Divine Emperor Demon Emperor

Chapter 533: Chapter 533: The Price of War

The Flawless Palace Disciples who returned to the Bai and He Families tended to their wounds if injured. The uninjured had to take turns standing guard, preventing the Qing Zhu Association from launching a counterattack.

At this time, in the Bai Family Main Hall, Luo Feng and his group were discussing post-war matters with the party led by the Taiqing Institute Director.

”Although this was a great victory, it also revealed the Qing Zhu Association’s true strength. If we hadn’t joined forces, I’m afraid we would not have been able to resist them,” the Taiqing Institute Director said.

Everyone nodded slightly upon hearing this. In this one battle, the Qing Zhu Association had dispatched a total of twelve supreme experts of the Spirit Realm, forty experts of the Celestial Spirit Realm, and several thousand Primordial Ocean Realm Martial Artists.

If not for the help of Taiqing Academy and the Celestial Spirit Auction House, the battle in Wind City would likely have ended very differently.

Every war has its costs, regardless of victory or defeat. Take the Flawless Palace Disciples: despite their great victory over the Qing Zhu Association, a count revealed that over three hundred disciples had died in battle, with more than five hundred wounded.

And that was only counting the Flawless Palace Disciples. The casualties among the various great families of Wind City were even more severe.

After resting for only an hour or two, Luo Feng went alone to patrol the top of Wind City’s walls. In the wake of the great battle, the areas around the four city gates were littered with corpses, belonging to both Flawless Palace and the Qing Zhu Association.

Although dusk was falling, many of Wind City’s citizens had organized themselves and were still cleaning up the battlefield.

The bodies were gathered together. The corpses of the Flawless Palace Disciples were laid out neatly, while pits were dug on the spot to bury the bodies of the Qing Zhu Association members.

This was the reality of war. The victors are crowned kings, the losers are vilified. The bodies of the vanquished are discarded without care.

Luo Feng sighed at the scene before him and left the city wall.

As for Lin Yun, he had been unconscious since the end of the battle. Although his wounds had been bandaged and the bleeding stopped, his internal injuries showed no signs of improvement whatsoever.

Little Ape was also gravely wounded, though not as severely as Lin Yun. Fortunately, Little Ape possessed a powerful bloodline, and its regenerative abilities were far greater than Lin Yun’s.

As night fell, Luo Feng came to Lin Yun’s room. He sighed helplessly, looking at Lin Yun lying on the bed. Although Lin Yun had taken a Nine Revolutions Life Protection Pill, which would keep him alive for a month, it would *only* last for a month.

Having made up his mind, Luo Feng resolved to go to the Pharmaceutical Instrument Master’s Guild himself first thing in the morning. He was determined to hire an Earth Level Eight-Stars Alchemist to treat Lin Yun.

With no other options for now, Luo Feng stayed in Lin Yun’s room for a short while before leaving.

Luo Feng departed, unaware that Lin Yun’s internal injuries were already healing at a rapid pace. His fractured bones began to regenerate, and his grievously strained meridians were slowly mending themselves.

Meanwhile, Mo Qingliu had learned of Lin Yun’s severe injuries. The young woman was insisting on going to his side, saying she wanted to take care of him, but Mo Qingshui stopped her.

”Sis...” Blocked by Mo Qingshui, Mo Qingliu became frantic. She glared at Mo Qingshui with her large, teary eyes, about to snap.

”Stop this nonsense!” Mo Qingshui snapped. ”Lin Yun is gravely injured. Are you trying to go and cause more trouble for him? You’re not going anywhere. Just stay here and behave.”

Overnight, all traces of the great battle were washed away, and all the bodies were dealt with. The corpses of the Flawless Palace Disciples were naturally transported back to Flawless Palace.

Early the next morning, Luo Feng went to Lin Yun’s room. He planned to check on Lin Yun’s condition one last time before setting off, but he was stunned to find that, in just one night, Lin Yun’s internal injuries had healed significantly.

”This...” Luo Feng knew this couldn’t be the work of the Flawless Flesh Body. ’That would only be possible if Lin Yun had cultivated his Flawless Flesh Body to the Fourth Layer or higher, but he’s only at the second layer.’

Luo Feng was unaware that Lin Yun’s body had been reconstructed by the Divine Ape Demon Core, granting him a heaven-defying self-healing ability. Moreover, the body reforged by the Divine Ape Demon Core faintly carried a trace of the Vajra Divine Ape’s Bloodline Power.

After examining him carefully for a long time, Luo Feng finally scrapped his plan to visit the Pharmaceutical Instrument Master’s Guild. Judging by Lin Yun’s current condition, his life was no longer in danger. He only needed a few days of quiet rest to fully recover.

”What a freak,” Luo Feng muttered helplessly and walked out of the room. For him to call someone a freak showed just how astounded he was by Lin Yun’s recovery ability.

With Lin Yun out of danger, Luo Feng began to oversee the final cleanup operations. The members of Taiqing Academy had already left early that morning; they had to seize this opportunity to eliminate the Qing Zhu Association’s stronghold in Fire City.

Before leaving, Wei Yunhang asked Luo Feng to tell Lin Yun that once he had fully recovered, he absolutely had to visit Taiqing Academy.

The people from Taiqing Academy had left. Over a hundred members of the Qing Zhu Association in Wind City had been captured alive. Many of them were members of the city’s great families; some were even Patriarchs.

These were the traitors whose identities Lin Yun had failed to uncover. With the Qing Zhu Association’s crushing defeat, their fate was a foregone conclusion.

On the Bai Family’s Martial Arts Training Ground, over a hundred people knelt in the center, their hands bound. Luo Feng entered, accompanied by Bai Ling and Mo Qingshui.

Seeing Luo Feng approach, the captives all began desperately pleading for mercy.

”Palace Master, we didn’t willingly submit to the Qing Zhu Association! They forced us!”

”That’s right, Palace Master! My family has been loyal to Flawless Palace for generations! Please, spare my life, Palace Master!”

Listening to their pleas for mercy, Luo Feng remained unmoved, his expression unreadable. He stopped in front of the crowd and said calmly, ”Some mistakes can’t be taken back. And for them, a price must be paid.”

With that, Luo Feng gave a single, cold command: ”Kill.”

At Luo Feng’s command, the Flawless Palace Disciples waiting nearby sprang into action, instantly executing the hundred-odd captives.

In the aftermath of the battle for Wind City, no fewer than twenty of the city’s families had been completely wiped out. Despite the victory, the price Flawless Palace paid was also exceedingly steep.

In war, there are no true winners, for any war demands the price of human life.

Without a moment’s hesitation after the executions, Luo Feng ordered the area to be cleaned. He then began arranging for the Flawless Palace Disciples to return to Flawless Palace in groups.

Thus, the Qing Zhu Association’s stronghold in Wind City was completely purged, its members all executed. But this event also brought to light the true nature of the Qing Zhu Association—an organization capable of contending with, and perhaps even destroying, the Six Great Forces of the Eastern Domain.

Luo Feng didn’t know if this was the full extent of the Qing Zhu Association’s power, but one thing was certain: their strength could not be underestimated. He feared that, in the future, the powers of the Eastern Domain would inevitably have to face the Qing Zhu Association in a decisive war.

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