"You little thief Ye Yunfei! Confess honestly, did you murder Commander Leng of the Capital Army?!"
A great general clad in golden armor strode through the air. An aura of overwhelming power and authority emanated from him, like a god descending to earth, aloof from the mortal masses.
He was none other than Grand Marshal Sima, the Supreme Commander of the Capital Army!
"Ye Yunfei, you vile whelp!
Did you kill my third son, Wuhen?!"
An elder advanced side by side with the marshal through the air. His eyes brimmed with malevolence, his loose robe embroidered with patterns of sun, moon, mountains, and rivers.
This elder was none other than Chancellor Xiao!
The chancellor's gaze toward Ye Yunfei overflowed with boundless resentment and venom.
"Thief Ye Yunfei! Minister Li is a high-ranking official of our imperial family. How dare you act so brazenly, charging into the Li Residence to commit murder and mayhem, intending to harm Minister Li! This is the crime of rebellion!
Men! Arrest this thief Ye Yunfei, throw him into the imperial dungeons, and await punishment!"
The First Prince rode a majestic warhorse into the Li Residence, surrounded by a great multitude of soldiers. The moment he saw Ye Yunfei, he shouted this rebuke.
Boom boom boom…
Squadron after squadron of soldiers flooded into the Li Residence like a tide, each one holding gleaming weapons that flashed with cold light.
An aura of stern lethality emanated from every soldier; it was clear at a glance they were elites, every one of them veterans of the battlefield.
In moments, Ye Yunfei was surrounded by dense, packed ranks of soldiers, so thick it was impenetrable as iron. Every weapon in the soldiers' hands pointed at Ye Yunfei, thick with murderous intent.
"We're saved!"
One by one, the Li Family members wept with joy and hastily distanced themselves from Ye Yunfei.
"Don't worry, everyone. Our Li Family is saved," Li Jianjun said excitedly, supported by several clansmen.
Look!
Grand Marshal Sima of the Capital Army has come personally with his men!
Marshal Sima holds military authority, his power overwhelming the entire court, his status incomparably noble. Yet today he intervened personally! Just what has happened?"
"Chancellor Xiao is here too! Chancellor Xiao leads the hundreds of officials of the imperial court, his position second only to the Emperor himself. Along with Grand Marshal Sima, they are hailed as the twin pillars of our Great Qin Empire, its literary and military leaders!"
"Just what earth-shattering major event has occurred within the Li Residence? To cause both Grand Marshal Sima and Chancellor Xiao to arrive at the same time!"
...
Outside the Li Residence at this moment, a crowd of onlookers had long surrounded the place until it was watertight, their clamor shaking the sky.
Many of the bolder and more curious had even entered the Li Residence itself to observe the spectacle.
Inside the Li Residence, Ye Yunfei's gaze swept over Chancellor Xiao, Grand Marshal Sima, and the First Prince, then he offered a faint smile.
"Thief Ye Yunfei! Kneel at once and answer our questions!"
The First Prince scolded, his tone domineering, his manner lofty.
Ye Yunfei chuckled coldly, saying nothing.
"Ye Yunfei, what defense could you possibly have?
You murdered Chancellor Xiao's Third Son Wuhen and Commander Leng of the Capital Army. The ironclad evidence is piled as high as a mountain! No amount of sophistry will be of any use!" the First Prince sneered. The gaze he directed at Ye Yunfei was brimming with schadenfreude.
Originally, in the struggle for the position of Crown Prince, he had always held the upper hand. If nothing unexpected occurred, the Crown Prince title was certain to land on his head.
Who could have imagined that because of Ye Yunfei's appearance, the Crown Prince title had fallen onto the Third Prince's head instead.
Thus, this First Prince harbored the utmost hatred for Ye Yunfei.
"Hah, since when have I intended to defend myself? Correct, I killed all of them. So what? What can any of you do about it?"
Ye Yunfei suddenly flicked his fingers, his expression unchanged, speaking with perfect calm.
"Hahaha, Ye Yunfei! On the brink of death, and still so arrogant! I have to hand it to you!" The First Prince laughed uproariously.
"Vile thief! Having committed grave crimes, slaughtering the innocent indiscriminately, why don't you surrender at once!"
Grand Marshal Sima stepped forward, his entire body aflame with rage. His tyrannical spiritual pressure erupted and rolled toward Ye Yunfei like a tidal wave as he shouted harshly.
"Slaughtering innocents?
Commander Leng acted under the First Prince's orders. A dignified Profound Realm martial artist, holding no grudge or grievance against me, yet he willingly served as a lackey and came to hunt me down. His death was richly deserved.
Xiao Wuhen, relying on his status as Chancellor Xiao's Third Son, acted arrogantly and overbearingly, coveted my treasures upon sight, and repeatedly led people to hunt me. His death was even more richly deserved.
If I didn't kill them, should I have waited for them to kill me?"
Ye Yunfei shook his head with a light laugh.
"Vile thief Ye Yunfei! That my son Wuhen wished to kill you was your honor! How dare you resist, harming Wuhen to death! You deserve death ten thousand times over!
Moreover, your entire family will also be executed!
We will exterminate all nine degrees of your kinship!"
Chancellor Xiao gnashed his teeth, his words saturated with hatred and murderous intent.
"Thief Ye Yunfei!
Kneel and accept death at once!" Grand Marshal Sima roared furiously, like thunderbolts cracking.
"And who are you?
What qualifications do you have to make me kneel?"
Ye Yunfei lifted his eyelids, his gaze disdainful.
Ye Yunfei could see that this Grand Marshal Sima only possessed strength at the Mid-Stage Profound Realm. Though he had led troops for many years and was a seasoned veteran of the battlefield, belonging to that type whose combat power was especially formidable, capable of crushing those of the same tier...
For Ye Yunfei, a mere Mid-Stage Profound Realm fighter was not even worthy of fear.
He didn't even need to mention Hu Miao being at the Late Stage Profound Realm; Ye Yunfei himself felt confident he could fight a Mid-Stage Profound Realm expert.
"Rebellion!
Men! Capture this traitor!" Grand Marshal Sima flew into a rage.
Immediately, several dozen soldiers, grasping long spears and sharp lances, murderous intent thick in the air, charged toward Ye Yunfei simultaneously.
Though the cultivation levels of these soldiers weren't particularly high, every one was a battle-hardened veteran, their auras sharp, all men skilled in slaughter.
*Whoosh!*
A streak of black light shot from Ye Yunfei's body toward those soldiers, swift as a shooting star.
And then.
*Thud thud thud…*
Nearly at the same moment, the head of every soldier charging at Ye Yunfei suddenly flew off.
In the span of a second, several dozen soldiers all met their deaths.
"RAAH!
All of you, attack!
I want to see just how powerful his combat strength is!" Grand Marshal Sima was thoroughly infuriated and roared.
"KILL!"
All the soldiers surrounding them belonged to the Capital Army. Upon hearing Grand Marshal Sima's order, they immediately rushed in to attack Ye Yunfei from all directions, like a tide.
Their numbers were many, exceeding a thousand!
But Ye Yunfei remained calm and unhurried, using Soul Power to control the Void Blade as it darted out like lightning.
*Whoosh whoosh whoosh…*
The Void Blade transformed into a black streak of light, weaving back and forth among the soldiers at extreme speed.
Wherever the black light passed, soldiers fell one after another.
For these soldiers, the Void Blade's speed was simply far too fast.
They simply lacked the ability to clearly see its trajectory of movement. They only saw the black flash and were already killed.
*Thud thud thud…*
After only two or three seconds, hundreds of corpses already lay piled like a small hill. The soldiers charging from behind could only tread over the mound of corpses to charge at Ye Yunfei.
And from start to finish, Ye Yunfei stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his expression cold and detached, without taking any action!
"How is this possible?!"
This scene caused Grand Marshal Sima, Chancellor Xiao, and the First Prince to be struck with utter astonishment.
"Cease! All of you, retreat!" Grand Marshal Sima finally shouted sternly; he had finally realized that these ordinary soldiers stood no chance against Ye Yunfei.
"Vile thief, I never imagined you possessed such combat prowess," Chancellor Xiao said coldly.
"Thief Ye Yunfei! I'll personally be the one to behead you!"
After all the soldiers retreated, Grand Marshal Sima stepped forward, advancing toward Ye Yunfei, murderous intent boiling off him.
Ye Yunfei offered a faint smile. Instead of retreating, he advanced, stepping forward in preparation to engage.
Right at this moment.
"Make way for the Emperor's arrival!"
A shout rang out. A large procession of men and horses marched with majestic force, charging into the Li Residence.