Gu Ruoyun's smile grew more pronounced as she thought of this, "You're certain that you don't want to pledge fealty to the Murong family? I'm definitely not the kind of person who would force anyone into doing something they aren't comfortable with."

"Of course."

Li Qing sneered, "You must be dreaming if you think that I'd serve someone like you."

Earlier on, Yeh Luo had secretly promised him that if he makes a stand and rejects her offer, he would give him his daughter, Yeh Xue, to be his wife.

Li Qing had long been spying on Yeh Xue's beauty but due to his status as a member of a third-rate family, he was not an ideal match for Yeh Xue. Now that he's been presented with a chance, he would not let this opportunity slide so easily.

Most importantly, even if Gu Ruoyun wasn't happy with my public rejection, she couldn't possibly do anything to me. Otherwise, how could a malevolent woman like her convince the citizens of Black Rock City?

He was banking on Gu Ruoyun not daring to do anything to him which was why he had the guts to step out.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated Gu Ruoyun...

Bang!

A wave of powerful energy burst from Gu Ruoyun's body and squeezed forcefully on Li Qing's heart like a giant hand.

As Li Qing's eyes widened in terror, a loud crack was heard and his heart was completely crushed. Blood began to ooze out continuously and his lifeless eyes remained filled with disbelief.

She had actually killed him in front of all of these people?

Was she not afraid that the others would only pretend to be convinced?

"Gu Ruoyun, you are a demon! You had said so yourself that you would give him a choice. Why did you kill him?"

Yeh Luo has now found an opportunity to criticize Gu Ruoyun and leaped out with his accusations with the intention to cause a scene.

Gu Ruoyun cleaned her finger indifferently as a small smile hung on her lips, "I did say that he could choose whether he wants to serve me or not and he made his choice, didn't he? Did I stop him from making his decision? However, after he had made his choice, it's my prerogative whether I want to let him go or not. I didn't do anything to break my promise."

This means that she had allowed the other party to make a decision and the other party had made their decision. However, she had never mentioned that she would not kill them after they had made the decision.

Instantly, a wave of terror spread throughout everyone who was present. Some of them even shivered, afraid that they would end up like Li Qing at the slightest mistake.

He didn't even have the chance to react!

"It's getting late, have you all made your choice?" Gu Ruoyun swept her gaze across the crowd before her and smiled, "Don't worry, I don't like to force people to follow me. You can make the same decision as him, I won't stop you."

She doesn't like to force people to follow her?

That's right, she wasn't forcing anyone!

But the price of rejection is death!

She won't even leave any chance for regret, you would die instantaneously!

The crowd no longer hesitated as they hurriedly straightened up and sank to their knees, exclaiming in voices filled with respect, "Your subordinate pays their respect to you, Eldest Lady."

"Good. Remember that this was your decision, I had not forced you to make this choice." Gu Ruoyun smiled and rose to her feet with her gaze overlooking the kneeling crowd before her. She curled her lips and said, "Next, I'd like to map out something for you. Other than the Murong family, I will divide all families into first-class, second-class, and third-class families. This segmentation will have nothing to do with your power but will depend on how much you've contributed to Black Rock City. Since this is the initial stage of this implementation, there will not be any families in the first-class category and the best of you will be in the second-class category."