The moment Magistrate Yun's execution sigils ignited, the plaza itself seemed to recoil.

The jade platform glowed a radiant, terrifying gold. Much brighter than midday sun, sharper than forged steel. Rings of ancient light spiraled outward like divine halos, wrapping the fifty bound prisoners in coils of spiritual fire. The air vibrated, humming with a deep resonance that clawed at the bones of every mortal in the square.

Li Wei moved.

He did not sprint, hardly had time to leap.

The scene erupted as a streak of emerald brilliance tore through the crowd, much too fast for mortal eyes to see, fierce enough for the trained senses of formation masters to be flustered.

His robes snapped sharply, trailing emerald flames as his qi overflowed, scorching cracks into the tiles beneath him. The young master reached the execution sigils only heartbeats after they awakened.

His palm hit the outer boundary of the formation.

BOOOOM—!!

Golden lightning rippled outward, lashing at him like living chains. Pain tore through his arms. His skin split, meridians screamed, and the force almost hurled him backward.

He did not move rashlly or hasten his breath, the Daoist simply pushed himself harder.

"Tch…" he hissed, blood slipping from between his teeth. "An Imperial-grade suppression arrays… you prepared far too well, old man." Behind him, prisoners shrieked as spiritual fire crept up their bodies. One man already collapsed, trembling violently as the sigils rooted into his spirit.

And above, concealed in the shadows of the Three-Spire rooftop, Tang Li covered the child's eyes, whispering prayers she had barely recited in years. Li Wei felt the seconds slipping away like grains of sand.

He would not allow yet another massacre to go unpunished.

With a guttural roar, he slammed both hands to the ground. The scene was incredible as spirals of emerald glyphs burst from his palms, rotating rapidly as they carved through the golden sigils with gentle majesty, attempting to seize control of the formation's spiritual veins.

The plaza trembled.

A clash of ideologies, as an emerald crescendo fought against a golden tyrannical force. Every clash made the ground pulse like a heartbeat trapped within stone. Just for a second, the sigils flickered.

But then a brash, amused voice floated above the clash. "Your grasp of formation theory," Magistrate Yun murmured, "is hopelessly ambitious… and catastrophically incomplete."

He raised one hand.

Tapped the golden air.

WHOOOOOM—!!

Li Wei's emerald rune shattered instantly, exploding into a storm of green shards that flayed the air. The backlash blasted him across the platform and crushed him into a pillar etched with Oolong crests.

Stone cracked.

Blood splattered.

Li Wei slid down the pillar, barely catching himself before collapsing fully.

The prisoners screamed again as golden chains wrapped around their torsos.

Tang Li's voice trembled above the chaos. "Senior Wei… please… don't die…"

Li Wei wiped blood from his mouth, breath thin and slightly ragged.

He rose with a level posture straight despite the pain. The young master's gaze was volcanic, "Magistrate Yun…" The magistrate appeared beside him, descending gently onto the fractured platform as if the destruction meant nothing.

He looked untouched and immaculate. The silhouette stood graceful like a falling silk and lethal as a serpent beneath leaves. "Li Wei," he said flatly, "you are… extraordinary. Your cultivation speed, your qi manipulation, your willpower. I cannot find any of these are traits in a common noble."

His gaze sharpened. "Who taught you?"

Li Wei met his gaze without blinking. "No one you will ever meet."

Yun smiled. "A pity. You waste such potential."

He gestured toward the screaming prisoners. "And all this for them? They were all accomplices to theft. The law demands retribution."

Li Wei's voice turned cold. "You are just using them as bait."

"The law bends for the strong," Yun replied lightly. "Such is the foundation of every dynasty."

"Then I'll break your pathetic dynasty." Li Wei's eyes glinted like a tempered blade.

"Such arrogance." The Chief magistrate had a marauding glare on his face, while he raised one finger. "Very well. Allow me to demonstrate the difference between talent and true mastery."

The world stilled as the wind froze.

Dust hung motionless, while Yun tapped the air before him.

BOUUUM—!!

A shockwave blasted across the plaza, visible like rippling glass. Lantern poles snapped. Pavilion banners shredded. Soldiers were hurled from their posts like puppets caught in a storm.

Li Wei braced, emerald qi exploding around him as he skidded back several feet.

Yun tilted his head. "Still standing. That is certainly remarkable."

But Li Wei wasn't listening anymore, he quickly twisted his waist and faced the prisoners.

The golden fire had reached their waists, which meant they only had seconds before the flames engulfed them completly.

Yun's voice cut through the square. "But… can you honestly insure safety for them as well?"

He flicked his finger toward the prisoners, causing golden sigils to ignite again.

Li Wei sprinted forward, manifesting a massive emerald sigil unfolded above the plaza.

[Emerald Compass Art — Heaven's Mirror, Earth's Reversal]

A celestial compass.

Rotating, tilting, generating arcs of emerald lightning.

Yun hissed. "You dare—!"

The sigil activated all forms of spiritual energy in the plaza surged toward it,

Even magistrate Yun's aura flickered.

One heartbeat was a small opening.

Li Wei seized it.

He appeared before the prisoners.

War rod slamming onto the execution rings—

BOOOOM—!!

The formation sputtered. The golden fire receded slightly.

Li Wei gasped for breath, arms trembling uncontrollably.

His qi bled away faster than he could replenish it.

His vision swam.

Above, Tang Li sobbed. "Please… don't…"

The emerald sigil shattered as Yun seized control back.

Yun snapped his fingers.

The air cracked like thunder.

"You are clever," he admitted. "Too clever for your own good."

Golden serpents of qi wrapped around his arms.

"I was going to cripple you. Now… I will erase you."

His palm fell.

Li Wei lifted his rod—

KRRRRAAAAASH—!!

The jade platform buckled. Light swallowed the world. Dust engulfed everything.

And when the dust cleared,t wo silhouettes stood locked together.

One gold and the other emerald.

Yun's palm pressed against Li Wei's rod.

Li Wei's arms trembled violently. Bones creaked. But he held firm.

"You still resist?" Yun whispered.

Li Wei smiled weakly through blood.

"You talk too much."

He twisted the rod.

BAAAAAM—!!

Yun stepped back.

Only half a step.

But it would prove to be enough.

Li Wei's fingers traced rapidly across the air.

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