, Zhao Gaozhong shamelessly claimed he wasn't ready.

There was also a rumor that Zhao Gaozhong had taken a liking to a female Company Commander, but this female Company Commander had her heart set on Bai Yan. Zhao Gaozhong, resentful, wanted to teach Bai Yan a lesson, but ended up being beaten to the ground with one palm.

In the end, Bai Yan won the beauty's heart, while Zhao Gaozhong had his arm broken and lost all face.

In short, there were all sorts of versions, and each one was told as if it were true. Many even developed elaborate backstories, starting from Bai Yan's birth and leading up to the current conflict, making the story incredibly dramatic.

Bai Yan had already stopped paying attention to the matter, but upon hearing these rumors, he couldn't help but feel speechless.

It was like "three people talking about a tiger" – he never expected the people in the Pacification Bureau to be so gossipy.