I am a high-level martial arts master.

"How dare you!"

A sharp sound echoed throughout the hall.

Wei Guanlan slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair, stood up, and pointed his delicate, orchid-like finger at Ye Li, saying sternly:

"All land under heaven belongs to the emperor. Before the imperial edict, it is as if the emperor himself is present. If one does not kneel before the imperial edict, is he trying to rebel?"

"You're just a nobody from the countryside, unpaid by any official position. Today, we'll teach you a lesson!"

Wei Guanlan snorted coldly and suddenly threw the teacup in his hand!

The scalding hot tea suddenly transformed into jets of water that could almost pierce through steel!

In Wei Guanlan's mind, Ye Li was just a minor body tempering perfectionist.

Even the most promising Body Tempering Perfection is ultimately just Body Tempering Perfection.

When one's body is tempered, one should respectfully address the person who has acquired the skills as a senior and treat them with the respect due to a disciple.

Moreover, this is a matter of course to pay homage to an imperial edict!

Let alone bowing to an imperial edict, even kneeling before someone in the Acquired Realm is perfectly reasonable, let alone someone in the Body Tempering Realm.

Wei Guanlan suddenly unleashed his inner strength.

His cultivation level was clearly revealed, which startled Li Guancai who was standing to the side.

No wonder he comes from the capital.

Even a eunuch who came to this remote border town to deliver an imperial edict was actually at the late stage of the Acquired Realm.

But unfortunately...

After experiencing the entire Blood Corpse instance, Ye Li's strength is now vastly different from what it used to be.

Facing the shower of tea, Ye Li swung his right hand out suddenly!

Bang

In an instant, the air in front of him was blasted apart by Ye Li's palm, and a strong wind rushed in.

Guided by the powerful force, the water vapor billowed back and splashed all over Wei Guanlan's face.

Wow

The air currents churned throughout the room, overturning all the furnishings to the ground.

The tea drenched Wei Guanlan completely, causing him to look up in disbelief and angrily say:

"You lowly country bumpkin! How dare you be so disrespectful to this special envoy!"

Wei Guanlan wiped the tea from his face, his face filled with shock and anger, trembling with rage:

"I will definitely report this to the Emperor and have you punished for the grave crime of disrespect, and executed..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ye Li strode forward.

"You're asking for it!"

With a cold laugh, he slammed his right arm down on the top of the other person's head.

This palm strike wasn't fast; it was fast enough for Wei Guanlan to react to.

Seeing the five fingers slamming down on his head, the eunuch immediately channeled his inner energy and used both hands to support himself.

Boom!

Wei Guanlan felt an indescribable, terrifying force, like a celestial river overflowing or a divine mountain pressing down on him, surging down his arms! His arms, which he had been supporting with all his might, were no match for this tyrannical and unreasonable force.

As fragile as paper! It was crushed to dust in an instant!

After only a moment of resistance, Wei Guanlan's legs went weak under the force, and he knelt down in front of Ye Li with a thud.

But this is just the beginning!

Ye Li's eyes were icy cold. He didn't retract the five fingers that were pressing on his head. Instead, he pressed down slightly with more force!

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

A series of teeth-grinding cracking sounds rang out!

The hard bluestone where Wei Guanlan knelt was cracked, shattered, and sunken inch by inch!

His knees were like wooden stakes driven into the ground, deeply embedded in the crumbling stone foundation!

The mud and gravel quickly submerged his kneeling calves, up to his knees!

This is the end.

Ye Li then slowly withdrew his palm and stood with his hands behind his back.

In the blink of an eye, Wei Guanlan was firmly nailed into the broken foundation from the waist down, kneeling in an extremely humiliating position, deeply embedded in the ground in front of Ye Li!

His official robes were stained with mud and tea, his hair was disheveled, and his face was as pale as paper. Where was the slightest trace of his former imposing manner?

"You are not Ye Li! Who are you? How dare you commit the crime of deceiving the emperor! You have impersonated a royal decree!"

His lips trembled as he uttered incoherent curses.

Less than two months after the Ten Cities Tournament ended, if the person in front of me is really Ye Li, how can he possibly contend with me?

He tried to use his inner energy to push aside the surrounding soil and push his body out.

But Ye Li poured his true energy into the soil as if it were free, strengthening the mud and sand to the point of being as hard as metal, firmly trapping Wei Guanlan's body. "Ye... Nephew Ye, why did you have to go to this?"

Li Guancai, who was standing to the side, was startled by what he saw, but seeing Ye Li's cold expression, he didn't know what to say.

As for Zheng Tong, he didn't care whether he knelt or not.

He was already thinking about what to do with the eunuch after he killed him.

Seeing Li Guancai's appearance, Ye Li was shocked to realize that he was living in ancient times.

Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher!

In Li Guancai's eyes, it was only natural for subjects to kneel before the emperor.

Of course, this is not absolute; for example, force.

The Later Heaven Realm did not escape the control of the imperial power.

Or rather, having the innate imperial power to rule over the land represents the strongest military force of the Xia Kingdom.

Therefore, even if one lacks power, one must still play by these rules and perform the etiquette between ruler and subject.

If you achieve the Innate Realm, even the Emperor of Xia will treat you with respect; it will be a completely different level of treatment.

But in places like the Three Kingdoms of Central Plains, even those who are at the Innate Realm or even Grandmaster level still have to kneel before the imperial authority!

Ye Li wasn't particularly strong-willed. If there were any senior figures like Grandmasters at this point, kneeling wouldn't have been a problem.

But what's the point of a mere late-stage cultivator holding an imperial edict acting like that?

He snatched the purple-gold token and the box containing the imperial edict from the side.

Under Wei Guanlan's furious gaze, Ye Li disregarded all respect and lifted the outer decorations, forcing Wei Guanlan to kneel as he read: "By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"

Ye Li, a native of Guangming City, possesses extraordinary talent and exceptional gifts.

In the grand competition of ten cities, he overpowered all the heroes and won the championship, truly a pillar of our great Xia.

I was greatly pleased to hear this, and I deeply admire your courage and fortitude.

I hereby summon you to depart immediately and travel to the capital to meet the Emperor within one month.

He entered the Imperial Academy Martial Arts Academy, received guidance from renowned masters, and learned advanced martial arts in order to improve his skills.

You should diligently study and live up to my expectations.

So be it!

Ye Li finished reading the string of words in one breath, then looked at Wei Guanlan, who was fuming with rage, and said:

"That would have been fine, why make it so complicated?"

"Just when I was about to go to the capital, this was like a godsend."

Ye Li picked up the imperial edict, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into his sleeve, saying:

"I'll take this. As for you, get lost."

After saying that, Ye Li pulled Wei Guanlan out of the ground like a radish.

Ignoring the other party's insults, Ye Li flicked his arm and threw it outwards.

"boom!!!"

A muffled, piercing explosion!

Ye Li swung Wei Guanlan's body around like a projectile, hurling him towards the open door of the hall! The speed was so fast that it left a blurry afterimage and a piercing sonic boom in the air!

"ah!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream pierced the sky, quickly receding into the distance, eventually turning into a small black dot on the horizon and disappearing in the direction of Guangming City.

Even now, Li Guan's face remained deathly pale as he pointed at Ye Li and said:

"Nephew, you...you've committed a terrible crime."

"If this insult to the special envoy gets back to the capital, you will likely be punished."

"I can't reason with an old man like you." Ye Li waved his hand helplessly.

He thought he had always been very polite.

When you see an elder, address them as "old man" and when you greet a senior, simply bow to them.

However, kneeling and bowing is something that should be done with the ruler of a small country; that's about enough.

With my current level of physical fitness, which is the result of my own efforts to achieve perfection as a sports student, I can't survive in Xia Country, but I can thrive anywhere.

If it weren't for the fact that there was a young girl waiting for him in Kyoto, he wouldn't have bothered to see the emperor.

Thinking of this, Ye Li looked at Zheng Tongdao and said, "Master, I will be setting off for the capital in a couple of days and will not be able to return for a long time." "Since you are determined to go to the capital, I will immediately have someone prepare a carriage for you."

As Zheng Tong spoke, a smile appeared on his face:

"I have great news for you! Our people have tracked down the location where Duheyi and his gang, who had looted all the martial arts manuals, elixirs, and spiritual materials in the city, hid them!"

"The items have been secretly transported back to headquarters and are now awaiting your inventory!"

"Oh!" Ye Li raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with surprise.

For the past ten days or so, Du He and his men from the Ji Kingdom have shown no mercy because they could only come once.

During his reign over Guangming, he amassed resources by almost plundering the land.

The Blood Corpse was tasked with gathering all the cultivation manuals and elixirs in the city, intending to pack them all up and take them back to the Ji Kingdom. Valuable items would be handed over, earning merit points. The Blood Corpse ransacked the armories and alchemy rooms of the Azure Dragon Gang, the Poison Wolf Gang, and the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, leaving not a single Body Tempering Pill behind. This resulted in Ye Li lacking any cultivation resources during the lockdown, relying entirely on natural body tempering.

The Azure Dragon Gang has been searching for this enormous vault ever since the end of the Blood Corpse Rebellion, and now they finally have news of it.

"Hahaha! Great! You've come at just the right time!"

Ye Li clapped his hands and laughed, his eyes gleaming with excitement:

"I've just entered the Acquired Realm and am worried about not having enough cultivation techniques and resources to solidify my foundation and break through to a higher realm! This is like a godsend! Master, please take me to see it!"

"I'll go to the capital after I've reviewed the cultivation technique!"

Upon hearing Ye Li's words, Li Guancai secretly curled his lip, thinking, "This is what you call just entering the Acquired Realm?"

Looking at his apprentice, Zheng Tong's eyes were full of satisfaction.

He patted Ye Li on the shoulder: "Let's go!"

After saying that, the master and apprentice ignored the distraught Li Guancai and strode towards the Canglong Gang's headquarters.

As for Wei Guanlan, who was thrown out?

Besides Li Guancai, who cares?

Knowing that the enemy had finally dropped gold coins, Ye Li didn't waste any time and quickly followed Zheng Tong back to the Azure Dragon Gang's secret room.

As soon as I arrived, I saw a familiar face standing in front of the guard room.

Ye Li looked at the man in front of her in surprise and said:

"Instructor Feng, so you're not dead after all?"

Indeed, the middle-aged man in front of Ye Li was Feng Yue, who had initially taught Ye Li the "Azure Dragon Force".

Upon hearing Ye Li's blunt words, Feng Yue's face darkened, but he respectfully replied:

"Reporting to the young master, for some reason, those blood corpses captured the Azure Dragon Gang disciples but didn't kill them. Instead, they fed us Body Tempering Pills, forcing us to cultivate desperately."

"Thanks to them, I've now reached the late stage of Body Tempering."

Looking at Feng Yue, who was separated from him by a thick barrier, Ye Li nodded thoughtfully.

The breeding team planned to fatten these people up first, then slaughter them all at once to gain the most merit. But things went wrong, and they ended up benefiting the team instead. These past few days, they've been living in fear, consuming all sorts of pills, but nothing's happened; in fact, their cultivation levels have been steadily increasing.

It's Xiao Zhan's soul entering the Hall of Souls; it's a blessing, not a curse.

After a few brief pleasantries, Ye Li eagerly pushed open the door to the secret room, and what he saw made his eyes almost gleam with greed.