Chapter 98: At All Costs

Zhang Lie sighed in regret. The Eclipse Sage had been one of the brightest stars among the first wave of humanity's hunters. Except for [Eclipse], he had also left seven pinnacle-grade techniques and two mythic-grade techniques in his mental world, the last pieces of the Eclipse Sage's inheritance.

Despite being a sage, the Eclipse Sage was actually quite poor in terms of material resources, leaving behind not a single decent piece of equipment.

However, Zhang Lie was grateful and exuberant for what he had received: after all, from start to finish, he had only ever eyed [Eclipse].

And now that he had gotten what he was here for, it was naturally time to leave.

By that time, the clocktower that Fang Yi and the others were guarding had become the center of attention. The five clans of the capital, the six from Qing, four from Liao, and the government officials, over two hundred hunters in all, had gathered beneath the clocktower. They were all staring at Chu Feng, Yun Bing, and the other members of those two delegations.

By this point, they had scoured every other piece of these ruins, finding nothing but a few extremely low-quality weapons. As such, they focused their attention on Chu Feng and Yun Bing, whose hunters had been the first to arrive at the scene, and whose behavior had been the most suspicious.

Since the beginning, none of the hunters gathered by the clocktower had stepped away from it; and not only that, they had come up with all sorts of reasons to prevent the other clans from entering, or even approaching, it.

Wasn't that suspicious?

In the end, the hunters blocked Chu Feng, Yun Bing, and the members of Team Zenith by the entrance to the clocktower, trying to get an explanation as to their actions.

"Young Master Chu, Miss Yun, as hunters from major clans, surely you're aware of the rules and regulations surrounding discovered ruins? As a member of the ministry of ruins, by the authority vested in me by the federal government, I insist that you move aside. You have no reason or authority to bar me from searching the interior of the clocktower!

"These ruins appeared in Liao, and I, the head of the Liao division of the ministry of ruins, should have priority in searching through it! If you continue deterring my search, I'll have no choice but to detain you all for disruption of the public good!" Zhang Quan threatened.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Your speech isn't bad, and neither is the aura you're projecting, but please keep one thing in mind: neither Yun Bing nor I will cower in the face of a threat. Are you sure you want to play this card against us?" Chu Feng asked, his gaze piercing, perfectly assuming the role of a spoiled, arrogant young master of a major clan.

The hunters arrayed outside the clocktower were buzzing in impatience.

Zhou Hong, from the Zhou clan, was the first to speak up. "Chu Feng, stop pretending to be a fool. Move aside! It's not just the ministry of ruins who wants to enter the clocktower. I believe I speak for everyone here when I say that we all want to enter, and we all must be allowed to enter! What exactly are you trying to protect? You'd better tell us the truth, or neither the Yun nor Chu clans will be bringing anything out of these ruins!"

Once he finished, He Feng immediately added, "Yes, Young Master Zhou's right. The He clan will fully support his declaration: if your two clans don't explain the situation, the He clan won't allow you to leave!"

.

Qian Hong, from the Qian clan, also stepped forward. "Think matters over, Young Master Chu. After all, we're all major players in the capital. Is there really a need to sour relationships between us?

"We three clans, along with the officials from the ministry of ruins, as well as the many clans from Qing and Liao, are all gathered here to inspect the clocktower behind you. Won't you show us this courtesy?"

The other clans murmured their agreement, not daring to threaten the Yun and Chu clans outright, but making their stance clear.

It was apparent that, if the Yun and Chu clans didn't give in, what awaited them would be resistance and retaliation from the gathered crowd. Even the elders from the two clans were staring at Chu Bing and Yun Feng, trying to get them to change their mind.

However, despite the mounting pressure, neither Yun Bing nor Chu Feng gave in.

"Qian Hong, what do you mean? Just as you ask that we show the three clans of the capital some respect, so too do we ask that you show us the same courtesy. If you insist on using force, then I shall have no choice but to do the same. If nothing else, I can guarantee that we shall all suffer the same fate."

Yun Bing raised a palm, displaying the glowing black orb clenched within for one and all to see.

Everyone present sucked in a breath.

"An orb of primality!" Zhou Hong and the others shouted.

An orb of primality was a mythic-grade weapon that could rarely be found in ruins, with devastating power that would strike directly at a hunter's genes.

Once it was activated, the genes of all living creatures nearby would undergo sudden atavism, reversing the effects of billions of years' worth of evolution and turning all hunters present to paramecia, to amoebae, to basal prokaryotic and eukaryotic lifeforms.

"Miss Yun, please be calm! You can't trigger that orb!"

Every hunter present recoiled in ancestral fear. It would truly be a fate worse than death, and no treasure from the dimensional world would save them at that point.

"You have nothing to worry: I fear death as much as the rest of you. As long as you refrain from threatening me, I have no intention of detonating this orb. To be quite frank, the top of the clocktower is the entrance to the Eclipse Sage's treasury, but one of my hunters is already inside.

"Regardless of his success, I will not allow any other hunter to enter before he comes out. As for what happens afterward, and in which order you all intend to enter, I leave to your discretion. If you believe me, I recommend that you sit down and wait. If you don't, I will be happy to entertain any challengers."

The crowd of hunters went silent. No one had expected that Yun Bing would be so adamant, nor that she had made such a calculated plan.

Of course, the members of Team Zenith were touched by her gesture. They didn't expect that, even under such circumstances, Chu Feng and Yun Bing would protect their captain with so much drive.

It completely changed the way Fang Yi viewed the scions of the major clans— there were actually those whose eyes weren't blinded by profit for themselves!

The members of Team Zenith felt as though they too had to step forward and do something, but at that precise moment, as Li Feng rang the bell of the clocktower once more and waves of sound reverberated through the castle, the figure of another man appeared by the bell.