novelraw Chapter 216
Chapter 216
“So… that’s everything that happened?”
“Yes, City Lord.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Yu covered his face in despair.
“Xu Ruozhou, Xu Ruozhou… you are truly stupid.”
At this time, Wang Yu had safely returned from the Yanluo Ghost Market. Standing before the main hall of the City Lord’s Mansion, he looked at the middle district, where only one manor remained, his anger surging.
Xu Ruozhou knelt on the ground, head lowered, his face flushed red.
Wang Yu said through gritted teeth, hating iron for not becoming steel.
“Master Tianshui, that’s a direct disciple–level Refiner Master from Golden Abundance Tower, and you let him destroy Jade Spirit City like this, then let him send you off with just a word of thanks?
“So many people died, all because of his outburst. The city’s reconstruction, the post-war compensation, do those not cost spirit stones? Did he pay for any of it? Huh?!”
Xu Ruozhou suddenly remembered something. He fumbled in his pocket and presented a pitch-black iron pellet crackling with lightning.“Senior Tianshui said that when exterminating those death soldiers, he underestimated this item’s power and accidentally caused such destruction. He asked me to deliver this to you, City Lord. When he returns from the East Coast, he will find a way to compensate.
“He also said that when Miss Jin Miaoshan emerges from seclusion, she will come personally to thank you.”
Wang Yu took the Thunder Tribulation Pellet, expressionless.
“Do I lack her thanks? And you didn’t think to take this out earlier?”
“Your subordinate… forgot for a moment.”
Xu Ruozhou had recorded the entire Thunder Sea Explosion in Jade Spirit City with a Memory Stone, not only for Wang Yu to review but also as proof for demanding compensation later.
However, that inconspicuous iron pellet was indeed fierce.
Its explosive range exceeded its launching radius, resembling a bizarre one-time magical artifact. Though its power was tremendous, one had to use it with caution.
Otherwise, one risked being caught in the blast.
No one knew how many of those Thunder Tribulation Pellets Master Tianshui had used to create that scene. After Wang Yu stored it away, his men automatically began repairing the city and comforting the citizens.
He was now rather curious what people in Cloud Ridge Prefecture would think once word spread that he had once again “ordered the massacre of a tower.”
Although everyone knew it was fake, Crimson Kite Demonic Domain was never short of those who enjoyed watching chaos.
After returning and finishing the follow-up tasks, Wang Yu was just about to go play with Snowjade, the spirit beast he’d been raising freely in the City Lord’s Mansion. Thanks to a steady diet of supreme-grade pills, it was close to advancing soon.
At that moment, Han Jia from Heaven Treasure Pavilion came to visit.
Before the man even arrived, his booming voice echoed in.
“City Lord Wang! You’ve done it again! You flattened Golden Abundance Tower! From now on, you’re forever a friend of Heaven Treasure Pavilion!”
“Hey, hey—food can be eaten recklessly, but words cannot be spoken recklessly! Brother Han Jia, if those words spread, won’t you get your younger brother here killed?”
Han Jia came alone this time; his dragon-phoenix twin children were not with him. He slung an arm around Wang Yu’s shoulder and grinned mischievously.
“I understand, I understand, big trees attract the wind.”
Wang Yu was speechless.
“It wasn’t me. Just wait, someone from Golden Abundance Tower will step up and take responsibility.”
Han Jia looked doubtful. “Really not you?”
“Otherwise?”
“Fine.”
After pondering the situation, Han Jia figured Wang Yu had probably been caught up in Golden Abundance Tower’s internal conflict.
Thinking this, his expression turned even stranger.
“City Lord Wang, your ability to attract trouble… I can only bow in admiration.”
“How is this me seeking trouble? Some people just seek death themselves.”
“Fair enough.”
“Brother Han Jia, what brings you here? I still have plenty of official matters to handle.”
“Oh right, I almost forgot!”
Han Jia slapped his thigh and straightened his hat, suddenly serious.
“You see, Golden Abundance Tower is gone, everyone’s dead, so now the market in Jade Spirit City belongs to Heaven Treasure Pavilion, doesn’t it?”
Wang Yu frowned but didn’t deny it.
“For now, yes.”
Han Jia’s heart relaxed.
“Good. Then I want to discuss buying more land, and that Thunder Jade Banana Grove outside the city—how about selling it to me too? Heaven Treasure Pavilion plans to expand in Jade Spirit City.”
“The land’s fine, but not the Banana Grove. That’s an inheritance property of the City Lord’s Mansion. I only have ownership for three hundred years.”
“Then forget it. Let’s talk about the land in the central district.”
Failing to get the grove, Han Jia didn’t press the issue. His main goal was to push out the Guan, Jiang, and Core Formation factions’ businesses, and to void the overpriced contracts they had used to seize market share back then.
Times had changed; Heaven Treasure Pavilion wasn’t a charity.
His timing was perfect, and Wang Yu couldn’t refuse.
The negotiation dragged on until the afternoon.
After hosting Han Jia for a banquet, the matter was finally settled.
Just as Wang Yu returned to his room and began loosening his belt, Xu Ruozhou’s panicked voice rang out.
“Disaster! Disaster!
“City Lord! The Exalted Sect Offering this time was robbed! Everyone’s dead, and we found no clues!”
Boom!
The door to Wang Yu’s room exploded. He grabbed Xu Ruozhou by the collar, eyes bloodshot.
“What did you just say?!”
…
…
Night.
Led by Wang Yu and Qingyang, the grand hall was filled with cultivators.
Most of them were of commander rank, their cultivation generally at the late stage of Qi Refining. The majority were recruited rogue cultivators—average in combat strength and unreliable in loyalty.
There was no helping it. Wang Yu had only been established in Jade Spirit City for less than thirty years. The first batch of talents he had personally chosen were just beginning to mature, still lacking the tempering of blood and fire.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the hall was heavy. Everyone kept their heads lowered, silent and motionless. Wang Yu himself was deeply vexed.
Twenty-five years. For the past four Exalted Sect Offerings of a million spirit stones each, not a single issue had arisen. But this time, right in the midst of a string of critical events—something had gone wrong.
First, the disastrous defeat in the Fragrance Gathering.
Then, the stalemate in Jade Spirit City’s thunderstorm battle.
And now… even the sacred offering had been robbed.
This year truly seemed cursed. All the troubles he had been avoiding had chosen to erupt now.
“Who is it that dares to oppose me!”
Seeing this, Qingyang ventured a guess.
“City Lord, could it be the people from the Earth Demon Sect? After all, the old demon of the Earth Puppet perished in Jade Spirit, and they have not reacted at all. It’s as if they know nothing.”
At those words, Wang Yu’s killing intent surged violently, turning him into a man shrouded in a red mist, his entire being radiating a terrifying stench of blood.
Yet his mind remained cold and steady. He spoke with firm conviction.
“Impossible. The Earth Demonic Sect is an ancient sect of Cloud Ridge Prefecture. They're just feigning death by remaining silent.”
“‘Not knowing’ is better than losing face. Sometimes plugging one’s ears works, sometimes lying to oneself works even better.”
“This—”
Qingyang glanced at the others in the hall, then sent a voice transmission.
“Then could it be Little Talisman Lord Luo Chen? Though He Gu was killed, the returning message claimed the mission succeeded. Could this be revenge?”
Wang Yu paused. After some thought, he shook his head.
The Blood Reversal Sect, no matter its internal factions, would never touch the spirit stones meant for offering to their parent sect.
Moreover, Luo Chen belonged to Zhuo Shouqing’s branch.
Though he had schemed against Wang Yu, he had never torn away the façade of civility. There had been neither mockery nor arrogance. Clearly, he did not wish to confront him directly.
“Then it can only be Jin Lin? But he has no reason to do this. To ambush you is one thing, but to rob the Sect Offering would be a direct provocation to the Exalted Sect.”
Indeed, Jin Lin had even less motive.
While Wang Yu and Qing Yang continued their quiet discussion, another man in the hall—Xu Ruzhou, who had been pondering all along—suddenly spoke up.
“City Lord, could it be the surviving remnants of the Bai Family?”
That sentence struck Wang Yu’s mind like lightning piercing through fog.
Of course.
He had been looking too far upward and had forgotten about the Bai Family he casually exterminated upon first arriving in Jade Spirit.
In the Crimson Kite Demonic Domain, the greater one’s backing, the more one understood the power of the Five Demonic Sects—dominant forces capable of facing seven rival powers and still maintaining superiority.
In the Taihu Spiritual Domain, it took seven hegemonic forces just to match the demonic side. That spoke volumes.
But a Foundation Establishment family?
They were far beneath a Nascent Soul overlord and often displayed the foolish boldness of newborn calves unafraid of tigers.
If anyone might dare to strike at the Exalted Sect Offering, the most likely culprits were indeed the Bai Family’s remnants.
What’s more, the Bai Family’s Grand Elder had not died back then—he had been taken away by people from the Yellow Springs Monastery.
If the Yellow Springs Monastery had made a move against Jade Spirit City, this would instantly escalate into a conflict between overlords.
Wang Yu personally felt the Yellow Springs Monastery was unlikely to have acted directly. But without question, they might have aided the Bai Family’s Grand Elder. It was even possible that the old man had broken through to Core Formation.
After a moment of contemplation, Wang Yu had to admit that Xu Ruzhou’s intuition was rather sharp.
“Where is the Bai Family’s ancestral home? After more than twenty years, their patriarch should be dead, yes?”
“Reporting to City Lord, the Bai Family’s ancestors were not natives of Cloud Ridge Prefecture. As for the location of their ancestral home… we do not know.”
“Useless.”
Wang Yu snorted coldly.
“The urgent matter now is to replenish this year’s Exalted Sect Offering. Qingyang.”
“Here.”
“Inform the Guan and Jiang families, as well as Purple Dragon Mountain, Ink-Water Sect, and Scent-Perceiving Sect. All five must contribute. Tell them their share of offering spirit stones was stolen by the Bai Family’s remnants.”
“Yes, City Lord.”
The City Lord’s mansion had no surplus reserves, so they could only endure and fill the gap temporarily.
“Xu Ruzhou, take a team and come with me to the site. See if there are any other clues.”
“Yes.”
“The rest of you, investigate the Bai Family’s ancestral home. This time, I want their entire bloodline exterminated—no chickens, no dogs left alive.”
“Yes!”
After the late-night meeting concluded, Wang Yu swiftly wrote a letter and sent a messenger to Cloud Ridge’s Prefectural City.
Unlike Maple Prefecture, Cloud Ridge was smaller in land but far richer in spiritual resources.
It possessed numerous spirit veins, densely concentrated, and also contained dangerous and coveted regions such as the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest and the Ancient Ruins of Eastern Extreme Capital.
Because of these, many cultivators from other provinces frequently crossed borders to explore, and even other sects’ cultivators often ventured into the area.
Therefore, Cloud Ridge’s prefectural city was guarded by Nascent Soul cultivators—more than one.
Sensing the potential link between the Bai Family and Yellow Springs Monastery, Wang Yu decided to act preemptively. Even if nothing had yet happened, he could report his suspicions early.
Besides, his letter could only be sent to the prefectural city.
Reporting above his rank would only offend higher authorities.
He would test the waters first. If something truly occurred later, he would have an excuse ready and stay blameless.
After finishing these arrangements, Wang Yu departed with Xu Ruzhou and his men.