The first light of dawn appeared, but the thick fog had yet to disperse.
Over five hundred men gathered in the cold wind before the General's Manor, every one of them filled with righteous indignation.
Zhan Shubai treated Yunji City as his own life and had always trained the soldiers with high intensity. Although their status was extraordinary and they did not need to toil over fortifying defenses, training was indispensable.
It could be said that every single one of them was an elite soldier!
Thus, the gathering of these five hundred-plus men formed a powerful, imposing aura.
A powerful aura that only soldiers could muster.
This also bolstered the crowd's courage.
One by one, they stood at the gates of the Yunji City General's Manor and shouted.
"We ask the Imperial Envoy to give us justice!"
"Lord Envoy, every one of us has shed blood and sweat for Yunji City. It is because of us that the city's walls are high and thick, making it an impregnable fortress. Yet you strip us of our positions. We ask the Lord Envoy to give us an explanation."
"General Zhan has only been gone for a few days, and you act like this, Lord Envoy. Where do you place General Zhan in your eyes?"
...
With a creak, the gates of the General's Manor opened. Lieutenant Wang Ming strode out. His gaze swept over the crowd first, and upon confirming that no one carried weapons, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He then loudly declared, "Gentlemen, gathering to cause trouble is not a good habit. If you have any grievances, you can appeal to the court, or come to me privately. Acting like this is not good for any of you."
"I advise you all, it is best to disperse."
"General Ren has his own profound reasons for making such arrangements. You..."
Pausing, Wang Ming's tone took on a warning edge, "Do not ruin your own futures!"
It would have been better if Wang Ming had not tried to persuade them; his words only fueled their fervor.
Their shouts were already earth-shaking, as if wishing everyone in Yunji City could hear their unwillingness and cries. Now, it was as if they wanted to overturn the very heavens.
"We are merely seeking justice for ourselves, how does that become gathering to cause trouble? Hmph, does Lord Ren enjoy pinning false charges on us so much?"
"We have toiled for Yunji City for so many years, yet with a single word from the newly arrived lord, we are cast down from the clouds. Where in the world is there such logic? Today, you must give us an answer!"
"That is right, our treatment must be restored to what it was before!"
"Merely restoring it is not enough! We must be given better treatment, and furthermore, the new Imperial Envoy must apologize to us!"
"Yes, apologize! Not only apologize to us, but also apologize to General Zhan!"
...
Amidst the shouting, Wang Hu, who was in the crowd, yelled while struggling to squeeze his way to the front.
Although he was the most active instigator of this incident and had once served as a member of the supervisory team under Zhan Shubai, compared to the middle and high-ranking officers under Zhan Shubai, his status was still lowly.
As a result, in this massive group of over five hundred people, he could not get a spot near the front at all and could only hover around the middle.
How displeasing this was to Wang Hu!
For such an opportunity to demand better treatment, he had to be at the very front.
Therefore, taking advantage of the chaotic crowd and the lack of anyone maintaining order, he forcefully squeezed his way into the first row, immediately raised his fist, and began shouting loudly.
"If the Imperial Envoy does not apologize to General Zhan, does not apologize to us, and does not improve our treatment, we will quit!"
"When the time comes and Yunji City is turned upside down, Lord Envoy, do not regret it!"
Wang Hu's words struck a chord in the hearts of many, and the crowd immediately echoed him.
"Ren Tianye, come out and apologize!"
"Ren Tianye, apologize to us!"
"Ren Tianye, apologize to General Zhan!"
...
The voices rose in wave after wave.
This instantly brought a surge of anger to the eyes of Wang Ming at the General's Manor gates.
These people were actually so insolent!
They even dared to call the General by his full name directly!
Never mind, never mind...
He thought with a weary heart. As the saying goes, fine words cannot persuade a damned ghost. He could not save these people today.
He said no more, merely holding his sword and standing at the gate of the General's Manor, refusing to allow anyone to barge in.
This posture, which appeared to be a show of weakness, made the five hundred men shout even more fiercely. Especially Wang Hu, who having rushed to the front row, faintly took on the momentum of a leader.
Until light footsteps echoed from within the General's Manor.
A person slowly walked out.
It was none other than Ren Tianye.
At this moment, Ren Tianye was not wearing armor, but only a plain robe. After walking to the gate of the General's Manor, his gaze slowly swept over the crowd.
Although this movement was light and his posture seemed casual, his identity as the Imperial Envoy still caused the five hundred men before him to quickly quiet down.
However, merely a few breaths after the voices fell, someone shouted loudly.
"If the Imperial Envoy does not want Yunji City turned upside down, then apologize to us and General Zhan. Also, regarding our treatment, Lord Envoy, it would be best if you raise it."
"Otherwise, we are not sure what we might do!"
The person speaking was exactly Wang Hu.
Bypassing his former superiors, he shouted loudly. At this moment, he felt he was no longer a mere member of the supervisory team, but half a leader of Yunji City.
Ren Tianye's gaze fell upon him.
With a light chuckle, he said, "Well said. This General will remember you."
Turning his head, he asked Lieutenant Wang Ming, "Gathering to cause trouble, insubordination, and threatening a superior officer, what is the penalty?"
Wang Ming immediately replied, "According to the laws of the Great Yu, the ringleader... is to be executed immediately!"
"Accomplices are to be imprisoned awaiting death by hanging!"
Ren Tianye nodded.
This meant that those leading the riot would be executed on the spot, and those following would be hanged after autumn.
Gently raising his hand, he said, "Since that is the case, carry it out!"
As soon as his words fell, over twenty personal guards suddenly darted out from behind him, each wielding a heavy crossbow.
At the same time, around the General's Manor, hundreds of armored and armed soldiers also quickly converged, all holding heavy crossbows.
All of them were from the original eight hundred soldiers who had followed Ren Tianye.
This sudden change happened in a flash.
It instantly rendered the five hundred men dead silent!
Looks of terror quickly surfaced on everyone's faces.
Were they going to kill them?
At the very front of the five hundred-man group, Wang Hu shouted, "Hmph, who are you trying to scare?"
His shout bolstered the crowd's courage once more.
There were five hundred of them, and they had lived in Yunji City for generations. If scattered, they were not worth mentioning, but gathered together, their momentum could shake heaven and earth. Who would dare kill them?
Even Zhan Shubai would not have the guts.
This newcomer was merely an Imperial Envoy, not their actual direct superior. What gave him such audacity?!
He still wanted to scare them?
Thus, many prepared to shout out together.
But the next moment, arrows rained down!
The first three rows of the five hundred-man group screamed miserably, and then fell one by one!
At this moment, the group of over five hundred men was completely silenced!
There was not the slightest clamor anymore!
...
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
Cheng's father told him he was getting remarried—to a wealthy woman. Cao Cheng realized his time had finally come: he was about to become a second-generation rich kid. Sure, it might be a watered-down version, but hey, at least he'd have status now, right? The wealthy woman also had four daughters!! Which meant, starting today, Cao Cheng gained four stunning older sisters?? But that wasn't even the whole story... "My name is Cao Cheng—'Cheng' as in 'honest, smooth-talking gentleman'!"
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
