What to Do?

Pucheng. Beneath a blazing sun, emerald waves surged. Within Pucheng's maritime waters, signs of life surfaced unexpectedly upon an island that appeared long deserted. Ancient structures had been restored; colossal architectural frameworks stood refurbished anew. An edifice as magnificent and imposing as an Imperial Senate once more radiated fresh vigor. Even so, everyone knew full well that this pristine veneer would not last long. In scarcely half an hour, it would likely be reduced to rubble... This was an arena, pure and simple! A dueling arena built specifically for the Chosen. Years ago, during the early days when former alliance leader Aquilino founded the coalition, endless strife and discord had festered among the Seven Cities. Neither shared interests nor aligned stances could ever truly heal their generational blood feuds. Thus, the Blood Feud Trial was born. Decades ago, blood had frequently been shed here, settling commercial disputes, ancestral grievances, and mutual hatred. After conflict upon conflict, the power structure gradually crystallized. As Aquilino's authority grew increasingly absolute, the arena was rarely put to use. Now, with Aquilino's demise, the arena returned to the table as an option, and this long-forgotten complex once again saw the light of day. Even if it was only the final flare of a dying ember. When Chosen beneath the Regeneration tier clashed, the collateral damage could still be contained. But once the Exaltation tier tore off their masks and their fury ignited, completely leveling the entire arena would be effortless. No amount of advance preparation could prevent it. Everyone who set foot here knew that after today, this place would be left in utter ruin. By now, both sea and airspace had been thoroughly cleared. Within a radius of tens of li, not a single uninvolved party remained. Only the representatives of the Seven Cities and their respective retinues were present. Upon the newly renovated spectator stands, the Chopra and Sukarno families finally met face-to-face once again following the old leader's death. The people were no longer the same, nor were the circumstances. Stripped of all pretenses and performative masks, the two families who had once managed to share a room were now locked in an irreconcilable, fight-to-the-death feud! Yet, their faces still wore polite smiles. "Patriarch Saino, it has been a long time." A sunny, bright smile graced Minkler's face before he let out an emotional sigh. "Once, Chopra and Sukarno were the pillars of the Seven Cities. Who would have thought the Sukarnos would stray so far down the wrong path? Have you decided how you will explain yourself to your ancestors?" "The feeling is mutual!" Saino gave a frigid sneer. "I would love to know how Patriarch Minkler plans to face his predecessors after death, now that the Chopra family's foundation lies in ruins." "No need to wait for death. I see them every single day." Minkler let out a sharp whistle. Instantly, translucent House Gods crawled out from the floor, their ferocious visages tilting up to glare at Saino. "Here. If you have something to say, feel free to speak directly to them," Minkler said with a warm, inviting gesture. "Would you like me to summon Bustamante so you two can catch up? My late father has talked about you quite a bit down there, Old Mister Saino." *Minkler, you little bastard...* Saino's face twitched violently, his curses barely choked back. Cursing would do no good anyway. The Chopra family was an underworld clan in the truest sense; they literally threw their ancestors into the fire. They didn't even need dreams sent from the netherworld, turning their dead patriarchs directly into disposable tools. Even with how sinister the Sukarnos were, they found these freaks utterly sickening. Recalling the directives from the main branch, Saino held his tongue. He cast a deep, lingering look at the House Gods beside Minkler and said nothing. Finally, his gaze shifted behind Minkler. Cropped pants, flip-flops, a loud floral T-shirt, sunglasses, and a sun hat—Ji Jue looked like a tourist who might whip out his phone at any second to snap a souvenir photo. His visual style was entirely out of place! *What the hell are you even here for?!* Minkler began, "Well, allow me to introduce—" "No need." Saino snorted coldly, eyeing Ji Jue. "The Lord of Xinquan, reaching his hand across thousands of miles into the Seven Cities. Your name precedes you." "Is that so?" Ji Jue's smile turned even sunnier as he replied, "You should have experienced much more of it firsthand by now." "Oh?" Saino responded coldly, casually digging a pit. "I have no recollection of that. Would you care to refresh my memory?" "You forgot already?" Under the scrutiny of everyone present, Ji Jue's smile never wavered. "Luo Island was a major client of our Coast. How could you suddenly turn around and pretend not to know us? Did our little tricycles not work well enough? How about I send over a few more farm tools next time?" "Save it!" Saino laughed, whether out of grudging admiration or sheer outrage. Blatant, bold-faced lying truly was the Federation's specialty! Did that bastard really think anyone believed he had sent little tricycles?! Naturally, representatives from the other families attended as well. Some were patriarchs in person, others were designated heirs, each flanked by attendants and bodyguards. The scene appeared extraordinarily bustling, almost resembling some major sporting event. Sarcasm and sharp tongues were par for the course. Yet before the various factions could plunge the assembly into chaos, Fernan cut them short. "Enough idle talk." The acting speaker wore his usual half-dead expression. His eyes were bloodshot from apparent lack of sleep, yet his irises grew increasingly dark and imposing. Without a shred of courtesy, he tossed all meaningless pleasantries aside. His commanding, imperious demeanor almost gave the impression that Aquilino had risen from the grave and restored him as the chancellor of the Seven Cities. However, no matter how abrasive he was or how little regard he showed the others, no one cared anymore. A man on the brink of death both politically and physically—what difference did it make how loudly he barked? No one else would even need to lift a finger. In a few days, once Aquilino's descendants selected a new patriarch, Pucheng itself would likely be the first to cast him out. "Things having come to this, I should not ask further." Fernan looked toward Minkler and Saino. "Both houses are the backbone of the Seven Cities. Colliding like this is reckless. Is there truly no room for compromise?" Minkler shook his head resolutely. "The blood feud of a murdered father can never be reconciled!" Saino was just as uncompromising. "Insulting our family's honor and murdering my brother—the Sukarno family will never tolerate such disgrace and humiliation!" The onlookers glanced at Fernan with knowing, mocking smirks. Mediation? Was mediation ever going to work? Who was truly wasting time here? "..." Fernan remained standing straight, his gaze sweeping over both men's faces with weary disappointment. "In that case, on behalf of the Seven Cities, I shall bear witness. Let victory and defeat settle the matter of right and wrong." At opposite ends of the massive conference table, both sides signed the documents. Not only the two family heads, but also the combatants who would champion their respective blood feuds in the dueling trial. "Is the Chopra family ready?" Fernan asked. Minkler smiled faintly and stepped aside after signing. Lou Yanyue, who had been strolling at the very back and looking around, casually ripped off her hat, sunglasses, and mask. She strutted forward, grabbed the pen, and boldly scrawled her name. Zero disguise. She wasn't even going to pretend anymore. Seeing someone from the Lou family appear openly at an event like this without the slightest concealment brought tears to the eyes of quite a few onlookers. After resisting for so long, the Federation's colossal hand had reached into their bed after all... Meanwhile, on the other side, heavy footsteps echoed. A burly man emerged from behind Saino. His countenance was cold and grim, his beard stubbly, and his short hair bristled like steel needles. What drew even more attention was the metallic glint visible beneath his cloak. He was clad head-to-toe in heavy armor. With just a brief glance, Ji Jue could tell that the armor itself was a rare Blessed artifact, and one featuring a chained Blessing! Even more important was the aura rolling off him. Desolate Ruins! An Exaltation of the Desolate Ruins! In terms of sheer sharpness and stability, he surpassed even Yue Chen, whom Ji Jue had encountered back during the rally! Just as everyone was marveling at the Lou family's heavy investment, the sight of their opponent prompted stunned murmurs from the Seven Cities' ranks: "Kozobel? You're still alive?!" Kozobel glanced sideways at the speaker, let out a cold scoff, and said nothing. "What's his deal?" Ji Jue asked out of curiosity. "The Blood Rock of Bancheng—Orban Kozobel," Minkler whispered an explanation. "An island lord from the southern reaches of the Endless Sea. In reality, he worked as a pirate. At the height of his power, merchant fleets from the Seven Cities had to purchase his ensign just to guarantee safe passage. "They say even the Imperials couldn't bring him down. Later, his extortion grew so ruthless that his own men couldn't stomach it. Rumor had it he was butchered by his own younger brother..." "Oh, I seem to remember now." Realization dawned on Ji Jue. He finally recalled the name. The reason it rang a bell was that this fellow had been on the Federation's most-wanted bounty list... and had once ranked rather high! As everyone knew, bounty boards were sometimes useful, and sometimes utterly pointless. The Endless Sea was so vast, with countless hidden corners; after pulling off a big score, one could simply hide out in some remote backwater for a couple of years to ride out the heat. Hunting someone down there was harder than ascending to heaven. As a result, people sometimes treated the bounty board like a leaderboard. For instance, the current number one on the rankings... *cough cough*, that Lu Changsheng. And the veteran champion of the past few decades who had only recently been dethroned, Nirvana. *Wait, aren't both of those me?!* At that thought, Ji Jue broke into a grin. Looking at Kozobel, he could only shake his head with an amused sigh. Where did this nobody come from? A scrub who couldn't even break into the top hundred. *Having laid eyes upon rank one, why do you not bow?* Of course, ranking was ranking, and capability was capability; the two could not simply be conflated. Ji Jue was well aware of how inflated Lu Changsheng's reputation was. When it came to actual atrocities committed, he probably couldn't match the man's pinky finger. Besides, anyone who could offend both the Federation and the Empire, live comfortably, and still dare to show his face in broad daylight had to possess some genuine skill. This was a veteran Exaltation forged through blades and gunfire, outstripping a green novice like Lou Yanyue by leaps and bounds in terms of experience, skill, and perhaps even raw tier. Unfortunately, no matter how fierce Kozobel's aura was or how savagely brutal the resonance of the Desolate Ruins flared, Lou Yanyue did not bat an eye. She looked right through him. Pressure? Not in the slightest! *What league are you in, daring to share the same tier as me?* Between wild Chosen and inherited family legacies lay a wall virtually impossible to breach. It was like the gulf between a wild White Stag and the An family—incomparable by ordinary measures. In places like the Federation and the Empire where Celestial-Humans gathered in droves, which established family lacked vicious trump cards? Which family wielding real power lacked deep foundations? The Tong family was used to keeping a low profile, never flaunting themselves. When the Aether lineage fought, there were no flashy lights or sounds—they lived by the rule: *The cicada senses before the autumn wind stirs; impermanence is delivered in secret without the dying knowing.* Once you crossed them, you died without ever knowing how. The Lou family was an entirely different story. Theirs was a fierce, blood-soaked reputation, their status earned generation after generation through sheer, relentless violence—Haizhou's MVP, their battle record open to scrutiny! Wealth, esoteric rites, ancestral heritage, skills honed day and night across lifetimes of relentless refinement, reinforced across generations through realms and chronowedges—these alone were enough to leave wild cultivators hundreds of thousands of li behind right from the starting line. Even an offshoot like Lou Feng started with an elite template; clobbering a blank-slate cultivator of the same tier was effortless, and punching above his weight within the same broad realm was as routine as eating and drinking. As for a wild Chosen like Ji Jue, who sported several boss stat-blocks on his own, he was a monstrous anomaly that defied theory. On top of that, he was an artisan draped in artifacts and equipment; once he fought in earnest, not even an ordinary Exaltation could suppress him. A "veteran Exaltation" meant Kozobel was experienced, but to Lou Yanyue, he was no different from an old has-been. *You were an Exaltation decades ago, and decades later, you're still an Exaltation?* *Failing to become a Celestial-Human after all this time just shows that's as far as you'll ever go in this life!* If Lou Yanyue even looked at him with both eyes, it would already count as treating him like a formidable threat. In fact, she didn't care about Kozobel in the slightest. Through psychic communication, she asked Ji Jue, "Are you sure those bastards from the Xu family will actually show up?" "Nine times out of ten," Ji Jue answered decisively. "Besides, even if they don't, having a fight to stretch our legs isn't a loss, right?" "Heh, you brat..." Lou Yanyue grinned, letting out a world-weary sigh as her ponytail practically bounced into the sky. At this moment, neither inside nor outside the arena could any other presence be seen, nor was there any anomalous aetheric signature. There was simply no evidence of the Xu family. Yet precisely because of that, their presence was all the more conspicuous! It was like spotting a single clean patch in a pool of murky water—what else could be occupying that space? It couldn't possibly be caution or mere observation; they had coiled themselves so tightly precisely because they had already swallowed the bait! And it was unquestionably the Xu family! People only endured such hassle, hardship, and tireless effort when they were up to no good. Otherwise, if some other Federation family were meddling, why wouldn't they step forward openly to back Sukarno? They could have pointed right at Lou Yanyue's nose and chewed her out for breaking the rules and overstepping boundaries. Even if the insults were foul, the Lou family would have had no retort! From this, Ji Jue could deduce that they had likely discovered the Lord of the Flies. More precisely, through the anomalies on Luo Island, they had deduced the true form and potential of the Lord of the Flies—the existence of countless Spirits of Creation... Back when the Sundials went on sale, the other party had probably caught wind of it. Now, having witnessed the horrifying cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the Lord of the Flies, they were bound to bolt upright and take action. A spiritual swarm that could be mass-produced infinitely, requiring no human bodies, consuming no souls, and able to interface directly with machinery. A behemoth capable of turning mundane objects into ensouled craftsmanship with virtually limitless potential! Anyone would be terrified by such a prospect! This was already encroaching on the core lifeline and pillar of the Xu family's industry... *Damn, since when was the Lou family this wicked?!* Such a massive project, with such horrifying investment and astonishing output—if the Lou family hadn't created it, could it possibly be Ji Jue? No matter how highly they thought of Ji Jue, they would never consider something so preposterous. And Lou Feng, whom Ji Jue had used as a nuclear-powered donkey to run around publicly endorsing the Lord of the Flies from start to finish, naturally appeared to be the true master behind it! If the Xu family didn't seize this chance to deal the Lou family a vicious blow, they might as well lie flat and wait for the Lou family to stack all their passives before knocking on their door to slaughter them. The enemy's vital core and their own greatest peril lay right beneath their noses, on their own turf. Backing down now would be sheer madness. What was there to do? Only kill! This was the royal solution applicable to every problem ever born between men! At that moment, once Fernan finished reciting the tedious regulations that nobody cared about, both champions of the Blood Feud Trial finally stepped onto the field! Yet no one's attention lingered on the two combatants. Instead, eyes turned toward the stands. To the distinctly divided seating arrangements... Through days of negotiations, coalitions, and counter-alliances, the representatives of the Seven Cities had flanked Fernan—the proxy of Pucheng and the Seven Cities Alliance—and clearly delivered their answers. Pucheng maintained its neutrality, having relinquished the leadership role and refusing to take either side. Seated beside the Chopra family were Macheng and Xi Island. Seated beside the Sukarno family were Dancheng and Yamen. In the center, Fernan remained expressionless, appearing to watch the arena yet seemingly watching nothing at all, his gaze lost in the void, his mind drifting elsewhere. Words were pointless now; the seating arrangement spoke for itself. Even if this was merely a declaration of stance that might differ in practical execution, and even if alliances did not guarantee unbreakable ties... how far was the once-solid Seven Cities truly from total fracture? *BOOM!!!* The entire arena jolted violently. The moment the war horn sounded, neither combatant wasted a single breath on pleasantries. Both chose to strike with everything they had! Kozobel, once revered as the Blood Rock of Bancheng, paid no heed to age or status. His already burly frame swelled as though detonating. As his Regeneration form manifested, it was like a mountain rising from the earth. Boundless iron and stone coalesced into a two-headed giant over five meters tall. Outside the arena, the ocean tide shuddered violently, unleashing a thunderous roar. It was as if an earthquake had erupted from the deepest ocean trench. Within the arena, everyone felt their bodies sway slightly, unintentionally drawn forward a few paces as if caught in a gravitational pull. Molten fire erupted from the giant's hands. A massive warhammer, riddled with fissures and dripping with magma, materialized out of thin air! It, too, was a Blessed artifact! Like collapsing leylines and Mount Tai crashing down, imbued with the full explosive might of the Desolate Ruins, the giant tore through the air. Gone was any sluggishness commonly associated with the Desolate Ruins; his speed was so immense that ordinary White Stags would struggle to match it. The giant hammer hurtled downward toward Lou Yanyue's skull! Even before the blow landed, the power unleashed from the leylines and the crystalline formations surging from the ground formed a stasis zone of the Desolate Ruins, sealing Lou Yanyue within. Like an insect trapped in amber. And along with the amber, the insect would be pulverized into dust! Lou Yanyue only had time to blink. And then... Amidst that molecular-level freeze, she yawned. Completely disregarding the bindings of the stasis zone, she raised her arm with consummate ease. Toward the descending warhammer, she extended a single finger. Moments before, Ji Jue had already slipped his sunglasses back on in the stands. Immediately after, a terrifying radiance surpassing the midday sun erupted from the tip of Lou Yanyue's finger!