Swallowed Star 2: Origin Continent

Chapter 107: The New Huyang City Lord

The ancient Huyang City finally returned to peace after the battle between two peak existences of the Chaos Realm.

“What a pity my weapon and the little bit of Cosmos Sand I had accumulated were all taken away.”

“Just be glad you’re alive.”

“Let’s leave quickly.”

That night, a large number of Eternal True Gods, Void True Gods, and True Gods from the Heart Shadow Sect were released!

The Eternal True Gods of the sect, many of whom were carrying the sect’s large mechanical secret treasures and other items, as well as some who held legacy items, were now stripped of everything, not even a single weapon left.

The disciples at the Void True God and True God levels were not troubled.

“With the Heart Shadow Sect gone and both Marquis Liu Yin and the two ancestors ignoring us, where do we go now?”

“With our strength, where can’t we go?”

“Huyang City is on the border between two kingdoms. Who knows when another fight might break out? I’d rather go to an ordinary city.”

“Senior Brother Yufang, let’s leave together.”

The Eternal True Gods were still quite confident. After all, they had once been disciples of a great sect. Even without weapons or treasures, their secret techniques were still formidable. Many began leaving Huyang City, heading for nearby towns.

“This Luo He Great Saint is intolerant of evil and despises dark forces. His Huyang City might be a good place to settle down.” Some Eternal True Gods, who had families and did not wish to wander any longer, decided to stay.

Many of the weaker Void True Gods and True Gods from the Heart Shadow Sect were even more reluctant to travel long distances, preferring to remain in Huyang City.

“Our treasures weren’t taken by Luo He Great Saint. He is indeed merciful.” These Void True Gods and True Gods held a favorable view of Luo Feng.

…

Over eighty percent of the Heart Shadow Sect’s released Eternal True Gods left, but the majority of the lower and middle ranks chose to stay in Huyang City, intent on making it their home. This greatly increased the number of powerful beings in the city.

“Huyang City will be bustling in the future.” From the city wall of the City Lord’s Mansion, Luo Feng gazed at the peaceful city under the night sky, knowing this was now his city.

“Master.” Morosa appeared by his side. “All the Heart Shadow Sect’s treasures have been sealed and are under my direct management. They have all been accounted for.”

“How is it?” Luo Feng asked.

“Everything is here.” Morosa handed Luo Feng an obsidian bottle. “All the treasures and wealth are inside.”

Luo Feng took the bottle and inspected it.

“The Heart Shadow Sect’s wealth is mostly stored in the Dark Hall of Yan Feng Pavilion and managed by the two Chaos Realm ancestors. Typically, the Heart Shadow Sect Master had to request resources from them, and only then would they grant some.” Morosa explained, “What we managed to seize were mainly some physical assets of the Heart Shadow Sect.”

Luo Feng wasn’t surprised. With two Chaos Realm ancestors, the sect’s most valuable treasures were surely in their hands.

“What we’ve collected are the personal assets of the thousands of Eternal True Gods in the Heart Shadow Sect, which likely includes the spoils from looting all of Huyang City. Now it’s all mixed together and difficult to separate. In total, there are over 2.9 billion Cosmos Sand, plus about 3.7 billion Cosmos Sand worth of weapons and treasures, including a warship from the Ancient Flame Kingdom, sect-defending secret treasures, and various large secret treasures. These have all been appraised and calculated.”

Luo Feng nodded; the total came to just over six billion Cosmos Sand.

It’s likely that either of the two Chaos Realm ancestors of the Heart Shadow Sect had personal accumulations far exceeding this amount.

For example, a single weapon of Marquis Liu Yin was worth fifty billion. The amount spent on their own cultivation must have been far greater.

“Their sect’s legacies include 122 Chaos Realm-level legacies and five Divine King-level legacies. However, these five Divine King-level legacies… only include the parts up to the Chaos Realm.” Morosa said, “According to our interrogation, the later portions of these legacies are held by the two Chaos Realm ancestors of the Heart Shadow Sect.”

Luo Feng had already discovered the five Divine King-level legacies within the obsidian bottle, and his divine power penetrated them to quickly review them.

They all ended abruptly at the Chaos Realm.

The later portions? Nowhere to be found.

“Finding a Divine King-level legacy that suits oneself is truly difficult.” Luo Feng sighed inwardly.

Any force tightly controlled its legacies! To obtain a top-tier legacy required paying a price! Going to the Ancient Flame Kingdom as a guest official sounded like a good opportunity, but Luo Feng could easily guess that every legacy would come at a cost.

Even the Chaos Realm ‘Di Chu Yu,’ despite being royalty, had to compete for resources. As a guest official, Luo Feng would have to pay an even higher price.

“Becoming a guest official, at least, offers a chance to compete for resources and legacies.” Luo Feng understood this. Without becoming a guest official, he wouldn’t even have the opportunity.

******

That night.

The vast majority of the descendants of the “Five Great Families,” who originally ruled Huyang City, were unwilling to accept that the city’s master had become Luo He Great Saint! Their days of idly enjoying luxury were over!

“The Yan Feng Pavilion has already arranged a flying boat to escort the family away, so everyone should prepare quickly.” The members of the Mei Wu Clan were unwilling, but the high-level operations in Yuguo were determined by the Divine Kings and Chaos Realm experts.

The feudal lord, Jiugang Marquis, had voluntarily handed over Huyang City to Luo He! The rulers of Yuguo were pleased to see this.

These branches of great families didn’t even have the right to object.

“What has the ancestral land arranged for us? Are we being sent to other large cities?”

“There are only so many large cities in Yuguo. There’s no place for us, so we have to return to the ancestral land first.”

“Let’s return to the ancestral land and follow the arrangements.”

Previously, as the ruling families, many members of these families held key positions in Huyang City. Even if they held no position, they would receive a substantial amount of Chaos Crystals every epoch. Now, all of this was gone.

…

The Yan Feng Pavilion arranged a flying boat, which escorted the Five Great Families away that very night.

“Father,” Magili Meng looked at his father, Magili Xiao.

“From now on, follow the City Lord well,” Magili Xiao smiled, “If I could, I would follow the City Lord myself. But I have my duties, and I must obey the orders from the capital.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

In the past, Huyang City had dual management. Magili Xiao was in charge of military affairs, while the city’s administration was managed by another. Now that the capital had withdrawn its management, leaving everything to Luo Feng, Magili Xiao and his men were being reassigned. Magili Xiao was no ordinary family member; he had important duties to fulfill.

“I’ll be taking most of the family members with me, leaving only a few behind with you. Take good care of them,” Magili Xiao instructed.

“Don’t worry, Father.” Magili Meng nodded. His father had also left three Eternal True Gods from the family to assist him.

Magili Xiao smiled and nodded.

This time, it was Luo Feng who personally invited Magili Meng to stay! Magili Meng had previously been responsible for many of the city’s affairs and was very familiar with city management, as well as being highly capable.

As for Magili Xiao? Luo Feng wasn’t as concerned. Huyang City no longer needed a military deterrent!

…

City Lord’s Mansion.

Luo Feng looked at Magili Meng and Moyu Hu before him and smiled, “From now on, you two will be the deputy City Lords of Huyang City. You can handle the various matters together, and if you can’t resolve something, report it to me.”

“Yes, City Lord.” Magili Meng and Moyu Hu were both thrilled.

Previously, Huyang City was managed by the leaders of the Five Great Families together. Magili Meng’s power was nowhere near as great as it was now! And now, following a peak Chaos Realm existence, Magili Meng knew he had encountered a great opportunity.

Moyu Hu was even more excited. He had previously served under Magili Meng and was familiar with many of the city’s management tasks.

“I never imagined that I, Moyu Hu, would become a deputy City Lord of Huyang City.” Moyu Hu felt that the day he met City Lord Luo He in the wilderness was the turning point of his life.

Luo Feng nodded.

Managing the city was something he didn’t have the energy for, but he also wouldn’t trust just one side.

“Let me lay down two rules for the future,” Luo Feng said.

Magili Meng and Moyu Hu immediately listened carefully.

“First, in the future, there will be no dark forces in Huyang City,” Luo Feng said.

Magili Meng and Moyu Hu, both familiar with city affairs, immediately recognized the impact of this rule! Many ordinary businesses had most of their profits seized by dark forces. Sometimes, even after hard work, they ended up losing money.

Without dark forces, Huyang City’s commerce would undoubtedly thrive.

This would also greatly increase the city’s appeal to cultivators looking for a peaceful life.

“Second, in the future, Huyang City will not need the Huyang Legion,” Luo Feng said. “The Huyang Guards will remain to maintain order within the city.”

The Huyang Legion was used to deter enemies and deal with powerful opponents.

In his city, Luo Feng didn’t need

a legion.

“These are the main two rules. You two can discuss and come up with a detailed management plan, then present it to me,” Luo Feng said. “My requirement is that the management of the City Lord’s Mansion should be as streamlined as possible.”

“Yes,” Magili Meng and Moyu Hu responded.

“City Lord, after this war, there has been a slight loss of population in Huyang City. Currently, the population should be around five trillion,” Magili Meng said. “The annual residential tax is about fifty million Cosmos Sand! The annual income from the Chaos Ruins is about six million Cosmos Sand! Twenty percent of the residential tax is remitted to the capital, and the rest is used to maintain the city’s operations… The amount that can be offered to the City Lord is about thirty million Cosmos Sand per epoch.” Magili Meng explained.

Luo Feng understood.

It didn’t seem like much, but this income was steady every epoch! In a thousand epochs, it would amount to a full three billion Cosmos Sand.

Of course, for an ordinary Chaos Realm existence, the costs of supporting a vast family over long ages would be enormous.

His family, located in the Primal Universe region, was generally very weak, with most members not even achieving immortality.

On the Origin Continent, the major families started with True Gods! As the numbers accumulated, having thousands of Void True Gods, and even thousands of Eternal True Gods, was common. The continuous expenses every epoch were also enormous.

“Even the royal family of the Ancient Flame Kingdom cannot afford to supply resources freely and still requires the members of their clan to compete,” Luo Feng sighed inwardly.

It was possible that some ancient existences, to escape the burdens of a large clan, would deliberately reincarnate.

Sometimes, when a family grew too large, it became a burden for some ancient existences.

“City Lord,” Moyu Hu said respectfully, “some of the cultivators joining the City Lord’s Mansion also hope to obtain some cultivation legacies.”

“As long as they have enough merit, they will have the opportunity to exchange for a legacy,” Luo Feng nodded.

Why did cultivators follow strong individuals? The key reason was access to legacies.

Without legacies, trying to cultivate on one’s own would be a hundred or even a thousand times harder.

“You may go now. Quickly come up with a management plan for Huyang City,” Luo Feng instructed.

“Yes.” The two deputy City Lords, filled with ambition, respectfully withdrew.

Morosa had been standing by the whole time and now spoke, “Master, the Magili Meng family has a few Eternal True Gods, and several familiar Eternal True Gods, like Gao Wushui, have also pledged their allegiance. Their side is very strong. Moyu Hu, on the other hand, is relatively weaker.”

“You’re mistaken. The Zhu Clan returned most of their members tonight, and they are currently with Moyu Liefeng,” Luo Feng said with a smile. “Moyu Liefeng is, after all, Zhu You’s direct disciple. With the master-disciple relationship, the Zhu Clan was the first to pledge their allegiance to the Moyu family.”

Morosa understood.

Even though Luo Feng trusted Moyu Hu and Magili Meng, he still had them keep each other in check.

…

Huyang City gradually established a new order.

The Eternal True Gods and Void True Gods who had been plundered by the Heart Shadow Sect were pleasantly surprised to find that the dark forces had completely disappeared, and their fixed assets were returned by the City Lord’s Mansion.

“Life will be much better from now on.” Many ordinary merchants felt incredibly fortunate.

The Black Butcher, with Luo Feng’s help, had managed to escape much extortion.

And now, in all of Huyang City, merchants no longer feared dark forces, and commerce was more prosperous than before.

“Huyang City is better than ever.” Gao Wushui, commanding a unit of the Huyang Guards, looked out at the bustling city with a smile. “With a Chaos Realm expert in charge, more and more ordinary True Gods are coming to Huyang City.”

Meanwhile, elsewhere…

Luo Feng, along with his servant and disciple, had already joined up with Di Chu Yu and his group.

“It seems your two deputy City Lords are managing Huyang City quite well,” Di Chu Yu said with a smile. “Whether Huyang City can become even more prosperous in the future depends on your strength, Brother Luo He. The stronger you become, the more prosperous this city will be.”

Luo Feng looked at the city and smiled, “It will certainly become more prosperous.”

“Let’s go.”

Di Chu Yu immediately used a space-time treasure to connect to the distant Ancient Flame Kingdom.

*Buzz~~~~*

The space in front of them twisted, revealing a space-time passage.

Di Chu Yu led the deputy pavilion master, and Luo Feng brought Morosa and Moyu Qingyan. The five of them flew into the space-time passage together.