Chapter 114: Extermination and Development

A moment later, Deng Xiaolin arrived at the brightly lit assembly hall.

The seating in the hall was orderly; just as he sat down on the tiger-skin armchair in the main seat, his son Deng Baichuan walked in quickly from outside with a burly man and a bewitching woman who was past her prime, saying:

"Dad, I've called Incense Master Hu and Incense Master Bai over. The other two Incense Masters aren't at their stations, but I've already sent people to notify them; they should be able to rush back in a little while."

"Good."

Deng Xiaolin nodded: "You two sit down. We'll notify everyone together once they're all here, to save having to say it twice."

Having absolutely no idea why Deng Xiaolin had summoned them so late, the two Incense Masters, a man and a woman, looked at each other, then sat down in the lower seats.

And indeed, it did not take long.

Two more men with bulging temples hurried back from outside the hall; seeing Deng Xiaolin in the main seat, they immediately bowed and saluted:

"Gang Leader, I don't know what orders you have for summoning us back so urgently?"

Deng Xiaolin raised his hand to let the two sit, then said slowly:

"I have gathered you all together naturally because there is an important matter to announce. I have decided that from today on, Yulong Hall will abandon all business with the foreigners. Opium distribution, human trafficking—all trades that are harmful to Heaven and reason are to be stopped completely; you are not allowed to touch them again."

What?

Suspecting they had misheard, Deng Baichuan and the four Incense Masters present were all stunned, looking at each other.

Seeing that Deng Xiaolin's expression was solemn and not like he was joking, Deng Baichuan at the side was the first to speak in shock and suspicion:

"Dad, what do you mean by this? These businesses are the lifeblood of our hall. To abandon them is equivalent to crippling our own Martial Arts. Are you drunk?"

Deng Xiaolin said coldly:

"Do I look like I'm drunk to you? I have no time to joke with you. I have already destroyed all the opium in the warehouse. From this moment on, our Yulong Hall will officially abandon these filthy businesses and completely switch to legitimate ones. Even if we can't benefit the country and the people, at least we must benefit the local area and not let the commoners of Jinjin point at our spines!"

???

Looking at the high-sounding, righteous Deng Xiaolin in the main seat, everyone felt a sense of absurdity and mental confusion.

Yulong Hall had been doing these shady opium businesses for at least ten or twenty years, and Deng Xiaolin had been doing them even before he was the leader of Yulong Hall. Now he was actually telling them they were going to switch to legitimate business and benefit the local area?

This was as ridiculous as a tiger not eating meat and starting to chant Buddha's name.

"Gang Leader, did you really destroy the goods in the warehouse?"

An Incense Master with triangular eyes could not hold back and asked in shock:

"Those were all new goods just imported from Sunlight Country, worth over a hundred thousand Silver Yuan, and they had long been reserved by merchants from various provinces!"

Another Incense Master with a goat-like beard also said hurriedly:

"Gang Leader, you must not joke. Stopping the human trafficking is one thing, but the opium is currently Yulong Hall's biggest source of income. If we stop this business, how will the brothers below live? Our hall, not counting the peripheral thugs, has a full three thousand brothers registered after burning incense to the ancestors. We spend tens of thousands of Silver Yuan every month just on food and expenses; how can we afford that without the income?"

Another man with dark skin and a gloomy face said with dissatisfaction:

"What do you mean by 'stopping the human trafficking is one thing'? There is a severe shortage of labor in the New Continent of Xizhou right now, and one head can sell for thirty Silver Yuan. My hundreds of brothers rely on this business to live; how can you just say stop?"

"That's right, Master Deng."

Among the four Incense Masters, the only bewitching woman also said in a coquettish voice:

"Ever since the opium came in, the business at my brothels has improved a lot. How could I not distribute several hundred catties a month? If that's gone, the money I earn in a month will be greatly reduced, and after deducting the tribute, how are my girls supposed to live?

Besides, by rashly stopping the opium business like this, wouldn't you be offending the foreigners at the Consulate too? Although our Cao Gang has a large family and a big business, we are no match for the foreign masters..."

In an instant, his own son and all four Incense Masters expressed their opposition. Seeing this scene, Deng Xiaolin also felt an incomparable headache.

Unlike the other two halls, Yulong Hall relied on crooked business to grow to such a point. He was, of course, very clear that banning the opium and human trafficking business was equivalent to slashing his own main artery.

But now, Lu Yuan, this Immortal who had descended to the world, was hiding his figure and standing behind him. His life was in the other party's hands, and he could only agree to any request.

Not to mention that he still needed to do his best to please the other party and satisfy them, so as to plot for the Immortal cultivation method the other party possessed.

"Enough!"

Immediately, his eyes turned fierce, and he swept his gaze, filled with killing intent:

"I am notifying you, not asking for your opinions. I have said what I needed to say; if any of you don't listen, don't blame me for being heartless! I will only give you three days to handle this. After three days, if anyone still has these filthy businesses left, I will have someone else sit in their Incense Master seat!"

Once these words were spoken, everyone's expression turned stern.

The Cao Gang was a place that nakedly practiced the principle that whoever had the biggest fist was right. As a Six Realms Martial Arts Master, Deng Xiaolin was absolutely the strongest in Yulong Hall and possessed absolute prestige and control. These Incense Masters, who had barely reached Blood Refining, had no power to resist.

Thus, under Deng Xiaolin's murderous and threatening gaze, the four Incense Masters could not help but lower their heads, saying nothing, using silence to express their opposition.

Deng Baichuan also said urgently at this moment:

"Dad, with such an arrangement, let alone these four Incense Masters, even I find it hard to understand. If the brothers below find out, it will cause huge turmoil and bring about unimaginable consequences. You must think thrice!"

Seeing the attitude of the four Incense Masters and that his own son was openly opposing him, Deng Xiaolin, who had bitter words he could not speak, was incredibly annoyed. Just as he was about to rebuke them, Lu Yuan's voice floated out from the side:

"Gang Leader Deng, these four subordinates of yours are very disobedient..."

As the voice came out, Deng Xiaolin's expression suddenly stiffened.

And below, Deng Baichuan and the four Incense Masters were all startled, looking at the source of the voice simultaneously:

"Who!?"

"What person!?"

However, under their gaze.

There was clearly no one beside Deng Xiaolin, yet a slightly cold, low laugh still came:

"Gang Leader Deng, since they are disobedient, let me handle them for you."

Chi chi chi chi!

Before the words had faded, four golden rays flashed through the air almost simultaneously. The four Incense Masters, who were still sitting in their seats looking over in shock, only felt a sudden pain in their throats, and then their vision spun, and they slammed heavily to the ground.

Before losing consciousness, they were shocked to see their own bodies still maintaining a sitting posture, but their heads were missing, and a rain of blood was spraying wildly from their severed necks!

"Ah!"

The four powerful Fifth Realm Incense Masters instantly turned into headless corpses. Deng Baichuan, who was closest, immediately let out a horrified scream and stumbled back.

Deng Xiaolin on the tiger-skin armchair was also wildly shocked; he stood up abruptly and looked at his side in terror:

"Immortal Lu, this is..."

Before the words were finished, a hiss!

A fierce golden light that seemed to want to tear the soul apart reflected into his eyes, and he also felt a sharp pain in his throat; he subconsciously raised his hand to cover his neck, but clearly felt that a large hole had been torn open in his throat, and fresh blood surged out incessantly like a spring.

So, he never intended to let me go at all.

The strength in his whole body drained rapidly, his eyes filled with a trace of resentment, fear, and despair; he managed to emit a gurgling sound from his throat, and his body fell backward powerlessly.

As he fell to the ground, in his final field of vision, he faintly saw a flash of golden light in the void again; his son, Deng Baichuan, in extreme terror, had no time to flee or counterattack, and just like him, had his throat pierced through, collapsing to the ground in convulsions.

Not knowing if it was regret or something else, his mouth moved with difficulty, and finally, his gaze froze, and he died of breathlessness.

With this, all six people in the auditorium were executed.

Amidst the thick, bloody stench, Lu Yuan also revealed his figure, his face wearing a cold sneer.

The reason for going to such great lengths to make a special trip to Yulong Hall was, on one hand, to loot Deng Xiaolin's personal wealth as startup capital, and on the other hand, to conveniently eliminate the evil ringleader and wipe them all out in one net.

Although it is impossible to cleanse the world in one go, it can at least buy a moment of peace.

Afterwards.

Without lingering too long, Lu Yuan used the Earth Shaping Technique to sink all the corpses deep underground, then performed the Wind Riding Technique to rise with the wind and left this place.

Time passed in a flash.

Not long after Lu Yuan left, patrolling Yulong Hall gang members discovered the anomaly inside while passing by the auditorium.

Although the corpses had already been sunk underground, the pools of blood on the ground indicated that something unusual had happened here; the patrolling gang members were extremely panicked and immediately went to find their leaders to notify them.

However, after searching bitterly, neither the two Incense Masters who should have been stationed at the base, nor the decision-makers, Deng Xiaolin and his son, were anywhere to be found, triggering no small amount of chaos and panic.

And at the same time.

Lu Yuan had already flown back to the small courtyard where he lived, riding the wind.

As a result, before he even landed, he saw a group of government soldiers appearing in his small courtyard with his superhuman eyesight.

He identified them slightly, his heart stirred, and he immediately landed on the street outside, then withdrew the Invisibility Technique and walked into the small courtyard on foot.

Just as he walked into the courtyard, he saw several government soldiers in the front yard holding lanterns, searching for something; upon hearing the movement, they turned their heads and saw Lu Yuan walking in, and they immediately let out joyful shouts:

"It's Mr. Lu!"

"Commandant Fan, Mr. Lu has returned!"

Hearing the report.

In the corridor, he saw Gu Kanshan's disciple, Fan Zhenxiong, walking out in a rush, looking at Lu Yuan and asking in surprise:

"Mr. Lu, I just received a report from my subordinates that there was intense gunfire here, so I immediately brought people over. What happened just now? Was it people from Sha'e or Sunlight Country who came to retaliate?"

Nearly half a month had passed since Lu Yuan set up the fighting ring, and both Gu Kanshan and he were worried that the Sha'e and Rizhao Consulate, having suffered a great loss in front of everyone, would likely not let the matter rest.

Therefore, although only a very small number of people knew Lu Yuan's residence, he still left men here to keep watch, ready to provide support and assistance at any time.

And half an hour ago, he received a report from his subordinates stating that there had been intense gunfire here, followed by someone setting a fire.

This sounded extremely unusual, so he hurriedly brought men to the small courtyard where Lu Yuan lived at the first opportunity; receiving no response to his calls, he immediately led his men to break in, only to find a large amount of blood and bullet holes in the courtyard, but no corpses or any trace of Lu Yuan.

Without a doubt, this must have been a retaliation carried out by assassins from either Sha'e or the other side; he had originally been extremely worried that Lu Yuan had met with some misfortune, but now he finally felt relieved.

"Commandant Fan has eyes like torches."

Lu Yuan smiled and said:

"Indeed, someone came to the door, but it wasn't one side; it was a joint force from both the Sha'e and Rizhao Consulate, but they have all been dealt with by me."

"A joint force from both sides?"

Fan Zhenxiong was startled and lowered his voice:

"These two sides actually colluded? I understand; they must have felt that neither side had absolute certainty alone... How many people came, and how were the corpses handled?"

Lu Yuan said casually: "I didn't count carefully, about ten or so; they have all been taken care of by me, and no one will ever be able to find the corpses."

Fan Zhenxiong remained inevitably shocked after hearing this:

"The foreigners who came to assassinate must be the elite of the elite, yet Mr. Lu was able to crush them while remaining completely unscathed; you are truly a celestial being!"

As someone in charge of the defense of Jinjin, he knew clearly that the weapons and equipment of the great powers were far more advanced than those of the Jin Dynasty.

Judging from the large area of bullet holes on the wall that almost pierced through it, he was certain that these assassins were all equipped with Machine Short Guns, known for their fierce firepower, which even ordinary people had a chance of using to kill a Fifth Realm Martial Artist.

And it was foreseeable that the experts from both Sha'e and Rizhao had personally experienced Lu Yuan's methods in the ring, so those sent must have been great experts and combat elites, and they must have formulated a rigorous assassination plan.

Machine Short Guns paired with elite experts—this was a configuration capable of surrounding and killing a Martial Arts Grandmaster.

Yet, despite such an arrangement, Lu Yuan, who was the target, was completely unharmed, and he had even crushed and killed the attackers, then destroyed the bodies in such a short time—it was unimaginable how it was done.

Lu Yuan did not explain too much, only saying:

"Just luck. However, among these foreign and Japanese thieves I killed, there seem to be two high-ranking figures. I wonder if they will use this to make trouble later?"

"Use this to make trouble? Do they even have the face?"

Fan Zhenxiong said angrily:

"Mr. Lu, rest assured. The fact that they crossed the Concession with firearms to assassinate you is already a serious violation of the rules, not to mention that they were all crushed by you. I doubt they would dare to bring this matter out into the open."

Lu Yuan nodded: "That is good."

In reality, he now had the full ability to kill his way into the Concession and slaughter all the foreigners in the consulate.

But if he did that, it would likely trigger a world war, causing the three great powers to attack together.

With his current methods, he could certainly come and go as he pleased, but it would cause a massive mess while plunging the people into misery, which did not align with his original plan.

After all, his current cultivation had not yet reached the level where he could go "invincible" in a large-scale war and make the whole world bow down, so he still needed to continue developing for a while.

(End of this chapter)