Chapter 119: Stunning the Entire Audience

“Bang!” Unexpectedly, a thin protective barrier appeared around Han Lü’s body. Yue Qi immediately recognized it as a defense formed by an Earth Control Spell, something he could also perform!

“A cultivator? Could it be that his spiritual power hasn’t vanished after all?!” Yue Qi was astonished, unable to close his mouth. But he quickly calmed down when he saw from Han Lü’s hands a spirit stone and a worn-out scroll, clearly the defense had been created using these two items...

“Hmph, Boss Xue, do you really think I can’t see through your scheme?” Taking advantage of the moment when the assassin was stunned, Han Lü pulled out a dagger from his chest and stabbed fiercely toward the man’s heart. Blood splattered three feet away as the man collapsed, never to rise again. Yet, before dying, his eyes were full of disbelief...

Xue Minwen’s face drained of color. He hadn’t expected his final plan to be uncovered. He had thought that if Han Lü were killed, no matter how formidable Han Zhi was, he could lead his men to defeat him. After all, between the Han brothers, Han Lü was clearly the smarter one...

“Trying to send someone to ambush me? Interesting! Seems, Boss Xue, you still have quite a few loyal dogs willing to die for you!” Han Lü sneered, glancing at the men standing beside Xue Minwen. But when he saw Yue Qi and the other, he was taken aback!

He had sent men to kill these two before, but had heard nothing back for a long time. He had assumed his men had all returned, but seeing Yue Qi and the other alive meant those he sent were likely killed by them...

Suddenly, Han Lü recalled what Xue Hong said when she first met him—that she had encountered several mutated zombies on the road and was saved by someone. Han Lü hadn’t thought much of it then, but now it seemed these two were experts!

Still, these two couldn’t change the current situation. Han Lü sneered inwardly: if they understood the times, fine; if not, he would simply kill them without hesitation...

Just as he thought this, someone suddenly stepped forward from behind to report.

“Boss, we’ve confirmed that Xue Hong hasn’t escaped. What should we do with her now?”

Hearing that Xue Hong was still around, Han Lü finally relaxed. Seeing Xue Minwen’s pale face—who clearly overheard the conversation—he said to his men behind, “Bring Xue Hong up!”

At these words, Xue Minwen’s expression immediately tensed. His martial arts were indeed formidable, especially after the disaster, his physical fitness seemed to have improved greatly. This gave him confidence to build and manage the camp. Yet, even so, he was uncertain if he could handle hundreds of archers here at once. If they all shot at once, they’d be riddled like a sieve or turned into a porcupine...

While he wrestled with these thoughts, Xue Hong was brought forward, bound tightly with her mouth gagged. Seeing Xue Minwen, she just whimpered twice, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Oh my, why is our young lady crying? Could it be that not seeing her father for so long has stirred her emotions?” Han Lü mocked without restraint, stepping up to her and lifting her chin flirtatiously.

“Mmph!” Though tied up, Xue Hong’s feet were free. Suddenly, she kicked Han Lü hard in the groin. Han Lü had no time to cast a spell; the pain was indescribable!

“You’re courting death!” Han Lü roared, clutching his groin and lunging at Xue Hong with a knife!

“Don’t!” Xue Minwen shouted, but Han Lü’s stab was blocked by Han Zhi...

“Big brother, calm down first. We still need this woman alive. Don’t kill her now!” Han Zhi grabbed Han Lü’s hand and turned to glare at Xue Hong. “If you try any tricks, do you believe I’ll strip you naked right here?”

Han Zhi’s threat worked. Xue Hong merely snorted but dared not move again. In this public setting, being stripped and violated was worse than death for her.

Seeing his daughter unharmed, Xue Minwen sighed in relief, then glared fiercely at the Han brothers. “Release my daughter at once! Don’t bring disaster upon the family. Even if I give up my position to you, you won’t gain respect by acting like this!”

“Of course we’ll release the little lady!” Han Lü regained his composure, the pain lessening. “But just sign this notice and stamp it tomorrow when we post it, then we’ll free your daughter immediately! Don’t try to fool us—if you do, you know we have plenty of spell scrolls at hand!”

“No way, boss. No matter what, we won’t follow these two who act with their own hands! Unless you kill us!”

“Yeah! We’ve stayed with Boss Xue all this time because we admire his true nature. If you hand over the position to these two trash, we’d rather die!”

Xue Minwen’s men immediately erupted in protest. Han Zhi and Han Lü hadn’t expected such loyalty. They knew they’d persuaded some men, but the true elites of this camp were among Xue Minwen’s followers. Without their loyalty, even if they became leaders, it would be futile...

“Big brother! We can’t let this go! We must kill a few to set an example, or these fools will think we don’t dare to act!” Han Zhi urged, watching Han Lü’s uncertain expression. “Don’t worry, killing a few won’t hurt us. Even if our strength drops a bit, it won’t affect us much given our current power...”

Han Lü gritted his teeth, glaring at the rioters, then snapped at the archers beside him, “Anyone else makes noise, shoot them dead!”

His words were firm, but those across didn’t believe he’d follow through, and the noise grew louder.

“Shoot!” Han Lü ordered, and the archers drew their bows and released their arrows!

Xue Minwen hadn’t expected Han Zhi and Han Lü to strike now and shouted, “Get down!”

Though the warning came fast, many were nearly hit by arrows aimed at their foreheads, their pupils dilated in terror.

“Alas, we must intervene...” a calm young voice suddenly spoke.

At that moment, a strange scene unfolded: all the arrows seemed to be blocked by an invisible force, dropping harmlessly to the ground as if an unseen wall stood before them.

This was because Yue Qi had instructed Qin Luo to act. Qin Luo’s spiritual power had reached the level capable of solidifying into matter. They had agreed beforehand that if the enemy shot arrows, Qin Luo would intervene.

Just as Yue Qi predicted, the enemy did shoot, and it was a deadly volley. All archers fired toward them, even draining some of Qin Luo’s spiritual energy. Condensing spiritual power into a solid form was extremely taxing; even Qin Luo was unaccustomed...

However, she wouldn’t need to act further. Yue Qi stepped forward at the front, coldly watching the crowd. He cared little for the survival of those behind him, only wanting to rescue Xue Hong. After their brief acquaintance, Yue Qi had developed a certain fondness for her—not romantic, but genuine.

“Release her and leave at once!” Yue Qi said icily, then glanced at the Han brothers. He had done nothing to provoke them, yet they tried to kill him. Sparing them was already merciful.

“Leave?!” Han Lü laughed bitterly in fury. He knew Yue Qi was strong, but one man against a crowd? Hmph, did he think Yue Qi was a cultivator? Even cultivators had no power in this era without spiritual energy. Who cared who he was back then?

“You’re looking for death, kid?!” Han Zhi stepped ahead of Han Lü and shouted angrily.

Everyone present, including Xue Minwen’s men, thought Yue Qi was insane—except for two: Qin Luo and, naturally, Xue Hong.

“Shoot! Aim for that kid! Kill him!” Han Zhi snapped at the archers.

“Whoosh! Whoosh!” Countless arrows tore through the air toward Yue Qi!

But Yue Qi merely smiled as a fierce wind suddenly whipped around him—Wind Leaf Slash, a second-level wind spell! Countless leaves, invisible to the naked eye, struck the arrows mid-flight, shattering them meters away from Yue Qi.

“Oh? So you have a few scrolls? Looks like second-level ones—no wonder you’re so arrogant!” Han Lü was momentarily stunned seeing Yue Qi’s calm, then quickly caught on. To him, Yue Qi had only used one scroll...

Yue Qi didn’t reply, only shook his head with a half-smile at Han Lü. To him, this grasshopper-sized opponent was insignificant. Even if Han Lü produced several third-level scrolls, Yue Qi was confident he could kill him before the spells were cast!

“You want to see who has more scrolls? I don’t know which minor sect you come from, but if you think you can match the Sanqing Sect’s heritage, you’re sorely mistaken!” Han Lü chuckled, pulling out a dozen scrolls. Yue Qi saw clearly they were all second-level!

“Is this the famed Sanqing Sect? People say great reputations are earned, but it seems even the Sanqing Sect isn’t impressive if they accept trash like you.” Yue Qi shook his head, but suddenly dashed forward in a flash—an invisible movement no one noticed.

“Don’t know if this counts as a scroll?” Yue Qi kicked Han Lü away and conjured a fireball the size of a fist in his hand!