As Lu Fan's words fell, an eerie silence descended upon the entire long street.
"Then kill them all..."
A simple, almost indifferent command, yet it sent shudders down the spines of many.
With a sharp "swish," Luo Cheng drew the blade at his waist. His eyes gleamed with dazzling brilliance, blood surging within him—he had been waiting for this very moment.
"Your subordinate obeys!" he declared.
With that, he raised his long blade high.
"Those who wield weapons with malice—kill!""Those who conspire in rebellion—kill!"
As his voice echoed, the Ironblood Army behind him sprang into action.
A series of metallic shings exploded into the air as they unsheathed the white blades at their waists.
Chen Beixun's eyes widened in disbelief—never had he imagined Lu Fan would act with such decisiveness, such fearless audacity.
If word of this were to spread, Lu Fan would surely be condemned by all! But then again, after slaughtering so many scholars, hadn't he already earned the scorn of the world? The thought left Chen Beixun dazed.
Lu Fan, for all his sickly elegance, was far more ruthless and maniacal than Lu Changkong ever was.
Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan stood dumbfounded. Their previously upright backs bent once more at Lu Fan's command.
The mobs hired by the Three Great Families and the allied merchants were indeed numerous. Yet these so-called rebels were nothing more than local thugs—gangsters and ruffians, idle and lawless men used to causing disturbances.
Lu Fan's order caught them completely off guard.
Someone roared in fury, "You tyrant! We'll fight to the death!"
With that, the rabble surged forward.
They held the numbers. Most of the Ironblood Army was stationed on the city walls, guarding the northern gate, and Luo Cheng's squad numbered only a few dozen.
But Luo Cheng's expression remained icy. With a sweeping slash, he cut a thug cleanly in two.
The rest of the Ironblood Army followed suit—cold, precise, and deadly. They were soldiers—disciplined, trained, and lethal—not a mob of rabble to be compared with.
Nie Changqing moved as well. The butcher's knife in his hand whirled as he joined the fray.
With a Six-Sound Grandmaster among them, the street thugs were even less of a match. Their resistance quickly collapsed.
Many of the thugs were struck with terror. Their crude weapons clattered to the blood-soaked ground as they wept and howled in panic:
"We only took the money—we had no intention to rebel!""We were wrong! Spare us, my lord!""We never meant to revolt—we swear!"
But their pleas found no mercy in Luo Cheng's eyes. His blade rose and fell, painting the street red for ten long miles.
The bystanders on either side of the road were frozen in fear.
Those who had earlier joined the riot chants in jest now turned pale as corpses, trembling uncontrollably—some even wetting themselves in terror.
Amid the swirling scent of blood, Lu Fan sat calmly, idly toying with a chess piece.
Civilians were no match for soldiers—on entirely different planes of power.
The riot was swiftly quelled—or rather, the rioters were slaughtered to the last. Lu Fan had ordered their execution, and Luo Cheng would leave no one alive.
There was no need for survivors—they knew precisely who had incited this mob from the shadows.
Yi Yuexiu rested her hand on the wheelchair and gently pushed forward. The wooden wheels rolled over the blood-slicked cobblestones, a suffocating aura of death filling the air.
Though the sun blazed overhead, a bone-deep chill permeated every soul present.
Liu Ye and Zhu Yishan were filled with despair. Watching the hellish carnage unfold, their hearts quaked—the fate of the rioters could easily become their own.
Their psychological defenses had been completely shattered by Lu Fan.
Chen Beixun still wore a veneer of defiance, but his twitching beard betrayed the tremor in his heart.
Bang!
Luo Cheng kicked open the gates of the Liu Estate and stormed in.
The private soldiers inside, once cut down by Lu Changkong, raised their arms, but were quickly overwhelmed.
Blood soaked the halls of Liu Manor.
The estate's nobler members were dragged out in chains.
Those who resisted were swiftly overrun—multiple blades piercing their bodies, turning the grounds into a river of blood.
—
At the Chen Estate
Around a sandalwood table, laughter and wine flowed freely.
Suddenly, a young Chen clansman stumbled in, face pale with dread.
"Terrible news!" he gasped. "The City Lord's Mansion has purged the rioters on charges of treason—they've seized Liu and Zhu estates, and now they're heading here!"
His voice trembled with fear. The blood-soaked tragedy he had witnessed silenced him.
Lu Fan's ruthlessness, the Ironblood Army's merciless slaughter—it terrified him.
"What?!"
The stewards of the Liu and Zhu families slammed their hands on the table.
Even the sword sect experts stared in disbelief.
Hundreds of citizens—yet Lu Fan gave a single order, and they were all executed?
What of the law? What of the principle that the many cannot be punished as one? Lu Fan was clearly ignoring all convention!
They had meant to rattle the City Lord's Mansion with a civil disturbance. Who would have thought Lu Fan would respond not with negotiation, but with bloodshed?
In the Chen estate, many of the minor merchant leaders began to quake in fear.
"Why panic? Would Lu Fan really dare erase the Three Great Families and all the city's merchants?""If he did, Northern Luo City would fall into chaos! We merchants are vital to stability—everyone knows that!""He's bluffing. He must be bluffing…"
Around the table, merchants whispered nervously among themselves.
But the faces of the Liu and Zhu family leaders were ashen, their limbs cold as ice.
Even the sword sect warriors furrowed their brows.
"They say the Young Lord of Northern Luo, Lu Ping'an, is cruel because of his crippled legs. Now it seems... there's some truth in that."
"But acting on such bloodlust will have consequences. This massacre will stir outrage across the realm—such deeds are the mark of a demon. Our Sword Sect… shall slay this demon today!"
At the sandalwood table, several sword sect elites drew their blades.
Many merchants rose in chorus, cheering them on.
The more chaos in Northern Luo, the better—it gave them the chance to fish in troubled waters and increase their profits.
The leaders of the Liu and Zhu families remained silent, knowing their fates hung by a thread.
Suddenly—
"Why do you not join us in vanquishing the demon, Senior Brother Jing Yue?"
The leading swordsman, who carried three blades in his pearwood scabbard, turned to a quiet figure seated alone, still sipping his wine.
Jing Yue merely shook his head. "Wait. I've already summoned the other six heroes of the Sword Sect. When the Seven Swords gather, then we shall decide the heavens."
This was the same Jing Yue who once fled across Northern Luo Lake in panic.
He knew all too well—Nie Changqing, Lu Fan's companion, possessed strength beyond his imagining. Alone, Jing Yue was no match.
Only when at least four of the Seven Heroes arrived could they hope for victory.
"You're too cautious, Senior Brother. Even a Grandmaster of the Seventh Sound would retreat before us united—what fear have we of two bodyguards?"
The swordsman with the pearwood scabbard sneered, eyes flashing with disdain.
But Jing Yue offered no reply, only pouring another drink.
Feeling slighted, the other swordsman snorted and flicked his sleeve, tapping the scabbard.
Shing!
A blade flew into his hand as he strode toward the door.
Several sword sect disciples and curious merchants followed him out of the hall.
But the moment he crossed the threshold, the swordsman's heart lurched. A Grandmaster's instinct flared within him.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
His body erupted with five echoes of qi and blood.
Then—
A streak of black light descended from the heavens, slicing through the air outside the Chen Estate.
The crowd barely saw it before it struck—a butcher's blade, jet-black and ominous.
The swordsman with the three-blade scabbard didn't even manage a final shout.
The blade cleaved his skull in half.
He died the moment he stepped out the door.
The entire Chen Estate fell silent.
The thick stench of blood filled the nostrils of all who stood at the entrance.