The three people seated at the head of the table remained silent.
Only the woman with a face caked in so much powder it seemed ready to crumble, watched the semi-nude men in the arena with apparent interest.
Below them, seated on either side, were civil and military officials, all extremely reserved.
The City Lord alone was like an obsequious sycophant,
constantly trying to engage the people above.
However, after multiple attempts yielded no response, he also felt awkward and sat down properly in his seat.
After all, this entire grand hall was filled with his subordinates.
"City Lord Wu!" Suddenly, the old man in the center at the top spoke.
Wu Du City Lord, who had just picked up his wine cup, was stunned by the address.
The next moment, he quickly stood up.
"Esteemed envoy, my surname is Kou."
He felt a little embarrassed that they hadn't remembered his surname.
"Oh… City Lord Kou, how are matters outside?"
The old man was also taken aback. He genuinely didn't remember the other's name and had no intention of doing so. Instead, the other's emphasis made him feel displeased, as if he were being slighted.
What was even stranger was how someone could have the surname Kou, as in stingy?
However, he was truly mistaken about City Lord Kou.
Yet, the old man mispronouncing Kou as 'Kou' made the City Lord below's expression turn somewhat grim, though he dared not show it.
"Most reassuring. The great battle of Wu Du has commenced. I presume you have heard of this endeavor. This is a grand formation established by Emperor Lin Ran, capable of standing firm for ten thousand years without falling, its power undiminished. If the target is within the city, they absolutely cannot escape.
As long as they are in the city, it's manageable. We can search them out by digging three feet into the ground. The city guards have already begun house-to-house searches. I believe news will arrive soon. However, the Wu Du area is vast, and a complete search will take some time.
I hope the esteemed envoy will wait patiently."
City Lord Kou delivered a string of formal remarks.
He no longer displayed the submissive attitude from before.
Anyone, after repeatedly facing setbacks, would feel uncomfortable.
"City Lord Kou, is it? You must hurry. This person is someone the Yunshui Chamber of Commerce headquarters absolutely needs. If you handle this matter well, we can speak a few words on your behalf regarding next year's association income and dividends for Wu Du."
After City Lord Kou finished speaking, the scholar-like man closed his fan, revealing a charming smile, and spoke indifferently.
Indeed, after he finished speaking,
the City Lord of Wu Du's eyes, small as mung beans, flickered.
Ever since these three esteemed envoys arrived, he had, as City Lord, behaved so obsequiously.
It was precisely for this very statement.
It wasn't that he was entirely to blame.
As the saying goes, one doesn't know the cost of rice and firewood until they keep house.
Back when he ascended to the position of City Lord,
he was also a man with grand ambitions.
Unfortunately, after becoming City Lord, he realized how difficult the position was.
Not to mention managing daily affairs, but it was not far from it.
What worried him even more was the activated grand formation of Wu Du City.
The annual maintenance cost alone consumed half of the entire city's revenue.
Even if the annual revenue was slightly lower, it would be more than half.
There was no choice but for him to latch onto the Yunshui Chamber of Commerce.
Thus, he realized that power meant nothing without money.
After receiving their assurance,
the City Lord of Wu Du City turned to look below.
"Deputy City Lord Qiu, go and personally supervise the matter!"
Someone below quickly stood up.
"Are you looking for me?"
Deputy City Lord Qiu, who had just stood up without leaving his seat,
suddenly, a figure appeared in the hall.
A faint voice reached everyone's ears.
The atmosphere in the entire hall froze for a moment.
Everyone was stunned.
This tense atmosphere lasted for less than a second.
Boom…
Three immense auras instantly erupted.
In the grand hall, the officials below
immediately felt their bodies tremble.
The tables in front of them made cracking sounds.
The cups on them instantly turned to dust.
"Are you Chu Tian?"
The old man seated at the very center above had his eyes shining, and he exuded a majestic aura as he pressed down on Chu Tian.
"You're carrying my portrait and asking if I am? Did a dog eat your brain?"
Facing the aura emanating from the other party, Chu Tian remained unmoved. With his short, spiky hair reminiscent of Earth, and wearing a tracksuit, his entire demeanor was out of place in the Yin Yang Realm.
His attire was probably unique in this world. The old man having his portrait and still asking was, in part, meant to show off.
Chu Tian naturally wouldn't indulge his habit.
"Heh heh…" As soon as Chu Tian spoke, the old man's expression changed, while the man beside him, who resembled a dashing young master, let out a laugh.
"What are you laughing at? You're like a weak young master. Go back and eat more goji berries, lamb testicles, and things like that! If you're so weak, don't come out here showing off. If you suddenly drop dead… Oh… I misspoke, you won't be able to go back!"
Chu Tian had entered his 'roasting' mode. Others merely chuckled, but he immediately launched into a full-blown attack.
On the other side, the woman who had been at odds with this weak young master had her eyebrows and the corners of her mouth twitch.
However, she held back and did not laugh.
"You wretched woman, stop winking! I'm really afraid your face, plastered with makeup as thick as city walls, will shed all that white powder! If your makeup comes off, won't these young men be scared to death? It's not that they'll pee themselves, but if they get scared and go limp, like that weakling brother, it'll be for life. You can't afford that!"
Chu Tian made clicking sounds with his tongue, shaking his head continuously.
It was as if these things had already happened, and he was lamenting for the dancing young men.
At this moment, those men had already stopped and retreated to the side. Hearing Chu Tian's words, they all stealthily cast glances at the woman seated above.
Almost simultaneously, all the men shivered.
They thought: We absolutely must not be fancied by this old witch, or else the possibility of being scared limp, as this小子 said, is actually quite high.
The next moment, they all quickly lowered their heads, fearing being targeted.
"Die!"
"I'll kill you!"
Two voices sounded consecutively.
One was from the weak young master whom Chu Tian had spoken of, and the latter sentence was from the woman whose face was about to crumble.
They say you shouldn't hit a man in the face, nor curse them by revealing their flaws.
But Chu Tian was not cursing, yet he was specifically revealing their flaws.
Weakness and makeup as thick as city walls were precisely the things these two were most sensitive about.
The last person who spoke to them like this probably had grave grass a yard high by now.
It had been many years since anyone dared to speak to them in such a manner.
Now, with Chu Tian's appearance, the three of them, separately, would engage in a barrage of verbal sparring.
The old man's expression was grim, but he still maintained some semblance of dignity.
The other two, however, could not hold back.
As they spoke, powerful auras erupted from their bodies.
Among the officials present,
some military officers were fine, but the civil officials immediately coughed up blood like gushing springs.
More people collapsed on the ground, their eyes rolling back, their lives hanging in the balance.