In the face of everyone's respectful greeting, Ji Xuan showed no interest whatsoever. He didn't even raise his head and said indifferently, "This has nothing to do with you."
Patriarch Sun, Patriarch Gao, and Patriarch Lu appeared nervous. Although they had spoken, they didn't dare to simply leave the man alone. At that moment, they felt a deep sense of regret. If we had known this would happen, we would have delayed our visit to the Long family. Meeting the City Lord like this is truly embarrassing...
The atmosphere in the hall gradually turned serious. Long Chen looked at the three patriarchs and asked in a cold, slightly playful tone, "Why do you want to meet me?"
The patriarchs swallowed nervously and hurriedly replied, "Leader Long, during your absence over the years, we truly had no intention of invading the Long family, but we had no choice…"
"That's right! At the time, the Feng family forced our hands and demanded we act against the Long family!"
After hearing of the Feng family's destruction and Long Chen's rise to the Innate Realm, fear struck them deeply. The strongest cultivators in their families were only at the ninth level of the Spiritual Cleansing Realm. How could they possibly oppose the Long family now?
Hearing such pitiful excuses, Long Chen's eyes turned cold. He raised his head slightly and sneered, "So, according to you, you're also victims?"
The patriarchs trembled, sweat pouring from their foreheads. "N-no! Over the years, though we were threatened, we still committed many foolish acts…"
"To make amends for the damage we caused the Long family, we are willing to surrender 50% of our family assets as compensation."
"From today onward, our families pledge absolute loyalty to the Long family!"
Long Chen waved his hand impatiently, silencing them. Once the hall quieted again, he said coldly, "The Long family suffered greatly. If I hadn't emerged from seclusion, I fear we would have been completely wiped out. And now you're afraid?"
His words cast a dark cloud over the meeting hall. No one from the Gao, Sun, or Lu families dared to speak. Patriarch Gao gathered his courage to respond, but Long Chen cut him off.
"We'll deal with all that later. For now, I'm curious about one thing. Tell me, Patriarch Gao—can you answer this?"
Hearing his name, Patriarch Gao's lips twitched. He stammered, "P-please go ahead."
"Before my seclusion, I bought a medium-grade Spiritual Cleansing Pill from the Treasure Pavilion—run by the Gao family. But after taking it, I discovered it was laced with poison. I nearly failed my breakthrough. Tell me, don't you owe me an explanation?"
The killing intent in Long Chen's eyes was palpable. His words were like a thunderclap in a silent hall—shocking everyone present.
Patriarch Gao's heart sank. He hadn't expected Long Chen to confront him so directly! Damn it, Feng Yang swore the poison was undetectable—even an Innate Realm cultivator couldn't survive it!
He had assumed Long Chen hadn't taken the pill and had broken through using only his own power. Now that Long Chen was demanding accountability, he knew he had miscalculated.
Members of the Gao family stared in disbelief. Patriarch Sun and Patriarch Lu looked at Patriarch Gao like he was insane. Do you realize who you're dealing with? You actually tried to poison Long Chen?
Even Ji Xuan, seated calmly on the elder's chair, raised an eyebrow. Trying to kill Long Chen with poison? These people are fools.
Long Nian's eyes widened in disbelief. He had no idea his master faced such danger during seclusion. Anger flared in his chest.
He stepped forward, stood before the crowd, pointed at Patriarch Gao, and shouted, "What nerve! You tampered with an elixir and tried to poison our clan leader! If he hadn't resolved the poison, you might have succeeded. And now you want forgiveness? Bah! You deserve to die ten thousand times over!"
His furious voice rang through the hall. Ji Xuan glanced at Long Nian, a youth only at the first level of the Spiritual Cleansing Realm, and smiled faintly. Bold indeed—to challenge someone like Patriarch Gao.
Patriarch Gao's face darkened. Just as he was about to speak, his son, Gao Jingshan, interjected first.
"How disrespectful! If Clan Leader Long wants to hold us accountable, we will not object—but my father is still our family head. Who are you, a mere junior, to scold him? Is this the education the Long family teaches?"
The presence of City Lord Ji Xuan emboldened the Gao family. Gao Jingshan's tone grew more defiant. Long Nian, enraged, clenched his fists but turned to Long Chen.
Seeing this, Long Chen's gaze turned icy. He looked at Gao Jingshan and declared, "Who are you to question the laws of my Long family? Do I need an outsider to teach me how to govern? Nian'er—kill him. Let him learn that loose lips bring death."
Patriarch Gao's expression changed. "Leader Long, please! He's a junior. Surely you won't stoop to his level?"
But Long Chen's expression remained cold. Long Nian could no longer hold back. He stepped forward and struck directly at Gao Jingshan's dantian.
"You dare lecture our patriarch? I'll destroy your core first—then kill you!"
With a loud shout, Long Nian's palm smashed into Gao Jingshan's abdomen.