"Ye Qiu is here."

"Catch...catch him!" someone stammered excitedly.

In an instant, the soldiers at the border city gate, as well as a group of cultivators, all rushed towards Ye Qiu.

Ye Qiu, sword in hand, charged straight at them.

In less than ten seconds, dozens of people were killed by Ye Qiu, and the blood stained the city gate red.

Ye Qiu sheathed his sword and calmly walked out of the city gate.

Lu Lingge followed Ye Qiu all the way and clearly felt that Ye Qiu had undergone an indescribable change.

It seems... the murderous intent has intensified!

Stepping out of the city gate, Ye Qiu looked up and saw mountains and valleys ahead, with a highway winding through the mountains and leading into the distance.

"Is the territory of the Fire Dynasty right outside the city?" Ye Qiu asked.

“No,” Lu Lingge said. “Once we leave the city, there is still about a hundred miles of territory that belongs to the Dragon Dynasty. Of course, this area is also the training ground for the Dragon Dynasty’s border army.”

"Um."

Ye Qiu nodded slightly.

As the two continued their journey, they soon crossed several mountains.

"Hey, something seems to have happened up ahead."

Lu Lingge pointed ahead.

Ahead lay a small village, and at the village entrance, a young girl was being dragged by a group of soldiers.

She struggled and cried desperately, but to no avail.

"Gentlemen, my granddaughter is still young, please let her go."

An old man knelt on both knees, begging for mercy.

"Get out of here, you old fool." A middle-aged man in armor sneered, "It's your granddaughter's good fortune to be favored by our Governor Zhang. Don't push your luck, or I'll kill you if you cause any more trouble."

"No, it really won't work, my granddaughter..."

laugh.

The middle-aged man swiftly swung his knife and severed the old man's head.

Seeing the blood splattered all over the ground, the young girl was heartbroken and stood there stunned.

"Take it back, don't keep Governor Zhang waiting."

The middle-aged man waved his hand and turned to leave.

Nearby, the villagers all looked grim, but no one dared to step forward to help.

Ye Qiu's expression turned cold, and he immediately stepped forward: "Put her down."

"Hmm?" The middle-aged man frowned: "Where did this little brat come from? Mind your own business."

"What do you mean by this? Are you forcibly taking a woman?" Ye Qiu asked in a deep voice.

"This doesn't count as robbery," the middle-aged man sneered. "This village is near our training ground and is under our protection. Our governor has taken a liking to this girl, which is also her good fortune. She will enjoy endless wealth and honor in the future."

"Bullshit."

Ye Qiu, enraged, slapped the middle-aged man's head until it was smashed.

Then, Ye Qiu killed all the others, leaving none alive.

The rescued girl rushed to her deceased grandfather and burst into tears.

"Where is the training ground?" Ye Qiu asked.

"It's...it's in that direction, you'll see it after you turn the corner."

An old man in the village pointed Ye Qiu in a direction.

Then the old man said, "Young hero, you don't mean to kill Governor Zhang, do you? There are 50,000 people in that place. Be careful and don't act rashly."

"Are all the people at the nearby training grounds behaving this way?" Ye Qiu asked.

"Yes," the old man said through gritted teeth. "It's not just our village; in towns and villages within a hundred miles, any woman who is even remotely attractive has been taken away."

The food we eat has been mostly confiscated; nine people starved to death in our village last month.

"They also forced us to cultivate spirit fields. If anyone refused, they would kill them. Their methods were extremely cruel. Alas, there was nothing we could do about it."

“These damned beasts, we can’t report them even if we want to, because we people outside the border city gate have no right to step into that city gate, as if we are not people of the Dragon Dynasty.”

In an instant, the villagers began to speak, all of them filled with resentment.

After hearing this, Ye Qiu gained a general understanding of the situation outside the city.

"Lu Lingge, you can leave on your own. I don't want to go to Huochao for the time being," Ye Qiu said softly.

"What...what are you going to do?" Lu Lingge asked hurriedly.

“This area, spanning a hundred miles, is surrounded by mountains and has fertile land. It can be built into an impregnable city, establishing its own dynasty,” Ye Qiu said calmly.

"Huh?" Lu Lingge was shocked: "You...you want to establish a court?"

"This is not about establishing a dynasty," Ye Qiu said solemnly. "I intend to use this area of ​​a hundred miles as a base to build the Ancestral Dragon Palace..."