Chapter 148 - 125: Fist Subdues the Innate

Chapter 148: Chapter 125: Fist Subdues the Innate

As Lu Yuan entered, Wu Han, Yang Xiao, and the veterans of the Celestial King Stronghold behind them rose with looks of delight, bowing and saying, "Greetings, Great Village Chief."

At the same time, the other Innate Experts also rose and looked over.

Their expressions were complicated.

And a hint of wariness.

After stepping into the main hall, Lu Yuan walked straight to the head seat.

He waved a hand, gesturing for everyone to be seated.

Then, he said slowly, "I’ve long heard that new people have joined the stronghold. I didn’t realize there were quite so many."

Then, without wasting any words, he continued, "From now on, all new experts who join the stronghold will be inducted into the Sacrificial Hall. They are not to participate in the stronghold’s decision-making. Promotions will be considered after they have rendered meritorious service.

As for war preparations, begin at once. I will inspect the troops this afternoon. Tonight, Wu Han and Yang Xiao are to come to the Hall of Righteous Unity to discuss the deployment of our forces."

After speaking, Lu Yuan gestured for everyone to leave.

He never once glanced at the Innate Experts.

Elder Qiansun narrowed his eyes. He didn’t speak, but he also showed no sign of moving.

Nangong Lie, however, rose and said, "Great Village Chief, what is the meaning of this? With our strength, do we still need to earn merit to rise in rank? Moreover, we do not consent to going to war."

"Insolence!"

Wu Han roared.

He could tolerate their disrespect toward himself, but he would not allow them to be disrespectful to Lu Yuan.

Nangong Lie paid Wu Han no mind whatsoever, simply stating coldly, "Whether or not I am insolent depends on how the Village Chief treats me."

His voice was not loud, but it made his stance perfectly clear.

Lu Yuan’s gaze swept across the hall below.

His eyes were as placid as an ancient well.

Then, in a cold voice, he said, "Utterly shameless."

With that, he launched himself down from the head seat.

He threw a punch toward Nangong Lie, his fist covered in black Fist Gang.

He had unleashed the Heart Shattering Fist.

Sensing the power of the attack, Nangong Lie met it with a punch of his own.

A scorching aura radiated from his fist.

Wisps of red light flickered, surprisingly bright.

BOOM!

The next moment, as his fist collided with Lu Yuan’s, he was sent flying backward.

He crashed to the ground several meters away.

Blood streamed from his mouth.

His arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, clearly broken.

He could only writhe on the ground.

No one in the hall had expected such a scene. Among the Innate Experts, Nangong Lie was by no means the weakest.

In fact, he was considered one of the stronger ones.

Yet now, he had been defeated by Lu Yuan in a single blow.

For a moment, the other Innate Experts were stunned senseless.

They stared at Lu Yuan, their eyes filled with deep apprehension.

Having made his move, Lu Yuan showed no intention of holding back. He stepped forward, planted his foot on Nangong Lie’s chest, and said coldly, "You don’t agree? Who is this ’we’ you speak for? I’d like to know when a group of people in Celestial King Stronghold started ignoring the orders of their Village Chief."

"COUGH, COUGH..." Nangong Lie coughed violently, spitting up bloody foam. His eyes were filled with terror. Only now, having fought Lu Yuan, did he realize how vast the gap in their strength truly was.

’Even Elder Qiansun probably wouldn’t be a match for him.’

Wu Han didn’t hesitate, shouting to those outside, "Guards!"

THUMP! THUMP!

The sound of disciplined footsteps immediately echoed from outside.

Then, a large group of iron-armored Village Soldiers, armed with blades, surrounded the entire Hall of Righteous Unity.

These were clearly the elite soldiers under Wu Han’s command.

Nangong Lie remained stubbornly silent, craning his neck to look toward Elder Qiansun.

Clearly, he hoped the elder would step forward to help him.

Just as he hoped, the old man stepped forward in the next moment. In a hoarse voice, he said to Lu Yuan, "Great Village Chief, we came to join the Celestial King Stronghold, but it’s not as if we have nowhere else to go.

If you are unwilling to have us, we will simply leave. There is no need for such violence."

After he spoke, the other Innate Experts seemed to find their courage.

One of them said, "That’s right, we can just leave. What’s the meaning of attacking us like this?"

Besides the injured Nangong Lie, there were still four of them. As Innate Experts, they were hardly weak. They refused to believe they couldn’t defeat a single Lu Yuan.

Especially since the strongest among them, Elder Qiansun, was on their side.

But Lu Yuan only said coolly, "What? Do you take my Celestial King Stronghold for a place you can come and go as you please? You came here, ate my food, drank my wine, took my resources, and caused a disturbance in my hall.

And now you think you can just walk away without a care in the world? There’s no such thing as a free lunch.

I’m a mountain bandit. I’m not here to reason with you."

As Lu Yuan finished speaking, killing intent flared in Elder Qiansun’s eyes.

Without another word, he attacked. A dense, icy energy gathered in his palm, but it wasn’t a pure aura. It was dark and murky, as if it had been corrupted.

The other Innate Experts behind him attacked at the same time.

This, however, was exactly the outcome Lu Yuan had been waiting for.

He leaped high into the air, twisting to evade the attacks from Elder Qiansun and the other Innate Experts.

Then, he flipped upside down and shot downward, throwing a punch below him.

After reaching the Innate realm, not even Lu Yuan himself knew the true extent of his power.

As he descended, a Fist Seal a full meter in diameter materialized in front of him—dark, domineering, and ferocious.

The Innate Experts who had just swarmed him had no time to dodge; they could only defend.

BANG!

The next moment, the attacks collided. It was an utterly one-sided exchange. Lu Yuan’s Fist Gang slammed into the ground, blasting a massive crater in the floor.

A thick wave of Gang Qi erupted from the crater, spreading outward in all directions like a tidal wave.

CRASH!

Tables and chairs were instantly shattered into splinters.

The Gang Qi continued to surge outward.

Although Wu Han and the others were not at the center of the battle, they were still caught in the shockwave.

He roared, "Quick, get out!"

By the time his voice faded, they had just managed to leap out of the Hall of Righteous Unity.

RUMBLE!

Amidst rising smoke and dust, the entire hall collapsed.

Then, a figure shot into the sky, completely untouched by the dust and debris.

But the Innate Experts below were buried in the ruins.

They were in a sorry state. All of them, including Elder Qiansun, were spitting blood as they lay on the ground.

Incapacitated, they could only stare at Lu Yuan with terror in their eyes.

Wu Han and his men were utterly aghast.

This was especially true for Yang Xiao. He had never seen Lu Yuan fight before. He knew his leader was strong, but he had never imagined he was *this* powerful.

At the same time, he was relieved that he’d never harbored any rebellious ideas, or his fate would likely have been just as miserable.

After his shock wore off, Wu Han felt a surge of excitement. Lu Yuan’s increase in strength meant that the Celestial King Stronghold had just taken another great step forward.

Just as this thought crossed his mind,

Lu Yuan said coolly, "Pierce their collarbones and throw them in the dungeons. Let them out when they learn to obey."

’They are Innate Experts, after all, and the stronghold is in desperate need of such masters.’

’It would be a shame to kill them. Keeping them alive can serve as a deterrent to any troublemakers who join later. Plus, once Wu Han has his breakthrough and is strong enough to keep them in line, they can be released to bolster our forces.’

"Yes, Great Village Chief!"

A few of Yang Xiao’s old comrades immediately responded with excitement.

They had long since grown tired of these newcomers. Now, with Lu Yuan’s backing, they didn’t hesitate for a second.

They stepped forward, pierced the collarbones of Elder Qiansun and the others, and dragged them off to the dungeons.

As screams of agony echoed through the ruins, Lu Yuan turned a deaf ear, acting as if he heard nothing.

After the five were led away,

Lu Yuan looked at Wu Han and said, "Let’s find another place to talk."

Wu Han seemed uneasy. "Village Chief, I..."

Clearly, Wu Han felt terrible about what had transpired.

Lu Yuan waved a dismissive hand. "There’s no need for that between us."

With that, the group moved to another hall.

Once they were seated, Wu Han said, "All the Village Soldiers are ready. We can deploy at a moment’s notice. As for who we attack, that’s for you to decide."

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

"Heh, you’re quick. I thought it would take a while longer."

"I knew you planned to deploy the army, so how could I not be in a hurry? Elder Qiansun and his men are strong, but their influence doesn’t extend to our Village Soldiers. Our troops and supplies are ready. Just give the word, and we can march immediately," Wu Han said with a grin.

He then spread a map out in front of Lu Yuan.

His eyebrows rose as he examined the distribution of power on it.

"This is quite comprehensive. The other Princes have seized this much territory already? And these nobles... they’re all moving quickly," Lu Yuan remarked, surprise flashing in his eyes as he studied the map.

Many of their territories were already comparable in size to the Celestial King Stronghold.

"Several of the Princes have sent envoys to try and recruit us. The Seventh Prince has been the most enthusiastic because his forces in the buffer zone are weaker than his brothers’. If we were to join him, his power would instantly surge.

His envoy has been here for over half a year, staying in the Northern Border. He comes by every so often to try and persuade us, and his offer gets better every single time." Wu Han himself was amazed by this.

’Back when I was struggling to survive in Icefield City, even a Centurion could make me bow my head.’

’Now that I’m out of there, even the big shots in the court are clamoring to recruit me.’

’What a ridiculous world.’

Lu Yuan said coolly, "We will build our own strength. We won’t consider joining anyone. In the future, there will be only one voice in this buffer zone."

Then he asked, "Who do you think we should strike first?"

Wu Han pointed to a spot on the map. "The territory Prince Lie has claimed is about the same size as ours, and it borders Celestial King Stronghold. They’ve provoked us many times. Their men are just locally recruited rabble, nothing elite.

However, their commander is from the Prince’s Mansion and is quite strong—likely at the Void Manipulation Realm. They’ve nearly broken into our territory on several occasions.

Most importantly, they’re rich. I heard Prince Lie has funneled a great deal of resources and talent from Dayong to expand his domain."

After finishing, Wu Han glanced at Lu Yuan and added, "Of course, they are genuinely strong. In addition to their Void Manipulation Realm expert, they have several Innate Experts, not to mention a large number of Gang Qi experts.

Their numbers are also considerable. While not as large as ours, they can still mobilize fifty to sixty thousand fighting men."

"We’ll hit them, then. Since the troops are ready and the distance isn’t great—just a few hours’ march—we’ll strike tonight."

"I’ll go prepare," Wu Han said quickly.

He got up and headed outside, with Yang Xiao right behind him.

「Meanwhile, in the Imperial City」

The Seventh Prince sat on his high seat in the main hall, toying with a piece of jade. He looked down at Zhao Yu and said, "News just arrived from the Northern Border. The mysterious Great Village Chief of Celestial King Stronghold has returned. In a moment, send down an order.

Tell our men to keep a close watch on the stronghold’s activities. In the next few days, they are to find a suitable opportunity to continue persuading Celestial King Stronghold to pledge their allegiance. Make it happen, no matter the cost."

"As you command!" Zhao Yu replied at once.

The Seventh Prince then tossed the jade stone into Zhao Yu’s hands. "This is a Sound Transmission Stone. Use it to contact me from now on."

A look of delight spread across Zhao Yu’s face as he caught it.

He had long known what this was. A device that could transmit sound over a thousand miles, typically reserved for high-ranking members of the Imperial Guard and the nobility. ’I never thought I’d have one of my own,’ he thought, ’let alone one from the Seventh Prince himself.’

After voicing his assent, he departed with a spring in his step.