Chapter 482: Riots, Power Intimidation, and Submission

Xia Hong did not know how many Cold-Resistant cultivators there were in total in Yanling City.

Such cultivation data involved the secrets of the fanzhen; typically, only a handful of core elites knew them, and ordinary people could at best estimate.

Xia Hong had only been in Yanling Commandery for a month, and to prevent his identity from being exposed, he had never left Jiang Mansion the entire time—naturally, he could not estimate.

But while he could not estimate, Ji Hong, who had lived there for three years, could.

Ji Hong had already told him the situation in Yanling Commandery.

Yanling Commandery’s total population was over 2.8 million, with 1.8 million in the commandery city and the remaining one million scattered across the entire commandery; counting all military forces stationed throughout the region, including the city, the total number of Cold-Resistant cultivators exceeded 250,000.

Of these more than 250,000 Cold-Resistant cultivators, three-fifths were permanently stationed in the commandery city, so the Cold-Resistant population of the city alone was roughly over 150,000.

With 1.8 million people living in the commandery city and 150,000 Cold-Resistant cultivators, they made up about one-twelfth of the total population—not many, not few.

Once humans broke through to the Cold-Resistant realm, they could move about under sunlight, no longer needing to hide during the day, and naturally, their routines changed.

Typically, Cold-Resistant cultivators slept during the final four watches of the night, waking as dawn approached to begin daytime activities.

This schedule, upon closer thought, was actually reasonable.

In Bingyuan, daylight lasted only two watches, while night stretched to ten; after nightfall, all humans below Cold-Resistant level began their activities—hunting, gathering, laboring—while Cold-Resistant cultivators, as their pillars, had to accompany or lead them, naturally unable to sleep soundly.

Moreover, cold beasts were naturally drawn to cold; influenced by daytime cold light, temperatures in the first half of the night were lower, and cold beasts became more active, making hunting during this time yield far greater rewards than usual.

The dividing line for human daily rhythms was the Cold-Resistant realm.

Humans below Cold-Resistant level, for greater safety outdoors and to avoid daytime cold light, based their routines on those of the Cold-Resistant, the only difference being they gained two extra daytime watches and slept longer.

Thus, in the final four watches before dawn, nearly everyone was deep in slumber.

Xia Hong’s sudden eruption at Jiang Mansion occurred less than two watches before dawn—the very moment when the entire city slept the deepest.

“Today I will kill you—even if Governor Chu comes, he cannot save you!”

Xia Hong’s final words were not only arrogant but deliberately amplified in volume; though Jiang Mansion lay on the outer edge of eastern city, nearby were many aristocratic mansions, and many were instantly awakened.

Boom…………

Nighttime fires in the city were already numerous; those awakened quickly ordered servants to light torches, and instantly the area around Jiang Mansion blazed with light, while over a dozen figures swiftly rose into the air, staring intently toward Jiang Mansion.

Crash!

“It’s Lord Jiang!”

“Attacking in the city? Are you mad?”

“Someone wants to kill him?”

“Lord Jiang is a retainer of Marshal Chen’s household!”

“No, there are many people in Jiang Mansion—look.”

“It’s Grand Heir Chu Xuanfeng!”

“Grand Heir Chu Xuange and Grand Heir Ren Jie are here too.”

“Marshals Zhao and Chen are here as well—and even the Commandery’s Xianyang-level cultivators have arrived!”

“Several heads of the Six Departments have come too!”

…………

The awakened Xianyang-level cultivators around them, seeing Jiang Xinfan hovering in midair, spitting blood, surrounded by over fifty Xianyang-level cultivators, were filled with shock and disbelief.

Shhh…………

Just as they hesitated, a Star River sword qi erupted from the main tower of Jiang Mansion, ignoring all the Xianyang-level cultivators and shooting straight toward Jiang Xinfan in the center.

“Audacious villain, stop at once!”

At the sight of the Star River sword qi, Chu Xuanfeng’s expression hardened, his pupils flashing with terror—but seeing Xia Hong’s strike, he still made no retreat, roaring in fury as he drew his sword and blocked before Jiang Xinfan.

Simultaneously, the fifty-plus men who had come with him that night all drew their weapons and rushed toward Xia Hong from both sides.

Not only weapons—some arms suddenly extended dozens of meters like ropes, lashing toward Xia Hong; others hurled empty hands, conjuring invisible spears that shot toward Xia Hong’s brow; some lightly tapped their swords, sending forth blue sword qi that reached Xia Hong’s face in an instant; others puffed out their chests, inhaling deeply before exhaling a torrent of black wind that swept toward Xia Hong…

Clearly, these men had known Xia Hong’s true strength before arriving, so when he erupted to kill, they immediately unleashed their most potent techniques.

“Worthless chickens and dogs, dare to block me!”

Facing more than fifty men, Xia Hong showed no fear; instead, a look of arrogant defiance appeared on his face—he ignored the dozens of strange techniques, and as the Star River sword qi howled over a hundred meters, in an instant he stood before Chu Xuanfeng.

Shhh…………

The blade arrived before the man.

The blade surged forward, Xia Hong’s skeletal energy exploding fully; the blade’s original width of three to four meters suddenly expanded to over ten meters, instantly shattering all the supernatural techniques of dozens of Xianyang-level cultivators in Yanling City, their bodies slashed by spreading sword qi, faces reddening, some weaker ones spitting blood, eyes wide with terror.

Chu Xuanfeng, at the forefront, was no exception.

He was the one who had just summoned the blue sword qi; his blue sword qi, facing Xia Hong’s Star River blade, could not even slow it down, let alone stop it—it shattered instantly.

Puh… crack…

The blade pierced straight through his body; not only flesh and skin, but even his bones were split open. Chu Xuanfeng’s pupils trembled violently, the scent of death filling his nostrils, his face flushing crimson as he reeled backward to flee.

But surprisingly, though Chu Xuanfeng was weak, his mind was sharp—he did not flee alone, but dragged Jiang Xinfan behind him.

“Stop him!”

He gave the order, and the dozens of Xianyang-level cultivators just scattered instantly obeyed, rushing back to surround Xia Hong.

Meanwhile, the Xianyang-level cultivators watching from around Jiang Mansion surged forward; not only them, but the entire eastern district, including the commandery’s inner administrative district, gradually rose over a hundred powerful auras, swiftly flying toward Jiang Mansion in the east.

“Your pitiful strength dares to protect him!”

Xia Hong wore the Zhu Mu mask, revealing a plain, middle-aged face; seeing all the Xianyang-level cultivators of the city converge, he showed no panic—instead, his temper seemed to flare further. With a roar, his body shot forward, and the next instant he stood behind Chu Xuanfeng.

Crash!

This time Xia Hong did not draw his sword—he kicked Chu Xuanfeng in the back.

“76 jūn base strength, plus 50% from the Sacred Mark: 114 jūn; add the maximum skeletal boost from Burnt Bone Pill: 171 jūn; even without the Perfect-level Che Tian Sword Art, just using the Hua Jing Long Fist with a 30% power boost, my strength reaches over 220 jūn—what do you think you can escape with?”

Surrounded by dozens of Xianyang-level cultivators with so many strange techniques, Xia Hong still found it somewhat taxing without using Su Hua Shen Guang, so his first strike was immediately Che Tian Sword Art, unleashing his full strength.

The Perfect-level Che Tian Sword Art, like all martial arts, boosted his strength by 50%; thus, his first strike delivered a power of 256 jūn—that was the confidence behind his ability to ignore those strange techniques and drive back over fifty Xianyang-level cultivators with a single sword.