jdhmnovel Chapter 74 Am I really that strong?
Chapter 74 Am I really that strong?
Liu Qingfeng looked at the familiar person in front of him.
He didn't understand why he had become like this.
Originally, he thought that the initial intention of the Valley God Sect was truly to help the people, but now, this so-called deputy leader of the Valley God Sect is actually protecting criminals.
He found it hard to accept.
"Vice Leader, the evidence is irrefutable, yet you still don't believe it? Or are you saying that as long as you join the uprising, you can do anything? You're going to support such a heinous person?"
Ma Luping glared at him coldly: "Heinous crimes? I only know that when someone wants to condemn someone, they can always find a pretext."
If you truly follow my teachings in the uprising, then why did he steal and rob? He didn't receive any women or money; did you embezzle his share?
All I see is enslavement!
These brothers who followed us in our rebellion, risking their lives for us, are still being enslaved!
His voice was incredibly loud.
At this moment, what he was fighting for was not the life or death of a mere criminal, but his own legal authority.
The young man kneeling on the ground roared, "Vice Leader! They stole everything I took from the corrupt officials! They used their martial arts skills to kill so many people and move everyone's money into their compound!"
I risked my life for the Valley God Cult, and all I got in return was a dilapidated house. Every day I have to repair roads and build houses for these so-called new officials. Vice Leader, we're suffering!
Tears streamed down his face, his eyes filled with both hope and resentment, as he roared incessantly.
He even shouted from both sides, trying to evoke empathy from other people.
Ma Luping was secretly pleased, but his face grew even angrier: "Liu Qingfeng!! This is the Taikang County you govern!! You dog, you have violated the doctrine and are greedy for money, you truly deserve to die!"
Today I will…”
Halfway through his sentence, the voices of the surrounding people came through, and they were quite loud.
"Vice Leader, no! Mr. Liu has been very kind to us..."
Then came a chorus of discussion.
"How could this cult leader be like this? We finally had some peace and quiet, and now he's causing trouble again..."
"Yes, life is much more hopeful now than before. Vice Leader, don't listen to that scoundrel's nonsense..."
"Wang Dacai lies at home all day, slacks off at work every day, but eats more than anyone else at mealtimes..."
"Exactly! After finishing his meal, he ran back to the city and, while everyone else was out working, he started stealing chickens and dogs. In my opinion, he should be beaten to death!"
"We finally caught him red-handed, and now a high-ranking official is protecting him? What kind of world is this?!"
"Does he have no regard for the law? If there's no law, then I'll just go steal and rob tomorrow..."
"That's right, that's right! Lord Xu said that robbing people isn't a crime. From now on, everyone's just going to rob people, so stop working! If you go out to work, I'll come and rob your house, and see what you do then..."
"Who can argue with that..."
.....
Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Ma Luping's face turned a mixture of red and blue.
"You've all rebelled, haven't you?! We brothers risked our lives to lead this uprising and even shared our spoils with you, and you don't appreciate it? You want to be our dogs?!"
Ma Luping's fierce aura swept around, his eyes wide with rage.
Seeing his ferocity, the surrounding people all shut their mouths and quickly retreated.
At that moment, a voice came from the street.
"Who is it that wants to cause trouble in my Taikang County?"
As the sound reached them, the crowd of people were overjoyed and quickly made way for them.
"Great! It's Lord Xu himself! We're saved!"
"Lord Xu, this so-called vice-leader is protecting this scoundrel Wang Dacai! You must do me justice!"
"Lord Xu, be careful, this person is very powerful..."
"Master Xu..."
.....
Xu Tianyi listened to the conversations of some of the people around him and roughly understood what had happened.
He waited at the county government office for a long time but no one came, so he came out to check.
Unexpectedly, I witnessed this scene immediately, and I felt somewhat annoyed.
"Quiet!!!"
Xu Tianyi's voice was incredibly loud, shaking the surrounding area.
The people looked at him with awe and fell silent instantly.
As the crowd parted, Ma Luping and his entourage came into view.
The other party seemed unaccustomed to riding horses and did not want to take a carriage, so the group of eleven walked.
However, even the weakest among them was a late-stage Grand Martial Master.
As Xu Tianyi approached step by step, Ma Luping's eyes sharpened.
He was very unhappy because, in theory, he was the leader of the Valley God Cult.
Now, with the emergence of a princess and a prince consort, his power has been threatened.
In a sense, the Valley God Sect was rebelling under the guise of the Crown Prince.
In reality, he was the true leader of the Valley God Sect who made the decisions; Yu Linglong only gave orders occasionally, and only appeared once or twice.
As his displeasure began to spread, he wanted to give Xu Tianyi a taste of his own medicine and let him know who was really in charge of the Valley God Sect.
Immediately, his aura surged, and an invisible pressure swept towards Xu Tianyi.
It's important to understand that momentum and aura are not the same thing.
"Aura" refers more to an invisible sense of pressure.
Just like a poor person walking into the county government office, they will naturally feel the oppression from those in power.
Among grandmasters, the way to judge strength is usually by first looking at their aura.
If the other person makes you feel inferior to them, then it's very likely that they are somewhat stronger than you.
Ma Luping's aura was like that of a gang leader who had been killing people for years—ruthless, brutal, dictatorial, and cunning, giving people the feeling that he would be dragged to the bottom of a pond at any moment.
This imposing aura even frightened Xu Tianyi.
Even Gu Qinghan, who was standing next to her, was frightened.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Tianyi knew that in terms of aura, he could hardly compare with his opponent, after all, he had not yet reached the level of a grandmaster.
The opponent is older and has definitely experienced a lot of battles. If you are not as imposing as the opponent, you have to make use of your strengths.
"How dare you! You have seen the Princess and her husband here, why don't you kneel down?!"
Xu Tianyi's voice was incredibly loud.
Upon hearing his reprimand, Ma Luping's imposing manner suddenly diminished.
Then, Liu Qingfeng was the first to kneel down.
"Welcome, Princess! Welcome, My Lord!"
Then, rows of people knelt down.
"Welcome, Princess! Welcome, My Lord!"
"Welcome, Princess! Welcome, My Lord!"
...
The voices grew louder and more unified.
Xu Tianyi didn't mind these people kneeling down, because they didn't yet have the right to stand up.
To stand upright, one must be literate or understand principles and be loyal; only then can one become a good citizen of the sixth rank within Xu Tianyi's policies.
If you enslave them while leading them to a better life, they will surely turn into ingrates if you treat them too well all at once.
That's why they say they're all troublemakers and lowly people...
As many people knelt down, Ma Luping and his group looked at Xu Tianyi alone.
His momentum crumbled.
He wanted to use his years of fighting experience, his advanced cultivation, and his superior skills to intimidate Xu Tianyi.
Xu Tianyi countered him by using his absolute status, absolute authority, and absolute home ground advantage.
The identities of the eldest princess and her consort were enough to suppress him, the leader of the Valley God Sect and the nominal subordinate of the crown prince.
Xu Tianyi felt a sense of relief, as he could actually sense the other party's unease and hesitation.
He chuckled, and a sudden feeling arose in his heart that the other person was nothing special.
"Vice Master Ma, why don't you kneel before the Princess? Could it be that you are disloyal to the Crown Prince and intend to become a true traitor?"
Ma Luping trembled, feeling extremely unwilling, and then gave up entirely.
"I am loyal to the leader! The leader instructed us to save the people according to the prince's wishes, but never said that any princess would come. Besides, it is not even certain whether you are the so-called princess!"
His close confidants also spoke up.
"Yeah, they might just be imposters popping up from somewhere!"
"That's right, I could also say I'm a prince, would you believe me?"
"Haha, these fools, they believe anything you say. If you ask me, Master Ma is actually the Crown Prince's sworn brother..."
"That makes sense, that makes sense. In that case, wouldn't such a beautiful young lady have to call the sect leader 'Uncle'?"
"Haha...you're right..."
As soon as he finished speaking, a blast of ice struck, startling Ma Luping, who immediately struck it with his palm.
"Snapped!!"
The ice shattered, carrying with it fragments of Ma Luping's wood-based magic as it swept past the two or three brocade-clad protectors behind him who were spouting wild words.
Three screams rang out, and Ma Luping stared in disbelief at Gu Qinghan, who had merely raised her hand to strike.
Gu Qinghan was also somewhat surprised. Although she had acted out of hatred, she had never expected the effect to be so good.
You should know that at that time, Ma Luping's imposing manner had already instilled fear in her.
If I were to encounter him on the road and see his imposing presence, I would certainly flee for my life and would never dare to fight him head-on.
But why, why couldn't he completely withstand my angry attack?
This is completely illogical. How could a grandmaster be defeated by a newly promoted grandmaster like himself?
In the past, Gu Feixue, Liu Lian, Ning Hongye, Tang Yi, and Hei Wuchang were all powerful masters.
I can't beat either of them.
Now a powerful and imposing grandmaster suddenly appears, only to be defeated by him in a single move?
Gu Qinghan turned to look at Xu Tianyi: "Am I that strong?"
Xu Tianyi never expected that the other party was just all show and no substance.
He gave Gu Qinghan a thumbs up, then turned to look at Ma Luping indifferently.
"Now that you've witnessed the power of icy true energy, it's time for you to kneel down!"
Ma Luping felt a mix of resentment and fear.
Does he not know his own level?
My skills are inferior, and I haven't spent as much time cultivating as others.
Simply put, he had only known Yu Linglong for a few years.
He changed his cultivation method and used the spiritual medicine given to him by Yu Linglong, which is how he achieved the cultivation level of a Grandmaster.
Among the grandmasters, he was only a second-grade grandmaster.
His cultivation level was superficial, and his techniques were not perfect or suitable enough.
Compared to someone like Gu Qinghan, whose cultivation method is perfectly compatible, who has cultivated true qi for more than fifteen years, and whose cultivation method is of a high grade and whose martial arts skills are formidable.
He was just a rogue cultivator who had some extraordinary encounters.
She's not even a genius rogue cultivator, so how can she be compared to a sect's holy maiden?
He considered bowing his head, but still refused, saying, "The leader never gave such an order. I will only kneel before the leader! No one else, not even the emperor himself, can do so!"