Chapter 161: High-Level Force, Subduing Others with Strength

Yu Hu stunned the City Guard the moment he appeared. Just when they should have been pressing their advantage to crush the opponent's momentum, he never expected that the Inspection Bureau, which should have been his own support, would suddenly "defect."

"Haha, interesting!"

Wei Ge could not help but burst into laughter.

He knew that in the current situation, it would be very difficult for a battle to break out today.

Yu Hu's gaze was filled with immense rage. He first looked at Wu Yihua, wishing he could curse him as a "useless waste" on the spot, before turning his eyes to Li Lei:

"You want my men to put down their guns? On what grounds?"

Li Lei looked straight at Yu Hu, showing no fear of his aura:

"On the grounds that I am a Captain of the Inspection Bureau! On the grounds of the imperial court's laws!"

"Haha!"

Yu Hu laughed upon hearing this.

"Do you know what the law is?"

"The law is power!"

"Do you have enough power to uphold your law?"

Yu Hu's voice was like a great bell, ringing out clearly for everyone present to hear.

He had once publicly told his subordinates in the Tiger Blade Gang:

"We are not some street gang; we represent Xingcheng!"

Although this statement was arrogant, it was, to a certain extent, the truth.

From the Deputy Chief down to the ordinary clerks in the Internal Affairs Bureau, the Cease-Arms Bureau, and the Inspection Bureau, the Tiger Blade Gang's influence permeated the Xingcheng government; it truly could represent Xingcheng to a certain degree!

Li Lei wanted to uphold the law in front of the Tiger Blade Gang, but he did not yet have the power to do so.

"A mere Captain."

Yu Hu looked at the epaulets on Li Lei's shoulders and sneered:

"In a riot today, it would be quite normal for a few subordinate officials to die."

The murderous intent in his words was plain to see!

From the moment this Tiger Blade Gang leader appeared, his attitude had been tough to the extreme!

"Leader Yu!"

Li Fei was worried that Li Lei would be provoked by Yu Hu's words into making an unwise move, so he stepped forward once again:

"I heard that your Tiger Blade Gang brought out all its elites today, yet your Private Secretary was still killed. It seems your Tiger Blade Gang's power is nothing more than this. Making such a scene now is merely the clamor of losers, inviting ridicule!"

These words struck a sore spot for Yu Hu. His tiger-like eyes filled with malice, and his gaze, as if tangible, crossed the distance of several dozen meters to land on Li Fei:

"A student from the Martial Arts Hall?"

He did not recognize Li Fei, but he was furious that his dignity had been challenged again:

"Young man, it takes power to speak. If you speak recklessly without the power to back it up, people die!"

For someone of Yu Hu's status to say such things to a Martial Arts Hall student was indeed difficult to refute.

Unless Li Fei revealed his true identity and said, "I am the Green-Faced Ghost, and I am the one who killed your Private Secretary," anything he said now would seem powerless.

"He has no power, but what about me?"

A voice suddenly rang out.

Yu Hu was startled and looked up toward the roof of a building on his right.

There stood a middle-aged man with a stern expression, wearing the gray lecturer's robe of the Martial Arts Hall and black leather gloves on his hands.

"Hao Yi?"

Yu Hu's expression finally changed.

The person who had arrived was one of the few Dao Foundation realm powerhouses in Xingcheng: Hao Yi!

Yu Hu could disregard others, but he could not disregard Hao Yi's voice.

He looked at Hao Yi and said in a deep voice:

"Does Mr. Hao also intend to interfere in today's affairs?"

"You just threatened my student; shouldn't I interfere?"

Hao Yi said coldly.

It was only when Yu Hu ordered the mobilization of the Martial Arts Hall members that Hao Yi noticed something was wrong.

He inquired and learned about what was happening in the Wuguang District, and fearing for Shangguan Xiao's safety, he rushed over.

He didn't encounter Shangguan Xiao, but he happened to arrive just as Yu Hu was threatening Li Fei.

"Oh?"

Yu Hu turned his head to look at Li Fei. "So you are Li Fei."

The incident with the Chen family and the incident with the Soul-Calming Sect were both related to Li Fei, so he had a deep impression of the name.

Li Fei ignored him and bowed to Hao Yi:

"Teacher."

Hao Yi nodded.

Yu Hu's eyes shifted, and he immediately said to Hao Yi:

"So he is Mr. Hao's student; that is truly a misunderstanding. Please rest assured, Mr. Hao, as long as he does not stand against my Tiger Blade Gang, my Tiger Blade Gang will naturally do him no harm."

"That is likely difficult."

As soon as Yu Hu finished speaking, Li Fei spoke up.

Yu Hu's expression changed; he turned his head and stared fixedly at the "ungrateful" Li Fei.

Li Fei pointed at Li Lei beside him:

"This Captain you just threatened is as close to me as a father; if you kill him, I will surely kill you!"

"Huh?"

Yu Hu laughed in disbelief.

He could no longer understand this world; a student from the Martial Arts Hall actually dared to say he would kill him to his face?

Yu Hu did not intend to engage in a verbal dispute with Li Fei any longer; he looked directly at Hao Yi:

"What does Mr. Hao intend to do today?"

Hao Yi looked at him and said unhurriedly:

"In case of emergencies, the Inspection Bureau may mobilize lecturers from the Martial Arts Hall to act in coordination. Today, hundreds of people are fighting in the Wuguang District, posing a serious threat to the safety of the citizens. Captain Li Lei has invited me to act in coordination to stop this fight."

Along the way, he had seen many innocent civilians lying dead on the roadside, all killed by stray bullets. This filled him with burning rage, and he felt a deep hatred for the Tiger Blade Gang and the City Guard who were fighting today!

Therefore, he stated directly that he had been invited by Li Lei; he wanted to ensure Li Fei's safety and stop this fight.

Li Lei was also quick to react. Seeing Hao Yi hand him the opening, he immediately said in a loud voice:

"That is correct. I did indeed invite Mr. Hao to assist our First Battalion in our operations!"

Yu Hu watched the two of them singing in harmony, his anger reaching its limit.

He stepped forward violently, crushing the stone slab beneath his feet into powder:

"Hao Yi! Do you think this old man is truly afraid of you?!"

With his angry shout, a terrifying aura erupted from his body!

In an instant, with Yu Hu at the center, a layer of visible frost began to spread from his feet, and the surrounding temperature plummeted.

It was only September, yet snow began to drift in the air!

In a teahouse, Yan Yichen, the Head of the Cease-Arms Bureau, who had been quietly drinking tea and having people gather information, suddenly stood up and looked in the direction where Yu Hu was "releasing his aura."

"Cold Malice Drifting Snow Force? Good, good, good!"

Yan Yichen said "good" repeatedly, but his expression grew increasingly gloomy:

"I was not wrong after all. Yu Hu, what a formidable talent for forbearance you have!"

He had been waiting in the Wuguang District without leaving, just to see what trump cards Yu Hu was hiding.

Now he finally saw it; Yu Hu himself was the greatest trump card!

After entering the mid-stage of Qi Transformation, a martial artist can highly condense their innate Qi and, depending on the characteristics of their implants, refine it into different types of force.

However, the force at this stage is only the most basic, such as Wei Ge's Geomagnetic Force or the Crimson Qilin Force of the late martial artist Wang Ping.

Only by stepping into the Dao Foundation realm and incorporating more implants can one fuse other types of innate Qi, thereby sublimating one's own force and refining it into high-level force.

Yu Hu was currently using his own power to change the weather in a small area, creating a scene of drifting snow; he was using high-level force—the Cold Malice Drifting Snow Force!

This type of force belongs to the Dao Foundation 【Cold River Snow】, and it can only be initially mastered after incorporating three types of implants.

This meant that Yu Hu was not only a Dao Foundation powerhouse but also one who had already completed the incorporation of three types of implants!

Even within the Dao Foundation realm, there is a world of difference in combat power between one who has just entered the realm and has not yet begun to incorporate a second implant, and one who has already incorporated three.

Yan Yichen had stepped into the Dao Foundation realm ten years ago, and it had taken him ten years to barely incorporate a third implant; even now, he had not yet cultivated that third implant to the "Qi Transformation stage" to produce innate Qi.

Therefore, he had not yet mastered any high-level force and had only used his second type of innate Qi to enhance his own Metal-Stone Force.

In the past, Yan Yichen had always been recognized as the number one expert in Xingcheng, and he had believed so himself.

Today, however, he had first lost to Shangguan Xiao, and now he discovered that Yu Hu's cultivation was actually above his own.

"Yu Hu!"

Yan Yichen recited the name again, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

On the street where the Inspection Bureau and the City Guard were in a standoff, Yu Hu's display of the Cold Malice Drifting Snow Force to create a snowy scene shocked everyone present.

Wei Ge looked in horror at Yu Hu, who was shrouded in snowflakes, feeling a lingering sense of fear.

He had always believed that he was the fifth-ranked expert in Xingcheng, and that apart from the few Dao Foundation powerhouses and the Chen family's ancestor—who was of unknown status—he was the strongest.

Originally, Yu Hu had appeared suddenly today intending to challenge his opponent publicly, thereby further damaging the reputation of the Tiger Blade Gang.

But now, he could only secretly rejoice that Hao Yi had appeared and forced out Yu Hu's true strength.

All this time, the strength Yu Hu had displayed to the outside world was only at the mid-stage of Qi Transformation, as a martial artist practicing internal force.

Although many people guessed he might be hiding his strength, they at most guessed he was at the peak of the Qi Transformation realm; no one had ever imagined he would actually be a powerhouse at the Dao Foundation realm, and one who had mastered high-level internal force at that!

Just as Yan Yichen had said, such a capacity for forbearance was truly formidable.

If it weren't for the death of Zhang Mingze today, the aggressive pressure from the Chief's faction, and Li Lei and Hao Yi stepping out to stir up trouble, Yu Hu would have continued to hide and would not have revealed this trump card so early.

"Hao Yi, others may not know, but I know that your martial foundation has suffered heavy damage. How much strength do you have left now? Do you really think this old man cannot kill you?!"

Once Yu Hu revealed his trump card, he immediately launched a powerful counterattack, once again releasing a bombshell of news.

"His martial foundation has suffered heavy damage?"

The crowd of martial artists and practitioners present all looked toward Hao Yi one after another.

The Dao Foundation realm is the stage for building one's martial foundation; if the martial foundation has suffered heavy damage, it basically means that this realm is very difficult to perfect.

Not only would one's cultivation realm stop progressing, but one's overall strength might also be greatly diminished.

If what Yu Hu said was true, then the deterrent power of Hao Yi as a Dao Foundation powerhouse would be greatly reduced.

Standing beside Li Lei, Li Fei heard these words from Yu Hu and immediately recalled that when he was absorbing the steel-armor implant, the special-grade instructor Wang Qitai had once said this when he came looking:

"Hao Yi, this implant is very important to me. If you want to rebuild the 【Steel Core】, I can find you a third-grade superior Golden Scale."

Looking at it this way, Hao Yi's Dao Foundation might have truly had problems, and what Yu Hu said was also true.

Thinking of this, Li Fei could not help but look at Hao Yi with worry, his brain spinning rapidly as he pondered how to break the deadlock.

There was one thing Yu Hu said that Li Fei actually agreed with:

"Speaking and acting both require power."

Whether it is to uphold the law, maintain one's philosophy, or defend one's own principles, one must first have sufficient power.

Now that Yu Hu possessed the greatest power on the scene, he represented the greatest truth!

(End of chapter)