Chapter 191: Beat Down

The next day, Lin Jingjing rose bright and early, changed into her uniform, and headed out.

No sooner had she left than Mo Xuan was brought back. Those people from the Fifth Corps were truly despicable.

They beat him so badly, yet they weren’t even willing to spare a single Recovery Potion for him.

‘Did they want Mo Xuan to die on his way back?’

When Feng He saw him, he immediately rushed over and checked his pulse. After a brief examination, his voice was choked with emotion. “Get him into a recovery pod! His vital signs are all extremely weak.”

“A standard Recovery Potion won’t be enough to heal him.” Feng He stood and gazed at the unconscious Mo Xuan, his eyes turning icy.

The two soldiers who had carried Mo Xuan in hurried to take him away. ‘Doctor Feng seems unusually terrifying today,’ they thought.

‘He’s completely emotionless, and his voice is ice-cold.’

Upon arriving at the Assembly Hall, Lin Jingjing spotted Alderick in the crowd at a glance.

He was dressed in his corps’ unique uniform, idly toying with his dagger as he sat.

Their eyes met across the room. A smirk played on Alderick’s lips as he brandished his dagger at Lin Jingjing with a look of smug satisfaction.

The meeting was supposed to be a simple discussion of pressing issues, after which everyone would be dismissed.

But then Lin Jingjing spoke. The moment she did, everyone’s heart skipped a beat. Those who had been slouching instantly sat up straight, silently praying she wasn’t about to report someone.

Everyone knew the King had been holding this woman in high regard recently, granting her the highest level of authority.

“Your Majesty, I have something to report,” Lin Jingjing said with a smile. Her gaze then fell upon Alderick, and her voice became serious. “After we discovered the mastermind’s secret base, we planned to request reinforcements from the Six Great Armies to destroy it. However, of the Six Great Armies, only the First and Sixth Corps were willing to lend us troops. The other four refused.”

“I can understand their refusal. But Army Commander Alderick of the Fifth Corps went too far.”

“Not only did he detain my vice-captain, but he also had him beaten to within an inch of his life. He even had the audacity to claim that he would face no punishment even if he killed my vice-captain.”

At this, Lin Jingjing’s gaze fell on Yun Yiyou, who occupied the center seat. Her voice was slow, yet firm and resonant. “Can an Army Commander simply kill people at will?”

“Does an Army Commander face no punishment for murder?”

Lin Jingjing didn’t give them a chance to respond, continuing her accusations.

“Furthermore, we have discovered that the Bix Family is involved in trafficking prohibited goods.”

With that, she immediately displayed the evidence.

Alderick’s father saw the evidence before he even had a chance to proclaim his innocence.

There were images and videos of transactions, along with records of fund transfers and money laundering…

The color drained from Alderick’s father’s face. ‘We were so careful about this. How could they have possibly found out?’

“If I recall correctly, the K360 Spirit Potion was banned a hundred years ago. I wonder where the Bix Family managed to acquire these,” Lin Jingjing asked with a smile.

“Th-that… It must have been a mistake by one of our employees. They must have ordered the wrong product.”

“Is that so?” Lin Jingjing asked, still smiling. “Then was this also an employee’s mistake?”

Lin Jingjing played a video clip showing a conversation between the head of the Bix Family and another individual.

“The K360 you ordered will take more time to produce. It’s going to be delayed.”

“I’ll pay more. Just hurry up and get it for me.”

“How much more?”

“Fifty million Star Coins!”

Hearing this price, the head of the Bix Family nodded in satisfaction. “Alright. I’ll make sure it’s prepared for you ahead of schedule.”

The head of the family himself was negotiating, yet he still claimed it was an employee’s mistake.

How ridiculous was that?

Alderick’s face was now as dark as he had been arrogant the day before.

‘I can’t believe Father was doing this behind my back!’

Alderick looked at his father with an expression of disappointment, then glanced toward Yun Yiyou in the center seat. ‘Surely they won’t punish our family for this,’ he thought.

‘After all, even if our family has no great merits, we have our long years of hard-earned service.’

Meanwhile, Yun Yiyou rested their head on their hand, drumming their fingers on the tabletop. The sound was starkly clear in the quiet meeting room.

The head of the Bix family was still pleading for mercy, insisting over and over that he’d done no such thing and that Lin Jingjing was framing him.

He claimed she was only doing this to get revenge on his son.

“I’m framing you?” Lin Jingjing repeated quietly, then asked with a smile, “I have no grudge against you. Why would I frame you?”

“It’s because my son beat your friend, and you can’t stand it!” the head of the Bix Family shouted. “It was just a spar between them! Are you really such a sore loser?”

‘He certainly has a way with words,’ Lin Jingjing thought, still smiling as she looked at the father and son.

“A spar… you say?” Lin Jingjing walked out from her seat and strode up to Alderick. “In that case, why don’t we have a little spar ourselves?”

“Well? Are you in?” Lin Jingjing asked, her gaze fixed on him. Before he could answer, she continued, “No? Then you really are a coward. My vice-captain accepted your ‘spar’ and didn’t back down, even when you beat him to within an inch of his life. Why are you backing down now?”

Alderick couldn’t stand being provoked like this and agreed without a second thought.

“Fine, I accept!”

Hearing him agree, several of the other Army Commanders nearby groaned and covered their faces, thinking he was an absolute idiot.

‘Couldn’t he see she was just trying to provoke him? And with her current abilities, he probably couldn’t even win against her.’

‘All he could do now was get his ass kicked.’

Meng Shili commented coolly, “What an absolute idiot.”

“Indeed,” Beisang agreed, a rare occurrence. Besides, didn’t Alderick know that the five of them were as close as could be?

He’d actually dared to beat Mo Xuan half to death. No wonder Lin Jingjing was on his case and wouldn’t let go.

They were all known for being fiercely protective of their own. Why would anyone provoke them for no reason?

Couldn’t he have just refused to lend his troops? Did he really have to detain the man and give him a beating?

As the two prepared to spar, everyone else instinctively cleared a space in the middle of the room.

With the press of a button, a combat ring rose up from the floor in the center of the cleared space.

Lin Jingjing looked at the ring and smiled. ‘I didn’t expect a meeting hall to have one of these.’

Alderick was the first to step onto it, shouting at Lin Jingjing, “Get up here! I’m going to beat you into the dirt today!”

“I’ll make you grovel on the floor like a dog and beg me for mercy.”

Alderick was incredibly confident in his own abilities—so confident that he had completely forgotten that while Lin Jingjing’s spiritual power might be Grade F, its strength was absurdly off the charts.

“You’ll regret saying that,” Lin Jingjing said, stepping up onto the ring to face him.