They All Fled, Suppression
A day later, Zhang Yichen finished his practice and got up, intending to see Yue Qingping to ask if the order to collect 70% of the Energy Points had been conveyed.
After all, this was an order personally given by the higher-ups of the Pure Void Sect, and he had to handle it properly, or he would face dire consequences.
Whether or not they can actually collect the Energy Points is not important.
At least we did something; if we can't get the money back, it can only be considered a failure.
But when he stepped into the palace, he found it deathly silent.
The already deserted palace now seemed even emptier, as if even more people had suddenly disappeared.
He frowned slightly, immediately extended his Divine Sense to scan it, his face instantly darkened, and he angrily cursed:
"That bastard Yue Qingping! He actually ran away! How am I supposed to explain this to the sect?"
After a moment, he calmed himself down, found one of the eunuchs who was left behind, and instructed him:
"Go, summon all civil and military officials to the Golden Palace, and say that you have important matters to discuss."
In the Golden Palace of the Yue State.
Prime Minister Zhao Qi of Yue State looked at Zhang Yichen standing in the hall, cupped his hands, and asked in confusion, "Immortal Master, why has His Majesty not come today?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yichen's expression darkened abruptly. He glanced at the assembled civil and military officials below, remained silent for a moment, and then said in a deep voice:
"Yue Qingping, along with the entire Yue Clan, has already fled."
"What?"
The hall erupted in uproar; all the officials were dumbfounded, their faces filled with disbelief.
Why would they suddenly run away? What happened that made them abandon even the foundation of the Yue State?
"No wonder there's been no sign of the royal family today. I thought they were all in seclusion, but it turns out they've already escaped."
"His Majesty has fled. What should we do? Should we then enthrone a new emperor?"
Amidst the clamor, Zhang Yichen suddenly shouted, "Quiet!"
The hall fell silent instantly before he continued:
"The Pure Void Sect leadership has ordered the people of Yue State to hand over 70% of their Energy Points."
Now that Yue Qingping has fled, this order shall be carried out by you, the civil and military officials.
Upon hearing this, the officials were stunned once again, thinking they had misheard.
Zhao Qi asked in a trembling voice, "Immortal Master, did you just say that you would forcibly collect 70% of the Energy Points from the people of Yue State?"
Zhang Yichen nodded helplessly. "That's right, this is an order personally issued by the higher-ups of the Pure Void Sect."
Zhao Qi and the others felt a buzzing in their heads, and instantly understood why the Yue Clan was willing to offend the Pure Void Sect in order to escape.
This is so outrageous that if it were implemented, the people would beat them to death.
Even if they aren't killed, they'll likely be unbound by the system and even put on an annihilation mission, which is a dead end.
If it were them, they would also choose to run away.
But now Zhang Yichen wants them to carry out this order, how can that be acceptable?
They still want to live!
Nowadays, every citizen of Yue State possesses cultivation, so they dare not offend all the people and end up being beaten to death.
Zhao Qi carefully considered his words, his tone somewhat tactful. "Immortal Master, forcibly confiscating 70% of the Energy Points from the people of Yue State is going too far and is simply impossible to carry out."
"We have no capacity to collect Energy Points from the people. This matter will probably require the Pure Void Sect to intervene personally."
The civil and military officials inside the hall nodded in agreement, responding in unison with a cacophony of voices:
"Yes, Immortal Master, we truly lack the ability to accomplish such a task; we must rely on the Pure Void Sect."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yichen's face darkened instantly, and he shouted sternly:
"This is an order from the higher-ups of the Pure Void Sect. Just do as they say, and don't ask any more questions!"
Seeing his ashen face and unyielding attitude, the officials immediately understood that the order could not be refused; disobeying it would offend the Pure Void Sect.
The group exchanged glances and could only reply in unison, "We will take care of it immediately, please rest assured, Immortal Master."
Zhang Yichen's tone softened slightly. "Very good, go and carry it out immediately. I'll be keeping an eye on you."
The civil and military officials left the Golden Palace, exchanging glances and understanding each other's intentions: to flee just like the Yue Household.
If anyone dares to carry out this outrageous order, they will be doomed.
Offending the Pure Void Sect is unavoidable, but it's better than offending all the people of Yue State, or even being unbound by the system.
As for Zhang Yichen saying he wanted to "keep an eye on them," they didn't take it to heart at all.
Each family has Dao Seed Realm cultivator in charge; if Zhang Yichen is truly ungrateful, they wouldn't mind sending him on his way first.
Before the civil and military officials had even returned home, they had already issued urgent orders in the Lineage's Microchat group.
He informed every member of the clan of the Pure Void Sect's order and commanded the entire clan to flee Yue State immediately.
The news spread quickly, and many officials who had dealings with them also learned of it.
Everyone knew that staying in Yue State would likely bring them collateral damage, so they packed their bags and fled in panic.
Zhang Yichen watched as the civil and military officials brazenly withdrew from the capital, and anger suddenly appeared on his face.
He had just given the order, and not only did this group of people disobey it, they even dared to run away so blatantly—it was simply outrageous!
But at that moment, hundreds of powerful auras belonging to the Dao Seed Realm cultivators suddenly descended and locked onto him.
Zhang Yichen's anger was instantly extinguished; how could he dare to make the slightest move?
They could only watch helplessly as the officials of the capital left one after another, and even the soldiers in the army, upon hearing the news, abandoned their armor and fled in all directions.
The wealthy and ordinary people in the capital city, seeing the civil and military officials and soldiers fleeing in droves, also learned about the Pure Void Sect's forced collection of 70% of the Energy Points.
In an instant, everyone had the idea of fleeing the Yue State. They picked up their belongings and hurriedly left using their movement Movement Method.
After all, the current strength of the Pure Void Sect is far beyond what ordinary people like them can contend with.
Since that's the case, it's better to simply flee the Yue State.
Anyway, with the system around, I won't go hungry, and I can easily settle down anywhere. It's better than staying in Yue State and being a slave to the Pure Void Sect.
When Zhang Yichen returned to the palace, he found that the palace maids and eunuchs had all fled and disappeared, leaving him all alone in the vast palace.
Seeing this, he sighed helplessly; this job was truly inhuman.
He had only issued an order and didn't expect the officials to actually carry it out.
To everyone's surprise, upon hearing the order, the civil and military officials did not hesitate at all and immediately packed up and left.
With the sight of the capital's residents fleeing at the mere mention of it before their eyes, it's easy to imagine that once the entire Yue State knows about the levy of 70% of Energy Points, they will all flee in droves.
How many people will be left in the Yue State by then?
After reporting the events in the Yue State back to the Pure Void Sect, he waited for a reply.
Upon receiving the news, the high-ranking members of the Pure Void Sect gathered again for a meeting, but Li Zhe was not present as he was recovering from his injuries.
Wang Hao spoke first, "These ants have some nerve! They actually dare to run away like that!"
And the Yue Household and Yue State officials clearly don't take our Pure Void Sect seriously.
They must be captured and killed, so that everyone knows the consequences of disobeying the orders of the Pure Void Sect.
Liu Hui echoed loudly, "That's right! We only took 70% of the Energy Points and left 30% for them. They're still not satisfied. It's outrageous!"
We must immediately suppress the Yue State people, otherwise they'll all flee, and where will we collect Energy Points?
Chen Yu's face also showed anger. "Junior Brother Wang, Junior Brother Liu, you must immediately lead the sect disciples to Yue State to suppress the people and prevent them from fleeing Yue State."
"Yes, Master!" Wang Hao and Liu Hui immediately bowed and agreed.