Before the crowd could recover from the shocking scene before them, they saw a figure appear in the arena at some unknown moment.
The man stood tall and straight, clad in a Flying Fish Uniform embroidered with golden four-clawed dragons. His hands rested behind his back, and his bearing was overwhelming.
The newcomer was none other than Lin Xiao. He stood calmly in the arena, his gaze sweeping toward the Hundred-Household Officer who had raised his saber against Xue Shan.
"When did my men become prey for ants like you to lay a hand on?"
As his words fell, an invisible force exploded before Xue Shan.
The two Hundred-Household Officers were abruptly hurled away, crashing straight through the wall of a distant Squad Leader office.
Lin Xiao's move instantly silenced everyone. The entire place was so quiet that a needle dropping would have been heard.
Hiss!!!
This strength was far too terrifying.
They had all heard that Lin Xiao was powerful, but none had seen it with their own eyes. Now that they had, they were so frightened that they scarcely dared breathe.
Yan Lifeng narrowed his eyes when he saw Lin Xiao, wariness rising in his heart.
Of course, even if Lin Xiao was powerful, he did not believe Lin Xiao would dare do anything to him.
Because he had someone backing him.
Someone even Lin Xiao could not afford to provoke.
"Heh, what an impressive display from Thousand-Household Officer Lin. You have barely taken office, yet you are already planning to give me a show of force?"
"Yue Qi is a Squad Leader under my command. Even if he committed a mistake, I should have been notified so I could deal with it. Thousand-Household Officer Lin sent men to arrest him directly—is that not rather disrespectful toward me?"
Lin Xiao finally turned around and looked directly at Yan Lifeng.
"Thousand-Household Officer Yan, Yue Qi may indeed be your man, but his crimes are unforgivable. If he were left for you to handle, there might be suspicions of favoritism."
"What I am doing is protecting Thousand-Household Officer Yan's reputation."
Yan Lifeng's expression darkened at Lin Xiao's shamelessly twisted logic.
"Is Thousand-Household Officer Lin saying that I shield my subordinates?"
Lin Xiao said blandly, "Whether Thousand-Household Officer Yan shields his subordinates or not, does what you just did not make that perfectly clear?"
"Lin Xiao, you are being far too presumptuous! My uncle is the current Grand Chancellor, foremost among all civil officials, and deeply favored by the Emperor. My Yan Family has served the sovereign and loved the nation for generations—how could we possibly commit such an act that disgraces our family name?"
Yan Lifeng hurriedly rebuked him upon hearing those words.
He could not allow Lin Xiao to pin such a charge on him.
Though it was wholly baseless, if word reached the Emperor's ears, it would invite suspicion even if it were untrue.
The mind of an emperor was the hardest thing in the world to fathom. Who knew whether the Emperor might be in a bad mood and become displeased with the Yan Family?
Though his uncle stood at the pinnacle of the court as the head of all officials, if the Emperor wished to deal with him, it would take no more than a single word.
The current Emperor was known as the most forceful Emperor in five hundred years. The nation's strength had reached its zenith, its might shaking the lands within the four seas.
No one dared make the Emperor unhappy. Otherwise, their end would undoubtedly be miserable.
Lin Xiao sneered. "Since Thousand-Household Officer Yan is descended from loyal and upright men, then do what loyal and upright men should do."
"Yue Qi's betrayal must be thoroughly investigated, so that we can give His Majesty an explanation."
"You..."
Yan Lifeng stared at Lin Xiao, gritting his teeth, unable to think of a way to stop him.
A mere Squad Leader was not worth protecting so fiercely, but that Squad Leader was his man. This was also a battle of pride between him and Lin Xiao.
Once Yue Qi was taken away, Lin Xiao would have utterly trampled his dignity beneath his feet.
Yet he had no good reason to refuse. If he forcibly stopped them, Lin Xiao would only seize upon it as leverage. But if he did not stop them, he could not bear to lose face. He was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Seeing Yan Lifeng rendered speechless, Lin Xiao gave a disdainful sneer and waved his hand. "Take him away."
Chang Le and Xue Shan promptly acknowledged the order and departed with Yue Qi, whose face had gone deathly pale with fright.
"My lord, save me! I have been wronged! I do not want to enter the Imperial Prison!"
As a Jinyiwei, Yue Qi naturally knew the terror of the Imperial Prison.
It held more than a hundred tortures. So long as one was human, no one could endure them.
Everyone in the world knew that they would rather kill themselves than enter the Imperial Prison.
"Stop right there! I want to see who dares take him away today!"
In the end, Yan Lifeng could not let go of his pride. Unwilling to be suppressed by Lin Xiao so easily, he suddenly roared, and his aura burst forth.
He was actually a Grandmaster as well.
No one looked surprised.
Throughout the Ding Province Garrison Command, it was no secret that Yan Lifeng was a Grandmaster.
The Ding Province Garrison Command had three Grandmasters in total.
One of them was Yan Lifeng.
When Lin Xiao had received the military order in the Garrison Command's main hall yesterday, Yan Lifeng had not been present. He had only just returned from an outing today.
Boom!!!
A terrifying aura pressed directly toward Chang Le and Xue Shan.
Just as the two were about to buckle beneath it, Lin Xiao appeared before them, and the oppressive pressure vanished in an instant.
"My lord."
Seeing that Lin Xiao had blocked Yan Lifeng's aura for them, both of them could not help growing excited.
"Enough. Take him away. I will handle matters here."
"Lin Xiao, I dare you."
An angry shout rang out.
Yan Lifeng became an afterimage. When he appeared again, he was already before Lin Xiao, throwing a fierce punch.
The terrifying force of his fist drove everyone to retreat uncontrollably.
"Interesting."
Facing Yan Lifeng's punch, Lin Xiao raised his palm to meet it.
Boom!!!
As fist and palm collided, terrifying shockwaves erupted instantly.
The ground around them was swept clean in an instant.
After exchanging one move, Lin Xiao did not budge, while Yan Lifeng only swayed slightly before throwing another punch.
His fist brimmed with vigorous essence, his entire body billowing like wolf smoke.
This was the manifestation of a supreme yang cultivation method refined to its peak.
"Great Subduing Tiger Fist."
"Look, Thousand-Household Officer Yan seems to be using Shaolin's Seventy-Two Supreme Arts—the Great Subduing Tiger Fist."
"It really does seem to be one of Shaolin Temple's Seventy-Two Supreme Arts. How does Lord Yan know a Shaolin Temple cultivation method?"
Everyone was shocked that Yan Lifeng knew a Shaolin Temple cultivation method.
Yet Lin Xiao did not care in the slightest.
So what if it was one of Shaolin Temple's Seventy-Two Supreme Arts?
Among those of the same realm, there was no one who could make him afraid.
The two exchanged moves with astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, they had already traded more than ten blows.
Roar!!!
A dragon's cry resounded through the entire Garrison Command. Lin Xiao struck with his palm, and its tyrannical force sent Yan Lifeng flying backward.
"How about taking one of my punches?"
Lin Xiao laughed loudly, using a move identical to the one Yan Lifeng had used earlier.
It was also the Great Subduing Tiger Fist.
"How does Thousand-Household Officer Lin know the Great Subduing Tiger Fist too? Have Shaolin Temple's Seventy-Two Supreme Arts become common goods sold on every street?"
Lin Xiao naturally did not know the Great Subduing Tiger Fist. He had only managed to use it by relying on the Heaven Collapsing Earth Sinking Grand Formless Skill within the Heaven and Earth Converging Yin-Yang Great Compassion Ode.
It was a cultivation method capable of seeing through every mystery of heaven and earth, tracing everything back to its origin.
Of course, this method could only imitate the outward form; it could not truly replicate the essence.
The reason its power and bearing matched Yan Lifeng's Great Subduing Tiger Fist was because Lin Xiao's realm was there for all to see.
He had forcibly driven it with the powerful true qi within his body.
Ah!!!
Faced with Lin Xiao's tyrannical punch, Yan Lifeng felt the crushing pressure and roared in fury, crossing his arms before his chest.
Bang!!!
Yan Lifeng could not help spitting out a mouthful of blood as he flew backward.
Just as Lin Xiao's fist had not yet exhausted its force and continued toward Yan Lifeng—
A dignified voice rang out. "Enough. All of you, stop."
Someone seized Lin Xiao's wrist, dispersing the remaining force in his fist.
Before you continue