Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One: Receiving Punishment

The woman dressed as a man watched quietly, not saying much, wanting to see how Li Chaofeng would handle the situation. She had just arrived and was not familiar with the military situation in Shilong City. She was visiting in plain clothes and had just arrived at Li Chaofeng's place to understand the situation.

"Since my intention is good, I allowed this boy to take your punishment. If you dare to say more, I will give him four thousand military lashes!" Li Chaofeng snorted coldly. Feng Hua and the other warriors were angry but dared not say more, fearing that they would implicate Xu Daoyan.

Shi Yun was furious, but Tian Yu standing beside him gave him a lot of pressure. Tian Yu was the son of Lord Mengchang, the son of Tian Wen, and the prince of the commandery, who governed three thousand six hundred cities in a state, which was no small matter!

"Feng Hua Uncle, thank you for your care on the journey. I will take responsibility for my actions. You all go rest, and I will come to receive the punishment tomorrow." Xu Daoyan glanced at Feng Hua and the others, then rode away.

"What Tian Yu did today, I will surely report to Lord Mengchang and discuss the fairness of this matter. Let's go!" Shi Yun was very不服气 (unwilling to accept defeat). Li Chaofeng was untouchable, and Xu Daoyan was destined to be punished. Now, he had to think of a way to resolve the situation, even if the woman dressed as a man's father was Lord Mengchang, everything had to follow the rules!

However, Li Chaofeng was at the peak of the second-class upper realm and personally held the rod, clearly intending to beat Xu Daoyan to death. The most important thing now was to help him get through this crisis.

"Please do as you wish!" The woman dressed as a man smiled, turned around, and returned to the tent. She found this all very interesting.

Li Chaofeng bowed and said smugly, "Young Master Shi Yun, I won't see you off!"

Leaving the Wind Cavalry Camp.

Shi Yun was so angry that his face turned red, and he was furious: "How hateful, too hateful! This Tian Yu actually interfered with the military affairs of Shilong City. I will definitely report him!"

"No problem, there is something I want to discuss with Young Master Shi Yun." Xu Daoyan said.

"Go ahead!" Shi Yun admired the loyalty and camaraderie between Xu Daoyan and the other warriors, but he was frustrated that he could not help. He could only return and ask his father to intervene.

Xu Daoyan explained the idea of Old Master Xue, and Shi Yun agreed immediately, promising that there would be no problems.

Back at the General's Mansion, Old Master Xue received an invitation from the General's Mansion and personally came over.

With witnesses from all sides, they signed an agreement. Xu Daoyan handed over the Thunder Armor and Thunder Spear to Old Master Xue, and in return, he received eighteen million taels of gold, with a lease period of three months.

Xu Daoyan took out 150,000 taels. Shi Yun said he would pay, but Xu Daoyan insisted, so Shi Yun had to accept it.

"Brother, I will ask my father to intervene. For his sake, this matter can be avoided. Li Chaofeng wouldn't dare to refuse my father's face!" Two thousand military lashes were not easy to endure, even a first-class person might be beaten to death.

"No need, military orders are like mountains. I will bear it. Young Master Shi, please prepare a secret room for me. I will cultivate overnight to prepare for tomorrow's punishment." Xu Daoyan was determined. No matter what, he could not give others a reason to criticize him; otherwise, his future military career would be even more difficult.

"Alright, I will take you to the cultivation room. Tomorrow, I will prepare the best healing medicine for you and a pill to temporarily enhance your physical strength." Shi Yun led Xu Daoyan through the garden to his room.

The天地灵气 (heavenly and earthly qi) here was much denser than outside, due to the array formations carved in the room, which could absorb the qi from all directions for Shi Yun's use.

In the room, there was an incense burner burning sandalwood, which brought a sense of peace and tranquility, greatly benefiting cultivation.

The heavenly and earthly qi in the room was pure, with little impurity. The moment Xu Daoyan entered, every pore of his body greedily absorbed the qi, cleansing his body.

He sat on a stone platform, feeling a cool and mysterious force merging into his body, soothing his internal organs and blood vessels. Clearly, this stone platform was not an ordinary one.

"Two thousand military lashes..." Xu Daoyan was unsure if he could endure two thousand military lashes tomorrow, so he could only maximize his strength.

He took out a high-grade earth spirit stone, absorbing pure earth qi and integrating it into his spleen, using the vast transformation qi to temper his body.

He had already reached the peak of the Dust and Sand Body.

Dust and sand are the most humble existences in the world.

Earth, on the other hand, is much heavier. A clump of earth is very solid. Xu Daoyan comprehended the true meaning of the body-tempering technique.

He transformed his muscles from dust and sand to earth, gathering dust into sand, and gathering sand into earth...

After a night of cultivation, by the hour of the Rabbit, he had completely cultivated the Earth Body.

Now, Xu Daoyan felt that his physical strength was incomparable to yesterday, becoming much stronger.

He had consumed six pounds of high-grade earth spirit stone, with a large part of the power still stored in his spleen, which could not be fully refined in a short time.

Xu Daoyan walked out of the room, and Shi Yun was waiting outside. He held a bottle of pills and said, "This is a Body Strengthening Pill, which can temporarily enhance your physical strength for three hours."

"No need, I don't want to give them a reason to criticize me. If they find out, it would be shameful. I want them to have nothing to say!" Xu Daoyan waved his hand and said heavily, "I appreciate your kindness, brother."

"Ah, let's go. One day, I will make Li Chaofeng pay double for what you have suffered! And that Tian Yu too!" Shi Yun was very uncomfortable.

Arriving at the Wind Cavalry Camp, it was still the hour of the Rabbit.

Around the ten camps of the Wind Cavalry, many warriors had gathered. Feng Hua and his elite subordinates were all present, and the matter had spread throughout the military.

"Did you hear? A boy is going to take two thousand military lashes for Feng Hua and the others, and Li Chaofeng will personally administer the punishment!"

"What? They could just be beheaded. Why suffer this torture?"

"Ah, this young man is quite loyal. If I were him, I would be his brother in life and death. This is not a big deal, but Li Chaofeng is making a big fuss, which is really unacceptable."

Many people were discussing privately, admiring Xu Daoyan's righteous behavior.

At this moment, Shi Yun and Xu Daoyan arrived.

Xu Daoyan no longer had the Thunder Armor and Thunder Spear, wearing patched clothes, his demeanor completely different from yesterday.

"That's the boy. He looks like he just came from the border village. Can he endure two thousand military lashes?"

"Who knows? You can't judge a person by their appearance. For Shi Yun to value him so much, he must be extraordinary."

Li Chaofeng stood at the tent entrance, and the woman dressed as a man was also present. She sat to one side and glanced at Xu Daoyan, almost not recognizing him.

"Bring him and hang him up!" Li Chaofeng sneered and gave the order.

Immediately, two strong men grabbed Xu Daoyan, tied his hands with hemp rope, and hung him one zhang high on a wooden frame.

Shi Yun was so angry that he gritted his teeth, but Li Chaofeng ignored him, his eyes filled with killing intent, and he said coldly, "Punishment at noon!"

"This old villain, he's afraid I will give Xu Brother the Body Strengthening Pill. The effect of this pill only lasts three hours, clearly a deliberate delay to exhaust Xu Brother's strength and weaken his will!" If possible, Shi Yun would have wanted to cut Li Chaofeng into pieces.

"If you don't want to punish him, you can at least let him down. Why hang him?" Shi Yun looked at Tian Yu, knowing that if she spoke, Li Chaofeng would not dare to disobey.

"Young people don't know their limits. Hanging him will see if he can endure it. If he still wants to join my Wind Cavalry by noon, I will start the punishment. If not, he will be spared, and Feng Hua and the others will be punished instead." Li Chaofeng looked at the surrounding soldiers and shouted, "What are you all looking at? Morning training!"

"Yes."

Shi Yun clenched his fists but was helpless. Li Chaofeng was a seasoned veteran, and hanging someone was very exhausting and could crush their will.

If Xu Daoyan was hung for two hours and could not endure it, deciding to give up, it would be a slap in Shi Yun's face.

If he could endure it, the punishment might be too much for him to bear. This move was ruthless, leaving no room for retreat.

"Can you do it? If you can't, just say so. There's no shame in it." Shi Yun came to Xu Daoyan's side. Two thousand military lashes were almost unbearable, and even Shi Yun himself would suffer serious injuries if he endured them, knowing that Li Chaofeng would be the one administering the punishment.

"Trust me, it will be fine!" Xu Daoyan told Shi Yun, then closed his eyes, drawing earth qi into his spleen to continue tempering his muscles. Since Li Chaofeng gave him more time to temper his body, he would not be ungrateful. This delay suited Xu Daoyan's intentions.

In his spleen, there was still a vast amount of earth qi, constantly tempering every muscle in his body.

Two hours passed quickly.

At noon, the sun was high, but fortunately, the early spring sun was not as scorching as in summer.

Li Chaofeng held an ironwood military rod, forged from a type of ironwood that ordinary swords and knives could not penetrate, with great force.

He planted the ironwood rod on the ground, making a loud clang, and asked Xu Daoyan, grinning, "Boy, have you made your decision?"

"You talk too much. Just get it over with, I still need to cultivate!" Xu Daoyan glared at Li Chaofeng.

"Ha, good, you said it!" Li Chaofeng's eyes flashed with coldness. He came to Xu Daoyan's side, swung the ironwood rod, and struck Xu Daoyan's back hard.

Bang!

Xu Daoyan's body tensed. His skin was tough, and a layer of membrane could dissipate a small part of the force. The muscles beneath the membrane, like solid earth, bulged, providing extraordinary resistance.

This strike, which a third-class warrior would find hard to endure, Xu Daoyan did not make a sound, and the punishment began!

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