Chapter 51: Subduing the Stormwind Hall

Whoosh...
Li Moxuan's figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.
In the next instant, he abruptly reappeared right in front of the two men.
Slap! Slap...
With both hands, he grabbed Bei Hong and Nangong Jin by their throats, hoisting them up off the ground.
"You refuse to believe the truth, yet you ask over and over again. Do you really take me for a man of infinite patience?"
Li Moxuan's cold, merciless gaze swept across their terrified, flushed faces.
At this sight, every martial artist present was dumbfounded.
The two branch masters were drenched in cold sweat, their hearts gripped by absolute despair.
Even though both of them were powerful Grandmasters, once caught in Li Moxuan's grip, they were completely powerless to resist.
Just how terrifying was this person's strength?
He had captured them in a mere fraction of a second, leaving them with no time even to react.
The disparity in power was absolute!
Bei Hong asked in a halting, struggling voice:
"Who... who on earth are you?"
For the first time, Bei Hong felt a tremor originating from the depths of his soul.
"You don't need to know. You'd better worry about your own survival instead."
Li Moxuan tossed the two of them casually to the ground, as if he were throwing away two bags of trash.
A blur flashed before everyone's eyes.
Li Moxuan had already reseated himself on the sofa, sipping his red wine as if nothing had happened at all.
Was this fucking teleportation?
Everyone present felt their scalps tingle, a chilling realization creeping over them that made their legs grow weak.
It felt as though they had just seen a ghost.
Bei Hong quickly composed himself and adopted a respectful tone:
"This... I beg Senior to enlighten us."
After all that had happened, though Li Moxuan's words sounded exaggerated, they had all proven to be true.
East Palace Chang and all his men had likely been reduced to ashes.
A being capable of wiping them out utterly without breaking a sweat was simply far beyond anything he could hope to handle.
Li Moxuan swirled the red wine in his glass, his expression calm.
"If you want to keep living, you will work for me. Otherwise, the two of you will also end up in a pile of ash!"
Silence descended upon the room.
This was a demand for unconditional surrender.
They were members of the Raging Wind Hall; when had they ever been threatened in such a manner?
An Xiantian-realm martial artist stepped forward and spoke:
"Even if your strength is formidable, you expect us to submit? That is absolute—"
Whoosh...
A burst of vital energy shot out.
Bang...
A basin-sized hole was blasted straight through the Xiantian martial artist's chest.
Thud...
His lifeless body collapsed heavily onto the floor.
"Does anyone else have an objection? Please feel free to speak up; I am more than willing to give you a free choice."
Li Moxuan stood up, turning his back to the crowd as he browsed the wine cabinet for another bottle of red wine.
He showed not the slightest sign of defense.
Bei Hong and Nangong Jin exchanged glances. Wasn't this the ultimate opportunity for a sneak attack?
Yet, when it came down to actually making a move, their hearts failed them.
After all, the man was capable of teleportation. Should they fail, the consequences would be truly catastrophic.
At that exact moment,
Whoosh...
Another surge of violent wind swept through the air.
Bei Hong felt his scalp prickle as an intensely terrifying premonition screamed within his mind.
His legs buckled, and he dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.
The next moment,
Bang...
A transparent bolt of energy grazed the top of Bei Hong's head, shearing off all his hair and inadvertently giving him a tonsure.
However, a Houtian martial artist standing directly behind Bei Hong was not nearly as fortunate.
Bang...
A massive hole was blown through the unfortunate fellow's chest.
Spurts of blood and fragments of internal organs showered the faces and heads of the martial artists standing behind him.
Some even flew directly into their gaping mouths.
"Ugh..."
Such a horrifying spectacle shattered the courage of everyone present, the heavy stench of blood driving them to retch violently.
Even though every single one of them had blood on their own hands, they could not stomach a scene of such utter carnage.
Bei Hong trembled violently with terror; had he delayed his surrender by even a single second longer, he would have been the dead man.
Nangong Jin collapsed to her knees as well, her snow-white, majestic assets heaving violently.
There was no doubt whatsoever that those surging, towering peaks were entirely natural.
Li Moxuan smiled faintly.
"Oh, my apologies. My hand slipped!"
The pupils of the martial artists constricted violently.
This fellow truly was as fickle as the weather, treating human lives like blades of grass.
He was more demonic than any demon. If possible, they never wished to lay eyes on him again for the rest of their lives.
"Well then? Have you made your decision?"
Bei Hong and Nangong Jin prostrated themselves on the ground, speaking with utmost reverence:
"From this day forward, we await Senior's every command! We are willing to serve as your loyal dogs."
If they didn't surrender now, they really would be turned into piles of ash shortly.
The rest of the Raging Wind Hall martial artists dropped to their knees one after another.
"We are willing to serve as your loyal dogs."
Li Moxuan crossed his arms, standing before the crowd with a haughty and disdainful posture as a cruel smile touched the corner of his lips.
"Not bad, at least you aren't irredeemably stupid."
Nangong Jin crawled on her knees until she was right in front of Li Moxuan.
She kowtowed to him with utmost respect.
A flattering smile graced her seductive face.
"From this moment on, you are my master."
"You may treat me however you wish; I would never dare disobey a single command from my master."
"Master, I adore a man as powerful as you. Let me serve you."
Nangong Jin licked her vibrant, alluring lips, reached out, and undid the belt of Li Moxuan's trousers, preparing to put on a live demonstration of her oral prowess.
Instead, Li Moxuan commanded:
"Stand up and speak."
"Yes, Master!"
Nangong Jin looked up at Li Moxuan with a ingratiating expression.
"Senior—ah, Master, would you like to feel some pleasure..."
She reached out, grabbing Li Moxuan's hand and pressing it against the magnificent curves on her chest, guiding him to stroke them gently.
A wave of softness and delicate warmth washed over him.
Li Moxuan sneered slightly and suddenly exerted force with his hand.
His grip turned Nangong Jin's face deathly pale with excruciating pain.
Yet she dared not utter a single sound.
Li Moxuan warned Nangong Jin coldly:
"I do not like my servants making decisions for me. Is that understood?"
"Next time, it won't be nearly this gentle!"
Shock rippled through Nangong Jin's heart; she had not expected Li Moxuan to be entirely immune to her charms.
Overwhelmed with terror, she nodded repeatedly.
"Understood, Master!"
"I will obey your every word!"
Only then did Li Moxuan release his grip.
A clear, hand-shaped bruise, dark purple in color, now marred the snow-white expanse of her skin—a pathetic sight against the pale background.
This was the lesson Li Moxuan had chosen to teach her.
Enduring the pain, Nangong Jin retreated to the side, never again daring to attempt seducing Li Moxuan on her own accord.
Li Moxuan raised his right hand.
Every single person present shuddered violently.
The sight of that gesture meant only one thing: someone was about to die.
However, this time Li Moxuan did not kill anyone. Streams of white spiritual light began to materialize within his palm.
They rapidly descended, landing upon the body of each and every person in the room.
Once the white spiritual light entered their bodies, it vanished completely.
"I have planted a formation within each of your bodies. You would do well not to engage in any petty tricks behind my back that I might dislike. Otherwise, even if you are a thousand miles away, I can turn you into a pool of mush at any moment!"
"Yes, Master!"
Bei Hong and the others felt a chill strike their hearts, utterly devoid of any courage to resist.
Li Moxuan continued with his instructions:
"Also, help me collect those spirit bullets. The more, the better."
"If you perform well, I will not treat you unfairly!"
Spirit bullets?
Although a shadow of doubt lingered in their minds, no one dared to ask questions; they simply complied.
After giving a few final instructions and leaving his contact information, Li Moxuan's figure instantly vanished from the spot.
He cared very little for these people from the Raging Wind Hall.
...
Once Li Moxuan's aura had completely faded into the distance,
Bei Hong and the others finally dared to clamber back to their feet.
Nangong Jin rubbed her dark purple chest, wincing.
"Hiss... It hurts so much. The master certainly doesn't know how to cherish a delicate flower!"
Bei Hong's face, meanwhile, was as dark as a thundercloud.
What kind of mess was this?
They had originally set out to settle accounts with East Palace Chang.
Little did they know they would march straight into the lion's den.
Not only had they been humiliated and subdued by Li Moxuan, but they had somehow ended up with a brand-new master.
Bei Hong looked toward Nangong Jin.
"Do you seriously intend to acknowledge that man as our master? Can the formation he left behind really control our lives?"
Bei Hong was unsure whether he should obediently follow Li Moxuan's orders, suspecting it might all be an elaborate bluff.
Nangong Jin sighed helplessly.
"That man possesses terrifying strength; he must at least be a Grandmaster. He wields so many bizarre techniques and is entirely capricious. You saw it yourself—he didn't care about our lives in the least."
"We'd best not stir up any more trouble."
Bei Hong could only sigh in resignation and nod slightly.
At that moment, a Xiantian-realm martial artist spoke up angrily:
"Branch Master, are we really just going to surrender to that fellow?"
"Earlier, the Lin and Wu families offered us a massive reward to form an alliance, and we turned them down. Now, we've been subjugated in the span of a few words—isn't this completely spineless?"
"Exactly, Branch Master! If word of this gets out, won't our Raging Wind Hall become the laughingstock of the entire world?"
"We can't just let ourselves be used like tools."
Nangong Jin supported her smooth chin with her hand.
"Should we report this matter to the Grand Branch Master? Let the Grand Branch Master make the decision for us?"
"The Grand Branch Master has been out of touch for years; there is simply no way to contact him."
Bei Hong spread his hands in helpless defeat.
"Let's just leave things as they are for now. At the very least, let's not defy him yet. I've heard that the divine physician Lu Yuan of the Immortal Cloud Valley has arrived in the Martial City. I'll go have him take a look. If that trick of his is merely a bluff, everything becomes simple!"
The martial artists nodded in agreement.
...
On the way back,
Li Moxuan held a spirit stone in his hand, studying it closely.
"The runes on it are quite simple. They merely destabilize the structure of the spirit stone to detonate the spiritual Qi contained within."
Judging by the concentration of spiritual Qi inside, it was merely a lower-grade spirit stone.
Even so, in a world starved of spiritual Qi, it was a remarkably precious commodity.
"I am already in the Golden Core realm, so absorbing this tiny amount of Qi is useless to me. It's better to save it for Linger."
"Though she hasn't reached foundation establishment yet, it will be more than enough to help temper her physical body."
A short while later,
Li Moxuan's figure descended into the courtyard of his home.
By now, night had completely fallen.
Countless specks of starlight dotted the pitch-black sky.
The sounds of birds and cicadas drifted from the surroundings, creating an atmosphere of utter peace and tranquility.
Yet beneath that tranquility lingered a faint trace of the scent of blood.
Li Moxuan frowned, following the scent until it led him toward the forest behind the mountain.
There were even small droplets of blood staining the grass.
"Strange, whose blood is this?"
As long as it wasn't Li Molinger's, however, he couldn't care less about meddling in other people's business.
Just as Li Moxuan was about to return home and head straight to bed,
He heard a series of muffled thuds echoing from the deep forest, accompanied by groans of pain.
Simultaneously, waves of vital energy buffeted the trees, causing them to hum with vibrations.
Clearly, someone nearby was engaged in a battle.
Out of pure curiosity, Li Moxuan decided to go investigate.
He wanted to ensure no malicious individuals were lurking around his home.