Thunderous Suppression

Thunderous Suppression

The two Imperial Guards soldiers immediately sprang into action. After several crisp cracks, the female rebel's four limbs were crushed between their hands.

The Imperial Guards' ruthless methods were no less vicious than those of the Imperial Guard. Even when facing a woman, they showed not the slightest tenderness.

The female rebel was in unimaginable agony, letting out a heart-rending wail. Her shrieks were so heartrending that the surrounding maids trembled from head to toe, each one sitting on pins and needles, not even daring to breathe loudly.

The Princess of Bozeguo was also so frightened that her small face went deathly pale, her body trembling.

She had never imagined that a rebel was actually hiding among her envoy delegation.

If not for Zhou Long's insistence on conducting a thorough investigation, and if this rebel had been brought into the imperial palace and injured the Emperor, she would have opened a hole in the sky itself.

Not only would she have to die, but all of Bozeguo would have been implicated as well. At the thought of this, she felt both relieved and shaken with lingering fear.

After dealing with the female rebel, Zhou Long looked toward the others again.

Swept by Zhou Long's gaze, everyone in the delegation trembled with fear.

The maids' faces were even paler, their foreheads covered in fine beads of cold sweat.

Zhou Long's gaze was sharp as he scrutinized the men and women before him one by one.

After examining more than twenty people in succession without finding anything unusual, just as everyone thought there was only one rebel, his gaze stopped at the back of the line. He shouted coldly:

"The third one from the left. Seize him!"

The moment his words fell, the male guard who had been singled out changed expression dramatically. He instinctively tried to retreat and flee.

The instant he lifted his foot, the killing moves of two Imperial Guards soldiers were already hurtling toward his neck.

"Imperial Court lackeys, you won't die a good death!"

The male guard cursed furiously. With a flip of his palm, two golden needles shot from his hand.

The two soldiers were struck at once, screaming as they were sent flying backward.

Everyone was searched before entering Huitong Hall to check whether they carried weapons. The tiny golden needles had been smuggled through right under their noses.

"He's actually an Innate Master!"

Zhou Long grinned, excitement flashing in his eyes. He had not expected to catch such a big fish. He immediately drew his sword and advanced.

He first drove his opponent back with a horizontal slash, then abruptly changed the move into an upward thrust, slicing the male guard's wrist with his sword.

The male guard's strength was already inferior to Zhou Long's. Without a weapon, he stood even less of a chance against him.

Before ten moves had passed, Zhou Long had captured him alive.

Zhou Long pressed his sword against the man's neck and shouted coldly:

"Someone, seize him!"

Seeing this, the man was not afraid in the slightest. Instead, he gave a sinister smile.

"Imperial Court lackey, I'll be waiting for you below!"

The instant his words fell, black blood trickled from the corners of the man's mouth. He then collapsed dead.

"Damn it, I let my guard down. He actually had poison hidden in his mouth!"

Zhou Long's expression darkened, all the joy vanishing from his face.

These rebels had such iron wills that the moment their identities were exposed, they took poison and killed themselves without hesitation. This showed how terrifying the force behind them was.

A mere Wandering Fish Gang could never have cultivated such Death Warriors.

At that moment, a soldier came running over in a panic and reported, "Reporting to the commander, the female rebel has also taken poison and killed herself!"

Zhou Long's expression shifted unpredictably. He cursed angrily, "Get lost!"

Did he really need to report that?

Hadn't he seen the one in front of him kill himself? Of course the woman would be no exception.

Just then, an unexpected change suddenly occurred!

Among the several maids in the last row of the group, two suddenly erupted into action. The two women leaped into the air at the same time and flew toward the courtyard's outer wall.

The two fled separately, one to the left and one to the right, clearly intending to split up their pursuers.

As they escaped, the two women left behind a line:

"Imperial Guardsman Zhou Long, Imperial Guard Bai Yan, I'll remember you!"

"Today's grudge will be repaid another day!"

"Trying to run? In your dreams!"

Zhou Long shouted furiously and immediately used his Lightness Skill to chase one of them. Bai Yan also transformed into a streak of lightning and shot toward the other.

With a flash of lightning, Bai Yan appeared behind the woman as if he had teleported. His palm turned into a claw and seized her shoulder.

With a crack, the woman let out a shriek.

With a single move, Bai Yan crippled the woman's collarbone and dislocated her jaw at the same time, preventing her from biting down on poison and killing herself.

Seeing that the woman no longer had the power to resist, Bai Yan chuckled softly.

"You still thought you could escape in front of this official? How laughable!"

"With that pitiful Lightness Skill of yours, you actually dared to display it before me. You truly don't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is."

"Stay here. Don't even think about taking revenge. It won't happen in this lifetime. If there is a next life, remember to be born into a better family."

With that, Bai Yan grabbed the woman by the back of her collar and prepared to take her back to Huitong Hall.

Yet at that moment, another change occurred!

A fierce howl suddenly rang out from the darkness behind him. A concealed weapon shot toward Bai Yan's head with lightning speed.

"A mere parlour trick, and you dare flaunt it before an expert?"

Without even turning his head, Bai Yan lightly raised his wrist. Two fingers clamped down on the concealed weapon with the precision of iron pincers. It was a three-inch-long Golden Dart.

He flicked his finger, sending the Golden Dart shooting back. It vanished into the darkness.

"Oh? You have some skill."

A surprised voice rang out from the darkness, followed by a low, furious roar.

Immediately afterward, the enormous shadow of a palm came smashing through the air, soul-shattering and bone-eroding. It was unmistakably the Demonic Yin Sha Palm.

However, the power of this strike was more than ten times greater than the one Bai Yan had seen in daylight.

"Still nothing but a parlour trick!"

Bai Yan struck out with his palm in return. His thick True Essence transformed into a golden dragon, and a dragon's roar thundered forth as it collided head-on with the palm shadow.

Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, Dragon Tail Swing!

The instant the killing moves collided, the black palm shadow shattered inch by inch like paper.

The golden dragon did not slow down. It struck the blurred humanoid silhouette in the darkness with pinpoint accuracy.

"You... How is this possible?!"

A horrified voice came from the darkness. The figure then rapidly fled into the distance.

"Flashy nonsense, but nothing more!"

Bai Yan stood where he was and watched. His eyesight was exceptionally sharp, allowing him to clearly see the figure in the darkness clutching his chest and fleeing in panic.

His steps staggered as he used his Lightness Skill, clearly indicating that he had been injured.

After that clash of palms, Bai Yan could tell that the person hidden in the darkness was not an Innate Master but a genuine martial grandmaster.

Only a grandmaster could withstand forty percent of the force behind his Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms without dying.

However, Bai Yan did not give chase.

As a hundred-household officer at the Innate realm, it would be far too strange for him to capture a grandmaster. It was better to let the man escape.

In any case, this was the Imperial Guards' case. Bai Yan had no desire to put his heart and soul into it.

Capturing one female rebel already counted as doing everything he could.

Bai Yan picked up the female rebel and used Lightning-Fast Movement Steps to return to Huitong Hall.

"Greetings, my lord!"

Seeing Bai Yan return, Ren Hong and Li Kaiyao immediately came forward and saluted with clasped fists.

The surrounding Imperial Guards soldiers also cast admiring looks his way, their faces filled with awe.

Bai Yan tossed the woman onto the ground and ordered:

"Take her away and imprison her in the celestial prison until trial."

"Yes, sir!"

Two soldiers stepped forward and escorted the woman away.

Just then, Zhou Long returned.

Seeing his gloomy expression and displeased look, it seemed that his mission had not gone smoothly.

Bai Yan did not ask about the rebel. Seeing Zhou Long return empty-handed, he already knew.