The proof of Emperor Wu began with daily rewards for diligence.

Chapter 82 Names and Tree Shadows

From Kaiyang Garrison to Cangzhu Street, it only takes crossing a few intersections, a distance of only two or three kilometers.

The shops on both sides of the long street were deserted, and the few passersby who did pass by were all in a hurry.

This demonstrates that the Shihuo sect's grassroots governance capabilities are extremely poor; within less than a month of taking control of Kaiyang community, all industries have already suffered decline.

The people are suffering terribly.

This is actually a common problem among many rebel forces that blindly expand.

The members of the cult are a mixed bag; most of them do not engage in production and have no choice but to steal or rob to make a living, or to extort large sums of protection money from ordinary people.

Over time, the people in the areas under their jurisdiction naturally suffered from poverty and economic collapse, which led to countless more refugees who could not survive joining the religion and spreading in all directions to seize the living space of others.

Of course, there are always some stubborn merchants or those who can't afford the protection money.

Their shop still bore the fire symbols of the Church of the Fire, but the glass and doors were smashed, the goods inside were looted, and there were several pools of dried blood at the entrance.

Chen Jue walked at the front of the crowd, with Pang Zheng, Wei Yuan, Yang Tusheng, and Zhou Li carrying the stretcher in the middle, and Wu Nanyuan bringing up the rear.

As soon as the group reached the first crossroads, a large number of Fire Cult soldiers gathered from all directions.

Armed with knives, guns, and clubs, they thronged together, completely blocking the intersection.

"You've got some nerve. Instead of hiding in the garrison and obediently waiting to die, you dare to go out and flaunt yourself—"

A man of moderate build swaggered out from the vast crowd.

This man had an ordinary appearance, but his eyes inadvertently revealed the arrogance of a nouveau riche.

He casually tied the red cloth scarf, a symbol of training soldiers, behind his head, and deliberately wore his black fire-patterned clothes askew. He looked at people with his chin as he walked, his frivolous and arrogant demeanor of a petty person who had achieved success was evident in his words.

However, this frivolous and arrogant person was terrified when he saw Chen Jue, who was tall, handsome and extraordinary. He was so frightened that he almost died of shock, as if he had suddenly seen a ghost.

He hurriedly shielded the instructors beside him, like mice seeing a cat, instinctively dodging.

This scene left Wu Nanyuan, Pang Zheng, and the others stunned, not knowing what was going on.

With his left hand on his sword, Chen Jue noticed the strange behavior of the leader of the Shi Huo Sect and tentatively took a step towards him.

"Don't come any closer!"

""

As a result, the man gasped and screamed as if in response to stress, and stumbled backward, bumping into several instructors who came to help him.

Seeing this, Chen Jue wanted to ask even more questions.

He pushed off the ground with his feet, slammed his sword sheath forward, and his figure, like a speeding dump truck, crashed into the crowd in an instant.

Those Fire Cult soldiers blocking the way didn't even have time to dodge; they were instantly knocked over and fell to the ground.

Chen Jue reached out and easily grabbed the man's collar, lifting him up like a chick.

"Don't kill me!" The leader seemed to be in a nightmare, his eyes filled with fear.

"You know me?" Chen Jue narrowed his eyes.

He wondered if this person had seen him wearing a mask before and recognized him.

"I—I used to be a henchman for the Rat Gang. During the restaurant brawl, you cut open my left lung with a knife, but I didn't die—"

71

This man had clearly been traumatized by Chen Jue; he had been arrogant just moments before, but now he was so frightened that he could barely speak.

"————"

Chen Jue was speechless. He never expected that his battle two months ago would still have an impact on the Fire Sect.

Life's encounters are truly wondrous and endless.

However, how did this person manage to leap from the Qi and Blood Realm to the mid-stage of the True Qi Realm in just two months?

"Let your men leave first, and I guarantee you'll get back alive today."

Chen Jue put down the old acquaintance in his hand and glanced at the menacing Shi Huo soldiers around him.

The Fire Sect has really gone all out; of the hundred people present, at least 70% are martial artists at the early stage of the True Qi Realm.

No wonder a group of inspectors were beaten so badly they ran away with their tails between their legs.

"Get out of here! Do you want to kill me?!" The leader of the Fire Cult roared in near collapse, causing the armed Fire Cult soldiers around him to instinctively take a dozen steps back.

"Boss Song Wang!"

"Deacon Feng specifically requested that the dog-like inspector's life!"

"If we leave now, we might not be able to explain ourselves when we get back!"

"Song Wang wants to live, but some people want him dead."

A young Fire Cult instructor stepped out from the crowd and his words made the Fire Cult soldiers, who were hesitating about whether to retreat, stop in their tracks.

Today, the Fire Sect is developing rapidly and its influence is difficult to control; no young person would not want to make rapid progress.

The fastest way to make progress is undoubtedly through the death of the direct supervisor, thus eliminating the account.

"Damn you, Zheng Cheng! You're trying to kill me!"

""

Song Wang's eyes were bloodshot as he glared furiously at the young instructor.

If it weren't for the killing god standing in front of him, he would have rushed up immediately, ripped out his tongue, and cut it off.

"There really are people who aren't afraid of death."

,

Chen Jue reacted calmly, pointing the scabbard at him with his backhand, and the "Thrust" spirit pattern on his arm lit up instantly.

Siu!

A burst of energy formed from the five elements instantly pierced through the less than five zhang distance between the two.

puff!

Suddenly, a dent appeared between the young instructor's eyebrows, and then his entire head exploded as if a watermelon had been hit by a stick.

Red and white stains were spilled all over the people around them.

As a top-tier sword technique, the moves of "The Heavenly Will Sword" are too domineering and unsuitable for ordinary combat.

However, its technique of "controlling the external with the internal" is too exquisite and mysterious.

If he couldn't use it to show off his skills, Chen Jue felt that some of his good qualities, such as etiquette, morality, personality, and even his soul, would be destroyed.

Fortunately, after Chen Jue made some major modifications to this sword technique, although its power was greatly weakened, it was still more than enough to clear out small monsters.

It even has the advantage of low energy consumption.

"————" No one could understand the terror in Song Wang's heart at this moment.

Although he had survived the restaurant battle two months ago, the suffocating feeling of narrowly escaping death haunted him for two whole months.

Finally, Fei Bin, the leader, returned to the scene and led the original members of the Rat Gang to join the Fire Sect and become its core members.

As a result, their good days didn't last long before they encountered Chen Jue, the god of death.

Moreover, the opponent seemed to have become stronger, killing people from ten paces away with a scabbard.

This method is simply unbelievable and chilling.

"What are you still looking at?! Anyone who doesn't want to die, get back!"

"I will explain to Deacon Feng when I get back!"

Song Wang had one more thing he didn't say: If I can't go back, then there's no need to explain.

Upon hearing this, the instructors of the Fire Sect exchanged bewildered glances and then retreated like a receding tide.

Chen Jue turned around and found Wu Nanyuan, Pang Zheng and others looking at him with admiration or awe.

Even Zhu Hang, lying on the stretcher, looked shocked.

"Nan Yuan, you lead them ahead. I have something to discuss with this Chief Song."

Chen Jue dismissed the others and stood about ten meters away from the timid Song Wangzhui.

"What's the deal with your strength?" Chen Jue asked.

There was really no need for formalities between the two, so they decided to get straight to the point.

"Are you sure you'll let me go?" Song Wang still didn't believe Chen Jue would be so calm.

"The battle at the restaurant was one I had no choice but to fight because I had no other option."

Chen Jue pointed out the key point: "The Shi Huo Sect is powerful now, but it hasn't forced me to a dead end, so I have no reason to kill you."

Song Wang understood Chen Jue's subtext—don't mess with me.

"Boss Fei set up a statue altar at the former headquarters of the Rat Gang—"

"Here, you can exchange red prayer coins for true energy —"

"One hundred strands of true energy per strand. The most powerful instructor has already exchanged over ten thousand strands of true energy with the Crimson Repentance Coins and entered the ninth level of true energy."

""

When Song Wang confessed honestly, he had no psychological burden whatsoever.

Because many soldiers were exchanging true qi, the matter had long been no secret due to word of mouth.

As long as Chen Jue inquires, he will eventually find out.

"Previously, we needed to use the 'Fire in the Chamber' meditation method to gradually exchange for true energy, but now we can directly convert it using a divine statue—"

"They really aren't even going to put on an act anymore."

Chen Jue's mind raced as he asked, "Since your Boss Fei isn't dead, as the most powerful force in Kaiyang and Yangcheng districts, he should have already reached the Ascension Realm, right?"

Song Wang glanced around and whispered, "There was originally a chance to break through to the Feather Transformation Realm, but in the battle of the Emerald Lake Festival, only one priest brought back the Feather Transformation Pill."

"Those two Ascension Pills were used by the noble prodigies of the inner city—"

"Not only did Boss Fei not get a share, but he also suffered a backlash for trying to forcefully break through his realm, and he is currently in seclusion to recover from his injuries."

4

Upon hearing this, Chen Jue's eyes suddenly lit up.

It's good to recover from your injury!

As long as he is still recovering from his injuries, all I need to do is inform Tang Xi and Meng Liang of this information, and even if he doesn't die, he'll be badly injured.