Chapter 52: Execution. The morning of the sixth day, Guo Zhe and Guo Luo entered the cell, but Yao Jun could immediately tell that something was wrong. Guo Luo was even paler than usual, her entire face basically devoid of blood. He had seen them talk about something while walking to his cell, but he was unable to hear what they were talking about.

"Congratulations, there is no longer a need for you to stay in this cell."

Guo Zhe spoke with a bright smile and sauntered over to Yao Jun. Grabbing onto the chains that were restraining Yao Jun, he took out a key and opened the part that chained Yao Jun to the walls. His hands and feet were still chained together, but he was at least no longer chained to the wall.

"Today is your big day. The Yun clan has refused the alliance once more, so there is no need to torture you anymore."

Guo Zhe grabbed Yao Jun by the shoulders and pulled him up into a standing position. Yao Jun had been mostly lying on the ground for these past days, so his legs were unaccustomed to being used, he might have fallen over had it not been for Guo Zhe holding onto him.

"You are going to be publicly executed, the images sent over to the Yun clan, so make sure you put on your best performance. Oops, can't forget to bring you, the guest of honor."

Guo Zhe did not give Yao Jun any time to speak, using one hand to support him as he pulled him out of the cell. As he reached the door of the cell, he seemed to remember something, and reached out with his free hand, grabbing onto the pale-faced Guo Luo and pulling her along.

There was no need for Guo Luo to be present at the execution, but Guo Zhe wanted her to be there. He wanted her to watch as Yao Jun was executed. His plan was that she would either toughen up and become a worthy Guo clan member, or stay weak and be discarded.

Outside the cell stood Guo Jiahao, clad in a spotless white robe, watching the naked and scarred Yao Jun with a faint smile. He did not need to be present for something as small as an execution, but there was something about Yao Jun that caused him to feel unsettled.

They had tortured him for five days, but he had been far too calm. He always simply grit his teeth and endured, his determined and calm eyes sweeping over the room, as if he was able to see everything. His eyes showed how indifferent he was about the scenario, like none of what happened mattered to him. He hadn't even used his powers to try and escape once, making it so that Guo Jiahao did not even know what sort of power he had. Guo Jiahao didn't much fear the enemy in the light, it was the one in the darkness that he feared, the one he knew nothing about. And right now, Yao Jun felt like such an enemy.

Guo Jiahao wanted to watch Yao Jun die, only this could allow this unease to disappear. At the same time, he found his own unease almost inconceivable. Yao Jun was trapped in their dungeon, surrounded by people from the Guo clan. There should be no way for him to escape, yet Guo Jiahao still felt uneasy.

"You are careless, Guo Zhe."

Upon seeing Yao Jun, Guo Jiahao suddenly shook his head with a sigh. While Guo Zhe started sweating in fear, Guo Jiahao reached out with his hand and grabbed onto Yao Jun's hand. He raised Yao Jun's hand and slid off the interspatial ring that was still on his finger, waving it in front of Guo Zhe for a short moment.

"Always remove their interspatial ring, if you don't, unforeseen accidents can happen. But still, I am amazed that you wear something of such low quality."

Guo Jiahao raised the interspatial ring in front of his face, carefully studying it. Seeing him play with the interspatial ring, Yao Jun's expression immediately turned gloomy. Yao Jun did not care about most of the contents within the ring, all the herbs he had found had been planted inside his gate. But that ring was a gift from his mother, given to him when he left Flying Fish Town. The ring also contained the sword he had been given by his father, how could he let someone else have it? Guo Luo also knew the importance of the ring to Yao Jun, her hands stretching towards it for a short moment before quickly pulling back, her fear of Guo Jiahao preventing her from acting.

"Oh? It seems rather important to you, I better make sure I take good care of it."

Guo Jiahao saw Yao Jun's expression sink and his mouth cracked into a smile as he spoke, storing the ring away into his own interspatial ring. Before Yao Jun had the chance to say anything, Guo Jiahao waved his hand, signaling Guo Zhe to move out.

"Guo Jiahao, I will take that ring back, even if I have to drown your Guo clan in blood to do so, so you better hold on to it real tight."

Yao Jun's voice was low and cold, his eyes staring firmly at Guo Jiahao as he spoke. Normally, Guo Jiahao would have just laughed this off as the ramblings of a dead man. But when Yao Jun spoke those words, not just Guo Jiahao, but even Guo Zhe and Guo Luo felt a chill crawl down their spine. Guo Luo felt that if it was the mountain-like Yao Jun, he might truly be able to accomplish what he spoke of.

"Don't worry, you won't live past today."

Guo Jiahao spoke with a faint smile, both in an attempt to damper Yao Jun's spirit, as well as to ease his own. He had already felt uneasy about Yao Jun, but the chill he just felt reassured him that he had to kill Yao Jun no matter what.

Guo Zhe dragged Yao Jun and Guo Luo through the entire city, more and more people gathering the closer they got to the center of the city, the neutral territory. They could kill him in the territory of the Guo clan, but if they did it in the neutral territory, even the people from the Yun clan that lived there would be able to see it.

At the center of the neutral territory stood a tall wooden scaffold, a two-headed axe standing tall atop of it. The area in front of the scaffold was filled with people, staring at the scaffold with excited eyes, waiting for the event to start.

Guo Zhe quickly dragged Yao Jun onto the top of the scaffold and forced him down on his knees, his body facing the excited crowd. Guo Zhe stood to his left, while Guo Luo stood to his right. Guo Jiahao stood behind him and kept an eye on everything.

After they stepped onto the scaffold, a burly man in a gray robe and a black hood covering his head stepped onto the scaffold. Grabbing the two-headed axe with both hands, he raised it up and held it steady.

"I hope that you are watching closely Yun Yantian."

Guo Jiahao signaled someone in the crowd, and they took out a white disc covered in a myriad of brown lines, an Image Array.