Swallowed Star 2: Origin Continent

Chapter 109: Contest in Chu Kingdom - Emperor Chu Lineage

Emperor Chu Yu said, “After becoming a guest elder of our Emperor Chu lineage, you’ll be granted a guest elder token, a residence, and ten attendants. This residence is within Chu Capital, and its value is quite high.”

Luo Feng nodded. As the core of the Emperor Chu lineage, Chu Capital was one of the most prosperous cities on the entire Origin Continent. The price of a large residence here was likely more expensive than the entire Chaos Armor District of Huyang City combined.

“I know you don’t care about these things,” Emperor Chu Yu said with a smile, “what you care about is the inheritance and resources.”

“We independent cultivators lack inheritance and resources,” Luo Feng replied.

Emperor Chu Yu continued, “Brother Luo He, having cultivated to the peak of the Chaos Realm, you should already have one or two God King-level inheritances suitable for yourself. However… in our Ancient Flame Kingdom, there are the best inheritances on the entire Origin Continent, and there are those that are most suitable for you. I’m sure that with a more suitable inheritance, Brother Luo He’s strength could take another step forward!”

Emperor Chu Yu felt a bit of excitement in his heart.

If Brother Luo He could make another step forward, not necessarily to reach the God King level, but just to the ‘Chaos Realm Transcendent’ level, it would be a great help to him.

“I’m also quite looking forward to it,” Luo Feng said.

The outside world believed that he was at the peak of the Chaos Realm and assumed he had one or two suitable God King-level inheritances.

But in reality, he was poorer than they guessed! He didn’t have a single suitable God King-level inheritance. Although the **Lieu Yuan Technique** could be considered beyond the God King level, it wasn’t an inheritance of the ‘Origin Path’ but rather a secret technique of willpower.

What he needed now was an inheritance related to the Origin Path. He was in urgent need of inheritances related to the Life Path and the Destruction Path.

“When we return to the Marquis’ mansion, I’ll immediately send Brother Luo He to choose the inheritance and resources,” Emperor Chu Yu said. “Every guest elder has a free exchange limit of 100,000 merit points. This is a gift from the Emperor Chu lineage to its guest elders. As for more inheritances and resources, you’ll need to earn more merit. The greater the merit, the more resources you can exchange.”

“Even our most core, top-tier inheritances can be exchanged as long as there’s enough merit. The Flame Wind Ancestor is very generous to guest elders,” Emperor Chu Yu explained.

Luo Feng had already learned this.

The entire Origin Continent’s other forces would eventually merge into the two major factions: the Ancient Flame Kingdom and the Ancient Thunder Kingdom. This was because these two factions truly opened up their most valuable inheritances.

However, the merit required would be very high.

“Don’t worry, I’ll arrange some tasks that are easy to earn merit for Brother Luo He,” Emperor Chu Yu said with a smile. “The many task assignments within the Emperor Chu lineage are primarily decided by the first-class marquises.”

“Then I’ll be troubling you, Brother Chu Yu,” Luo Feng said.

Emperor Chu Yu was in a good mood.

The competition among the first-class marquises was fierce, and there weren’t many good tasks to go around, so they generally focused on cultivating one or two Chaos Realm guest elders with all their might. If the chosen guest elder turned out to be ungrateful, it would be a headache.

Emperor Chu Yu had observed Luo Feng for a long time during his time in Huyang City and only decided to invest heavily in him after confirming his character.

**Boom~~~**

The warships of the personal guard surrounded Marquis Chu Yu’s large ship, escorting it to the marquis’ mansion.

**Meanwhile, on the top floor of a majestic building within Chu Capital.**

Two figures sat opposite each other.

One man, with a carefree demeanor, leaned against the railing, holding a wine jug. He glanced into the distance, his gaze piercing through space to see Marquis Chu Yu’s large ship. “The newly appointed Marquis Chu Yu has returned to Chu Capital.”

“Marquis Chu Yu?” The other man, a delicate-looking figure with three eyes, also looked in that direction. “Marquis Chu Yu, who possesses the Infinite Divine Body, became a first-class marquis as soon as he broke through to the Chaos Realm.”

“Yes, yet another one with the Infinite Divine Body,” the carefree man shook his head. “Among the seven first-class marquises, five have the Infinite Divine Body. But I don’t have it.”

“Brother Chu Feng, despite having a normal divine body, has still reached the peak of the Chaos Realm. That’s even more impressive,” said the three-eyed, delicate-looking man.

The carefree man was none other than Marquis Chu Feng, one of the seven first-class marquises of the Emperor Chu lineage.

“Don’t flatter me.”

Marquis Chu Feng took a swig of wine and sighed, “I’ve cultivated for endless ages, yet still struggle to advance further. Whether it’s reaching the Chaos Realm Transcendent level or the God King level, both seem so distant. The resources given by the Ancestor are limited, and before it was six first-class marquises competing for them… now it’s seven.”

“Marquis Chu Yu is newly promoted; his strength and foundation are still ordinary. He probably won’t be able to compete with you in the early stages,” said the three-eyed, delicate-looking man.

“He has a helper named Luo He, who is at the peak of the Chaos Realm,” Marquis Chu Feng squinted his eyes. “Even in the early stages, he’ll compete with me!”

“As a newly appointed marquis, he doesn’t need to undertake any tasks for the first thirty eras,” the three-eyed, delicate-looking man hesitated, “this is also a form of protection from the Emperor for newly appointed marquises, so there’s not much we can do.”

Marquis Chu Feng put down his wine jug and said, “Enough about him. By the way, when is Master Yuanxiu coming to Chu Capital?”

“Senior Brother Yuanxiu mentioned that he would visit Chu Capital to pay respects to the Divine King, but the exact time is uncertain,” the three-eyed, delicate-looking man replied.

“Let me know as soon as you hear he’s arrived in Chu Capital,” Marquis Chu Feng instructed.

The three-eyed, delicate-looking man nodded.

Within the Emperor Chu lineage, considering royal family members in the Chaos Realm, the Emperor’s disciples, Chaos Realm guest elders, and independent Chaos Realm cultivators, there were only two who had reached the Chaos Realm Transcendent level, and their status was comparable to those newly entering the God King level.

Master Yuanxiu was one such Chaos Realm Transcendent being! He had cultivated a prison within his own divine body, known as the ‘Dark Prison.’ With a single thought, he could imprison the surrounding vast and boundless heavens and earth within his internal prison! Naturally, he could also trap enemies within this prison.

Even ancient Divine Kings, once trapped within his internal prison, would need time to escape.

With this method, even those at the newly entered God King level were quite wary of him.

******

Marquis Chu Yu’s mansion, as a first-class marquis’ mansion, spanned about ten billion kilometers in length and width.

The many clan members of the Chu Yu lineage, personal guards, and numerous servants had all moved in. The Emperor Chu lineage had proliferated over countless ages, and its numbers had long become vast, with many royal family members even living in relative poverty.

Only those at the highest levels of the royal family could truly live in luxury, with abundant resources.

“Chu Yu, many people in the clan want to pay their respects to you,” the dignified woman whispered. “Shouldn’t you meet with them?”

“I’ll host a banquet tonight and invite everyone together,” Emperor Chu Yu said. “I have important matters to discuss with Brother Luo He.”

As he spoke, Emperor Chu Yu left with Luo Feng.

Luo Feng could only offer an apologetic smile.

“Mother,” the eldest son said, watching as his father and Grand Saint Luo He departed, “Father has just returned, and many of our royal family and the senior members of the Fengye lineage have come to see him, yet he’s treating them so indifferently…”

“Silence.”

The dignified woman gave her eldest son a cold look. “You fool, your father’s business with Grand Saint Luo He is the most important matter for our marquis’ mansion.”

“Oh,” the eldest son replied.

The second and third sons remained silent on the side.

Their mother favored the eldest son the most, so he sometimes acted more recklessly, while the second and third sons were more cautious.

“The first guest elder our mansion has chosen is this Grand Saint Luo He, whose background is unknown,” the dignified woman frowned slightly. “My father is at the peak of the Chaos Realm and is the Lord of Fengye City, yet my husband didn’t invite my father…”

When she had seen the black-clad man ‘Grand Saint Luo He’ standing alongside her husband outside the city, she had felt a bit irritated.

In her view, her husband joining forces with her father, the Lord of Fengye City, would have been the best choice.

But her husband had already made his choice, submitting the application without consulting her, and she had no say in the matter.

……

“Morosa, Qingyan, you two rest here for now. I’ll be heading out with Brother Chu Yu,” Luo Feng instructed. Morosa and Moyu Qingyan immediately complied, staying in a separate courtyard within the marquis’ mansion.

Marquis Chu Yu and Luo Feng, accompanied byn/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

a squad of personal guards, quietly left the mansion on what appeared to be an ordinary flying boat.

“The inheritance resources selected by guest elders are all within the Emperor’s palace,” Marquis Chu Yu explained. “Actually, within our thirteen royal branches, the inheritances that can be selected are all identical, left behind by the Flame Wind Ancestor. However, the resources available differ. The resources that can be chosen within the Emperor Chu lineage are generally those bestowed by our lineage’s ancestor.”

Luo Feng was also somewhat eager.

Among the thirteen Emperors of the Ancient Flame Kingdom, the most renowned was ‘Emperor Qing.’

Emperor Qing was the most powerful, and all records on the Origin Continent indicated that Emperor Qing had never met an equal in battle.

Emperor Qing had fifteen direct disciples, six of whom were Divine Kings, eight were Chaos Realm Transcendent beings, and one was at the peak of the Chaos Realm! The Emperor Qing lineage was also the most powerful among the thirteen royal branches.

The other twelve branches were relatively equal in strength.

Being able to join the Emperor Chu lineage was already something Luo Feng was very satisfied with.

“We’ve arrived at Emperor Chu Palace,” Marquis Chu Yu said, looking ahead.

Previously, they had been unaware of its presence, but now that they were close, they suddenly noticed it.

A vast palace, seemingly merged with the chaos and darkness, stood before them! From the outside, it appeared to be about the size of Huyang City, but Luo Feng could sense that space-time was folded within, making the internal space much larger.

“Emperor Chu Palace is where most of the royal family members of our Emperor Chu lineage reside,” Marquis Chu Yu said as he led Luo Feng inside. There was no obstruction along the way, and Luo Feng didn’t see any guards.

“Most of the royal family members?” Luo Feng observed the empty palace around him, not even seeing a single servant.

“The Ancestor has opened up numerous small universes within Emperor Chu Palace,” Marquis Chu Yu explained. “Many of the royal family’s wasteful descendants have been thrown into these small universes. They cultivate and reproduce in these small universes, where the environment is very harsh. Many of them are so weak at birth that they can never become True Gods in their lifetime.”

Luo Feng was shocked.

He knew that some powerful Chaos Realm beings, like his master Zuo Shan Ke, would purchase small universes created by God Kings to train their subordinates.

But who would have thought that the Ancestor of the Emperor Chu lineage would use them to punish royal family failures? Once deemed too worthless, they could only spend their lives in these small universes.

“Those who are thrown into these small universes, along with their descendants, can only leave if they reach the level of an Eternal True God,” Marquis Chu Yu sighed. “Those who manage to become Eternal True Gods in such harsh environments are heavily utilized upon their return.”

Luo Feng could only marvel at how ruthless the Ancestor was toward his royal descendants.

……

“These youngsters have no idea how terrifying the resource consumption of countless descendants is,” thought the ancient existence deep within Emperor Chu Palace, who observed all the activity within the palace. At this moment, he opened his eyes, watching Emperor Chu Yu and Luo Feng.

“The best solution is to throw ninety-nine percent of the descendants into small universes,” the ancient Emperor Chu thought. This was something that ‘Emperor Xuan,’ one of the thirteen Emperors of the Ancient Flame Kingdom, had first done, and the other twelve Emperors had quickly followed suit.

Throwing them into small universes not only saved a large amount of resources and relieved the pressure on the Emperors but also placed enough pressure on the royal descendants, ensuring they wouldn’t dare to slack off.

The ancient Emperor only glanced at Emperor Chu Yu and Luo Feng before closing his eyes again, no longer paying attention to them.

……

Emperor Chu Palace was vast and mysterious, like a space-time maze. Only under Emperor Chu Yu’s guidance did Luo Feng finally arrive at the entrance of a grand hall.

“Next time, just follow the same route to reach this inheritance hall,” Emperor Chu Yu instructed. “Don’t wander elsewhere. If you get lost, you might end up in some restricted area.”

“I understand.” Luo Feng wasn’t interested in the secrets within Emperor Chu Palace; his only concern was the inheritance and resources.

Luo Feng looked at the grand hall before him. It was ancient, with two statues standing guard at the entrance.

“Go ahead. I’ll wait here for you,” Emperor Chu Yu said.

Luo Feng nodded and walked forward.

As he approached the entrance, the two statues slightly shifted their heads, their eyes locking onto Luo Feng. He immediately felt an overwhelming sense of impending doom enveloping him.

“The power of these statue guards far exceeds mine?” Luo Feng was startled. “Even with my Five Transformation Technique, I feel I wouldn’t be able to resist them.”

After a brief glance, the two statue guards returned to their original positions, silently watching the front.

Only then did Luo Feng fully step into the inheritance hall.