After Chen Bugu left the Unyielding Hall, he walked directly towards the south of the city.
The news of him killing Alek with a single arrow must have spread throughout the town by now.
Under these circumstances, Liu Chengfeng invited Master Fran of the Dwarf.
If Miss Jiang had come empty-handed, it would have been fine, but she brought something, which must have been the Town Lord's intention.
At this juncture, Miss Jiang, representing the Town Lord's Mansion, and Master Fran, representing the Dwarf, arrived at the Unyielding Hall simultaneously.
From Elder Zhou's hints, Chen Bugu could roughly guess the conversations that would take place at the upcoming dinner.
This was also why he sought an excuse to leave.
When Chen Bugu became a Nine Star and publicly called Liu Chengfeng "Hall Leader," things were destined to develop in this direction.
He did not stay for that dinner because he understood that he could not remain in Obsidian Town indefinitely.
Bai Ting and the others had left, and he had already reached the Black Iron Nine-Star bottleneck; next, he would certainly head towards High Heaven City.
Since that was the case, by avoiding that situation, even if he was truly discussed, as long as he wasn't present, no matter how Elder Zhou praised him to the heavens, it would still be a Schrödinger's promise.
On the other hand, even if things went south, his absence would save him from awkwardness.
According to the information revealed by Elder Zhou, the upcoming actions of the Unyielding Hall would completely change the landscape of Obsidian Town, something he had not experienced in his previous life.
His "butterfly" had flapped its wings, ultimately causing a storm.
Many things in this life were developing in new directions.
But Chen Bugu believed that this was a positive change, both for the Unyielding Hall and for him.
Therefore, before leaving, he did not mention Miss Jiang or Master Fran; instead, he specifically said that the Town Lord's Mansion and the Dwarf had been gracious to him.
He believed Elder Zhou understood the meaning of this statement.
As Chen Bugu pondered, he had already left Obsidian Town through the South City Wall gate.
At the same time, Liu Chengfeng, accompanied by Miss Jiang and Master Fran, took their seats in the side hall.
A round table was set in the center of the side hall, and Elder Zhou was serving several dishes.
"Stir-fried boar meat, orange taro shreds, fruit-infused sour brew, steamed knife-tail fish... It seems we're in for a treat today," Miss Jiang said, looking at the dishes before her, and sat down gracefully.
Master Fran also sat down without waiting for an invitation.
As Liu Chengfeng, Hong Ziyu, and Elder Zhou successively took their seats, this simple meal began.
As soon as the food was picked up, Miss Jiang spoke first.
"Hall Leader Liu, I heard some rumors on my way here, and I'm not sure if I should speak of them."
"Miss Jiang, please speak freely."
As soon as Liu Chengfeng finished speaking, even Hong Ziyu and Elder Zhou stopped their chopsticks, quietly waiting for Miss Jiang's next words.
Only Master Fran continued to eat the food with single-minded focus; he had to admit that human culinary skills were far superior to those of the Dwarf.
"I heard that the Unyielding Hall will begin its annexation of Cross Street tomorrow. Is this a rumor, or is it true?" Miss Jiang asked nonchalantly, chewing her food.
"It is true," Liu Chengfeng said concisely.
"Hall Leader Liu, look at this knife-tail fish meat; although its texture is firm and delicious, and it's incredibly tasty, it's very filling. Eating too quickly will inevitably make you feel bloated; it's better to chew slowly."
Miss Jiang picked up a piece of fish, brought it to her mouth, took a small bite, and then put it back in her bowl.
"Miss Jiang, as you can see, both Chen Bugu and I are young; young people always have better appetites, so eating a bit more is no problem," Liu Chengfeng also picked up a piece of knife-tail fish, threw it directly into his mouth, and began to chew heartily.
"Is that so? But I've always heard that Hall Leader Liu is not a gluttonous person. What made you undergo such a change?"
"Miss Jiang probably misunderstood; I've always been a glutton, but before, I wished for everyone to be full, so I was unwilling to contend with others. Unexpectedly, I indulged scoundrels who casually dipped their knives and forks into others' bowls, making the full lose their appetite and leaving the poor and weak emaciated."
"Since that's the case, I might as well be a bit more greedy, otherwise, someday in the future, we might become the knife-tail fish on someone else's cutting board, don't you think?"
Miss Jiang was silent for a moment, then sighed, and continued to speak.
"Hall Leader Liu, the various clans will not allow the Unyielding Hall to dominate. You should understand that the 'various clans' I speak of are not the various clans within Obsidian Town."
How could Liu Chengfeng not understand Miss Jiang's meaning?
He did not know when the various clans arrived in the Zero Realm, but it was clear that their time of development in the Zero Realm far surpassed that of the human race.
According to the intelligence the Unyielding Hall could acquire, the earliest known humans to enter the Zero Realm were only within the last fifty years, and that person had long since died in the mouth of a Magic Lizard.
But in contrast, apart from the Storm Clan, the other races seem to have been rooted in the Zero Realm for a hundred years, or even longer.
Naga, Magic Lizard, Dwarf, Elf, and other major races are widely distributed throughout the Zero Realm.
Obsidian Town belongs to the Central Land region, and the nearest large city is High Heaven City.
No one would believe that the various clans in the town do not have superior forces in High Heaven City.
When Liu Chengfeng established the Unyielding Hall's prestige, he once killed two minor clan chiefs.
After that, the Town Lord had sought him out one night, subtly conveying warnings from certain forces in High Heaven City.
Later, Liu Chengfeng made a special trip to High Heaven City.
But after he returned, this once arrogant Hall Leader changed.
He found an excuse to shrink the Unyielding Hall's scale, completely reining in his ambition.
Apart from Hong Ziyu and Elder Zhou, no one knew what he experienced in High Heaven City.
"Hall Leader Liu, I wonder if you are familiar with the history of the Storm Clan?"
Miss Jiang's topic shifted, and she continued.
"The main reason I joined the Town Lord's Mansion was that I heard the Storm Clan was the last race to emerge, and I thought many questions could be answered by them."
"Unfortunately, whenever I touched upon some truthful information, my Bewitchment would lose its effect, and I couldn't get anything out of them, but fortunately, I learned some past events of the Storm Clan, which is enough for our reference."
"Hall Leader Liu should have heard that during the Storm Clan's prosperous period, there was more than one Nine Star in Obsidian Town. They did think about ruling the entire town, but they failed, and it was a devastating defeat that severely depleted their strength."
"The long-term stable appearance of Obsidian Town is an agreement reached by the higher-ups of the various clans. They will not interfere in ordinary disputes, but if Obsidian Town becomes a dictatorship of the human race, then they will probably intervene forcibly. This is also the Town Lord's intention; the history of the Storm Clan being suppressed is not distant, and he does not want the human race to repeat the same mistakes."
