Chapter 69: 0071 — A Fierce Desire to Survive

City Lord's Mansion.

City Lord Guo was having a video call with the lord; with such a major event involving the Cao family, it was impossible for the lord not to know. He had watched the footage from the Ye family that day, remaining silent throughout.

"Who would have thought that our Guanshan Territory harbors such a mighty figure?" After a long pause, the lord narrowed his eyes and spoke.

"Lord, do you think we stand any chance against him?" City Lord Guo asked.

"It's hard to say." Qin Shan wore a solemn expression. "That binding technique is insurmountable. The Qin family’s ancestors once sparred with visitors from the Third Civilization planet; there was no hope of victory. Within that binding spell, one simply cannot move!"

"So formidable!" City Lord Guo exclaimed in astonishment. "Who exactly is this ancestor from the Chu family?"

"It doesn't matter who he is, as long as he stays within our Guanshan Territory." Qin Shan replied, "Have you managed to find any trace of him?"

City Lord Guo shook his head with a bitter smile. "The day we tried to follow him, he vanished without a trace. As you know, Watchtower City has a population of ten million; losing his trail is like searching for a needle in the ocean."

"This mysterious figure’s appearance cannot be concealed from the other lords. I expect more factions will come to Watchtower City seeking him. If that binding technique were deployed on the battlefield, it would be a tool for slaughter. If this elder could be brought to our side, Guanshan Territory would have its own ultimate weapon! Keep close to that young man from the Chu family, and watch for any other factions approaching him."

Hearing this, City Lord Guo blurted out, "There's something I need to report. The Jiang family, Marquises of River City in Konghai Territory, seem to have known Chu Yun for some time. They've sent their youngest and most cherished daughter, Hou Manman, to intentionally get close to him. I believe they're trying to use a beauty trap to lure Chu Yun into their family."

Qin Shan furrowed his brow. "I heard Chu Yun married into the Ye family, didn't he? Is there any connection between Ye Linglong and him?"

"I've looked into it," City Lord Guo replied. "The Ye family is short of heirs; only Ye Linglong can represent them. They don't want to marry her off, fearing their business would be swallowed by her husband's family, so they opted for a son-in-law, and the Chu family became the natural choice. However, there's no affection between them; they rarely appear together. Recently, it's Hou Manman and Chu Yun who are seen out and about at Lanwind Academy. Lord, this isn't good, is it? Should we quietly remove Hou Manman?"

Qin Shan snorted, "Foolish. She's just a young girl. If you provoke Chu Yun and make an enemy of him, that old monster could act, and before I even reach your house, your entire family would be gone."

City Lord Guo shrank his neck; he supposed that was true.

"The Chu family has always been in Watchtower City. If they wanted to leave, they would have gone long ago. Besides, Chu Yun has married into the Ye family, so we needn't fear Hou Manman stealing him away. Our priority now is to keep searching for that elder."

"Understood."

Elsewhere, Kurt was in a video call with the guild president and vice president.

"What did you say?" The president stood up from the throne in shock. "He can instantly cast spells without a staff?"

The function of a staff is that you can pre-inject your arcane formulas into it, and with its magical rune activator, once you channel spiritual energy into the staff, it instantly releases your pre-programmed spells—no need for incantations.

But crafting a staff is extremely difficult; on this continent, few mages own one, most are relics from the last century, cherished and hidden away. No one else can instant-cast spells without a staff.

That’s why the president was so astonished!

Kurt nodded, still shaken by the memory of that figure.

"Not only that, he can deploy the binding technique! The video from that day has been edited and kept confidential by City Lord Guo, but what I said is true—when the binding spell was cast, no one present could move, and the opponent used a purple flame spell to incinerate Mata."

On the other end of the call, the president and vice president exchanged glances, each seeing shock in the other's eyes.

"No wonder Chu Yun is so attuned to magic—turns out he has such a magister among his elders!" the vice president said.

A magister!

They had only encountered such beings when the Third Civilization arrived on this planet. They are above novice, intermediate, and advanced mages. Before a magister, they are mere apprentices, and every few years at exchange seminars, they would listen reverently to the lectures.

Among magisters, there are junior, intermediate, and senior levels; as for what rank the Chu family’s magister holds, they did not know, but even so, he was someone to be revered!

The president, however, was concerned about another matter. He narrowed his eyes and said, "Do you think he might blame our guild for Mata’s actions? Did you tell him that Mata had long since been expelled and doesn’t represent the guild?"

Kurt replied, "I don’t think so. He didn’t attack me, likely not interested in holding us accountable."

"Good," the president breathed out, then immediately ordered Kurt, "Stay close to Chu Yun in Watchtower City, see if you can learn anything about the magister’s whereabouts."

"Understood!"

The battle involving the Chu family elder had shattered the balance in Watchtower City and caused subtle shifts among many factions.

Those who were anxious were not limited to these people; it included the principal of the First Martial Academy, and the martial arts teacher who had once insulted the Chu family elder and beaten Chu Yun.

Some student must have stirred things up, revealing how the martial arts teacher had insulted Chu Yun’s elder and abused Chu Yun in class.

The principal was so alarmed that he immediately went public on the media to criticize the teacher and announced his expulsion!

The academy posted a public notice listing the names of the two dismissed individuals.

One was the martial arts academic director who had accepted favors from Fan Zhiming.

The other was the teacher who had repeatedly abused Chu Yun.

If not for those two colluding with Fan Zhiming to target Chu Yun, he would never have been expelled and sent to his rival academy.

Facing the television interview, the principal said with heartfelt regret, "The greatest mistake of my teaching career was letting a genius slip away because of my staff’s incompetence—Chu Yun. I have now investigated this matter, and I hope that if Chu Yun sees this, he will consider returning to the academy. The Martial Arts Tournament is in a month, and I believe our academy’s star team should include him!"

This was clearly an open invitation.

In the illustrious First Martial Academy, having a spot on the tournament team was a privilege few young students could refuse.

Many joked that Principal Gu’s desire to win was both intense and genuine.