Chapter 1927: Chapter 1920: Someone’s Talking Behind My Back
"Boss, I’ll go with you!" Several people close to Zhang Menglong, including Wu Yang, stepped forward immediately.
Wu Yang and others held significant power and freedom in Illusion City, even initially causing dissatisfaction among some Dao Realm powerhouses. In their view, these individuals were given important positions solely due to Zhang Menglong’s influence.
In the Endless Land, fists are more convincing than anything else, so a few Dao Realm Martial Artists attempted some provocations against them recently.
But they didn’t expect that after sticking with Zhang Menglong for so long, these people developed quite fiery tempers. Moreover, their strength matched their tempers perfectly!
It was a scene that normal people had never seen before—a Divine Cultivator at the peak chasing three Fourth Grade Dao Realm Martial Artists around in Illusion City, dominating them effortlessly. Some even suspected he hadn’t used his full power.
By then, everyone understood that the group of young followers of City Lord Gu Xiao weren’t pushovers. For a Divine Breath cultivator to overpower a group of Dao Realm individuals was simply beyond normal capabilities.
Henceforth, even the Dao Realm Martial Artists treated Wu Yang and the others with utmost respect, addressing them as supervisors or commanders. Following Zhang Menglong to this gathering, one person was worth a group of Dao Realm cultivators.
Of course, Zhang Menglong’s own strength was likely even more fearsome—perhaps having them along was just to bolster the scene.
"I’ll go too!" Ose volunteered, "The City Lord and all commanders have considerable strength, but since their visible power isn’t high, avoiding some trouble might save us some hassle."
"Alright!" Zhang Menglong nodded and then selected a few others, mostly people he brought from the Sunset Sect, along with some former subordinates of Ose, all possessing Peak of Dao Realm strength. With such a lineup, it wouldn’t appear too shabby.
Beikun City Lord Bei Xu scheduled the meeting for ten days later. Zhang Menglong used this time to consolidate his strength, hoping to leave the Endless Land successfully, solve his and the Divine Profound Hall’s conflict, and prepare for his Dao Realm breakthrough without relying on the unfortunate Gu Xiao.
...
Beikun Fortress City is one of the top three fortresses in the Endless Land, boasting over 100 Peak Dao Realm Martial Artists and a total of over three million Dao Realm cultivators, nearly triple the strength of Luosai Fortress City!
Moreover, Beikun Fortress City is five times larger, with a population thrice that of Luosai Fortress City, in a superior geographical location.
It took considerable time and effort for Bei Xu to construct this city, a legendary architectural project.
After numerous Teleportation Arrays, they finally arrived at the gate of Beikun Fortress City.
This city surprisingly wasn’t built of metal, but appeared as a snow-and-ice sculpture, an icy city!
Even outside the city, one could feel the biting cold. Anyone below the Divine Breath Realm could be frozen solid with prolonged exposure. Raising children here required substantial effort.
"These ice blocks aren’t ordinary," Ose explained, "They lower ambient temperature. This cold can even stabilize space here, reducing spatial distortion risk below that of Luosai Fortress City despite Beikun’s size!"
"Bei Xu City Lord is quite ingenious," Zhang Menglong remarked, using cold to freeze space—a brilliant concept. Though costly, it was effective and feasible, as compared to resisting Phantom Profound Beast invasions, maintaining warmth was easier.
Still, it was evident that Beikun Fortress City suffered great losses during the spatial chaos period, with incomplete walls showing internal devastation.
"Looks like Beikun Fortress City had significant losses!"
"Yes, City Lord, their construction was damaged by a fifth, population reduced by almost a third. It would take around a century for recovery. Many of our residents migrated from Beikun Fortress City."
"Let’s proceed, don’t keep Bei Xu City Lord waiting!"
Zhang Menglong led the way towards the city.
...
Above Beikun’s entrance is a reception room for welcoming visiting dignitaries.
Except Zhang Menglong, other fortress city lords had already arrived with their close allies.
"Bei Xu, is your news true? Did you really find a way out of this cursed place?" A middle-aged man asked impatiently without touching the tea.
"Since I’ve invited you all here, it’s because I indeed have relevant news—unless you plan to kill me?" Bei Xu City Lord joked, "We’ll discuss once Illusion City Lord arrives."
"Who cares about Illusion City Lord? Gu Xiao is just a juvenile, using unknown means to establish a city. Does he really consider himself important?"
"Exactly, we’re here already, yet he, a junior, hasn’t arrived—disregarding us. Does he think his Illusion City is impressive?"
Privately, each must admit Illusion City is remarkable, yet publicly they vent emotions without acknowledgment. In safety, prosperity, and happiness metrics, Illusion City is unmatched.
"Not entirely true," Bei Xu said, "Though Gu Xiao City Lord’s realm seems ordinary, he has real capability, having established a large city and sustaining it through the spatial chaos period without casualties, even managing meat trade—we often deal with them for food."
"Just lucky—a Divine Breath peak Martial Artist shouldn’t have such means," other fortress city lords grumbled, "In his hands, the city is wasted!"
"Who’s gossiping behind backs?" Amidst heated debate, a fresh voice emerged from outside.
The lords looked slightly pale, having spoken ill just moments ago, feeling the tension.
"Gossiping’s not a good habit, right?" Zhang Menglong entered the reception, "Apologies for my tardiness—might’ve been slandered by some scoundrels. Sneezed prior to heading over—thought I caught a cold—and took a test before coming. Sorry for the wait."
