Forceful Methods

The sudden turn of events filled the several drunken men nearby with utter terror.

Yang Xu's eyes widened as well, his heart shaken to the core.

His nephew seemed a little too ferocious, didn't he?

He killed someone without even asking a question?

Splattered with blood, the drunken men howled and scrambled toward the courtyard, calling out as they gathered people.

Inside a spacious room.

Several dozen sect members were gathered around gambling. Their clamorous shouts could be heard from far away.

Bursts of hearty, ear-splitting laughter rang out from time to time.

Suddenly, the door was slammed open.

Several blood-soaked men rushed into the room and cried out in terror, "Something terrible has happened! The new Hall Master is here! He killed 'Iron Arms' Hou San and ordered us to gather immediately. He said that if we were late, he'd kill our whole families!"

Everyone who had been gambling changed expression.

One burly man's face darkened. With a bang, he smashed the dice cup in his hand with a slap and said, "What an imposing display! Killing someone the moment he arrives—what does he take us for?"

This man was named Lu Qinglong. He was one of the Left Guardian's eight trusted confidants and had cultivated the renowned Iron Sand Palm, making a name for himself throughout the lands north and south of the great river.

The previous night, the eight of them had gathered their subordinates as soon as they returned, intending to deliberately give Jiang Dao a show of strength and create some trouble for him.

Yet they had never expected Jiang Dao to be so fierce.

He had killed "Iron Arms" Hou San the moment he arrived.

He clearly intended to cow them with thunderous methods!

"Come on, let's go meet this new Hall Master. I'd like to ask him face-to-face which sect rule Hou San violated that gave him the nerve to kill him without authorization. Does he still have the Sect Master in his eyes?"

A man beside him spoke coldly, grabbed a weapon, and strode outside.

The people in the room followed one after another, all burning with rage.

Figures gathered as people streamed in sparsely from every corner of the courtyard.

Some even deliberately dragged their feet. Though they could have arrived quickly, they dawdled along with cold smiles and unfriendly gazes directed at Jiang Dao.

Jiang Dao's expression was cold as his gaze quietly swept over the sandalwood incense at one side.

Half a stick of incense burned quickly.

Wisps of smoke curled upward, and soon the incense burned out completely.

Yet seven or eight people who did not know the meaning of death still lingered in the distance with cold smiles, failing to come over.

"Hall Master, this subordinate wishes to ask what crime Hou San committed. You killed him directly. Even if he was still unconscious from drunkenness, according to sect rules, at most he should have been beaten with several dozen strokes. Why did you kill someone outright?"

Lu Qinglong, the burly man from before, suddenly stared at Jiang Dao and asked coldly.

Most of the others also looked at Jiang Dao with bright, piercing eyes.

"Don't speak yet. I gave you half a stick of incense to gather, but now that it has burned out, seven people still haven't arrived. Those seven may die!"

Jiang Dao spoke coldly, not even sparing the burly man who had spoken a glance.

Whoosh!

His body suddenly shot forward, charging toward those dawdling figures not far away.

Everyone changed expression.

He was going to kill again?

The moment those seven or eight figures saw Jiang Dao pounce, their faces twisted in shock. Their hearts thudded as a sense of foreboding arose.

"Hall Master, we were ordered by someone..."

"Hall Master, spare us..."

Splurt! Splurt! Splurt! Splurt!

Aah!

Blood sprayed everywhere, a ghastly sight to behold.

Without exception, Jiang Dao beheaded all seven or eight figures in an instant, their headless corpses flying violently through the air.

The sight left the remaining people even more horrified. Their eyes widened in utter disbelief.

A demon!

This was simply a demon!

He killed people at the drop of a hat?

"Hall Master, why... why did you kill again?"

Lu Qinglong, who had spoken before, could not help roaring once more, his eyes red. "According to sect rules, they did not commit any major wrong. You killed them without authorization to purge dissidents, violating sect rules. We refuse to accept this! We will report this to the Sect Master!"

"That's right, we'll report this to the Sect Master!"

Some of the others shouted as well.

Jiang Dao picked at his ear, carrying his bloodstained longsword as his towering body stepped toward the crowd. Stopping before the burly man, he said indifferently, "You wish to report this to the Sect Master?"

"You... you..."

Lu Qinglong's face filled with horror. With merely one glance from Jiang Dao, his entire body tensed as though some incomparably terrifying inhuman creature had fixed its eyes on him. He could not utter a single word.

Splurt!

Aah!

Lu Qinglong let out a shrill scream, clutching his right shoulder desperately. Jiang Dao had severed his entire arm at the root, sending it flying high before it crashed in the distance.

Lu Qinglong was in unbearable pain, blood gushing wildly as though it cost nothing.

The others who had been shouting alongside Lu Qinglong turned deathly pale, chills running down their spines. They could no longer make a sound.

Even Yang Xu kept clicking his tongue.

Brutal!

Far too brutal!

"Who else wishes to report this to the Sect Master?"

Jiang Dao asked blandly, looking at the crowd.

The crowd trembled, terror flooding them all at once.

Even those who had not sobered up from their drinking were instantly awake, each face white as paper.

"Since no one wishes to report it, that makes things easy. Now it is my turn to speak."

Jiang Dao spoke coolly. "During your watch, you gambled without authorization and showed disrespect toward this Hall Master. These are all serious crimes. But considering that this is your first offense, this Hall Master is magnanimous and will not pursue the matter for now. However, I heard that some people in our hall entered through connections. Who are they? Could they step out so I can recognize them?"

The crowd's scalps went numb, and everyone lowered their heads.

Who would dare admit they had entered through connections?

With this new Hall Master's brutal temperament, a single slash might take their lives.

"No one will speak?"

Jiang Dao's gaze swept around before he suddenly looked at a man beside him and asked, "What is your name? I heard that quite a few here are Guo Linyu's confidants. Who are they?"

The man's face went pale as he looked up.

Jiang Dao... was he trying to wipe them all out?

"I... I don't know. I truly don't know, Hall Master, spare my life."

His voice trembled as he hurriedly replied.

"Don't be afraid. Tell me, and I guarantee you will be fine. I can even make you a Branch Master."

Jiang Dao consoled him. "But if you refuse to speak, the treasured blade in my hand will not be so easy to reason with."

The man was even more terrified. Trembling all over, he struggled to turn his head and look toward several people nearby.

Those people changed expression at once, shocked and enraged as they desperately signaled to him with their eyes.

"Don't just look. Speak boldly. If you say it, you will become a Branch Master. If you don't, you die."

Jiang Dao coaxed him patiently, like a demon.

After a difficult struggle, the man quickly named seven or eight people.

"Very good!"

Jiang Dao nodded lightly, then turned and said coldly, "Wang Kai, Zhao Feng, Lu Qinglong, Guo Huai... everyone whose name I call, step forward!"

In one breath, he named every one of them.

Without exception, those called were all people who had conspired with Guo Linyu the night before. Their scalps went numb, and they trembled in fear, not daring to step out lightly.

"What? There are no such people?"

Jiang Dao frowned. His gaze was like lightning as it swept across the crowd, murderous light flickering in his eyes. "Or do you not wish to come out? If you refuse, don't blame me!"

"Yes, yes, we're here!"

Soon, someone still raised a hand in terror and stepped out from the crowd.

Once there was one, there was quickly a second, then a third...

All seven or eight people stepped forward, each filled with unease and panic.

They had originally planned to give Jiang Dao a show of strength and place stumbling blocks in his path, but they had never expected him to be so brutal, killing people the moment they met.

Their every plan was thrown into complete disarray.

"Very good. From today onward, you will be responsible for the stables. Every day, cut grass, feed the horses, and clean up the horse manure."

Jiang Dao spoke evenly as he looked at them. "If there is anything that displeases me, do not blame me for being ruthless!"

"You..."

None of them could believe it.

He was making them clean the stables?

"No, Hall Master, you cannot treat us like this. We have committed no wrong in the Flying Eagle Hall. Why are you making us clean the stables for no reason? This is not work we should be doing. You are clearly purging dissidents. This subordinate refuses to accept it..."

Splurt!

Aah!

A flash of blade light passed, and blood spurted forth.

The man clutched his severed shoulder and began shrieking miserably.

One arm flew high into the air, a horrific sight.

"From now on, you will do whatever I tell you to do. There are no reasons, and there is no need to ask questions."

Jiang Dao sheathed his sword, his expression cold.

"I... I quit! I'm leaving the sect..."

Suddenly, one man cried out in terror and turned to flee.

A cold glint flashed through Jiang Dao's eyes. He leaped into the air, his Eagle Claw Art swift as a gale. He seized the man's crown, then clawed down with a squelch, ripping off the entire top of his skull on the spot. Red and white matter splattered everywhere.

The mangled corpse flew seven or eight meters before crashing in the distance, dead beyond any doubt.

"Leave the sect? What do you take the Blazing Flame Sect for? You come when you please and leave when you please?"

Jiang Dao's voice was icy.