Chapter 284: Suffering An Unexpected Lost?!

"Praise Budda, even I wasn't expecting something as barbaric as this..." Abhaya muttered.

"We slapped their faces a little too hard and too often, huh?" Hu Tao cackled in amusement as he heard the news.

  A subordinate was crouched on the ground bowing to the two after relaying the information. He didn't think they could avoid being wiped out. They were playing a dangerous game from the beginning. Perhaps, it was only a matter of time before they were wiped out like this...

"If we pull out, all of our efforts in Xuanyin City will have been for nothing. However, if we fight back, it won't do well for us either." Abhaya was troubled.

  Abhaya always knew that the Three Great Sects had a limit to how often they could be slapped in the face and taken advantage of. He just didn't expect them to throw their face entirely out the window and do something like this! In fact, Abhaya had a feeling that Xuanyin City will be completely buried within the next few months. If the Three Great Sects win, their Heavenly Association would be buried with it.

"It's not like this place is special or anything. If shit didn't work out, we can always start up new somewhere else. We still got a shit load of good shit from my woman's forest. You know how valuable that stuff is. Anyone anywhere would buy that stuff in bulk." Hu Tao casually leaned back on his desk.

  If it was up to him, he'd have an all-out war with the bastards destroying his businesses. The war wouldn't end until his side was killed or their side was killed. It was only thanks to Jing that things didn't progress down that route. After he informed her about the attacks on several of their businesses, she gave him one order. "Don't show them our full capabilities."

  In other words, Hu Tao couldn't lead his men openly and start kicking ass all over this damn city. If he wanted to start some trouble, he would need to kill everyone involved so that no news would spread of their strength. But Abhaya also reminded him that the absence of information is also evidence of information. Abhaya had no doubt that information on their organization was already shared with the top elders of the Three Great Sects. This information would also be something that was shared weekly or even daily back with their main sects. If that information suddenly stops coming in, that means something has gone wrong and if they see that their Heavenly Association Group is still up-and-running while the Three Great Sects in Xuanyin City have disappeared. They'll know that their organization is strong enough to compete with the Three Great Sects combined! Whether that be with power, finance, or strategy, regardless, it would be a fact that the Heavenly Association Group defeated the Three Great Sects.

"Yes... Running away would be the best choice, however, I'm afraid with how big this attack was on our businesses, the Three Great Sects might not allow us to escape."

"Hah? So not only do they want to destroy my shit, take my money, ruin my fun, they also want to fuck me to death!?" Hu Tao's qi burst from his body.

"If it was up to them, yes. But, if they truly want to annihilate us, they'll have to pay a heavy price if I have anything to do with it..." Abhaya's black pupils temporarily turned light green along with a comforting slow release of qi from his body.

"I'll leave it to you then. If there's anything fun, make sure to let me know. Oh, and you can leave now." Hu Tao told the subordinate still kneeling.

"Yes, Boss!" He immediately made himself sparse.

"If everything goes wrong, you'll have all the fun in the world near the end, Boss." Abhaya promised.

"I can't wait!" Hu Tao loudly laughed. "Why do I have a feeling those prideful bastards are going to try and chew us to death? Aren't they afraid of getting indigestion?!"

"I'll be heading out now to deal with everything." Abhaya bowed as he left Hu Tao's office.

"We're relocating." Hu Tao sent Jing a message on the special talisman she gave him.

"Smart choice. Don't forget, that part of the Immortal Forest is the key. With that place, you won't ever run out of money." Jing responded back.

"If a really strong bastard shows up, am I supposed to just let him take it?" Hu Tao mentioned one of the concerns he had.

"Don't worry. I've set up necessary defenses for people like that. All you need to do is gather, defend, and sell."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"What if I wanted a secret cut of the profits to share with myself or my boys?"

"I expected you were using some of the products in the forest to strengthen the group in the first place. I'm surprised to hear you haven't."

"Well I have but not my men." Hu Tao admitted.

"A great leader is only as great as the people that follow them. Don't be foolish and hoard all the good stuff for yourself otherwise you might be replaced sooner than you think." Jing threatened.

"Replaced!? Babe! Who could replace me?! You're not talking to other men while I'm out here working my ass off for you right!? You know I'm only doing all this for you because I love you and want to start a family with you, right?!"

"What a shame." Was Jing's only reply.

"HEY! HEY! HEY! I'LL KILL HIM, YOU KNOW! I WILL SHOW UP AND FIND OUT IF YOU'RE MESSING AROUND WITH OTHER MEN AS MY WOMAN!"

  There were no further replies from Jing no matter how often Hu Tao messaged her. With a dissatisfied expression, Hu Tao promised to visit the Golden Serpent Sect in disguise and find out the son of a bitch trying to take his woman. As soon as he's done dealing with the Three Great Sects here and the Heavenly Association is properly set up in a new city, he'll visit the sect. That just pissed him off. Now, he was really hoping the Three Great Sects would attempt to wipe out his group.

  It took a couple of weeks before all the stores and businesses associated with the Heavenly Association Group were all packed up and ready to leave. News and rumors spread instantly regarding the closing of multiple Heavenly Association businesses. Agitation, unwillingness, sadness, and anger filled the hearts of those living inside Xuanyin City. Once they heard that the Heavenly Association was being forced out of Xuanyin City because of the attacks by the Three Great Sects, everyone wanted nothing more than the sects to leave instead.

"Ah, yes. Our group will be relocating to Cloud Dragon City due to the damages received from the Three Great Sects. We apologize for having to close so soon but we don't have a choice in this matter." An employee politely but sadly informed the crowd of people outside his business.

"Those sect bastards!" Someone angrily cried out.

"Why can't they just leave instead!?"

"What's going to happen to my insurance!?"

"I heard they plan to give a full refund to everyone that purchased health, home, and life insurance since they won't be here anymore."

"What about our jobs?! Will we have to move to Cloud Dragon City with our families or are we just shit out of luck and lost the best jobs of our lives!?" An infuriated worker who wasn't initially a part of the Heavenly Association asked.

"I'm sorry things have come to this thanks to the Three Great Sects but it is out of our hands. However, if you and your family are willing to move, we have no problem letting you keep your job with us. All Heavenly Association stores will be giving their employees extra pay for this inconvenience caused by the Three Great Sects. I would recommend using it to help move your family to Cloud Dragon City if you wish to keep your job with us." The boss of an architecture company run by the Heavenly Association relayed.

"Are we going to have to go back to living on the streets now, master?" A small orphan from the Heavenly Association's Martial Arts Dojo asked.

"No. You all are officially a part of our Heavenly Association. You and any family of yours will be coming with us if you so choose." Teacher Crimson Blood explained.

"We can keep eating free meals and learning martial arts, brother?" An orphan asked his older sibling.

"Yes... The Heavenly Association won't throw us away like everyone else..." The older sibling hid his tears as his loyalty for the Heavenly Association rose like a blazing fire.

  Once the Heavenly Association was ready to leave Xuanyin City, more than half of the city's residents planned to leave with them. Thousands of faithful and dedicated customers couldn't bear to stay in a place that would rather favor the service and business of the Three Great Sects over the Heavenly Association. Of course, how could the City Lord of Xuanyin City allow his precious residents just up and leave like this? His livelihood would be directly impacted by this and his city would never recover from a hit like this!

  The City Lord and his soldiers combined with the disciples of the Three Great Sects stood at the gate of Xuanyin City. It seemed they weren't letting any residents of the city leave on their watch while leaving those initially from the Heavenly Association Group alone. This caused an annoying problem for Abhaya who wasn't expecting them to have no pride at all! It looks like even the Major Sects can be so shameless!

  This problem really had nothing to do with their Heavenly Association but at the same time, it had everything to do with their group. For weeks now, their group has been talking about moving to Cloud Dragon City. The extra pay given to their employees was for the sole purpose of allowing those to purchase property in Cloud Dragon City or set up temporary residences in inns. But it looks like to stop them from having any decent start at all in Cloud Dragon City, the Three Great Sects intended to hold these residents hostage and continue sucking their money and manpower from them regardless of whether they wanted to leave or not.

"You don't control us! We're free to move and leave if we wish!"

"We are not your slaves! You can't stop us from leaving!"

"Who do you think you are!?"

"SILENCE!" A qi-filled shout hushed all the riled-up mortals and weaker cultivators. "Did you ants truly believe you had any sort of freedom? Have you forgotten your position? We divine immortals are your gods and you are simply here to serve us! You should be grateful! You should be content with serving us for the rest of your lives! What greater joy can there be for a mortal than to make sure their gods are happy?!" Du Chaojin shouted.

"Hey, look at the mouth on this guy." A voice chuckled. "I thought I was the best guy under the heavens but with the way he's talking, maybe I'm outmatched!" He laughed.

"Who dares?!" Du Chaojin instantly spotted the bare-chested figure in the crowd.

"Heavenly Association, let's get out of here." Hu Tao ignored the Core Staged cultivator and all of his men began moving together.

"Boss, are we really...?" Monkey, leader of the Third Group of the Heavenly Association, questioned.

"Yep! What can we do? They didn't say we couldn't leave, just the residents of Xuanyin City. This has nothing to do with us." Hu Tao smiled.

  Seeing that smile was all that those from the Heavenly Association needed to see. It wasn't the type of smile that showed indifference. It was a smile that promised violence, chaos, and brutality! The residents of Xuanyin City had nothing to worry about if their boss was smiling like that. They might be leaving now but the Heavenly Association would soon be giving back exactly what was given to them!

  Although upset and angry, the residents of Xuanyin City understood that the Heavenly Association really had no choice. They were surrounded by the disciples of all Three Great Sects and the City Lord's soldiers! It would be suicidal if they did try raising a fuss over a bunch of mortals like them. The residents were brought back inside the city as the Heavenly Association Group left.