socalfunplaces Chapter 157 The Martial God of the Royal Family
Chapter 157 The Martial God of the Royal Family
"Hehe, Lord Zhao, please calm down."
Zhao Gongming shifted his gaze from Wang Wu and looked up at the distant sky.
A black dot appeared on the horizon, then rapidly enlarged.
He was a middle-aged man, dressed in a black suit, with long hair flowing down his shoulders, and an otherworldly air about him.
He moved slowly, each step he took hovering in mid-air, creating ripples beneath his feet, strolling leisurely with a composed demeanor.
Wang Bufan.
The second martial god of the Kyoto royal family.
The biological son of the Wang family's ancestor, a mid-stage Martial God.
Zhao Gongming frowned slightly.
He hovered above the city of Shanhe, standing with his hands behind his back. The two martial gods faced off in mid-air.
The auras of two martial gods collided in the sky, and invisible shockwaves surged through the air.
Zhao Gongming spoke first, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.
"Second Master Wang, I've long admired your name. May I ask what brings you to my Shanhe Prefecture?"
Wang Bufan looked at Zhao Gongming, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.
He did not deny Zhao Gongming's talent, but becoming a Martial God was not something that could be achieved simply by having talent.
It requires resources, opportunities, and luck.
Shanhe Prefecture has been poor for so many years, so how did Zhao Gongming manage to break through to the Martial God realm?
Could it be true, as Father said, that a mysterious martial god has appeared in Shanhe Prefecture?
Did it help Zhao Gongming break through?
Who is that mysterious martial god?
Why help him?
Wang Bufan had many questions in his mind.
"Congratulations on Lord Zhao's breakthrough to Martial God!"
Wang Bufan cupped his hands in a respectful gesture, speaking calmly.
"I have come here for two reasons: first, to offer my congratulations, and second, to discuss something with Lord Zhao."
"What is it?"
"The matter of the Machine Race's enclave ends here," Wang Bufan said.
"I will speak to the central authorities in Kyoto."
Zhao Gongming remained silent. He stared at Wang Bufan, analyzing the true intentions behind every word the man spoke.
"But!" Wang Bufan's tone suddenly turned stern as he changed the subject.
"The murderer who killed the Silver Star Messenger must be handed over to the royal family."
Zhao Gongming frowned.
Ye Feng!
It became a bargaining chip in the deal between the Wang family and the Mechanical Race.
What the Wang family wanted wasn't a murderer, but a scapegoat to quell the machine race's anger.
"Ye Feng is a man of my Shanhe Prefecture," Zhao Gongming said. "Shanhe Prefecture will handle his affairs; the Wang family need not worry about it."
Wang Bufan smiled, his smile as radiant as a Buddha's.
"Lord Zhao, I'm not discussing this with you. The Mechanical Race will not let Silver Star's death go unpunished."
"If you don't hand over the murderer, the Mechanical Race will hold the entire Shanhe Prefecture accountable. You, a newly promoted Martial God, can you stand up to the Silver Moon Family's ancestor? That's an invincible ninth-tier peak cultivator."
Zhao Gongming's face darkened.
Invincible at the peak of the ninth rank.
The God of War is blessed by the Great Dao and is invincible within the sphere of influence of his own Great Dao.
But if an invincible expert were to truly deal with the Mountain and River Prefecture...
He's probably the only one in Shanhe Prefecture who will survive.
"Moreover," Wang Bufan continued.
"You should know who that mysterious Martial God is, right? An unregistered Martial God has appeared within the territory of Great Xia. As the guardians of Great Xia, the Wang family must find out."
Zhao Gongming knew that Wang Bufan was testing him, probing whether the mysterious martial god truly existed.
Is it really related to Shanhe Prefecture?
He could neither admit it nor deny it.
If he admits it, the Wang family will press him for answers, and he won't be able to explain the origins of that mysterious martial god.
If they deny it, the Wang family will become even more unscrupulous.
Silence spread between the two.
In the end, it was Wang Bufan who gave in first.
He was not an inflexible person. The Wang family had been able to stand firm in Kyoto for so many years not because of brute force, but because of their ability to assess the situation.
"Alright then," Wang Bufan's tone softened slightly, "We'll increase Shanhe Prefecture's resource allocation by 30% this year. This is the Wang family's way of showing our sincerity. As for Ye Feng's matter, Prefect Zhao, you don't need to make things difficult for me; I'll go find him myself."
Zhao Gongming remained silent.
He knew this was Wang Bufan's concession, and also Wang Bufan's bottom line.
The additional 30% in resource allocation is a timely help for Shanhe Prefecture.
Zhao Gongming nodded slowly.
"The Shanhe Prefecture will not interfere in Ye Feng's affairs."
Wang Bufan glanced at Zhao Gongming, nodded, and turned to leave.
Wang Wu and the other two quickly followed.
Zhou Wuwei stood at the entrance of the city lord's mansion, looking in the direction where Wang Bufan had disappeared, his expression extremely ugly.
"Lord, are we just going to let them go like this?" His voice was somewhat unwilling.
"They went to Jiangcheng to find Ye Feng."
Zhao Gongming descended from the sky and stood in front of Zhou Wuwei.
Previously, Zhou Wuwei was the representative of the aristocratic families in Shanhe Prefecture, and they opposed him at every turn.
Zhou Wuwei is now on his side, worried about Ye Feng's safety.
"Don't worry, they won't find Ye Feng," Zhao Gongming said. "Even if they do, they won't be able to take him away."
"Why?" Zhou Wuwei was taken aback.
Zhao Gongming did not answer, and turned to walk towards the city lord's mansion.
"Because I'm going to Jiangcheng!"
"I'll find Ye Feng before they do!"
……
On the airship, Wang Bufan sat in his seat, his mind racing.
The situation in Shanhe Prefecture was far more complicated than he had imagined.
Zhao Gongming has broken through to the Martial God realm.
That mysterious martial god was not Zhao Gongming; it was someone else.
An unregistered martial god appeared within the territory of the Great Xia Dynasty.
The Wang family must find out who this person is.
Where did it come from?
To which faction does it belong?
"Second Master," Wang Wu asked cautiously, sitting opposite him, "what do we do now?"
Wang Bufan rubbed his temples without making a sound.
He doesn't know what to do now.
Go to Jiangcheng, find Ye Feng, and draw out the Martial God behind him.
If that martial god wasn't targeting the Wang family, then everything would be fine.
If there is no ill will towards the Wang family!
Wang Bufan didn't know how to end this situation.
He couldn't handle a martial god.
He gestured to Wang Wu and took out his communicator.
After the communicator was connected, a voice came from the other end.
"Zhao Gongming has broken through? Can you be sure that the mysterious martial god isn't him?"
"Father, I'm sure. Zhao Gongming has just broken through to the early stage of Martial God, and his aura is still unstable."
"The Martial God who annihilated the advance team of the Machine Race was at least a mid-stage Martial God; they couldn't be the same person."
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
"Understood. You go to Jiangcheng first, I'll contact the Mechanical Race."
Wang Bufan hung up the call, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his chair.
Meanwhile, in the secret chamber of the Wang family patriarch.
The old man took out a communicator and dialed a number.
The communicator beeped three times, and the call was connected.
"Old friend! What is it?" The voice on the other end was cold, mechanical, and devoid of any emotion.
The ancestor of the Silver Moon family was an invincible half-step ninth-tier cultivator.
The old man got straight to the point.
He recounted what his son had learned in Shanhe Prefecture.
"Fellow Daoist Yin Wudao, what's your opinion on this matter?"
There was a long silence on the other end.
"Your Majesty! I wish to make a deal with you!"
"What kind of deal?"
"Regarding the deal with Ye Feng," the mechanical race member Yin Wudao spoke up.
"I want the Martial God behind him dead. After it's done, I'll offer you three Great Dao Fruits."
The old man exclaimed in surprise, "You're confident you can kill a Martial God under the protection of the Great Xia Avenue?"
"I'm confident! You just need to bring Ye Feng to this location!" After saying this, the mechanical race member Yin Wudao sent a location to the old man.