Great Change

After listening to Master Faraday finish explaining what had happened, Liu Feng's expression immediately began shifting without pause. His trademark smile finally vanished, and his brows knit tightly together.

Just as Liu Feng had feared, after these dozen or so days of calm, the people of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces had finally received word that the eldest son of the Palace of Sickness had been killed by Liu Feng. It was said that the lord of the Palace of Sickness had flown into an extreme rage on the spot, killing the messenger then and there, and had even mustered all the forces of the Palace of Sickness, intending to launch an attack on the Palister Family.

However, in the end, it was said that The Church had temporarily dissuaded him. After all, the Palister Family's position in the Saint Mavana Empire was anything but ordinary. Though it had declined over the years, it still represented the face of the Saint Mavana Empire. This action by the Palace of Sickness was undoubtedly a challenge to the entire Saint Mavana Empire.

Although the strength of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces was already quite formidable, in essence, they were still only a religious sect. Compared with a nation that possessed vast armies, there was still a certain gap.

A ninth-level expert, even a Saint-level expert, was certainly formidable, but he was absolutely not invincible. Faced with thousands upon thousands of soldiers and horses, he might be able to escape unscathed, but there was absolutely no possibility of victory.

Even a Saint-level mage with forbidden spells was the same. With a raise of his hand, he could turn hundreds of thousands of troops into flying ash and drifting smoke, and reduce a city to ruins—but how many armies did a nation have? And how many cities?

What was more, the strength of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces did not lie in whether they had Saint-level experts, but merely in the relatively large number of ninth-level experts they possessed.

So in the end, after the upper ranks of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces discussed it carefully, they canceled the Palace of Sickness's initial plan.

But that did not mean a descendant of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces would die for nothing. Anyone who provoked the Twelve Palaces would not come to a good end, no matter who the other party was. This was a rule forged in iron and blood since the establishment of the Twelve Palaces, and even the current palace lords did not dare defy it.

Thus, under a compromise proposal, the Zodiac Twelve Palaces finally set their terms: one million gold coins, and Nicholas—that was, Liu Feng—delivered to the lord of the Palace of Sickness for disposal.

This was already the lowest price the Twelve Palaces had offered, and it was said to have already obtained the Saint Mavana Empire emperor's consent.

Although the emperor still could not quite understand how a piece of trash could possibly have killed a fifth-level warrior, Liu Feng's identity as trash had still not changed much in the emperor's impression. Faced with the useless eldest son of an earl and a powerful enemy, the emperor made the choice everyone considered most correct: he ordered Earl Derek to hand over Liu Feng at once. As for the compensation of one million gold coins, taking into account the Palister Family's contributions over all these years and the degree of its current decline, the emperor was willing to help pay half from the state treasury.

The emperor's actions had already given the Palister Family considerable face, and Derek had no way to refuse.

But this was still a naked insult to the Palister Family, an unacceptable humiliation to that once incomparably glorious family.

Although Earl Derek did not refuse the emperor's decree, after hearing it, he immediately smashed the table with a slap, frightening the official who had come to deliver the order so badly he nearly pissed himself.

After thinking it over every which way, Derek made a decision: he would have Master Faraday tell Liu Feng to leave York County at once, leave the Saint Mavana Empire at once, and go to the Western Continent.

To hand over his own son just like that, to hand over a member of the Palister Family—no matter how loyal Derek was to the emperor, he could not do it. But considering the safety of the family, he also could not refuse, and so he could only make this compromise.

Though this method was helpless, it was already the only thing Derek could do, and the only thing this declining family could do.

With a helpless sigh, Liu Feng felt a surge of anger and desolation rise in his heart, hard to suppress. The family's current status truly was far worse than before. If the first-generation family head, Haojue, were reborn, he would probably immediately carry that countless-man-slaying greatsword up to the Twelve Palaces and raze the place flat.

But the current Palister Family could only do this much. That made Liu Feng feel an indescribable grief and fury.

As for Derek's decision, after his initial dissatisfaction, Liu Feng finally came to understand it.

No matter how powerful the old ancestor was, how many businesses and clansmen did the Palister Family have now? The old ancestor could protect him alone, but what about the rest of the clansmen? As the family head, Derek's decision was already somewhat irresponsible toward the family. What right did Liu Feng have to blame him?

Breathing out deeply several times, Liu Feng barely controlled that indescribable rage, but regret welled up in his heart.

What he regretted was not why he had killed that noble young master back then, but why he had not come to this world a few years earlier, why the Eight Realms of Divine Soul had only the cultivation methods for the first four realms, why he had not spent all his time on cultivation...

If the family were still as glorious as before, if he already possessed strength that could dominate all under heaven, would the Twelve Palaces still dare act this way? The answer, of course, was no. But were there ifs in this world? The answer was still no.

Slowly controlling the unbearable humiliation in his heart, Liu Feng's face once again showed a gentle smile. "Thank you for coming today, Master. Please tell Father for me that I will leave tomorrow!"

Since there were no ifs, then no matter what, Liu Feng could not implicate the entire family. Letting others bear the consequences of trouble he had caused was not what a man should do, so Liu Feng immediately made his decision.

As for whether the Twelve Palaces would be enraged again after he left and cause even greater trouble, Liu Feng believed that, relying on the family's original fame and status, along with the existence of the old ancestor, the Twelve Palaces would only choose to hunt him down, and would not choose to challenge the entire Palister Family.

"Sigh! Your seal suddenly vanished, and this Treasure of the Creation God just had to appear at a time like this. Could it be that prophecy truly cannot be avoided?" Master Faraday murmured. A lonely and helpless look appeared on his face, making the old man seem, in that instant, to have aged a few more years.

A prophecy again. By now, Liu Feng did not even know how many times he had heard that word. It seemed as though this prophecy had a great deal to do with him, leaving Liu Feng at a loss. He could not help but temporarily suppress that extremely unpleasant mood and ask, "Master, what exactly is this prophecy? And the Treasure of the Creation God—what exactly is all of this? Can you tell me?"

These two things had puzzled Liu Feng for a very long time, yet even now he still could not figure out what they actually were.

Master Faraday sighed deeply and said, "I cannot explain the matter of the prophecy clearly either, but I can tell you about the Treasure of the Creation God. Sigh! It is all this treasure's fault. Otherwise, how could the people of the Twelve Palaces have come to York County? And how could the later events have happened!"

After pausing, Master Faraday continued, "You should have heard of the Creation God, yes? Ten thousand years ago, in the primeval era..."

Ten thousand years ago? The primeval era? Liu Feng's body abruptly shook, and he blurted out, "You mean this Treasure of the Creation God is from back during the War of Creation..."

Master Faraday slowly nodded and said, "That's right. This treasure was left behind by the Creation God back then..."