"Since you're newcomers, I'll let it slide this time."
"Fine, I'll tell you — the one who just passed through was the most powerful force here, the Luyang Pavilion."
"And when that bell rings, it means the Pavilion Master of the Luyang Pavilion is passing through."
"Wherever the Pavilion Master of the Luyang Pavilion passes, everyone must kneel and bow in worship, and shout out to pay respects to the Pavilion Master."
"Otherwise, if the people of the Luyang Pavilion find out, they'll execute you on the spot."
"So, if you don't want to kneel, you can only hide — like you did earlier, standing right there in the crowd was practically suicide, you know?" the middle-aged man said.
"Oh, so that's how it is. Thanks for the tip, uncle."
"Hey, hey, hey — no, no… wait a second. If you don't want to kneel, you just hide, right? But I see all those people kneeling, and they look happy about it. Come on… isn't that just asking for it?"
"I told you, the Luyang Pavilion is the most powerful force here. A lot of people want to join it. Once you're in the Luyang Pavilion, you can lord it over everyone."
"And it's happened before — someone who was kneeling got chosen and taken straight into the Luyang Pavilion."
"Those guys are all just hoping to join the Luyang Pavilion, that's all," the middle-aged man explained.
"Got it. So they're still… still asking for it," Wang Qiang said with disdain.
"May I ask, uncle — who founded this Luyang Pavilion?"
After all, the Master of the Dark Hall also wore a hair crown, and the one on the Dark Hall Master's head bore the character "Ying."
So Chu Feng had been wondering — if the hair crown with the "Ying" character came from the
"Heh heh, speaking of the Pavilion Master of the Luyang Pavilion, he really is no ordinary person. He's a member of the Chu Heavenly Clan!" the uncle said.
"The Chu Heavenly Clan?" Hearing this, Wang Qiang's jaw dropped, and he couldn't help but turn his gaze toward Chu Feng.
On the journey here, Chu Feng had already told Wang Qiang about his history with the Chu Heavenly Clan, so Wang Qiang knew all about Chu Feng's complicated relationship with them.
"Ugly, don't tell me you don't even know about the Chu Heavenly Clan? They're the rulers of an Upper Realm — they govern countless mortal realms and lower realms. To people like us, the Chu Heavenly Clan aren't mortals, they're gods, you understand?" the middle-aged man said to Wang Qiang.
"Sure, sure, of course I know about the Chu Heavenly Clan," Wang Qiang replied with a grin.
"Looking at you two brats, so cocky and clueless, I wouldn't be surprised if you really didn't know."
"In any case, meeting like this is fate. I'm advising you — you can offend just about anyone, but whatever you do, don't offend the Luyang Pavilion."
"Truth is, the reason the Luyang Pavilion can dominate here isn't because of absolute strength — it's because the Pavilion Master of the Luyang Pavilion is a member of the Chu Heavenly Clan."
"So no force dares to confront him head-on. When they saw him intent on ruling this place, many forces that could have challenged him simply left. That's how he became the overlord here," the middle-aged man said.
"Uncle, I'm hungry. Where's the best place to eat in this city?" Wang Qiang asked.
"Ugly, were you even listening to me?" Seeing that he had just delivered a lengthy warning and Wang Qiang had treated it all as background noise, the middle-aged man's face flushed with anger.
"Uncle, I was listening — I really was. But I'm genuinely starving," Wang Qiang said, clutching his stomach with a miserable expression.
"A martial cultivator getting hungry? Sounds to me like you're just greedy," the uncle said with contempt.
"Heh heh, yes, yes, yes." Wang Qiang didn't bother arguing. He just nodded repeatedly, grinning without a shred of shame.
"If you want good food, then naturally it's the Hundred-Layer Red Sparrow Tower. The food there — now that's something else entirely."