Chapter 72: Drastic Measures

　　‘Is it because I cultivate the Tyrant Body Tempering Technique and Great Expansion Divine Technique at the same time? I have absorbed so much righteous energy, and yet I can’t even break through another star!’ Yunxiao was a little surprised. Previously, he had taken many Thousand Birds pills before he reached the six-stars level. He had had a vague feeling then, but only now did he dare to confirm it.

　　‘It seems that cultivating several cultivation techniques at the same time has both advantages and disadvantages! However, now that I know the Tyrant Body Tempering Technique and the Great Expansion Divine Technique, coupled with my comprehension of martial arts, no one at the same rank as me will be my match!’

　　His Primordial Qi was still stuck at the bottleneck of the six-stars level after absorbing all of the righteous energy, which slightly disappointed him. He was about to go down when he heard Yan Jin and Yu Zixian. Then, plumes of righteous energy suddenly erupted violently from the group of more than a hundred scholars in the next moment, rushing toward him like waves!

　　‘Fu*k!

　　‘Yan Jin, Yu Zixian, I love you both!’

　　Yunxiao was overjoyed. It was like a man who did not have enough to eat and was suddenly served a table full of dishes! The pores all over him suddenly opened, greedily absorbing the pure righteous energy while his whole mind was immersed in this wonderful feeling.

　　In order not to let them stop the supply of righteous energy, Yunxiao deliberately put on a pained expression and shouted angrily, “You… you…How can you do this? You are too cruel!”

　　As a large amount of righteous energy was absorbed into his dantian, the level of his Primordial Qi finally reached a saturation point. A completely new realm quietly arrived near him; his meridians were all opened in an instant, and his eyes sparkled like electricity. He finally broke through and became a seven-stars warrior!

　　He was so happy that he wanted to roar, but he continued to absorb the righteous energy greedily and cry out, “Bast*rd! Stop it! Stop it right now! I’m dying! Help!”

　　The hundreds of scholars on the ground, each with a pale face and large drops of sweat rolling down his forehead, felt their energy being rapidly drained away, which had never happened before. Normally, the more they recited the knowledge of saints, the more energetic they became.

　　“Everyone must hold on! This evil man is on his last leg!” Gongsun Rang gnashed his teeth. He had swallowed a lump of Yunxiao’s earwax and vomited out all his bile, now wishing he could pull the other down from mid-air and dismember him. Therefore, he was the one who released the strongest righteous energy among all!

　　Li Xian was frightened as he said, “What should we do now, my lord? Young Master Yun seems to be losing it!”

　　Li Chunyang looked up at Yunxiao in astonishment. Apart from the pained face, Yunxiao’s eyes were clear and calm, and there was no sign that he was losing it. Moreover, judging from the aura coming from mid-air…could it be that he had advanced another level?

　　Finally, after about fifteen minutes, the scholars could not stand it any longer. As soon as they stopped reciting the knowledge of saints, they all became listless, their bodies seeming to be hollowed out as their energies were all lost. It was as if their connection with the righteous energy had been forcibly cut off by someone.

　　Puke!

　　Some of the weaker scholars opened their mouths and coughed up mouthfuls of blood, then fell to the ground and fainted. Gongsun Rang also felt dizzy and was teetering from overexertion of his divine sense!

　　Yan Jin and Yu Zixian also suffered overexertion of divine sense. They looked into the sky in horror, only to see Yunxiao slowly descending with a calm face.

　　Both of them and some still sober scholars were all dumbfounded. Not only did Yunxiao look unhurt, but his aura seemed to be stronger than before as well.

　　At the moment when one of Yunxiao’s feet touched the ground, the invisible forces on the top of his head, his palms, and his soles burst like bubbles and disappeared.

　　He landed gently on the ground and straightened up, then slowly opened his eyes. In each of his pupils there seemed to be a streak of golden lightning flashing through, vanishing in an instant. The minds of all the scholars were shaken, and those who were still awake all coughed out mouthfuls of blood while dozens of them fainted on the spot.

　　Yunxiao let out a long breath and said, “An intermediate seven-stars warrior…not bad! If you worked harder, I should have broken through to the peak level of the seven-stars. Tsk, tsk…I’ve only absorbed so little of your righteous energy, and yet you can’t stand it any longer? Are you slacking in your studies at normal times?”

　　His words were like a thunderbolt which exploded in the ears of all scholars in an instant! Even those scholars who had fainted were awakened. Everyone was stupefied, and their minds were completely blank!

　　“What? He… he…he is actually using our righteous energy to make a breakthrough!”

　　Puke!

　　Many scholars vomited blood again while Yan Jin and Gongsun Rang were so furious that they each coughed out a mouthful of blood as well and fell to the ground.

　　“Ah?” Even Li Chunyang was struck dumb. His eyes were widened, but he burst out laughing in the next instant. “Haha! Yunxiao, you are truly my grandson! Well, when you guys return, remember to help me thank Kong Renyi for this generous gift!”

　　His words further provoked these scholars and damaged their minds, making them all crazy and somewhat absent-minded.

　　“You… you…You will die a violent death!” Yan Jin cursed in a hoarse voice.

　　“Don’t think you will be fine after just coughing out a few mouthfuls of blood!” Yunxiao snorted coldly as his sharp gaze swept across everyone’s face. “You have blocked the front door of the Li Family and accused my grandfather for no reason. Now, it is time to settle the score!” He took a step forward, and a great pressure immediately fell upon the exhausted scholars like a mountain!

　　Puke!

　　Yan Jin, who was closest to Yunxiao, was the first to bear the brunt. Under the impact, he coughed out a mouthful of blood and took a few steps back. “What are you…What are you trying to do!” he cried out in horror.

　　Originally, they came here with a total of more than one hundred scholars vowing to take Li Chunyang down! But unexpectedly, they had all become half-dead like this before they had even said a few words, lying all over the ground. Meanwhile, the walls and ground were covered with all the blood they had coughed out!

　　Yunxiao sneered, “What am I trying to do? You have gathered at the front door of my residence with more than a hundred men, and yet you ask me what I am trying to do? Are you here to tell me jokes?”

　　Yu Zixian steadied Yan Jin, who was backing away, and calmed down a little. Then, he stepped forward and thundered, “Your family has committed ten crimes, which are inexcusable!” He knew that this mission was about to fail, but he must hold the five cardinal principles of righteousness on his side and pin the ten crimes tightly on the Li Family in any case!

　　Yunxiao’s eyes flashed as he stared at him and said, “You are indeed here to tell me jokes. Ten crimes? Do you think His Majesty is blind? You are clearly saying that His Majesty is a real big assh*le and a bad king, for he had failed to distinguish the loyal ones and sycophants, as well as estranged the virtuous courtiers and become close to the villains! Am I right?”

　　“You…This…You…” For a moment, Yu Zixian became tongue-tied and was at a loss. At that moment, Gongsun Rang hurried up and said angrily, “Li Yunxiao, don’t you avoid the important and dwell on the trivial! You are quoting out of context and talking nonsense!”

　　Yunxiao raised his head slightly and gave him a contemptuous look as he scoffed, “You? Is it because you just swallowed my earwax that you have become stupid? I don’t want to talk to a person who eats excrement.”

　　Puke!

　　Gongsun Rang was so angry that he vomited a mouthful of blood again. Having been dealt with the repeated blows, he was unsteady on his feet and kept stepping back while pointing at Yunxiao with a trembling finger, “You… you…”

　　All the Three Wises had suffered losses and vomited blood!

　　The rest of the scholars, who had not yet fainted, were all pale; their eyes had become somewhat dazed after losing their energies. When they saw their three leaders fall one by one, they were utterly struck dumb, all staying where they were at a complete loss.

　　The scene was completely different from what they had imagined. What should have happened was Li Chunyang surrendering under their condemnation and being executed for his crimes!

　　Why was this happening? Brother Zhou, Brother Zhang, Brother Meng, Brother Shitu… One by one, the gifted scholars who usually gave out advice on the state affairs all fell on the ground like dead pigs, amidst puddles of their own blood…

　　Li Chunyang, too, was dumbfounded. He could not believe that a group of pedantic scholars, whose only means of scraping a living was through lip service, were coughing blood with anger because of what his grandson had said.

　　There was a strong smell of blood in the air, so Yunxiao frowned and said, “Originally, you would surely die for offending my family. But for the sake of helping me advance, I will give you another chance.”

　　“How arrogant! We are disciples of the saints, the scholars! Do you dare to kill us!” One of the scholars shouted angrily.

　　Yunxiao ignored him and reached out a hand before waving in the air. Immediately, a banner flew into his grip, which read ‘Ten Crimes, Inexcusable!’. With a sarcastic smile, his figure flashed and arrived in front of the scholar who had just spoken in the next instant. Then, he lightly slapped the top of the scholar’s head with a palm.

　　Pa!

　　Just like that, the scholar’s head cracked like a watermelon, pale yellow brains and bright red blood spurting out and spilling all over the ground. After that, Yunxiao slapped him on the chest, causing a stream of blood, as thick as an arm, to spew out of the now headless neck.

　　Everyone gasped and felt cold all over!

　　They had never seen such cruelty before. These scholars, who spent their days studying the books of saints, appreciating flowers, the moon, the autumn scenery, and not even daring to slaughter chickens and ducks, were utterly struck dumb. It was then that fear began to creep into them, and they finally realized that they were in big trouble now!

　　Yunxiao threw the white banner over the stream of blood, and the blood immediately washed away the few large words!

　　He clenched his palm into a fist, with which, a large mass of blood gathered in the air and then moved over the banner under his control. Soon, a few bright red words appeared on the back of the banner: ‘Kong Renyi is a false righteous man, a real tortoise!”

　　He threw the banner into the middle of the group of scholars and said lightly, “Hold this banner and walk around the city three times. Shout out the words on it every three steps. I will send someone to follow you, and I will kill all those who do not shout, who shout wrongly, and whose voice is not loud enough!”

　　“Li Yunxiao, aren’t you afraid of being condemned by the world and…” Yu Zixian pointed angrily at Yunxiao and scolded. But all of a sudden, he felt a pain in his neck, and then found that his body was shrinking in his sight. At the same time, the ground was moving away from him, and everyone was looking up at him in horror. At this moment, he was shocked to realize that his head had been cut off and thrown up into the air.