Chapter 597 Clearing Away All Obstacles

"Boom!"

After leaving the top of the city wall by a thousand meters, the violent energy within Luo Cheng finally reached its peak. With a deafening explosion, Luo Cheng self-destructed in the sky, perishing completely.

Liu Ling did not attempt to stop this, nor did he find it cruel, because if he had lost today, Luo Cheng would not have spared him either.

"Forefather!"

"Forefather!"

All the Luo clan disciples gazed at the sky where Luo Cheng had self-destructed, their eyes filled with sorrow.

"Luo clan members, listen. I, Liu, am not bloodthirsty. In a few days, the people of the Mercenary Guild will come to take over the Luo clan’s assets. You may keep ten percent to take with you. After leaving Tianya City, all members of the Luo clan must disperse and live separately. You are not allowed to gather in groups."

Looking at the many Luo clan disciples, Liu Ling spoke calmly. The reason for forcing the Luo clan to disperse was to avoid future trouble. Among so many people, there would inevitably be some who would one day seek revenge. If they were allowed to gather together, this large number of Dou Huang would certainly bring some trouble to the Mercenary Guild.

As Liu Ling finished speaking, the many Luo clan disciples who had rushed from the city showed mixed emotions—fear, unwillingness, all kinds of complex feelings, and even hatred in the eyes of some of the younger ones.

"We will keep this in mind!"

After a brief silence, four elders of the Luo clan, each at the nine-star Dou Huang level, stepped forward and sighed.

Their statement announced the fate of the Luo clan. Liu Ling paid no further attention to the looks from the Luo clan disciples and directly made his way toward the center of Tianya City.

Xu Tao had witnessed this rapid turn of events. At this moment, his eyes were filled with a sigh of emotion.

"Luo Cheng dominated within a thousand li of Tianya City for over a hundred years, yet in the hands of the Guild Master, he was defeated in a single move!"

Xu Tao sighed softly. Based on his guess, Liu Ling probably had not even used his full strength. At this moment, he felt extremely fortunate about his earlier decision not to oppose Liu Ling, and even managed to obtain Liu Ling’s approval to join the Mercenary Guild.

...

Liu Ling, after traversing half of Tianya City, soon saw before him an enormous Blackstone Plaza.

The plaza covered a vast area, constructed entirely from a type of black stone. Its cold appearance revealed a sense of solid strength.

Atop a tall stone platform within the plaza, a powerful spatial force faintly spread outward.

At this moment, the enormous plaza, which should have been bustling with activity, was extremely desolate. The guards stationed in the plaza, sensing Liu Ling’s aura, did not dare to approach him.

Entering the plaza, Liu Ling walked up the tall stone steps and quickly appeared atop the stone platform.

This platform was situated precisely at the center of the plaza. From this height, his gaze could take in the entire plaza and even everything within several hundred meters.

Arriving here, Liu Ling turned his gaze to the center of the stone platform.

There, a pitch-black vortex over ten zhang in size slowly spun, and surging spatial force overflowed from within, making Liu Ling somewhat moved.

"So this is Tianya City’s spatial wormhole? Not bad, not bad."

The pitch-black vortex, like a black hole, exuded a strange pull. Looking into it from a distance, all that could be seen was endless darkness and a strange, soul-stirring howling sound.

Seeing this black hole, a trace of a smile appeared on Liu Ling’s face. Although he had passed through spatial passages many times before, this was his first time seeing such a fixed, long-term spatial wormhole.

Liu Ling’s plan now was to directly establish a branch of the Mercenary Guild here in Tianya City. This spatial wormhole connected to Zhongzhou, ensuring heavy traffic. It would serve as a foothold for advancing into Zhongzhou in the future.

In fact, it would not be long before Liu Ling’s name would spread to Zhongzhou.

After all, the battle on the city wall with Luo Cheng had been witnessed by many, including some Dou Wang and Dou Huang experts who were preparing to travel to Zhongzhou. When they arrived, they would surely talk about what had happened here.

Three days later, Elder Bai Xiuyuan of the Mercenary Guild finally arrived at Tianya City, leading a large force from the Mercenary Guild.

...

"Greetings, Guild Master!"

As soon as Bai Xiuyuan entered Tianya City, he saw Liu Ling standing in the air.

"Bai Xiuyuan, from now on, this Tianya City will serve as the first branch of the Mercenary Guild. You will be the branch master of this branch." Liu Ling looked down at Bai Xiuyuan and spoke. The title of "first branch" was not based on the order of establishment, but rather indicated the importance of this branch.

"Bai Xiuyuan accepts the order!"

Hearing Liu Ling's words, Bai Xiuyuan responded with utmost respect.

"Next, send people to take over ninety percent of the Luo clan’s assets in Tianya City. Strive to complete the construction of the branch within ten days. During this period, the spatial wormhole will remain open as usual, and the fees for using it will stay the same as before—no changes." Liu Ling continued to give instructions and then introduced Xu Tao, who had surrendered previously, to Bai Xiuyuan.

As the first branch, stationing two Dou Zong experts was not excessive at all. According to Liu Ling’s intentions, he might even stay in Tianya City frequently in the future.

After all, with the spatial wormhole here, many powerful cultivators would come and go, and people from Zhongzhou might even arrive. There would always be unpredictable changes.

With Liu Ling’s introduction, Bai Xiuyuan got to know Xu Tao. Xu Tao’s cultivation was one star lower than his own, so Bai Xiuyuan did not view him as a competitor. Now that Liu Ling had personally named him as the branch master, his position was very secure.

Under Bai Xiuyuan’s leadership, the people from the Mercenary Guild quickly took over the Luo clan’s assets. The storage rings were checked, and finally, according to Liu Ling’s orders, one-tenth of the Luo clan’s assets was set aside and handed over to the Luo clan disciples.

Afterwards, the Luo clan held a brief meeting in front of the Mercenary Guild, then split into dozens of groups. After leaving Tianya City, they dispersed in all directions.

At this point, the Mercenary Guild finally had complete control over Tianya City, and the construction of the branch was progressing rapidly.

On Liu Ling’s side, after spending a month and a half, he visited seven or eight different places in succession, resolving several troublesome forces that were obstructing the Mercenary Guild’s development.

(End of this chapter)

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