Chapter 889: Treason

About an hour later.

Inside the main hall of the City Lord's Mansion, the noise of voices was chaotic.

Over a dozen men in various attires sat around a huge stone conference table, each holding a black stone cup, swirling the scaled beast blood inside, chatting cheerfully with one another.

Chen Yang sat in the seat of honor nearest the host's position, one hand gently stroking his stone cup, the other tucked in his sleeve, but he never raised the cup to drink. Even when acquaintances came to clink cups with him, he only symbolically brought the cup to his lips before setting it down again.

Beside him on the stone table lay a sizable black stone box, tightly sealed.

"Captain Chen Yang, what's going on? The City Lord suddenly had you summon us all—is there some big announcement? Give your old brother a heads-up, won't you?" asked a tall man with protruding fangs and a white bone armor, grinning broadly.

"Captain Mou Lin, it's not that I'm unwilling to tell you, but I truly don't know either. Don't be impatient; not everyone is here yet. Once they've all arrived, the City Lord will naturally speak," Chen Yang replied with a smile.

The man just chuckled and said no more.

At that moment, the main hall's door was slowly pushed open by a young man with a bull-horn tattoo on his cheek, and then three more people entered one after another.

The first to enter was a one-horned giant; if Han Li saw him, he would certainly recognize him as the one who usually presided over the fights in the Ninth District's Colosseum.

Following closely behind were two魔族 men in crimson robes, one round-faced and one square-faced, each holding a thick tome and a brush with vermilion tip—they were precisely the two record-keeping officials.

"Brother Chen, aside from those out hunting, everyone has arrived," the tattooed youth who had pushed the door said to Chen Yang via voice transmission after the three had entered.

Chen Yang nodded silently, and the youth walked out, closing the stone door.

After the one-horned giant and the other two had all taken their seats, Chen Yang still did not speak immediately but quietly surveyed the crowd in the hall.

After a long wait, someone finally grew impatient.

A魔族 man with a face as red as a date and two horns on his head spoke up loudly: "Chen Yang, what trick are you pulling? You gather everyone, saying the City Lord has important matters to announce, but the City Lord hasn't shown up for ages?"

At these words, the clamor in the hall subsided, and everyone turned their eyes toward Chen Yang.

"Captain Xiong Pi, can't you even wait a moment for the City Lord? Why not drink a few more mouthfuls of patterned scale beast blood to calm down? On ordinary days, the City Lord wouldn't be so generous as to give us this stuff," Chen Yang said without anger, smiling.

The red-faced man named Xiong Pi, with two horns, listened, then raised his heavy stone cup and took another gulp of beast blood.

When the beast blood in their cups was nearly finished, Chen Yang slowly stood up, walked to the host's seat at the stone conference table—the seat that only Du Qingyang usually occupied—and sat down with a swagger.

At first, no one noticed, but soon they were all drawn by this highly improper act, staring at him with strange expressions. The entire hall fell silent instantly.

"Chen Yang, how dare you sit in that seat? Are you looking for death?" the fanged man named Mou Lin suddenly slammed the table, stood up, and roared in fury.

"You bastard, get down here quickly..." Two more city guard captains stood up, glaring angrily.

Chen Yang, however, remained unmoved, lazily stretching and slowly sitting upright.

"Everyone, don't be impatient. Let me say one thing. The important matter the City Lord wishes to announce today is only one thing..." He paused here, his gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd.

The others in the hall, not understanding what madness had seized Chen Yang today, actually waited quietly for him to finish.

"Du Qingyang, feeling himself unworthy of the position, intends to abdicate the city lord's seat to me!"

As soon as Chen Yang said this, it was like oil splashed into a pan or a thunderclap on dry ground—the entire hall erupted.

"What are you saying? Abdicate to you?" Xiong Pi raised an eyebrow and asked loudly.

"What do you think you are, to covet the city lord's seat?" another man shouted.

"Chen Yang, are you trying to rebel?" Mou Lin kicked aside the stone chair beside him and said sternly.

"He's gone mad, he must be mad..."

...

With a loud "bang!"

Chen Yang slammed his palm on the stone table and also stood up abruptly.

The stone conference table immediately cracked with a "crack crack," spiderweb fissures spreading in all directions.

Seeing this, everyone stood up in shock.

"Colleagues, why not ask the City Lord for confirmation and see if what I, Chen, have said is the raving of a madman?" Chen Yang's gaze swept over the crowd as he said coldly.

"Where is the City Lord? I want to see him," Mou Lin shouted loudly.

"Want to see the City Lord? That's easy," Chen Yang said with a hint of a smile curling at the corner of his mouth, raising his hand to push.

The black stone box that had been placed before him was shoved forward by his palm, rolling a few times on the tabletop. The lid snapped open with a "pop," and the "thing" inside tumbled out.

It was unmistakably a head, covered in grime and broken into two halves.

Seeing this, everyone was startled.

Mu Lin's eyes widened as he suppressed his shock, reaching out to brush aside the tangled hair on the half-head, revealing a filthy, mutilated face beneath—it was none other than the Green Ram City Lord, Du Qingyang!

"City Lord..." Xiong Pi exclaimed in shock.

Everyone's expressions changed, each reacting differently in that instant.

Only Mu Lin, Xiong Pi, and a few others glared with anger; most were terrified and seemed at a loss.

The two record-keepers exchanged glances, their hands holding books and brushes beginning to tremble uncontrollably.

In contrast, the one-horned burly man remained calm, appearing relatively composed.

"Murdering your lord and rebelling, Chen Yang, you deserve to die!" Mu Lin's eyes turned cold as he gritted his teeth.

"Everyone, the City Lord is dead, and the murderer is Chen Yang. Let us join forces to kill him and avenge the City Lord!" Xiong Pi's eyes flickered as he spoke.

At these words, everyone exchanged glances, but few dared to step forward.

Du Qingyang had become city lord largely through martial might; naturally, there were those loyal to him, but certainly not everyone.

"Whoever kills this traitor, I, Mu Lin, will support as the new city lord," Mu Lin roared.

At this, the atmosphere in the hall subtly shifted, and many began to step forward eagerly, attempting to surround Chen Yang.

"Do you think you can kill me?" Chen Yang asked calmly, his expression unchanged.

As he spoke, the stone door of the hall burst open, and the tattooed youth led over a dozen burly men in bone armor, charging in to surround Mu Lin and the others.

"Chen Yang, do you think you can succeed with these rabble?" Xiong Pi sneered.

With that, he clenched his fists, releasing a burst of protective qi as his body crackled, one acupoint after another lighting up.

But after just over a dozen sounds, they abruptly ceased.

Not only did no more acupoints light up on Xiong Pi's body, but he went limp and collapsed to the ground.

Then, one after another, people in the hall fell to the ground, lying scattered everywhere. The only ones still standing were Chen Yang and those brought by the tattooed youth.

"The blood of the Flower-Scale Beast contains... contains bone powder of the White Profound Beast..." Xiong Pi propped himself up on his elbows, his voice trembling.

Chen Yang picked up his own cup of beast blood, strolled over to Xiong Pi, and slowly poured it over his face.

"Only realizing it now? Don't you think it's too late?" Chen Yang sneered, speaking slowly.

Xiong Pi let out a heavy sigh and collapsed backward.

Chen Yang paid him no heed, walking past him slowly, and said, "Everyone, what say you now? Will you be loyal ministers and follow Du Qingyang in death, or will you share this fine Qingyang City with me?"

The hall was dead silent, not a sound to be heard.

...

In the adjacent side hall.

"It seems Fellow Daoist Gu was right. Chen Yang had this all planned out. Having us wait in this side hall wasn't really for us to lend a hand, but to show off his skills," Han Li said with a smile, listening to the commotion from the main hall.

"The reason I chose to conspire with this man back then was because I saw his ambition was no small matter—he is not one to remain under another's thumb. Collaborating with such a man can yield twice the results with half the effort, but one misstep and it could backfire," Gu Qianxun said calmly.

...

At this moment in the great hall, after a brief silence, Chen Yang's voice suddenly rang out:

"Rest assured, everyone. Those willing to follow me will receive more than what Du Qingyang gave you in the future—I will not treat you poorly. But if anyone harbors disloyalty, they are seeking their own death..."

As his words fell, his form blurred slightly and in an instant he appeared beside a short, gaunt old man. He stomped down heavily, crushing the man's wrist into a bloody mess.

The old man let out a groan, and his clenched hand slowly opened, revealing a palm-sized strange white bone.

"The star bone of an Explosive Scale Beast, containing such rich star power—truly rare... Fellow Daoist Wu Heng, I never noticed before how loyal you were to Du Qingyang. You even intended to detonate this star bone and severely wound me at the cost of your own life?" Chen Yang picked up the white bone and said slowly.

"City Lord Du saved my life. Since I failed to serve him in life, I will be loyal in death. Do as you please—kill me or flay me." The old man gritted his teeth and said weakly.

"Chen Yang, do you think killing City Lord Du will let you take his place? Will the main city recognize a traitor like you? When the envoy from the main city arrives, how much better will your fate be?" Xiong Pi closed his eyes and sneered.

"Haha... You two really trouble yourselves on my behalf. But since when has Xuan City cared about turmoil in subordinate cities? As long as the tribute is delivered on time, do they care whether the City Lord of Qingyang is surnamed Du or Chen?" Chen Yang laughed loudly.

"Enough, just kill me..." Wu Heng, understanding the situation, showed a bitter smile and said.

The moment his words fell, Chen Yang's fist descended swiftly, striking him in the abdomen.

A loud explosion rang out. Wu Heng's body burst apart, blood and flesh splattering everywhere—a most gruesome death.