She Liang sent out a transmission talisman. In barely a hundred breaths, the aura of a Spirit Gathering Realm cultivator rapidly approached.
"Do not harm my son."
Whoosh! A middle-aged man landed in front of the crowd.
"Little brother, do not get worked up. We can talk this over. Whatever you want, I will do my best to satisfy you. Let my son go first."
Han Fei asked, "Are you the City Lord of Luoan City?"
The man cupped his fists. "I am She Kun, City Lord of Luoan City. May I ask how my son offended you for you to strike him so heavily?"
Han Fei said in confusion, "Why? Do you not know what kind of person your own son is? Do I need to list his crimes one by one for you?"
She Kun frowned. "Even if my son made mistakes, it is not your place to discipline him. So you will not listen to reason?"
Han Fei said, "What? Already flying into a rage? You father and son rely on your cultivation and status to commit every evil in Luoan City. You are utterly despicable."
She Kun sneered. "What? Are you trying to uphold justice? With your Spirit Gathering Realm First Level cultivation? You are still lacking. How about you release my son, and I let you leave?"
A faint smile appeared on Han Fei's face. "You really want your son back, do you? In that case, I will let him go."
As he spoke, the bamboo strip in Han Fei's hand left She Liang's neck, while a surge of force traveled through his right leg into the ground.
She Liang, who had been kneeling on the ground, was immediately flung into the air.
Han Fei turned She Liang's body with his left hand, then clenched his right fist and delivered a heavy blow to his lower body.
She Liang had thought Han Fei was going to release him. He had never expected Han Fei's goal to be cutting off his lineage.
His body spun several times through the air before he finally crashed facedown beside She Kun.
She Kun froze for a moment. Then his expression turned vicious, his fists clenched, and spiritual energy erupted around him.
Because the onlookers stood too close to She Kun, the shockwave of force blasted the surrounding people backward. Several people at the front even coughed up blood.
"You dared to hurt my son! I will take your life!"
She Kun was at the Spirit Gathering Realm Third Level. When Han Fei used his spiritual energy, She Kun had already determined that Han Fei was only at the Spirit Gathering Realm First Level, so he did not believe Han Fei could be his match.
He thrust out his right fist, his body turning into an afterimage as he charged before Han Fei in an instant.
What he did not know was that the speed he considered extremely fast was as slow as a snail in Han Fei's eyes.
Just as She Kun's fist came within less than an inch of Han Fei, a sharp pain suddenly exploded in his chest.
Han Fei had struck first, kicking She Kun squarely in the chest.
Like his son, She Kun flipped backward through the air and slammed heavily into the ground.
She Kun was ruthless indeed. He spat out a mouthful of blood, then sprang back up again in less than a second. A long saber appeared in his hand, and he slashed it toward Han Fei.
Instead of retreating, Han Fei advanced. He stepped forward and closed the distance between them. Then, before She Kun's saber could fall, Han Fei formed his left hand into a palm and struck She Kun on the head.
That palm strike completely stunned She Kun, smashing him from a height of one meter above the ground flat onto the earth.
With that single blow, She Kun was directly killed by Han Fei's furious palm strike.
On the surrounding rooftops, seven or eight experts above the Spirit Gathering Realm had just arrived and happened to witness the bloody scene.
They were all Spirit Gathering Realm experts of Luoan City. Having heard about the disturbance here, they had not expected to witness the City Lord She Kun's tragic death.
After Han Fei killed She Kun, the heavily injured She Liang was terrified out of his wits.
"Do not, do not kill me, I..."
Whoosh! Han Fei shot out the bamboo strip in his right hand. It instantly pierced She Liang's throat, choking off his words.
The surrounding crowd fell silent. Although the deaths of She Kun and his son were good news to them, they had clearly never seen such a scene before and were badly frightened.
The woman who had been abducted for marriage trembled as well. At this moment, the Dong Family members who had not dared utter a word finally stepped forward.
Led by the woman's father, the middle-aged man, already past fifty, knelt before Han Fei.
The middle-aged man wept. "Thank you, benefactor, for saving my daughter."
The surrounding onlookers also knelt before Han Fei, thanking him one after another for eliminating a scourge for the people.
The eight people descended from the buildings around them and approached Han Fei.
One of the leading men cupped his fists. "Young hero, please do not misunderstand. We are all from Luoan City, and we have never done anything to wrong the people."
Han Fei's attitude eased slightly as he took out his identity token.
"I am Han Fei, a Core Disciple of the Tianyuan Divine Sect and the son of Han Qishan, Marshal of the Eastern Continent Army. The She father and son harmed the people and oppressed the innocent. Today, I have brought them to justice. I have already sent word to my father and will have him send people to conduct a thorough investigation. If anyone else is found harming the people, they will be dealt with according to the law."
Upon hearing Han Fei reveal his identity, the middle-aged man and the others immediately saluted respectfully. "So you are General Han's son. Forgive our lack of courtesy."
Han Fei waved his hand, cutting off the flattery they were about to offer.
"Before my father's people arrive, organize the citizens of the entire city to vote and elect a new City Lord. Remember, the entire city's citizens. Do you understand?"
The group nodded in succession. Han Fei sighed and turned to leave.
However, at that moment, Miss Dong, whom Han Fei had saved, knelt before him.
"Benefactor, thank you for saving my life."
The middle-aged man from the Dong Family also said, "Please honor us with your presence at our humble home, benefactor. You saved my daughter. I truly do not know how to thank you."
Han Fei had intended to refuse, but he did not know where to go at the moment. The Spirit Gathering Realm experts nearby were also trying to invite him to their homes. To avoid them, and seeing the woman's tear-stained face, he could not bear to refuse. He nodded and prepared to leave with the Dong father and daughter.
After Han Fei left, the leading middle-aged man immediately issued a notice: the next morning, all citizens of the city would gather at the open square in the city center to vote for a new City Lord.
At the same time, the remaining members of the She Family were jointly apprehended by several families, awaiting public trial the next day.
As the saying went, when the tree fell, the monkeys scattered. Because She Kun had been at the Spirit Gathering Realm Third Level, all the experts in the city had swallowed their anger and endured in silence. Now that She Kun was dead, even though the She Family's eldest son, She Ming, was a Spirit Gathering Realm First Level expert, he could not withstand the wall collapsing with everyone pushing it.
In just one night, members of the She Family were either killed or fled. The only bad news was that She Ming had caught wind of it early and escaped.
From then on, the She Family of Luoan City fell completely into ruin.
Inside the Dong Family's main hall, the rescued Miss Dong had already freshened up and changed into a new set of clothes. Her father, Dong Zhen, was keeping Han Fei company.
"Benefactor, today you have become not only the great benefactor of my Dong Family, but also the great benefactor of all Luoan City. Dong Zhen offers you a toast. I know a lowly man like me is unworthy of toasting a great cultivator such as you, but I truly do not know how else to thank you."
Han Fei smiled. "Cultivators are people too. How can there be distinctions of high and low, noble and base?"
With that, he drained his cup as well.
Dong Zhen sighed helplessly. "The reason I insisted on bringing you to my humble home today is that I have a gift I wish to offer you. This is the most precious thing our Dong Family possesses. Other than this, I truly cannot think of anything with which to repay you."
With a wave of his hand, a servant brought over a rectangular box.
Han Fei frowned. "A gift?"
To be honest, it was not that Han Fei looked down on them, but the strongest member of the entire Dong Family was only at the Innate Realm Second Level. For such a small family, Han Fei truly could not imagine what precious item they could offer him.
Dong Zhen seemed to understand Han Fei's thoughts and explained, "My ancestors were actually cultivators. I do not know what realm they reached, but according to our family records, they were influential figures."
"Later, our family declined, leaving behind only this one treasure. According to the records, this treasure requires at least Spirit Gathering Realm cultivation to activate. Thus, no one has used it in nearly a hundred years, because our Dong Family has not produced an expert above the Spirit Gathering Realm for a full century."
Han Fei accepted the box in confusion. When he opened it, he found another scroll inside.
To be honest, Han Fei had developed an aversion to scrolls by now. He did not even want to look at them anymore. He saw them every day, all the time, until he was nearly sick of them.
Still, out of politeness, Han Fei took out the scroll. When he unrolled it, there was not a single word on it.
Dong Zhen said, "According to the records, this contains a powerful cultivation technique, but one must first reach the Spirit Gathering Realm to use it. Benefactor, simply press your palm against it and inject spiritual energy."
Curious, Han Fei pressed his palm onto the opened scroll and slowly poured spiritual energy into it. The entire scroll immediately lit up with a dazzling radiance.
Then, lines of small words appeared upon the white scroll.
"Innate Qi: can increase the density of the cultivator's spiritual energy, compressing one's own spiritual energy. The level of spiritual energy density is linked to the technique's level of advancement."
Han Fei froze. "This technique could be said to make one invincible among those of the same level..."
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