Chapter 39: The Face of the Five Great Families

“As long as Brother Luohe is willing to drink, I’m always ready to join you,” Zhu You laughed heartily. “These days, drinking with Brother Luohe is quite an honor.”

Although the things Luo Feng did were acts even the Eternal Gods in Hu Yang City dared not commit—they had to consider the powers behind them.

But that didn’t diminish their admiration!

“Come on, let’s go,” Luo Feng paid no mind to what he had just done, pulling Zhu You back to the original hall.

Mo Luo Sa and Mo Yu Qingyan followed behind.

“Hehehe,” Mo Luo Sa chuckled as he walked, his mood excellent.

“Master Luo Sa, the Lord has done such a huge thing—how can you laugh?” Mo Yu Qingyan couldn’t help but whisper, “The Five Great Families won’t let this go.”

“So what if they don’t let it go?” Mo Luo Sa looked at Mo Yu Qingyan.

Mo Yu Qingyan’s expression turned serious as he whispered, “There will surely be a bloody storm.”

“It’ll be their blood,” Mo Luo Sa reached out and ruffled Mo Yu Qingyan’s hair, smiling broadly as he whispered, “You’ll understand when you grow up.”

“Their blood?” Mo Yu Qingyan followed behind, lost in thought.

As Luo Feng returned to the hall and resumed drinking, the other guests in Meng Hua Tower erupted in chaos.

Some excitedly debated, others hurriedly left to report the details to their own factions. The thousand or so Void Gods of Hu Yang Guard quietly slipped away.

The events at Meng Hua Tower spread rapidly through Hu Yang City, fermenting.

…

Inside the hall of Meng Hua Tower, Luo Feng and Zhu You sat facing each other, drinking and laughing, relaxed and at ease.

“What you did in Hu Yang City has shattered the heavens!” Zhu You sighed. “The Eternal Gods of the Five Great Families are the heavens of Hu Yang City—you killed one of them. They will never let this go.”

“So what if they won’t let it go?” Luo Feng raised his cup, smiling faintly. “I’m right here in Hu Yang City, openly. Let’s see how much power they really have.”

Zhu You could tell that Lord Luohe truly feared nothing of the Five Great Families.

“I admire you,” Zhu You sighed. “My Zhu Clan would never dare do such a thing.”

“You have your clan to consider, so you must act cautiously,” Luo Feng laughed. “I’m a lone wanderer—only two servants at my side. I have no ties, no burdens. I can act more freely and decisively.”

Zhu You nodded. “But Lord Luohe, you must be careful. Even if no one in Hu Yang City can challenge you, they might summon powerful outsiders.”

“I’ve already shown the Marquis’s mansion great respect,” Luo Feng poured himself more wine. “Tonight, I only killed Mei Wuqi, the deeply guilty, and his accomplice Qian Yu. I didn’t touch a single other Hu Yang Guard—not even the Purple Jade Hound. I was restrained. Even if this reaches the ears of the Chaos Dominator, he’ll praise me.”

“Praise you?” Zhu You froze.

Luo Feng glanced at him. “You don’t understand. The God Kings and Chaos Dominators tower above all. Their clans, after eons of proliferation, have countless descendants. They can’t even house them all in their own domains—they’ve scattered vast numbers across other Chaos Provinces.”

“For God Kings and Chaos Dominators, what they need are cities that provide massive resources,” Luo Feng said.

“Yes,” Zhu You nodded.

In vast cities, the countless fees paid by Gods sustain the Marquis’s mansion, the Hu Yang Guard, and the Hu Yang Legion—everything else flows upward to the God Kings and Chaos Dominators.

“Each God pays little, but across Yu Nation’s countless cities, billions of Gods pay in total. That’s the resource God Kings and Chaos Dominators value most,” Luo Feng said. “So they’ve established laws—to ensure city safety, so countless Gods willingly pay their residence fees.”

“But Mei Wuqi slaughtered hundreds of millions of citizens! If the God Kings and Chaos Dominators learn of this, they’ll kill Mei Wuqi first!”

Luo Feng shook his head. “I killed Mei Wuqi—the God Kings and Chaos Dominators will only praise me. If they punish me, they’ll be mocked by other God Kings and Chaos Dominators in Yu Nation.”

Zhu You’s eyes lit up. “Lord Luohe, you understand the mindset of God Kings and Chaos Dominators. Such matters—Chaos Dominators would never intervene.”

“Chaos Dominators have enormous clans. If they had to act over every petty matter, would they be their servants?” Luo Feng shook his head. “Unless it’s a colossal matter, unless it enrages them, Chaos Dominators won’t interfere.”

Having inherited both the Duan Dong River lineage and the Jin God King lineage, Luo Feng understood well the conduct of God Kings and Chaos Dominators.

For beings atop the Origin Continent, countless descendants must undergo trial and selection—the weak and foolish are culled, the strong and excellent endure.

Luo Feng was right.

Even Mei Wuqi’s Chaos Dominator ancestor, upon hearing of such an incident in the distant ‘Jiu Jiang Chaos Province,’ would praise the killing—and sternly forbid any similar acts within his clan. “There are other lone wanderers like me elsewhere,” Luo Feng said. “I’m actually quite law-abiding.”

“Yes, I know some Eternal Gods who pass through cities and slaughter indiscriminately—no one ever finds their identities,” Zhu You nodded.

While chatting, Luo Feng also diverted attention to examine Mei Wuqi’s remaining belongings.

He cared most about the secret treasure: “City of Sin.”

Mei Wuqi had indeed carried the “City of Sin” on his person.

“Still over one hundred and eighty million citizens alive inside?” Luo Feng’s spiritual power seeped in; with a single thought, he confirmed the number—yet the scene within the City of Sin made Luo Feng’s heart tremble.

The remaining one hundred and eighty million citizens had each endured immense torment; many minds were twisted, their energies chaotic and mad.

The most expensive dwellings in Hu Yang City’s Chaos Zone Alpha were numbered 1 through 5—each owned by one of the Five Great Families.

Chaos Alpha-1 and Chaos Alpha-2 belonged to the two Wang Clans.

Chaos Alpha-3 was owned by the Mo Li Clan, the strongest in combat power.

!.

Chaos Alpha-4 was owned by the Jiang Clan of Marquis Jiang—the Jiu Jiang Chaos Province was his fief, and even though Hu Yang City was officially governed by Yu Nation, Marquis Jiang still claimed a massive share of resources, stationing clan members here to oversee them.

Chaos Alpha-5 belonged to the Mei Wu Clan. The Mei Wu Clan was a famed Chaos clan across Yu Nation, with two Chaos Dominators within its ranks. Even its branch stationed in Hu Yang City ranked among the Five Great Families.

At this moment, inside the Mei Wu Clan’s massive dwelling, the clan’s high elders had gathered.

Eight figures sat apart.

“Our Mei Wu branch in Hu Yang City had nine Eternal Gods—now only eight remain!” The lead elder, a black-haired old man with leaves growing from his body, spoke.

“Mei Wuqi was publicly slain! That Luohe didn’t even care about our Mei Wu Clan—he didn’t conceal his actions with a miniature universe field. He killed Mei Wuqi before everyone’s eyes. To insult our Mei Wu Clan so brazenly—he must die!” One elder’s face twisted with rage, his eyes brimming with murderous intent.

“Let’s summon experts from our ancestral homeland to kill this Luohe.”

They were merely a branch dispatched here, while the true ancestral homeland—where the Mei Wu Clan’s core resided—held its two Chaos Dominators and countless Eternal Gods nurtured over eons.

The true elite of the Mei Wu Clan possessed beings far stronger than Mo Li Xiao.

“Fool! This cannot be reported to the ancestral homeland.”

“You came to Hu Yang City only to indulge in pleasure—you’re as foolish as Mei Wuqi! How could you possibly inform the ancestral homeland?”

Several high elders immediately scolded.

The lead black-haired elder nodded. “Mei Wuqi slaughtered hundreds of millions of citizens! That is an undeniable, monstrous crime! The God Kings and Chaos Dominators have explicitly ordered the protection of city citizens. So this incident must never be reported.”

“Many things are minor until they’re exposed. If the ancestors find out, all of us will be punished.”

The eight Mei Wu elders understood—they were merely a marginal branch within the entire Mei Wu Clan. If they angered the ancestors, they might be sent off to perform backbreaking labor, while the comforts of Hu Yang City were given to other branches.

“Publicly, we cannot pursue this. But secretly, we must make all of Hu Yang City know: anyone who dares strike the Five Great Families in the face must pay.”

“Find a way to deal with him—even if you can’t kill him, force him into hiding, make him cower in shadows, never daring to show his face openly again.”

“If we don’t resolve this, it’s not just the Mei Wu Clan’s shame. To all factions in Hu Yang City… Luohe has struck the face of the entire Five Great Families. The other four families must also act.”

As they discussed, their fury burned hot—they had reigned supreme for too long to tolerate such defiance from an Eternal God.

Suddenly—

The lead black-haired elder’s face changed. “Trouble.”

“What is it?” The other seven elders paused, puzzled.

“That Luohe is insane!” the elder exclaimed urgently. “He publicly released the over one hundred million surviving citizens from Mei Wuqi’s ‘City of Sin’—he dumped them right into Hu Yang City.”

(End of Chapter)