Chapter 55: Life-or-Death Crisis!

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Life-or-Death Crisis!

The morning sun just began to rise, its golden rays piercing through the clouds to cast a warm glow over Fenglin Town. Down below, the common people rose early to prepare for a day of hard labor, just as they always did.

On the dirt road outside the small town, a group of riders approached at a breakneck pace. They were mounted on four unusually massive, majestic horse-like fierce beasts.

"Martial Uncle, this is Fenglin Town." Astride one of the Cloud-Stepping Steeds, a middle-aged man with a short beard and dressed in a purple brocade robe respectfully cupped his hands toward the leader of the group—a young man in his early twenties.

This middle-aged man was none other than the eldest son of the Wu Family and Wu Ningxue’s older brother, Wu Yuanqing.

The young man gave a slight nod. His gaze swept over the thousand-year-old maple tree in the center of Fenglin Town, its canopy sprawling like an emperor’s parasol. "It’s quite a Feng Shui treasure land," he remarked lightly. "I hope it won’t disappoint me."

"Martial Nephew Yuanqing, before we left, Master made it clear that after this intervention, the debt of gratitude from all those years ago will be settled.

"Aside from curing Senior Brother Wu, I will personally eliminate all your enemies. You better think carefully and ensure no one slips through the cracks."

Hearing the young man’s words, a flash of ruthlessness crossed Wu Yuanqing’s eyes. He respectfully cupped his hands again. "Thank you for your trouble, Martial Uncle. Let’s start with those fence-sitting families."

"After you, Martial Uncle."

With another gesture of respect from atop his Cloud-Stepping Steed, Wu Yuanqing led the three riders straight into the town.

Inside the small courtyard, Fang Xu was eating breakfast with Chu Muyun when a virtual light screen suddenly popped up in front of him.

[Your friend Hu Lin has died. As a friend, you can randomly inherit one of his three legacies.]

Legacy 1: [Red Legacy: The Hu Family’s Assets (equivalent to 133 taels of Gold)]. Inheriting this carries great danger. The Hu Family was exterminated by Wu Yuanqing and the Ascension Association. Their assets have long been considered his for the taking. If the host rashly claims them, it will inevitably draw Wu Yuanqing’s retaliation.

Legacy 2: [White Legacy: 40 Strength Attribute points]. Risk-free inheritance, but requires touching Hu Lin’s corpse.

Legacy 3: [White Legacy: 35 Life Attribute points]. Risk-free inheritance, but requires touching Hu Lin’s corpse.

"Hu Lin?"

Fang Xu frowned at the name on the virtual panel. This man was one of the Landlord Strongmen invited by his master, Lu Zhiyuan, on the day the Blood Food Shop opened. Why would Wu Yuanqing and the Ascension Association target him?

Filled with doubt, Fang Xu quickly checked on the other five people he had added as "friends" that day. To his shock, he discovered that all of their Life Values had dropped to one percent!

"This..."

Life and death were unpredictable, and passing away was a common occurrence. However, for six people to die at the same time...

[Your friend Qi San has died. As a friend, you can randomly inherit one of his two legacies.]

Legacy 1: [Red Legacy: The Qi Family’s Assets (equivalent to 89 taels of Gold)]. Inheriting this carries great danger. The Qi Family was exterminated by Wu Yuanqing and the Ascension Association. Their assets have long been considered his for the taking. If the host rashly claims them, it will inevitably draw Wu Yuanqing’s retaliation.

Legacy 2: [White Legacy: 32 Life Attribute points]. Risk-free inheritance, but requires touching Qi San’s corpse.

Before Fang Xu could even choose a legacy from Hu Lin, another notification popped up on the virtual panel.

Immediately following that:

[Your friend Guo Shun has died. As a friend, you can randomly inherit one of his three legacies.]

[Your friend...]

[Your friend...]

A flurry of notifications cascaded down the light screen!

In less than fifteen minutes, out of the seven people on his friends list, Li Xun was the only one left alive!

"They all died?!" Fang Xu thought in shock. "Why would the Ascension Association strike so aggressively, directly wiping out six local bosses in Fenglin Town? Did the attack on the Wu Family that night have something to do with these six people? Or could it be..."

Realizing something was terribly wrong, Fang Xu immediately turned to Chu Muyun. "Mu Yun, go back to your room. Do not come out no matter what!"

After pushing Chu Muyun into the room and shutting the door tight, Fang Xu hurriedly rushed toward Zhiyuan Hall.

On the way, he claimed all six of their legacies. Aside from one person’s legacy which was a family business, he received attribute points from the other five.

He decided to skip the family businesses. Since the system had already warned him, Fang Xu naturally wasn’t going to provoke the Wu Family and the Ascension Association over some worldly possessions.

"Master!"

Fang Xu yelled the moment he stepped through the front doors of Zhiyuan Hall.

Seeing him, Lu Qingluo furrowed her brows slightly. "What’s with all the yelling? Where are your manners..."

"Senior Sister, something terrible has happened!"

"Where is Master?"

In the inner courtyard, Lu Zhiyuan slowly walked over, frowning as he looked at Fang Xu. "What happened?"

"The Ascension Association is here!" Fang Xu said urgently. "As soon as they entered the town, they struck like lightning, slaughtering all the Landlord Strongmen who attended our banquet on the day the Blood Food Shop opened!

"I suspect you are their next target!

"Master, you and Senior Sister need to leave right now!"

Hearing this, Lu Qingluo and Li Yushan’s expressions drastically changed as they quickly turned to look at Lu Zhiyuan.

Lu Zhiyuan, however, remained unfazed. Frowning in deep thought for a moment, he said, "It’s definitely too late to leave now. There is only one plan left..."

He glanced at Lu Qingluo and Fang Xu. "The Ascension Association has a rule. If a disciple within the association makes a mistake, they can be exempt from punishment as long as they pass the Ascension Platform’s assessment. They can even make a request.

"As for Yunshan..."

SMASH!

Before he could finish his sentence, the heavy front doors of Zhiyuan Hall were violently kicked open!

The terrifying force shattered the sturdy wooden doors into pieces, sending splinters flying everywhere!

Immediately after, four figures appeared at the entrance. The leader—a young man wearing a long black robe with a refined, scholarly face—strode in slowly and smiled faintly. "You’re quite something, actually knowing about the Ascension Platform.

"However, I advise you to drop that idea.

"The one who wants to kill you is him, and this matter also involves a life-saving debt owed to my master. Let me think... To offset a life-saving debt owed by a Steward of the Ascension Association, one would have to pass at least the seventh level of the Ascension Platform."

The young man swept his gaze over Fang Xu and Lu Qingluo, letting out a scoff. "As for these two... It’s hard to say if they can even pass the entry qualifications."

"What cultivation level is required to enter the Ascension Association?!" Lu Qingluo asked indignantly from the side.

The young man sized her up and shook his head slightly. "Entry into the Ascension Association is not based on cultivation, but purely on aptitude.

"Looking at the two of you at your age, one is at the Ninth Realm of the Martial Disciple stage, and the other is at the Second Realm... Heh."

Sneering and shaking his head, the young man waved his hand. "Tao’Er, Lin, I’ll leave this to you. I’m giving you three breaths of time."

Behind him, two even younger men cupped their hands slightly upon hearing his command.

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

With that, the two immediately lunged toward Lu Zhiyuan, Fang Xu, and the others!

"Hold on!"

Lu Zhiyuan shouted loudly. "Sir, I recall the Ascension Association has a rule prohibiting fellow members from killing one another!"

Hearing this, the young man frowned but raised his hand to stop his two junior brothers’ attack.

"The Ascension Association does have this rule, but these two are not disciples of the association."

"I have already registered the two of them!" As he spoke, Lu Zhiyuan pulled out two Scrolls adorned with strange patterns from his robes.

"Immortal Sect Passes?"

The young man frowned as he looked at the two Scrolls in Lu Zhiyuan’s hands. The Immortal Sect Pass was the proof of registration to join the Ascension Association. By holding these passes, the two in front of him were considered half-members of the Ascension Association.

He indeed couldn’t lay a hand on them during the period between registration and the assessment.

"Since they both possess Immortal Sect Passes, they can temporarily be spared from death. However, you and him... will still die."

Staring intently at Lu Zhiyuan and Li Yushan, the young man smiled playfully.