Chapter 185 – Prelude to the Storm!

In the high-end conference room of the City Lord’s mansion, a gathering of powerful Upper Echelons and dignitaries was seated.

At this moment, the faces of these usually spirited and influential figures were uniformly ashen and grim.

“Old Thunder Ghost, your Thunder Family has quite the promising junior!” Xu Chang remarked with a sarcastic tone.

This time, Shangguan Wushang did not oppose him. His white brows slightly furrowed as he looked toward an Elder. “Old Thunder, your son Lei Meng is truly unwise!

Such actions undoubtedly intensify the antagonism between the common people and our Great Aristocratic Families! It will only exacerbate social instability!

Moreover, there are also the juniors from your families…”

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to the other Great Aristocratic Families.

The High-Tier Super-Limit experts from these families had colluded with Lei Meng, their methods largely similar.

Lei Zheng’s expression darkened as he said gravely, “Once this Federation Grand Examination concludes, I will personally skin that brat Lei Meng.”

Then, with a cold glare at Shangguan Wushang, Xu Chang, and the others, he sneered, “You all aren’t much better either.”

Xu Chang burst into loud laughter, speaking with righteous indignation, “My grandson never participated from start to finish… who knows where he is now!”

His laughter echoed throughout the conference room, and inwardly, he felt a smug satisfaction. His grandson was clever, knowing better than to wade into these muddy waters, staying far away instead!

Shangguan Wushang was also relatively at ease. Although Shangguan Jianyun had initially gotten involved, he had come to his senses in time and led his people to break out.

Though his current fate remained unknown, at least he had preserved the reputation of the Shangguan Family. Saving their reputation was a silver lining in this unfortunate Federation Grand Examination.

Seeing the smug expressions on the two men’s faces, Lei Zheng’s expression grew even darker.

As the City Lord, Lan Tingxu had been silently observing the conflicts among the Upper Echelons without interjecting.

He had completely resigned himself, holding no hope for any political achievements from this Federation Grand Examination. Without this accomplishment, he could simply transfer to a smaller city and continue serving as City Lord.

The Federation operated on a rotating official system, after all; no one stayed in one place for long.

“Promotion is hopeless now! What rotten luck!” Lan Tingxu leaned back in his chair, exhaling a heavy sigh. Having abandoned all hope, he actually felt a sense of relief. Watching the powerful Upper Echelons vie and contend with each other could be considered an unconventional form of enjoyment.

In the Lu family living room, Lu Shushan’s face was dark, his earlier excitement completely vanished.

“Shushan, you can’t blame Xiao Ming for this; it’s just terrible luck,” a relative comforted him from the side. Everyone could see that Ghost Mountain City’s Federation Grand Examination was doomed to fail.

“Xiao Ming probably has no chance in this Federation Grand Examination.”

“Yes, the luck is truly awful!” the relatives hypocritically chimed in, shaking their heads.

When they glanced at each other, a hint of schadenfreude was hidden deep in their eyes.

Well, this settled it… Lu Shushan wouldn’t be able to gloat over them anymore!

“There’s no turning back now!” the uncle-in-law sighed sadly as he watched the screen showing tens of thousands of dejected examinees in Ghost Mountain City. He shook his head helplessly; given the circumstances, no one could do anything. Even a god couldn’t salvage this situation.

…

At the same time, over a dozen figures stepped into the southeastern region’s district.

Ye Sheng stood in his white robe, facing the wind, with Xu Xingchen, Shangguan Jianyun, Guyue Xian, and the others following behind him.

After rescuing Shangguan Jianyun and his companion along the way, they had headed straight here without a moment’s delay.

“Is this the southeastern region? Quite lively!” Xu Xingchen swept his gaze around, taking in the entire southeastern area—a scene of utter ruin.

This district had been completely shattered, with broken walls and debris everywhere. The air was thick with gray, swirling dust, blotting out the sky.

Shangguan Jianyun sighed and said, “Too many cities have gathered in this region, and fierce battles break out every day! Even Giant Level experts have fallen in significant numbers.”

“Giant Level experts are falling?!” More than a dozen Xu family Prodigies were shocked, thinking to themselves that the intensity of the fighting in this southeastern district must have reached a terrifying level!

Gu Yuexian nodded gravely. “By now… far too many cities have been eliminated, and the remaining ones have all formed alliances!

Each alliance has at least several hundred thousand people!”

“Several hundred thousand?” one of the Xu family Prodigies stammered, unable to fathom the scale of such a gathering.

Even a single expedition would likely blot out the sky, darkening the heavens for hundreds of miles around.

Gu Yuexian said, “Yes, several hundred thousand! If these alliances avoid large-scale battles, it’s fine. But if they engage in one, both sides combined could involve nearly a million people in the fight. That would truly be a battle where the sun and moon lose their light!”

Everyone gasped at these words, finding it hard to imagine how awe-inspiring such a scene would be!

In a chaotic battle of a million people, even Giant Level experts could easily fall if they weren’t careful, right?

Shangguan Jianyun pointed to the eerie silence before them and said in a low voice, “This kind of quiet is extremely abnormal—it’s the calm before the storm! The reason for this is that the major alliances are consolidating their forces, withdrawing all their personnel from the periphery to gather strength for a decisive strike.”

As he finished speaking, Shangguan Jianyun’s chest heaved, his expression tense. “I fear an unimaginably massive battle is about to break out!”

“Brother, are you saying all the major alliances might join the fray?” Shangguan Ying asked in shock.

“Exactly. At this stage of the situation, another reshuffling is about to happen! Only the cities that survive this round will qualify for the next!” Shangguan Jianyun looked up, his gaze profound. “The blades in the hands of the major alliance leaders are about to taste blood!”

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this!

The Federation Grand Examination was truly extraordinary, almost like simulating a real battlefield. What was Fengdu University trying to do? Select elites from blood and fire?

Only those who truly persevered would qualify for admission?

“Interesting! So interesting!” A slurping sound broke the silence—it was Xu Xingchen, who had pulled out an ice pop from somewhere and was sucking on it rapidly, his eyes burning with fervor.

The dozen or so Xu family Prodigies broke into a cold sweat. When would their young master ever change this habit? It was so embarrassing!

“Let’s go!” Ye Sheng said softly, glancing up at the dusty, gray sky. His Spiritual Sense was exceptionally sharp, allowing him to clearly feel the astonishing Killing Intent brewing in the air, ready to erupt at any moment!

Once the battle broke out, the 80,000-plus examinees of Ghost Mountain City, without any powerful experts to lead them, would likely be wiped out in an instant, without even making a ripple.

“I’ll lead the way,” Shangguan Jianyun volunteered, adding a warning. “To find the 80,000-plus examinees of Ghost Mountain City, we’ll likely have to pass through the territories of many alliances along the way. We should avoid disturbing them as much as possible, or it could severely slow us down.”

“Let’s hurry up and go!” Xu Xingchen urged, already unable to wait any longer. He only wanted to join the eighty thousand examinees of Ghost Mountain City as soon as possible and then participate in the upcoming great battle.

Shangguan Jianyun looked at Ye Sheng, and only after Ye Sheng nodded did he lead the way, taking to the skies with Aerial Flight as he soared toward the distant horizon.

The others quickly followed. With their vision obstructed, they kept glancing around at the gray, hazy surroundings, wary of accidentally intruding into the alliance camp where hundreds of thousands had gathered.