Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Late Stage, Action

’This old fox is definitely up to something...’

A thought flashed through Fang Xing’s mind. Looking at the beaming Patriarch Ning, he said impassively, "Patriarch Ning, to be honest, my heart already belongs to someone. She’s from the Observatory."

He had no choice but to make something up out of thin air.

Although he wasn’t sure what Ning Jiangbo’s true intentions were, he had no desire to get entangled with the Ning Family.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of Ning Jiangbo and his wife stiffened, but they quickly returned to normal.

Ning Jiangbo sighed. "Since that’s the case, I won’t insist. If you have the chance, Lord Fang, please feel free to visit the Ning Mansion more often. You will always be welcome."

Fang Xing nodded slightly.

...

After the meal ended, Fang Xing left. Before his departure, Ning Jiangbo gifted him some silver notes.

Silver notes for five hundred taels!

Fang Xing accepted them without any hesitation.

He would take the money; if a matter arose in the future, he would handle it accordingly.

Of course, unless it was absolutely necessary, Fang Xing still didn’t want to go up against the three great families.

After all, the three great families had powerful connections.

Without strength that surpassed the Neutralizing Force realm, it would be extremely difficult to take them down.

Fang Xing was well aware of this.

...

Time passed, and the New Year arrived.

In the following days, besides his daily Cultivation, Fang Xing also received many visitors who came to pay their New Year’s respects.

Besides his colleagues and subordinates, some other factions also came to pay their respects.

Compared to ordinary days, his New Year was actually busier.

This flurry of activity continued for several days after the New Year before things finally settled down.

After the fifteenth day of the New Year, the festive atmosphere completely faded away.

Early spring arrived, and the ice and snow began to melt.

After the New Year, aside from occasionally showing his face at the County Yamen, Fang Xing spent all his other time cultivating.

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

Late at night, inside a room in Linxi Courtyard in Tongfang District, Fang Xing sat cross-legged, cultivating with the Longevity Technique’s Heart Method.

A dense Power enveloped his entire body.

A sound like rumbling thunder echoed from within his body.

His blood surged like a torrential river.

The surging Power constantly pounded against his internal organs.

HUMMM—!!

An invisible wave spread out from his body, and the surrounding airflow began to swirl.

The Power scoured his internal organs, seeming to break some kind of limit. With a crisp sound from within his body, an acupoint was suddenly broken through.

An immense aura erupted from within him.

In that instant, his eyes snapped open.

’Late Stage of Neutralizing Force!’

Feeling the immense Power within his body, Fang Xing clenched his fist.

Bolstered by a wealth of resources, he had finally broken through this barrier.

In the three months since entering the Neutralizing Force realm, he had managed to advance almost every month.

At the Late Stage of Neutralizing Force, his strength had reached a new level.

By cultivating the Longevity Technique, his Power had become even more dense and pure.

The Longevity Strength surged within him.

Compared to when he had first entered the Neutralizing Force realm, it was a transformation from a stream into a great river.

Besides the growth of his Cultivation, his internal organs and the sinews and bones of his Flesh Body had all been strengthened.

This was another powerful characteristic of the Longevity Technique.

Unlocking the potential of the Flesh Body!

The deeper one cultivated, the more potential of the Flesh Body could be unlocked.

The power of Top Level Martial Arts was incomparable to that of Superior Martial Arts.

There was a huge chasm between them.

Feeling the changes in his body, this feeling of substantial power set his mind at ease.

Strength is the only true guarantee!

Everything else is just an illusion.

According to his agreement with Shen Ye, he had been qualified to join the Observatory as soon as he broke through to the Neutralizing Force realm.

With his current Cultivation, it was now a foregone conclusion.

But Fang Xing was in no hurry.

He still had his cleanup plan to complete.

It wouldn’t be too late to go when Shen Ye came again.

The stronger he became, the greater his progress would be.

Closing his eyes and circulating the Longevity Technique, Fang Xing began to stabilize his Cultivation.

The night passed quickly.

As dawn broke and the morning sun rose, Fang Xing stepped out of his room.

After eating breakfast and washing up, he left home and headed for the County Yamen.

Now that he’d broken through to the Neutralizing Force realm, it was time to begin the next phase of his cleanup plan.

He was running low on Enhancement Points, so this was a good opportunity to harvest a new batch and accumulate ample resources for his future Cultivation.

Between his Late Stage of Neutralizing Force cultivation, the Longevity Technique, and his mastery of two Superior Martial Arts, he wasn’t the least bit worried about facing an expert at the Peak of Neutralizing Force.

Setting aside his Martial Arts, his astonishing Power alone would be enough to suppress them.

The Inner Strength from the Longevity Technique far surpassed ordinary Power.

It was the difference between cotton and refined iron.

They might be the same size, but their substance was completely different.

...

「County Yamen, General Guard Room.」

When Fang Xing arrived, Chen Shan was already waiting for him.

Upon seeing Fang Xing, Chen Shan inexplicably felt an invisible pressure.

This wasn’t the pressure of a superior’s rank, but one born of raw strength.

Even though Fang Xing wasn’t releasing any aura, something told Chen Shan that terrifying power was hidden within him.

Like a fierce tiger, one could sense its terrifying nature just by being near it.

A spiritual pressure!

This was something that only occurred when the gap in strength reached an astonishing level.

’Could it be that he’s already entered the Neutralizing Force realm?’

A bold thought flashed through Chen Shan’s mind.

’Neutralizing Force!’

’A nineteen-year-old at the Neutralizing Force realm... just the thought of it felt absurd.’

Such an astonishing genius would be considered absolute top-tier talent even in the Province Mansion, to say nothing of a place like Qingshan County.

"What’s wrong? Why are you spacing out?"

Fang Xing’s voice reached his ears, and Chen Shan immediately snapped back to his senses, stepping forward to bow.

"My Lord."

Fang Xing glanced at Chen Shan, then sat down in the head seat. "Those factions I had you watch, what’s the situation?"

Chen Shan collected himself and nodded. "My Lord, everything is under control. Please rest assured."

"Then let’s draw in the net today. We can’t allow these tumors to remain any longer," Fang Xing said.

!!!

Hearing this, Chen Shan’s heart trembled. He looked at Fang Xing. "My Lord, you mean... take them all down?"

"What else?" Fang Xing said coolly.

Chen Shan: "..."

Chen Shan lowered his head, a hesitant look on his face. "My Lord, doing this will surely cause a massive stir. Some of these factions have ties to the Five Great Forces."

Fang Xing raised his eyes to look at him, his expression nonchalant. "We are eliminating a scourge for the people. What are you afraid of?"

’I’m afraid...’

’How can I not be afraid?’

’There are several Neutralizing Force Level Martial Artists backing them!’

"I’ll take full responsibility for anything that happens. I will personally lead this operation. You just bring the men," Fang Xing said.

Hearing this, Chen Shan nodded.

Since Fang Xing had given the order, he had no choice but to obey.

He had originally thought Fang Xing was targeting those factions just to extort some money from them, but he never imagined that Fang Xing intended to pull them out by the roots!

’But since Fang Xing is leading personally, my job is just to assist.’

"Go gather the men and have them wait outside the County Yamen," Fang Xing ordered.

"Yes!"

Chen Shan nodded and immediately turned to leave.

Watching Chen Shan leave, Fang Xing picked up a few documents from the table and glanced at them. Then, he headed outside the County Yamen.

...

Outside the County Yamen, a group of Constables stood in neat formation.

Fifty men in total!

They were all Constables from under Chen Shan’s command.

"My Lord!"

A unified shout rang out. Fang Xing nodded slightly. "Move out."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Fang Xing headed toward the southern part of the city.

Chen Shan and the troop of Constables followed close behind, the large procession making its way toward the southern part of the city.

...

In the southern district, dozens of Constables had formed an impenetrable cordon around a courtyard residence.

"My Lord, this is the place," Chen Shan said from the side, looking at the residence.

BANG!!!

The moment the words were out, Fang Xing lifted a hand. An invisible surge of Power shot out, directly blasting the courtyard gates clean off their hinges.

He strode purposefully into the courtyard.

Seeing this, Chen Dong followed close behind, and a few other Constables went in as well.