Chapter 240: Chapter 240: Kill on the Spot
BANG!
Zhu Jun took a hard punch to the face. Half his face twisted out of shape as he spat out a mouthful of blood and teeth. His entire body was sent flying, crashing hard onto the ground and skidding for a dozen meters.
Li Yifeng’s figure blurred as he chased after Zhu Jun’s flying body. He kicked Zhu Jun in the chest, sending him soaring high into the air. Then, Li Yifeng pushed off the ground, launching himself up again. He rose above Zhu Jun, raised his right leg, and brought it crashing down on his chest.
A sickening CRACK of breaking bones echoed. Zhu Jun’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. His internal organs were ruptured, and he sprayed a mouthful of blood mixed with visceral fragments. With a THUD, he slammed into the ground, carving a deep crater into the stone floor.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Li Yifeng wasn’t finished. After landing, he unleashed a frenzy of punches and kicks, each blow aimed at a vital point. He pummeled Zhu Jun until there wasn’t a single uninjured spot on his body, which was now gushing blood from everywhere.
"Stop... stop hitting me! I’m begging you, please stop!"
Zhu Jun cried out, begging for mercy in agony. He knew that if he didn’t beg, he would be beaten to death. He had originally thought that with his status as a general, even if Li Yifeng didn’t give him face, he wouldn’t dare do anything serious. Now, he realized how naive he’d been. The man didn’t give a damn about his rank.
Only then did Li Yifeng speak, his voice dripping with scorn. "Now you see what gives me the right? A so-called general who doesn’t even understand that might makes right. And you wanted to report me to His Majesty? Let me be honest with you. Forget beating you—even if I killed you, His Majesty wouldn’t do a thing to me."
"I understand! I understand!" Zhu Jun wailed.
The border defense troops Zhu Jun had brought with him watched their general groveling and begging for mercy. Their faces flushed red with shame. The awe they once held for him instantly shattered and vanished.
Li Yifeng ignored Zhu Jun and hurried forward a few steps. His gaze fell upon Ye Xuan, who stood like the moon surrounded by stars in the crowd. He immediately broke into a hearty laugh. "If I’m not mistaken, this must be the renowned Master Ye Xuan, who has shaken the Royal City! Master Ye Xuan, though I am not stationed in the Royal City, I have long admired your great name. It is as renowned as thunder in my ears! I have arrived late with my troops; I hope Master will forgive me."
His face was full of enthusiasm, and his eyes burned with a fiery passion, like a fan who had just met his idol. His expression was one of utmost reverence.
The soldiers present saw the legendary Hundred Victory General of the kingdom acting so polite and reverent toward Ye Xuan. For a moment, they were all dumbfounded and found it hard to believe.
"General Li, you’re too kind. If you hadn’t arrived with your troops this time, I’m afraid I would have been in danger," Ye Xuan said with a faint smile.
"Haha, Master Ye Xuan, you jest." Li Yifeng’s gaze swept over the positions of Ouyang Xiaoshan and the other Imperial Guard members, and a brilliant gleam suddenly shot from his eyes. As a seasoned warrior with extraordinary strength from years of battle, how could he not see that Ouyang Xiaoshan’s formation, while seemingly ordinary, was in fact incredibly profound? It was an immensely powerful battle array.
He laughed heartily again, raising an eyebrow. "Even if I hadn’t come, I doubt this rabble would have been a match for you, Master Ye Xuan."
As he spoke, he continued to study the battle array Ye Xuan had arranged. The more he looked, the more alarmed he became. His heart pounded in shock. ’This battle array... the more I look, the more profound it seems, the more complex. It’s like I’m being drawn into a vast, starry sky.’ After trying to analyze it for a moment, he could go no further, and broke out in a cold sweat.
Li Yifeng quickly stopped his mental analysis and suppressed the shock in his eyes. He continued, "Master Ye Xuan, I received your message that there were rebels in Tianxu Province. Now that this group of rebels has been captured, I wonder how you intend to deal with them?"
Ouyang Xiaoshan and the others looked at Ye Xuan and Liu Xiaolong beside him in shock. They finally understood why Ye Xuan had sent Liu Xiaolong away back in Molin Village. He was sent to notify the nearby Golden Lion Corps to eliminate the rebels. Thinking about how Ye Xuan had arranged everything so far in advance, their reverence for him deepened.
Meanwhile, Wei Hong and his group of subordinates were dumbfounded. They had thought Ye Xuan and his people would be in peril once Zhu Jun arrived. They never expected such a dramatic, one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn of events. Many of them were so frustrated they nearly spat blood. ’If I had known it would turn out like this,’ they thought, ’if I had just decisively sided with Ye Xuan earlier, I might have had a chance to survive. But now...’
Thinking of their likely fate, many broke out in a cold sweat and trembled uncontrollably.
"How to deal with them?" Ye Xuan’s gaze swept coolly over the terrified faces of Wei Hong, Zhu Jun, and the others. A cold smile touched the corner of his lips. A bleak, chilling intent filled the air as he softly uttered, "Kill them."
"What?" Kneeling on the ground, Zhu Jun, Wei Hong, and the others trembled violently. They cried out in disbelief, "Kill me? You’re going to kill me?"
The terror on Zhu Jun’s face vanished, replaced by incredulity. His eyes filled with shock and horror as he roared, "I am a general of the border defense forces, enfeoffed by the kingdom! A great commander guarding a territory! Without a direct edict from His Majesty, how dare you kill me on your own authority?! Do you have any respect for the laws of the kingdom?"
"That’s right! I am a First-Class Count enfeoffed by His Majesty, the Governor of Tianxu Province! Even if I truly committed treason, only His Majesty can pass judgment! Li Yifeng, even if you are a disciple of the Li family, a general of the Golden Lion Corps, and a Third-Class Duke of the kingdom, you have no authority to dispose of me!"
Ye Xuan looked at the still-struggling and roaring Zhu Jun and Wei Hong and sneered. "Your actions in Tianxu Province have already violated the laws of the kingdom. It is a capital crime! My Ye family has been newly enfeoffed by His Majesty as King Ye, the lord of Tianxu Province. As such, I have full authority to handle all matters within the territory of Tianxu Province. His Majesty won’t even bat an eye at your deaths. But even if he did, with me, Ye Xuan, here today, you will still die."
The attitude of absolute contempt radiating from Ye Xuan made Zhu Jun and Wei Hong feel like ants that could be crushed at will. In that instant, they felt that their greatest support and backing had vanished completely.
Now, the two were truly terrified. Zhu Jun’s face was pale as he pleaded, "No, don’t kill me! I am a Tier Four Celestial Martial Artist. I can be of great use to you! As long as you don’t kill me, I am willing to pledge my allegiance to you, even as a servant."
"Yes, don’t kill us! We are willing to pledge our allegiance to you!"
"I am a Tier Five Martial Sect! As long as you don’t kill me, I can work for your Ye family."
The many Martial Artists and soldiers present all began to beg bitterly, because they could see the killing intent in Ye Xuan’s eyes. It was real, without a hint of falsehood.
Ye Batian and the others all looked at Ye Xuan without a word. Among the group opposite them were not only several Triple Peak Celestial Martial Artists, but also a Tier Five First Layer Martial Sect. If this group were to pledge allegiance to the Ye family, they would be a force that could not be ignored.
"A Martial Sect?" Ye Xuan scoffed with disdain. "A Martial Sect like you, in my eyes, is nothing but a piece of trash who hasn’t even begun to grasp the Martial Dao. What use do I have for you? If I say you die, you die! Kill them!"
A Tier Five Martial Sect is trash that hasn’t even begun to grasp the Martial Dao!
Li Yifeng, Ouyang Xiaoshan, and the other experts were all shaken to the core. They stared at Ye Xuan in astonishment. Any Martial Sect expert was an undeniable powerhouse in the Liuyun Kingdom, yet in Ye Xuan’s mouth, they were nothing. The strange thing was, when he said it, there was no sense of posturing. It was as if he was stating a natural fact, which sent their minds reeling and gave them much to ponder.
A vicious gleam flashed in their eyes. The Imperial Guard members holding Wei Hong and the others drew their battle sabers. With a swift rise and fall of their blades...
PFFT!
The blades sliced across their necks as if cutting through water pipes. Instantly, fountain-like jets of blood spurted out. Zhu Jun and Wei Hong stared with wide, incredulous eyes as the light within them gradually dimmed, like fireworks that shine brightly for a moment before fading into death.
Of the many experts who had remained at the City Lord’s Mansion, not one survived; all were executed. The remaining several thousand border defense troops watched this all unfold, their hearts pounding in terror as they knelt on the ground.
Ye Xuan didn’t need to worry about the rest. He, along with the members of the Ye family, entered the City Lord’s Mansion.
Accompanying them were General Li Yifeng of the Golden Lion Corps and his men.
The events at the City Lord’s Mansion had long since alarmed the entire provincial capital. Seeing the mansion surrounded by layer upon layer of imposing soldiers, the common people began to whisper amongst themselves, feeling anxious and terrified, not knowing what had happened in Tianxu Province. Only the major families of the capital, who were slightly in the know, were an exception.
The heads of the major families in the provincial capital were also uneasy. Unsure of how the situation would develop, they each convened family meetings to discuss their next steps.
To reassure the public, Ouyang Xiaoshan, in coordination with Li Yifeng, quickly hung the heads of Wei Hong, Fang Tianhong, Zhu Jun, and the others on the city walls. They also announced His Majesty’s decree: the Ye family of Blue Moon City was to be enfeoffed as King Ye, with command over Tianxu Province. Wei Hong, Zhu Jun, and the others had run rampant through the kingdom, committing evil acts, and had been beheaded and put on public display as a warning to others.
As soon as this news was released, the entire provincial capital was in an uproar. The populace was stunned and utterly shocked, but this was quickly followed by the sounds of countless people celebrating.
During Wei Hong’s years in power, he had made a complete mess of Tianxu Province. Public resentment was boiling over, countless families had had their assets seized by him, and everyone lived in fear. Now, a new ruler was taking over. Although they didn’t know what his policies would be, the people were still overjoyed.
The celebration was even greater when the people heard that the new ruling family was the Ye family from Blue Moon City—the very same family that sold those special-effect Pills. They poured into the streets to cheer for their new King.
Over the past year or so, the Ye family’s pharmacies had spread across nearly all of Tianxu Province. Almost everyone in the province knew that the Ye family ran a truly conscientious business. For them to be in charge of Tianxu Province, the people could not feel more at ease.
Sure enough, new policies were quickly enacted. Many of the money-grabbing measures implemented by Governor Wei Hong were completely halted by the Ye family, and the people celebrated once again.
