51: injustice

One-Eyed Dragon walked forward with a playful smile, sneering at Qin Chen: “Brat, keep your eyes open in your next life!”

Having said that, he let out a loud shout and violently smashed a punch toward Qin Chen.

The punch whistled fiercely, packing enough power to turn a bull into pulp.

Yet Qin Chen remained completely still, merely raising a hand casually. A slight surge of True Essence in his palm allowed him to catch the punch with ease.

One-Eyed Dragon froze on the spot.

How is this possible?!

His punch was actually caught so casually by this brat?

Before he could react, Qin Chen reversed his grip, seizing his arm and hoisting it upward—

One-Eyed Dragon spun 360 degrees in the air instantly, and with a “boom,” he was ruthlessly slammed onto the ground.

He was greatly alarmed and begged for mercy in a panic: “Wait! Spare me! I...”

But Qin Chen gave him no chance. He stomped down with one foot, seemingly carrying the weight of a thousand jun, instantly crushing his head into a puddle of mud.

Immediately afterward, Qin Chen kicked away One-Eyed Dragon's headless corpse.

Everything happened too fast and too strangely.

It was so fast that people couldn't react at all.

The surrounding guards were all trembling. They weren't fools—to instantly kill an Innate expert with one move, this was definitely Grandmaster-level strength!

Many swallowed hard, subtly shifting their feet backward, clearly planning to slip away.

Long Qi stood on the side with his mouth wide open, his legs shaking uncontrollably.

Long Yucheng's mind was also in chaos; this completely overturned his decades of martial arts knowledge.

Could it be... a young Grandmaster?

Impossible!

The young Grandmasters of the Yan Dynasty are all in the Imperial Capital, and he had long ago memorized their names and appearances.

Someone like him, who lived by licking blood off a knife's edge, naturally knew who to provoke and who not to provoke.

Although he couldn't figure it out, the fresh scent of blood permeating the air was particularly pungent, sobering him up quickly.

"Th-this Young Hero... let's talk this out! I don't know this One-Eyed Dragon well..." Long Yucheng couldn't immediately come up with a better excuse, so he just spoke nonsense.

Qin Chen smiled, raised his hand, and pointed at Long Qi: "I'll give you a chance. Kill him."

Upon hearing this, Long Qi was so frightened that he stumbled back two steps and fell onto the ground.

Long Yucheng turned his head and glared fiercely at his son: "It's you, this wicked son... Oh no! You're not my son at all! Die!"

After speaking, he violently punched Long Qi—

"Bang!"

Long Qi's head was instantly smashed to pieces.

After killing his own son, Long Yucheng turned around, offered a fawning smile, and cupped his hands toward Qin Chen: "Sir, the bandit has been executed!"

Long Yucheng wasn't stupid. He could always have more sons, and besides, he had over a dozen illegitimate children outside; one death was nothing.

Qin Chen nodded: "Hmm, not bad. Your methods are quite suitable for someone under my command."

He paused, then smiled faintly: "However... I don't need subordinates."

Before his voice faded, he raised his hand, and a massive surge of True Essence transformed into a sharp blade, instantly slicing across Long Yucheng's neck.

Long Yucheng subconsciously raised his hand to cover his neck, but his head had already rolled to the ground, eyes wide open, dying with lingering resentment.

The other guards were so terrified that cold sweat poured down their backs. Someone tried to flee in the chaos, shouting loudly:

"Run!"

"Scatter and flee!"

But how could these Houtian Realm guards possibly escape?

Qin Chen gently lifted his foot, crushing the bluestone slab beneath him. As the fragments scattered, he kicked his heel—

Countless stone fragments immediately shot out like streams of Hidden Weapons, instantly killing every single guard.

These guards were members of the Nine Dragons Gang, founded by Long Yucheng. They routinely swindled money, tricked women, oppressed the elderly and children, robbed, and murdered—committing almost every evil imaginable. Their deaths were no loss.

Looking at the corpses covering the ground, Qin Chen felt a little troubled.

"It seems I still need to find a subordinate specifically to handle the aftermath of such incidents, and to take over the assets of these scoundrels."

Qin Chen knew that the Nine Dragons Gang still had some remaining members. He couldn't possibly deal with such trivial matters personally every time, could he?

Wouldn't that be exhausting?

Several candidates suitable to be his subordinates silently flashed through his mind.

At the same time,

One of the Three Tyrants of Nanjiang heard that someone had killed the madam of the Drunken Immortal Tower and immediately rushed over with a dozen guards.

After Jin Lili received the news, she also followed along, puffing with anger.

As soon as they arrived at the Drunken Immortal Tower, Jin Lili instructed two of the guards: "You two guard the entrance well. No one is allowed in or out."

One of the Three Tyrants of Nanjiang nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

His daughter's way of handling things was truly reassuring.

This is why—during the third simulation, as soon as Jin Lili discovered Emperor Xiao Rui's true identity, she decisively latched onto him, eventually using a few tricks to become the Empress and enabling her father to control the Martial Alliance.

All of this was orchestrated by Jin Lili behind the scenes.

If things had followed the normal trajectory, Jin Lili would indeed have become the Empress, and perhaps even the future Empress Dowager, a woman who held immense power over the court.

The depth of such a woman's scheming is obvious.

It's no wonder Long Yucheng sent One-Eyed Dragon to ambush her.

Because if Jin Lili died, One of the Three Tyrants of Nanjiang would be like a man missing half his brain—utterly useless.

Therefore, everyone in the know understands that the Jin Family's rapid rise over the past decade was entirely due to his daughter Jin Lili's strategizing.

One of the Three Tyrants of Nanjiang was virtually obedient to his daughter.

After arranging the guards, Jin Lili led the remaining dozen guards and drove everyone inside the Drunken Immortal Tower to the first-floor lobby.

In an instant, over a hundred people were crammed into the lobby—

Among them were Courtesans, Singing Girls, Servants, guards, and visiting guests.

The Jin Family guards surrounded these people tightly.

The corpse of Madam Auntie Lan was carried out and placed on the ground. Jin Lili crouched down, her voice trembling: "Auntie Lan, I'm sorry..."

Her voice choked up, and a hot tear slid down her cheek.

It turned out that Jin Lili's mother had died during childbirth, and she was raised single-handedly by Auntie Lan, resulting in extremely deep affection between them.

Later, when the Drunken Immortal Tower opened, Jin Lili had Auntie Lan come here to manage the affairs.

"My daughter, please accept my condolences." One of the Three Tyrants of Nanjiang was tongue-tied and didn't know what to say.

Jin Lili stood up, glared angrily at the entire room, and shouted sternly: "Who did this?"

"If no one admits it, don't blame me for killing all of you!"

The Courtesan Chunxiang quickly stepped forward: "Young Miss, how dare we lay a hand on Mama? Besides, we couldn't beat her anyway."

"That's right, Young Miss, please spare us." The Courtesan Qiuyue echoed.

The Courtesan Winter Plum suddenly pointed at Feier: "That's right! She's new here, and apparently there was a commotion in her room. She definitely knows who killed Mama!"

Feier stood trembling on the side, her courage long since shattered.

Who in Nanjiang City didn't know the reputation of the Jin Family?

How could a daughter from an ordinary farming family have ever seen a scene like this?

Jin Lili approached Feier with a cold expression, abruptly raising her hand and delivering a slap—

"Slap!"

Feier was slapped to the ground, her face swollen.

"Speak, who was it?" Jin Lili asked through gritted teeth.

"I... I don't know! Ah!" Feier trembled all over, unable to speak clearly.

"You won't tell me, will you?" Jin Lili looked at a guard, who immediately drew the long saber from his waist and handed it to her.

Jin Lili raised the saber and swung it toward Feier—

"Ah—!"

An arm was severed instantly. Feier was drenched in cold sweat from the pain, tears streaming endlessly.

"I'm asking you one last time, will you speak?" Jin Lili's voice was icy cold.

Feier wept bitterly out of grievance, picking up her severed arm and hugging it tightly, her voice choked: "Just kill me... Even if I knew, I would die before I told you!"

"Heh, you want to die?" Jin Lili sneered. "I will chop off all your limbs, turn you into a Human Swine, and then find out which family you belong to, making your entire family... no, your entire village, be buried alongside you!"