Chapter 91: Mobilization  

"Captain, is this the Eclipse Sage?" Fang Yi asked.

"Who else could it be, if it's displayed so prominently in the castle? Of course it has to be him!" Sun Mengmeng declared. magic

The others nodded, and Zhang Lie inclined his head in agreement.

If he remembered correctly, this plaza was a safe area, and the real danger would emerge at the sage's training ground. Of course, this danger really only applied to his teammates.

No matter how strong the Eclipse Sage had been, he was now dead. His trials were intended to establish a successor, so they wouldn't be too difficult or life-threatening. Zhang Lie, whose superior gene fragments were at capacity, should easily be able to handle them. Perhaps the last trial would be somewhat difficult and arduous, but he was quite certain there would be no danger to his life.

Indeed, what was more dangerous to Team Zenith would be the encroaching parties from the clans around the region. After all, none of them knew that the castle they had just entered had become the target of all the clans close to Liao.

Liao, located in the northeast region of China, was bordered by the sea on three fronts, with beautiful mountains and streams. As one of the three most impressive cities of the region, over a hundred clans of all shapes and sizes gathered around Liao. Only four, however, could be considered major players: the Qin, Zhao, Wang, and Liu clans.

The beam of light was closest to the Qin clan, and Qin Feng was the first to reach the scene.

Unfortunately for him, his speed didn't give him any advantage, because the kaleidoscopic array possessed a self-restoration ability that allowed it to resume activation not long after Zhang Lie and his team entered the extradimensional space. As a result, despite being the first to arrive, Qin Feng wasn't even able to identify where exactly the portal was.

"Young Master, I've found something!" Qin Feng and his guards immediately approached the shouting scout. They saw an ancient stump by their feet, one that seemed perfectly ordinary.

However, upon closer inspection, the oddities surrounding it were quite evident. There were a few gears hidden around the vicinity, as well as a large footprint on the stump itself.

Qin Feng praised, "Well done, Shunzi! This must be the mechanism to unlock the portal to the ruins. Step aside, let me—"

"Ah, it looks like I've come at an opportune time!"

Just as Qin Feng was about to examine the apparatus in more detail, a dozen beams of light emerged nearby, and a voice could be heard from the distance.

"And just who do you think you are? Liu Ke, do you think I'll let you steal our clan's ruins?!"

Qin Feng hesitated for a moment, but when he saw just who was talking, he relaxed.

Liu Ke was the young master of the Liu clan, as well as an elite. The Liu clan was quite a bit weaker than the Qin clan, explaining Qin Feng's attitude. However, Liu Ke, who normally didn't dare rebuke Qin Feng, actually strode up to him and met his gaze.

"Young Master Qin, you don't think your Qin clan can claim these ruins as its own, do you? Chasing me off now isn't a smart move at all! You do realize that other clans could see that beam of light piercing the heavens?"

Liu Ke's attitude greatly displeased Qin Feng. He narrowed his eyes. "Oh, is that so? What do you propose?"

"We need to cooperate, of course! Only if we work together can we split a fraction of the rewards." "A fraction?" Qin Feng glanced at Liu Ke as though he were an idiot.

"I mean what I said. Given how much commotion these ruins generated all around the world, even if all four of the major Liao clans worked together, we would only be able to get a fraction of the rewards, and even that will require significant cooperation on our parts," Liu Ke explained firmly.

"Are you crazy? Who's stopping me from heading in and taking everything for myself? This is the real world, not the dimensional world— who's going to try to start a clan war? The federal government's rules and regulations are there for a reason! Now, scram! If you keep talking, I'll take you out first!"

Qin Feng was growing more and more irate.

"You're right that there won't be a clan war here on Earth, but don't you realize how close we are to the capital? If the clans from the capital want us to capitulate to them, do you think they'd need to start a war? There are quite a few ways to get around governmental regulation—say, for example, hunting us down in the dimensional world instead."

Qin Feng stilled. Liu Ke wasn't wrong: it would cause quite a commotion if other clans tried to kill them in the real world, but what about in the dimensional world? If they were targeted by the major clans, unless they had strong protection in every realm, they would easily be wiped off the map.

Just as Qin Feng was thinking matters through, two more clans arrived at the scene: Zhao Kai and Wang Lun, from the Zhao and Wang clans respectively, had arrived with their own elites.

Zhao Kai seemed to have heard part of the conversation, and the moment he appeared in sight, he added, "Qin Feng, there's no need to think further about it! If we work together, we all benefit; if we fight among ourselves, we all lose out!"

"That's right. Only with all four of our clans working together can we hope to stand against the other clans!" Wang Lun agreed. Clearly, he had thought matters through during the way here.

With the other three clans in agreement, Qin Feng had no choice but to agree. If he didn't, the other three clans would spurn him, and he wouldn't be able to obtain anything from the ruins at all.

"Fine, fine! In that case, we'll form an alliance. How do you propose splitting up the rewards?" The moment he agreed, Qin Xiao brought up this question, hoping to gain a little advantage, but he clearly still wasn't thinking straight.

"Qin Feng, given this sort of situation, do you really think that we're qualified to discuss the allocation of spoils? Unless you can activate the portal immediately and leave with everything inside, the four of us will just have to be grateful with whatever the other clans decide to hand us.

"I've just received news from the capital: the Chu clan's Chu Feng and Chu Xun are mobilizing, led by Chu Zhennan, an elder a generation above us, himself! Do you think our four clans can stand up to a formation like that?"

The Zhao clan was the strongest of the four major clans in Liao, and he was far more direct than Liu Ke could hope to be.

Qin Feng gaped. Chu Feng, Chu Xun, and Chu Zhennan himself?! Was the Chu clan intending on monopolizing the rewards from the ruins for himself?!

These names splashed on Qin Feng's face like cold water. No, his clan certainly wouldn't be able to afford arousing the ire of these hunters! It looked as though he had no choice but to cooperate with the other Liao clans and hope that the Chu clan was generous.