My CEO Bai Fumei’s wife

The sixteen Heavenly Thunder Sect disciples behind Lei Ming had their protective spiritual energy shattered by the aftershocks of the Heaven-Defying Tribulation. Three of them were still lying on the ground, unable to get up, while the rest were standing but their legs were trembling. If word got out that someone who cultivated thunder magic was struck by lightning and couldn't stand, the Heavenly Thunder Sect's reputation for the past three hundred years would be ruined.

"Elder Lei, your men seem to be quite vulnerable to lightning strikes. Is the Thunder Technique of the Heavenly Thunder Sect only useful for scaring cultivators below the Golden Core stage?"

These words struck a nerve with Lei Ming. In Qingyun Prefecture, he relied on the reputation of the Heavenly Thunder Sect's Demon Extermination Team and the advantage that those who cultivated thunder magic naturally had a higher combat strength than those of the same level. Now that Qin Yu had exposed him to his face, his face turned as red as the bottom of a pot.

"You think you can act arrogantly just because you survived one tribulation? My cultivation level reached the Nascent Soul stage thirty years earlier than yours. How dare you, a newly formed Nascent Soul cultivator, act so arrogantly in front of me?"

"A 30-year-old Nascent Soul cultivator couldn't even stand up after being struck by four bolts of lightning by a newly formed Nascent Soul cultivator. Is this what you mean by 30 years of foundation?"

Among the dozen or so guards of Wanbaoge, a captain at the peak of the Golden Core stage wanted to speak up, but his gaze fell on the Nine Dragon Sword in Qin Yu's hand, which was still crackling with dark red electricity. He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Meng Hanbing was a Nascent Soul stage cultivator and a three-hundred-year-old sect leader. After she went in, she didn't even leave behind a complete scream. What difference was there between these dozen or so Golden Core stage guards of Wanbaoge rushing in and delivering vegetables to the enemy?

Lei Ming was also calculating the costs. Among the people he brought, he himself was the most powerful, at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage, half a minor realm higher than Qin Yu. However, the residual power of the Heaven-Defying Tribulation turned that half a minor realm gap into a negative number. He still clearly remembered the feeling of those lightning bolts striking him.

"Where are the people from Wanbaoge? Didn't Qian Tongshen send reinforcements? How come there are only a few useless people here?"

Lei Ming turned to look at the captain at the peak of the Golden Core stage. Wanbaoge had promised him that after sealing off the city, they would send at least three Nascent Soul stage protectors to provide support, but so far only a dozen or so Golden Core stage weaklings had arrived.

The captain's answer almost made Lei Ming spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Manager Qian was robbed of all his wealth yesterday, and even his magic weapon, the Golden Abacus, was lost. He is currently writing a self-criticism report at headquarters and there are no people available to help him."

"He's writing a self-criticism report. He's the dignified manager of Wanbaoge in Qingyun Prefecture. He was robbed of his fortune, but instead of seeking revenge, he's writing a self-criticism report."

"The person who robbed him is the one right in front of you."

The captain pointed in Qin Yu's direction, and Lei Ming's mind went blank. Qian Tongshen was a Nascent Soul cultivator at the early stage, the regional manager of Wanbaoge, and a prominent figure in Qingyun Prefecture. Even he had been robbed by this rogue cultivator and had signed an IOU for 100,000 spirit crystals.

Qin Yu didn't give him time to process the information. He moved the Nine Dragon Sword forward half an inch, and the dark red arcs of electricity on the blade hissed in the air.

"Elder Lei now has two paths. The first path is to kneel down and kowtow three times and then roll back to the Thunder God Sect. The second path is for me to kneel down for you, but it won't be three times, it will be three hundred."

"You're just a greenhorn who's only just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, do you really think you're invincible?"

Lei Ming took a step back. It wasn't his legs that wanted to move back; it was his survival instinct that made the decision for him. But as soon as he took that step, he regretted it because the Tianlei Sect disciples behind him saw him retreat and followed suit, causing their formation to break up instantly.

"Elder Lei seems very scared. He has cultivated thunder magic for thirty years, and he is frightened like this by a rogue cultivator who is undergoing tribulation. If your master knew, would he be so angry that he would crawl out of his coffin?"

"Don't talk nonsense, my master is still alive."

"It's better to be alive. When I have time, I'll visit your master at the Thunder God Sect and ask him how his disciples can't even withstand being struck by lightning."

The captain of Wanbaoge, who was at the peak of the Golden Core stage, calculated a more detailed account than Lei Ming. Manager Qian was robbed of 10,000 spirit crystals and signed an IOU for 100,000. The deputy sect leader and two elders of Tianji Sect were imprisoned in the Spirit Tower. All ten Golden Core stage elders of Xuanyin Sect were wiped out, and the sect leader Huang Lingtian was crippled. Now, Meng Hanbing has also died in the underground secret chamber. The combined weight of these people is enough to reshuffle the power structure of the entire Qingyun Prefecture.

He quietly put the magical artifact he was holding into his storage ring, then quietly took two steps back. A guard from the Wanbao Pavilion leaned over and whispered a question.

"Captain, shall we continue fighting?"

"Smash your mother's head! Didn't you see Meng Hanbing's corpse is still smoking inside? He killed a sect leader in the early Nascent Soul stage with a single sword strike. How many breaths can you, with your mid-Golden Core stage cultivation, last if you rush up there?"

The guard immediately shut up, not because he was scolded, but because he was frightened into silence by Meng Hanbing's death. To kill a Nascent Soul stage sect leader who had lived for over three hundred years was beyond the comprehension of them, the Golden Core stage cultivators.

Lei Ming discovered that the Wanbaoge people were secretly retreating, making his situation even more awkward. Originally, the two sides agreed to join forces to besiege them, but the Wanbaoge people backed down first. No matter how big the Tianlei Sect's reputation was, it wasn't enough for him to stick his nose into it alone.

"When did the people of Wanbaoge become so spineless? You didn't seek revenge when Qian Tongshen was robbed, you didn't investigate when the auction items were switched, and now you're retreating even when you can't even surround them."

The captain replied with a statement that completely silenced Lei Ming.

"Elder Lei, Wanbaoge is in business, not risking your life. If you think you can beat him, Wanbaoge will fully cooperate. If you can't beat him, then this matter is no longer Wanbaoge's responsibility."

Businessmen are just that straightforward. They fight battles they can win, but they run away faster than anyone else when they can't. Lei Ming was used to swaggering around at the checkpoint outside the city and thought that the people of Wanbaoge were his vassals. Now he realized that they had only been using his force to collect protection money from beginning to end.

Qin Yu saw all of this, but he didn't have time to waste. Yan Mingyu's soul was unstable, and the environment of the spirit tower could only be maintained temporarily. The longer it dragged on, the greater the risk.

"I'll say it one last time: get out of the way, or you'll be the next one lying down."

Lei Ming gritted his teeth. He knew he couldn't win, but if he backed down in front of so many people, he would never be able to stay in Qingyun Prefecture again, and the reputation of the Demon Extermination Team would be ruined.

Just then, a golden pillar of light suddenly appeared in the sky above Tian Shu City. The pillar of light rose from the direction of the city center and illuminated half of the city's sky.

That wasn't a signal flare, nor was it a magical attack; it was a special communication method that only emperor-level figures in Martial Emperor City could use.

The Emperor commanded golden light.

Lei Ming's face went from ashen to deathly pale and then to wild joy. The golden light of the imperial decree represented the direct order of Emperor Li, the highest-level dispatch signal of Martial Emperor City. As long as the entire Qingyun Prefecture saw this light, all forces had to obey unconditionally.

"Hahaha, Blood Fiend, you're finished. Emperor Li's decree has arrived. You think you can do whatever you want just because you've broken through to the Nascent Soul stage? When an Emperor Li at the Divine Transformation stage makes a move, you don't even have the right to run away."

This golden light was indeed not a variable Qin Yu had anticipated. Emperor Li's reaction was at least two days faster than he had imagined. After Zhou Tianming reported the matter of the Xuan Yin Sect, Emperor Li did not send anyone to investigate, but instead issued an imperial decree directly.

The contents of the imperial decree reached the ears of every cultivator in Tian Shu City the instant the golden light touched the ground.

"Tian Shu City is under martial law. All cultivators are to remain in place and not leave their current positions. The Blood Fiend Clan will be killed without exception, and those who assist them will be punished equally." (End of Chapter)