175: A savior has descended from the heavens!
Everyone present was completely stunned!
The state?
The state is backing this kid???
What does that mean?
Li Shan's brows furrowed as he spoke in a low voice.
"Representing the state? Just you?"
"Ye Chen, who do you think you are? You can represent the will of the state?"
He didn't believe it at all!
If he really had state backing, why would he act like this?
Why would he charge in here all by himself?
They would have just locked on with nuclear missiles!
Or surrounded the island with warships!
Their Hidden Sect would have been wiped out instantly!
But they didn't!
Ye Chen came alone; this was clearly just him at his wits' end, using a powerful name to intimidate them!
Hearing this, Ye Chen simply shrugged.
"I can't represent the state."
"However..."
"To deal with a trash sect like yours, the state doesn't need to lift a finger."
"I am enough."
The sneers on the faces of Li Shan, Li Meier, and the others deepened.
Ignoring them, Ye Chen continued, "I am a specially invited member of the Dragon Country's Dragon Group, with the authority to execute first and report later—is this identity enough to deal with you?"
Dragon Group?
Execute first and report later?
These words were like a thunderclap exploding in everyone's ears!
The square suddenly fell into a deathly silence.
The anger, disdain, and mockery on the faces of all the Hidden Sect disciples and elders froze, replaced instantly by shock!
Dragon Group!
That incredibly mysterious national sword, directly under the highest levels of the state, possessing special authority to handle the martial arts world and supernatural events!
And the phrase "execute first and report later" carried immense weight!
Every Dragon Group member with such authority was a top-tier figure with heaven-defying strength, deep backgrounds, or extraordinary achievements!
To some extent, they could indeed be seen as the extension and enforcer of the "will of the state" in specific fields!
Most importantly, ordinary people had no idea this right even existed!
Could it be... that what Ye Chen said was true?!
Was he really from the Dragon Group? And did he possess that terrifying authority?!
If that were true, then today the Hidden Sect wasn't just provoking a powerful enemy... they had stirred up a hornet's nest... no, they had collided with the state machine itself!
Li Shan's face instantly became incredibly grim.
He stared intently at Ye Chen, trying to find a flaw.
But Ye Chen was too calm.
That fearless posture definitely didn't seem faked!
But in the next moment.
Li Meier suddenly sneered, breaking the heavy atmosphere.
"Dragon Group? Execute first and report later?"
"Ye Chen, you should at least prepare a better lie!"
"What kind of existence is the Dragon Group? How harsh are the entry requirements?"
"Even the eldest young master of the Chu Family in Yanjing couldn't get in after years of trying. What makes a wild kid like you, who popped out of some backwater corner, qualified?"
The more she spoke, the more convinced she became, her voice growing sharper.
"Furthermore!"
"If you really had such a heaven-defying background, why would you stay in a place like Xiamen City and get tangled up with our Hidden Sect over a woman?"
"At least make your story believable!"
Li Meier's words caused the doubt in many Hidden Sect disciples' eyes to fade slightly, replaced once again by suspicion and anger.
That's right!
What kind of existence was the Dragon Group?
Could any random person just join?
And execute first and report later?
Execute your sister!
This kid is definitely bluffing!
Listening to Li Meier's rapid-fire questioning, Ye Chen didn't get angry; instead, he nodded.
"Hmm, you're right."
"I did indeed come from a backwater corner."
"As for why..."
He looked up, his gaze calmly sweeping over everyone from the Hidden Sect.
"What the hell does it have to do with you?"
"Today, I didn't come here to debate whether my identity is real or fake."
"I came here to kill."
"Whether you believe it or not..."
"Anyway, every single one of you here today can forget about leaving on your feet."
"I said it."
Arrogant!
So damn arrogant!
But this time, combined with the sixteen corpses of the Tian Sha Guards on the ground, a shadow was cast over everyone's hearts.
Li Meier's chest heaved with anger at Ye Chen's dismissive attitude. She was about to curse him out again when... suddenly!
Liu Qingluo, who had been standing quietly behind Ye Chen like a shadow, suddenly took a step forward.
She raised her head, her cold and beautiful face expressionless, except for her eyes, which were like ten-thousand-year-old ice, locked onto Li Meier on the steps.
"Li... Mei... er."
"Do you... still recognize me?"
Li Meier looked over at the sound.
When she saw Liu Qingluo's face, she was momentarily stunned, a hint of confusion flashing in her eyes.
Why... did she look so familiar?
Seeing Li Meier's expression, Liu Qingluo smiled.
"You might have forgotten who I am."
"After all, people like you never remember who you've killed or harmed."
"But there is one name... you definitely remember."
She paused, each word hitting like an ice pick on the ground.
"My name is—"
"Liu Qingluo."
Li Meier's pupils suddenly constricted!
"What? You're Liu Qingluo?!"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"That ungrateful bitch had her energy center personally destroyed by me, and she even jumped into a fire, leaving her face completely disfigured..."
"In the end, my people threw her into the black market, priced at ten yuan for anyone to abuse!"
"She should have rotted in the mud long ago, without even a corpse left! How could you be her?!"
Liu Qingluo calmly watched her lose her composure, her gaze like she was looking at a clown.
"That's right."
"Before meeting my benefactor, my life's path was indeed as you described."
"My corpse would have even been rotting by now."
She turned slightly, looking toward Ye Chen.
"But I met my benefactor."
"I not only restored my appearance but also regained my strength."
"And I am standing here."
The shock on Li Meier's face completely froze.
Behind her, Li Shan and all the Hidden Sect members below the steps changed their expressions simultaneously!
"Regained her strength?"
Li Shan's throat felt dry, his voice strained.
"A shattered energy center, destroyed meridians... how could she possibly regain her strength?!"
"You're talking utter nonsense!"
However.
Only Great Elder Lin Xuanchen stared intently at Liu Qingluo, then suddenly turned to look at the powerless Hong Sanqian.
A second later.
A terrifying thought slithered into his mind like a venomous snake, making his whole body go cold.
"Her benefactor... is Ye Chen!"
"Hong Sanqian lost his strength, yet he betrayed the Hidden Sect!"
"Does that mean Ye Chen... can repair the energy center?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, it was like pouring a ladle of ice water into a boiling pot of oil!
*Hiss—!*
Across the square, the sound of people sharply inhaling cold air rang out!
The anger, doubt, and disdain on the faces of all the Hidden Sect disciples and elders were completely replaced by boundless horror in this instant!
It was an iron law of martial arts: a shattered energy center meant the foundation was destroyed, an unsolvable problem throughout the ages!
If Ye Chen could really do it... then what he possessed was far more than just martial prowess!
It was a heaven-defying medical skill capable of overturning martial arts knowledge, something that would drive countless factions and top-tier experts mad!
Or rather, it was a method bordering on the miraculous!
Is it any surprise that someone with such means would be specially recruited by the Dragon Group and granted the authority to "execute first and report later"?
No!
Not surprising at all!
It's so damn logical!
If not for that, how else could the living example of Liu Qingluo be explained?
"So what he said just now... could it be true?" An elder's lips trembled, his eyes filled with fear as he looked at Ye Chen.
"If he really is from the Dragon Group and possesses that kind of authority..." another person muttered, his face pale, "then our Hidden Sect is essentially opposing the state..."
"If he can repair the energy center, then forget the Dragon Group—even higher powers would treat him like a god!" someone's voice wavered, voicing the deepest fear in everyone's hearts.
Shock!
It was beyond shocking!
This was even more startling than Liu Qingluo restoring her appearance!
Li Shan and Li Meier, father and daughter, stood there as if they had fallen into an ice cellar.
Just as the surroundings fell into a deathly silence.
*Step—*
A series of footsteps suddenly echoed from the bluestone path outside the mountain gate.
Everyone instinctively turned their heads to look.
A group was seen quickly walking toward the mountain gate.
The leader was a man with a slicked-back look and a powdered face, wearing a sequined shirt and a gold chain as thick as a pinky finger around his neck. Walking with an arrogant swagger, who else could it be but Chu Niubi?
Following behind him were his lackeys.
However.
Before the group even got close, his gaze swept across the mountain gate square.
A second later.
His footsteps abruptly stopped, his mouth hanging slightly open, his face filled with bewilderment.
The scene in the square... over a dozen masked men in black were lying scattered on the ground, their blood staining the bluestone red.
Hundreds of Hidden Sect members, including the sect master and elders, were standing there with grim expressions.
In the center of the square, Ye Chen and the other two stood calmly, facing off against the Hidden Sect crowd.
This atmosphere... no matter how you looked at it, something was wrong!
Wait!
The Hidden Sect had come out in full force; shouldn't they have won a total victory, with Ye Chen beaten like a dead dog?
Why did it feel like... the Hidden Sect side was the one mourning instead?
Chu Niubi's mind was a bit of a mess.
However.
On the steps, the moment Li Shan and Li Meier recognized the newcomer as Chu Niubi, their eyes simultaneously erupted with uncontrollable joy!
A savior!
A savior from the heavens!!!