"I..."
The old man's face turned ashen, and he involuntarily took a step back.
"Didn't you just say you wanted to capture and kill this seat? Come on, this seat is right here, come and kill me.
Weren't you very brave? Don't you Heavenly Punishers want to eliminate evil for the people? Why did you retreat when this seat arrived just now?
Come here."
"I... Wan thief, you bully people too much!"
"The weak always say that."
The old man's face flushed and paled. He finally strode towards Wan Lei, with the air of one sacrificing himself for the country and determined to die without regret.
"Wan Lei, you disregard human life and have incurred heavenly punishment, you are already on the most wanted list of us Heavenly Punishers..."
"Kneel and speak."
"What?"
"A mere Mahayana cultivator, why don't you kneel when you see this seat?"
"I..."
The old man was so angry his face turned red. He had come to accuse and berate Wan Lei, but who had ever been told to kneel while doing so?
Boom!!!
A thunderous roar sounded from the sky, and a golden lightning bolt struck directly at the old man.
"Ah!!!"
The old man only had time to let out a scream before smoke billowed from his seven orifices, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed onto the ground with a thud, his life force completely extinguished, dead as he could be.
"See, kneeling looks much better."
This scene horrified tens of thousands of people, their gazes towards Wan Lei filled with both anger and fear.
"Alliance Leader Wan kills my man right off the bat, that's a bit much, isn't it?"
The helmsman still wore a smile, though his eyes had become much colder.
"You should thank this seat for helping you clear out your own house. Such an idiot would eventually cause harm to all of you."
Wan Lei looked at the helmsman.
"Of course, seeing you, I understand why this fellow is so stupid. After all, you need a foolish leader to have foolish subordinates."
"Oh? So, in Alliance Leader Wan's eyes, I am also an utterly foolish person?"
"Why else? Although I don't know your purpose in establishing the Heavenly Punishers organization, just by looking at you, I know you're no good.
Establishing a force, I suspect, is not for carrying out heavenly justice and punishing evil, but for satisfying your own selfish desires.
Otherwise, the Heavenly Punishers would not have remained insignificant and universally reviled for so many years."
Wan Lei strolled towards the old man's corpse kneeling on the ground.
"This seat has come today only to give you an opportunity, an opportunity to repent and reform."
"Oh? What wrong have we done?"
"You disregard laws and discipline, abuse private justice, and indiscriminately take human lives.
Of course, these are minor matters. The most important thing is that you have pursued this seat and even kidnapped an innocent girl to threaten this seat. I have kept all these accounts.
Today, I give you an opportunity: join my Thunder Emperor Alliance. I will allow you to retain your original structure and your Heavenly Punisher titles, enabling you to continue your legacy.
Furthermore, you will be rewarded based on your merits, just like other forces in the Thunder Emperor Alliance. This seat will show no favoritism."
"Alliance Leader Wan asks for nothing in return, yet demands we join your Thunder Emperor Alliance? Isn't that a bit too presumptuous?"
The helmsman's lips still curved into that signature devilish smile.
Wan Lei turned his head and looked at the helmsman, his expression slightly surprised.
"Why are you still standing?"
"What?"
The helmsman blinked, unsure of his meaning.
"Kneel."
The helmsman's face instantly turned crimson. His signature smile vanished, and he glared at Wan Lei with wide eyes.
"Alliance Leader Wan, young men should not be too arrogant!"
Alliance Leader Wan said nothing. He lowered his head and looked at his palm, where a primordial lightning, enveloped by primal fire, was condensing.
The appearance of two primordial elements caused the helmsman's expression to change. The immense pressure instantly reminded him of how terrifying this man before him truly was.
The helmsman struggled to lift his head, his eyes firm. With a roar of despair and anger, he said,
"If you say kneel, then I'll kneel!"
With that, he dropped to his knees with a thud.
The tens of thousands of people in front of them exchanged glances, but quickly reacted. With a rustle, they all knelt down.
If the helmsman knelt, how could they, his subordinates, dare to remain standing?
Wan Liuchuan watched this scene, his body turning cold, completely stunned.
He had never imagined that Wan Lei would choose to use such an overbearing posture to force the helmsman of the Heavenly Punishers, and indeed the entire Heavenly Punisher organization, to kneel and submit.
What a posture! What immense power!
With a single person standing there, speaking a few words, he could make a powerful force that had been renowned in the Central Domain for thousands of years and struck fear into the hearts of countless villains, surrender directly.
This was personal strength, the backing force, and the string of glorious achievements.
With so many accolades, this young man stood there as if he were a deity, making resistance impossible.
Wan Liuchuan could not experience this feeling. He was certain that if he took a few steps forward, he would not be able to make tens of thousands of people retreat in unison.
If he, Wan Liuchuan, ordered them to kneel, he certainly wouldn't be able to make the helmsman and so many colleagues kneel and bow.
At best, he would be considered insane and summarily killed.
At this moment, Wan Liuchuan looked at Wan Lei, looking at that young, receding back.
This person, who he once disdained as a good-for-nothing idler.
Later, this person suddenly matured and became qualified to contend with him for the position of heir.
It wasn't until the battle at the Wan family's main mansion that his pride was completely shattered, and he realized that this person was not as不堪 as he appeared.
From the day he left his hometown, he had considered this person his lifelong rival.
Until later, after several encounters, several battles, and several collaborations, he gradually discovered that this person had already surpassed him.
And now, this person, this one he considered his lifelong rival, no longer paid him any attention.
And he could only look up at his back, which was so unreachable.
"Remember, today, it is because of Wan Liuchuan that I personally came here and am willing to give you an opportunity, an opportunity to step into the light.
If you wish to remain a rat, you should at least think for your subordinates. Do they wish to continue following you as rats that cannot see the light and are universally reviled?"
Thank you.
Wan Liuchuan thought to himself.
Wan Lei turned, nodded to Wan Liuchuan, and the two of them rose and flew away.
"Alliance Leader Wan, farewell. Alliance Leader Wan, please visit often. The Heavenly Punisher organization will always welcome its loyal master."
Behind them, the helmsman's voice called out.
"Select a few capable subordinates and report to the Thunder Emperor Hall in two days. This seat needs your intelligence network."
"Rest assured, this subordinate will head over tomorrow."
Watching Alliance Leader Wan's receding figure, the helmsman of the Heavenly Punishers finally breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and gave a wry smile.
"This is the Son of the Plane, the Savior. It's laughable that I always considered myself to have the world's well-being in my heart. Compared to him, I am truly just a rat, a rat without ambition, a rat that cannot see the light.
Shameful, I am filled with remorse."