"Young Master Li Xuan, may I call you that?" Hu Xueman softly repeated, asking with a hint of anticipation in her beautiful eyes.
"Of course, you can. By the way, forgive me for asking, but what were they trying to capture you for? And from what I observed, they didn't seem to be trying to kill you. It's as if they wanted to capture you alive," Li Xuan asked with a slight smile.
"Young Master Li Xuan, actually, it's like this..." Hu Er glanced at Hu Xueman. Seeing her nod, he began to speak.
It turned out that Hu Xueman was the eldest daughter of the Hu family, one of the top powers in Shuangyang City. Shuangyang City had three major powers: the Hu family, the Qin family where Qin Wuming resided, and the City Lord's Mansion.
However, the City Lord's Mansion was subtly above both the Hu and Qin families in power, as it held significant authority.
Under the City Lord's Mansion's governance, the Hu and Qin families maintained a superficial peace. Yet, to vie for the second-highest position in Shuangyang City, the two families had clashed privately countless times.
But their powers were nearly equal, making it a stalemate. The only ones suffering were the smaller factions within the city.
Furthermore, since their conflicts were largely in private and centered around the acquisition of resources from markets and mines, the City Lord's Mansion largely turned a blind eye.
However, this kind of ambush situation only began this year. Under Li Xuan's persistent questioning, Hu Xueman stopped Hu Er and spoke herself.
The situation had been like this since this year. It wasn't the first time. Ever since Hu Haide, the head of the Hu family and Hu Xueman's father, was mysteriously poisoned this year, causing his strength to decline, these incidents began.
Dozens of people from the Hu family had already died in Qin family assassinations, gruesomely killed after leaving the city. Countless smaller factions were also annihilated. After extensive investigation, the Hu family discovered the Qin family's involvement in Hu Haide's poisoning.
But Hu Haide was the strongest in the Hu family. With his weakened strength, he could not confront the Qin family head-on. Thus, the Hu family could only swallow their pride and search for a cure. After half a year of searching, the Hu family learned of a rare treasure that had appeared on Purple Cloud Mountain, eight hundred li from Shuangyang City. They immediately arranged for people to go and search for it.
Hu Xueman was the leader of this expedition. After more than a month, Hu Xueman finally found the rare spiritual medicine on Purple Cloud Mountain.
Just as Hu Xueman and her group were preparing to return via their planned route, the Qin family, somehow obtaining the Hu family's itinerary, had sent several parties to intercept them. However, Hu Er and his subordinates had managed to fight them off, so no harm was done.
"Eldest Miss Hu, there's something I don't quite understand. To put it bluntly, according to what you've said, your father is severely poisoned and cannot use his former strength. Yet, he is the strongest in your Hu family. Since he has fallen, why doesn't the Qin family take this opportunity to swallow your Hu family?" Li Xuan asked after some thought.
"Young Master Li Xuan, you may not know this. In Shuangyang City, fighting is forbidden. Anyone who violates this rule, regardless of who they are, will be expelled by the City Lord's Mansion. At worst, they could be executed," Hu Xueman said with a wry smile.
If not for this rule, her Hu family would likely have been annihilated long ago.
"I see. But what kind of power is this City Lord's Mansion you speak of? It sounds like they are very strong," Li Xuan nodded and then asked again.
"Young Master Li Xuan, you are not from the Zhenwu Continent, are you? And from the looks of it, you know nothing about our continent," Hu Xueman said.
"To be honest, I am indeed not from the Zhenwu Continent. So, I truly don't understand what you're talking about," Li Xuan replied truthfully when Hu Xueman inquired.
"As expected. Young Master Li Xuan, it seems I must tell you about the history of our Zhenwu Continent," Hu Xueman said with a smile, and then she began to narrate.
It turned out that although battles frequently occurred in many cities on the Zhenwu Continent, there were three cities that were well-known and where no one dared to engage in private combat.
This was because these three cities were protected by great defensive formations, personally managed by the City Lord of the City Lord's Mansion.
However, later, when the formations developed their own consciousness, the City Lord's Mansion lost control. The formations, influenced by their original purpose, inherently protected the lives within the city. Thus, the City Lord's Mansion was not overly concerned.
Spiritual energy could be used within the cities, but if the formation's will deemed it harmful to the city, the offender would be instantly eliminated.
These three cities were the largest on the entire Zhenwu Continent, founded by human ancestors after the continent's emergence.
Initially, they were built to protect humanity's proliferation and fend off beast attacks. But as humans multiplied and their numbers grew, the cities expanded, eventually becoming the three major cities of the Zhenwu Continent, continuing to this day.
The great formations were established from the very beginning of the cities and had undergone countless repairs, leaving no vulnerabilities. Moreover, the formations' will continuously absorbed spiritual energy to perfect themselves.
Shuangyang City, where the Hu family resided, was one of these three cities. The other two were Yan Sheng City and Wu Ling City.
Therefore, even though Hu Haide, the head of the Hu family, was severely poisoned and his strength diminished, the Qin family dared not act openly within the city.
"Young Master Li Xuan, do you understand now?" Hu Xueman asked with a smile after her explanation.
"I see. Eldest Miss Hu, what if someone's power is so immense that the formation's will cannot eliminate them? And, what happens if disputes arise?" Luo Cheng asked curiously.
"Young Master Luo Cheng, such a situation has never occurred. No one has ever seen the full power of the formation's will. However, there was one person who tried to resist the formation's will with his own power, but within moments, he was completely annihilated by the formation. Since then, no one has dared to attack others within the city."
"That person was called Xuan Mo Zi, a genuine peak Life God realm expert. As for disputes, there are special arenas within the city for settling private grudges, called Duan Hun. But unless it's a life-and-death vendetta, few people go to the Duan Hun arena. Because in the arena, only one person can survive. You cannot leave without a victor determined by life and death," Hu Xueman explained patiently.
Peak Life God realm!
Li Xuan visibly swallowed. Such a powerful individual could still be directly annihilated.
"Young Master Li Xuan, do you have any other questions?" Hu Xueman asked again, looking at Li Xuan.
"Eldest Miss Hu, not for now. Oh, right, what about that person from the Qin family, how will you deal with him?" Li Xuan asked, then looked towards where Qin Wuming had stood. To his surprise, Qin Wuming had vanished.
"Young Master Li Xuan, that Qin Wuming might have taken advantage of our conversation to escape on his own. Damn it!" Everyone recalled Qin Wuming and looked towards his previous position. Seeing that Qin Wuming had disappeared, Hu Er said with some regret.
"Brother Hu, it's alright. As long as we safely return to Shuangyang City and cure Father, we will not fear the Qin family," Hu Xueman consoled him.
"The Miss is right. I will instruct everyone to prepare and return to Shuangyang City as soon as possible," Hu Er said, then began giving orders to his men.
"Young Master Li Xuan, would you be willing to accompany me back to Shuangyang City for a visit?" Hu Xueman asked, smoothing her hair as she looked at Li Xuan, seeing Hu Er start to make arrangements.
"It would be my honor!"