295: Chapter 295: Those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish.

A deathly silence fell over the crowd.

Zhao Tianlin's eyes turned red. His voice trembled.

"No, it's you... You killed the Zhao Family Old Ancestor? You, a Human Race, killed a Human Race Old Ancestor? You're insane!"

Xiao Ran looked at him and sneered.

"Insane? I think it's you who is insane."

"To think you dare speak to me like that."

Zhao Tianlin could no longer hold back.

He roared and struck out with a palm toward Xiao Ran: "I will kill you!"

Xiao Ran did not dodge.

He didn't even raise his hand.

He merely extended his right index finger and tapped lightly.

"Bang!"

A grey-black beam of light shot out from his fingertip, piercing through Zhao Tianlin's palm shadow, piercing through his protective spiritual energy, and piercing through his chest.

Zhao Tianlin's body was like it had been struck by a great mountain; he flew backward and crashed heavily onto the ground, vomiting blood.

There was a finger-thick bloody hole in his chest, with blood gushing out.

Zhao Tianlin's eyes were wide open, his mouth agape, wanting to say something, but he only spat out a mouthful of blood foam.

The entire scene was deathly silent.

Everyone widened their eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Zhao Tianlin, at the Void Refinement Stage Late Stage, was defeated by Xiao Ran with a single finger.

Xiao Ran withdrew his finger and said indifferently.

"Void Refinement Stage Late Stage, nothing more than this."

Zhao Tianlin struggled to crawl up, clutching the bloody hole in his chest, his face deathly pale.

His voice was hoarse: "You... Is your cultivation really at the Body Integration Stage? How is it possible... You clearly just broke through to the Void Refinement Stage before..."

Xiao Ran looked down at him, his gaze calm.

"Of course it's because I'm a Genius; I just cultivated a bit and reached this level."

Zhao Tianlin gritted his teeth and said nothing.

He knew that the gap between the Body Integration Stage and the Void Refinement Stage was higher than the heavens.

Zhao Tianfeng, Zhao Tianyun, and other Void Refinement Stage Elders of the Zhao Family stepped forward, shielding Zhao Tianlin.

Their hands were trembling, but they did not retreat.

"Xiao Ran, you killed our Old Ancestor, do you intend to kill us as well?"

"Where do you place the Sword Qi Great Wall, and where do you place the Human Race?"

Seeing that they couldn't win, Zhao Tianfeng began to use moral kidnapping.

But unfortunately, they had encountered someone without morals.

"The Zhao Family? With your Old Ancestor already dead, what kind of waves can a bunch of Void Refinement Stage Cultivators like you stir up?"

"Killing you is just killing you."

Xiao Ran looked at them, a trace of killing intent flashing in his eyes.

He raised his hand, and a grey-black vortex appeared in his palm.

The vortex spun, growing larger and brighter.

"Run!" Zhao Tianfeng shouted and turned to flee.

But could they escape?

The Guixu Vortex exploded, turning into countless tiny vortexes that flew toward every Void Refinement Stage Cultivator of the Zhao Family.

The four of them could not dodge in time; they were struck by the vortexes, their bodies swallowed, shredded, and turned into nothingness.

They didn't even have time to scream.

The Zhao Family was wiped out.

Four Void Refinement Stage Cultivators dead in the blink of an eye; what kind of concept was that?

In the crowd, some people began to tremble.

Some people quietly retreated, wanting to escape.

Xiao Ran's voice rang out behind them: "Whoever runs, dies."

In an instant.

No one dared to move.

Xiao Ran's gaze swept over everyone remaining.

Sword Sect deacons, Sword Sect Disciples, City Lord's Mansion Guest Elders, Yao Race Void Refinement Stage Cultivators... everyone's faces were pale, and they were all trembling.

"Everyone," Xiao Ran began.

"Your Body Integration Stage Old Ancestor is dead. Now, who has the final say in the Far North Land?"

No one dared to answer.

Xiao Ran answered his own question.

"I have the final say."

He raised his hand, and a purple-gold rune appeared in his palm.

That was a Restriction he had learned from the law seed—the Divine Soul Curse Seal.

As long as this rune was planted into a Cultivator's Divine Soul, he could control their life and death.

If they did not obey, with a single thought, the rune would explode, and their Divine Soul would be annihilated.

"From now on, the Far North Land is under my management."

Xiao Ran's voice was calm, as calm as if he were saying the weather was nice today.

"You either submit and choose to accept my curse, or you die."

There was a commotion in the crowd.

A Sword Sect deacon stepped forward, his face pale: "Xiao Ran, we are from the Sword Sect. The Sword Sect has no grudges against the Eternal Night Demon Sect; why must you kill them all?"

Xiao Ran looked at him: "No grudges? The Sword Sect has operated in the Sword Qi Great Wall for a thousand years, monopolizing Sword Dao resources and suppressing other factions—you call that no grudges?"

"Supreme Elder Jian Cangqiong wanted to steal my Opportunity in the ruins—you call that no grudges?"

The Sword Sect deacon was speechless.

Xiao Ran continued: "However, I am quite generous. I will give you a chance now."

"Submit or die, choose one."

The Sword Sect deacon was silent for a long time.

Then he lowered his head and knelt on one knee: "The Sword Sect, submits."

Xiao Ran nodded, raised his hand, and a purple-gold rune flew from his palm, entering the center of the Sword Sect deacon's brow.

The Sword Sect deacon's body shuddered slightly, feeling an extra Restriction in his Divine Soul.

If Xiao Ran had a single thought, his Divine Soul would explode.

The Sword Sect Disciples, seeing that the deacon had knelt, also knelt down one after another.

Xiao Ran planted the runes into them one by one.

The City Lord's Mansion Guest Elder also stepped forward.

He was City Lord Li Qingge's confidant and held a respected position in the City Lord's Mansion.

His expression was ugly, but he knew that resistance meant death.

"The City Lord's Mansion, submits." The Guest Elder lowered his head.

Xiao Ran looked at him and nodded.

The City Lord's Mansion was City Lord Li Qingge's Foundation. With City Lord Li Qingge dead, the City Lord's Mansion was leaderless.

By subjugating them, Xiao Ran could control the entire Sword Qi Great Wall.

"Submitting is fine." Xiao Ran planted the rune into his brow.

The Cultivators of the Loose Cultivators Alliance also submitted one after another.

They had no Sect to back them up, no Old Ancestor to protect them, and staying alive was more important than anything.

The several Yao Race Void Refinement Stage Elders looked at each other, seeing the despair in each other's eyes.

Their Old Ancestor was dead, and their clansmen were still waiting for them to return in the Ten Thousand Demon Plains.

If they didn't submit and died here, the Yao Race would be completely finished.

The Golden Lion Clan's Void Refinement Stage Elder was the first to kneel: "The Golden Lion Clan, submits."

The Nine-Headed Snake Clan's Void Refinement Stage Elder also knelt: "The Nine-Headed Snake Clan, submits."

The Five-Colored Phoenix Clan's Soul Transformation Prodigy knelt: "The Five-Colored Phoenix Clan, submits."

The Thunder Qilin Clan, the Mystic Ice Chilong Clan, the Heaven-Swallowing Sparrow Clan... one after another, they knelt.

Xiao Ran planted the runes into them one by one.

The purple-gold runes entered everyone's brow, taking root in their Divine Souls.

From now on, their life and death were in Xiao Ran's hands with a single thought.

"Very good." Xiao Ran withdrew his hand, looking at the people kneeling on the ground.

"From now on, there is no distinction between righteous and demonic in the Far North Land, and no distinction between the Yao Race."

"There are only my people and my enemies."

"Those who submit prosper, those who resist perish."