I meet all the requirements for becoming a god in this world!

Chapter 249 Establishing Authority!

As soon as Cheng Laiyun returned to the Regent's Office and stepped through the gate, before he could even turn towards the duty room, he overheard some discussions about him.

He raised an eyebrow.

He paused, listened to a few words, and smiled slightly. He didn't rush in but leaned against a pillar, listening to the gist of what was said.

Tang Lu was speaking up for him, and Liu Yundu was also speaking up for him.

Geng Yan and Xun Meng weren't really targeting him, they just felt that he had risen too quickly and his foundation was unstable.

He was all too familiar with this kind of thinking—it was the same tone that Zhu Yuanzhi and Hai Wuyai had when they first met him at Qingyun Hall.

Ultimately, the Regent's Office is a place where force speaks louder than words. He has made so many contributions, but he lacks the most crucial one.

He has yet to demonstrate his military prowess to his colleagues in the Regent's Office.

Cheng Laiyun looked down at his hand; the scar on his palm from writing the blood letter gleamed faintly white under the corridor lamplight.

Then he straightened his clothes and walked towards the back hall.

When he pushed open the door, the tea party in the back hall had not yet ended. The four inspectors, Tang Lu, Liu Yundu, Geng Yan, and Xun Meng, were still staring at the dowry from the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion outside the window.

No one noticed that he had already reached the door.

"Indeed, with the backing of the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion, his rapid promotion is not surprising."

Xun Meng withdrew his gaze, and as soon as he finished speaking, his expression froze.

Everyone followed his gaze and looked toward the doorway.

Cheng Laiyun stood at the door with a smile on his face.

The entire back room fell silent for a moment.

Tang Lu was the first to react, and his loud voice immediately exploded:

"Oh! The main character has arrived! Cheng Laiyun...—no, we should call him Inspector Cheng now!"

Cheng Laiyun smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Tang Lu, then nodded to Liu Yundu, pulled up a chair, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea.

He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and put it down. His gaze swept across Geng Yan's face, then across Xun Meng's, finally settling on the slightly swirling tea in the cup. When he spoke, his tone was as casual as if he were chatting about everyday matters:

"I overheard a few people talking about me outside the door, so I didn't rush in." "Inspector Geng said that my cultivation was aided by Grand Tutor Xie and the gray-robed man, which is true—without Grand Tutor Xie's righteous energy suppressing Yang Shi'en's military formation, I really couldn't have harmed Yang Shi'en in the slightest."

"A second-rank combatant who combines military and martial prowess is not someone that I, Cheng, can handle alone."

Geng Yan paused slightly while holding the folding fan.

He didn't expect Cheng Laiyun to admit it so frankly, without even a word of explanation.

This made it difficult for him to respond to what was to come.

They've already said all that; if you continue with sarcastic remarks, you'll seem petty.

He shook his fan, about to say a few polite words to ease the atmosphere, when he heard Cheng Laiyun speak again.

"However, I don't quite agree with what Inspector Geng just said."

Cheng Laiyun looked up at Geng Yan, his tone still calm, but his gaze had changed, becoming as sharp as when he had offered his advice in the imperial study earlier:

"You said that an inspector is someone who leads troops into battle and guards a region; it's not something you can hold onto just by having brains and luck."

That's right.

"So, I would like to confirm something with you all." Geng Yan stopped fanning himself, and Xun Meng's brows furrowed slightly.

Even Tang Lu sensed that something was off and subconsciously put his leg down from the table.

Cheng Laiyun picked up his teacup, took another sip, put it down, and then looked up at Geng Yan and Xun Meng.

The corners of his mouth curved slightly, and when he spoke, his voice was not loud, but every word clearly reached the ears of everyone in the back room.

"What are your thoughts on the position of Commander of the Regent's Office?"

……

Tang Lu's hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air. Liu Yundu's posture by the window remained unchanged, but the fingers holding the teacup tightened slightly.

Xun Meng's brows furrowed even more, and a clear look of surprise appeared on his usually stern face.

Geng Yan stopped folding his fan completely. He hadn't expected this kid to be so blunt in bringing this matter to the table.

Who in the entire Regent's Office wouldn't want the position of Commander?

But no one ever dared to say it in public, especially before Zhang Xiang abdicated.

Geng Yan closed his folding fan, tapped it lightly twice in his palm, and his usual nonchalant smile returned to his face. Since Cheng Laiyun was being so impolite...

If he continues to try to hide it, it will only make him seem clumsy.

Geng Yan calmly looked at Cheng Laiyun and spoke:

"Inspector Cheng's question has left me at a loss for words."

"It would be a lie to say I don't want the position of commander. However, this position isn't something you can get just by having seniority, connections, or who has the biggest dowry."

"What do you think, Inspector Cheng?"

……

These words were spoken.

The entire back hall fell silent.

Liu Yundu frowned.

Tang Lu's eyes widened as he was about to speak up for Cheng Laiyun.

Cheng Laiyun spoke first. He leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped in front of him: "I understand Inspector Geng's meaning."

"Qualifications, connections, background—these are all superficial."

"The Regent's Office is a place where might makes right; whoever has the strongest fist gets to call the shots."

"Since Inspector Geng and Inspector Xun have some doubts about Cheng's cultivation level, how about this?"

He paused, his gaze slowly shifting from Geng Yan's face to Xun Meng's, the curve of his lips carrying a chilling composure:

"Both of you, come at me together. I, Cheng, also want to see just how capable I really am after breaking through to the fourth rank on the Chengtian Gate tower."

These words were spoken.

The atmosphere in the entire back room instantly plummeted to freezing point.

Geng Yan's smile finally faded, and Xun Meng slowly stood up, a faint golden light shining in his half-closed eyes.

That's a sign that a martial artist is activating his qi and blood.

"Come!!" No further words were spoken, just a simple word.

Geng Yan, Xun Meng, and Cheng Laiyun leaped from the window and landed in mid-air. Tang Lu immediately stood up, wanting to stop them, but was stopped by Liu Yundu.

"No rush." ​​Liu Yundu's gaze fell on Cheng Laiyun's retreating figure, his eyes gleaming with a profound mystery.

"When has this kid ever done anything he wasn't sure of?"

……

The Regent's Martial Arts Arena was located directly behind the back hall. When the four inspectors and Cheng Laiyun stood in the arena, the atmosphere instantly turned icy.

Geng Yan stood five zhang to the left of Cheng Laiyun. His folding fan had been put away, replaced by a thin, silver-white sword covered with a very thin layer of frost, which gleamed with a faint, cold light under the moonlight.

Xun Meng stood five zhang to the right of Cheng Laiyun, holding a heavy sword in both hands. The tip of the sword touched the ground, and the blade was as wide as a door panel. It was completely black and had no luster.

But the heavy sense of oppression had already caused the leaves of several old locust trees at the edge of the training ground to fall in a rustling sound.

Tang Lu stood on the sidelines, looking at this person and then that person, and said to Liu Yundu in a low voice:

"Old Liu, how many rounds do you think Cheng can last?"

Liu Yundu raised an eyebrow:

"Look at his expression." Tang Lu followed Liu Yundu's gaze.

Cheng Laiyun stood in the center of the training ground, the moonlight shining down from above and falling on his black official robe.

He was flexing his wrists, his movements casual, as if he were practicing a set of health-preserving exercises in his backyard in the morning.

Geng Yan's expression had already turned sour; he felt that he had been slighted.

He closed his folding fan, bowed slightly to Cheng Laiyun, and spoke with a hint of coldness:

"Inspector Cheng, swords have no eyes, please forgive me."

Before he finished speaking, he flicked his right hand, and the frost-covered slender sword transformed into a silver-white streak that pierced straight at Cheng Laiyun's face.

Before the sword tip even arrived, the frost on the sword had already condensed into a very thin layer of ice mist, carrying a bone-chilling cold that rushed towards you.

Strangely, his attack... appeared extremely swift, yet it made no sound whatsoever.

At the same time, Xun Meng also moved—not quickly, but heavily.

He swung the heavy sword, as wide as a door panel, with one hand, creating a gust of wind so heavy it made one's chest feel heavy, and swept across Cheng Laiyun's waist and abdomen from the side.

If this sword strike landed, not only would a person be reduced to dust, but even the city wall would be reduced to ashes. One was fast, the other heavy; one was to the left, the other to the right. The two did not exchange a single word, yet their coordination was so perfect that it seemed as if they had practiced countless times.

This is an instinct developed by the inspectors of the Regent's Office through years of working side by side; it requires no gestures or eye contact.

Two fourth-rank martial artists attacked simultaneously.

Ordinary people cannot perceive it.

But at this moment, everyone in the capital with any level of cultivation looked up at the Regent's Office.

"Buzz..."

The colossus transformed into points of light, enveloping Cheng Laiyun within them.

It was just a fleeting moment.

Cheng Laiyun raised the left arm of the colossal statue, which was already covered with dragon scales.

His palm was directly facing the tip of Geng Yan's thrusting sword.

"Ding~"

The frost-covered rapier pierced three inches from his palm but could not penetrate any further. A dark golden light surged from the palm of the giant Cheng Laiyun, steadily holding the rapier and the man firmly in mid-air. The frost on the sword melted away instantly upon encountering the dark golden light, like snow meeting fire.

Geng Yan's pupils shrank sharply. He had used seventy percent of his strength in this sword strike. Although he didn't intend to really injure Cheng Laiyun, it was definitely not something that could be caught by someone with bare hands.

He instinctively tried to draw his sword and retreat, but found that the sword was firmly locked in place by the dark golden light and remained motionless.

At the same time, Xun Meng's heavy sword swept across.

Cheng Laiyun raised his left hand, fingers spread, and with his bare hands and the same dark golden light, he caught the heavy sword as wide as a door panel.

The heavy sword swept across his palm with immense force, a force that seemed to shatter his entire arm and shoulder together.

But he didn't move an inch. Only the blue bricks under his feet shattered inch by inch under the heavy pressure, and several fine cracks spread outwards from the soles of his feet.

The training ground fell silent for a moment.

Then Cheng Laiyun pressed down with both hands at the same time.

Geng Yan felt an overwhelming force surge from the sword, pressing him down to one knee, his knee striking the blue brick with a dull thud.

Xun Meng's heavy sword was pulled by Cheng Laiyun's left hand, and he staggered forward two steps involuntarily. Before he could regain his balance, Cheng Laiyun's right hand had already released Geng Yan's thin sword and slapped the heavy sword with his palm.

That palm strike had no fancy techniques whatsoever; it was a pure, head-on blow from a fourth-rank Mo cultivator empowered by the giant's power. Xun Meng felt as if his arm had been struck head-on by a dragon; his tiger's mouth cracked, and his heavy sword flew out of his hand, tumbling several times in the air.

With a clang, the sword was inserted into a crack in the blue bricks at the edge of the training ground, its blade humming.

From receiving the sword to the double kill, it took no more than two breaths.

Geng Yan knelt on one knee, a piece of the blue brick beneath his knee shattering.

Xun Meng stood empty-handed in front of Cheng Laiyun, blood still seeping from his tiger's mouth, his usually stern face filled with disbelief.

It's not just them.

Even those outside the venue, including all the staff of the Regent's Office who were watching the spectacle, were present.

Both Liu Yundu and Tang Lü were dumbfounded.

???

Two breaths?

One move?

One person fighting two, and instantly killing them??? Impossible!!!

Even though Liu Yundu was usually very composed, he showed a look of shock on his face at this moment.

He personally witnessed how Cheng Laiyun rose from a lowly inspector to his current position!

How long has it been?

He actually managed to... kill two martial artists of his level with a single move?!

At that moment, he felt that his worldview had shattered.

Cheng Laiyun stopped, took a step back, tidied the dust off his cuffs, then raised his head, his gaze passing over Geng Yan and Xun Meng.

Finally, the blame fell on Liu Yundu and Tang Lu, who were on the sidelines.

He grinned, blinked, and looked at Liu Yundu and Tang Lu:

"Why don't Lord Liu and Lord Tang come up together as well?"

At this point, his gaze became extremely serious:

"I want to see where my limits are."...

???

What the hell?!

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone was stunned.

Four?

He's going to fight four more??

Before others could react.

Tang Lu spat out the grass stalk he had been holding in his mouth and strode into the arena, each step causing the blue bricks to tremble slightly.

He stood before Cheng Laiyun, looking up at the colossal, dark gold statue. He grinned, revealing two rows of large white teeth, then stretched out his large, fan-like hand and slapped Cheng Laiyun's shoulder twice in retaliatory force.

"Fine, fine!! That's arrogant enough!! But... I'm not stupid, why would I argue with you!"

After saying that, he clapped twice more, then withdrew his hand and took a step back. Standing next to Liu Yundu, he crossed his arms, still wearing that carefree smile, but his voice suddenly became a little more serious:

"Old Liu and I both saw it clearly. Although Old Geng and Old Xun didn't use their full strength, you only used one hand to catch their swords."

"The outcome is known without even fighting."

At this point, a hint of regret appeared on his face:

"You're stronger than all of us now, I admit it."

"But you'll have to pay more attention to the affairs of the Fire Lin Hall from now on—that's my territory, don't forget your family just because you've become the commander-in-chief."

He may be straightforward, but he's not stupid.

He knew that Cheng Laiyun was here today to establish his authority.

Since the purpose is to establish authority, it must be because they have designs on the position of commander.

Cheng Laiyun put away the giant statue, and the dark golden light spots, like a reversed galaxy, disappeared into his sea of ​​consciousness.

He stood in the pile of broken bricks in the center of the training ground and solemnly bowed to Tang Lu.

"Don't worry, Brother Tang, Laiyun is not one to forget his roots."