Everyone froze in shock at that moment.

Jia Zhen was a legitimate son of a Marquis and he also held an official t.i.tle within the military, so he was also considered a n.o.bleman of the Guardians' camp. But he had just been lethally attacked in front of the Marquis, as though he was nothing more than a beast.

Even Lin Xuan who was aware of Ye Qingyu's true ident.i.ty was shocked.

He a.s.sumed that even if this Military Judge chose to step in, he would handle the situation logically and would conduct investigations first before acting. He had not expected the Military Judge to react in such an overbearing manner. By choosing to shed blood, he had turned this situation into one that was completely beyond repair.

Lin Xuan suddenly felt as though he had previously underestimated the newly appointed Military Judge.

As for Marquis Bloodbone, who seemed so confident that everything was under his control just moments earlier, he suddenly froze when he saw that his son's head had been pierced through in front of him.

Yes, he was completely stunned.

He didn't freeze because of anger or shock.

He just couldn't believe his eyes and refused to admit that there could be someone who had the guts to kill his son under his nose.

How could such a thing happen?

In fact, he could only sit quietly atop his dragon beast for a while, unable to say a word.

Ye Qingyu smiled and loosened his grip.

Clatter!

Jia Zhen's body slumped on the floor, like a dog that had its backbone broken. Ye Qingyu had imbued his earlier attack with the power of laws and thus his vitality had been completely sapped away; he could no longer use his blood qi to heal himself.

The silence that hung in the air was so stifling that everyone found it hard to breathe.

A frightening aura silently but wildly circulated in the atmosphere.

"I told you that I could kill him. Do you believe me now?" Ye Qingyu said calmly as he lifted his head to face Marquis Bloodbone.

Marquis Bloodbone's figure shook violently atop the dragon beast.

He reacted like an enraged demonic king; blood-coloured mist swarmed out of his muscular body, like wisps of blood-coloured tentacles or blazing blood light flames full of destructive power. His figure started to flicker unsteadily in the void.

The bodyguards of his residence were so terrified by this scene that they went down on their knees, trembling violently, like ostriches burying their heads in the sand.

They had seen Marquis Bloodbone fly into a rage countless times; they knew just how terrifying he could be when he was in one of his mood swings.

"Very well. You've successfully provoked me," Marquis Bloodbone's voice was as piercing as a screeching ghost as he spoke from his perch on the dragon beast.

Abundant blood qi mist enveloped the dragon beast's gigantic body, then transformed into a terrifying blood mist ball that looked like it was filled with flowing blood. Two rays of crimson light shot out from it like blood swords, and that was the power of his gaze.

Ye Qingyu remained standing calmly on the spot.

Marquis Bloodbone was close to a Quasi-emperor's might at best, and although he was just one step away from attaining the Quasi-emperor reallmm, to Ye Qingyu, Marquis Bloodbone was like a childish kid who would not be able to handle one blow from him. Ye Qingyu knew that he could defeat Marquis Bloodbone even if the latter exerted the power of the Bloodbone Race to the maximum level.

Since the upper echelons of Royal City had bestowed him with the t.i.tle of [Military Judge of the Nine Swords], then he should seize this opportunity to kill the evil and corrupt creatures within the Royal City. If the n.o.blemen were all corrupt to the core, then he would kill them all until light returned to the city.

"I will make sure you die a horrible death," Marquis Bloodbone's voice rang out from the blood mist like two pieces of metal sc.r.a.ping against each other. It had the power to distract one's soul and cause a disturbance to one's mental state.

"Haha, you should focus on trying to survive first," Ye Qingyu scoffed, then his figure moved as fast as a ray of divine light, breaking past the sound barrier as he shot right into the blood mist.

"Oh no!" Lin Xuan was shocked when he saw that scene.

He knew how powerful this blood mist realm could be and Marquis Bloodbone had relied on this innate talent of his tribe to slowly climb into a position of power. When he was within this blood mist realm, Marquis Bloodbone's power would skyrocket significantly and he would possess the power of a Quasi-emperor instantly. If the Military Judge rushed in so rashly, he would find himself in a bind.

Boom! Boom Boom!

A terrifying Dao sound rumbled from the blood mist.

Lin Xuan grew even more anxious.

The rumbling Dao sounds were the unique sounds released by a Quasi-emperor's attack.

What should he do?

The Military Judge was about to lose!

Marquis Bloodbone was extremely ruthless and he would definitely kill the Military Judge. Moreover, he didn't know that Ye Qingyu was the Military Judge, so this meant that he would not show him mercy at all. Even if he killed the Military Judge, Marquis Bloodbone had the backing of the King of Zhenyuan; whatever happened today also meant that the upper echelons of Royal City would not mete out a serious punishment.

Oh no! Oh no! Lin Xuan thought to himself, clenched his jaw and was about to rush over to lend a hand when suddenly, someone appeared to pull him back.

"Hmm? It's you…" Lin Xuan started in surprise. "Brother Linghu Buxiu… you…" The person who appeared was none other than Linghu Buxiu who had been observing the situation from a distance.

During these trying times, the only person who remained on cordial terms with Marquis Tingtao in Royal City was none other than Linghu Buxiu. After all, they had once been through life and death together.

"Don't worry. Brother Zhang LLongcheng knows what he's doing, just trust him to handle this," Linghu Buxiu said with a smile.

"But..." Lin Xuan said anxiously as he looked at the blood mist nearby.

Linghu Buxiu shot him a small smile and said, "Your Grace, you've grossly underestimated the Military Judge. Relax and stop fretting so much. The victor will emerge soon enough."

Before his voice had faded away—

Rumble!

A huge Dao sound rumbled loudly from the blood mist.

A surprised yell could also be heard from the blood mist.

Swis.h.!.+

A figure shot out gracefully from the [Bloodbone Realm], moving as elegantly as a wild goose.

It was Ye Qingyu.

There was no trace of injury on him; his clothes were in perfect condition while his hair was perfectly unruffled.

He held a figure in his hand as though it were a chick; the person could not move nor struggle while his face was full of anger and shock. Who else could be in his hands other than Marquis Bloodbone?

Lin Xuan was completely flabbergasted by this scene.

Had Marquis Bloodbone lost?

And in such a short period of time?

He looked at Ye Qingyu and saw that there were no marks of battle on him. He looked as though he had merely entered the blood mist to take a walk. It was hard to tell from his calm demeanor that this was the person who had entered the [Bloodbone Realm], just moments before to capture Marquis Bloodbone alive.

Lin Xuan finally realized that he had truly underestimated the newly appointed [Military Judge of the Nine Swords]. This Military Judge was so incredibly powerful that it was far beyond the limits of his imagination.

No wonder he told him to leave everything to him.

No wonder he let Zhou Hailong summon reinforcements.

No wonder…

He was in control of the whole situation from the very beginning.

Then, Marquis Tingtao immediately understood that although the Military Judge had chanced upon this matter, it would be handled in accordance to his plan in the future and this was definitely not something he was doing on a whim. The Military Judge's actions showed that he was going to bare his fangs.

Marquis Tingtao was overcome with excitement.

He finally saw a glimmer of hope in his bleak predicament.

Clatter!

Ye Qingyu flung Marquis Bloodbone next to Jia Zhen's corpse.

The [Bloodbone Realm] in the distance had dissipated and Marquis Bloodbone could finally speak again. He looked at Ye Qingyu in utter shock and asked, "Who… who exactly are you?"

Even a fool could tell that something was strange about this man.

How could an ordinary brash fellow possess such extraordinary strength?

Even though there were countless experts within Royal City, a Quasi-emperor with such extraordinary strength could definitely not remain hidden in the shadows. He wracked his brain and mentally combed through all the information he had, but he could not find anything that matched this man's description. This was one of the reasons why he was in such a miserable state today.

"Me?" Ye Qingyu said with a laugh. "What a coincidence. According to your son, I'm the country b.u.mpkin who doesn't know what's good for him."

"You are… the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords], Zhang Longcheng?" Marquis Bloodbone said as his jaw fell open in shock.

Realization dawned on him.

No wonder!

So, this was the Military Judge himself.

A wave of bitter helplessness spread from his heart to his entire body and transformed all the resentment and anger he had to a resigned sigh. He could only submit to his fate.

"I would never have come if I had known…" He said regretfully, "I admit to my wrongdoings. My son hurled insults in front of you and even insulted Commander Nie Tiankong. This is a crime deserving of death and I have nothing else to add. I will definitely not pursue this matter any further. In the future, the men of Marquis Bloodbone's residence will definitely go out of our way to avoid you whenever we are in the same place."

Ye Qingyu said with a cold smile, "The men of Marquis Bloodbone's residence? I'm afraid that in the future, Marquis Bloodbone's residence will cease to exist. Your Grace, you must be hoping to come out of this with your life."

"You…" Marquis Bloodbone's eyes widened in shock. "You mean to kill me?"

Ye Qingyu nodded and said, "I hold the [Seal of the Nine Swords] in my hand and I have to uphold righteousness within the military, as well as maintain order within the camp. Thus, I'll have to get rid of all evil and bring light back into the world. All those who commit evil deeds shall be killed. The nine swords represent the nine wise Martial Emperors who founded this land, giving me the authority to kill kings and commoners alike. So, did you really think that I'd spare you?"

"How dare… you…" Marquis Bloodbone's expression immediately changed.

He finally realized that things had gone terribly wrong. He hadn't expected the [Military Judge of the Nine Swords] to be so bloodthirsty and bold. The Military Judge was clearly not just targeting him, he was targeting the King of Zhenyuan and his residence.

"Is it wrong for me to kill you?" Ye Qingyu asked as his sharp gaze pierced through him like divine swords. "I'm sure you're well aware of the crimes you've committed. There are many restless and wronged spirits within your residence, so I'm killing you so that you can use your blood to balance the scales."

"No, I…" Marquis Bloodbone yelled as he tried to explain.

He was completely filled with terror at this point in time. He had killed countless people and seen countless innocents cry and beg for mercy in front of him, but he had always enjoyed this feeling. However, now that he was the one begging for mercy, he discovered that there was nothing more despairing and terrifying than this.

However, Ye Qingyu was no longer interested in his explanations.

He did not want to enter into a debate today.

He merely wanted to get rid of evil.

Swis.h.!.+

Sword light flashed.

Marquis Bloodbone's head rolled onto the ground.

Then, Ye Qingyu turned his gaze to Zhou Hailong who was completely scared witless.