212: Killing the chicken to scare the monkey

On the second floor of the tavern, within a private room, the scents of wine and arrogance intertwined.

“Brother Zhou’s words are indeed reasonable!” A young man in brocade robes raised his cup, his eyes gleaming with excitement. “If we can take the lead and break this damned ‘Seven Decrees of Da Xuan,’ wouldn’t we gain immense prestige before all the heroes under heaven?”

“At that time, our reputations will soar, and the prestige of our Family will also rise with the tide!”

This suggestion instantly ignited the enthusiasm of everyone in the private room.

They all rubbed their hands together, as if they could already see their glorious future of achieving fame and being revered by thousands.

“Let’s do this!”

The leading young man, surnamed Zhou, with a face like jade, slammed the table, making the decision on the spot.

“Today, we shall let this Da Xuan Dynasty know that this world, in the end, is still governed by us Martial Dao Families with Legacies spanning thousands of years!”

…

Half an hour later.

On Vermilion Bird Street, the most prosperous street in Qingfeng City.

The young man surnamed Zhou and his group of seven or eight people swaggered down the center of the street, each holding their heads high, their faces adorned with an air of unbridled arrogance.

Not only did each of them have a precious sword hanging from their waist, but they also deliberately released their sharp Sword Qi, scaring the surrounding common people into hastily avoiding them, fearing to invite trouble upon themselves.

This was already an open provocation to the “Seven Decrees of Da Xuan.”

“Hmph! A bunch of commoners!”

Watching the cowering commoners, a follower beside the young man surnamed Zhou disdainfully curled his lips.

“Young Master Zhou, just this doesn’t seem exciting enough.” Another young man with a sharp face and monkey-like features, his eyes darting around, came up with an idea.

“How about… we find someone else to spar with?”

“Oh?” The young man surnamed Zhou heard this and immediately became interested. “This plan is excellent!”

The few of them exchanged glances, their eyes filled with malicious amusement.

Their gaze quickly locked onto a target.

Not far away, a burly man dressed in coarse linen, carrying a load of firewood, was preparing to leave the city.

The man’s temples bulged high, and his aura was steady, clearly indicating he was a skilled Internal Energy practitioner.

“He’s the one!”

The young man surnamed Zhou fanned himself with a folding fan and rushed forward in a single stride, deliberately colliding with the burly man.

“Ouch!”

The young man surnamed Zhou let out an exaggerated cry and “fell” onto the ground.

The burly man, who was in a hurry to leave the city, was stunned by this sudden turn of events. He quickly put down the firewood on his shoulder and stepped forward to help him up.

“Young Master, are you alright?”

“Alright?” The young man surnamed Zhou suddenly flung his hand away, his face instantly covered in frost. “Are you blind?! Didn’t you see this Young Master coming?!”

“You injured this Young Master. How do you propose to settle this account?!”

The burly man’s brows furrowed upon hearing this, and an unidentifiable anger began to rise within him.

Having wandered the Jianghu for many years, how could he not see that the other party was deliberately looking for trouble?

But he looked at the other party’s luxurious attire and the several equally formidable-looking followers behind him, and in the end, he forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart.

He knew that these people were not to be provoked.

“Young Master, it was my clumsiness.” He cupped his hands and bowed to the young man surnamed Zhou. “How would Young Master like to be compensated?”

“Compensation?” The young man surnamed Zhou sneered, stood up from the ground, and patted off non-existent dust from his clothes.

“It’s very simple.”

He pointed to his boots, made of golden nanmu wood, a look of extreme humiliation on his face.

“Now, kneel down and lick this Young Master’s shoes clean.”

“Then, this matter will be dropped.”

Boom!

As soon as these words were uttered, the burly man’s mind went “buzz”!

A monstrous rage surged straight to his head!

A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated!

He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles cracking audibly from the excessive force, and his eyes, which had been rather honest, were now burning with raging flames!

“You… are going too far!”

“What if I am?” The young man surnamed Zhou disdainfully curled his lips. “This Young Master is bullying you today!”

“If you don’t comply…” He paused, a chilling glint in his eyes. “This Young Master will break all your limbs and make you a beggar in Qingfeng City for the rest of your life!”

“You!”

The burly man could no longer restrain himself, and with a roar of anger, he was about to step forward.

However!

Just as he was about to make his move!

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Several black figures, like ghosts, shot out from the shadows on both sides of the street.

Leading them was a man dressed in dark black tight-fitting clothes, his face covered by a black veil, revealing only a pair of cold eyes.

He even glanced at the burly man who was about to make a move, and the burly man immediately dared not continue.

The young man surnamed Zhou and the others, who were stunned by this sudden turn of events, still didn't know what had happened.

The man in dark black tight-fitting clothes spoke indifferently.

“The second of the Seven Decrees of Da Xuan: Private fights are strictly forbidden.”

“The seventh: Provoking trouble will be punished more severely.”

His voice was like a death sentence.

“Take them down.”

As soon as his voice fell,

The dozen or so black-clad figures all made their move simultaneously.

In their hands, a dark short blade had appeared at some unknown time, and their figures, like phantoms, pounced towards the young man surnamed Zhou and the others.

“Presumptuous!”

Behind the young man surnamed Zhou, two Dao Protectors who had been silent but whose auras had reached the Martial Emperor realm, exploded on the spot.

At this moment, eager to protect their Young Master, they were about to make a move.

But, the next moment they regretted it.

The dozen or so black-clad figures formed a profound Formation, and as their short blades danced, they actually drew upon a faint, ethereal power of heaven and earth!

“This is… an immortal method?!”

The two Martial Emperors’ expressions changed drastically, their eyes filled with disbelief!

They never dreamed that the imperial guards of this Da Xuan Dynasty also cultivated the Dao of Immortals?!

“Bang! Bang!”

Two muffled thuds.

The two Dao Protectors, without even time to resist, were suppressed on the spot by the dozen or so black-clad figures.

Their Meridians were sealed, and their Internal Energy was completely lost.

As for the young man surnamed Zhou and the other pampered Young Masters who weren’t even Martial Emperors, they didn’t even manage to let out a groan before they were all thrown to the ground and tied up like zongzi.

The entire process, from the attack to the end, did not even… exceed ten breaths.

The leading black-clad man didn’t even spare another glance at the wailing “favored sons of heaven” on the ground. He simply spoke to the burly man, who was already dumbfounded, and the surrounding commoners, who were equally stunned, his voice clearly resounding through the street.

“Xuanbing Platform is handling this.”

“Your Majesty has decreed that before the arrival of the Grand Xuan Dao Lecture, all who enter the territory of our Da Xuan must abide by the ‘Seven Decrees of Da Xuan.’ ”

“No matter who it is, no matter what their background.”

“Those who violate the decree will have… only one outcome.”

With that, he no longer lingered and waved his hand to his subordinates.

“Take them away.”

The dozen or so black-clad figures, dragging the young man surnamed Zhou and the others like dead dogs, quickly disappeared at the end of the street.

Leaving behind only the mess on the street and the many commoners and Martial Artists who had been awestruck.

At this moment, they finally knew.

The so-called “Seven Decrees of Da Xuan” were not a joke!