"Yo~ Cheng Guanbo, who are you scolding? Don't tell me you're scolding me?"
In mid-air, Chu Chen's teasing voice startled Cheng Guanbo and the others.
They suddenly looked around but couldn't find the source of the voice.
"Where are you looking? I'm up here."
Chu Chen looked down from above, his eyes full of amusement.
At this moment, Chi Cheng and the others finally looked up and saw Chu Chen hovering in the air.
Those semi-transparent wings flapped, keeping Chu Chen suspended in the sky.
"Is that a human or a birdman? How can he have wings!"
"This person can actually fly in the sky!"
Chu Chen's face darkened. "You're the birdman, you idiot! Who shouted that?"
He slowly descended from the air and stood on the ground. Chu Chen was about to speak when he paused, circulated his spiritual energy, and waved his hand.
Instantly, Cheng Guanbo and the more than ten people on horseback were blown to the ground by a powerful gust of wind, along with their horses.
"I've landed on the ground, and you still dismount to salute me? What, do you want me to look up at you?"
Chu Chen sneered at them as they struggled to get up, scolding them.
To be a general commanding the army and be swept to the ground with a wave of a hand was a complete disgrace!
Unfortunately, Chi Cheng did not have the luxury of pride. He endured the anger, got up from the ground, and with his head slightly bowed, respectfully approached Chu Chen, kneeling on one knee. "Your subordinate Chi Cheng greets Prime Minister Chu!"
"Chi Cheng, why are you here instead of guarding the Western Frontier?"
Chu Chen raised an eyebrow, showing no intention of letting him stand.
Chi Cheng was even more enraged, but with his head bowed, his face grew more respectful as he replied, "Reporting to Prime Minister Chu, my steward informed me of family matters. I know my family's actions are unforgivable, but I wish to return to see my father one last time to fulfill my filial duty."
"Oh, so you're a filial son!" Chu Chen walked around him with a look of novelty, returning to his original spot and smiling, "Since that's the case, you may rise and speak."
"Thank you, Prime Minister Chu!"
Although Chi Cheng rose from the ground, he dared not look directly at Chu Chen's face, his head still slightly bowed in respect.
"Speak, how much do you know about your family's misdeeds, and did you truly not participate?"
"Replying to Prime Minister Chu, I did not participate in family matters and do not know much. I only know that they committed a heinous act of intercepting an envoy."
Chi Cheng's words did not satisfy Chu Chen, but Chu Chen did not care.
Looking around, Chu Chen suddenly asked, "You've been evading my cavalry here, waiting for reinforcements, haven't you? Those noble families didn't just fool your idiot father, they fooled you as well."
Chi Cheng's tall frame trembled slightly, and he gritted his teeth, "Your subordinate does not understand what Prime Minister Chu means. I beg Prime Minister Chu to clarify."
"Clarify? Very well."
Chu Chen suddenly grinned. Chi Cheng felt a killing intent surge through him, and his heart trembled.
At that moment, Chu Chen suddenly attacked, lifting his leg in a whip kick, unleashing a powerful gust of wind like a sharp blade.
"Wind God's Leg!"
"Chu Chen, how dare you!"
Chi Cheng was so terrified that his soul almost flew out of his body. He was currently in military service, a general of the Western Frontier, and a Cheng Guanbo of the fourth rank. Even if Chu Chen was the current Prime Minister, he would absolutely not be able to get away with this unscathed.
He desperately squeezed out his spiritual energy, extending his hands filled with a large amount of spiritual energy for defense.
However, the gap between the Qi Transformation realm and the Body Refining realm was a full rank. How could he resist it? Even with his utmost effort to resist, it was merely a psychological comfort.
In less than a breath, Chi Cheng and the more than ten people behind him were all torn apart by the Wind God's Leg, turning into minced meat that scattered everywhere.
"Ugh~ This move is a bit too bloody."
Chu Chen quickly retreated, feeling a little speechless.
"Chi Cheng, Chi Cheng, it's your fault for offending me and then daring to bring so few people to an open, deserted place. Aren't you just tempting me to kill you?"
"Don't worry, your entire family will join you in a few days, so you won't be lonely on the road to the Yellow Springs."
After all the flesh and blood had fallen, Chu Chen circulated his spiritual energy, turning it into flames, and waved his hand, scattering them on the ground to burn away all traces.
Having done all this, Chu Chen used the Feather Transformation Technique and soared into the sky, leaving.
Upon returning to the county office, Chu Chen found Princess Xin Yue and said, "We can go back now."
"Ah? Didn't you go out to find Chi Cheng?" Princess Xin Yue asked with some confusion.
"I looked for him for a while but couldn't find him. Anyway, he'll eventually come to see his father. With his Body Refining realm strength, it doesn't matter. It's better to return early and stabilize the court."
"That makes sense," Princess Xin Yue nodded and said, "Are we going back by hot air balloon? Or..."
Chu Chen looked at the sparkle in her eyes and said helplessly, "I know what you're thinking, but you're thinking too much. I'm only in the Qi Transformation realm and can't fly in the sky for long. Forget about traveling. Just take the hot air balloon honestly, or you can go back by carriage yourself."
"No! Hot air balloon it is!" Princess Xin Yue pouted.
Before leaving, Chu Chen appointed Zhang Chengzhu to concurrently serve as the magistrate of Lianshan County until a new magistrate was appointed by the court.
Regarding the farmstead matter, An Xian was responsible for promoting it in other areas, while Zhang Chengzhu promoted it in Lianshan County.
After making arrangements, Chu Chen then took Princess Xin Yue and, under the gaze of the common people who watched them like celestial beings, majestically departed in a hot air balloon.
In just one day, Chu Chen and Princess Xin Yue returned to the capital, Shuangyue City. With Chu Chen's presence, the noble families, powerful officials, and dignitaries who had been pressuring the Empress immediately dared not utter a word and everything stabilized.
The dog master had returned, and the Imperial Guards, like dogs, could now be unleashed without restraint. Who wasn't afraid of being bitten? Who had a completely clean backside? And who was confident that they hadn't been infiltrated by the Imperial Guards?
A few days later, Old Master Chi and the former magistrate of Lianshan County were released from detention and escorted back to the capital to be investigated and sentenced by the Dali Temple.
At the same time, a piece of news also came from Lianshan County and the Western Frontier.
Chi Cheng, a general of ten thousand men in the Western Frontier and the current Cheng Guanbo, had disappeared. After the Dali Temple dispatched personnel to investigate with no results, despite their suspicions, they could do nothing but declare him a fugitive who had absconded to avoid punishment.
Thus, Cheng Guanbo Chi Cheng, as a dead man, ascended to the position of the number one most wanted criminal in the Yunyue Kingdom, being the highest-ranking wanted person currently.
When Chu Chen heard this news, his expression was calm, but he was laughing heartily in his heart.
While Chu Chen was busy secretly promoting the farmstead in the Yunyue Kingdom and outwardly investigating the conduct of officials, significant changes were occurring in the surrounding countries.
After a prolonged period of chaos caused by the resurgence of spiritual energy, the surrounding countries finally understood what was happening. Within their nations, various factions developed their own ideas regarding this change.
However, the only common understanding was to increase their own power and individual cultivation.
A large amount of highly nutritious food was consumed to supply martial artists, cultivate more alchemists, and research the subsequent changes brought about by the resurgence of spiritual energy, and so on.