Chen Chang'an was about to leave when he suddenly sensed someone entering the secret passage.
Not just Chen Chang'an, but the Murong sisters, Qingrou and Qingwu, also noticed it.
Both frowned, as they had explicitly ordered that no one was allowed to enter the passage without permission.
"It's Liang Yue, one of the three great commanders of No Return City," Murong Qingrou said to Chen Chang'an.
Chen Chang'an knew of the three commanders, though he hadn't known their names.
Liang Yue was one of them, with cultivation at the peak of the Void Comprehension Realm's ninth level.
Chen Chang'an had always been curious—aside from the mysterious city lord, Asura—why none of the others had broken through to the Supreme Realm.
After learning the truth, he understood. No Return City had only existed for a short time, and most of its members had been recruited gradually after its establishment.
Very few had been truly nurtured by the city itself.
Among the major powers in the Chaotic Region, No Return City was the most low-key, and those it attracted were mostly people seeking comfort and ease.
"Your subordinate has no sense of discipline?" Chen Chang'an asked curiously.
"This has never happened before. Something must have occurred," Murong Qingrou replied.
Though Liang Yue had barged into the passage, he didn't advance recklessly. Instead, he stopped outside the chamber and didn't enter.
"Subordinate Liang Yue, reporting an urgent matter."
"What is it?"
Murong Qingrou instinctively donned her black robe and altered her voice—a habit she maintained when dealing with outsiders.
Chen Chang'an didn't comment, knowing such habits couldn't be changed overnight.
"The Bloodthirsty Alliance has sent a message, inviting No Return City to attend the King's Summit!"
King's Summit?
What was that?
The Murong sisters had never heard of such an event. What was the Bloodthirsty Alliance planning?
"Is that all?" Murong Qingrou asked.
"Yes."
"And for something so trivial, you dared to intrude into the secret passage?"
Her voice was low, carrying a hint of anger that made Liang Yue tremble and immediately kneel.
"This subordinate acknowledges his mistake."
"Hmph. As one of No Return City's three great commanders, is this all the courage you possess?"
"A mere message from the Bloodthirsty Alliance has you in such a panic?"
What truly angered Murong Qingrou was Liang Yue's lack of nerve. How could he be so fearful of the Bloodthirsty Alliance?
If conflict ever arose between No Return City and the Bloodthirsty Alliance, Liang Yue, as a commander, would likely fail in his duties.
"This… City Lord, please calm your anger."
"Dismissed."
"Yes."
After Liang Yue left, Murong Qingwu stepped out to retrieve the letter he had brought and handed it to her sister.
"So, this is the Bloodthirsty Alliance's plan."
After reading the letter, Murong Qingrou understood their intentions.
The Bloodthirsty Alliance sought to unify the entire Chaotic Region, hence this so-called King's Summit. The purpose was simple: to gather representatives from the other factions under the pretense of electing a ruler.
But since the Bloodthirsty Alliance was the one initiating it, it was clear they intended to claim the position for themselves.
The King of Chaos?
"Is the Bloodthirsty Alliance that powerful?" Chen Chang'an asked curiously.
"Yes. Their leader's cultivation reached the peak of the Supreme Realm long ago."
"After all these years, it's unknown whether he has broken through further."
"But judging by this move, it's likely he has succeeded, hence his confidence in hosting the King's Summit," Murong Qingrou said with a frown.
Among the major powers in the Chaotic Region, each had Supreme Realm experts guarding them, and none were weak—except for No Return City.
The main reason was that the Murong sisters' father had died from severe injuries years ago.
Had he still been alive, No Return City's strength and status would have been far greater.
"Sister, if we attend the King's Summit, the truth about Father's death may come out."
"Even our identities could be exposed."
"This would bring no benefit to No Return City," Murong Qingwu said worriedly.
Murong Qingrou knew that attending would bring no advantage to them or the city.
But the Bloodthirsty Alliance had issued the summons. Refusing to attend would be seen as disrespect, giving them an excuse to target No Return City.
Attending was dangerous, but so was refusing.
Torn between the choices, the sisters once again turned their gaze to Chen Chang'an.
"Senior, this…"
"This has nothing to do with me. I'm not a member of No Return City."
"Senior, but you hold the Purple Gold Medal. You can't just enjoy the privileges without contributing."
"Shouldn't you… take some action?"
Hm?
That phrasing sounded off. "Enjoy without contributing"? "Take some action"?
"Senior, you were acquainted with our ancestor, and everyone knows you're No Return City's sole Purple Gold Medal holder."
"Now that the city is in peril, how can you stand by and do nothing?"
"We've given you the orb unconditionally. Shouldn't you, as a senior, offer something in return?"
The sisters blinked their large eyes at Chen Chang'an, their gazes practically pleading, "See how sincere we are? Just agree already."
"This… I'll think about it."
"Alright. Have you thought about it, Senior?"
Hm?
Was that even enough time to consider? Weren't they being too hasty?
Chen Chang'an sighed. These two sisters were truly relentless.
But he rarely did anything without benefit. Still, they had given him the orb, and that was a debt of gratitude.
Fine. For the sake of the fetal orb, he'd help them this once.
"Alright. I'll help you deal with the King's Summit."
"But after this, I'll have no further ties to No Return City."
Hearing his agreement, the sisters beamed and, without warning, threw themselves at him, hugging him tightly from both sides.
Chen Chang'an hadn't expected such boldness.
"Thank you, Senior!"
"Senior, from now on, you won't be unrelated to No Return City—you'll be its true master."
Hm?
What the—?
What kind of coercion was this?
When Chen Chang'an returned to the Happy Tower, Da Huang was the first to rush over.
"Well? Was your guess correct?" Da Huang asked eagerly.
"Pretty much. Do you remember Murong Tianhai?"
"That guy who used to follow us around, begging to become your disciple?"
"Right. The city lord of No Return City, Murong Qingrou and Qingwu, are his descendants."
"I see. Did you find the orb?"
"Yeah."
Chen Chang'an nodded, then briefly recounted the recent events to Da Huang.
"So, we'll have to stay in this chaotic region for a while longer, until you finish participating in this King-Sealing Conference?"
"Not that I mind. I’d actually like to see the spectacle myself. Hopefully, this King-Sealing Conference will be interesting enough."
Da Huang didn’t particularly care either way. After all, it had tagged along with Chen Chang'an purely to wander and have fun, without any real purpose. Whatever Chen Chang'an did, it would just follow along.
"Where’s Ming Dao? Why isn’t he here?" Chen Chang'an asked curiously.
"He went to the Medal Battlefield. Said he wanted to sharpen his combat skills."
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
