Chapter 59: Account

Chapter 59 Account

Time, in the heavy silence, fled swiftly away.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Wu Shangfeng opened his eyes, his sharp gaze sweeping across every face below the stage.

He raised his hand and tapped the lectern with a light touch.

"Thud."

A soft sound, yet it fell like a heavy hammer, striking ruthlessly against everyone's heart.

A suffocating pressure belonging to a high-order martial artist, heavy as a mountain, instantly enveloped the entire martial arts hall.

"Time is up."

He spoke expressionlessly, his voice ice-cold.

"Though the target of this practical combat mission was ultimately achieved, I am highly dissatisfied."

"Qin Feng."

He called the first name.

"You, come forward. Reflect on the mistakes you committed during this battle."

The moment these words left his mouth, a clamor erupted throughout the martial arts hall.

Everyone's gaze turned in bewilderment toward that silhouette standing at the very front of the line.

In the eyes of the vast majority, Qin Feng was the undisputed savior of this mission.

It was he who, amidst the chaotic fray, had single-handedly revitalized Room 402's entire battle line and efficiently wiped out the greatest number of enemies.

When everyone else was left helpless, and even Shi Potian and Chu Lan were crushed, Qin Feng alone had stepped forward to slay that invincible monster.

Without Qin Feng, it would have been impossible for them to complete the mission so "easily" today.

Indeed, casualties might well have occurred.

Yet now, the first person the instructor called upon to account for his faults was Qin Feng, the one who bore the greatest merit!

Under the astonished stares of the crowd, Qin Feng showed not the slightest hesitation or resentment.

He paused, then took a step forward from the ranks.

Standing arrow-straight with clear, lucid eyes, he spoke in earnest:

"Instructor, I..."

"I come from a humble background. My father was once a soldier in the Astral Army. He was disabled by injuries sustained in a campaign against the Fire Demons, and after his discharge, he was assigned to work in a logistics factory."

His voice echoed.

"Kro's words reminded me of my father. My mind wavered. While he was recounting his past, I lost myself in a daze for nearly half a minute."

"It was precisely because of my hesitation and distraction that the battlefield deteriorated, forcing Chu Lan, Shi Potian, and Qian Duoduo to press forward first to face an enemy they stood no chance of defeating, only to be broken one by one by Kro and severely wounded."

Qin Feng's gaze swept over his three companions with whom he had just fought side by side, a trace of apology coloring his voice.

"This was my error. If today's enemy had not been a Nurgle cultist who relished decay and delighted in spreading despair, but rather a Khorne cultist who knew nothing but slaughter, then during that minute of my distraction, Chu Lan and the others would have been cut down on the spot. My mistake nearly cost my teammates their lives."

Wu Shangfeng's face, which had remained like ten-thousand-year-old ice, showed no change.

Yet deep within his eyes, an imperceptible glimmer of approval flashed.

"You are right."

Wu Shangfeng spoke slowly, "If Kro's murderous intent had been a fraction heavier, your teammates would already be dead while you stood dazed. And what you would have faced was a peak-condition enemy who had slaughtered all your comrades."

"It is excellent that you can realize this."

"The distinction between the truly strong and the weak lies neither in talent nor in resources. It lies in the fact that the strong are forever capable of the most objective, clear-headed self-examination."

His tone shifted abruptly.

"A humble origin is no disgrace. Qin Feng, because you saw your father's shadow and your own past in Kro, did you feel a sense of inferiority?"

"It was not inferiority."

Qin Feng shook his head, his answer resolute and unyielding.

"Then what was it?" Wu Shangfeng countered.

"Disappointment."

"And rage."

Qin Feng calmly uttered the two words.

Having spoken, he bowed slightly and silently retreated into the ranks, saying no more.

Disappointed in whom?

And enraged by what?

Wu Shangfeng cast a deep, searching look at Qin Feng.

Next, the other students began to step forward one by one to confess their errors in this practical combat.

"I relied too heavily on the performance of my power armor; after my armor was pierced, I panicked for a full three seconds and was nearly killed by the enemy..."

"My movement technique was not nimble enough; while surrounding a cultist, my position overlapped with my teammate's, disrupting their attack..."

"I... I was afraid. Seeing the appearance of those monsters, I... I didn't dare to step forward..."

Student after student laid bare their inadequacies and transgressions, dissecting them without reservation.

The oppressive atmosphere was gradually supplanted by a fierce resolve born of acknowledged shame.

Time, within this solemn environment, fled swiftly away.

Soon, over an hour had slipped by.

When the last student finished their self-examination, Wu Shangfeng stepped forward once more. "Very good."

He concluded, "All of you have recognized your mistakes. This is very good. In the cultivation of the martial path, the most terrifying thing is not making a mistake, but rather not knowing where you went wrong."

"Discover the mistake, admit the mistake, and correct it the next time. Then, the next version of you will become stronger than you are now."

His gaze swept across the entire room.

"Are there any more questions?"

The martial arts hall fell into a profound silence.

Qin Feng's lips parted slightly.

He wanted to take a step forward and speak, but in the end, he hesitated.

Qin Feng's temperament made him unaccustomed to questioning a highly responsible instructor with an extremely sharp problem in such a setting.

Yet right at that moment.

A clear and resolute voice broke the silence.

"Instructor, I have a question."

Shi Potian stepped forward.

Though his face was still pale, and traces of blood remained on the training uniform at his chest, his posture stood as straight and firm as a pine.

Wu Shangfeng’s gaze fell upon him.

“Speak.”

“Teacher, is what Kro said true?”

Shi Potian asked in a clear voice, his eyes fixed on Wu Shangfeng at the podium, without the slightest flinch.

“He said that he was once a decorated Star Realm Army soldier, who bled for the Empire and lost a leg for the Emperor. In the end, because of his disability, he was discarded like trash and sent to Inferno-IV to become a miner.”

“He said that his three sons all enlisted to escape their fate, but in the end, they were all innocently killed in the power struggles within this planet’s administration.”

“Because of all this despair, he finally abandoned the Emperor and embraced the dark gods.”

“Is all of this true?”

Qin Feng’s eyes lit up instantly.

This was exactly the question he had wanted to ask but, due to his personality, had not voiced directly.

He was not alone.

Chu Lan, Qian Duoduo, and most of the students in the class—their eyes also lit up.

Shi Potian, on behalf of all of them, had asked the sharpest and most central question.

The air in the martial arts room seemed to freeze at that moment.

Everyone’s gaze focused on Wu Shangfeng, waiting for his answer.

Facing dozens of eyes filled with inquiry, confusion, and even doubt, Wu Shangfeng’s face, which had always been taut like carved stone, finally showed a crack.

“Yes.”

He gave an affirmative answer that made everyone’s hearts sink heavily.

Then, without further explanation,

he raised his wrist and activated his wrist terminal.

A holographic screen was projected above the podium, clearly displayed before everyone.

The background of the screen bore the emblem of the Empire’s highest judicial and coercive authority: a double-headed iron eagle gripping a lightning bolt.

It was the seal of the Imperial Tribunal.

Beneath the emblem was a dossier titled “Investigation and Execution Report on the Corruption Case of Inferno-IV’s High-Level Officials.”

[Applicant]: Wu Shangfeng, Senior Combat Instructor, Qiming First Advanced Martial Arts High School.

[Application Time]: 1.5 standard hours ago.

[Receiving Unit]: Imperial Tribunal, Koprulu Sector Direct Action Department.

[Status]: Executed.

[Investigation Result]: Investigation revealed that Zhou Lang, Governor of Inferno-IV; Collier, Head of Defense; Rui He, Minister of Mining; and thirty-four other incumbent Imperial officials and martial artists, during their tenure, committed multiple serious crimes including abuse of power for personal gain, disregard for human life, illegal sale of strategic materials, collusion with alien races, and murder of comrades. Evidence is conclusive, and crimes are unforgivable.

[Execution Result]: The above thirty-seven principal offenders have all been executed on the spot. Their direct relatives and accomplices are under further investigation.

At the bottom of the dossier was the time of execution.

One standard hour ago.

That is to say, within the short hour since they had returned from Inferno-IV to Qiming Star, the thunderous wrath of the Imperial Tribunal had already descended.

From the moment Wu Shangfeng submitted the investigation request to the Tribunal’s acceptance, investigation, and final execution, the entire process took only half an Imperial standard hour—clean, swift, and almost unbelievably fast.

The blood-red characters “Executed” seemed to still carry wet blood, exuding a chilling, iron-blooded aura.

Wu Shangfeng looked at the young faces below—shocked, bewildered, yet thoughtful—as if seeing his former self.

He pointed at the execution dossier and said in a deep voice:

“This is my explanation to you, and the Empire’s explanation to you.”

“As for the rest, think for yourselves.”

“As qualified martial artists, you should have the ability to understand all of this.”

(The End)