Great Xia: At the start, summon the Net of Heaven to suppress the martial arts world.

"I am Gu Xiu, a commander of a thousand men under the command of the Chief of the Zhenwu Division. I have come here on the orders of the Chief to deliver a letter from the Chief."

Gu Xiu looked at Ji Jian and the others and said in a cold voice.

His eyes revealed a sense of authority and indifference, giving people an invisible pressure.

"The letter contains information about individuals within the Spirit Sword Sect who have committed serious crimes in recent years. The lord orders that by noon tomorrow, the Spirit Sword Sect must bring all those listed in the letter to the Changde Prefecture government office to await their fate. Those who disobey will bear the consequences!"

Gu Xiu's tone was stern, leaving no room for negotiation, which sent a chill down the spines of everyone present.

After saying that, Gu Xiu stepped forward and handed the letter to Ji Jian, ignoring the gazes of everyone in the Spirit Sword Sect.

"Sect Leader Ji may take a closer look at the details. That's all I have to say. I'll take my leave now!" After saying this, Gu Xiu turned and left without hesitation.

Before Ji Jian could reply, Gu Xiu's figure quickly disappeared from sight.

Gu Xiu's departure plunged the entire sect into silence.

Ji Jian held the letter, his face extremely grim. He took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes. The contents of the letter flashed through his mind.

"If the murderer is not handed over, the sect leader will also be implicated." These words were like a heavy shackle, tightly binding his heart.

Ji Jian couldn't imagine what consequences his sect would face if the murderer were handed over to the imperial court.

After all, although these martial arts figures committed crimes, they were also members of the sect! If he chose not to hand them over, how could he, as the sect leader, face the wrath of the Zhenwu Division?

Thinking of this, Ji Jian couldn't help but feel a sense of powerlessness welling up inside him.

Ji Jian knew that this incident had far exceeded his control. He even began to regret why he had allowed these martial arts figures to join the sect in the first place.

However, it's too late for regrets now.

This time, he truly understood the tyranny of the imperial court. He couldn't help but curse Chu Tianhe, the sect leader of Qingyang Sect, in his heart.

Why can't you just stay in your own little corner and be a big shot? Why do you have to court death, attracting the attention of the imperial court, getting yourself killed, and dragging down the entire Jianghu (江湖, the martial arts world) forces in Changde Prefecture!

There are always people who are ignorant of their own limitations. Chu Tianhe is one of them, as are some of the leaders of Jianghu forces in Changde Prefecture.

As the Zhenwu Division took action, all the major and minor forces in Changde Prefecture received letters from the Zhenwu Division one after another.

There are plenty of smart people, and plenty of fools too. Many fools, believing themselves to be powerful, openly boast:

"Does this so-called 'Lord of the Great Robbery' think we're the imperial court's lackeys? Just because he tells us to arrest people, does that mean we have to arrest them?"

Upon hearing this, the messenger, a commander of a thousand and a hundred, was slapped to death.

"Tomorrow at noon, if even one person is missing, all the high-ranking members of that sect will also go to the Yellow Springs with this sect leader! So that he won't be lonely on the way."

He casually slapped the clamoring sect leader to death, and the commander who came to deliver the message left with a single sentence before turning and departing.

Upon seeing the headless corpse, everyone in the sect trembled with fear. They knew that what the commander had said was true; if they couldn't hand over the body as demanded by tomorrow, they might truly face annihilation.

In an instant, the entire Changde Prefecture was in chaos, and sect members ran around frantically, desperately trying to find a way to save their lives.

. . .

The next day, with the attentive care of the four beauties, Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum, Xia Taige finished washing up and was about to sign in.

"System, check-in"

[Congratulations, host! You have received a purebred husky as a reward for signing in.]

Xia Taige was speechless. He had heard of the husky's reputation, but it wasn't associated with any advantages.

"System, are you serious? What would I do with a husky? I could have a well-behaved golden retriever instead."

However, the system ignored him. Although frustrated, he still had to retrieve the data!

"extract"

A dazzling white light flashed, drawing everyone's attention. There stood a black and white husky, its eyes squinting as if it were sizing up Xia Taige.

The eyes possessed a unique sky blue hue; however, this beautiful color did not evoke warmth or friendliness, but rather revealed a deep disdain.

Xia Taige felt utterly helpless about the dog's behavior. He reached out and struck the dog without hesitation, shouting at it:

"Get out of here, you damn dog!"

Unexpectedly, after being slapped, the husky seemed to have a switch flipped, and its whole body twitched.

Immediately afterwards, it pounced on Xia Taige, opened its mouth, and stuck out a large tongue covered in saliva, preparing to lick Xia Taige's body.

Seeing this, the four people standing nearby, including Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju, couldn't help but chuckle. They watched with great interest this interaction between humans and nature.

Xia Taige noticed the four people's reactions, a helpless expression on his face. He rolled his eyes and said to them:

"Still looking! Get this dead dog away from me right now!" Xia Taige said.

The four of them, Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju, seemed to wake up from a dream and came forward with smiles to help him deal with the naughty husky.

After sending the husky away, Zhao Gao came to report.

"Your Highness, news has arrived from the south. Last night, Yan Ri detained the Qingyang Sect members and then, overnight, escorted over a thousand Qingyang Sect members on a journey. They are expected to arrive in the capital by tomorrow morning."

"Qiang Ri led his elite troops and five hundred heavy cavalry to remain in the Changde Prefecture government office to deal with the criminals in Changde Prefecture."

Xia Taige nodded indifferently, indicating that he understood.

"Today, coordinate with the Ministry of Justice and the Court of Judicial Review to borrow the execution ground outside the capital. Tomorrow at noon, behead all the Qingyang Gate members at the execution ground outside the city gate, and allow the common people to watch!"

Xia Taige considered it for a moment and then added:

"In addition, we need to borrow more executioners to avoid a shortage of manpower."

As a law-abiding citizen in his previous life who had never even killed a chicken, Xia Taige now had the power to decide the lives of over a thousand people in the Qingyang Sect with a single word. For a moment, Xia Taige felt a little soft-hearted.

Unfortunately, in chaotic times, harsh measures are necessary. If the imperial authority is not restored with swift and decisive action, then more Qingyang Sects will emerge, and more victims will appear.

It can only be said that Qingyang Sect has walked into the line of fire. It's necessary to make an example of them to deter others. Only by killing one can the other sects be made to respect them!

The saying goes, "We don't punish the diligent, we don't punish the lazy, we only punish the blind."

Zhao Gao nodded in understanding. As for how many people died, it didn't matter to Zhao Gao at all; he wouldn't even blink if the number were several times greater.

"How is the situation with Jing Ni going?"

Xia Taige turned to look at Zhao Gao and asked casually.

"According to Jingni's report, there are some wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice in the files of the Dali Temple, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Prefectural Governor's Office. They are currently being verified based on information from the Zhenwu Division's spies."

Xia Taige sneered upon hearing this. With these incompetent officials holding positions of power without doing any work, it was not surprising at all that there were wrongful convictions or miscarriages of justice. It would be strange if there were no wrongful convictions or miscarriages of justice.

"Based on the verified case files, have Jingni send people out quickly! First, we need to force out the Zhenwu Division's forces, and then we can continue to verify the rest later!"

Zhao Gao bowed expressionlessly, then turned and left.