Chapter 435 Establishing Authority

Seeing that no one came out, and with an increasing crowd gathering to watch, Yan Fei’s face twisted into a savage grin.

“I know you’re in there! If you’ve got guts, come out!” he bellowed. Qi surged around both arms as he drew a massive battle axe and swung it through the air—an arc of axe light hurtled straight toward Chen Fei’s room.

Ji Wugou’s expression changed slightly as she saw the incoming strike.

Right now, her Qi reserves were pitifully low—her full strength had been drained, and even her spiritual tools were unusable. Still, she didn’t flinch. She stood her ground, chin raised, staring down the oncoming strike with defiance.

Chen Fei, originally planning to wait a bit longer, was caught off guard by Ji Wugou’s recklessness.

“She’s stubborn,” he sighed, helplessly shaking his head. With a flash, he appeared beside her.

“You’re finally going to act?” Ji Wugou turned to him, her eyes sparkling with joy.

The outside world was so much more exciting than home—she was practically giddy.

Just moments ago, with that axe strike descending, she had genuinely felt the threat of death for the first time. It was completely different from sparring with her family. That taste of danger made her lips curl up involuntarily.

Chen Fei glanced at her, then calmly raised a hand, placing his fingers directly against the incoming axe light.

He didn’t even waste any Qi—he let the energy crash down.

The deflected force blasted apart the nearby side room in an explosion of debris and dust.

Yan Fei grinned triumphantly when he saw the damage.

But Xu Zhenping, who had been watching from the sidelines, paled slightly.

“General Yan!” Xu hurried to his side.

Before he could reach him, Yan Fei barked, “Get lost!”

A wave of raw Qi struck Xu, making him stumble back, face turning pale.

Chen Fei’s voice rang out lightly: “Strategist Ma said this token ensures no one in Zhenbei City would dare cause me trouble. Now it seems that was just a joke.”

The moment he said that, many of the onlookers turned sharply to stare at the identity token mounted above the doorway.

That token symbolized the face of the Zhenbei Army. Yan Fei’s actions had blatantly trampled on that authority. And now Chen Fei had voiced it with an almost casual sarcasm, the sting in his words unmistakable.

Even someone as thick-headed as Yan Fei picked up on the jab. He sneered.

“I just don’t like you. Come out!”

“You?” Chen Fei let out a cold laugh.

He had planned to wait for things to escalate before intervening, but Ji Wugou’s recklessness had forced his hand. Still, it didn’t really affect anything.

His expression chilled. He snorted.

“You? Not even close to worthy.”

As the words dropped, Chen Fei’s hand formed a quick seal—and a towering phantom began to manifest behind him.

The image was blurry, the nascent form of a Domain Projection, but even as a rough silhouette, its presence was overwhelming.

Unfortunately, most of Chen Fei’s Qi was still being consumed by the Heaven Silkworm Gu. He could only just maintain the phantom’s form.

But that was more than enough.

The blurry phantom’s eyes were cold and aloof as it raised its enormous hand. With a thunderous crash, it swatted down toward Yan Fei!

BOOM!

A massive cloud of dust erupted from the impact.

Yan Fei’s battle axe shattered into pieces, and his body was slammed into the ground—limbs sprawled in all directions, embedded in the earth.

The crowd, who had come hoping for some drama, were left stunned by the brutal, one-sided beatdown.

Then—

“Who dares cause a disturbance in Zhenbei City!?”

“Courting death!”

The ground trembled. Rows of armored soldiers surged forth, swiftly surrounding the residence.

But when their eyes landed on the identity token above the door, confusion flickered across their faces.

What… happened?

Xu Zhenping rushed to Yan Fei’s side. When he saw the man’s miserable state, his pupils shrank.

He had known that anyone the upper echelons would open the city gates for had to be extraordinary—but he hadn’t expected Chen Fei’s strength to be this terrifying.

Looking at the still-breathing—but barely—Yan Fei, Xu felt a sense of relief.

Chen Fei had held back. And this incident was clearly Yan Fei’s fault.

After confirming that Yan Fei wasn’t dead, Xu stood and turned to the newly arrived soldiers, his expression stern.

“I am Xu Zhenping, Mid Commander. Send for your squad leader and remove this man. The Military Tribunal will handle this matter!”

The soldiers didn’t waste time after hearing the words Military Tribunal. The squad leader gave a signal, and a few troops gingerly pried Yan Fei’s battered body from the ground and quickly carried him back toward the garrison.

“That’s it?” Ji Wugou peeked through a crack in the window, then turned to Chen Fei, puzzled.

Chen Fei’s lips curled into a faint smile. “What do you think?”

“He came all this way to insult you, deliberately provoked you, and that’s it? Letting it go like this? A strong cultivator must not be disrespected!” Ji Wugou said coldly.

“Oh? Are you worried about me?” Chen Fei asked with a raised brow.

Ji Wugou froze, clearly flustered. Then her cheeks rapidly turned red.

“Peh! I’m just mad, that’s all! If I had my Qi, I’d have smashed his face in myself!”

Without waiting for his reply, she spun around and ran off.

“Dinner’s meat,” Chen Fei called after her, grinning.

She didn’t respond.

Storming into her room, Ji Wugou slammed the door and leaned against it, face burning.

“Peh! As if I’d worry about him! Who would worry about a heartless jerk like that?! Scoundrel! Total scoundrel!” she muttered to herself, though her mind kept replaying the image of Chen Fei coldly rebuking Yan Fei on her behalf.

It was… a feeling she’d never experienced back in the Ji family.

Outside, Xu Zhenping dismissed the crowd after Yan Fei was taken away.

“This is a Zhenbei Army matter. All unrelated personnel—disperse immediately!”

He flashed his badge, and soldiers quickly blocked the streets, politely but firmly urging the crowd to move along.

Once the area was cleared, Xu looked back at Chen Fei’s courtyard.

The door remained closed, as if nothing had happened.

But Xu couldn’t leave.

He remained outside, standing at attention.

—

Ji Wugou, though she hadn’t responded to Chen Fei earlier, couldn’t resist the scent when he started roasting meat.

Drawn by the rich aroma, she soon sat opposite him—chin in hand, smiling in anticipation.

Chen Fei’s grilling skills were truly divine.

With her noble background, Ji Wugou had tasted countless exotic delicacies. But even the most ordinary spirit beast meat, under Chen Fei’s hands, was bursting with flavor.

At that moment, she resembled a little kitten waiting to be fed.

Chen Fei calmly continued cooking, unhurried.

He was waiting—for the meat to cook, yes.

But also for the Zhenbei Army to come give him a proper explanation.

Because only then… would things get truly interesting.