Chapter 269
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Chapter 269: Summoned
After drinking a few cups of spiritual wine brought by Wang Chen, Chen Qi’s tongue loosened, and he began to share everything.
From him, Wang Chen learned the root cause of Dongwu Town’s current predicament.
It turned out that the Guiyuan Sect and Wufeng Mountain, which had divided Yunyang’s former territory, had recently intensified their actions against the loose cultivator towns under their control.
The two sects demanded grain taxes from these towns and forcibly conscripted large numbers of loose cultivators to labor in mines and hunting grounds.
In the past, when the Yunyang Sect ruled, they generally adopted a laissez-faire approach toward the outer towns, relying on their sect’s resource advantages to extract what they needed from the loose cultivators.
Although the lives of loose cultivators were far inferior to those of sect disciples, they could still manage to survive.
When the spirit fields yielded poor harvests, the Yunyang Sect would even import grain from Da Qian and supply it to the towns at relatively low prices, ensuring that the loose cultivators could have enough to eat.
Now, under the rule of the Guiyuan Sect and Wufeng Mountain, their methods were far more ruthless than those of the Yunyang Sect.
Some towns, unable to endure the oppression, rose up in rebellion.
As a result, they faced brutal suppression!
In such circumstances, many loose cultivators fled their towns, bringing their families to seek refuge in Dongwu Town.
Everyone believed that since the city lord was the Purple Palace master, the two sects would at least show some respect.
Additionally, the skyrocketing grain prices had created a flood of refugees who flocked to Dongwu Town in search of survival.
Combined with other factors, Dongwu Town became overcrowded!
The most troubling part was that Xin Han had been in closed-door cultivation, leaving all power in the hands of his concubine and Lord Jin Snake Jun.
The two of them opened the doors wide, imposing no restrictions on incoming cultivators.
The chaos in Dongwu Town now was largely due to the actions of this brother and sister pair!
"Wang Chen, you must be careful," Chen Qi whispered, lowering his voice.
"Lord Jin Snake Jun has sent people to look for you several times; they won’t let this go easily."
"I’ve heard that many fellow travelers were summoned to the city lord’s office and never returned!"
In the eyes of many cultivators, the city lord’s office had become akin to a dragon’s den, and a summons felt like a death sentence!
He gave a bitter smile. "If it weren’t for having nowhere else to go, I would want to leave."
Such was the plight of loose cultivators.
Survival in the outer regions was difficult, and the towns served as their only refuge. Unless absolutely necessary, no one wanted to leave.
With Chen Qi bringing his family along, he couldn’t afford to take any risks.
Moreover, moving to another place might not guarantee a better life; it could even be worse!
"Mm," Wang Chen nodded, indicating he understood.
Among the thousands of cultivators in Dongwu Town, the only one he truly feared was the city lord, Xin Han.
As for the female cultivators from the Harmony Sect or Lord Jin Snake Jun, Wang Chen paid them little heed.
With his current strength, no one beneath the Purple Palace could rival him!
For Wang Chen, the top priority right now was to achieve perfect mastery in Qi Training in preparation for advancing to the Purple Palace.
Next, he needed to gather the resources required for breaking through to open a house.
Once he ascended to the Purple Palace, Dongwu Town would no longer be able to keep him!
"Wang Chen…"
Chen Qi, clearly a bit tipsy, suddenly changed the topic, "I see you have no one taking care of you around, so you should find a partner or a warm bed servant."
"Lady, why don’t you introduce someone to Wang Chen?"
As a result, he got a slap on the head from Lady Chen sitting beside him, "You’ve had too much to drink!"
Lady Chen was much more astute than Chen Qi. She had long realized that Wang Chen was focused on his training and had no interest in romance, making him completely different from those loose cultivators who merely went with the flow and sought pleasure.
A person like him didn’t need her to find a partner!
Wang Chen felt both amused and helpless, "Thank you, Chen Ge, for your good intentions. Come on, let’s drink a couple more cups."
Even though the New Year’s Eve dinner had ordinary food and drink, Wang Chen enjoyed it quite a bit.
At least he wasn’t spending it alone.
As the Spring Festival quietly passed, in the following days, Wang Chen stayed mostly at home. Apart from occasionally visiting the marketplace to buy things, he rarely left.
He hid in the hidden chamber, working diligently on his training.
His experience with the Five Element Technique grew day by day, and he was very close to reaching perfection.
However, the start of the new year did not bring stability to Dongwu Town; instead, things became more chaotic.
This town, which originally housed only ten thousand loose cultivators, now had at least thirty to forty thousand permanent and temporary residents.
With so many people needing food and water, and the supply stretched thin, it would be a strange situation if no incidents occurred!
Wang Chen rarely went out, wanting to avoid unnecessary worry.
Yet, things in the world rarely go as one wishes.
Bang!
Before the middle of the first month, the courtyard gate of Wang Chen’s home, which had only recently been replaced, was again burst open, splintering wood flying everywhere!
"Wang Xiu!"
A group of fearsome-looking cultivators barged in, starting to search without question.
It was lunchtime, and since Wang Chen wasn’t training in the hidden chamber, he immediately went outside upon hearing the commotion.
"Ha!"
The lead cultivator grinned menacingly upon seeing Wang Chen, "Wang Xiu, you have been summoned by the city lord’s office. Come with us!"
As he spoke, he reached out to grab Wang Chen.
His fingers curled like claws, using a move from the Bone Dislocation Technique, but enhanced with magical destructive power.
While he spoke of a summons, his action was no different from seizing a pig or a sheep!
It carried a strong sense of insult.
Wang Chen’s face darkened; he didn’t dodge or evade, and suddenly punched out toward the claw reaching for him.
Crack!
This punch gathered 90% of Wang Chen’s power. The Perfected Level Vajra Fist was incredibly fierce, and at the moment their fists clashed, the opponent’s fingers, hand, and wrist instantly exploded into a mush of flesh and blood!
Wang Chen’s punch surged, bypassing the now-destroyed arm, and struck the opponent’s chest.
Smack!
It was clean and decisive.
This Qi Training seventh-level cultivator didn’t even have time to scream before Wang Chen’s fist collided with his chest.
With the power Wang Chen had built up, the cultivator was completely unprepared and immediately flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing more than ten meters away.
He hit the ground and had already lost his life.
This terrified the other loose cultivators present, making them fearfully scatter.
They had followed their leader to pressure Wang Chen, mainly hoping to gain some benefits.
They never expected to encounter such a fierce shark while fishing for small fry!
A few loose cultivators turned to run.
But as soon as they moved, a fierce sword energy rushed after them, mercilessly taking off their heads!
In just a few breaths, a group of elite loose cultivators was completely wiped out by Wang Chen.
One loose cultivator died at the doorstep, his upper body lying outside while the lower half had vanished, a terrifying sight.
Wang Chen used Object Manipulation to gather the bodies, taking their belongings, including the storage bags.
After burning them and sending them off, he managed to obtain two Rebirth Talismans and four Exorcism Talismans!
After burning and counting his spoils, Wang Chen realized he had struck a considerable fortune!
