Chapter 18: Speaking with Strength

Among the divine secrets of the “Five Energies and Three Flowers” that Qu Yi obtained were speed techniques and attack techniques corresponding to the five elemental powers.
The metal element’s attack techniques were: Annihilation, Slaughter, and Final Kill;
The wood element’s attack techniques were: Withering, Deterioration, and Death;
The water element’s attack techniques were: Cold, Ice Field, and Silence;
The fire element’s attack techniques were: Explosive Force, Sea of Fire, and Exhaustion;
The earth element’s attack techniques were: Collapse, Cracking, and Heavenly Pressure.
These techniques were suitable for the Yuan Ying stage, the Outward Journey stage, and the Divided Mind stage respectively. By the Yuan Ying and Outward Journey stages, Qu Yi had already mastered the first two of the five elemental attack techniques. Now that he had reached the early Divided Mind stage, he had also practiced the five attack techniques—Final Kill, Death, Silence, Exhaustion, and Heavenly Pressure—but had not yet fully mastered them.
However, when Qu Yi used the “Final Kill” technique against Mu Shang, who was in the middle stage of the Divided Mind stage, it was more than enough.
Mu Shang only thought Qu Yi was fast; he never expected Qu Yi to possess such unexpected attack techniques, so he had no idea how to respond and thus became the first soul to perish under Qu Yi’s attack.
Qu Yi swiftly killed Mu Shang, immediately took away Mu Shang’s Golden Spear, which recognized him as its master through blood.
Among the crowd watching from the air nearby were Meng Zhan and Gui Ning, the leaders of the two enforcement teams. They had not yet recovered from the shock of Mu Shang’s death until Qu Yi took the Golden Spear, at which point they roared,
“Li Mu, how dare you kill your teammate during a competition? I must report this to the enforcement elders!”
“Li Mu, hand over Mu Shang’s Golden Spear immediately! It’s my magical weapon—how can you take it?”
Meng Zhan and Gui Ning’s angry voices rang out loudly among the crowd. Soon, they flew to the peak and surrounded Qu Yi, seemingly intending to attack him together to retrieve the Golden Spear.
“Meng Zhan, Gui Ning, aren’t you the leaders of the Fourth Enforcement Team? What right do you have to speak in our competition? Moreover, you keep claiming the Golden Spear is your magical weapon—what proof do you have? If it’s yours, why did you give it to Mu Shang? Are you deliberately trying to harm me?” Qu Yi shouted fiercely, his veins bulging.
Clearly, Qu Yi seized the loopholes in their anxious words and challenged them in front of everyone.
Huh!

The members of the various law enforcement teams watching the scene immediately started shouting, accusing Meng Zhan and Gui Ning. Especially those from the Fourth Law Enforcement Team felt insulted by seeing these two leaders openly interfering in their team’s affairs, and they cursed angrily one after another. The members of the other teams also shook their heads, believing that Meng Zhan and Gui Ning were simply causing trouble recklessly and were vile and cunning people. Meng Zhan and Gui Ning quickly regained their senses. Qu Yi’s earlier duel had shown his strength, and even if they joined forces, they might not be able to defeat him, given his speed. They also realized that their words earlier had revealed their anxiety, and any defense would be useless. “Li Mu, you’re not so great. Don’t think just because you’re the team leader, you’ll be safe,” Meng Zhan said darkly, abandoning his aggressive stance. Gui Ning gave Qu Yi a cold glance before flying away with Meng Zhan. After the two left, Qu Yi stood on the peak with a smile and called out, “Teammates of the Fourth Law Enforcement Team, who else wants to fight me? If not, from today onward, I am the leader of the Fourth Law Enforcement Team.” The members of the Fourth Law Enforcement Team looking on exchanged glances; none had the courage to step forward. After all, who could keep up with Qu Yi’s speed? Moreover, no one had seen clearly the spell he used to kill Mu Shang, let alone how to defend against it. Thus, no one wanted to risk their lives and no one challenged Qu Yi anymore. Qu Yi glanced around, smiled faintly, raised his Golden Spear, and declared, “From today onward, I am the leader of the Fourth Law Enforcement Team.” “Leader!” the members of the Fourth Law Enforcement Team called out obediently. Although they had hesitated to get close to Qu Yi before due to Yan Zhong’s influence, now that Yan Zhong was dead, they certainly didn’t want to offend him anymore. Qu Yi had changed everything with his strength. … Qu Yi arrived at the Mingxin Hall, standing alone while fifty seats were arranged on each side, already occupied by dozens of law enforcement team leaders. Some leaders were still on missions outside and couldn’t come. Suddenly, the chief leader Li Kui appeared on the tiger throne in the middle of the hall, casting a indifferent glance at all the leaders present. “You are Li Mu, who has taken over as the leader of the Fourth Law Enforcement Team. As usual, I hereby officially appoint you as the leader,” Li Kui said calmly.

Qu Yi immediately bowed with clasped fists and said loudly, “Yes, Chief Commander. I will surely lead the Fourth Law Enforcement Team well to protect the interests of Taiyuan Gate.” The commanders present—Meng Zhan and Gui Ning—bit their lips, their eyes cold, and glared at Qu Yi with clear dissatisfaction. Of course, most of the commanders immediately stood up to congratulate Qu Yi. Qu Yi also smiled and returned their greetings, expressing his gratitude in a friendly manner. Li Kui observed the expressions of all the commanders. Only after everyone had congratulated him did he say calmly, “Li Mu, do you know why I didn’t investigate the cause of Yan Zhong’s death? Let me tell you—here at Taiyuan Gate, for those of you in the Diversion Stage, death is nothing to worry about. The cultivation world is so vast that there’s never a shortage of experts at this stage willing to join us at Taiyuan Gate. No matter how Yan Zhong died, even if it was you, Li Mu, who killed him, it doesn’t matter. He was inferior, and his death is just that. Therefore, it might not be a good thing for you, Li Mu, to take on the position of commander with your current level of early Diversion Stage cultivation. In the future, if someone challenges you and you die, I won’t investigate the real culprit. At Taiyuan Gate, only strength matters.” The commanders present listened with faint smiles, deeply agreeing with his words. Hearing this, Qu Yi nodded with a smile. Of course, he understood Li Kui’s meaning—to stay in this position forever, one must have absolute strength; otherwise, they might be overthrown or even killed, and Taiyuan Gate would show no pity. “Thank you, Chief Commander, for your teachings!” Qu Yi said with a smile. Li Kui smiled faintly before saying, “That’s enough. You, the new commander, are now in place, and I have witnessed it. Your tasks will be delivered to you by people from the Internal Affairs Hall. I’m leaving!” With that, Li Kui disappeared. Among Taiyuan Gate’s five core institutions, the Skill Transmission Hall was used to teach cultivation techniques, the Law Enforcement Hall to protect Taiyuan Gate’s interests, the Internal Affairs Hall to handle various internal affairs, the Artifact Hall for crafting weapons, pills, and spirit talismans, and the Elders’ Hall where elders at the Fusion Stage gathered. Among these, the Internal Affairs Hall was the largest, as it had to deal with countless trivial matters both inside and outside the gate, requiring a huge staff. One of its duties was to collect requests for help from various branches of Taiyuan Gate across the cultivation world, then assign these requests to the Law Enforcement Hall, where the various law enforcement teams would handle them. Seeing Li Kui leave so suddenly, Qu Yi smiled bitterly. But now he at least knew what he had to do—wait for someone from the Internal Affairs Hall to assign him tasks.

Seeing the chief captain leave, the other captains also got up one by one and quickly departed. Meng Zhan and Gui Ning blocked Qu Yi’s path. “Li Mu, can you sell me your Golden Spear?” Gui Ning asked with a smile. Clearly, he was very interested in this Golden Spear as well—after all, he had spent all his savings to obtain this mid-grade spiritual weapon. Qu Yi shook his head and laughed, “Meng Zhan, Gui Ning, stop dreaming. Why would I sell my magical weapon to you?” After obtaining the Golden Spear from Mu Shang, Qu Yi had already used it inside the Miniature Realm Sphere. It was indeed an excellent gold-based spell: it could concentrate gold energy into a point for linear attacks, transform gold essence into thousands of golden threads, or release those threads to form golden cocoons to trap enemies. Such a great magical weapon, of course, Qu Yi wanted to keep for himself. Hearing this, Meng Zhan and Gui Ning realized they would never get the Golden Spear back. Their expressions immediately changed, turning fierce once again. “Li Mu, you really intend to become an enemy of our Guangyuan Sect. Don’t you fear that our sect will send stronger disciples to enter your Fourth Law Enforcement Team again? Then your life won’t be safe,” Meng Zhan threatened outright. Hearing this, Qu Yi’s expression also turned cold, and he shouted loudly, “You two scumbags, are you trying to intimidate me? Your Guangyuan Sect may be big, but do you think everyone in the world will be afraid? Very well, since you’ve said it, I look forward to seeing what your Guangyuan Sect can do. I hope you won’t hand over all your disciples to me.” Hearing this, Meng Zhan and Gui Ning’s faces twisted with extreme anger. They had never met someone who refused to show respect to their sect. “Fine, fine! If you have the guts, Li Mu, then wait for the wrath of our Guangyuan Sect!” Meng Zhan and Gui Ning shouted angrily at the same time before flying away in frustration. Qu Yi chuckled and quickly left the Mingxin Hall as well, returning to his own residence. In his cultivation room, he set up a spiritual restraint barrier before entering the Miniature Realm Sphere. “Qu Yi, well done. You’ve become a captain so quickly,” the Artifact God said with a smile, still lying on the soft chair by the lake. “Artifact God, since I now hold the position of captain and have some status within the Taiyuan Sect, I can go to the Artifact Hall. I’ll go help you search for those old items first,” Qu Yi said with a smile as he sat by the lake.

Sure enough, as soon as the God of Vessels heard this, the pinkish baby’s body rolled over quickly, looking at Qu Yi and saying rapidly, “Qu Yi, at least you have a conscience.”
Qu Yi smiled awkwardly.