“Princess Lianyi, I must beg your pardon, but I truly don’t understand your anger. What do you mean by ‘it really is me’?”

Mu Feng fanned himself with exaggerated innocence, a polite smile plastered on his face.

“Our Great Qin Dynasty has always been diametrically opposed to evil cultivators. Should we not apprehend a demonic sect fiend and just let him run amok in our capital?”

He paused, his gaze sweeping toward Han Lie with open mockery.

“Moreover… this demonic sect fiend has already begun to wreak havoc in Qin Yang City. Burglary? Theft? If we don’t arrest him, how can the hundreds of millions of citizens of Qin Yang City rest easy?”

Mu Feng stepped closer, his voice dropping slightly.

“Furthermore, Princess Lianyi, just a few days ago you personally had the Commandant arrest several demonic sect cultivators. Surely today you cannot stop me from arresting just one more?”

Qin Lianyi did not answer Mu Feng’s legalistic arguments. Instead, her eyes narrowed, sharp as daggers.

“Mu Feng, are you truly determined to oppose me over a few unrelated individuals?”

“Or is it that your much-vaunted cultivation talent has been overshadowed by Daoist Han, breeding jealousy in your heart?”

She laughed coldly.

“Hah. Usually, you put on such an act of being a modest gentleman, a man of refined manners before me. Now it seems you are nothing but a narrow-minded hypocrite, terrified of anyone who might surpass you.”

Upon hearing this, Mu Feng’s chest heaved violently.

He was clearly stung to the core. The mask of the gentleman cracked, revealing the ugly pride beneath.

“Hmph, say what you will!” Mu Feng maintained the last shred of his composure through sheer force of will. “Princess Lianyi, no matter how much you belittle me, it cannot cover up the fact that this Daoist Han is a demonic sect evil cultivator who has also committed three consecutive burglaries in Qin Yang City!”

“Master Mu.”

At this point, Han Lie spoke up. His voice was calm, cutting through the tension.

“The words ‘reason’ and ‘composure’ are simple to say, but truly few can embody them.”

Han Lie looked at the younger man with the weary pity of an elder watching a tantrum.

“This humble Daoist offers you a piece of advice: there is always a sky beyond the sky, and a person beyond the person. The number of people in this world superior to you is as countless as the fish in the river. Could you possibly eliminate every single one of them?”

“Instead of facing your own shortcomings, you resort to slandering and destroying others to vent your frustrations.”

Han Lie shook his head.

“Forget an eighth-grade spiritual vein; even if you were given a divine-grade spiritual vein, what then? With such a heart, your cultivation path ends here.”

Mu Feng snorted disdainfully. “Hmph, a demonic sect evil cultivator lecturing me on morals? Are you even worthy?”

He turned his back on Han Lie and faced Qin Lianyi directly.

“Princess Lianyi, today I will stand right here and watch. Do you dare stop the law of Great Qin from taking its course?”

Qin Lianyi and Han Lie exchanged a glance.

Han Lie shook his head slightly at her. Don’t do it.

Qin Lianyi bit her lip, pondering her options. After a tense moment, she had no choice but to step aside.

Forcing Han Lie to stay today wasn’t physically impossible. But the political cost would be catastrophic. If Mu Feng reported this, she would have to explain to her Imperial Father why she was protecting a criminal.

Could she claim Han Lie was the prospective Imperial Son-in-Law? No. She had just told her father days ago that Han Lie had returned to his sect. That would be deceiving the sovereign—a capital offense in itself.

In front of Mu Feng and the public eye, forcibly keeping Han Lie was the losing move.

“You lot, why aren’t you taking him away yet?” Seeing Qin Lianyi yield, Mu Feng smirked, his voice filled with smug satisfaction.

“Yes!”

Seeing that the standoff between the two titans was over, the nervous officers finally moved in, shackling Han Lie and escorting him away.

Watching Han Lie disappear down the street, Qin Lianyi turned her gaze back to Mu Feng. Her eyes were devoid of warmth.

“Master Mu Feng, I hope that in the future, neither you nor your Mu family will ever leave any handle for me to grasp.”

Her voice was soft, but it carried the weight of a royal decree.

“Otherwise, I guarantee I will make your Mu family fall from the mountain peak into the deepest valley.”

“…….”

“Princess Lianyi…” Mu Feng opened his mouth to retort.

Qin Lianyi flicked her sleeve and turned to leave. She had absolutely no desire to listen to any more of his nonsense.

“Hmph! Who’s afraid of whom!” Mu Feng shouted at her back, his temper flaring. He truly couldn’t understand why she would burn bridges with the Minister of War’s family over a mere rogue cultivator.

Not long after, Mu Feng also left, leaving the street quiet.

At the entrance of Zhuo Manor, only Zhuo Cheng remained, standing bewildered in the wind.

He had finally understood. This wasn’t about the Zhuo family anymore. This was a proxy war between Qin Lianyi and Mu Feng, and Han Lie was the battlefield.

“Ah…” Zhuo Cheng sighed heavily.

Matters having come to this point, he could only use his meager influence to lobby the Commandant, hoping to minimize Han Lie’s punishment. But with charges of burglary and demonic cultivation… the outlook was grim.

Inside the prison of Qin Yang City.

The air was damp and smelled of mold and despair. Han Lie was locked in a solitary cell, separated from the general population.

Ironically, his neighbors were familiar faces. In the large cell next door sat Ye Lang and his four companions.

After the officers escorting Han Lie left, Ye Lang and his group finally stood up. They stared at Han Lie through the bars with the hungry eyes of wolves spotting a wounded deer.

“Han Lie, didn’t I tell you? Just wait. And now, haven’t we waited?”

Ye Lang mocked triumphantly, gripping the iron bars.

“At worst, we’ll be deported. But you? With the crime of burglary confirmed against you, even without us lifting a finger, death is unavoidable!”

“Hmph! Killing Cai Zhen and Junior Sister Yunxia… having you executed by the Great Qin Dynasty is letting you off easy!” one disciple spat. “If you fell into our hands, you’d learn what true cruelty means!”

“Heh heh.”

Han Lie sat on the straw mat, closed his eyes, and spoke nonchalantly.

“You people from Overlord Hall are truly persistent. Isn’t it just because This Senior is from the Servant Disciple division that you think This Senior is easy to bully?”

He opened one eye, a dangerous glint within.

“Rest assured, I will not be executed. If you wish to avenge your Junior Sisters Cai Zhen and Yunxia… after everyone is deported… I will wait for you.”

“If you have the capability and believe you can avenge your junior sisters… This Senior certainly doesn’t mind giving you the chance.”

Matters having come to this point, knowing the confrontation was inevitable, Han Lie dropped the facade.

Among the five, only Ye Lang was a threat. The other four were cannon fodder.

“Haha! You don’t actually think that with your mid-Golden Core Stage cultivation base… you can still contend with me?”

Ye Lang laughed, genuinely amused.

“A servant disciple is just a servant disciple. Getting a lucky break makes you think you’re invincible under heaven?”

Ye Lang sneered. “Actually… I rather hope you won’t be executed by the Great Qin Dynasty. Only then can I personally complete the mission Master entrusted to me.”

“You can rest assured… I guarantee your death will be a hundred times more miserable than those of Junior Sisters Cai Zhen and Yunxia.”

From Ye Lang’s perspective, the outcome was set. Killing a mid-Golden Core cultivator while at the peak of the Golden Core Stage was as easy as crushing a chicken.

Han Lie slowly opened both eyes, meeting their gazes without a hint of fear.

“This Senior would like to ask… among all of you… there must be several who fancied Immortal Maidens Cai Zhen and Yunxia… right?”

“So what if we did!”

“Junior Sister Cai Zhen was such a lovely person… how dare you, old bastard, kill her! If I don’t kill you… I swear I’m not human!”

“……”

The disciples exploded with rage, cursing through gritted teeth. They wished they could skin Han Lie alive right there.

“Heh heh…”

The corner of Han Lie’s mouth lifted into an eerie, provocative smile.

“…let’s not talk about things too far away.”

“At least for now… This Senior hasn’t yet experienced what you call cruelty.”

He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper that carried perfectly through the silent dungeon.

“But your Junior Sisters Cai Zhen and Yunxia… they experienced something quite different first.”

“You gentlemen probably haven’t even held Cai Zhen or Yunxia’s hands yet… have you?”

“Then allow me to tell you… something cruel… for all of you.”

“Shut up!”

“Bastard! Shut your mouth!”

The Overlord Hall disciples sensed what was coming and roared angrily, trying to drown him out.

However, Han Lie ignored them, delivering the final blow to their hearts.

“Before This Senior killed them… they willingly offered their bodies to This Senior.”

“Tsk tsk… having both Immortal Maidens Cai Zhen and Yunxia offer themselves simultaneously…”

He sighed reminiscently.

“That wonderful feeling… the clash of Yin and Yang… you probably won’t experience anything like it in this lifetime.”

“It’s alright… This Senior can summarize it for you in two words:”

“Quite tender.”