Chapter 21: Mo Yu Hu

The reward missions in the Dark Hall of the Yanfeng Guild are divided into multiple categories—protection, hiring, assassination—among which the highest rewards are undoubtedly for assassination tasks.

“Look at the high-reward ones,” Luo Feng said, sipping wine as he studied the assassination missions.

The top-reward mission: Kill the supreme commander of the Hu Yang Legion, “Mo Li Xiao,” reward: 1.2 million Cosmic Sands.

“Only the Shí Nation could offer a 1.2 million Cosmic Sands bounty and not fear the City Lord’s Mansion,” Luo Feng guessed. “According to the Yanfeng Guild’s Dark Hall rules, for assassination missions, the reward must be paid upfront to the guild. If the mission fails, the reward stays with the guild. No one without sufficient depth would risk tying up such a massive fortune for so long.”

The second-highest reward mission: Kill the leader of the Shí Nation’s forces within Hu Yang City, “Xue Yun,” reward: 1 million Cosmic Sands.

The third-highest reward mission: Kill the head of the Zhu Clan, “Zhu Gu,” reward: 530,000 Cosmic Sands.

The fourth-highest reward mission: Kill the master of the Puppet Shadow Tower, “Chun Yu Yi,” reward: 180,000 Cosmic Sands.

……

The seventh-highest reward mission: Kill the chairman of the Blood Serpent Guild, “Mu Yang,” reward: 120,000 Cosmic Sands.

……

Luo Feng spotted the familiar bounty on the Blood Serpent Guild’s chairman—it ranked seventh! His enemies must really be willing to spend.

“The top three rewards are high, but everything after drops sharply,” Luo Feng said. He had obtained detailed intelligence on Hu Yang City from Sheng Tian Yan, so he understood the identities of these powerful figures on the bounty list.

Mo Li Xiao: The strongest among the five great families of the City Lord’s Mansion, supreme commander of the Hu Yang Legion.

He is individually extremely powerful; the Yu Kingdom’s capital dispatched him to garrison a major city, equipping him with the finest military mechanical artifacts and an elite personal guard legion.

Already formidable alone, and now commanding an entire legion, Mo Li Xiao is terrifying.

Xue Yun: Leader of the Shí Nation’s forces within Hu Yang City. He has long been lurking in the city, inflicting heavy losses on the five great families, who have been powerless to eliminate him.

Both are extremely powerful and come from formidable backgrounds.

They have clashed more than once.

“Zhu Gu of the Zhu Clan ranks third?” Luo Feng was curious. “The Zhu Clan is a native Hu Yang family, quietly running their business—why would they have so many enemies? And why is Zhu Gu’s bounty higher than those of leaders of dark factions? Most crucially, with a 530,000 Cosmic Sands bounty hanging for so long, the Zhu Clan remains perfectly safe.”

From these assassination missions, Luo Feng could see that Mo Li Xiao, Xue Yun, and Zhu Gu were all men not to be trifled with.

“Of course, the guild master of Yanfeng Guild, myself, and those few old hermits hiding in Hu Yang City have no bounties,” Luo Feng smiled. “No bounty doesn’t mean weak.”

“Which assassination mission should I choose?”

Luo Feng pondered.

Hiring and protection missions consume too much time and effort for too little reward. Naturally, he’d pick an assassination mission.

“Leaders of evil dark factions can all be candidates,” Luo Feng thought. He acted with preparation—only killing those who deserved it. The leaders of dark factions had committed countless atrocities; they naturally qualified as targets.

“The Blood Serpent Guild chairman’s reward is too low,” Luo Feng shook his head slightly. Three dark faction leaders had higher bounties than him—he needed to study them carefully.

For his first bounty mission, success was essential.

Preparation was necessary.

As Luo Feng sat atop a boulder on Gaoshan, studying his potential targets, a figure suddenly flew toward him.

“Master,” Mo Luo Sa said, “Mo Yu Hu has come to pay his respects.”

“Mo Yu Hu?” Luo Feng was surprised. Mo Yu Hu was the first Void True God he’d met on the Origin Continent.

“During your year-long cultivation retreat, Mo Yu Hu also came to visit,” Mo Luo Sa said. “Knowing you were in seclusion, he didn’t disturb you. This is his second visit.”

Luo Feng smiled. “Second time? Let him come in.”

“Yes.” Mo Luo Sa nodded, then couldn’t help adding, “Master, shouldn’t we hire some servants?”

“Hire servants? We cultivate in our cave dwelling, occasionally drinking and eating fruit—we can prepare those in advance. Why need servants?” Luo Feng laughed. “When we’re out, aren’t you already my servant?”

Mo Luo Sa murmured, “Master, your reputation in Hu Yang City grows daily, and visitors come more often. I must guard the gate and serve you as a servant.”

Luo Feng laughed.

With guests arriving, the only servant—Mo Luo Sa—had to prepare fine wine and food, and stand by to serve. Though Mo Luo Sa concealed his power, he was still an Eternal True God-level Void Beast, growing stronger over time, possibly even surpassing Luo Feng in reaching the Chaos Realm. He was clearly unsuited for menial tasks.

“My mistake,” Luo Feng smiled. “Don’t worry—I’ll hire servants within two days.”

“I’m not in that much of a hurry,” Mo Luo Sa said with a grin, flying toward the cave entrance to bring in Mo Yu Hu.

Mo Yu Hu was nervous and tense, following Mo Luo Sa all the way up to Gaoshan.

“I pay homage to Your Reverence,” Mo Yu Hu bowed respectfully.

As a Void True God, he was mid-tier in Hu Yang City. The recent news that the dark faction “Blood Serpent Guild” had been forced to submit by the Eternal True God Luo He was the hottest topic in the entire city—and Mo Yu Hu knew it well.

Luo Feng sat calmly, watching Mo Yu Hu. “Why have you come to see me?”

“You once said I could ask you for a favor,” Mo Yu Hu said, nervous but confident in this master’s character—Luo He was known as a kind Eternal True God. “You did promise.” Luo Feng smiled. “My promises are valuable. Are you really going to use yours up like this?”

Mo Yu Hu flipped his hand, revealing a small gray hammer. He held it out reverently. “This weapon is the greatest treasure I’ve ever acquired. While exploring outside the city, I stumbled upon the corpse of an Eternal True God. The most valuable item among his belongings was this weapon. I offer it to Your Reverence—only asking for one chance to have my child become your disciple.”

Luo Feng stared at the hammer in surprise. “This is indeed an Eternal True God-level weapon artifact. By my estimate, it’s worth around 6,000 Cosmic Sands. How could a lowly Void True God like you acquire such a treasure? And dare you bring it before me? Don’t you fear I’ll take it and kill you?”

“I dare not sell this treasure to any faction,” Mo Yu Hu said, looking at Luo Feng. “If even a whisper leaks, my entire family dies. I’ve met few Eternal True Gods, and the only one I trust is Your Reverence.”

Last time, when he guided him, he wasn’t killed! Not robbed! And he was even offered help!

Mo Yu Hu had firmly decided: Luo Feng’s character was worth betting on.

“Hah…” Luo Feng waved his hand, snatching the hammer. “I don’t take disciples lightly.”

“Eternal True Gods never take disciples easily—they always test them first,” Mo Yu Hu said. “I only ask Your Reverence to grant one chance at a test.”

Luo Feng said, “You know I’ve had conflicts with the Blood Serpent Guild.”

“Yes,” Mo Yu Hu nodded. “The news has spread throughout Hu Yang City.” From this conflict, Mo Yu Hu could see just how powerful this master was—if his child could become Luo He’s disciple, it would be an extraordinary fortune.

Luo Feng said, “In the future, I will clash with other dark factions. I’ll likely have many Eternal True Gods as enemies. If your child follows me, he may be dragged into these conflicts.”

!.

Mo Yu Hu was internally startled.

Just clashed with the Blood Serpent Guild—and now he’ll clash with other dark factions?

“If I follow Your Reverence, I accept both fortune and misfortune,” Mo Yu Hu replied decisively, for he knew: he could only offer this hammer to Luo Feng.

“How many children do you have?” Luo Feng asked.

“Three children. Your Reverence may choose one,” Mo Yu Hu immediately offered a book. “Here are all the detailed records on my three children.”

Luo Feng waved his hand and took it. “You’re well prepared. But I must clarify—I will only take one servant! He must undergo trials. If he fails, he won’t become my disciple. And the trials will be extremely long.”

“To serve Your Reverence as a servant is my child’s greatest fortune,” Mo Yu Hu said at once.

“Good,” Luo Feng nodded. “Go bring your three children. I will choose one to be my servant.”

Mo Yu Hu’s face lit up. “I’ll go fetch them at once.”

He bowed respectfully and left swiftly.

“Master…” Mo Luo Sa stared at the hammer Luo Feng was playing with, unable to believe it. “You hired a servant—and got a 6,000 Cosmic Sands weapon artifact for free?”

Luo Feng laughed. “I said I’d hire a servant within two days. Did I do it fast?”

“Fast!” Mo Luo Sa marveled. “And Master, you’re too good at making profit.”

“Six thousand Cosmic Sands for a servant? He’s not losing out,” Luo Feng smiled.

“I’m your servant too. If he’s on par with me, he’s definitely not losing,” Mo Luo Sa beamed—soon, many chores could be passed to Mo Yu Hu’s child.

Mo Luo Sa said, “Master, I can help train that child. You won’t need to trouble yourself.”

That way, he’d have more authority to command the child.

“Fine,” Luo Feng said. “If I take him as a disciple, you’ll be his second master.”

“But I won’t take disciples lightly. If he doesn’t meet the minimum standard, he’ll remain a servant for life.”

Mo Luo Sa nodded. “Let me train him with you. The threshold must be high.”

Mo Yu Hu returned home, a modest cave dwelling in an ordinary location, originally purchased for one thousand Chaos Crystals, average by the standards of Void True Gods’ residences.

Mo Yu Hu returned home. His residence was a modest cave dwelling in an ordinary district, purchased for 1,000 Chaos Crystals—average for a Void True God.

“Father,” his three young True Gods waited eagerly. They knew their father was visiting the Eternal True God “Luo He.” Seeing him return, they were all excited.

Mo Yu Hu smiled at his three children.

On the Origin Continent, love was a luxury. Most True Gods struggled just to survive and cultivate—finding a wife and raising children was nearly impossible.

Mo Yu Hu was lucky. He found his soulmate and raised three children together.

Since his wife’s death, his greatest concern had been his three children—they mattered more than his own life.

“Luo He has agreed to give you a chance,” Mo Yu Hu said. “He will choose one of you to become his servant. Only after enduring trials can you become his disciple. If you fail, you’ll never become an Eternal True God’s disciple.”

“We understand.”

“This opportunity is rare—we’ll fight for it.”

The three brothers had grown up in Hu Yang City—they knew how precious this chance was.

Mo Yu Hu nodded. “Leave immediately.”

[89] (End of Chapter)