Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 581 Roundup
Tiangang Gate.

The blue bricks of the training ground suddenly trembled. The thirty-six bare-chested disciples were unable to retract their fists in time. The force of their surging fists struck the suddenly solidified rock wall, and the recoil caused the disciples in the front row to stagger backward.

Instructor Zhou Dinghai frowned and pressed down on the iron ruler at his waist. Even with his late-stage Vajra Realm cultivation, he couldn't see through the mountain qi that had appeared out of nowhere.

"who--"

Zhou Dinghai gave a low shout and looked up ahead.

"boom--"

Seven figures in black and yellow shattered the screen wall of the mountain gate. With each step the burly man in the lead took, three inches of mountain-shaped patterns appeared on the bluestone floor tiles.

The twelve-foot stone pillar carried by the six disciples of the Mountain Sect behind them crashed into the ground, and a nine-foot rock platform instantly rose in the center of the training ground.

"Yue Qingcang?" Zhou Dinghai's expression changed upon seeing the person in the lead.

Elder of the Shanyue Sect, Zhenyue lineage.

"Instructor Zhou, you have quite the refined taste." Yue Qingcang's voice was like thunder, and the muscles under his black martial robe made the "Yue" character tattoo stand out. "The Marquis of Qingyang has ordered that the Zhou family members come to the Black Ice Platform for a chat."

Marquis Qingyang!
Marquis Qingyang's joining the Mountain and Mountain Sect made the already powerful sect in the Eastern Region even stronger.

In the martial arts world of the eastern border of the Great Qin Dynasty, most sects now have to give face to the Mountain Sect and the Azure Cloud Sword Sect, and dare not offend these two major sects.

Why would a big shot like Marquis Qingyang invite members of the Zhou family?
Could it be——

Zhou Dinghai's pupils contracted sharply, and his hand reached towards his waist.

The moment his palm touched the iron ruler, Yue Qingcang in front of him sneered and took a step forward.

"boom--"

The gravity in the entire training ground suddenly increased tenfold!
The thirty-six disciples knelt on the ground as if carrying a mountain, and the earth spirit seeping from the cracks in the blue bricks condensed into chains, nailing their feet firmly into the rock strata.

"Three years ago at the martial arts tournament, I remember Instructor Zhou was still at the peak of the Innate Realm?" Yue Qingcang stepped onto the stone platform, the thousand-foot mountain shadow behind him pressing the Tiangang Sect plaque into cracks. "Thanks to Marquis Qingyang, I just broke through to the Cave Profound Realm last month."

The rock platform suddenly flipped over, and the eighteen foot-long shadows that Zhou Dinghai struggled to unleash crashed into the mountain wall, only to have half of his sleeves sheared off by the swirling rubble.

Yue Qingcang made a fist with his right hand, and five rock pillars emerged from the earth's veins, transforming into a cage that locked Zhou Dinghai's vital points.

"Insolence!" With a low shout, the Third Elder of the Tiangang Sect arrived in a flash, his palm strike hitting Yue Qingcang's back but only shattering half a piece of his clothing. "The Mountain Sect is going too far..."

The old man stopped abruptly, staring at the lining of Yue Qingcang's martial robe that was revealed as he turned around.

On the dark background, the black patterns embroidered with gold thread exude a solemnity.

The standard military uniform of the Black Ice Guard!

Yue Qingcang's visit represents the Black Ice Guard!
The training ground suddenly fell into dead silence, and the seventy-two Qi-dying lanterns flickered uncertainly under the pressure of Yue Qingcang's released Mountain True Meaning.

Six disciples of the Mountain Sect stomped their feet simultaneously, and rock spikes that shot up from the ground precisely struck the throats of the thirty-six disciples.

“If the Third Elder wishes to obstruct us,” Yue Qingcang said, lifting the three-zhang-long rock cage with one hand, the earth spirit energy seeping from the gaps in the cage had already condensed into dragon-trapping nails, “he might as well ask Marquis Qingyang’s sword if he agrees.”

As the rock platform sank back into the earth's veins, the century-old locust tree at the edge of the training ground suddenly snapped in half.

The cross-section of the tree trunk is as smooth as a mirror, and the lingering traces of the knife can still be seen cutting through the annual rings.

Only after Xuanhuang's figure disappeared at the end of the official road did a disciple speak in a trembling voice: "Yue Qingcang was only at the Innate Realm three years ago..."

"The Mountain Sect is trying to use Qingyang Marquis's influence to turn the Eastern Jianghu upside down!" The Third Elder muttered to himself, clutching a broken branch, with new buds stubbornly emerging from the knife wound.

……

In Donghan County, on Zhuque Avenue, the gilded plaque of the Zhou Family Trading Company gleamed a dark red in the morning light. Three camel carts loaded with medicinal herbs had just been unloaded, and the shop assistants were shouting as they carried the jade boxes into the warehouse.

"Whoosh-"

The sound of something cutting through the air tore through the noise of the long street as nine black iron arrows pierced the bluestone paving stones, the trembling ice patterns on the arrow tails causing the camels and horses to neigh in alarm and their riders to stand on their feet.

Twelve figures in black robes descended from the eaves, their black iron chains weaving through the camel caravan like pythons, instantly ensnaring the axle.

"Black Ice Detective is handling a case; all non-essential personnel must stand aside!"

The scarred leader at the front swung his arm and threw out the black jade tiger tally, the chilling aura sending the guards who were trying to draw their swords flying three zhang away.

The gray-robed shopkeeper, who had just rushed out of the warehouse, reached for the communication jade talisman at his waist when his throat was pierced by an ice shard.

"The Zhou family's trading company was illegally selling military equipment; they took it all away."

The scarred commander crushed the blood-stained jade talisman with his foot, and the shards of glass reflected the pale faces of several aristocratic scions in the teahouse on the street corner.

"Crack!"

At the South City Wharf, the anchor chain of the Zhou family's cargo ship was cleaved by the Black Knights' heavy axes.

The accountant, who was attempting to jump into the river from the deck, was still in mid-air when he was entangled in a black iron chain like a fishing net.

"A water escape talisman?" The Zhou family retainer in the hidden stake at the dock had just crushed the jade talisman when his neck was suddenly covered with frost.

The commander of the Black Ice Guard emerged from the shadows, a half-burnt talisman frozen in the ice crystal floating in his palm: "A Golden Core cultivator? Take him back to the Imperial Prison for a thorough interrogation."

In the western part of the city, the defensive array of Zhou Family Pharmacy, which had just begun to glow with a blue light, was smashed to pieces by three heavy black iron shields that descended from the sky.

"You dare to mix three-hundred-year-old blood ginseng with rotten heart grass!" The Black Ice Platform alchemist crushed the medicine box in his hand, and the emerald green poisonous mist was frozen by the mysterious ice before it could spread.

The onlookers, mostly rogue martial artists, gasped as they stared at the poison pills scattered on the ground: "The Zhou family actually planted Gu worms in life-saving medicine?"

Beside the railing of the teahouse, the young man in brocade robes spilled his teacup without realizing it.

"Twelve properties seized at the same time... this is an attempt to uproot them!" He pointed in a trembling voice at the black-clad riders speeding through the street. "Look at the clan emblem on those prison carts!"

The woman in yellow across from him dug her fingertips into her palm: "Even Uncle Zhou, who guards the ancestral home, has been brought out. Is Marquis Qingyang going to massacre Donghan County?"

The old man with a sword sitting alone in the corner suddenly sneered: "The Zhou family mixed sand and gravel into the military rations when they controlled the canal transport. They deserved it!"

These words drew angry glares from several people in the private rooms on the second floor, but then they saw half of a black ice token peeking out from the old man's sleeve, and the entire room fell silent.

At the corner of the long street, the old man selling steamed buns banged the lid of his steamer over the corner.

"These bloodthirsty families should have been dealt with long ago!" He lowered his voice and said to the queuing diners, "Last month, Zhou Jiaqiang bought my nephew's medicinal herb field, and as soon as the officials from the Black Ice Bureau came, the land deed was returned on the spot!"

The woman carrying the basket nodded, her eyes red-rimmed: "When those beasts at Xuanwei Temple used my daughter to make medicine, the Zhou family steward even helped count the heads."

On the stone steps of the dock, several wandering knights stood with their arms crossed, watching the Zhou family's cargo ship gradually sink.

"I heard that Marquis Qingyang found irrefutable evidence of the Zhou family's treason on Bailuzhou," the scarred man deliberately raised his voice. "Those Wei crossbows are all engraved with the Zhou family crest!"

The skinny man beside him kicked at the pebbles and sneered, "More than that? Before the Snow Cloud Sect was wiped out, the Zhou family's third master's account book was circulating on the black market. Guess what was recorded in it?"

He suddenly fell silent, because two cargo ships flying the Lu family flag were slowly entering the harbor, and the swords of the Xuanjia Guards on the bows gleamed blood-red under the blazing sun.

At the side gate of the prefectural governor's mansion, several stewards from prominent families exchanged hurried glances.

(End of this chapter)