CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 61: CITY LORD’S RAGE_1

After returning to the high platform, Qin Feiyang ignored Ling Yunfei entirely, treating him as a stranger. Time passed swiftly, and dusk descended.

A group of people fled from Black Bear Mountain as though their lives depended on it!

The City Lord led at the forefront, with a dozen or so guards clearing a path. Luo Xiong and the elites of the Elixir Palace covered the rear. The old man in black who guarded the medicinal field, the War King from Yan City’s Lin Family, the various Family Heads of Black Bear City, and the elites of the major families flanked them on the left and right. In the middle were the young hunters.

But of the 3,200 who had entered, only a few hundred remained. Moreover, everyone bore injuries of varying severity. Even a War King like Luo Xiong was covered in wounds, looking utterly wretched. They pushed on, reaching the high platform before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion, gasping for breath. The City Lord and the others also leaned heavily on their knees, bent over, greedily gulping down the fresh air. An indelible terror lingered in their eyes.

Qin Feiyang scanned the survivors; the six young men and women, as well as Jiang Wei, Mu Fei, Ling Sheng, and a few others, had been fortunate enough to survive.

Simultaneously, Ling Yunfei scanned the crowd. Spotting the Ling Family Head, he hurried over and asked with concern, "Second Uncle, are you alright?"

"I’m fine." The Ling Family Head waved his hand, his expression grim.

Second Uncle? Qin Feiyang was surprised. So Ling Yunfei’s standing in the Ling Family wasn’t low. Why then was he being suppressed by the Family Head?

ROAR! CHIRP!

Deafening roars and screeches from beasts echoed, shaking the heavens. Everyone’s expressions changed dramatically as they quickly looked up. They saw ferocious beasts and birds of prey of all sizes prowling at the edge of the mountain range, their eyes gleaming with malice as they roared incessantly.

"Damn it!"

"Are they going to attack the city?"

Everyone instantly panicked.

The City Lord shouted, "Quickly pass down the order: the entire city is to be on high alert!"

However, all the ferocious beasts suddenly turned and melted back into the mountain range, vanishing from sight. Only then did everyone finally breathe a collective sigh of relief.

"City Lord, Luo Xiong, why are there so few people left?" the Pavilion Master of the Treasure Pavilion asked with a frown.

"The Beast Tide arrived too quickly."

"All the ferocious beasts in Black Bear Mountain went berserk simultaneously; we simply didn’t have enough time to rescue them!"

"Even among the people we brought, more than half were killed or injured. The losses are too severe."

"The Black Bear King’s strength has advanced again; he’s now a Two-star War King. If Lin Liang hadn’t helped, I’m afraid even we wouldn’t have escaped unscathed," the City Lord and other leaders lamented one after another. Recalling their experiences in Black Bear Mountain that day still made their hearts pound with fear.

Lin Liang was the War King from the Lin Family of Yan City.

"A Two-star War King!" The Pavilion Master and the others exclaimed in shock.

Qin Feiyang was also astounded. He hadn’t imagined the Black Bear King’s power to be so terrifying that even these top leaders couldn’t handle it.

The six young men and women suddenly walked towards Qin Feiyang, their eyes glinting with hostility.

Qin Feiyang’s eyes flashed as he said mockingly, "May I ask the six of you, did you find Qin Feiyang? If not, then all your efforts this time were wasted."

The six had initially volunteered to lead the way, hoping to curry favor and earn rewards. But in the end, not only did they fail to get any reward, but they also ran into the Beast Tide and nearly lost their lives. It was a case of suffering a double loss.

Facing Qin Feiyang’s mockery, the six remained silent, but their eyes flashed with a cold light as they surrounded him.

One of the young men in white said sternly, "You weren’t even there last night. How would you know Qin Feiyang and that wolf appeared?"

Qin Feiyang replied casually, "My apologies, I actually was there, just hidden from view. You simply didn’t notice."

"You bastard! How dare you steal our credit!"

"If you know what’s good for you, hand over the Martial Arts Technique the City Lord gave you. Otherwise, I guarantee you won’t have a foothold in Black Bear City ever again!" The six threatened him openly.

"Martial Arts Technique? I don’t have it. If you’re so capable, go ask the City Lord for it. As for a foothold here? Sorry, I couldn’t care less," Qin Feiyang shrugged.

"You... you’re courting death!"

"Let me tell you, even if we kill you right now, the City Lord won’t punish us." Intense killing intent surged in the eyes of the six.

"So confident?" Qin Feiyang feigned surprise, then said nonchalantly, "I don’t believe Black Bear City is a lawless place."

The young man in white sneered, "Laws are only for commoners. For prodigies like us, they’re practically non-existent. Do you realize the gap between us now? Hand it over if you don’t want to die!"

"The six of you, get over here!" Just then, a furious shout erupted. The City Lord glared at the six young men and women, his gaze murderous.

"City Lord, are you calling us?" The six were taken aback and turned to the City Lord, their faces full of confusion.

The City Lord said, "Yes, you!"

The six hurried over, and the young man in white asked, "City Lord, what have we done wrong?"

"Even now, you still don’t realize your mistakes?"

"If you hadn’t provoked the Black Bear cubs, would the Black Bear King have unleashed the Beast Tide?"

"Without the Beast Tide, would the others have died?"

"Now, I, the City Lord, will tell you plainly: you are to take full responsibility for their deaths!" the City Lord declared in a tone that brooked no defiance.

"Make us responsible?" The six froze on the spot.

"City Lord, we are victims too!"

"Why should we bear this responsibility?"

"If anyone is to take responsibility, Jiang Haotian was there too! He should bear a share!" the six retorted, unconvinced, trying to drag Qin Feiyang into it as well.

"Jiang Haotian, what do you have to say?" The City Lord turned to Qin Feiyang, his expression grim.

Qin Feiyang smiled. "City Lord, it’s true I was present. However, from beginning to end, I never made a move. I believe this matter has nothing to do with me, does it?"

The City Lord turned to Ling Yunfei, his face expressionless. "You were with Jiang Haotian. Is what he said true?"

At this, all eyes in the area focused intently on Ling Yunfei. His next words could change the entire situation.

The Ling Family Head said, "Yunfei, you must tell the truth."

Ling Sheng added, "That’s right. As a member of our Ling Family, you must not lie."

Ling Yunfei glanced at the two of them, then at Qin Feiyang, and shook his head. "I was resting in the cave at the time, not with Jiang Haotian, so I’m not very clear about all this. However, I just asked him, and he admitted he knew in advance that the Beast Tide would occur."

"Knew in advance?" Everyone present immediately turned their gazes to Qin Feiyang, every pair of eyes flashing with an alarming coldness.

Qin Feiyang gave Ling Yunfei a deep look and shook his head. "It seems there truly is no one in this world worth trusting."

Ling Yunfei said, "You saved me, and I am grateful. But what I’m saying now is the truth. My conscience is clear."

"A clear conscience indeed." Qin Feiyang laughed heartily, a hint of mockery in his eyes. "I hope you can maintain that. Don’t come crying and kneeling to me for help one day."

Ling Yunfei replied, "Rest assured, that will never happen."

THUD!

At that moment, the six young men and women exchanged glances and then, one by one, knelt on the ground.

"Lord City Lord, we were indeed wrong to provoke the Black Bear cub. We are willing to accept punishment."

"However, if Jiang Haotian had informed everyone earlier, so many people wouldn’t have died or been injured this time."

"He withheld information and deceived you, Lord. We implore you to punish him severely!"

"We even suspect he’s in league with the Black Bear King!" the six declared.

These words were exceptionally malicious, clearly intended to doom Qin Feiyang.

The City Lord said grimly, "Jiang Haotian, what is your explanation?"

The Hall Master of the Martial Palace sighed. "I initially quite admired you, but I never imagined you to be so malicious."

"If one wishes to condemn, one can always find an excuse." Qin Feiyang shook his head and smiled faintly. He looked at the six and said nonchalantly, "You gravely injured the Black Bear cub. As the Beast King of Black Bear Mountain, the Black Bear King would certainly not let the matter rest. That I could anticipate this only means I have some intelligence. Your failure to consider this merely proves you are dumber than pigs."

"You..." The six were furious.

"Did I say something wrong?" Qin Feiyang scoffed.

The expressions of the City Lord and the others also turned unsightly, because they hadn’t thought of this point either. According to this boy’s logic, wouldn’t that make them dumber than pigs too?

With those words, Qin Feiyang had offended everyone present. But he wasn’t afraid. Worst case, he could retreat into the ancient castle. Who could possibly stop him then?

He swept his gaze over the leaders and said, "One last piece of advice for you all: survival of the fittest. Remember to use your brains more in the future. No one in this world will go out of their way to save you. Your fate is in your own hands."

The scene fell deathly silent; everyone was speechless.

The City Lord exhaled slowly and said, "What you said is reasonable, but a mistake is a mistake. You must bear the primary responsibility. I will have someone tally the losses from this incident. You will compensate for half, and the remaining half will be shared equally by the Jiang, Mu, and Ling Families. Do you have any objections?"

"No objections." The three Family Heads shook their heads.

"On what grounds?" Qin Feiyang frowned. He had never met such an unreasonable person.Whether he spoke up or not was his own prerogative.Why should he be forced to bear half the responsibility?Besides, if responsibility truly had to be assigned, it should be the four major powers who bore it all, as they were the ones who organized this hunting competition.The City Lord was clearly just trying to shirk responsibility.After all, with so many deaths, the compensation would amount to an enormous sum.Most critically, this incident could very well alarm the most powerful figures in Yan Province. If an investigation were launched, he, as the City Lord of Black Bear City, would inevitably be implicated, along with Luo Xiong and the others.It could even jeopardize their future prospects.Therefore, they needed a scapegoat, and this role had fallen to Qin Feiyang and the three major families.The three major families needed to maintain their standing in Black Bear City; they would have to bear this burden even if it meant bankrupting themselves.But Qin Feiyang was different.As a Prince of the Great Qin Empire, his pride would not allow him to bow to such opportunistic, petty individuals.Besides, he was all alone now—what did he have to fear?

Meanwhile, being contradicted repeatedly, the City Lord felt utterly humiliated, and a murderous intent began to stir within him. He stared at Qin Feiyang with cold eyes for a long moment before saying, "By virtue of my being the City Lord of Black Bear City, my words are commands. Do you dare to defy me?"

"My apologies then. I am not a citizen of Black Bear City, so I have no need to listen to your commands." Qin Feiyang sneered, turned, and walked off the high platform without a backward glance. A mere City Lord thought he could order him around? What a joke.

"Arrest him!" The City Lord, thoroughly enraged, bellowed.

CLANG!!!

A dozen guards immediately rushed in front of Qin Feiyang, drawing their swords to confront him.