Chapter 151: I Kill with Daoist Arts, You Kill with Rules

The great river rushed violently, its water far from clear, exhibiting a grayish-cyan hue as waves splashed in all directions.

Qingyuan looked at the dozens of people before him.

Behind them, ten men stood in a row, drawing their bows and nocking arrows, with the tips aimed squarely at him.

The rest wore armor, their swords already unsheathed. Their expressions were cold, their eyes sharp, and their movements orderly and uniform, revealing them to be well-trained elite soldiers.

The leader tossed his bow to a man beside him, then drew his saber and pointed it at Qingyuan.

This man had a dark beard and a robust build, evidently the commander of these dozens of elite soldiers—perhaps a centurion. A dense aura of murderous intent radiated from him, carrying an imposing pressure characteristic of a veteran of countless battles.

Qingyuan's gaze swept over them without changing expression, finally resting on the man standing beside the centurion.

This man's brow was majestic and upright, unyielding and stern. With a cold expression and his black beard fluttering in the wind, his eyes swept across the grave with a hint of wrath. He wore the seventh-rank official robe of a magistrate.

The seventh-rank official of Jingxiu County could be none other than Magistrate He Hu.

Qingyuan remained silent for a moment, then asked, "He Qing's father?"

He Hu said coldly, "Who on earth are you?"

With that, his gaze swept over to the tombstone, and he snorted, "She was a daughter born to my own flesh and blood—whence came an older brother?"

Qingyuan did not reply. He looked at the dozens of men, his expression unchanged, and said calmly, "Magistrate He has brought dozens of men here. To what purpose?"

Hearing this, He Hu grew even angrier and shouted, "Do you still not know your crimes?"

Qingyuan asked, "What crime have I committed?"

He Hu said in a deep voice, "You have killed countless people, and your sins are grave. By the law, you deserve to die!"

Qingyuan frowned. "Whom did I kill?"

He Hu replied, "Dozens of men in the mountain stronghold."

Qingyuan said, "They were bandits. Even if they had fallen into the hands of the authorities, they would have been beheaded for all to see, unable to escape the death penalty."

"But you are not the authorities," He Hu retorted. "Guilty though they may be, they should be dealt with according to the laws of the imperial court. You are not a man of the court; by what right did you arrogate the power of punishment and sentence them to death?"

Radiating righteousness, He Hu stepped forward and shouted, "You took lives arbitrarily, bearing the blood of dozens upon your hands. By crime, you deserve execution!"

As these words fell, an imposing and awe-inspiring aura suddenly surged forth.

An invisible momentum rolled forward like a tide.

Qingyuan frowned slightly.

Because He Hu held an official post and possessed a clear conscience, his righteous and upright words caused his black gauze cap and official robe to vibrate. It actually stirred the changes of national fortune, vesting him with destiny and instantly soaring his momentum to the skies.

When a scholar grows angry, ghosts and deities alike tremble.

Qingyuan could not help but think of Master Yunjing, though He Hu and Master Yunjing were different men. Though both were scholars, their understanding of principles and classical doctrines differed, hence giving rise to such distinct manifestations.

With a flick of his sleeve, the oppressive aura before him instantly dissipated. He sighed, "I killed bandits, and my crime supposedly warrants death. But you killed your own daughter—does that mean you need not be punished?"

Upon hearing this, He Hu abruptly faltered.

"You did not kill her with your own hands, yet you killed her using so-called rules and decorum—does that mean you are absolved of guilt?"

Qingyuan said slowly, "Nor did I kill those people with my own bare hands; I employed Daoist arts, while you employed rules. Why is it that when it comes to me, I must be put on trial? In truth... He Qing did not deserve to die, whereas those bandits all deserved death. That being the case, is Magistrate He's crime not deeper than mine?"

"Sophistry!"

He Hu shouted angrily, and just as he stepped forward to charge, the centurion placed a hand firmly on his shoulder.

"Magistrate He, calm your anger," the centurion smiled. "Leave this evil Daoist to me."

He stepped forward, lifted his chin slightly, and looked across. A brilliant light flashed in his eyes, and his murderous intent was as tangible as reality. He shouted, "Evil Daoist, state your name!"

Qingyuan calmly swept a glance at him and said, "I am a practitioner of the Dao, versed in Daoist arts, but I am not a Daoist priest, nor am I any 'evil Daoist.'"

"A sharp tongue indeed," the centurion said. "Judging by your cultivation, you must have already condensed the intent of the Law, stepping into the Third Heaven, which is why you were able to slaughter dozens of men in the stronghold. However, I have dozens of men here as well. Can you kill all of us?"

He raised an eyebrow, his tone haughty and full of disdain.

Though it was likewise a force of dozens, his men were elite warriors, well-trained, with superior weapons and armor—more than enough to slaughter the dozens in the stronghold. Furthermore, when facing a cultivator, they could use the killing intent of the military, fused with the fortune of heaven and earth, to scatter any cultivator's legal intent and then slay them with ease.

Ordinary soldiers naturally did not understand these profound mysteries, but this centurion was evidently quite familiar with them.

Qingyuan was naturally aware of the disparity in strength, but he remained silent, harboring no fear.

"I, Tian Lingao, have served in the military for many years, fighting on battlefields. I don't know how many cultivators like you I have killed."

The centurion waved his saber slightly and said, "Though we number only dozens, you are no supreme master. Today, you cannot escape death!"

Qingyuan shook his head and said, "There are always exceptions. What of Bai Qi in former years?"

Upon hearing the name Bai Qi, the centurion's expression froze. The others present had no idea who that was, but having served in the military for many years, he certainly knew.

Bai Qi was a man who had condensed the intent of slaughter rather than the five elements of the Law, transcending the Five Elements altogether. It was the intent of man, nearly equivalent to the killing intent of the army. Thus, the army's killing intent could not scatter his legal intent; instead, it aided him.

Back in the day, Bai Qi was hailed as a military god within the forces, possessing an invincible reputation akin to that of Yuanmeng's Guo Zhongkan.

Ultimately, it had required the intervention of supreme figures to finally extinguish him.

Tian Lingao took a deep breath and said, "You actually know of Bai Qi? However, throughout this world, there has only ever been one Bai Qi, and he has already died in the military. As for you, can you possibly compare to Bai Qi?"

"I cannot compare."

Qingyuan replied indifferently.

Bai Qi had condensed the intent of slaughter, while he had condensed the intent of the Dao. They were not of the same category and naturally could not be compared.

"Since you cannot compare, then go and die!"

Tian Lingao's expression abruptly turned cold as he swung his long saber downward.

The soldiers marched forward in unison, their blades and spears pointing ahead, shouting in unison, "Kill!"

Dozens of voices, filled with robust vitality and awe-inspiring murderous intent, fused into a single stream. Blessed by the obscure fortune of heaven and earth, it abruptly transformed into a roaring tide of slaughter that swept forward.

Amidst this towering murderous intent, the ten elite soldiers in the rear simultaneously released their grips, and their arrows left the string.

Ten arrows soaked in talismanic water and inscribed with runes surged forward, accompanied by the murderous onslaught.

...

Qingyuan closed his eyes slightly.

He felt as though he were standing upon a vast ocean.

Before him were towering waves crashing forward, virtually unstoppable.

Dozens of elite soldiers, every single one radiating murderous intent, combined with the blessing of heaven and earth's fortune, could almost be considered cultivators who had condensed legal intent—specifically, the intent of slaughter.

However, they were not true practitioners of the Dao; the killing intent within them ultimately appeared somewhat thinner compared to the legal intent condensed by real cultivators, and they did not know how to wield Daoist divine arts. Thus, flaws remained.

Yet, notwithstanding these flaws, the convergence of dozens of elite soldiers ultimately unleashed an immense and formidable momentum.

In a hazy trance, it felt as though a giant stood before him.

This giant was formed by the combined aura of more than sixty elite soldiers, equivalent to a single entity that had condensed murderous intent, and a colossal one at that.

"Kill!"

The voice filled with lethal intent surged like a gigantic wave, sweeping over him.

Ten arrows were intermingled within it, arriving in an instant.