As soon as Duan Li stepped inside the room, all the 11 people in it stared at him with judgmental stares. It seemed as though they were scanning Duan Li from top to bottom like those appraisals inspecting their newly discovered artifact to determine their value!
"Huh?" they all frowned with a perplexed expression.
This was because they could not determine Duan Li's cultivation realm at all!
"How could this be?!" they were all astonished by this experience.
After all, who among them was not reputable in the Liu Empire? To become an Imperial Extermination Knight wasn't something so simple as to ascend to the highest realm only. Each of them was only in their early 40s when their cultivation realm managed to breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm, and in this regard, they could be considered as unparalleled genius among their peers!
Even then, they still had to compete with numerous other candidates in order to win a slot just to be nominated as an initiate before they had to undergo some more strenuous process to finally be able to reach their current standing! Only they understood all the pain they had to go through to get this far!
They were the cream of the crop, the genius among geniuses!
Yet, despite all these, they were still unable to tell the cultivation level of the newcomer with a glance, and this hinted volumes of the capabilities of the newcomer standing before them!
Soul Sense!
Wengg!!
Their expression turned more bitter as the result of their soul sense was similar to before;
They couldn't tell any jacksh*t at all!
Impressive!
"This newcomer has managed to hide his cultivation level so deeply to the point where he appeared to be no less than the ordinary mortals that does not cultivate!"
Straight away, some of them changed their opinion on the newcomer in front of them, and they no longer looked as displeased as before.
Even the person with the silver colored armor that was their leader nodded in approval. He could not help but to wonder on how high the cultivation level of someone must be to be able to do this!
Unbeknownst to them, Duan Li was only at the Core Formation realm, and he was able to suppress his cultivation level simply by not cycling his spiritual Qi in his body! Normally, this kind of action would immediately zapped the cultivator of his strength and become as weak as a mortal, but Duan Li was anything but ordinary!
However, not everyone was equally satisfied.
"So, you are that newcomer who is supposed to be leading us to battle the invaders?" one of them rose from their seat and approached Duan Li with a cold expression.
"Stand down You Wing!" the person with the silver colored armor bellowed. However, You Wing ignored him and continued to walk towards Duan Li until he was practically just a finger distance from Duan Li's face!
Liu Sheng Duhai that was standing behind Duan Li found this action to be overboard and disrespectful, and he wanted to reprimand You Wing for it. But before he could even make a move, Duan Li suddenly unleashed 50 percent of his power in less than an instant before reining them back in the moment after, and the result was utterly shocking!
BOOMMMMMM!!
As if a supernatural force suddenly decided to explode on its own, the entire room and building in front of Duan Li was obliterated entirely! Only the leftover room and building behind where Duan Li stood was left standing without a scratch, as if the demarcating line between lands that was hit by a disaster and the land that was left untouched!
"...." Liu Sheng Duhai's mouth was agape and his mind went into a daze.
What the f*cking hell? Did I misspoke earlier and said to be overbearing instead of dignified?
Thankfully, after he extended his soul sense around, he found that the 11 Imperial Extermination Knights was still alive! Only then did he heaved out a breath of relief.
"It seems that he has a plan.. let's see what it is.." Liu Sheng Duhai could roughly guess what Duan Li's intention was with his powerful intellect, but he decided to just keep watching instead of interfering.
"Puufff!"
After the dust settled, all the Extermination Knights flew into the air while grasping for their breath with a pale face. They were not injured in the slightest given their cultivation level, adding to the fact that Duan Li did not attack them at all. It was just that Duan Li's aura was so powerful that the building collapsed and the defensive formation got overloaded causing the explosion!
"That aura..!!" they all remembered an incident that happened earlier where the Imperial Palace got flattened by a mysterious and mighty aura, and it was eerily similar to the occurrence just now!
"Could it possibly be?!" they clenched their hands into fists in agitation!
To think that a mere aura from a single individual could press someone of their caliber into the ground head first, even their emperor was not able to do that!
"Puff! Uhek! Uhek!" a figure rose his head from the debris like a sea lion coming out from the water as he coughed out sand and dust. His entire body felt weak after being dealt with the majority of Duan Li's aura showering on him, making his movements heavy as if traversing through an ocean of lead!
This person was You Wing and his butt was currently exposed amidst the debris while reflecting the glare from the sun, making others instinctively cover their eyes!
It seems that his armor had disintegrated.
...
"People of the Spring Blossom village, hear thy decree from the Heavenly Immortal!" a burly and rough looking bandit with a few loose teeth bellowed from outside the village gate loudly as his saliva splattered all over in the air.
"By the command from the Heavenly Immortal Sung Jian, all you villagers are to come out and kneel! Those who refused will be considered as rebels and will be executed!"
All the other bandits behind him laughed sinisterly as they waited. Further behind them was a figure carried on top of a makeshift throne by several other burly bandits and he looked over the village gate with a look of contempt and disdain.
"People of the Spring Blossom village! Are you guys deaf? Come out here to pay respects to your maker!" the bandit shouted once more when they noticed that there was no reaction at all, as if there was no one inside the village!
Just as he was about to shout again, he felt a sudden stifled sensation on his throat that made him unable to speak out!
"Eh? Pufff!!"
A gaping hole was formed in the middle of his throat, causing him to puked out blood and fell to the ground before losing his life.
Dead!
The bandit on top of the throne frowned a little before his lips curled into a mocking smile.
"There is a cultivator inside? Interesting."
...