A Storm of Reckoning, a King's Wrath
The public trial of the Luo Family's direct descendants was merely the prelude.
A far larger purge has quietly begun, dragging thousands of members of the Luo Family's collateral branches, tens of thousands of members of vassal families, including scions of the Five Great Heroes families of the earth, registered martial artists of the Extreme Martial Arts Dojo and the Thunder Martial Arts Dojo, and tens of thousands of sycophantic lackeys and thugs, all into the virtual live-streamed trial.
The evidence was irrefutable, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, there was no room for denial.
The severity of the punishments was terrifying.
The lightest sentence was a century in prison, while those guilty of serious crimes were executed on the spot the moment the gavel fell.
"Terrifying—" someone whispered tremulously in a private channel.
The cleanup sent a chill down the spines of all the onlookers. Even the usually honest and unassuming Liu Hui was deathly pale; the others around him were in no better shape, their breathing unconsciously becoming softer.
Even Luo Kedi, a key figure in the Luo Family's management, was still shaken.
Many of his descendants hold important positions, and several of them are now on the list of those to be tried. What alarms him even more is that he himself is not entirely clean. After all, they are all related by blood, and he sees it as nothing more than common sense for subordinates to casually make a suggestion when hiring.
Isn't it common sense that those insignificant, cushy positions are better given to family members than outsiders?
As for the Luo Family's rule of "strictly prohibiting private exchange of gifts," he had always considered it merely a formality. No one expected that Luo Feng would be so impartial and ruthless this time, showing no mercy whatsoever.
When a king is enraged, millions will die!
Behave yourself!
Tang Ping watched the whole commotion from the crowd, patted his friend Liu Hui on the shoulder and whispered a few words of comfort, then turned and left the virtual trial arena.
The bloody scene disturbed him, and he urgently needed to find a place to calm down.
Only the broad, warm embrace of young women, carrying a faint fragrance, could soothe his agitated heart; only the gentle warmth of the tide could extinguish the fire in his heart that had quietly risen because of this reckoning.
The outside world is truly terrifying.
After a full month of rest, Tang Ping returned to the virtual game "God Domain" to hone his willpower.
Only a stronger will could support him in successfully fusing with the Xueluo Crystal and further enhancing his Gene Multiplier. Although his Immortal Level willpower was already top-tier among World Lord-level martial artists, there was still a considerable gap compared to a monster like Hong.
In the heart of the desert, above the Lost City, Tang Ping's figure materialized the moment his Personal Terminal was flooded with a deluge of information.
[System Notification: The Original God Domain Guild has been permanently disbanded. The assets of each guild's locations are to be disposed of by the responsible individuals.]
As the nominal lord of the Lost City, the dissolution of his guild meant that the city had become a no-man's land, a tempting target for various forces.
Immediately following, recruitment messages from various guilds poured in, promising high-ranking positions, generous salaries, and rare resources; his old comrades from his original guilds also sent messages inviting him to join the newly formed guilds; and many arrogant messages were mixed in, threatening to lead their people to raze the Lost City to the ground if he did not submit voluntarily.
Tang Ping looked at the provocative words, rubbed his chin with his fingertips, and chuckled.
A guild with a peak combat power of only Universe Level dares to boast about attacking a city guarded by a ninth-tier World Lord? Who gave them the courage?
"Interesting." He chuckled softly, then switched his personal live stream camera, projecting his image onto all the faction channels that had sent messages.
In the video, Tang Ping stands tall with his head held high and his chin slightly raised, his eyes forming a fan-shaped graph, looking utterly smug and asking for a beating.
A mass message was immediately sent out, its tone extremely arrogant. "My Lost City declares itself permanently neutral, effective today. Anyone with guts, come and fight! Those who dare not come are cowards!"
The moment the message was sent, the private channel was initially silent, then it was flooded with a dense barrage of question marks.
Clearly, in this cosmic era where overwhelming strength reigns supreme, no one has ever seen such a rebellious individual. This is practically a blatant act of provocation.
"You need to be taught a lesson, don't you?"
"Bring it on! Who's afraid of who!"
The next second, the entire server's announcement board in the game "God Domain" was instantly turned red:
[End of the World Guild officially declares war on Lost City!]
[The Kitten Fishing Guild officially declares war on the Lost City!]
[The Workplace Slacking Team Guild officially declares war on the Lost City!]
The Bully Guild has officially declared war on Lost City!
In less than the time it takes to burn half an incense stick, the Gobi Desert outside the Lost City was already teeming with people.
The players who came to fight were of all kinds: some rode desert behemoths with wings on their backs, some piloted roaring hovercraft, and some superhumans floated directly in mid-air; most of them were warriors holding weapons, standing densely on the ground, surrounding the entire city.
"City Lord Wind! Come out and face your death!" Someone roared, raising a battle axe, the sound amplified and echoing throughout the surrounding area.
--
"Feng! Weren't you hoping we'd come? Now you have a chance. Come out, kneel down, and admit your mistake, and I'll forgive you!"
"If you know what's good for you, surrender now, and you'll suffer less!"
Shouts rose and fell, but before the words had even finished, the world suddenly went dark.
"Boom!"
Dark, inky clouds gathered without warning, instantly enveloping the Lost City. The thick darkness poured down as if it were a tangible substance, making people feel a tightness in their chests.
The energy in the air became violent and chaotic. The flying behemoths that had been soaring in the sky let out uneasy roars, the engines of the hovering warships kept malfunctioning, and they could only make a miserable landing on the ground. In the end, even the powerful beings that were hovering in the air seemed to have their power drained, and they staggered and fell to the sand.
The oppressive atmosphere grew heavier, and many people even began to have difficulty breathing.
Someone sensed something was wrong and tried to retreat quietly, but suddenly found that the world was filled with an invisible aura. As soon as they moved, a bolt of purple lightning as thick as a bucket descended from the sky and struck the person precisely.
[HP -9999999999]
A bright red damage number flashed across the void, and the person's virtual body instantly turned to ashes.
Instant kill!
"It's a formation! He set up a super formation a long time ago!" someone shouted in terror.
"Damn it, we're done for! Just who is this Madman?"
"It's just a game, is it really necessary to use such a high-level killing move? We only earn a few Black Dragon Coin a month, we can't even recoup the costs!"
Panic spread like wildfire, and many people began to regret their actions, even crying and begging for mercy on the channel.
But the thunder in the dark clouds did not stop. Purple lightning snakes surged in the clouds, and the pressure grew stronger and stronger. It began to randomly lock onto targets and fall. Even the huge Starry Sky Warship was reduced to scrap metal under the bombardment of a bolt of lightning.
Just as everyone was in despair, a crack suddenly appeared in the center of the dark clouds, and a dazzling golden beam of light pierced through the darkness, shooting straight towards the ground.
"Whoosh~"
Tang Ping's figure slowly descended in the golden light, his Wind-Thunder Wings on his back trembling slightly, bringing with them fragments of lightning and wind blades. He wore an exquisite and luxurious black robe, the hem of which was embroidered with flowing star patterns, and his whole person exuded a timeless charm.
What's most startling are his jet-black pupils, as if the light and shadow of the past and future are intertwined within them, so deep that they can devour all vision, yet they also carry a nonchalant indifference.
"So it's you who dare to invade my Lost City?" Tang Ping stood with his hands behind his back, his voice calm and even, yet clearly reaching everyone's ears.
"City Lord Wind! We know we were wrong, please have mercy on us—" A man who appeared to be the leader of the guild hurriedly begged for mercy, but before he could finish speaking, a bolt of purple lightning struck him precisely on the head.
"Did I give you permission to speak?" Tang Ping's tone remained calm, yet it sent a chill down the spines of the millions present, who didn't even dare to raise their heads.
The silence lasted for a moment, then thousands more bolts of lightning struck from the dark clouds, instantly clearing a large area of the previously dense crowd.
"What?" Tang Ping's gaze swept over the silent crowd below, a hint of amusement in his tone. "I'm standing here demanding an explanation, yet not a single one of you dares to answer. You... are you looking down on me?"
Everyone:???
"Damn it! I'll fight!" In the crowd, a bald man with a scar on his head finally couldn't take it anymore and roared as he stood up.
"We have millions of people. Even if he's strong, he's at most Domain Lord. Do you think he can kill us all before he runs out of Origin Force? At worst, we'll just drop a level, and we'll be back to normal in a month!"
These words were like lighting a powder keg, and the players, who had been suppressed by fear, instantly erupted.
It's just a game; if you die, you can just start over!
"Charge!"
The shouts of battle were deafening, but what answered them was a torrent of thunder pouring down from the dark clouds and a raging tornado sweeping across the land.
Lightning and wind blades intertwined to form a deadly net, engulfing the charging crowd.
Just ten breaths later, complete silence returned Lost City. The ground was littered with colorful equipment and items, shimmering in the setting sun.
Looking at the scene before him, Tang Ping slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, a carefree smile appearing on his lips.
They defeated enemies of higher ranks with great difficulty and achieved a hard-won victory.
What an exhilarating battle!
Cool!