Chapter 116: Chapter 116: Army Captain
A group of City Guards immediately closed in.
"Wait!" Ye Xuan raised a hand and looked at the City Guard captain. "Are you just going to barge in and arrest people without distinguishing right from wrong? What has become of the kingdom’s laws?"
Before the captain could speak, the young woman was already sneering, her voice ice-cold. "Right from wrong? The law? In the Royal City, I am the law. You dared to hit me, which is a death sentence. So, do you regret it now?"
She longed to see a different emotion in Ye Xuan’s eyes—fear, perhaps, or remorse.
However, she was disappointed. Ye Xuan’s gaze was placid, without the slightest ripple.
Leng Yingying and the others glanced at the City Guard captain, only to see his expressionless face. He clearly had no objection to the young woman’s words.
Ye Xuan shook his head with a faint smile. "This Liuyun Kingdom is truly rotten to the core!"
"Save it for the City Guard Office. Take them away," the City Guard captain said, waving his hand coldly.
"Wait!" Facing the mounting pressure, Luo Zhan took two steps forward. He swept his cold gaze over them, produced a military plaque from his person, and said in a chilly tone, "I am a Captain of the kingdom. You have no authority to take us away."
If a military officer of the kingdom commits a crime, ordinary City Guards have no authority to arrest them. Only the military’s Law Enforcement Team or the Royal City’s Imperial Guard can take them into custody.
The burly captain’s expression tightened. He said in a low voice, "A Captain? May I ask where you serve, sir? Do you have a military seal?"
Luo Zhan shook his head. "No military seal. I am retired!"
Retired?
The City Guard captain immediately sneered.
’What good is a military rank without a position? Besides, how could a mere Captain compare to Princess Xiangming from the Mansion of Prince He?’
Just as he was about to give the order to arrest them, Luo Zhan’s icy voice rang out again. "But I was a Captain in the Golden Lion Corps!"
The Golden Lion Corps?
The City Guard captain’s heart jumped in shock, and everyone present stared in amazement.
No wonder this man had been so fearless, his attacks brimming with killing intent. So he was a Captain from the Golden Lion Corps.
The Golden Lion Corps was the kingdom’s elite legion. Stationed abroad year-round, they fought in all directions to defend the kingdom’s territory. They were the strongest army in the kingdom.
A Captain within its ranks would be at least an Earth Martial Artist. Their leader was the military titan, Elder Li, who was also one of the most powerful figures in the Liuyun Kingdom, his fame renowned.
The City Guard captain hesitated for a moment, looking toward the young woman and the young man.
"What stupid Captain? When a soldier breaks the law, he is punished the same as a commoner! Besides, the Royal City isn’t a place where they can run wild. Arrest them! I’ll take responsibility for any consequences!" the young woman said, her voice frigid.
With Princess Xiangming’s backing, the City Guard captain’s resolve was set. He turned around slowly and said coldly, "I don’t care who you are. Where I’m concerned, even a Prince is treated the same as a commoner if he breaks the law. I, Liu Ping, have always enforced the law impartially. You hit someone, so you should be prepared to be punished. Arrest them."
A group of City Guards immediately pounced like a pack of wolves and tigers.
’What kind of impartiality is this man upholding? What law is he enforcing? Hearing those words from their mouths is an absolute joke,’ even Hua Luoxuan couldn’t help but sneer when he heard this.
Luo Zhan, for his part, was even more furious.
BOOM! A powerful wave of Profound Qi swept out. Luo Zhan’s legs became a phantom-like blur as they swept outwards.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
A series of sharp cracks echoed as cries of pain rose one after another. In the blink of an eye, Luo Zhan had kicked nearly ten of the attacking City Guards to the ground. He then lunged forward, aiming a kick at the City Guard captain.
"You dare to attack my City Guard?! Do you have a death wish?!" the City Guard captain roared, his eyes filled with disbelief. He immediately tightened his grip on his battle saber and slashed out viciously.
"Get lost!" Luo Zhan bellowed, unleashing the full power of a Martial Master Third Layer. His Jingang iron leg brutally kicked the battle saber, sending it flying instantly. The entire blade embedded itself into a nearby wall, quivering with a hum.
The formidable force from the kick traveled through the saber and slammed into the City Guard captain’s chest. CLANG! A dent instantly appeared on the burly captain’s chest plate. He spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed heavily to the ground.
Silence. The entire restaurant fell instantly silent.
The crowd stared in horror. ’This black-robed Martial Artist... such incredible strength, such an overbearing style. He’s truly worthy of being a Captain from the Golden Lion Corps. To dare to fight the City Guard at the slightest disagreement.’
The young woman’s pupils contracted sharply. She hadn’t expected him to be so domineering.
"We’re leaving!" Luo Zhan sneered. Although he was long retired, many of his friends from the army still served in the Royal City. For a few City Guards to try and arrest him by borrowing someone else’s authority was simply courting death.
At the academy, Luo Zhan was known as the cold-faced instructor. How could he possibly be the type to use gentle words?
"Who touched the Commandery Princess?"
Just then, a frigid voice rang out, and the entire restaurant seemed to tremble. Three figures leaped directly from the first floor to the second, landing before the arrogant young woman.
All three men had deep, indifferent eyes and steady auras. Just by standing there, they naturally exuded an intimidating presence.
Seeing the palm print on the arrogant young woman’s face, the eyes of the three newcomers turned severe. A glacial aura suddenly erupted within the restaurant, and the entire room seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.
"Miss, who hit you?" The icy words came from the leader of the group, the chill in his voice so profound it seemed capable of freezing the restaurant solid.
"Uncle Meng, you’re here! It was him! Kill them for me!" Seeing her reinforcements, the arrogant young woman’s eyes lit up. She pointed at Ye Xuan and shrieked.
"Lord Meng, not only did they assault the Commandery Princess, but they also attacked us, the City Guard! Please, Lord Meng, apprehend these criminals!" the City Guard captain, seizing the opportunity, shouted out, hoping to make a good impression.
"What audacious nerve," the middle-aged man said as he turned around. His expression was stern and aloof as he strode toward Ye Xuan’s group, a surging, oppressive pressure filling the air.
The atmosphere in the restaurant became incredibly oppressive, as if it might collapse at any moment under the weight of this aura. The patrons all scrambled to get as far away as possible, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.
Luo Zhan frowned and stepped to the front of his group, his own aura rising. "You’re the ones with the nerve! Acting so wantonly in the Royal City—do you really think this is your private garden?"
"Insolent!" the middle-aged man barked, his eyes cold. "No wonder you’re so fearless. So you have a Third Layer Earth Martial Artist with you. But to dare act so arrogantly in the Royal City with just this little bit of skill is far too bold."
With a cold snort, the two men behind the leader also stepped forward, releasing their auras in unison.
All three were actually Third Layer Earth Martial Master experts. The leader was even at the Triple Peak. The three of them together instantly suppressed Luo Zhan’s aura.
The expressions on Leng Yingying and Feng Rouyi’s faces changed instantly.
The Royal City truly lived up to its name. A mere junior captain of the City Guard was a Martial Master First Layer, and three random men who just showed up were all Third Layer Earth Martial Masters.
’This group is probably done for.’
The surrounding crowd sighed inwardly. Although they knew the young woman was completely in the wrong, none of them dared to say so.
From the exchange, they had also learned that the arrogant young woman was Princess Xiangming from the Mansion of Prince He. Although Prince He was just one of many princes in the Royal City, he was by no means someone a retired Captain could stand against.
"Do you regret it now?" With the same words and the same tone, the arrogant young woman once again looked haughtily at Ye Xuan’s group, her gaze cold and filled with a sinister chill. "But even if you do regret it, it’s too late."
That superior attitude was etched into her very bones and impossible to conceal.
"Regret? Why should we regret anything?" Ye Xuan scoffed, seemingly paying no mind to the three men. He just said calmly, "Hua Luoxuan, haven’t we wasted enough time here?"
Everyone’s eyes narrowed, their brows furrowing. What did this young man mean by saying that now?
"Indeed, it’s been more than enough," Hua Luoxuan, from within the group, suddenly said with a slight smile. He looked at the middle-aged man and his companions and said calmly, "This matter ends here."
The moment he spoke, his steady aura shattered the oppressive pressure from the three men. An innate, convincing majesty radiated from him.
The middle-aged man’s gaze fixed on Hua Luoxuan.
"And just who do you think you are?" one of the men behind the leader sneered, his eyes icy.
A cold glint shot from Hua Luoxuan’s eyes. "’Who do I think I am?’ And who are *you* to speak to me like that?"
BOOM!
The aura of a Tier Four Celestial Martial Artist erupted from Hua Luoxuan.
He raised a hand and struck out with a palm as fast as lightning. The speed was so great that no one could react. With a loud THUD, the man who had just spoken was struck in the chest and sent flying like a kite with a broken string, spewing blood.
With a single palm strike, a Third Layer Earth Martial Master was felled on the spot. The tyrannical and arrogant display left everyone in the room pale with shock.
"You..."
The middle-aged man’s expression finally changed. ’There’s a Tier Four Celestial Martial Artist in their group?’
An expert of this caliber would be considered a master even in the Mansion of Prince He and treated with the utmost respect.
Yet this person had remained silent within the group, only revealing himself at the critical moment.
The middle-aged man was certain that if he and his two companions hadn’t appeared, this Tier Four Celestial Martial Artist would never have shown himself.
As he carefully sized up the group once more, the solemn look in the middle-aged man’s eyes deepened.
Their group wasn’t large, only six people. Four of them were teenagers, about fifteen or sixteen years old, and all were above the rank of Tier One Warrior.
As for the other two, one was a Third Layer Earth Martial Master, and the other was a Celestial Martial Artist.
’It looks like these two are here specifically to protect the four youths. Could they be the head of some small academy, leading their talented disciples here to enroll in the Profound Spirit Academy?’
