Divine-level Base

Chapter 169 - 168: Flame Master Jing Chen

"Shu Feng is my brother! All my life, I’ve never wanted to be Patriarch. I just want a few good brothers who would die for me, and a few beautiful confidantes I can open my heart to."

Li Xuan Yi sighed softly, a trace of weariness in his eyes. Ever since he revealed his extraordinary talent at the age of eight, his older brother no longer looked at him with affection, but with vigilance and fear.

It was only after Shu Feng returned to save him in Tando City that Li Xuan Yi truly accepted him as a brother.

A mocking look flashed in Li Xuan Yi’s eyes. "Besides, by making an enemy of the Han Family, some people back home might even be happy about it. It might even reduce some of their other little schemes."

Elder Fang fell silent. He was a Spirit Sect Realm expert. Even though he was a servant of the Li Family, he was one of the highest-ranking ones and privy to many secrets. He had also heard about how Li Xuan Yi was hunted by Spirit Sect Realm experts during his internship in the Erosion Realm and had his own suspicions about the incident.

However, among the great Noble Families and Clans, fratricide was officially forbidden, but such things still happened constantly. As long as no hard evidence was found, they could only act as if nothing had ever occurred.

Li Xuan Yi said, "Elder Fang, go."

Elder Fang replied, "Yes, Young Master!"

Flame City was located near the Qianyuan Republic’s capital, Azure Dragon Spirit City, and served as the headquarters of the Guardian Flame.

"Leaking intelligence, erasing a call for help... The Han Family is truly audacious. They’ll dare to do anything! These scions of the Noble Families are becoming increasingly arrogant and lawless."

A middle-aged man spoke, his tone impassive. He wore a silver uniform with a badge on his chest—an emblem of a flame and a silver sword. His build was average and his features plain, but his eyes were bright and sharp.

At these words, many of the Guardian Flame’s high-ranking members in the conference hall looked uncomfortable. A good number of them came from Noble Family backgrounds.

But not a single one of the Guardian Flame’s leaders dared to speak, for this ordinary-looking middle-aged man was Jing Chen, the Flame Master. He was the supreme leader of the Guardian Flame, one of the Four Pillars of the Qianyuan Republic. He was also an incomparably powerful Half-Saint and one of the individuals in the Qianyuan Republic most likely to advance to the Spirit Saint realm.

The Qianyuan Republic officially had three major Spiritualist organizations: the Guardian Flame, which answered to the Congress; the Heart of Steel, which was part of the military; and the Shield of Glory, which reported directly to the Royal Family.

The Four Pillars supporting the Qianyuan Republic were Jing Chen, the Flame Master of the Guardian Flame; Wu Kuang and Zhao Yuanlong, the two Grand Marshals of the Heart of Steel; and Jiang Ba, the Grand Commander of the Shield of Glory.

Even His Majesty the Emperor of the Qianyuan Republic would show the Flame Master, Jing Chen, a great deal of respect.

Ordinary people didn’t know it, but the upper echelons of the Qianyuan Republic were all well aware. The Qianyuan Republic was rotten to the core with corruption, filled with countless parasites. It was only through the tireless support of the Four Pillars that countless restless and ambitious individuals were suppressed, allowing the Qianyuan Republic to remain at the pinnacle of the world.

Jing Chen said coolly, "Han Feng, you may leave."

"Yes, Flame Master!"

A handsome middle-aged man’s eyes flashed with Fear. He gritted his teeth, rose, and strode outside, his heart filled with Despair.

Sympathetic gazes fell upon Han Feng. The high-ranking members of the Guardian Flame all knew that Han Feng was finished.

Han Feng was an outstanding member of the direct line of the Xuyang Han Family. A Spirit Sect Realm expert, he had climbed his way to the lucrative position of a department director within the Guardian Flame’s logistics division.

The moment Han Feng left that conference room, he was stripped of his director position. Next, the Han Family’s influence within the Guardian Flame would face a major purge by Jing Chen.

The Han Family’s power in the Qianyuan Republic would also be dealt a massive blow.

Jing Chen’s gaze, sharp as a blade, swept across the faces of the Guardian Flame’s leaders. He said coolly, "I don’t want something like this to happen a second time within the Guardian Flame. If there is a second time, people will die."

Among the leaders of the Guardian Flame, some turned pale, while others were filled with excitement. They all responded in unison, "Yes, Flame Master!"

The vast majority of the lower ranks in the Guardian Flame were from the Lower Class, while sixty percent of the upper echelons were experts from Noble Families. After the Han Family’s influence was purged, Jing Chen could seize the opportunity to promote some members from the Lower Class and balance the power structure.

「Inside a villa at Shuijing High School.」

"Third Brother, what are you doing here?"

Han Leiying pushed away the petite, fair-skinned beauty in his arms and greeted a young man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight with a smile.

That young man was Han Yuantian, the third of the Han Family Five Dragons, and one of the most outstanding geniuses of the younger generation in the Qianyuan Republic.

SLAP!

Expressionless, Han Yuantian viciously slapped Han Leiying across the face. The blow made Han Leiying’s face swell up, and a trickle of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Han Leiying said, shocked and furious, "Third Brother, why did you hit me?"

"You, get out!"

Han Yuantian’s gaze fell on the sexy beauty Han Leiying had pushed aside, and he said icily.

The sexy and gorgeous beauty immediately scurried out of the villa.

Han Yuantian said icily, "Because of your stupidity, Third Uncle has been stripped of all his duties in the Guardian Flame. The Bei Yuan Li Family is sparing no effort to strike at our Han Family’s influence."

Han Leiying argued loudly, his face a mask of disbelief, "How is that possible? Everything I did was extremely covert. There’s no way they could find any evidence."

"My stupid little brother, let me tell you where you went wrong. Forcing Shu Feng to sell you the Little World in his possession—that wasn’t wrong. For our Han Family to become an Upper-Grade Noble Family, we need more territory and more resources."

"The strong prey on the weak; that is the immutable Law of this world. Which Noble Family hasn’t risen with their hands soaked in blood?"

"Shu Feng is weak and has no backing, yet he possesses a territory in the Erosion Realm. That in itself is his original sin."

"Using procedure to transfer Shu Feng to the Leiyin Republic wasn’t wrong either. Even if it was a bit out of line, the procedure was correct, so no one could criticize you."

"But an Evil God invasion is a major event! How dare you intercept the report and not pass it on, framing a colleague in the process? That’s the height of stupidity! You crossed the Guardian Flame’s bottom line. How could the Flame Master possibly tolerate that?"

"If they had any proof, do you think you’d still be standing here talking to me?"

Han Yuantian glared at Han Leiying and said coldly.

Han Leiying’s body trembled slightly, and he fell silent.

Han Yuantian said, "The most terrifying part is that the Bei Yuan Li Family has made their move! They’re using this incident to attack us. Many of our businesses on Blue Star have been targeted by them, and our losses are heavy."

Han Leiying looked incredulous. "The Bei Yuan Li Family? You mean Li Xuan Yi? How is that possible? How could he move against our Han Family for a nobody like Shu Feng? We’re a Fourth-Grade Noble Family!"