Chapter 574: Overwhelming Suppression

A flicker of doubt appeared in Xie Qingzhi’s eyes.

What is going on? Did those lowly prisoners in the concentration camp rebel? Where are the stationed guards? Did they all die?

A wave of irritation rose in his heart. But then he caught the flash of a sword light. He saw rebel experts leaping into the air to intercept it, only to fall like broken kites.

He saw power armors exploding mid-air, bursting into dazzling flares of smoke and fire. He saw a colossal mech suddenly erupt in a thunderous explosion as it was reduced to a heap of scrap metal.

"What is that?" Xie Qingzhi’s pupils contracted sharply.

A sense of danger crept over him.

"Someone, come here!" He shouted loudly, summoning his subordinates as he hurriedly exited the office building.

The shrill sound of alarms echoed madly through the office district. The heavily fortified area sprang to life like a precision machine as its defenses frantically activated.

Fully armed power armor soldiers and martial arts experts in combat suits quickly formed defensive lines. Each layer of the defense line was a veritable wall of firepower.

Xie Qingzhi stood at the main gate, his eyes glinting with cold light.

These damned lowly peasants dare to rebel. There must be a hidden master inciting them. How despicable. Did they really think they could overturn the heavens? Today, I will make Liuhe run red with blood.

He raised his head to look as a tall and imposing youth floated toward him. His sword-like brows and bright eyes shone with determination. His features were dignified and noble. His cheeks were full and healthy.

He stood on a rust-covered crimson sword. The crimson glow Xie Qingzhi had seen earlier had come from this very blade.

Xie Renyu, the mutilated former city leader, was on the youth’s back. Yet the man who should have been on the verge of death now seemed revitalized. His face was flushed, as his vitality surged and his wounds healed rapidly.

Below the youth, the people of Liuhe poured out of the concentration camp. They looked like beggars with their tattered clothes and disheveled hair. But their expressions were fierce, like wild beasts pushed to the brink of despair. Their eyes gleamed with a ferocity that promised to devour anyone in their way.

"I'll give you ten seconds to reconsider. Return to the concentration camp, or the people of Liuhe will be wiped from the face of the Earth," Xie Qingzhi said coldly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd with an undeniable threat.

"At the brink of death, and you’re still barking like a dog," Xie Renyu suddenly spoke, his voice clear and steady.

His cultivation was gradually recovering. Even his severed limbs had begun to regenerate, and his tongue had already grown back.

Xie Qingzhi sneered. "Third Brother, you should have fled after being saved. At least you would have been able to cling to a pitiful existence. Yet you dare to stand before me again?"

He smirked coldly. "Do you think you and the boy carrying you can overturn everything with a group of lowly peasants?"

In the past, Xie Qingzhi had been weaker than Xie Renyu. But after undergoing New Martial Arts surgery, his strength had surged dramatically. He was already at the peak of the Dao Union Realm. He had countless experts and an army of tens of thousands under his command. Who could possibly stand against him in this small Liuhe Base City?

"Is that him?" Li Xiaofei suddenly asked.

Xie Renyu nodded. "Yes, that’s him. The eldest son of the Xie family’s third elder, now one of the ten great generals of the Xie family who commands heavy troops."

"Heavy troops?" Li Xiaofei chuckled softly. "In the face of absolute strength, heavy troops are nothing but a joke. Tell me, how do you want him to die?"

Xie Renyu replied, "Perhaps that’s a question you should ask the people of Liuhe."

Their exchange was casual and completely disregarded Xie Qingzhi. A rebel expert standing beside Xie Qingzhi, eager to prove himself, stepped forward and gripped the hilt of his blade.

"Where did this stray dog come from, daring to spout such nonsense in front of Commander Xie... Die!"

He suddenly unsheathed his blade. The energy from the Inscribed Treasure Bone within him erupted, unleashing a terrifying wave of energy that stirred the air like a tempest.

He was at the Dao Union Realm! It was a level of cultivation that was rare even in the entire northwest, and the source of his confidence.

"I, Suo Longfeng, the vanguard commander under Commander Xie, will cut down this ignorant whelp."

He was already raising his blade before he was done. A towering phantom of a ten meter tall water ape appeared behind him, roaring with fury. Suo Longfeng’s long blade slashed down, creating a massive arc of light that was more than twenty meters long. The blade’s energy cleaved through the void and sent shockwaves through the air.

The strike was aimed directly at Li Xiaofei.

"Small fry should know their place," Li Xiaofei said calmly.

Sword qi erupted with a flick of his finger. The massive blade of light disintegrated instantly, vanishing like a dream.

"What?" Suo Longfeng was utterly shocked.

Before he could react, a powerful counter attack struck him.

Crack, crack.

His bones shattered instantly. The Inscribed Treasure Bone that had granted him immense power was reduced to dust in a heartbeat as his inner qi dispersed. Suo Longfeng collapsed to the ground with a blood-curdling scream. He had been completely incapacitated.

"Killing you outright would be too merciful," Li Xiaofei said coldly.

He reached out, grabbing Suo Longfeng in mid-air with an invisible force. With a flick, he flung Suo Longfeng heavily into the crowd behind him.

"Settle your scores," Li Xiaofei said to the Liuhe people. "If you have grievances, avenge them. If you have hatred, release it."

For a moment, the Liuhe people froze. Then, they erupted into frenzied action like oil poured onto a roaring fire.

"Kill him!"

"Tear him apart!"

"My son died by his hand... I’ll rip him to shreds!"

The crowd surged forward.

Powerless to resist, Suo Longfeng was overwhelmed by countless hands. They were weak but fueled by unrelenting rage. Piece by piece, they tore the flesh from his body, their grief and fury finding release in every act of vengeance.

"Ah! No! I don’t want to die!"

Suo Longfeng wailed desperately, pleading for mercy. But it was useless. The enraged crowd surged over him. They punched, kicked, and even bit into him, tearing chunks of flesh from his body.

In the blink of an eye, Suo Longfeng, a powerful Dao Union Realm expert, was reduced to a bloody heap, ripped apart by the furious people of Liuhe.

Across from them, Xie Qingzhi’s heart jolted.

One move! An instant defeat of a Dao Union Realm expert. What kind of power is this?

He cared nothing for Suo Longfeng’s death or the fury of the people of Liuhe. His thoughts were filled with the boy floating above who was calmly looking down on him.

Who is he? And just how deep does his strength run?

"Who are you?" Xie Qingzhi stared at Li Xiaofei.

Li Xiaofei met his gaze. His eyes were filled with the frost of ten thousand years. This was the rebel commander, the mastermind behind the suffering in Liuhe Base City.

"Have you decided how you want to die?" asked Li Xiaofei as he landed on the ground and began to slowly walk forward.

"Heh." Xie Qingzhi chuckled lightly. "Your strength is indeed impressive, but only just so. If you think that you can overturn Liuhe Base City with this level of cultivation, then I must say—you’re far too naive."

"Remember this. You’re not even qualified to make me act. The Xie family of the Northwest is not something you can afford to provoke. This chaotic world is beyond saving by someone like you.”

“Today, I will teach you that lesson. Protector An, I leave the rest to you."

A hunched, gray-haired elder in a black robe suddenly appeared at his side. The man’s back was bent, and his sparse hair was messy and unkempt. He was so thin that he looked like a bamboo pole. His aged, wrinkled skin resembled a dried and cracked riverbed as it was covered in deep, crisscrossing lines.

He bowed slightly to Xie Qingzhi before slowly lifting his head. His eyes were pitch black, void of any light, like the gaze of a demon from hell. A sinister grin spread across his face.

"Boy, I like your young body. Why not give it to me..."

A terrifying pressure, like that of a demon lord descending upon the world, erupted from the black-robed elder, spreading in all directions. He was a true powerhouse at the peak of the Divine Realm, nearly a quasi-Saint.

The furious and boiling crowd suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of doom. Heart palpitations gripped them, and they instinctively fell silent, unable to resist the wave of fear.

Xie Qingzhi’s face curved into a faint smile. This was the foundation of a true elite family. They always had hidden cards to play.

"Boy, accept your fate," Xie Qingzhi said with satisfaction.

The black-robed elder sneered viciously and struck.

"Just another piece of trash," Li Xiaofei muttered disdainfully as he casually pressed down with one hand.

An overwhelming pressure crashed down. The black-robed elder didn’t even have time to react before being crushed into a bloody pulp in midair.

"If you’re so weak, stop pretending to be a master," Li Xiaofei sneered coldly.

"What?!"

This time, Xie Qingzhi’s expression twisted in utter shock. The black-robed elder had been assigned to be his protector by the Xie family. He was a guardian whose strength was among the top tier in the entire northwest; a pinnacle powerhouse at the apex of the pyramid. Yet, he had been crushed like a pancake without even lasting a single move.

This... this, this, this...

Xie Qingzhi turned to Li Xiaofei, and for the first time, his eyes filled with fear.

Who is this young powerhouse who appeared out of nowhere and can instantly defeat a peak Divine Realm expert? Can he be some hidden Saint from a secret lineage?

"Enough," Li Xiaofei said calmly, pointing his finger forward.

He executed the Middle Chong Sword technique. The legendary Six Meridian Divine Sword reappeared in the martial world as sword qi pierced through Xie Qingzhi’s shoulders, legs, elbows, and knees.

The icy chill of the sword qi overwhelmed the rebel commander, rendering him completely defenseless. He fell to his knees with a thud as blood pooled around him.

"Commander!"

"Protect the commander!"

The rebel elites and bodyguards surged forward, desperate to save him.

Shhhk, shhhk, shhhk.

The rusted sword streaked through the air. Rebels fell like stalks of wheat under a scythe. Xie Qingzhi’s face was filled with terror and despair.

"You’re a Saint! A Saint! Who... who are you?"

Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that, in this chaotic era of slaughter and destruction, a Saint would descend upon the northwest and stand on the side of the Liuhe people.

"You should have heard his name before," Xie Renyu said suddenly, his voice steady. "He is Li Xiaofei."

"Li Xiaofei?"

Xie Qingzhi’s voice trembled, his mind reeling in confusion as the name echoed in his ears. Suddenly, a spark of realization flashed through his mind. The name. The person. The stories.

"You’re that prodigy from Red Flag High School? The one everyone called a monster? You... weren’t you dead?"

His voice trembled with disbelief. Li Xiaofei had no intention of wasting further words. He was merely a minor character.

"I’ll leave him to you," Li Xiaofei said dismissively.

An invisible force hurled Xie Qingzhi into the furious crowd. But Xie Qingzhi’s fate was far worse compared to Suo Longfeng. The hatred the people of Liuhe bore for him was etched into their very bones.

Li Xiaofei had stripped Xie Qingzhi of his ability to resist but left his vitality intact. So even as pieces of his flesh were bitten and torn away, his body slowly regenerated, forcing him to endure the unimaginable agony without the mercy of death.

This endless cycle of pain pushed even Xie Qingzhi, with his once iron will, to the brink of collapse. It was a torment so cruel that his screams pierced the heavens.

Time passed as the crowd finally began to quiet down. The only thing that remained of Xie Qingzhi was a bloodied, mutilated figure. He no longer resembled a human.

At that moment, Bajie arrived with Principal Hu, Xiao Bidao, students from Red Flag High School, and disciples of the Cloudy Sky Gang.

The crowd gathered. For some, there was joy as parents reunited with their sons and daughters. For others, they were met with despair as students learned the heartbreaking news that their entire families had perished.

Xie Qingzhi was still clinging to life, so he was imprisoned and interrogated. They extracted a crucial piece of information from him.

The Goddess, Ye Liuying, had been taken as a gift for a Yiggs supremacist leader and was being transported to Lanfu Base City. Additionally, many young men and women from Liuhe City, including several key leaders of the Cloudy Sky Gang, had been enslaved and sent to Lanfu Base City to be sold.

"Bajie, stay behind to defend Liuhe Base City," Li Xiaofei commanded decisively. "Rescue and tend to the wounded, organize everyone to repair the city walls, and prepare for the possibility of another rebel attack or a star beast siege. Also, make contact with the Dragon Group and the government as quickly as possible."

He added, "I’ll head to Lanfu Base City immediately to rescue them."

Time was of the essence. Any further delay could make it too late.