Within Yulan City, three legions of low-level Primal Chaos beings were gripped by despair under the array’s suppressive power. They perished in waves from invisible curses, and the death toll mounted drastically once the chaotic mist breached their protective barriers.

“No, God-Emperor Luo Feng, spare us! We are only trying to survive. Please, have mercy on us!”

Stripped of their ability to threaten, these low-level Primal Chaos beings began to beg for mercy.

However, Luo Feng showed no mercy as he observed the scene.

Having endured countless racial wars since the Primal Universe era, Luo Feng remained unmoved by the enemy’s pleas.

“If I were to spare you, who would have spared the over 16 million cultivators who died?” Luo Feng mused, recalling the millions of cultivators massacred defenselessly. These innate Primal Chaos beings are born unconstrained. Luo Feng sighed inwardly, “Even the weakest low-level Primal Chaos beings, when forming a few legions, can wantonly slaughter cultivators!”

Cultivators are generally weaker than innate Primal Chaos beings; even the Infinite Primal Chaos Cultivator faction is less powerful than the innate Primal Chaos being faction. Seniors Yuan and Jin stood at the forefront, shielding the entire cultivator faction from harm.

“There’s no need to dwell on it. I haven’t even transcended the cage myself, so what good would overthinking do?” Luo Feng gave a self-deprecating smile. With a wave of his hand, he collected all the corpses of the completely annihilated low-level Primal Chaos being legion before him.

He was still too weak. Any high-level Primal Chaos being could severely corrupt him with a mere glance, much like Palace Master Yuan Xiang. He was still far too weak.

Although Luo Feng’s act of collecting all the corpses left by the three legions sparked envy among some elders, not a single one dared to voice a challenge.

The City Lord’s array power had just surged dramatically, leaving the low-level Primal Chaos legions no means of escape. “The City Lord’s individual array deployment is several times more potent than the combined efforts of our over three hundred elders! Even a thousand elders…

…would likely still be inferior to the City Lord!” These elders understood perfectly that the core array layer of cities like Yulan City comprised only a thousand empty slots in total, encompassing the City Lord, Palace Masters, and elders.

Therefore, the maximum number of elder positions was just over nine hundred.

Naturally, the resource benefits of a single city couldn’t attract so many elders; too many elders would mean too little for each.

Across the thirty-five cities of the Nine Rivers Holy Realm, only two individuals besides Palace Master Yuan Xiang had mastered two and a half Primal Chaos-level paths. Both merely sent avatars to oversee things and rarely intervened directly.

Luo Feng collected the many corpses from the three low-level Primal Chaos being legions. A quick estimation of their value left him astonished.

“Indeed, at this level, the benefits of a City Lord position are truly negligible!”

While the City Lord of Yulan City did receive the most resources, would Palace Master Yuan Xiang truly care?

At his peak, Palace Master Yuan Xiang frequently hunted perfected Limitless God-Emperors. Over the long expanse of time, his accumulated wealth naturally far surpassed that of Palace Masters Weiyang and Gai.

Anyone at the same level as Palace Master Yuan Xiang was immensely wealthy. Witnessing Luo Feng rapidly become incredibly rich from the vast spoils of the Yulan City battle, they immediately recognized that the modest resources distributed within Yulan City held little allure.

“Just as in the world of cultivators, a single difference in strength level leads to a vast disparity in the ability to acquire resources!” Luo Feng now better understood Palace Master Yuan Xiang’s perspective.

Yulan City’s arrays fully retracted, and the chaotic mist in the sky dissipated. “Is the war over?”

The cultivators within the city felt a tremor of unease. They cautiously observed their surroundings through the arrays of their cave dwellings.

With their enhanced observational abilities, they could no longer spot any low-level Primal Chaos beings in any direction.

“It seems to be over!” Yulan City remained quiet, devoid of any major battle sounds. Emperor Fu and his two companions were also observing. Suddenly, every cultivator in Yulan City heard a voice echo throughout the entire city: “I am Luo Feng, the new City Lord of Yulan City. From this moment forward, all cultivators are free to leave their cave dwellings. Everything in Yulan City will return to normal; there is no need to worry about those low-level Primal Chaos beings!”

These few simple words resonated throughout Yulan City, filling the cultivators with excitement.

We won!

The war is won!

“Luo Feng, City Lord of Yulan City.”

“Our Yulan City never had a City Lord before! Now we finally have one!”

The cultivators celebrated with excitement, yet also felt curiosity about Palace Master Yuan Xiang, as the city’s founder.

Due to his severely polluted soul, he had never formally adopted the title of “City Lord.” He had long since secretly announced his intention to select a City Lord for Yulan City, which was precisely the reason for Palace Master Weiyang’s ambition.

“No matter who becomes City Lord, as long as they can protect Yulan City, that’s what matters!” Many cultivators emerged from their cave dwellings. Above Yulan City, colorful array protections still shimmered, and a fine drizzle descended. The drizzle seemed to cleanse the city of its former fear and madness; everything returned to tranquility.

“We’re still alive!”

“The city was breached, but we still won and survived!”

Many cultivators felt a profound sense of emotion.

They all understood how remarkably rare it was to suffer such minimal casualties even after the city’s defenses were broken. This new City Lord was truly formidable and extraordinary.

“Just how strong was this City Lord Luo Feng originally?” Many cultivators were curious, as they were unaware of the war’s intricate details or Luo Feng’s true power.

However, having taken over as City Lord at a critical juncture and protected the majority of Yulan City’s cultivators, he naturally earned their gratitude and support.

Life in Yulan City began to normalize, and areas damaged by the war under the jurisdiction of the Elder Hall were undergoing repairs.

“This war was initiated by those Limitless beings!”

Luo Feng’s strongest avatar had already slipped out of the city. When the four Limitless beings had fled earlier, Luo Feng had already arranged for his avatar to follow them from a distance.

Now, it was time for him to harvest them one by one.

***

Inside Yulan City’s Elder Hall.

Luo Feng sat in the main seat, with Palace Master Yuan Xiang seated beside him. The surrounding elders were all quite excited.

They were already quite satisfied with the battle’s outcome.

“City Lord!”

Among the many elders, the Bug Swarm Master, in the form of a woman, approached.

“Bug Swarm Master!” Luo Feng looked at her. Knowing the information about the Bug Swarm Master, it was clear Luo Feng harbored a strong dislike for her.

This type of world-destroying fiend was precisely what Luo Feng deemed deserving of death.

Unfortunately, as she was a powerful entity from the Source World, Luo Feng could not entirely destroy her.

“City Lord!” the Bug Swarm Master murmured, “I apologize for any past offense, which I committed out of necessity. I am aware that my path of cultivation is one the City Lord strongly disapproves of. I know my place.

“This war is over, and I devoted my full effort to the city’s defense, without the slightest negligence.” She continued, “I am willing to offer all my resources in Yulan City to the City Lord. As for myself, I shall withdraw from the Nine Rivers Holy Realm permanently.” The Bug Swarm Master offered a faint smile, and then her physical form naturally dissipated.

All her avatars within the Nine Rivers Holy Realm self-annihilated, leaving behind all their treasures and resources.

Luo Feng watched this scene with a hint of surprise.

The Bug Swarm Master assimilated countless souls, and her cultivation path was indeed evil and terrifying; Luo Feng certainly found it abhorrent.

Yet, the Bug Swarm Master had diligently defended the city with all her might, and now she truly abandoned everything to fully withdraw from the Nine Rivers Holy Realm. Luo Feng was somewhat taken aback by her decisive action.

That the Bug Swarm could become such a terrifying fiend was also extraordinary.

Luo Feng mused.

“City Lord, I too wish to offer all my resources in Yulan City to you, and I shall also permanently withdraw from the Nine Rivers Holy Realm!” The Master of Myriad Shadows Tower bowed slightly.

“It is my fortune, Myriad Shadows, to have known the City Lord!”

“I, too, shall forever withdraw from the Nine Rivers Holy Realm!” The Master of Ghostly Workshop also rose and bowed slightly. “I believe the City Lord also does not wish for predatory forces to continue existing within Yulan City!”

Both the Master of Myriad Shadows Tower and the Master of Ghostly Workshop chose to self-annihilate their avatars and permanently depart from the Nine Rivers Holy Realm. At their level, a simple observation was enough to discern Luo Feng’s modus operandi.

Luo Feng, in his previous role as “Commander of the Sky Patrol Palace,” had been unwilling to exploit any cultivators. He even committed fully to protecting as many cultivators as possible during the city’s defense.

A City Lord of such character would not tolerate their predatory factions.

“The other two are acceptable, but the Master of Ghostly Workshop still possesses great potential!” Palace Master Yuan Xiang remarked, observing the scene.

“Ghostly Workshop will also exercise much more restraint in its actions.”

His personality differed from Luo Feng’s; he could tolerate both fiends and plunderers.

“Cultivators originate from diverse worlds with varied growth environments,” Palace Master Yuan Xiang stated. “Some worlds compel cultivators to embrace demonic paths. All types of cultivators can be tolerated, considering their immense numbers.”

Palace Master Yuan Xiang looked at Luo Feng.

Luo Feng smiled and said, “While the numbers are vast, I cannot manage everything. However, there is no place for thieving and plundering forces in Yulan City. My own capabilities may be limited, but I must naturally govern within the scope I can manage.”

Those who warrant death shall be killed; those who warrant expulsion shall be expelled. Their original worlds might have forced them into demonic paths, but the Nine Rivers Holy Realm has not. Since Luo Feng has decided to be the City Lord, his city will not tolerate such forces.

Luo Feng’s words were heard by the surrounding elders, who exchanged glances. They knew well that Luo Feng’s influence would far exceed that of the previous two Palace Masters.

For he alone possessed the power to crush all resistance within the city.

Thus, Luo Feng’s statement signified that there would be no more room for thieving and plundering forces to operate in Yulan City.

“This City Lord Luo’s disposition is far more resolute than that of the previous three Palace Masters. Those three always had to consider the elders, but this City Lord Luo, though seemingly good-natured, holds firm to his decisions.

No elder could resist. These elders sensed an unyielding will emanating from Luo Feng’s few words alone.

“Your resolve is far stronger than mine!” Palace Master Yuan Xiang remarked approvingly after observing him. “However, individual power is ultimately limited. Even transcending the cage cannot change much!”

Luo Feng merely smiled without commenting further.

Individual power is limited only when one has not cultivated strong enough.

“Oh, that’s right!” Palace Master Yuan Xiang suddenly recalled. “I requested aid from the Dark Holy Realm this time, and they dispatched a cultivation squad. The squad is still en route; I need to contact them first!”

In just a few breaths,

“This cultivation squad has already reached the Nine Rivers Holy Realm!” Palace Master Yuan Xiang looked up at Luo Feng in surprise. “They are heading towards Yulan City and are estimated to arrive in about half a day!”