High Martial Arts: Martial Soul Great Sage Equal to Heaven, crushing all races.

A barely perceptible hint of tension flashed across Gu Chongli's face, but it was instantly replaced by a righteous and indignant anger.

"Seal the ink!" Gu Chongli's voice rose, infused with true energy, resounding throughout the entire hall. "While the Xia family's crimes are indeed heinous, according to the laws of our Great Xia, the crimes of the heads of the eighteen prominent families must be jointly tried by the three judicial departments of the capital before a verdict can be reached! Whether the evidence is sufficient and whether the procedures are legal must be verified by the Grand Commander!"

He glanced around, his gaze sweeping over Feng Qingyang and Li Changqing before finally settling on Feng Mo's face. His tone grew increasingly stern: "If you were to execute yourself today, it would be an overstepping of your bounds! It would be a contempt for the laws of Great Xia! It would place the Demon Capital's Demon Slaying Division in opposition to the entire Great Xia! Can you bear this responsibility?!"

His words were forceful and resounding, every single one citing the weighty concepts of "law" and "rules."

A barely perceptible commotion arose within the Demon Slayer Division's ranks.

Some of the younger martial artists showed a hint of hesitation.

They hate the Xia family, but the terms "capital," "chief commander," and "law" represent the foundation of the Demon Slayer Bureau system and are the absolute authority they have been instilled with since joining the army.

Gu Chongli took in all of this and sneered inwardly.

He certainly wasn't doing it for some damn law.

With both Feng Qingyang and Li Changqing present, the Xia family's charge of treason is irrefutable, and no one can overturn it.

But he has to stall!

As long as they can buy time and wait for the Gu family's influence in the capital to begin maneuvering, the Xia family can at least preserve a group of their direct descendants.

The centuries-old alliance and shared interests between the Gu family and the Xia family would not collapse completely due to the madness of Xia Buxiu's generation.

More importantly, the Xia family's treasure trove accumulated over thousands of years!

How many rare and precious materials and how many secret martial arts manuals are inside?

We absolutely cannot let those peasants from the Demon Slayer Division of Shanghai get away with this so easily!

As long as Xia Buxiu, the "main culprit," is brought back to the capital, the Gu family will have countless ways to get involved in the subsequent confiscation and reckoning, and thus get a share of the spoils.

This is the fundamental reason why he risked offending Feng Mo to jump out and put on this grand show.

However, all his plans and all his eloquent speeches seemed so... ridiculous in Feng Mo's eyes.

Feng Mo slowly turned his head.

Those dark, unfathomable eyes quietly settled on Gu Chongli's face.

There was no anger, no sarcasm, not even any emotional fluctuation.

It was as calm as looking at a roadside stone blocking the way, a lifeless decoration.

He recalled the man's sarcastic and unpleasant demeanor at the victory celebration banquet.

I remembered his calloused hand, which seemed intent on crushing his arrogance.

I recalled how, when the entire city of Shanghai was ravaged by blood and the East China Sea was littered with corpses, this man stood here unharmed, talking at length about the law.

Then, he moved.

Not a single word wasted, and there were no warning signs whatsoever.

The Ruyi Jingu Bang, held high, spun in his palm, its head turned around, and the crimson-gold shaft cut through the air like a deathly streak tearing through space, carrying the force of a thunderbolt, and crashed down directly towards Gu Chongli's head!

fast!

Extremely fast!

The righteous indignation on Gu Chongli's face froze instantly, replaced by a sense of horror that came from the depths of his soul!

He never dreamed that Feng Mo would dare to kill him, the envoy from the capital, in front of everyone!

"How dare you, you brat!"

Gu Chongli roared, unleashing his sixth-order martial soul power without reservation. A thick, mountain-like domain instantly unfolded, attempting to withstand this fatal blow.

However, it was no use.

That domain, strong enough to withstand a full-force attack from a powerhouse of the same level, couldn't even last half a breath against the Golden Cudgel, which carried the Great Sage's battle intent.

"Snap—!"

Like an eggshell struck by a hammer, the domain shattered instantly, exploding into a shower of light.

"Bang!"

The stick slammed solidly into Gu Chongli's chest.

His black uniform with gold trim shattered instantly, his protective aura crumbled like paper, and his chest caved in deeply in a visible arc.

His entire body, like a tattered sack that had been flung away, flew hundreds of meters backward, trailing a long trail of blood mist, before crashing heavily into the ruins behind him, stirring up clouds of dust.

But that's not all.

Feng Mo's figure, like a leech clinging to a bone, like a ghost seeking death, vanished the moment the staff fell.

Five Elements Sky-Stepping Technique!

With one step, his figure was already in front of the dust and smoke.

The instant Gu Chongli's body bounced off the ground, a long and powerful hand pierced through the swirling dust, gripping his neck like an iron clamp, and forcefully lifting him up from the pile of rubble!

"Uh... Hehe..."

Gu Chongli's feet left the ground, and he kicked weakly in mid-air.

He gripped Feng Mo's fingers tightly with both hands, his arrogant face turning a deep purplish-red, his eyes filled with terror and confusion.

He couldn't understand why he, a powerful sixth-tier expert, was as vulnerable as an infant in this person's hands.

Feng Mo lifted him up in mid-air with one hand, looked at him, and finally a trace of emotion appeared in his calm eyes.

That was disgust.

A deep-seated, undisguised disgust.

The voice was so cold that everyone present felt a chill creeping out of their bones.

"I've disliked you ever since I first saw you at the celebration party."

Feng Mo tilted his head slightly, as if recalling a trivial matter.

"You can trip me up, you can look down on me, it doesn't matter."

His gaze shifted to the devastated city of Shanghai, and his voice carried a hint of cold questioning.

"But how many people died in Shanghai? How many people died in Donghai? Those civilians who trusted the Demon Slayer Division but were drained dry by the vines, those soldiers who held the line to the last moment—their blood is still wet."

"You, a sixth-tier powerhouse, cowered in the city during the war, afraid of the demon race's ferocity, and dared not take a single step out. Yet after the war, you stood on the blood-soaked ground, wearing this uniform that represents honor and protection, and pleaded for the traitor with righteous indignation."

Feng Mo's five fingers began to slowly tighten.

Gu Chongli's throat made a sickeningly sharp "clucking" sound, and the terror on his face turned into utter despair.

"Now," Feng Mo's eyes were as cold as eternal ice, "since you like rules so much and want to protect traitors who have turned to demons."

"Then, in the name of the Acting Commander-in-Chief of the Demon Slayer Division of Shanghai—"

"You are sentenced to death!"

[Ding! Gu Chongli is facing death and has fallen into extreme terror, his defenses are severely breached, and his defense points have increased by 100000!]

(The preceding climax is quite emotionally coherent, so I've interspersed hints about when the defenses are breached to avoid interruptions. I'll summarize the gains from the East Sea Demon Catastrophe later.)

The system notification sound fell into my mind the instant.

Feng Mo's five fingers suddenly clenched together.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound of bone cracking rang out.

Gu Chongli's futile struggle came to an abrupt end.

His head drooped limply, and the last glimmer of light in his eyes faded completely.

Feng Mo casually tossed Gu Chongli's body onto the ruins of the Xia family, like throwing away a piece of trash, raising a small cloud of murky dust.

The entire venue was deathly silent.

Not only the remaining members of the Xia family, but even Feng Qingyang and Li Changqing showed a hint of surprise on their faces.

They knew Feng Mo was ruthless and decisive, but they never expected him to be this ruthless.

But this brief silence lasted for less than three breaths.

"Well done!!"

It was unknown who, amidst the ranks of the Demon Slayers, roared this out with all their might.

It was like lighting a powder keg.

"General, you are mighty!!"

Those who harbor traitors deserve to die!

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Suppressed anger and frustration were released in an instant, transforming into a deafening roar that surged into the sky!

Feng Mo flicked away non-existent bloodstains from his hands, as if he had only done a trivial matter.

He turned around, his gaze falling once more on the half-human, half-tree mutilated body in the deep pit, now completely lifeless.

His voice was as calm as ever, yet it carried an undeniable authority.

"Continue the execution."