Bombarding Cultivators with Cluster Artillery

"Little Martial Uncle!"

"How could you just die like this..."

At the foot of Jinlingshan Mountain, wailing sounds shook heaven and earth, white sails fluttered, and mournful music sprang up from all directions. Numerous inner and outer sect disciples wept into tearful figures, making quite a spectacle.

But upon closer inspection,

many had icy glints in their eyes, occasionally glancing up the mountain with an unmasked expressiveness, allowing the magic-conjured droplets to slide down their steely cheeks and spatter on the ground.

"Senior Brother Zhou, doing this... won't there be consequences from the sect? After all, that mortal was of the Martial Uncle's generation."

Someone voiced their unease through transmitted messages.

"There's no need to worry!"

Zhou Kun confidently said, "That person will soon show his true colors. He's just a mere mortal, and when the time comes, not only will we not be punished, but we will also be credited with a great achievement!"

"Thanks to this, you and I might have hope in advancing to foundation building!"

His confidence infected the surrounding disciples, making their wailing sounds even louder and their expressions livelier.

"What if he refuses to come down? Surely that mortal wouldn't have the courage."

Another person asked.

"Even better!"

Zhou Kun laughed heartily.

"To endure such a profound humiliation and yet survive, he would be nothing but a lowly mortal ant."

"A mere ant, not content with merely scraping by, dares to attempt imposing such grand governance, and even more audaciously occupies the Second-Order Top-Grade Spiritual Vein of the Immortal Sect—this is a path to certain death!"

"Later, I shall personally break his limbs and leave him at your mercy for disposal!"

"Senior Brother's insight is profound!"

A number of people around him cheered with delight, revealing expressions of intense satisfaction. They were all previously dealt with by the Fanren Supervision Bureau.

Any reform,

verbal warnings are futile, no matter how well-intentioned.

The Fanren Supervision Bureau, in order to implement their ideal governance, had repeatedly made examples of many local tyrants and families from the Prefectural City, killing numerous criminals, among whom were relatives of some inner and outer sect disciples.

...

"How did it come to this?"

Li Qingyun expressed unwillingness to accept this from a distance.

A circle of people surrounded him, including Chen Xi, Wu Makong, Fa Zheng, and others.

It was only thanks to his protection that Chen Xi and the others hadn't faced further retribution, and although their own and their families' losses were tremendous, they had still survived the resentment of many inner and outer sect disciples.

"Senior Brother, this is indeed necessary,"

Wu Makong said solemnly.

After beginning his cultivation, he fully recognized the gap between himself and those with Sky Spiritual Roots and stopped resisting, quickly drawing close to a group of talented youths from the Qiyu Sect after Li Qingyun emerged from seclusion.

"Even you, at your age and realm, wouldn't come into conflict with any foundation-building senior," Wu Makong sneered, "but what about him?"

"He's just a mortal."

"He took over Chu FengXi's Second-Stage Top Class Spiritual Vein dwelling as soon as he arrived and got involved in the dispute over Zhou Kunlong Uncle's Golden Pill path, looking for death."

"If he doesn't die, who will?"

The people around all seemed to agree.

"Quite true."

Li Qingyun's face turned stern, taking this lesson to heart.

Even with great potential, that was only for the future. The present is the present, and that man... even with some talent and breakthrough in cultivating Qi, couldn't escape the malice of the two foundation-building cultivators.

"Little Martial Uncle!"

"How could you just die like this..."

After a long wait without seeing anyone, the inner and outer sect disciples below the mountain became more spirited, their wailing resounding through heaven and earth.

"He's coming!"

The wailing suddenly stopped.

All eyes turned upward to the mountain.

A youth in blue clothes, with a handsome appearance and his robe fluttering, came walking down unhurriedly.

Twelve beautiful young women, each with different looks, lined up in two rows. Some held jade parasols, some wore colorful ribbons, some carried fairy swords, all following step by step behind him.

"Are you Zhou Kun?"

Jiang Ding looked at the young Taoist before him and asked softly.

"I have seen the Little Martial Uncle."

Qiyu Sect's etiquette and rules are strict, preserving the dignity of elders. Even the unwilling had no choice but to pay their respects.

"Little Martial Uncle."

Zhou Kun's Divine Sense brashly scanned the person in front of him, and after a moment, his eyebrows relaxed completely, and he said with a playful grin, "Some suspect that you have been possessed by a demon. Please accompany me to the Punishment Hall."

"It's for your own safety."

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"Please don't put me in a difficult position!"

Zhou Kun's expression turned frosty as he unleashed his immense, peak-level cultivator's Divine Sense, capable of solidifying the Divine Souls of most mortals.

"Very well."

Jiang Ding nodded, and a wisp of light blue Sword Qi leaked from between his fingers.

"What?!"

Zhou Kun thought he had misheard and let out a sneering laugh, "You don't seriously believe that a mere Xiantian could defy the sect's laws with impunity, do you?"

The Sword Qi, released from between his fingers, sliced towards his throat.

"Since it's come to this, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Zhou Kun was overjoyed, a ferocious gleam flashing in his eyes.

The surging Mana of a cultivator at the peak of Qi Practicing filled the air, as a top-grade Magic Tool shield floated up. Then, muttering incantations, a top-grade Magic Tool jade seal rapidly expanded and pressed down towards the individual before him.

"He's a dead man."

Wu Makong declared flatly, a hint of sorrow in his words.

"Zhou Kun is excessively cautious. Facing even a Xiantian Martial Artist, he employs two great top-grade Magic Tools at once, leaving no chance for survival."

"This is to suppress him instantly, preventing him from demonstrating his combat abilities and stopping any elder from taking pity on him!"

Li Qingyun silently nodded, his gaze fixed on the unfolding scene, as if to witness the fall of a peerless genius, the number one on the Dragon and Phoenix List, to engrave the memory as a cautionary tale for his own sometimes complacent path of cultivation.

"Impossible!"

Li Qingyun's face went pale with shock as he cried out.

"Down!"

The ferocity on Zhou Kun's face was undisguised as he poured all his Mana into the jade seal, which grew to a height and width of a zhang, with ripples of power spilling out, making everything in the vicinity incredibly slow.

But then,

The stream of light blue Sword Qi slashed forward.

The top-grade jade seal Magic Tool was silently cleaved in two, with the Sword Qi's brilliance not dimmed in the slightest.

In the blink of an eye, it split the top-grade shield Magic Tool and silently cut through his protective shield.

Then, it flew towards his head.

"Impossible!"

Zhou Kun's ferocity turned to fear as he began burning his Essence Blood, transforming into a beam of Escape Light in a frantic attempt to flee.

"Spare me!"

"Great Uncle-Master! I was coerced by Zhou Kun…"

Swoosh!

The faint blue Sword Qi pierced through, and his body stiffened, halting in mid-air before silently splitting in two, his organs spilling out.

This was how a cultivator at the Peak of Qi Practicing met his end.

There was dead silence all around.

Everyone's eyes bulged, doubting what they had just seen.

"I... remember now."

Li Qingyun's voice was hoarse.

"The first time I saw him, and the second, I'd instinctively ignore him. I had thought that after beginning my cultivation, with Divine Sense aiding me, things would change…"

Silence fell.

No one responded to his words, caught in a state of shock.

"Does anyone else require guidance?"

Jiang Ding looked around at the disciples, both inner and outer, who were dressed in mourning, and asked.

All the disciples in mourning were trembling, their faces pale, as they frantically tore off the white mourning fabric, not daring to look up, their faces showing terror.

"Liu SanQi."

"At your service!"

Liu SanQi's face flushed with excitement, his manner extremely respectful.

"How should these people be handled?"

"For malicious slander against one's elders, conspiring with others, the punishment is to be sent to the Punishment Hall, where at least ten of the ringleaders must be executed," Liu SanQi said without hesitation. "As for the others involved, they are all to be demoted to mine slaves and sent to work in the mines for twenty years before they can atone for their crimes."

The others trembled even more, but no one dared to object.

"Let it be so."

Jiang Ding nodded slightly and looked towards a grey-robed elder who had quietly approached, his expression one of surprise.

"A foundation-building cultivator can also control Foundation-building Death Soldiers?"

"Youngster, meet your death!"

The grey-robed elder's face was filled with grim resolve, no longer hiding his intentions. The overwhelming pressure of a foundation-building cultivator poured out, blanking the minds of all nearby Qi Practicing disciples.

A Huolong Supreme Magic Tool in the form of a fire dragon, fueled by the foundation builder's full Mana and Essence Blood, opened its scorching maw wide to swallow him whole.

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