Chapter 5551: The City Master’s Selfish Motive
The faces of those seeking to capture Chu Feng turned livid, especially the formation master who had called the elders over. His face had turned as pale as a sheet of paper.
They were all doomed now that Chu Feng was going to join the ranks of the Star Sea Central City.
“Elder, please choose someone else for the slot to the Star Sea Central City.”
Just then, a person with a huge entourage descended from the sky. All of the formation entities quickly bowed to him, for he was none other than this city’s city master.
Upon the arrival of the city master, the three trial elders responsible for administering the trials stepped out of their respective palaces.
“City Master 19, what do you mean by that?” the trial elder in charge of testing Chu Feng asked.
“That child disregarded our rules by concealing his cultivation and severely injuring a fellow formation master from our Formation Master Hall. He ought to be punished by our city rules. Furthermore, he is a despicable man who can’t be entrusted with important responsibilities. It would be unwise to assign him to the Star Sea Central City. Elders, I beseech you to choose someone else,” the city master said.
“Is there anyone more outstanding in your city?” one of the trial elders asked.
“Father, allow me to give it a try,” a suave man with an extraordinary disposition stepped forward and said.
This man was the city master’s son, though they weren’t blood related as formation entities lacked the ability to reproduce. In truth, the city master had specifically picked him to be his son in view of his talents and raised him from a young age, so their ties were no different from that of a father and his son.
“Go on,” the city master said with a nod.
The young city master cut the queue and entered one of the trial palaces.
“Arrest him!”
Shortly after the young city master entered, the city master turned to Chu Feng with freezing eyes.
“Wait a moment,” one of the trial elders said as he took his position beside Chu Feng. “In accordance with the rules, unless someone does better than him in the trial, he’ll be the formation master taken in by our Star Sea Central City.”
With his backing, no one in the city dared to touch Chu Feng. Not even the city master dared to protest against his verdict.
Moments later, the young city master stepped out of the trial palace. His result was decent; he had deciphered 29 formations. However, the city master frowned upon hearing that, knowing his son didn’t beat Chu Feng’s record.
The city master stepped forward and said, “Elder, that child lacks integrity. It is unwise to use someone like that. Please allow my son to go instead.”
“City Master 19, your son is indeed highly talented to have been able to decipher 29 formations. He would have qualified to enter the Star Sea Central City under any other circumstance, but according to the rules, each city only has a single slot, and the slot is assigned to the one who deciphers the most formations,” the trial elder said.
“Elder, is my words not clear enough? That child can’t be used,” the city master insisted.
“We only obey the chief elder’s instructions. Our job is to bring back the formation master who deciphers the most formations in each city. I don’t think that there’s anyone else who can best this child’s record, so I’ll be taking him back with me,” the trial elder said as he prepared to take Chu Feng away with him.
Boom!
A powerful surge of spirit power suddenly sealed off the surroundings. The city master had made his move!
“City Master 19, are you challenging our authority?” the trial elder asked.
He didn’t fear the city master despite being weaker than the latter. After all, he had the backing of the chief elder.
“Lord Elder, I wouldn’t dare to challenge you, but City 19 has its rules. That child violated my city’s rules, so he has to be punished. If the Star Sea Central City is in need of talents, you’re free to take my son. If you think my son isn’t qualified, you may continue the trial to choose the most suitable individual. In any case, you can’t take 521,” the city master expressed his stance.
“Heh…”
One of the other trial elders burst into laughter. He wasn’t the one in charge of supervising Chu Feng’s test, but he could see through the city master’s intention.
“City Master 19, I know that you want to secure this rare opportunity for your son. I’ll be frank. While your son meets the requirement, he isn’t talented enough to be valued by our Star Sea Central City. The same cannot be said about this child. I could have done you this favor on any other occasion, but not this time. This child is simply far too talented. It’d be a great merit on our side if we bring this child back,” the trial elder said.
This revealed why they were so insistent on taking Chu Feng away with them.
The city master didn’t want Chu Feng to go because he wanted his son to take the slot instead. To put it bluntly, his insistence on enforcing the rules was an excuse to hold Chu Feng down so that his son would get a shot at the slot.
Upon hearing the elders’ stance, the city master’s face darkened.
“I have made myself clear. City 19 has its own rules, and these rules are set by the chief elder. You should bring the chief elder here to speak to me if you insist on doing things your way, or else you shouldn’t even dream about taking this child away with you,” the city master said with an icy voice.
His mind was made up.
Boom!
Just then, a single person shattered the massive barrier sealing off the sky like a mirror.
“What airs, City Master 19,” an aged voice sounded.
Several figures descended from the sky. They were all from the Star Sea Central City.
Chu Feng’s eyes lit up upon seeing the leader of the group. It was the old man he had saved not too long ago.
“Paying respects to the chief elder.”
The city master and the three trial elders first paid respects to the chief elder. The crowd belatedly snapped out of their daze and bowed as well.
“Chief elder?! Chu Feng, you’re in luck!” Eggy exclaimed in excitement.
Chu Feng’s lips curled into a smile, knowing that he had a backing to fall back on now.
The chief elder landed right in front of the city master.
“Chief elder,” the city master greeted the other party with a pale face.
It was just moments ago that he insisted on having the chief elder talk to him, but he started panicking as soon as the chief elder really appeared.
“City Master 19, I came because you called for me,” the chief elder said.
“Lord Chief Elder, I dare not to make things difficult for your elders. It’s just that…”
The city master was planning to insist on Chu Feng’s sins, knowing that this was a legitimate reason for him to punish the latter.
Before he could finish his words, the chief elder interjected, “Stop. I know what happened here. Those two crippled men deserve their plight. They were the ones who provoked 521 and injured his follower. According to our rules, the ones who should be punished are them.”
At this point, the chief elder narrowed his eyes and sneered, “City Master 19, do you not investigate cases before passing your verdict? I can’t help but wonder if you’re abusing your power or plain incompetent.”
