Secular Immortal of the Nine Realms - Chapter 128
Chapter 128: I Deserve My Loss
Xian Wuchang was taken aback. He hurriedly made his own statement to rally the other martial artists to his side, “Don’t be fooled by him! You can be certain that he will come after those who are here today. He won’t let you go even if you retreat now!”
Some of the sects were wavering, but those words dispelled their cowardice.
However, there were also sects who disagreed with Xian Wuchang’s methods, and they didn’t hesitate to make their choice.
“Our Bear Mountain Sword Sect refuses to take part in the rebellion,” the Bear Mountain Sect Master declared before leading his disciples over to the Profound Saber Sect’s side.
With him taking the lead, a few other sects decided not to partake in the rebellion too. All in all, they numbered around 800 martial artists.
However, this isn’t enough to turn the tides.
Xian Wuchang breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to the defected sects and sneered, “You have made the wrong choice today. You can be certain this will bring a calamity upon your sects.”
“I’ll presume the rest of you have made up your mind to rebel?” Fang Chen asked.
A martial artist bellowed, “You’re determined to deal with us even if we don’t rebel! If so, we’d rather fight to our dying breath!”
“Yes, that makes sense.” Fang Chen nodded.
The Moonsunk Gold Truncheon had appeared in his hand at some point. He lightly tapped it on the ground, and a terrifying flood of spirit ki gushed outward.
The ground tore apart like a wave charging at Xian Wuchang and the others. The spirit ki was like an army of thousand cavalrymen, obliterating everything that stood in its path. None of the martial artists had any time to react before they were wiped clean.
There wasn’t even the slightest trace of blood or flesh left of them.
This force rippled for almost a kilometer away, destroying everything in its path, be it humans, plants, or land. The only thing left in its wake was a giant hole.
4000 martial artists died in a single move.
The world fell silent.
Huangfu Jie and the others were in disbelief. Fang Chen’s means far surpassed their wildest imagination.
“I-is this the power of an Earth Profound martial artist?” The Bear Mountain Sect Master was appalled.
Zhong Ying and the others looked at Fang Chen with a weird feeling of dissonance. I would have never expected the gentle Imperial Duke Fang who traveled here with us would actually possess such brutal means!
This attack didn’t cause the slightest noise. None of the disappeared martial artists had the time to scream in agony. It was ever so peaceful, such that it didn’t even alarm the birds in the forest.
Yet, the only word that they found apt to describe this situation was ‘savage’.
Thousands of people vanished in an instant. Just what kind of terrifying means was this?!
Those martial artists who were fortunate to have survived the attack were dazed for several seconds before they snapped out of it. There were no other emotions left in their eyes other than utter fear. They had lost their fighting will.
How could they oppose something like this? The enemy had eradicated thousands of their people with just a single strike. Even the powerful sect masters weren’t able to fight back at all!
“Kneel down,” Fang Chen ordered.
Nearly all of the survivors immediately kneeled down. Other than the surviving members of the Greatsword Gate, there was hardly anyone who dared to continue standing.
“So… this is an Earth Profound martial artist?” Xian Wuchang was rendered speechless.
“Earth Profound martial artists are no more than ants in my eyes.” Fang Chen shook his head.
“Ssss!”
Be it Xian Wuchang or Huangfu Jie, all of them gasped in shock. Has Fang Chen’s martial cultivation reached such a high level that even Earth Profound martial artists are ants to him?
“I deserve my loss.” Xian Wuchang looked bitter. A second later, he changed his tone and said, “Imperial Duke Fang, I have lost, but the southern region is still the southern region. You can’t hope to change it.”
“They won’t oppose me,” Fang Chen said. “All humans fear death.”
Xian Wuchang’s face turned ghastly pale. Indeed, the southern region wouldn’t stand a chance against such terrifying prowess. Few would dare to oppose him…
“Kneel down.” Fang Chen looked at Xian Wuchang.
Xian Wuchang looked as if all energy had been sapped from him. He despondently kneeled onto the ground, and all of the disciples of the Greatsword Gate followed suit. They hung their heads in desolation, and their faces were pale.
“Haa…”
Some of the standing martial artists sighed and kneeled down too. They didn’t know what was awaiting them, but as long as there was a sliver of hope to survive, they wouldn’t give up on it.
“It’s over? Just like that?” Quite a few of the Profound Saber Sect’s disciples were confused.
This should have escalated into one of the biggest battles ever seen in the southern region, but Fang Chen single-handedly suppressed it. This made the revolution look like a farce.
“Jue Panshi,” Fang Chen called out.
“I’m here!” Jue Panshi snapped out of his daze and ran up to Fang Chen’s side.
“I want a name list,” Fang Chen calmly ordered.
It took Jue Panshi a second to grasp what Fang Chen meant. He clenched his jaws and said, “Please give me three days, Imperial Duke Fang. I’ll deliver the name list to you by then!”
“Just three days.” Fang Chen nodded. He then turned to Huangfu Jie and asked, “Does your Profound Saber Sect have enough rations to feed these people?”
“We can head down the mountain to buy more if we don’t have enough,” Huangfu Jie replied.
“Good. Take them into custody.” Fang Chen nodded.
The Profound Saber Sect only had 500 people, and even when factoring those from the Bear Mountain Sword Sect and the others, they only had around 1300 people in total. It was no easy feat for 1300 people to take 3000 people into custody.
Fortunately, most of those martial artists had lost their fighting will. They just wanted to appear obedient in hopes that Fang Chen would spare their lives. He might show leniency since they didn’t even have time to really start their rebellion before it was quelled.
Huangfu Jie personally took Xian Wuchang into custody. When they passed by Fang Chen, the latter flicked his finger and crippled Xian Wuchang’s ki sea.
Xian Wuchang’s complexion swiftly turned increasingly pale, and he looked as if he had aged by a decade. The other sect masters who were being taken into custody were horrified to see that.
They were relieved that Fang Chen didn’t do the same to them.
Fang Chen gave Jue Panshi three days to sort things out, but on the second day, many officials of the South Immortal Commandery visited the Profound Saber Sect to confess their crimes in hopes for a lighter sentence.
Some heard the news and hurriedly escaped from the southern region too.
Those who confessed to their crimes were those who weren’t deeply involved in this incident, whereas those who fled likely knew they would surely be executed if they stayed here.
Jue Panshi executed a few centurions across the Valiant Defenders’ barracks and took control of the ten thousand elite troops once more. He then ordered his aides to pursue the officials who escaped.
On the third day, Jue Panshi submitted a detailed name list to Fang Chen.
“Imperial Duke Fang, we have taken most of these people into custody. A few escaped, but I have ordered my men to pursue them. We should be able to capture them soon enough,” Jue Panshi reported.
Fang Chen browsed the name list and ticked twenty names. He then passed the list back to Jue Panshi and said, “Execute those whose names I have ticked. As for the rest, get them to reflect on their actions.”
Jue Panshi hurriedly nodded. “Yes, Imperial Duke Fang!”
