Thousands of miles away, the slender, beautiful-faced Wenren Meiqiao flared up upon seeing Shen Qiang's reply, angrily saying, "What's that about me first studying what the Three Submissions and Four Virtues are? Does Shen Qiang have the right to insult people like this?"

As soon as she finished speaking.

A handsome man in military uniform sitting not far from her, with a green scorpion tattoo on the back of his hand, laughed: "The Three Submissions and Four Virtues are virtues of ancient Chinese women. The Three Submissions are: obedient to father before marriage, to husband after marriage, and to son after husband's death. The Four Virtues are the virtues, speech, appearance, and skills of a woman. In layman's terms, it's about a woman's virtue, eloquence, demeanor, and traditional skills."

Upon hearing this, Wenren Meiqiao's beautiful eyes widened, and she said coldly, "Qingxie, what do you mean? Are you also mocking me from Shen Qiang's side?"

The handsome Qingxie smiled and said, "No such intention. It's just that Shen Qiang spoke facts. He has clearly stated that he's not preparing to argue with you. You persist in provoking, only because it's over the internet, so you're taking liberties. Otherwise, if Shen Qiang takes action, you'll be utterly defeated."

"Is he really that capable?" Wenren Meiqiao raised an eyebrow.

Qingxie smiled, "Shen Qiang's Sword Array can defeat Zuo Lianghao, naturally overcoming various close combat cultivators. Unfortunately, you're among them, so give up your provocation. Angering Shen Qiang won't benefit you in any way."

Upon hearing this, Wenren Meiqiao said coldly, "Qingxie, I'm increasingly uncertain of your intentions. Initially, you said you'd help me defeat Qian Shanxue. Just now, you suggested giving them a lesson. Now you're suddenly playing the good guy. What's your plan?"

Qingxie gently smiled, adjusted his military cap, and turned to leave, saying, "No plan at all. I just believe you won't be able to defeat him."

Hearing this, Wenren Meiqiao coldly sneered, "They are already doomed to lose."

"Not necessarily," Qingxie raised an eyebrow, then departed.

Outside, in the nighttime, a few dark figures appeared, following him.

"Colonel, what should be the next step?"

Under the clear moonlight, a smile resembling Bianyi appeared on Qingxie's handsome face: "Expend all efforts to assist Wenren Meiqiao because her current overconfidence compels me to worry that she might carelessly lose to Qian Shanxue."

"Do you think Qian Shanxue still has a chance to turn the tables?" A dark figure behind him asked in astonishment.

Qingxie coldly raised an eyebrow, stating, "If it were only Qian Shanxue and Ali Ye Xiaolei, they would naturally be powerless to turn the tide, but do not forget, Shen Qiang is by their side. That man is a cunning and ruthless fellow."

"Inevitably, he is a guy destined to die at my hands. If he lacks the ability to reverse the situation and assist Qian Shanxue in making a comeback, it would be truly disappointing and give me no sense of achievement."

Upon hearing this, the dark figures behind him laughed sinisterly.

"The Colonel is as commanding as ever. Let us begin and see if he truly qualifies to be your opponent."

...

By the next morning, it was already past nine o'clock.

Smiling, Shen Qiang lay in bed, watching the elegant form of Beautiful Demon Fox Chu Qing dressing.

"You are truly heartless. I heard that Qian Shanxue is about to be beaten to a pulp, yet not only don't you rush to help, but you're also sleeping in," Beautiful Demon Fox Chu Qing charmingly scolded, "I really don't understand what you're thinking."

Shen Qiang smiled, "It's not my fault, blame it on you being too captivating."

These words made Beautiful Demon Fox Chu Qing beam with satisfaction, prettily boasting, "Alright then, I'm heading out now. Whether you continue to laze around or get some work done is your decision."

Shen Qiang smiled as he watched her leave.

After she closed the door.

Shen Qiang's smile faded, and he furrowed his brows.

In fact, Shen Qiang was not incapable of dealing with the current situation.

But the options available to him were limited.

The simplest, most direct, and effective method was to find a cultivator or a demon, make a deal with them, and have them go on a rampage, earning points by the number of people they kill, and then presenting them to Qian Shanxue.

In minutes, they'd win.

For others, this would be a pipe dream.

But for Shen Qiang, it's quite simple.

Because Shen Qiang is not short of money right now.

There are plenty of struggling cultivators.

Striking a deal and buying their services isn't difficult.

While this could easily succeed, it's the worst-case scenario.

Because once Qian Shanxue learns the truth, she would never forgive Shen Qiang, and she'd rather not be the General if it means allowing Shen Qiang to proceed this way.

Not only that.

Shen Qiang himself doesn't think it's worth doing all this for a Major General's promotion match.

So, the next strategy is to expand the scope of the investigation.

That means using cultivation-related crimes in neighboring provinces to offset the points.

This isn't difficult to arrange, and Shen Qiang is already working on it. At least handling the provinces where Hidden Sword Villa and Qingyun Sword Pavilion are likely won't cause issues, especially since their two important figures are in Heshenghe. At this point, Dragon Group cross-regionally catching cult-related criminals isn't problematic.

Xiu Ju and Zhan Deyuan have already begun taking steps in this direction.

Thus far, there have been some results.

But because of the difficulty in managing at long distances, sending a few cultivators has raised suspicions, but still within tolerable limits.

However, deploying numerous demons for a carpet search, as in the Provincial City, would definitely lead to conflict.

So putting all bets on neighboring cities is unreliable.

Furthermore, there are only two and a half days left until the end of the Major General's promotion competition, so even obtaining some points from neighboring provinces won't substantially increase the total.

Hence, Shen Qiang believes that given the current situation, the best choice, the best approach, is to focus on unresolved cold cases over the years.

Because cultivators possess many abilities that ordinary people do not, if they slyly hide and masquerade as ordinary people, many cases might remain unsolved by the police, possibly allowing a breakthrough in those cold cases.

Therefore, Shen Qiang already instructed Ali and Ye Xiaolei yesterday to review unresolved cold cases over the years to see if any clues can be uncovered.

This is a gamble; whether it leads to a breakthrough is uncertain, but it offers a glimmer of hope.

So now, all Shen Qiang has to do is wait for the call.

While pondering his plan, the phone beside the bed suddenly rang. Seeing it was a call from Qian Shanxue, he immediately answered, only to find Qian Shanxue wasn't discussing unresolved cold cases.

"Shen Qiang, come to the Development Zone immediately. Something major has happened here, hurry up, I'm waiting for you!"

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