Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill-Chapter 60: Settling Accounts

Shen Qingshuang hadn’t expected Chen Cheng to answer so decisively, and a peculiar light flashed in her beautiful eyes. After all, faced with such a difficult situation, even she would have struggled to make a decision if she were in his shoes.

"Very good!" Shen Qingshuang declared, her voice ringing out. She immediately looked toward He Zhiling and Li Sheng, her gaze turning cold once more. "Are you two going to withdraw?"

He Zhiling was extremely surprised by Chen Cheng’s decision, but he had already thought this through. If Chen Cheng was going through with the assessment, then so was he. Perhaps Chen Cheng and Zhou Fang would fight until they both suffered heavy losses, allowing him to reap the benefits. This way, he would neither offend Shen Qingshuang nor the Zhou Family and could successfully be promoted to official constable.

"I will also participate in the assessment," He Zhiling said, straightening his back. In front of Chief Constable Shen Qingshuang, he couldn’t afford to show less backbone than Chen Cheng.

Shen Qingshuang nodded slightly, showing her satisfaction. "Mm, not bad."

The only one left was Li Sheng. The man looked at Zhou Fang, then at Shen Qingshuang, his eyes darting about as he schemed.

His only goal was to prevent Chen Cheng from being promoted to official constable. Whether Zhou Fang or He Zhiling ultimately won was of no concern to him.

Li Sheng first gave Zhou Fang a sycophantic smile, subtly indicating he had no intention of competing with him. Only then did he bow with his hands clasped toward Shen Qingshuang and say:

"Chief Constable, I will also participate in the assessment. However, I have a request. I had previously asked to compete against Chen Cheng, but the match never happened, and I’ve regretted it ever since. For this assessment, I request to have my match with Chen Cheng first."

The scoundrel actually managed to present his case in a reasonable and well-argued manner.

Everyone present was shrewd; who couldn’t see through him? They all realized Li Sheng wasn’t seeking promotion but was only trying to settle a personal grudge with Chen Cheng. A man like that—with no ambition and no foresight—was clearly a waste of space.

Inevitably, everyone began to look down on Li Sheng. Even Nan Zihan and Yun Shaou, who had chosen to back out at the critical moment, glanced at Li Sheng with eyes full of contempt and disdain.

Li Sheng completely disregarded the disdainful looks from the crowd, as if he were immune to shame.

Shen Qingshuang had no way to deal with such a shameless pest. Four people were vying for one spot, so they would have to be paired up for matches anyway. The first round of competition wouldn’t affect the final outcome.

"As long as everyone competes to the best of their ability, I have no strong opinion on the matchups for the first round."

Shen Qingshuang said nonchalantly, then tossed the question to the group of Chief Constables. "Gentlemen, what are your thoughts?"

The Chief Constables looked at one another, but no one said a word. Only Zhao Yongfeng seemed to want to speak but held his tongue.

He was aligned with the Zhou Family, so naturally, he considered things from Zhou Fang’s perspective. Chen Cheng’s Martial Arts Power was considerable, making him a formidable rival for Zhou Fang.

Aside from Chen Cheng, He Zhiling was the next strongest. It would be better if Chen Cheng and He Zhiling could be made to fight in the first round to deplete some of their stamina.

But since the other Chief Constables had no objections, and he couldn’t come up with a reason to have Chen Cheng fight He Zhiling first, he had no choice but to remain silent in tacit agreement.

"Since there are no objections, it is decided. The assessment will begin in three days. In the first round, Chen Cheng will face Li Sheng, and Zhou Fang will face He Zhiling."

"The victors will advance to the next round. The final winner will be promoted to official constable."

With that, Shen Qingshuang finalized the procedures for the assessment.

Just when everyone thought the matter was concluded, she suddenly spoke again. "As for Nan Zihan and Yun Shaou, due to their cowardice and for wasting two nomination slots, they will be barred from participating in the official constable assessment for one year."

Nan Zihan and Yun Shaou had never expected such an outcome. They grew frantic and hurriedly tried to defend themselves.

"Chief Constable, I truly am seriously ill! Please, be lenient, Chief Constable!"

"Me too! I was indeed injured during my Cultivation. Please be lenient, Chief Constable!"

"Enough!" Shen Qingshuang’s expression instantly turned bone-chillingly cold. "I previously instructed each team to select their strongest Preparatory Constable for this assessment," she said, her voice like ice. "Since the two of you were in no condition to participate, why did you accept the nomination?"

"Where is the fairness and justice in that for the other Preparatory Constables?"

"I have not even held you accountable for the crime of deceiving your superiors, yet you are the first to cry foul. Or would you prefer I follow the regulations and have you expelled from the City Guard Department entirely?"

This barrage of questions left Nan Zihan and Yun Shaou pale with fright, their legs trembling. How could they dare utter another word?

The two Chief Constables who had nominated them were also trembling, terrified that Shen Qingshuang would hold them responsible. They hastily bowed and admitted their fault.

"I was negligent and nearly made a grave error. Please issue your punishment, Chief Constable."

"I was also at fault. Please issue your punishment, Chief Constable."

"I can’t be bothered to punish you," Shen Qingshuang said. "As Chief Constables, you acted unjustly and senselessly wasted your subordinates’ chances to test for promotion. You two had better think about how you’re going to explain yourselves to the Preparatory Constables under your command."

Shen Qingshuang waved her hand dismissively. "That’s enough. Go on, get back to your duties."

It had to be said, Shen Qingshuang’s tactic of settling accounts after the dust had settled was truly brilliant.

She had not only successfully defused Zhou Xu’s overt scheme but had also established her image as a fair and just Chief Constable within the Ruyi Square Sub-Department, demonstrating her authority. She had killed two birds with one stone.

After everyone had departed, Xiaoxing asked, "My Lady, was that the plan your older sister came up with?"

"Hmph. She’s just a pampered young lady who only knows how to hide away and cultivate in the family manor. How could she possibly devise such a clever plan!"

Shen Qingshuang huffed, a hint of smugness on her face as she continued, "The plan *she* came up with was to remove the firewood from under the pot—to inform the participants beforehand that if they withdrew, they’d be barred from taking the assessment for two years."

Xiaoxing looked deeply impressed. "If you had followed your sister’s plan, it probably would have alienated all the constables in the Ruyi Square Sub-Department."

"My Lady is far more brilliant. You both punished those who favored the Zhou Family and won the sincere admiration of the other constables."

Shen Qingshuang said nonchalantly, "That goes without saying. However, my plan’s success was largely thanks to Chen Cheng’s persistence. He truly did not disappoint me. He is worthy of the Shen Family’s investment."

"Xiaoxing, what do you think of Chen Cheng’s talents and appearance?"

"My Lady, why do you suddenly ask?" Xiaoxing feigned confusion, though she seemed to sense something.

Shen Qingshuang said, "I’m thinking of setting you up with Chen Cheng. If you were to marry him, he would surely pledge his heartfelt allegiance to our Shen Family."

"Ah..." Xiaoxing blushed crimson but didn’t object, seemingly acquiescing to her lady’s matchmaking.

...

"Chen Cheng!"

As the group emerged from the Chief Constable’s courtyard, Zhou Fang called out to Chen Cheng, his expression dark.

From start to finish, this young master of the Zhou Family had been given the cold shoulder by Shen Qingshuang and subtly ostracized by everyone else. Naturally, he was seething with resentment.

And this whole situation had been caused simply by Chen Cheng’s insistence on participating in the assessment.

Chen Cheng stopped and said calmly, "You needed something?"

"Three days from now, at the assessment, you’d better not disappoint me." Zhou Fang raised an eyebrow, then reached down to grip the hilt of the longsword at his waist before turning and walking away.

Chen Cheng watched him leave, an involuntary frown creasing his brow.

This Zhou Fang had a fair complexion and an average build—the very image of a pampered young master.

Chen Cheng couldn’t discern the level of Zhou Fang’s Martial Arts Cultivation, but upon closer inspection, he could see that the man’s skin was taut and firm. He was clearly a Martial Artist in the Skin Grinding Realm.

Furthermore, Zhou Fang carried a longsword at his hip, which meant he clearly practiced Swordsmanship. Few among the Chief Constables and constables of the City Guard Department ever trained in Swordsmanship.

Compared to the ferocious and overbearing style of Saber Techniques, Swordsmanship followed a path of nimbleness and precision, its moves all the more perilous and ruthless.

His gesture of gripping the hilt was an obvious hint at his formidable Swordsmanship. That was certainly something to be wary of.

"Ah Cheng, come to my office for a chat," Liu Yunfeng said as he walked over.

"Alright!" Chen Cheng had many questions he wanted to ask anyway, so he followed Liu Yunfeng to his office.