The End

A sharp aura and immense pressure lingered around them, like a vast force field enveloping the entire room.

Everyone felt as though an incomparably sharp treasured sword were pressed against their backs, ready to strike at any moment and reap their lives with ease!

"Tap, tap, tap!"

Amid the strange silence, crisp footsteps rang out.

Then, in Fang Mingyuan's eyes, a beautiful figure appeared behind the crowd.

A strip of red silk bound her high ponytail. Her skin was fair, her willow-leaf brows framed almond eyes, and her pert nose and red lips complemented her radiant features. Simply standing there, she drew the gaze of everyone present.

Her waist was slender, her legs long, and her figure graceful.

Yet this beautiful woman held a long sword utterly at odds with her appearance. Frost covered her lovely face, her aura was sharp and fierce, and there was an indescribable heroic air about her.

Of course, what Fang Mingyuan paid more attention to was not her appearance, but that trace of pale azure robes on her body!

Those were the robes of an Azure Cloud Sect True Disciple.

"A True Disciple?!"

Fang Mingyuan's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

As the steward of a force under the Azure Cloud Sect, he naturally understood the weight carried by an Azure Cloud Sect True Disciple!

Azure Cloud Sect True Disciples were the true favored children of heaven in the Lingnan Cultivation World, completely different from Inner Disciples who could become such merely through connections!

Not only were they the sect's core figures, bearing the Azure Cloud Sect's crucial inheritances, but they were guaranteed to become Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators. Even the Golden Core Patriarchs throughout the Azure Cloud Sect's history had risen from among them!

The requirements to become a True Disciple were also exceptionally strict. First, one had to possess one's own understanding of cultivation techniques. Second, one needed an unwavering Dao Heart and had to pass the sect's Heart-Questioning Illusory Realm. Third, as a Qi Refining Stage Cultivator, one had to be able to contend against a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator!

In summary, they were beings whose talent, Dao Heart, and combat power all far surpassed those of others at the same rank!

As for aptitude? The Azure Cloud Sect's Founding Patriarch believed that aptitude might grant a cultivator a high starting point, but only a Dao Heart tempered a thousand times yet steadfast in purpose, along with an understanding of the future path and the ability to adapt to all circumstances, could determine how far a cultivator could travel upon the Immortal Path!

"Who might you be? Why have I never heard Elder Li mention you?" Fang Mingyuan gritted his teeth and spoke.

Though Fang Mingyuan knew full well that within the Azure Cloud Sect, a True Disciple's status during the Qi Refining Stage was equal to that of a Foundation Establishment Realm elder, and that after advancing to the Foundation Establishment Realm, their status would be even higher than that of ordinary elders, and that the token in his hand might not necessarily intimidate her, he still wanted to struggle once.

After all, he could not simply do nothing and submit to capture.

"Zhang Mengyao." She glanced at Fang Mingyuan, her jade lips parting slightly. "A deacon of the Azure Cloud Sect Law Enforcement Hall."

"What?!" Fang Mingyuan's pupils contracted.

The Azure Cloud Sect Law Enforcement Hall was the Azure Cloud Sect's violent arm. It held life and death authority over all forces under its command, while also serving as an important department responsible for guarding the Azure Cloud Sect's front lines.

They should have been supervising the major cultivation forces under the sect and watching the Mysterious Yin Gate's movements at the front line. Why had they suddenly intervened in a shop at Cloud Arrival Market?

Yet before he had time to think further, she looked his way. It was clearly a glance devoid of any emotion, yet it sent a sudden chill through Fang Mingyuan's heart.

"Fang Mingyuan, do you know your crime?"

"Forgive this subordinate's foolishness, but everything this subordinate has done was for the benefit of the Hundred Treasures Tower!" The Market Lord's token in his hand could intimidate Wang Ping and the others, but it could never frighten the young woman before him. Fang Mingyuan could only force himself to offer an excuse.

"Oh?" Zhang Mengyao's beautiful eyes shifted toward Wang Ping and the others nearby.

Wang Ping was immediately startled, but he also knew that this was the moment to bring Fang Mingyuan down. Otherwise, if Fang Mingyuan survived this calamity, he would certainly face the man's frenzied retaliation.

He stepped forward, gritted his teeth, and declared loudly, "Market Lord, this subordinate can testify. Fang Mingyuan colluded with Blood Cultivators and damaged the Hundred Treasures Tower's reputation. Worse still, he secretly diverted the recovered resources for his own private gain!"

"Don't spit blood at me! Market Lord, listen to me—"

"These are the pieces of evidence I have gathered over the years. I ask that the Market Lord examine them!" Before Fang Mingyuan could quibble, Wang Ping directly pulled a booklet from his arms and presented it with both hands.

"You!" Fang Mingyuan's expression changed drastically. He had never imagined that Wang Ping, who had always been utterly loyal to him over the years, had secretly kept such a move in reserve!

"Market Lord, this is fake, this is a frame-up—"

"Silence."

Fang Mingyuan still wanted to say something, but suddenly goosebumps rose across his whole body. It felt as though an ice-cold long sword were pressed against his throat, as though if he uttered one more word, his head and body would immediately be separated!

"Rustle, rustle!" The room was eerily quiet, and only the sound of pages turning could be heard. Fang Mingyuan watched her nervously, but all he saw was an expressionless face.

"Snap!" The booklet closed. Zhang Mengyao lowered her eyes and said softly, "Fang Mingyuan, do you know your crime?"

"Wait!" A sense of foreboding surged through Fang Mingyuan. He hurriedly raised his token and shouted, "I want to see Elder Li—"

Clang!

In an instant, a dazzling streak of sword light flashed past!

The incomparably sharp Sword Qi made everyone present seem to smell the scent of death itself!

"This..." Fang Mingyuan only felt his hand go empty. Only then did he discover that the token in his hand had, at some point, crumbled into powder.

"Take him." The Hundred Treasures Tower cultivators, stunned for a moment, instinctively stepped forward and seized the equally dumbstruck Fang Mingyuan.

"You're already so old. What do you need so much money for?" Zhang Mengyao shook her head and turned sideways. "Send out the order: from today onward, exterminate every Blood Cultivator around the market. In three days, I do not wish to hear that name within the market again."

Wang Ping and the others stood there blankly, as though they had yet to recover their senses.

"Hmm?"

"Yes! Yes!" Hearing her faint voice, they shuddered all over and hurriedly answered.

"Then may I ask, honored envoy, how should this traitor Fang Mingyuan be dealt with?" Wang Ping gathered his courage and asked carefully.

"Execute him, to quell the people's anger." Zhang Mengyao's tone was calm, yet it carried an indescribable decisiveness to kill.

Upon hearing this, Fang Mingyuan's face fell into dejection. He seemed to have aged many years in an instant, allowing the guards to escort him away without resistance.

"My lady, regarding the Blood Cultivators..." Watching Fang Mingyuan being taken away, Manager Wan hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and speaking up.

Though they had indeed been manipulating the matter of the Blood Cultivators from behind the scenes, without a hint from the higher-ups, where would they have found the nerve?

Of course, the people above definitely knew nothing about this. Everything had been their own unauthorized decision as mid-level officials, and if anything went wrong, they would be the ones held responsible.

But the problem was, if the Blood Cultivators were truly wiped out and there were not enough profits to offer up, what if Elder Li became displeased?

If the other party had merely been an elder, they could have put on a show and muddled through. After all, the sky was high and the emperor far away—Elder Li was their true immediate superior.

But Zhang Mengyao was a True Disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, of no low status, and she had suddenly appeared here just as this incident erupted. He could not help but think more deeply about it.

After all, orders from above came in two varieties: those that only needed to be dealt with on the surface, and those that required real work. If one misjudged the situation, people would truly die in this world!

So he had to find out the Azure Cloud Sect's attitude!

"From this day forward, Cloud Arrival Market must ensure absolute safety. No threat may be allowed to remain at its side."

Zhang Mengyao did not look at him. Instead, she stood by the window, gazing down at the bustling crowd below.

"This is not merely my demand. It is also the command of the sect's ancestor. Any who defy it..."

"Kill. Without. Pardon."

"Yes, yes! We will certainly fulfill the command of the superior sect!" Though her tone was mild, a trace of cold sweat surfaced on Manager Wan's brow.

This concerned the will of the sect's Golden Core Ancestor. It was no longer a matter of Elder Li's thoughts, but an order the Azure Cloud Sect had to carry out!

Even though they had no small ties of profit with the Blood Cultivators, when life itself was at stake, what the hell were those ties worth!

Still, speaking of which, why had those lofty Golden Core True Persons suddenly begun to care about the safety of the market?

But they did not dare ask further and could only obey.

"Fang Mingyuan, manager of the Hundred Treasures Tower, colluded with Blood Cultivators, harmed the interests of the market, and disrupted public order within the market..."

Upon the high platform, Fang Mingyuan knelt there with a face like dead ashes while an Enforcement Cultivator at his side listed his crimes.

"This Old Thing has finally gotten what he deserved!"

"No wonder my friend died after going to the Hundred Treasures Tower to exchange items! So it was this old bastard who caused it!"

"This Old Thing is finally dead! Heaven has eyes!"

The crowd below seethed and clamored. Many cursed in outrage, while some went even further, pinning every injustice they had suffered in the market onto Fang Mingyuan.

"Heh, Shopkeeper Fang, have a smooth journey." From an inconspicuous corner of the crowd, Lin Chen watched as the executioner on the platform swung his blade and severed Fang Mingyuan's head. He gave a quiet smile.

Just as he had expected, the other market higher-ups not only failed to lend a hand, but also piled every kind of blame onto him, using his death to ease the long-simmering tensions within the market.

"But speaking of which, what truly brought Fang Mingyuan down was not the rumors, but the fact that he was no longer valuable enough... An aged Qi Refining Stage Cultivator, the reputation and profits of a shop—any higher-up would know which to choose..."

"And if he had been a Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivator, this matter would have been reduced from great to small, then from small to nothing. At that point, I would have been the unlucky one..."

"But if I had Foundation Establishment Realm strength, I could have fully borne the backlash from this and gained even greater benefits. Why would I need to do this..."

At that thought, Lin Chen could not help falling into a daze.

This world was the same as his previous life. It still contained the webs of personal ties, schemes and calculations, intrigues and struggles for power and profit that he could never sort out in a lifetime.

Yet this world was also unlike his previous life. Great Power Belongs to Oneself; as long as one was strong enough, one could disregard all rules!

'With a single thought, I can become a Living Buddha to ten thousand households; with a single thought, I can become a world-destroying demon. Vast as heaven and earth may be, beyond my original heart, there are no more restraints. This is the immortal freedom I have pursued without wavering...'

Only amid a burst of cheers was Lin Chen pulled back to his senses. He smiled at himself.

He did not look again at Fang Mingyuan being executed atop the platform. Instead, he turned around, passed through the noisy, cheering, weeping, frenzied crowd, and quietly left.

The market lights stretched his lonely shadow longer and longer, until at last it vanished into that warm wash of moonlight.