Chapter 32 Bullying by Power

Ma Long hesitated for a moment and looked toward his father, but Ma Jicheng simply waved his sleeve and said, "Deal with the trouble you've caused yourself! Promises made by a man must never be taken as empty words!"

Now he's playing tough. Wasn't he just thinking about reneging a minute ago?

Chu Hao secretly nodded in agreement. To survive in this world, the first thing needed was formidable strength; the second was to have a strong backing!

Speaking of strength, Chi Dao couldn't possibly compare to Ma Jicheng, yet he managed to suppress Ma Jicheng! What did he have? The City Lord's Order! That was his strong support!

But in the end, why did Ma Jicheng back down?

Strength!

It was still strength!

Because the City Lord's Mansion possessed an overwhelmingly superior strength that was universally acknowledged, they were so powerful that others could not resist but only choose to submit!

I must become stronger as soon as possible!

Chu Hao clenched his fist and said in his heart, becoming a noble again was just the first step, not the destination! Even as a noble, one still had to comply with the City Lord's Mansion, but what he yearned for was freedom, absolute freedom.

On Earth, why did he choose to be an explorer? Because of that unbridled freedom!

His body had changed, but not his soul!

On the other hand, Ma Long sluggishly walked towards the Beast Fighting Arena. Under everyone's gaze, he got down and started crawling like a dog. Meanwhile, Lin Yuqi was pale with rage, as if she was about to spew flames from her eyes.

With her fiance crawling like a dog in public, how could she maintain her face?

Slap!

Ma Jicheng walked over and slapped her, leaving five distinct finger marks on Lin Yuqi's fair face. Without uttering a word, he turned and left.

In his eyes, this was all caused by Lin Yuqi!

In fact, there was some truth to it. If she hadn't wanted Flying Fire, how would Ma Long have ended up dueling with Chu Hao? Without the duel, the subsequent events wouldn't have been possible.

Lin Yuqi held her face with one hand, her eyes filled with bitterness and her body trembling, evoking sympathy.

"Ha ha, interesting! Very interesting!" Chi Dao laughed boisterously, patting his hands. He no longer paid attention to Ma Long, as if he had lost interest.

"Junior Brother Chi, my thanks!" Chu Hao smiled.

"No need to thank me, I had no intention of helping you, I just found it amusing, that's all!" Chi Dao said ungraciously, then set his eyes on Flying Fire and said, "I've taken a liking to your Beast Pet, name a price!"

"I'm not planning on selling it!" Chu Hao shook his head.

"Chu Hao, are you refusing me?" Chi Dao said indifferently.

"I think you heard me right!" Chu Hao spoke calmly. He had already seen through Chi Dao's character—arrogant and domineering, someone who only does as he pleases without considering others' feelings.

"I don't like being refused!" Chi Dao revealed a cold smirk, "Since you're not willing to give it up, I'll have to take it by force!"

Daring to speak of robbery in broad daylight in Eastern Cloud City, Chi Dao was probably the first!

But the problem was, he was holding the City Lord's Order. Would the laws set by the City Lord's Mansion apply to him? He seemed like one holding a Treasured Sword above, acting on a whim, causing destruction without pondering the consequences.

"Chi Dao!" Tang Xin placed her hands across her chest and blocked Chu Hao, thinking like everyone else that Chu Hao hadn't even reached the First Tier Lesser Mahayana realm and couldn't possibly stand a chance against Chi Dao.

"What, you want to stop me?" Chi Dao showed a disdainful look, "Who here can stop me?"

"This can!" Tang Xin said gravely as she produced a token.

The Blood Wolf Order!

"Eh?" Chi Dao was slightly surprised and frowned, "I really didn't expect you to have the Blood Wolf Order! Well, out of respect for the Ling Family, I'll give you face today! However, I'm set on having this beast!"

This guy recognized the Blood Wolf Order, which meant he had to be a big deal, otherwise even the former Nine Great Nobles wouldn't have known about the Blood Wolf Order!

He looked back at Chu Hao and said, "I heard your family has a place called Fortune Full Building, and the business seems pretty good."

"What about it?" Chu Hao replied coolly.

"Heh, I'm in the mood to play a game with you," Chi Dao pointed with his finger, "Starting tomorrow, Fortune Full Building can close its doors for business! Whenever you're ready, bring the beast to me."

Chu Hao's expression shifted slightly as he immediately thought that Chi Dao, with the City Lord's Order in hand, could certainly cause trouble for Fortune Full Building! But to submit to this demand? That was out of the question!

He knew how to adapt, but he had a proud and unyielding spirit, and Chi Dao's way of forcing his hand would only incite fiercer resistance.

"Chi Dao, don't you think you're being excessive?" Tang Xin interjected.

"Excessive? In what way?" Chi Dao shrugged nonchalantly, "Having made me wait for so many days, shouldn't you pay a price? Tang Xin, if you were a member of the Ling Family, I would owe you a favor! But with just the Blood Wolf Order..." he continued, "I've given you face today, and you should be honored by that!"

To jeopardize someone's livelihood over a Beast Pet, and to do so with such entitlement and arrogant tyranny!

What is he relying on?

The City Lord's Order!

The Nine Great Nobles are indeed mighty, but no matter how mighty, can they compare with the City Lord's Mansion? In Eastern Cloud City, there is only one who can dominate the life and death of everyone! That is the City Lord's Mansion!

Chu Hao held out his hand to intercept Tang Xin's words; this matter was not related to her! He smiled faintly and said, "Then let's wait and see!"

"Hahaha, I hope you can keep up this tough talk, it'll be more fun for me!" Chi Dao laughed heartily, pointing at Flying Fire and said, "My Beast Pet will be staying with you for the time being, so you better take good care of it!"

After finishing his taunt, he strutted away; despite being only a 15-year-old teenager, he had already taken arrogance and tyranny to the extreme.

Meanwhile, Ma Long also scurried off after a full round.

Since there was no more drama to watch, the crowd dispersed and left, but the day's events were destined to become a hot topic of conversation.

The expressions of Xu Sheng and his two friends became hesitant again.

They were friendly with Chu Hao because they saw how much Li Li valued him. But now another figure, Chi Dao, had emerged, someone who could carry the City Lord's Order on his person!

Comparing the two, it was easy to see that Chi Dao must have even stronger support from Li Li!

It would have been fine, but now the problem was that Chu Hao and Chi Dao had clearly become sworn enemies. Being friends with Chu Hao would mean making an enemy of Chi Dao.

This needed careful consideration!

"I just remembered, I have some matters at home, I need to leave first!" Zhang Jian suddenly said.

"Ah, me too!"

"I also have things to deal with!"

Xu Sheng and Pan He also chimed in, and without waiting for Chu Hao to respond, they left together, even leaving Tang Xin behind.

Tang Xin couldn't help but shake her head. The wills of these three were hardly firm; so easily swayed, they were definitely not the right choice for friends!

"Chu Hao, this is a bit troublesome now!" Tang Xin said.

Chu Hao nodded his head. Chi Dao was someone who didn't follow the rules and acted unpredictably and on a whim, coming from an influential background, making him a troublesome enemy indeed!

"Should we go and ask Madam Yun to mediate a bit?" Tang Xin suggested. Since Chi Dao could recognize the Blood Wolf Order and gave Tang Xin some face, it showed that Madam Yun's influence was somewhat effective.

Chu Hao shook his head and said, "No need!"

If Madam Yun's influence were sufficient, Li Li certainly would not be indulging Chi Dao in his reckless behavior. With Chu Hao's current strength, confronting Chi Dao would not be difficult! On the other hand, if Madam Yun's influence was not enough, then her mediation would be futile.

They both went back to their respective homes. With the unexpected acquisition of nine thousand taels of silver, Chu Hao was naturally in high spirits. Of course, his mood would've been even better if it weren't for the matter with Chi Dao.

Upon returning home, Chu Hao immediately started absorbing energy from the Cloud Mist Stone, his craving for more strength growing ever fiercer.

As if sensing Chu Hao's desires, Flying Fire also absorbed the Cloud Mist Stone for longer than usual, as if trying to increase its power quickly to share Chu Hao's burdens and troubles, displaying much intelligence.

...

After the incident in the Beast Fighting Arena, Chi Dao's reputation naturally skyrocketed, not only because he was now effectively the top expert of the Earthly Institute's Eastern Sect, but also because he had a City Lord's Order in his possession!

A day had passed since the event, and the City Lord's Mansion had no reaction, which proved that the City Lord's Order Chi Dao had was definitely authentic; otherwise, he would have been taken by the City Lord's Mansion for questioning and execution long ago!

The boys were exceedingly courteous towards Chi Dao, while the girls frequently threw him flirtatious glances. He must be the most eligible bachelor in Eastern Cloud City at the moment—although his surname was Chi, who's to say he wasn't Li Li's nephew, or even... his illegitimate son!

On the other hand, Chu Hao, who was antagonistic towards Chi Dao, became the object of everyone's indifference. No one wanted to associate with him for fear of being treated the same by Chi Dao. Besides, aside from recovering from his 'foolish illness,' what else about Chu Hao was worth making friends with him for?

Chu Hao didn't care; after all, he had been treated as an idiot for so many years and had never had a single friend, so he was used to this kind of life. However, Tang Xin did not disappoint him and showed no intention of leaving him or drawing a line between them.

This friend was worth cherishing!

It was Flying Fire that caused Chu Hao some worry; the creature had not clung to him as usual that morning and had been sound asleep instead. If not for the fact that the little guy's vital signs were all normal, he would have suspected that something was wrong with Little Leopard.

After the day ended and Chu Hao had just returned home, he saw Uncle Yu pacing anxiously in the courtyard, his brows so furrowed they seemed to knot.

"Young Master!" Upon seeing Chu Hao, Uncle Yu looked as if he had found his pillar of strength and immediately jogged over, saying, "There's trouble at Fortune Full Building!"

Chu Hao was not surprised but simply asked, "What happened?"

"The City Lord's Mansion dispatched officers to seal Fortune Full Building! They say they suspect our restaurant has been secretly selling ferocious beast meat and demand a business suspension for investigation!" Uncle Yu stated.

Such a familiar statement!

Chu Hao thought that back on Earth, he would often hear such phrases, but he didn't expect to encounter them in this world where martial force reigned supreme. But then he thought about it again; the only difference between the two worlds was that one took the path of technology while the other pursued martial arts. As for human nature?

People are the same everywhere!