"Hmph, that damn emperor must really think he one-up me this time." Jiang Ming scoffed coldly.
He felt like a king that got checkmated by his opponent in a chess game, and that was definitely not a good feeling.
Yuan Chunhua could only pat his shoulder lightly, hoping that he would not be affected by it.
After all, even she was surprised to hear the news that the Emperor, Zhao Tong, had already known everything regarding the Skartoom incident.
'Truly a frightening emperor even though his usual demeanor does not match his personality.' She thought.
"Anyway, let's not idle any longer. The Imperial Soldiers are already on standby, waiting for our command." Yuan Chunhua said calmly.
Jiang Ming nodded his head.
Now was not the time to get revenge on Zhao Tong.
'Just you wait for it, Zhao Tong… I'll make sure to get my revenge by snatching your most precious in front of you.' Jiang Ming sneered inwardly.
Sometime later, Yuan Chunhua and Jiang Ming left the academy to meet up with the Imperial Soldiers that were on standby.
"Greetings to Commander Yuan, I'm the squadron leader of this batch, Qizhi Shun." The squadron leader, Qizhi Shun said in a respectful tone as he greeted Yuan Chunhua.
Yuan Chunhua's hand was holding the Golden Medal Token, and it was akin to seeing the emperor himself.
Hence, every soldier and official must pay their utmost respect to Yuan Chunhua. Otherwise, it's equivalent to disrespecting the emperor and could cause their entire generation to be eliminated.
Yuan Chunhua nodded her head as she glanced at the batch of Imperial Soldiers.
Almost all of them held a cultivation base of the Spiritual Lord Realm, with Qizhi Shun being the highest among them.
"Seems like my Master really wasn't joking about the deployment this time." Yuan Chunhua muttered in surprise.
To deploy this many Spiritual Lord Realm to capture the culprit goes to show how important this investigation is.
"Where will we be heading off first, Commander Yuan?" Qizhi Shun asked.
"We'll first go to the capital where the Lei Clan is located." Yuan Chunhua said.
"Previously, the Lei Clan's action had already offended his majesty, so we feared that they might have betrayed the Northern Continent and colluded with the enemy." She explained subtly.
Qizhi Shun wasn't ignorant enough to not catch on to what Yuan Chunhua's words meant.
'This Lei Clan has truly dug a hole for themselves. Of all the people they decided to offend, they had to choose his majesty. There are faster ways to die, Lei Clan.' He thought.
Sometime later, Qizhi Shun turned around and shouted at the rest of the Imperial Soldiers.
"Everyone, focus up and follow Commander Yuan's command. Failure to do so will result in execution."
"Yes, Commander!" The Imperial Soldiers shouted in unison as they clutched tightly onto their spears.
They were energetic and brimmed with determination. It was clear that they had no intention of disappointing Yuan Chunhua.
After all, this was their chance to gain recognition, honors, merits, and possibly get a promotion.
And where did they come up with such a mindset?
The answer was simple, Jiang Ming.
With a closer look, most of the Imperial Soldiers had sparkly eyes when they saw Jiang Ming accompanying Yuan Chunhua.
'Chen Peizhu was just a lowly guard for the Central District, yet after getting recognized by Jiang Ming, he rose up in rank so swiftly. If I get to shine in this mission, then I can rise in rank as well.' One of the Imperial Soldiers thought.
Envious could be seen in his eyes as he wished to be in Chen Peizhu's position and luck as well.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ming remained clueless about the thoughts of the Imperial Soldiers.
"Instructor Yuan Chunhua, can we get going already?" Jiang Ming asked in an exhausted tone. It was early in the morning and he barely managed to wake up with the help of Hong Ling.
Yuan Chunhua nodded her head. There was no point in wasting more time after the formal greeting.
"Alright, let's head out to the Lei Clan." Yuan Chunhua announced loudly.
After that, she turned around and began walking side by side with Jiang Ming toward the capital area.
Qizhi Shun and the rest of the Imperial Soldiers quickly followed behind them, exuding a cool and powerful aura.
By the time they reached the capital area, everyone in the crowd was dumbfounded by their march.
"What's going on right here? Why are the Imperial Soldiers marching out here?"
"Shush, can't you see they're undergoing an investigation. It's probably going to be another bloodbath."
While the crowd had mixed reactions to the scene, almost none had dared to block their path as they moved aside.
The Imperial Soldiers are directly under Zhao Tong, and without his authority or command, the Imperial Soldiers would never make a move blatantly.
Hence, the crowd easily figured out that something big must have happened. And to be safe completely, they decided to turn a blind eye and minded their own businesses.
Meanwhile, Yuan Chunhua remained calm and collected as she went straight in the direction of the Lei Clan.
Occasionally, they would come across some patrolling soldiers that are keeping the capital safe.
Of course, the patrolling soldiers would quickly greet Yuan Chunhua respectfully while lowering their heads.
'What a domineering woman my instructor is…' Jiang Ming thought. He truly wondered sometimes how the original Jiang Ming managed to have Yuan Chunhua teach him personally.
The social class and gap between them are so far away from each other.
Alas, before he could continue to think, they had already arrived at the entrance of the Lei Clan.
"W-W-What business does the Imperial Soldiers have for our Lei Clan?" The guards standing outside the gate asked Yuan Chunhua nervously.
They had never seen a scene where a large group of Imperial Soldiers would arrive at their doorstep unannounced.
"We're here to investigate a case ordered by his majesty. Have your Patriarch come out." Yuan Chunhua said in a solemn tone, void of any emotions.