"Everyone, what is the meaning of this?" Li Mu asked knowingly.
"The meaning? Naturally, it is to bury all of you here! Li Chenggan, you are cruel and heartless, unworthy of being a ruler. Today, we are here to avenge the countless innocent lives lost in Shengjing, to restore peace to the world!"
Huang Da spoke passionately, his words stirring and full of righteous indignation. To anyone unaware, they might actually believe that Li Chenggan had committed some atrocious act that enraged the people.
"Haha, you have such boldness! You dare to plot an assassination against the king? Are you not afraid of your family being wiped out, of your lineage being destroyed?" Li Mu laughed heartily, his gaze filled with contempt. Against these few ragged individuals, he could easily destroy them with a single flick of his hand.
"You nameless wretches, looking for death!" The head of the Wang family, impulsive by nature, grabbed a long blade and charged toward Li Mu.
"Trash!" Li Mu's eyes flashed with fury as he shouted. His voice was like thunder, shaking the heavens.
The Wang family head froze on the spot, blood pouring from all seven orifices, his appearance horrific to behold.
*Hiss...* The crowd shuddered in fear, looking at Li Mu as if he were a devil. This unknown figure, with nothing more than a shout, had killed the Wang family head, whose strength was considerable and who was a renowned expert at the peak of the semi-conduit stage.
"I'll give you a chance to show your true strength. If not, don't blame me for being merciless!" Li Mu's eyes flashed with a murderous gleam, intimidating everyone present.
"Good skill! I admire you greatly!" A cold voice came from the air.
"Who goes there? Hiding like a rat!" Li Mu unsheathed his sword and swung it forcefully.
A sword aura rose into the air, like a crescent moon, radiating a deadly aura.
"Hmph, arrogant!"
In an instant, the air turned cold, and a stream of dark energy, like a shooting star, shot towards the crescent moon sword aura. The two forces clashed with a sizzling sound, and both disappeared in a flash.
"I am Yin Yunhua, the National Master of the Xuanfeng Dynasty. May I ask for your name?" The figure of Yin Yunhua appeared in the air, his face grim, exuding a sense of impending danger.
Li Mu coldly replied, "General Li Mu of the Great Tang!"
"The Great Tang is on the verge of collapsing. With your abilities, why not choose a new master? If you agree, I guarantee that you will hold a position in the Xuanfeng Dynasty higher than even mine."
Yin Yunhua spoke earnestly. Facing a power like Li Mu, he had to be sincere, for if his words were insincere, Li Mu would never trust him.
"The Xuanfeng Dynasty? Not worthy of my allegiance. However, your head is of interest to me. A head of a God Transformation realm expert would be a great trophy for me." Li Mu's gaze was mocking, unmoved.
"In that case, I shall have to learn your skills." Yin Yunhua did not lose his temper, nor did he continue to persuade. Strong men had their own convictions. If Li Mu agreed too easily, Yin Yunhua might have doubted his strength.
"Please!"
Sensing the increasingly terrifying dark energy emanating from Yin Yunhua, Li Mu did not dare to be careless and immediately activated his bloodthirsty energy to counter the dark aura.
For a moment, the blood-red and ink-black auras clashed in the air, neither yielding, creating a spectacular scene.
"Good! It's been a long time since I've met a worthy opponent. Li Mu, take this! Ghostly apparition, devour the heavens!"
Hundreds of dark energies appeared out of nowhere, like falling stars, charging with violent force, cold and ruthless, towards Li Mu.
"Even if you have a thousand invincible moves, I will break them all with a single sword! Heavenly Shepherd Sword!"
Li Mu stood proudly in the air, his clothes fluttering as if a god had descended. Having been reincarnated into this world, he vowed to make his name known throughout the heavens, living up to his former glory!
This sword came from his reincarnation, a sword sent by heaven to hunt, a sword that cut through the sky as if to tear apart the firmament. The fierce energy, the blood-colored glow, all displayed the awe-inspiring power of this move!
"This is bad, the Blood Escape Talisman!" The power of this sword was completely unexpected. The hundreds of dark stars were obliterated by the scorching sword light, and Yin Yunhua was severely wounded by a mere trace of the sword's aura.
Fortunately, Yin Yunhua was decisive and managed to escape with his life.
"Hmm? You ran fast. Next time we meet, I will definitely take your head!"
Li Mu knew that Yin Yunhua had used a secret technique to escape. He couldn't be bothered to chase after him. For Li Mu, the next time they met, he would take Yin Yunhua's head as easily as reaching into a bag.
As a near-top-tier existence, Li Mu could fight across a large realm. In other words, at the Fifth Stage of Star Pull, Li Mu could battle an expert at the Fifth Stage of God Transformation without falling behind.
"Guards, take them all into custody and await the king's judgment!"
Under Li Mu's overwhelming pressure, Yang Yu and the others were unable to resist and were immediately sealed at their dantian, unable to move.
"Yes."
Under Li Mu's suppression, everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. Without their leader, the ten thousand ordinary soldiers laid down their weapons and waited to be processed.
---
"Report! Your Majesty, General Li has taken control of Huangfeng City. Xuanfeng Dynasty's National Master Yin Yunhua was heavily wounded and fled, and the rebels in Huangfeng City have been captured, awaiting Your Majesty's judgment!"
"Good, Li Mu has truly not let me down!" The scout's report made Li Chenggan overjoyed.
"Zhou Cang, Guan Ping, inform the army to accelerate their march. In one hour, I want to have dinner in Huangfeng City!"
"Yes."
---
After a half-hour of rapid marching, Li Chenggan and his army finally arrived at Huangfeng City.
In the City Lord's Mansion.
"Your servant Li Mu welcomes His Majesty to Huangfeng City!"
"Minister, rise. You've done great service in pacifying Huangfeng City. Once the empire is stable, I will reward you greatly!" Since it wasn't the time for awards yet, Li Chenggan merely made a promise for now.
"Your humble servant dares not take credit!"
"No need for modesty. I know what you've done for the empire," Li Chenggan said, patting Li Mu's strong shoulder, his admiration for him plain on his face.
"Now, no more idle talk. Bring me the traitors Yang Yu and Huang Da."
"Yes."
---
Not long after, Yang Yu and the others, wearing prison garb and shackled, slowly entered the hall.
"You have betrayed the Great Tang. Do you know your crime?" Li Chenggan asked sternly.
"Your Majesty, I know my crime! I know my crime! All of this was planned by Huang Da. I was forced into it! Please, Your Majesty, spare me!" Yang Yu, the City Lord of Huangfeng, prostrated himself on the ground, crying loudly and desperately defending himself.
"Shameless! Shameless!" Huang Da, still standing, pointed at Yang Yu and loudly cursed.
Seeing this exchange, Li Chenggan couldn't help but find it amusing.