A Little Angry

The Immortal Master was becoming more and more unfathomable.

That was the honest thought in the heart of every practitioner who went up to the top floor of the foreign-style building to report on their progress.

And the more powerful the practitioner, the more keenly they could sense Lan Yi's danger. It was like an unprotected ordinary person standing beside boiling molten steel, or as if an invisible blade had been pressed against the vital point of their neck. Their sharp instincts warned them that the silver streams of energy and electric-arc ropes around Lan Yi could take their lives with ease!

That was the vague feeling of Qi Cultivation Practitioners and ordinary people.

But what about Spirit Cultivation Practitioners?

In the eyes of the travel-weary Huo Yuanjia,

Lan Yi, the Immortal Master, seemed to be idly toying with several silver streams of energy and ropes floating around him. He was like a majestic, inviolable divine statue, playing with terrifying silver or white fiends through his unfathomable divine might. Those fiends, capable of eating people without leaving their bones behind, were as docile as kittens under Lan Yi's control.

And in Lan Yi's own eyes?

He was merely using his body to familiarize himself with Gengjin Sword Qi and the Demon Subduing Rope, building up a little muscle memory.

The foreseeable future was clear.

Gengjin Sword Qi and the Demon Subduing Rope would become Lan Yi's most frequently used Daoist arts.

That was because they could not only be unleashed instantly but also maintained for a long time. They did not even consume Daoist Arts materials like the magic-modified Palm Thunder. They were simply too useful for clearing out minor enemies and issuing warnings.

The only thing troubling Lan Yi was this.

At present, he still had no good way to solidify the Demon Subduing Rope into the Gengjin Sword Qi.

After all, the essence of the Demon Subduing Rope was a high-energy electric arc formed by standing waves, not a true rope. For Lan Yi, who was still fundamentally a Carbon-based lifeform, making it last after being released like Gengjin Sword Qi and calling upon it at any time could easily go awry and burn him into carbon scraps.

"Immortal Master, Yuanjia has fortunately fulfilled your orders."

With his hair shaved into a crew cut, Huo Yuanjia remained expressionless. Ignoring the Demon Subduing Rope that leaped and changed beside Lan Yi, he clasped his hands and bowed respectfully.

"Has the whole of Puhai been brought under control?"

"Yes, Immortal Master. The power plant you specifically ordered us to secure and all its personnel are safe and sound."

Huo Yuanjia nodded.

This was another task Lan Yi had given him. Puhai was one of Xinghan's earliest cities to begin electrification, and the city's power generation was extremely important to Lan Yi's plans. Now that they had seized the power plant, the practitioners were maintaining its operation. That meant the Immortal Master could prepare to move elsewhere.

Lan Yi fell into thought.

The Demon Subduing Rope and Gengjin Sword Qi still could not be fused.

The Demon Subduing Rope's extreme heat could too easily melt and evaporate the Gengjin Sword Qi. Although this would make the two Daoist arts more lethal, causing an enemy's bodily tissues to become metallic and poisoned upon being wounded, it went against Lan Yi's original intention of making them last indefinitely.

"What about the Governor-General of Liangjiang and those iron rice bowls? Did you entertain them properly?" Lan Yi's expression became faintly playful.

"Governor-General Zhang Ji is bedridden and already a withered corpse in a grave. He has cooperated with Brother Qi Mei and the others, so we did not treat him too harshly." Huo Yuanjia carefully watched Lan Yi's expression. Only after seeing that he was not displeased did he continue. "The old army barracks rioted, shouting that rebels were rising and calling for the killing of Han people, but Brother Zhao Jian suppressed them."

Lan Yi could not help laughing.

This backward era always had some fools and foolish deeds capable of making him smile from the heart. The Immortal Master Lan Yi ought to give them an award!

"If they don't want to be Xinghan people, I won't force them."

"Immortal Master, what do you mean?"

"Under my rule, anyone from the four seas and five lakes who is willing to acknowledge their identity is a citizen of Xinghan. No one is nobler than anyone else. Those who do not want to be Xinghan people will not be protected by the practitioners or the government statutes. Killing them will be no crime."

Huo Yuanjia drew in a slight breath.

Yet he agreed inwardly. Whenever dynasties changed, was there ever a time when the previous dynasty's imperial clan was not slaughtered to the last? Besides, the Qing Imperial Court was a small clan ruling a great nation. For decades, its conduct toward foreign powers had disappointed and infuriated the people to the extreme. Everyone now hoped to see it die, ready to vent the fury bottled inside them.

Lan Yi swept out his hand. Manipulating the shifting displacement of the standing waves, he finally made the Demon Subduing Rope settle at a relatively stable middle value.

Now every strand of Gengjin Sword Qi was threaded through with a Demon Subduing Rope.

The Gengjin Sword Qi had been given sinews and bones, gaining a tangible form. This meant that the twelve flying swords floating behind Lan Yi could be directly replaced. Both Daoist arts could now be maintained for a long time and unleashed instantly whenever needed!

"Starting today, every Xinghan person on the lands I rule must cut off their queues. And you party members, stop babbling about decay and filth or claiming to speak for the people. Didn't you want the rule of law and civil rights? Then start here. Be Benevolent Officials for me, and do it properly. If you can't, then accept your punishment."

Lan Yi rose to his feet. Under the sunlight, his body was perfect.

His features were sharply defined, balancing feminine softness with masculine strength. His fair skin shimmered with a lustrous jade-like glow, and his eyes were clear and bright as crystal. His figure was well-proportioned and tall, while the muscles beneath his shirt were filled with power without making him seem bulky or overly burly.

Only then did Huo Yuanjia notice.

Compared with the first time they had met,

Lan Yi's body had become even more perfect, and his martial cultivation had clearly far surpassed theirs. They were growing stronger, but Lan Yi was growing stronger too—and at a speed far beyond theirs.

"By the Immortal Master's Order." Huo Yuanjia clasped his hands.

"All right, there is no need for all these tedious formalities. I'm not someone who likes rigid rules." Lan Yi was preparing to find some targets to test his new Daoist arts on.

"By the way, Immortal Master, there are a few other matters. They are all telegrams from outside regarding Puhai." Huo Yuanjia spoke solemnly.

Up to this point,

None of Lan Yi's subordinates knew exactly what stance the Immortal Master held toward the outside world or how far he intended to go. Thus, when it came to external telegrams and attitudes, they had chosen not to respond and had simply waited for the Immortal Master's instructions.

Now, however, he had to speak.

They had already completed the substantive control of Puhai and the surrounding areas, beaten down and suppressed the foreign powers, annihilated the old army, and made even the Governor-General of Liangjiang cooperate obediently. They were a force carving out territory for itself.

Such a force had to have a program and an objective.

Otherwise, people's hearts would become unsettled.

"The British Commonwealth, the French and other great powers have condemned our actions in Puhai one after another. They claim that we have damaged international free trade, the property and safety of their citizens in China, and the precious spirit of the rule of law. They demand that we withdraw immediately. Otherwise, they will join forces to punish us and destroy us beneath their heavy cannons."

Even Huo Yuanjia, mild-tempered as he was, could not help feeling furious.

Those arrogant great powers!

Even though they had realized that a force was rising in the Far East, their arrogance deep in their bones made them think this was merely a regional separatist power.

"Dongyang in particular has shown great disrespect toward you, Immortal Master, hurling filthy abuse and swearing that it will mobilize the strength of the entire nation to cut off your head and ours and offer them to the shrines before its hatred can be appeased. According to our intelligence, its troops stationed in Liaodong, as well as its ironclad warships at home, have already set out fully equipped."

Crack!!

A burst of electric fire flashed among the flying swords floating behind Lan Yi. He was getting a little angry.

"What about the Qing Imperial Court? What did they say?"