On the third level's wide path, Gu Zheng and Madam Xue walked at the very front, leading the dozen or so energetic guards behind them. They walked forward at a steady pace. On both sides were rows of similar looking residences. If one ignored the slightly gloomy environment, it was like walking in a normal city.
After a short rest, Gu Zheng and Madam Xue, who had finished their preparations, hurried to the Alliance Master's location.
Turning his head to look at Madam Xue, he saw that her face was no longer filled with motherly gentleness. Instead, the intimacy between friends, dignity and tenacity reappeared on her face. This was because she was no longer a mother and a friend. Instead, she represented the faction behind her, which was now called Snow City.
In the previous battle, her husband's and her's forces had also been greatly affected. The city that she was in had also been destroyed. Now, their strength had been reduced by half, and they were at the bottom of the middle class.
This chaotic battle had caused Soul Alliance's strength to drop by 30%. Many demons and humans had died in this civil war. This was also the reason why the strongest Alliance Master had no choice but to send out an Alliance Command. His people had also suffered many losses. If this continued, he probably wouldn't need anyone else to do anything as he himself would suffer losses.
This battle came without any warning. On the surface, it looked like a conflict between the various factions, but in reality, it was a competition for resources. This was because many of the nearby Soul Stone mines had already withered, and some of the areas that had yet to be mined could not be touched by others. Of course, there were also some grudges involved.
Of course, this was only a trigger. The main reason was that there were fewer and fewer newcomers. In reality, as Demon Soul and Lonely Peak tightened their control over their subordinates, there were fewer and fewer newcomers, causing this side to become nervous.
These were the things that Gu Zheng had roughly understood in the past few hours. However, Madam Xue and the others didn't understand why it had suddenly spread to the entire Soul Alliance like a single spark starting a prairie fire. They could only conclude that it was the demon soul's doing.
"What? Do you have any other questions? "Feeling Gu Zheng's gaze, Madam Xue turned around and smiled.
"Have you discussed this before? Under such circumstances, can the Martial Arts Competition still proceed? "Gu Zheng pondered for a moment before asking.
"I'm not sure. Apart from the first day I came here and paid a visit to the president, I haven't seen him since. I don't know what he's busy with either. I have a good friend of his, but like me, she's only seen him once." Madam Xue shook her head.
"I hope that in this turbulent moment, Soul Alliance can let go of past grudges and get through this. I'm sure that the enemy has already surrounded this place. I don't know how you guys haven't noticed at all." Gu Zheng sincerely hoped that the other party would not fall so quickly, but he was also somewhat puzzled. The other side was already preparing to make a move, but there was no reaction from this side at all.
"I don't know. However, when I came here, I deliberately sent people to investigate. Even Miss Pan Xuan went out to investigate. However, they did not discover anything. It is truly strange."
Madam Xue's eyes were also filled with confusion, so Soul Alliance didn't believe this information at all. Instead, they thought it was some hidden troublemaker causing trouble, so they specially sent someone to bring her the information.
"Truly strange." Gu Zheng muttered. He also didn't understand what was going on.
"Madam Xue, why are you here so quickly this time? There's still some time before the start."
At this moment, from a side residence, as the door opened, a hawk-nosed and big-eyed middle aged man walked out. He had long hair that reached his shoulders. The moment he came out, he saw Madam Xue's group and laughed as he enthusiastically greeted them.
"My husband's good friend in the past. He's a good person." Madam Xue said in a low voice to Gu Zheng. She then raised her hand and the group stopped.
"It's not that I have nothing to do and wanted to go early. Don't you have the same idea, City Lord Bo?"
"It seems that we have the same idea. However, before this, there were people who went early and were even more impatient than us."
City Lord Bo walked out with a dozen guards behind him. Each one of them had an extraordinary aura and wore a layer of black armor. Other than a few different patterns, it was exactly the same as the guards behind Madam Xue. It was also Soul Alliance's unique defensive equipment and its defense wasn't weak.
However, next to City Lord Bo was a petite woman. She wore red skintight leather armor. In the inconspicuous markings on it, a red flame seemed to flow, wrapping around her flat body. She looked like a young girl that hadn't fully matured.
However, her face was rather pleasing to the eye.
"What are you looking at!" The young girl felt Gu Zheng's gaze, especially the deep trace of regret. A sensitive nerve in her heart jumped and she yelled at Gu Zheng.
The latter laughed and ignored her. He could tell at a glance that this young girl was a Goblin. However, it seemed that her mind hadn't fully matured and he didn't know what had happened for her to come here.
"Why aren't you saying anything? Do you have a problem with me?" The young girl yelled again. Her mouth was puffed up and she looked rather cute.
"Don't be rude, Kikyo." City Lord Bo sternly yelled. However, one could tell that he didn't blame her.
"I know!" Kikyo said unhappily, still glaring at Gu Zheng.
What caught Gu Zheng's attention were the two pendants on her wrists. The two weapons weren't even the size of a pinky finger. They were narrow in the back and wide in the middle. They were curved like crescent moons and gave off a powerful aura.
Seeing Gu Zheng look at her hands, Kikyo flipped her hands and grabbed them, not allowing Gu Zheng to look at them.
"Haha." Gu Zheng silently laughed. However, he knew that if she could follow City Lord Bo, her identity wasn't normal.
"Madam Xue, why don't we go together? I'm very interested in the warning you gave before. I also have a trace of unease in my heart. However, on my way here, I personally went out and didn't find any traces. I originally wanted to chat with you when we got there, but I didn't expect to meet you on the way."
City Lord Bo and Madam Xue chatted for a bit before giving his suggestion. Madam Xue naturally agreed.
The two groups merged together and each took half of the space, lengthening the group.
The two people in front were Madam Xue and City Lord Bo. Behind them were Gu Zheng and the young girl called Kikyo. However, while the people in front were chatting happily, Kikyo turned her neck away and didn't even look at Gu Zheng. Clearly, Gu Zheng's actions had angered her.
The guards behind them were also silent. They didn't talk to the people next to them either.
As for Gu Zheng, he was happy and relaxed. Listening to the two of them discuss a few matters between Soul Alliance as well as some opinions of the outside world, he had a rough idea of the relationships between Soul Alliance factions.
After half a day, they arrived in front of a very imposing residence. There weren't any buildings within a hundred meters of this residence. The area it occupied was several times larger than before.
Outside the similarly enormous door, there were already Soul Alliance people welcoming them and leading them in.
The guards they brought with them also went in, but they would gather in another place, while Gu Zheng and the others entered a spacious hall.
The entire hall had two red wooden chairs and a red table in the middle. It formed a rectangle and was arranged in order.
When they entered, there were already people inside. Moreover, it wasn't just one or two people. Including them, at least half of the people had arrived.
Gu Zheng saw a few people slightly nod at them, some coldly glare at them, some completely uncaring. Just from this, Gu Zheng knew that the relationships here were tangled and complicated.
"You guys came early. Please sit! Your seats have already been arranged. Please wait patiently. We will begin once everyone has arrived. " At this moment, a man stood at the top. He wore black clothes and looked a little evil as he spoke to Madam Xue and the others.
Gu Zheng only then noticed that there was a small stone tablet on the table below. On it were carved different names. Madam Xue's name was the second from the bottom, while City Lord Bo's name was in the middle.
The arrangement of the seats was simply the arrangement of the current strength. It was clear at a glance.
Moreover, Gu Zheng also noticed that almost every City Lord had a person sitting beside them. If he guessed correctly, these people were probably the main force that participated in the battle. Every single one of them had an aura above the Grand Heavenly Realm. Some of the City Lords' cultivations were even lower than the people they brought along.
However, upon closer inspection, Gu Zheng noticed that those people with higher cultivations were all Demon Souls. Under normal circumstances, the chances of people with cultivation completely joining the City Lords was very small. At most, they would be under the other party's name. Those who could be brought in were definitely the most trusted of the most trusted.
Furthermore, there were two groups with two people who both wanted Demon Souls. It seemed that they were the Demon Soul faction in Soul Alliance.
"Lord Wang, of course I understand." Madam Xue bowed slightly in response, then led Gu Zheng to their seats.
"That Lord Wang is the Alliance Master's trusted aide. His status is very high. He can be said to be second only to the Alliance Master. Lord Luo trusts him a lot." The moment they sat down, Madam Xue transmitted her voice to Gu Zheng.
"Why is his aura so strange? Could it be a Demon Soul?" Gu Zheng also asked. The other party's aura was very similar.
"Yes and no. He fell to this state because he wanted to protect Lord Luo when he was fighting for him. Otherwise, Lord Luo would have died that time. His fate was very tragic. Fortunately, he was saved with all his might. However, he was still contaminated by the Demon Soul's aura. His cultivation fell to Sky Immortal. He can be said to be the most trusted person of Lord Luo." Madam Xue explained briefly to let Gu Zheng understand the other party's status.
"Lord Luo shouldn't be the person who founded Soul Alliance, right?" Gu Zheng nodded. He glanced at the man standing at the front and asked again.
"Yes. The first two Alliance Masters both disappeared. I don't know why, but Lord Luo is the third. He still has power, but his prestige is lacking. If the previous Alliance Masters were still here, Soul Alliance wouldn't be like this. It feels like it's falling apart." Madam Xue sighed.
"Please enjoy your meal!"
At this time, a young maid walked up from the side and interrupted the conversation between the two. She brought a cup of fragrant tea to each of them. A few pieces of light green tea leaves were slightly undulating in the boiling hot teacups.
Don't look down on these unremarkable leaves. They were extremely precious here. Probably only the various City Lords would have a few. Gu Zheng knew that even Painting Soul was reluctant to use them. Their stock wasn't even enough for one Elder per cup.
"There's no one else in your family. I thought you wouldn't come. Really, just anyone can come here."
Before the maid could leave, a strange voice suddenly sounded from the side, directly making things difficult for Madam Xue.
Gu Zheng didn't need to turn his head to see the people at the table behind Madam Xue. One of them pointed at them and spoke disdainfully. According to their strength, there shouldn't be anyone weaker than them.
In this quiet hall, his voice was exceptionally loud and immediately attracted everyone's attention.
"I'm not wrong. My personal opinion, if I may be so bold as to say it. Right now, no matter how strong or weak everyone is, as City Lords, we should at least have the strength to convince everyone. But right now, one of them is only at the peak of Jin Xian, while the other was once even stronger than me. Unfortunately, they can be ignored now. They're still worthy of the City Lord position. Come and discuss with us."
Seeing everyone's attention focus on him, he stood up and shook his head.
Although he didn't point at Madam Xue, everyone knew what he meant. Every word was directed at Madam Xue.
"What's wrong with you, City Lord Fan? Lord Luo isn't here yet and you're already trying to stir up trouble. Even if Madam Xue's cultivation isn't high enough, her foundation isn't something you can compare to. You've suffered a great loss this time, haven't you? You thought you could take advantage of her, but you bit the bullet instead."
Before Madam Xue could speak, City Lord Bo, who had just sat down, stood up and mocked him.
Actually, everyone knew that he had only himself to blame for his current predicament. When the chaos first began, he gathered his subordinates and took advantage of the chaos to attack Madam Xue's faction. After all, he had a grudge with Madam Xue's husband, and a great one at that.
The only difference was that he had miscalculated. At the beginning, he had indeed taken advantage of her. After tasting the sweetness, he was about to launch an all-out attack. Yet, Madam Xue had returned and sent a wave of attacks, shattering the opponent's bones and tendons. If it wasn't for the fact that Madam Xue didn't want to kill him, he would have died at Pan Xuan's hands.
However, Pan Xuan's origins were unknown. Without knowing her roots, she couldn't enter Soul Alliance's core circle. Even in this event, she couldn't participate. This was the reason why Pan Xuan didn't leave.
"City Lord Bo, I respect you as a man, but am I wrong? You're relying on the strength of outsiders to stand here. How can you not be questioned? " City Lord Fan had come prepared. He had a plan in mind, so he directly spoke the truth.
With this, many people glanced at Madam Xue in their hearts. Their thoughts became lively. After all, they had relied on their husband and wife's fame to prop up their reputation. In reality, they didn't have any experts in their faction.
In the past, when they were there, they didn't need others to share their power. However, looking at it now, the opponent's strength didn't match up to hers.
However, behind her, there seemed to be a mysterious faction. Perhaps it was a hidden force left behind by that person to prevent this from happening. After all, the opponent couldn't possibly not have a back-up plan to deal with any trouble.
"Of course, I'm not saying to kill them all, nor am I saying to kick them out of Soul Alliance. After all, we've been together for a long time. We'll temporarily exclude them from Soul Alliance. Once they have the strength, we'll welcome them back. However, they must stay far away from Soul Alliance." City Lord Fan said magnanimously.
However, just as he finished speaking, a light laugh rang out.
"Who is it? Step out openly. What can't you say face to face? Everything is for Soul Alliance." City Lord Fan looked around, but didn't discover who it was.
"I said it." Following the voice, a woman walked in from outside. "I didn't expect to see such a good show the moment I got here. Whether it's you humans or Goblin, you only know how to fight amongst yourselves."
Gu Zheng turned his head to look. A woman wearing a black veil covering her face walked in from outside. Next to her was a large fat man with a crying face. He looked extremely savage, but at this moment, he was standing very obediently behind the woman.
"Aren't you just interested in the opponent's things? If you say it openly, who would look down on you? However, aren't you afraid of a snake trying to swallow an elephant and bursting yourself to death?" The woman looked at City Lord Fan's gaze and continued to speak disdainfully.
"I'm thinking for Soul Alliance, not for my own personal gain." City Lord Fan said without blushing or skipping a beat.
"Alright, alright. I can't be bothered to ask you about your petty matters. If you say it's for Soul Alliance, then so be it. I don't want to get involved, in case someone says I broke the rules." The woman faintly nodded her head at Boss Wang to show her respect. Afterwards, she said something to him and walked towards her seat.
That was a seat near the front. There were only two empty seats in front of her.
However, Gu Zheng knew that the woman's identity was a Demon Soul. She also had the strength of Late Stage Great Immortal Realm. She could not be underestimated.
"You …" City Lord Fan wanted to say something, but when he saw the other party's back, he did not continue speaking. It seemed that he was still a little afraid of her.
"What about you? Hurry up and sit down. Boss Wang and Boss Luo did not say anything. You're trying to exercise your authority as Alliance Master." Another person below sat opposite City Lord Bu and spoke.
"How would I dare? I'm just suggesting it. It's my own opinion. Don't accuse me." City Lord Fan quickly glanced at Boss Wang. When he saw that the latter did not seem annoyed, he retorted.
He knew his own limits. Even if the Alliance Master position was given to him, he would not dare to sit there. He probably did not want to die quickly enough.
"City Lord Fan did not say anything. He already said it at the start. But you, why do I feel like you're making a mountain out of a molehill? You're slandering a City Lord who dared to say it."
On the other side, a different voice spoke up, alleviating the chaotic situation and causing it to become unstable again.
Meanwhile, Boss Wang only looked down with his emotionless eyes. It was as if he did not notice the conflict below.
He did not care, nor did he ask. Despite the commotion below, no one knew what he was thinking.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
