Chapter 99

In the martial arts arena of Kaoshan Town, a silence reigned, and the tense atmosphere reached its peak.

People could already see the dust rising in the distance and hear the roar of warhorses. The great army of Zijin City had arrived.

"Quick, come with me to welcome the Lord of the City," the innkeeper Lin shouted and quickly walked towards the town entrance, clearly considering himself the manager of this area.

Seeing this, the people in the arena did not dare to be negligent and hurriedly followed. If they had any doubts about the innkeeper Lin before, those doubts vanished completely after seeing the great army of Zijin City, and they fully believed his words.

Looking at the surging crowd, although Chu Feng was unwilling, he had no choice but to follow the flow of people to the town entrance to welcome the Lord of Zijin City.

Although he did not take Zijin City seriously in his heart, he had to temporarily submit before he had absolute power, at least to avoid needlessly offending them.

"Chu Feng, your Chu family did not kneel when they saw the Zijin token just now. I will report this to the Lord of the City," the innkeeper Lin said coldly at the town entrance.

"Whatever you say," Chu Feng glanced at him, unwilling to waste words on this smug little man.

"Hmph, you'll have a hard time soon," the innkeeper Lin sneered, his smile becoming even more sinister.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble"

Under the watchful eyes of countless people, the rumbling sound grew closer, and soon the figures of the great army of Zijin City could be seen amidst the dust.

Seeing the neatly lined and armored army of Zijin City, almost everyone was awed by their imposing presence.

At this moment, those who had grudges against the Chu family were secretly delighted, thinking that the Chu family was about to face a great calamity. Just thinking about Chu Feng's arrogant demeanor before and the situation he was about to face, they were extremely excited.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the great army of Zijin City, led by Chen Hui, arrived at the entrance of Kaoshan Town in grand procession.

"We pay our respects to the Lord of the City!"

Seeing this, the innkeeper Lin hurriedly knelt down, and many others followed suit, including the people of the Chu family. They did not dare to be negligent towards the highest ruler of Zijin City, but Chu Feng remained standing.

"Chu Feng, how dare you! Kneel before the Lord of the City!" the innkeeper Lin pointed at Chu Feng and shouted.

"A man's knees are worth more than gold. I, Chu Feng, will not kneel to anyone except my parents and benefactors. I won't even kneel to the heavens, let alone to others."

Chu Feng said this while looking at Chen Hui, his eyes showing no fear, but rather a sense of integrity. This was his inner belief; except for his parents and benefactors, he would not kneel to anyone, even if it meant his death. This was a matter of dignity.

Even in submission, a person has a limit, and Chu Feng's limit was that he would endure any beating but would never kneel to anyone.

Chu Feng's words frightened Chu Yuan and others, who thought he would anger Chen Hui.

As for the innkeeper Lin and others, they were overjoyed. They knew Chu Feng was bold, but they did not expect him to be so bold. This was a direct challenge to Chen Hui in front of everyone, a slap in the face.

However, just as everyone was waiting to see what Chen Hui would do to Chu Feng, Chen Hui smiled and leaped off his horse, walking towards Chu Feng.

At the same time, several generals behind him also dismounted and followed Chen Hui towards Chu Feng.

"Are you Chu Feng?" Chen Hui smiled and looked at Chu Feng, his eyes showing a hint of appreciation.

"Yes, I am." Chu Feng was neither humble nor arrogant.

"Indeed, heroes emerge from the young. To have such a presence at your age is truly rare." Chen Hui did not get angry at Chu Feng's attitude but laughed instead. He then looked around at the Chu family and asked, "Who is Chu Feng's father?"

"Lord of the City, I am Chu Yuan, Chu Feng's father. My son is still young and may speak too directly. Please bear with him," Chu Yuan quickly pleaded, thinking Chen Hui might harm Chu Feng.

"Ah, Lord Chu, what you say is true. To have such a son is your good fortune and the good fortune of our Zijin City. This young man must be well-cultivated."

"Your Chu family has discovered the mystic iron mine, so I will reward your son, Chu Feng, with a thousand spirit pearls to advance his cultivation and bring glory to Zijin City within the Qinglong Sect."

"As for the mystic iron mine, your Chu family will be responsible for its extraction. You do not need to hand over the proceeds to Zijin City; they will all belong to your Chu family."

"Furthermore, from now on, the management of this area will be entrusted to your Chu family. Anyone who does not obey your commands will be considered to have disobeyed me, Chen Hui, and will be punished according to the law without mercy."

Chen Hui's voice was extremely loud, and with the surrounding silence, his words were clearly heard by everyone.

At this moment, except for the people of Zijin City, almost everyone was stunned and surprised. Not just the innkeeper Lin and others who wanted to see the Chu family humiliated, but even Chu Yuan and the Chu family were at a loss, not knowing what to do.

What was going on? The Lord of Zijin City not only did not punish the Chu family for Chu Feng's attitude but also rewarded him with a thousand spirit pearls, a thousand spirit pearls!

That was not all; he also entrusted the mystic iron mine to the Chu family. The value of the mystic iron mine far exceeded a thousand spirit pearls. If fully extracted, it would be worth tens of thousands of spirit pearls, an immeasurable fortune.

Most importantly, he allowed the Chu family to manage this area. What did this mean? If the Chu family managed this area, what would the innkeeper Lin be?

"Lord of the City, this... you... didn't you say that the management of this area would be entrusted to my Tiger Escort Agency?"

Indeed, the innkeeper Lin could no longer kneel and hurriedly stood up, trembling as he walked to Chen Hui and asked in a humble tone.

Seeing this, Chen Hui's expression changed, and he looked at the innkeeper Lin with a cold gaze, saying, "Your character is corrupt, and you are not fit to serve me. Take this man's Zijin token and execute him!"