Chapter 15 Chi Family_2

However, no one bothered to lecture them!

It was already quite an achievement for them to be able to participate in this event.

Xu Mu originally wanted to ask Jia An how he had managed to bring these two people along, but there were too many people around and the two of them were standing on the edge, making it inconvenient to ask.

When most of the people had arrived, a middle-aged cultivator clad in a yellow robe walked in from the outside street.

With enough wealth to wear a vestment robe, this person should not appear in a slum regardless of their cultivation level or status.

"Has everyone arrived?"

"Everyone is here! Everyone is here!"

In the crowd, including Jia An, three people grinned and walked toward the middle-aged cultivator.

It was obvious that these three were the linkmen in their alley.

It seemed that Jia An may not have been the one to invite the Brothers of Li Family.

Faced with the three's obsequious faces, the cultivator in the yellow robe was too lazy to respond, simply saying "Let's get going!" before he turned and walked outside.

The trio didn't get upset; instead, they turned around and called for the familiar faces to follow.

Xu Mu, Ma Rui and others also followed out of the alley.

Upon exiting the alley, they realized that many people had already gathered on the street — the locals from around here.

The crowd formed behind the yellow-robed cultivator, heading in the direction of the marketplace.

Halfway there, three more groups merged into theirs, swelling their numbers to a substantial four or five hundred people.

For a small marketplace, it was a once-in-a-century occasion to see such a massive gathering of people.

Furthermore, Xu Mu noticed that not only did the crowd include low-ranking cultivators from the slums but also middle-ranking cultivators who lived in the marketplace. Especially noteworthy were the leaders, all of whom wore superior quality vestment robes and were clearly very powerful.

In the past, they were all beings he yearned for but was unable to reach.

Such a large number of experts leading so many people did not look as if they simply sought justice. Instead, it felt more like a coup.

Xu Mu had a vague feeling of foreboding.

Especially when he recognized one of the high-tier cultivators, the sense of foreboding grew stronger.

With so many people, if a conflict broke out later, it could potentially lead to considerable unrest. If he got caught in it, he might end up as cannon fodder.

But it seemed too late to back out now. He felt himself being swept away in the crowd. If he tried to walk back, he would be immediately faced with hostility.

Especially considering that there were so many high-tier cultivators in the group, he might be made a scapegoat.

What Xu Mu could do was to slow his pace as much as possible, so he could be at the back of the group and escape immediately in case of an accident.

"So many people are here! We might actually make it! Haha!"

Originally timid and fearful, Ma Rui became suddenly elevated and excited after mixing in with the main force.

As Xu Mu moved back, he was desperately pushing forward.

"What's going on?"

"What happened!"

The pedestrians on the street noticed their actions and stopped one after another to make way, whispering to each other.

Some audacious cultivators trailed behind, curious about their intentions.

As the crowd of people continued to gather, by the time they reached the Chi Family's residence, they had amassed a group of over a thousand people.

The small entrance was filled with people, bustling with activity.

The Chi Family evidently had already received the news, as several high-tier cultivators clad in vestment robes were guarding the entrance, waiting in stern array.

"What are you trying to do? Do you know where this is? Are you seeking death!!"

A man in a high-grade blue vestment robe and carrying a longsword blockaded the procession. His authority and demeanor undeterred by the size of the crowd. His identity was clearly no ordinary one.

An elderly cultivator in a grey robe with the highest cultivation in the crowd stepped forward.

"Family Head Chi, we don't want to cause trouble; we just came to plead for justice! You, the Chi Family, keep increasing the rents, we lower-level cultivators can't live our lives anymore! Do you really want to force us into a dead end?"

"Hmph!"

Head of the Chi Family coldly snorted and said, "The rental fees in the marketplace are determined jointly by all families. Do you single out our Chi Family because you think we are easy to bully?!"

As he spoke, an invisible aura spread from him, cold and sharp, as if a knife were pointed at the throats of everyone present.

"We don't know who set the rents, all we know is that our rent is collected by the Chi Family. Now we only have one question for the Head of the Chi Family - can the rent be reduced? Can you give us a way to survive?"

Another cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Late Stage stood up from the crowd, fearlessly speaking coldly.

"That's right, give us a way to survive!"

"Is the Chi Family determined to drive us to death?"

"I'm alone and have nothing to lose, if worse comes to worst, I'll fight you to the death!"

The crowd was incited and began to clamor loudly, with the public sentiment boiling over, ready to erupt into a massive confrontation at any moment.

The face of the Chi Family Head had turned extremely dark.

Even if you thought about it with your butt, you'd know that anyone capable of organizing such a large-scale revolt of cultivators undoubtedly had other Foundation Establishment Families pulling the strings behind the scene.

They knew that the Elder of the Chi family was injured in the battle with the Soul Forge and was unable to take action temporarily, so they deliberately played such a hand.

If he were to back down this time, the subsequent tests would be endless until they were driven to a dead end.

Although they all belonged to the same camp, there was never a sense of affection between them.

The crowd in front of him was nothing more than cannon fodder.

The current situation was also due to his underestimation of the shamelessness of the other families.

"You want to lower the rent, don't you? Good! I'll give you a chance! You, you, you!"

The Chi Family Head pointed to three cultivators, including the old one, who had the strongest power.

"As long as the three of you can take one strike from my sword, not only will our Chi Family reduce the rent, but we will also waive a year's rent for you! Dare or not?"

The Chi Family Head shouted out.

"This, this..."

Actually, the three of them didn't need that little rent money. It was only because the people behind them had promised various benefits that they were willing to stand out.

Otherwise, a group of lower-tier cultivators alone could not accomplish anything.

The Chi Family Head's words were like roasting them over a fire.

If they agreed, even if they won, they wouldn't gain much. A year's rent was nothing to them at this level.

But if they didn't agree, this team, which was hastily put together, would probably disband in an instant.

Without the advantage of superior numbers, they certainly dared not confront the Chi family.

After all, a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse!

"Since that's the case, the three of us will learn from the Chi Family Head's Unparalleled Sword Jue!"

The gray-robed elder was clever, directly making the duel a three-on-one fight, rather than a one-on-one fight.

In this way, they had at least a ninety percent chance of winning, even if the opponent was a Foundation Establishment Family.

The other two also had a glint in their eyes, and immediately clasped their hands together, saying: "Then, the three of us will learn from the Chi Family Head's great moves!"

The face of the Chi Family Head looked ugly, his eyes filled with killing intent, but he did not stop the three cunning guys.

As the duel was set, the crowd automatically dispersed, clearing out an open space.

Four people stood facing each other.

The gray-robed elder and the other two immediately released their defensive magic artifacts, and also applied several protective skills, instantly transforming themselves into turtle shells.

With such a defense, even a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage would have trouble breaking it in one go.

The crowd seemed to have already foreseen the Chi Family Head's embarrassing and angry looks after his defeat.

However, Xu Mu held a slightly different view.

Because he didn't think that someone who could sit in the position of family head would be a fool.

"Are you ready?" The Chi Family Head asked coldly.

"Please enlighten us, Chi Family Head!"

The three of them had a faint unease in their hearts. Although on the surface they had a great chance of winning, they just didn't feel right.

But now the arrow was on the string, they had to act, there was no room for them to back down.

So they could only comfort themselves, perhaps they were thinking too much.

After all, both parties were Qi Cultivation Late Stage cultivators, and it was three of them against one, even if the gap was big, they wouldn't fail to block a single strike.

"If that's the case! Then——"

"Die!"

The Chi Family Head's eyes suddenly burst out with a cold light, and the longsword on his back suddenly unsheathed in a hum, bursting out with an incomparably sharp Sword Qi.

The next moment, the longsword divided!

One into two, two into four, four into eight, in the blink of an eye there were ten thousand longswords.

"Ten Thousand Spirit Sword Jue! Go!"

Facing such an attack, the three men's faces changed drastically.

"Chi Family Head, we concede... Aahhhh!"

Their solid defenses were shattered in an instant under the onslaught of countless sword Qi, and their bodies were directly perforated, becoming like beehives.

When the Sword Qi dissipated, the ground was riddled with holes, which made the onlookers' scalps tingle.

"Now, does anyone else want to lower the rent?"