Chapter 597: Establishing Authority on the Cangyun Continent

Ye Liuyun also wasn't in a hurry to make Wu Qingcheng and the others stop.

Negotiating terms now is most advantageous for him. Once they pause, the other side will lose that tense pressure.

The Du Clan Chief saw that Ye Liuyun gave no order to stop, and understood his intention.

"It seems a clean finish this time is impossible!"

At that moment he said outright, "The Du family's Treasure Vault is open to you; take whatever you like! Stop right now!"

Hearing that, the Du family members were all dumbfounded.

But none of them dared to object. Between extermination of the clan and all the wealth, survival was still more important.

Only then did Ye Liuyun let Wu Qingcheng and the others cease.

"Find someone to guide us!" Ye Liuyun said without any courtesy.

"I'll take you!" the Clan Chief thought briefly and voluntarily led Ye Liuyun to the Treasure Vault.

Ye Liuyun gave a slight smile and replied, "Fine, then I trouble the Clan Chief."

His Golden Pupil constantly monitored the Clan Chief's movements, in case of a sudden attack.

As Ye Liuyun expected, after the Clan Chief opened the Treasure Vault, he made a beckoning gesture toward Ye Liuyun. Though it seemed to invite Ye Liuyun to enter and pick freely, in fact various forces within him were gathering, ready to strike.

Ye Liuyun had sparred with Du Yuan before and knew the power of the Du family's fire eyes.

He also didn't intend to gamble by confronting the Du Clan Chief directly. So he initiated a Spiritual Soul Attack first, pulling the Clan Chief's Soul straight into the Soul realm.

"Your actions will leave you both penniless and lifeless!" Ye Liuyun's Golden Armor Soul sighed.

"Huh? You... what did you say? I don't understand!" the Du Clan Chief still tried to deny.

"You think killing me would leave no one to control the Skeleton Puppet, letting you turn the tables on us and resolve the Du family's crisis? Your thinking is spot on. Too bad you met me; you have no chance now!"

Ye Liuyun's Soul spoke and launched the attack outright.

When Ye Liuyun launched the attack, the Du Clan Chief finally realized how strong Ye Liuyun's Divine Soul Power was, far beyond what a Martial Cultivator of his level could resist.

He endured the excruciating pain of his Soul being scorched by Nether Ghost Fire and begged Ye Liuyun, "You may kill me, but can you spare the rest of the Du family?"

"On what grounds?" Ye Liuyun retorted, "Just because you tried to kill me and failed?"

"They are all innocent!" the Du Clan Chief muttered.

"Is that so? Then I'm innocent too? Just because I obtained a legacy, should you all come to kill me?" Ye Liuyun continued to retort.

"Alas, the path of martial cultivation has always been like this; a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure makes one guilty!" the Du Clan Chief tried to find an excuse.

"So only the strong get to decide? Now I'm stronger than you, I can give life or death; what regret do you have left? Just go die!"

Ye Liuyun ignored him, instead casually removed his Storage Ring and began stuffing every item from the Treasure Vault into the Storage Ring, leaving nothing behind.

After exiting, Ye Liuyun immediately ordered Wu Qingcheng and the others to resume their attack.

The Du family members, hearing Ye Liuyun's words, wore faces of sorrow and anger.

"Ye Liuyun, you took the wealth, why still demand total slaughter?"

"Is that so? Aren't you afraid of divine retribution for this?"

Even Lei Ming asked in confusion, "Little brother, you took something, and still want to kill?"

Ye Liuyun shouted, "When I went to the Treasure Vault just now, the Du Clan Chief struck me from the shadows, trying to kill me, but I eliminated him. Tell me, should I kill you?"

He paused, then said to the Du family, "I originally intended to spare you, but your Clan Chief was arrogant. So it wasn't me who killed you, it was your Clan Chief. If you want blame, blame him!"

"So that's it! Those Du people are truly detestable! Little brother spared you, and you still want to kill little brother!"

Upon hearing this, Lei Ming immediately flared up, manifesting his true form, and bolts of Blood Thunder rained down on the Du family. Long Nv also charged forward.

The Skeleton Puppet, under Ye Liuyun's command, struck at those Martial Cultivators of the Heavenly Gang Realm.

Bai Hu further acted without hesitation, slaughtering wildly. Being a ferocious beast who loves killing, he cares not for any reason; as long as Ye Liuyun orders him, he won't refuse.

Only Wu Qingcheng and Yu Er were uneasy. The two were soft-hearted and didn't want to keep killing the innocents.

"Act! Kill the chicken to warn the monkey. Letting them live this time will only embolden more to provoke me! If I don't establish authority, they'll think I'm easy to bully!"

Ye Liuyun remained unmoved, urging Wu Qingcheng and Yu Er to act.

He wanted to use the Du family to show everyone that those who dare provoke him will face this consequence.

Now he aims to establish his authority across the entire Cangyun Continent. He doesn't care about reputation; as long as his killing makes no one dare to provoke him, that's enough.

Otherwise, more people will covet his legacy and dare to challenge him.

Martial cultivation is exceedingly cruel. Since reason can't persuade, it comes down to who is more ruthless.

Only the ruthless are untouchable.

Wu Qingcheng and Yu Er exchanged a helpless glance, then gritted their teeth and continued to unleash Ice Power.

Su Miaoyin, Piao Yun, and Ru Yue also charged at the lower-level Martial Cultivators.

As the number of resisting Du Martial Cultivators dwindled, eventually the entire Du family was completely frozen.

With the Skeleton Puppet present, no one from the Du family escaped; even Du Yuan was frozen into an ice statue.

After the battle, Bai Hu and Magic Vine were busy breaking the ice statues and siphoning their power. Others were collecting the Storage Ring and searching for wealth.

Then everyone boarded the Flying Boat together, hurrying to Yan Palace.

Along the way, Wu Qingcheng, Yu Er, and Su Miaoyin were somewhat silent.

"Don't blame me for being too ruthless. If I'm not harsh, countless people like Du Jiangnan and Yan Jiu will trouble me. If they unite, we might be the unlucky ones!"

Ye Liuyun, not wanting them to misunderstand, began to explain.

"I intend this display of authority to deter others from scheming against us. Otherwise, killing will go on endlessly, and attacks will come from everywhere, impossible to defend against."

Wu Qingcheng nodded, "We understand the reasoning. Martial cultivation is indeed too cruel!"

Ye Liuyun exclaimed, "Indeed! Which supreme strongman doesn't stand on a pile of corpses?"

He then said to the women, "Kind people are exploited! Sometimes being a bit ruthless toward others actually makes oneself safer."

The women all nodded, showing their approval.

Ye Liuyun chatted with them again for a while, then had Wu Qingcheng take them to sort out the belongings.

Ye Liuyun let them choose whatever they fancied, no need to keep anything; only when something is used does it have value.