Chapter 457 303: Revisiting Old Haunts

Facts have proven that when your power is sufficient, you become the rule maker, not the follower.

The courtyard of the Celestial Punishment Headquarters is instantly filled with high-tier puppets.

Under the cover of over a hundred puppets, the lowest Tier Four and the highest Quasi-Sixth Tier, the faces of the nineteen individuals within the headquarters changed instantly.

This pressure is no less than the might of the Celestial Venerable.

In an instant, the entire Celestial Punishment Headquarters is filled with endless slaughter.

Duke Zhen, the Refining Void Divine Monarch, unleashed his authority, the aura of hundreds of high-tier puppets reaching their peak, all waiting for Li Jizhou's command; without a doubt, this place would instantly become a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, leaving no one from Celestial Punishment unharmed!

Seeing the expressions of the crowd opposite, Li Jizhou stepped forward again: "Not bowing to me yet?"

The Celestial Punishment crowd were all solemn, each activating their magical power to resist the overwhelming pressure.

"Pfft~" Several people at the back, in the Late Stage of Nascent Soul, were suddenly suppressed by the intentional targeting of Duke Zhen, spewing a mouthful of blood mist.

"Wait, we..." Just then, a loud shout came from high above.

On a nine-story tower, each floor had a person appearing, looking down below.

However, before he could finish speaking, the pressure instantly targeted him, silencing his words.

"What do you intend?" Li Jizhou asked with a smile.

"We are elders from the Celestial Slaughter Division of Celestial Punishment, and should act according to the Celestial Punishment Order, however... however, the Blood Fiend Celestial Venerable issued a decree that besides holding the Celestial Punishment Order, approval from the nine-story elders is also needed..." The tone of the nine-story elder weakened, no longer as aggressive as before.

Li Jizhou chuckled: "Well, do you approve?"

Upon finishing his words, the pressure instantly focused on that nine-story elder.

"Boom!" The overwhelming pressure made it impossible for him to remain in the air, and he fell heavily to the ground, barely steadying himself, but his feet were already three inches into the ground.

As an assassin organization feared by many forces, Celestial Punishment primarily relies on its covert and unpredictable assassination techniques, and the extensive network of part-time assassins across the realm.

In terms of actual combat prowess, they don't hold an advantage.

Not to mention with Duke Zhen, the Refining Void Divine Monarch, overseeing, and over a hundred high-tier puppets ready to strike.

"I... I approve! The old man approves." The nine-story elder, feeling the pressure, also sensed that any further hesitation might cost him his life and soul instantly!

"So, what should be done now?" Li Jizhou asked again.

The nine-story elder took a deep breath, shedding any hesitation: "The nine-story elders of Celestial Slaughter Division pay respects to the leader of Celestial Punishment, willing to be led to eternity and prove the Dao through murder!"

At this point, the strength of the young man in front of them was undeniable.

No matter how low his cultivation level, one's display of strength isn't solely determined by one's personal cultivation; being able to command so many high-tier puppets and even have a Refining Void Divine Monarch willingly follow already proves his prowess.

Moreover, holding the Celestial Punishment Order signifies the previous leader has fallen, and his replacement as the leader of Celestial Punishment is reasonable.

"We pay respects to the leader, wishing Celestial Punishment to prevail eternally, proving the Dao through murder!"

With the nine-story elder kneeling, how could the others persist? They all promptly knelt.

Li Jizhou nodded satisfied: "Since that's the case, then offer your essential blood essence!"

As he spoke, Li Jizhou already tossed the Celestial Punishment Order skyward, where it hovered and emitted a blood-red glow.

Upon obtaining the Celestial Punishment Order, Li Jizhou had already seen the decrees and rules left behind by the Blood Fiend Celestial Venerable in the Order.

Besides the establishment of the leader, once confirmed, the nine-story elder and upper echelons of the headquarters must sacrifice their essential blood essence to the Celestial Punishment Order, subsequently controlled by the leader; should any betray, the holder of the Order can determine their fate with a single thought.

"This..." Everyone exchanged glances once more, constrained by the former leader; at least they were true powerhouses, ones none of them could defeat individually, so facing them one-on-one, the former leader would easily slay them, which they didn't take to heart.

But now, having to entrust their lives to a mere Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator...

It was a tough hurdle mentally.

...

However, faced with overwhelming pressure, they were helpless; refusing to offer blood essence meant certain death on the spot.

Eventually, everyone offered their blood essence completely, pledging allegiance to this term's leader.

Thus, the infamous Celestial Punishment changed leadership.

Duke Zhen witnessed the entire process firsthand but still felt like it was surreal even on the third day.

Indeed, it was unbelievably incredible!

He questioned himself, even if he intended to take on Celestial Punishment, willing to pay any price, it was nearly impossible to truly conquer it.

Firstly, the leader of Celestial Punishment was always elusive; without luring out his true form, it was nearly impossible to slay him.

Secondly, Qianji City's deep-rooted animosity towards the Central State Dynasty meant even if it was willing to spend millions of Spirit Stones, it might fail to persuade someone like Master Mu Yu who held significant sway in Qianji City.

The main point remains the first—it if the current leader were not dead, even penetrating the Celestial Punishment Headquarters, those whose essential blood essence is controlled by the leader would likely rather die fighting than surrender.

"Incredible, just incredible!" Eventually, Duke Zhen couldn't help but admire Li Jizhou's luck and tactics.

In the following period, Li Jizhou secluded himself in the Celestial Punishment Headquarters, first seeking out information about the employer from Marquis Rong's Mansion to relay that the Seventh Prince had been killed.

Then he went through the nearly hundred years of activity records of the entire Celestial Punishment Organization.

Among which, unexpectedly discovering a part-time assassin from the Eastern Desolate Southern Domain, Yan Kingdom—Ye Jingyu!

The timing of his frequent task accepting matched exactly a century ago, with a rather high task completion rate, Celestial Punishment rated him as a Yellow-tier high-ranked assassin, with a note of avoiding killing those of good character.

"I wonder how Ye Jingyu is now? It's been twenty years since I've seen him; I fear he still hasn't reached Nascent Soul."

Understanding the operational model of Celestial Punishment, Li Jizhou refrained from making any arbitrary changes, with business as usual, except assassination missions involving the Jiuli Dynasty need reporting through the Celestial Punishment Order, everything else remains unchanged.

Additionally, as an entity claiming to span the entire Celestial Profound Continent, Celestial Punishment's coverage ensures task completion, information aggregation, character investigation are naturally abundant; for Li Jizhou, it's a constant eye observing global dynamics, and he ordered all information aggregations be processed through the Celestial Punishment Order.

Three months later, Li Jizhou received the first piece of news he wanted via the Celestial Punishment Order: The Seventh Prince bestowed as Regent by the Saint Emperor had died in the Ten Thousand Poison Swamp, eliciting national mourning.

The next day, the Eldest Prince, exiled three years ago, was pardoned by the Saint Emperor, reappearing.

Upon seeing this confirmed news, Li Jizhou's lips curled into a slight smile: "Now let's see the Dragon Aspect and Consort Rong turn against each other."

He promptly issued a command, ordering the Celestial Punishment spies within the Jiuli Dynasty's imperial city to release the scandal: The Ninth Prince is not the Saint Emperor's biological son, but the child of King Yun!

After this matter was settled, Li Jizhou departed the Celestial Punishment Headquarters, using Duke Zhen's domain portal to reach Guzhu City, tens of thousands of miles from Qianji City in one go.

It was the very place his past-self had taken refuge from the Chu Kingdom's Demon Dao divinatory hunts.

It was also where Master Mu Yu detected the possible whereabouts of Gua Gua three months prior.