Chu Yu said, "After becoming a guest official of our Emperor Chu's lineage, you will be given a guest official token, a residence, and ten servants. This residence is also located within the Chu Capital, and its value is quite high."
Luo Feng nodded. The Chu Capital, as the core of Emperor Chu's lineage, is one of the most prosperous cities in the entire Origin Continent. A large residence here is likely worth more than all the Chaos Grade areas of Huyang City combined.
"I know you don't care much about these things," Chu Yu said with a smile, "What you care about are the inheritances and resources."
"We casual cultivators lack nothing more than inheritances and resources," Luo Feng replied.
Chu Yu continued, "Brother Luo, you must have at least one or two suitable God King-level inheritances to have reached the peak of the Chaos Realm. However, in Yan Feng Kingdom, we have the best inheritances in the entire Origin Continent, and we also have those that are most suitable for you. I believe that with a more suitable inheritance, Brother Luo's strength could advance even further!"
Chu Yu felt a surge of excitement. If Brother Luo could take another step forward, not necessarily reaching the God King level but just attaining the 'Transcendent Chaos Realm,' it would greatly benefit him.
"I'm looking forward to it as well," Luo Feng said.
The outside world believed that he had one or two suitable God King-level inheritances due to his status as a peak Chaos Realm cultivator. But in reality, he was far poorer than they imagined—he didn't even have a single suitable God King-level inheritance. The Lie Yuan Technique could be considered to surpass the God King level, but it wasn't an inheritance for cultivating the Dao; it was a mental will technique. What he really needed now were inheritances for cultivating the fundamental Dao, particularly in the paths of Life and Destruction, where he was urgently lacking.
"When we return to the Marquis' residence, I'll immediately take you to choose your inheritance and resources," Chu Yu said. "Every guest official is given a free allowance of 100,000 merit points for exchange. This is a gift from Emperor Chu's lineage. For more inheritances and resources, you'll need to earn merit. The greater the merit, the more resources you can exchange for."
"Even the most core and top-tier inheritances of Emperor Chu's lineage can be exchanged as long as the merit is sufficient. The Yan Feng Founder is quite generous to guest officials," Chu Yu said.
Luo Feng had already learned this. Other forces in the Origin Continent would merge into the two great camps of Yan Feng Kingdom and Thunder Kingdom. These two camps indeed opened up their most precious inheritances, but the merit required was very high.
"Rest assured, I will arrange some tasks for Brother Luo that are easy to gain merit," Chu Yu said with a smile. "The various tasks of Emperor Chu's lineage are mainly decided by the First-Class Marquises."
"Thank you, Brother Chu," Luo Feng said.
Chu Yu was in a good mood. The competition among the First-Class Marquises was fierce, and the good tasks they could obtain were limited. Generally, they could only fully nurture one or two Chaos Realm guest officials. If the chosen guest official turned out to be ungrateful, it would be troublesome.
Chu Yu had observed Luo Feng for a long time during his time in Huyang City and, after confirming Luo Feng's character, decided to invest heavily in him.
The personal guard ships escorted Chu Yu Marquis' main vessel toward the Marquis' residence.
Meanwhile, on the top floor of a towering building within Chu Capital, two figures sat facing each other.
A carefree man leaned against the railing, holding a wine flask, and glanced into the distance. His gaze pierced through the spatial barriers to look at Chu Yu Marquis' ship. "The newly appointed Chu Yu Marquis has returned to Chu Capital."
"Chu Yu Marquis?" a refined man with three eyes also looked in that direction. "Chu Yu Marquis, who possesses the Infinite Divine Body, was immediately made a First-Class Marquis as soon as he broke through to the Chaos Realm."
"Yes, another Infinite Divine Body," the carefree man shook his head. "Out of the seven First-Class Marquises, five have the Infinite Divine Body. But I am not one of them."
"Brother Chu Feng, to reach the peak of the Chaos Realm with an ordinary divine body is even more impressive," the three-eyed man said.
The carefree man was one of the seven First-Class Marquises of Emperor Chu's lineage, known as Marquis Chu Feng.
"Don't flatter me," Marquis Chu Feng sighed. "Despite cultivating for countless years, it's difficult to make further progress. Whether it's the Transcendent Chaos Realm or the God King level, both seem out of reach. The resources given by the old ancestor are limited; before, there were six First-Class Marquises competing for them... now there are seven."
"Chu Yu Marquis has just broken through, and his strength and foundation are average. He probably won't be able to compete with you in the early stages," the three-eyed man said.
"He has a helper named Luo He, who is at the peak of the Chaos Realm," Marquis Chu Feng squinted. "Even in the early stages, he will compete with me!"
"As a newly appointed Marquis, he doesn't have to perform any tasks for the first thirty eons," the three-eyed man hesitated. "This is also a form of protection by the Emperor, so we can't do much."
Marquis Chu Feng put down his wine flask and said, "Let's not talk about him. By the way, when will Lord Yuan Xiu arrive in Chu Capital?"
"Senior Brother Yuan Xiu said he would visit the God King in Chu Capital, but no one knows when he'll arrive," the three-eyed man replied.
"Once you know he's coming to Chu Capital, make sure to inform me immediately," Marquis Chu Feng said.
The three-eyed man nodded.
In Emperor Chu's lineage, including the royal Chaos Realm cultivators, the Emperor's disciples, Chaos Realm guest officials, and independent Chaos Realm cultivators... only two had reached the Transcendent Chaos Realm level. Their status was comparable to beings at the initial God King level.
Lord Yuan Xiu was a Transcendent Chaos Realm being! He had cultivated a prison within his divine body, known as the "Dark Mansion." With a single thought, he could imprison vast swaths of the surrounding universe within his body. Naturally, he could also trap enemies within this prison.
Even ancient God Kings would have difficulty escaping from his body prison without considerable effort. Because of this ability, beings at the initial God King level were quite wary of him.
The Chu Yu Marquis' residence, as a First-Class Marquis' residence, spanned about ten billion kilometers. Numerous members of Chu Yu Marquis' lineage, personal guards, and a large number of servants had moved in. The Emperor Chu lineage had proliferated over countless ages, and many members of the royal family lived in near-poverty. Only the high-ranking members of the royal family could live in luxury and enjoy abundant resources.
"Chu Yu, many within the family want to meet you," the graceful woman said softly. "Should you meet them?"
"Let's wait until the evening banquet and invite them all together," Chu Yu replied. "Luo He and I have important matters to attend to."
With that, Chu Yu led Luo Feng away.
Luo Feng could only offer a polite smile.
"Mother," the eldest son, watching his father and Lord Luo He depart, couldn't help but say, "Father just returned, and so many elders from the royal family and the Feng Ye family came to see him, yet he treated them so coldly..."
"Shut up," the graceful woman said coldly, glaring at her eldest son. "You fool, your father's matters with Lord Luo He are the most important thing for our Marquis' residence."
"Oh," the eldest son responded.
The second and third sons remained silent. Their mother favored the eldest, who sometimes acted more recklessly, while the second and third sons were more cautious.
"Our Marquis' residence chose its first guest official, and it's this Lord Luo He, whose background we know nothing about," the graceful woman frowned slightly. "My father is a peak Chaos Realm cultivator and the Lord of Feng Ye City, yet he didn't invite my father..."
When she saw the black-clad Lord Luo He walking alongside her husband during the reception outside the city, she felt a twinge of annoyance.
In her view, her husband joining forces with her father, the Lord of Feng Ye City, would have been the perfect alliance.
But her husband had already made his choice and submitted the application without consulting her, leaving her with no say in the matter.
"Luo Sa and Qing Yan, you two rest here for now. Chu Yu and I will be heading out," Luo Feng instructed. Morosa and Mo Qing Yan immediately complied, settling into one of the courtyards within the Marquis' residence.
The Marquis' residence.
Chu Yu led Luo Feng, along with a team of personal guards, aboard an unassuming flying vessel and quietly left the residence.
"The inheritances and resources available for guest officials are all within the Emperor's palace," Chu Yu explained. "In fact, the inheritances that any of the thirteen royal lineages can choose from are identical, all left behind by the Yan Feng Founder. However, the resources available for selection vary. The resources that the Emperor Chu lineage can choose from are generally those bestowed by our old ancestor."
Luo Feng was somewhat expectant.
Among the thirteen Emperors of Yan Feng Kingdom, the most renowned was 'Emperor Qing.'
Emperor Qing was the most powerful; in all the recorded history of the Origin Continent, Emperor Qing had never met a foe he couldn't defeat.
Emperor Qing had fifteen personal disciples, including six God Kings, eight Transcendent Chaos Realm cultivators, and one peak Chaos Realm cultivator! Emperor Qing's lineage was also the strongest among the thirteen royal lineages.
The other twelve lineages were not far behind.
Luo Feng was already very satisfied to have joined the 'Emperor Chu lineage.'
"We've arrived at Emperor Chu Palace," Chu Yu said, looking ahead.
Previously unnoticed, now that they were close, they suddenly saw it.
A vast palace seemingly blended into the dark chaos, existing there! From the outside, it appeared about the same size as Huyang City. But Luo Feng could sense that space was folded within it, making the internal area much larger.
"Emperor Chu Palace is where most of the royal lineage resides," Chu Yu said as he led Luo Feng inside. There were no obstacles along the way, and Luo Feng saw no guards.
"The descendants?" Luo Feng looked around the empty palace, not seeing a single servant.
"The old ancestor created numerous small universes within Emperor Chu Palace," Chu Yu explained. "Many of the royal family's useless descendants are thrown into these small universes, where they cultivate and reproduce in harsh environments, being born very weak. Many of them never become True Gods in their entire lives."
Luo Feng was astonished.
He knew that powerful Chaos Realm cultivators, like his master Sitting Mountain Guest, or even some other strong Chaos Realm beings, would buy small universes created by God Kings to train their subordinates.
But the old ancestor of the Emperor Chu lineage used them to punish the royal family's failures. Once deemed too useless, they would be condemned to spend their entire lives in these small universes.
"The descendants thrown into the small universes, along with their offspring, can only leave the small universes if they reach the level of Eternal True God," Chu Yu sighed. "Those who manage to become Eternal True Gods under such harsh conditions are heavily utilized once they emerge."
Luo Feng could only marvel at how harsh this old ancestor was towards his royal descendants.
"These young ones have no idea how terrifying the consumption of resources by countless descendants can be," thought the ancient being deep within Emperor Chu Palace, who was aware of everything happening in the palace. He opened his eyes, watching Chu Yu and Luo Feng.
"The best solution is to throw ninety-nine percent of the descendants into small universes," he thought. This practice was first implemented by 'Emperor Xuan,' one of the thirteen Emperors of Yan Feng Kingdom, and was quickly adopted by the other twelve Emperors.
By sending them into small universes, they could save a vast amount of resources, easing the burden on the Emperors. It also gave the royal descendants enough pressure not to slack off.
This ancient Emperor glanced at Chu Yu and Luo Feng before closing his eyes again, no longer paying attention to them.
The vast and mysterious Emperor Chu Palace was like a maze of time and space. Luo Feng, led by Chu Yu, finally arrived in front of a large hall.
"Next time, just follow the same route to reach this Hall of Inheritance," Chu Yu said. "Don't wander elsewhere; if you get lost, you might end up in some forbidden area."
"I understand," Luo Feng replied. He had no interest in the secrets of Emperor Chu Palace; he only cared about the inheritances and resources.
Luo Feng looked at the ancient hall before him. The hall was simple, with two statues guarding the entrance.
"Go on in; I'll wait for you here," Chu Yu said.
Luo Feng nodded and walked forward.
As he approached the entrance, the two statue guardians slightly shifted their heads, their eyes locking onto Luo Feng, filling him with an overwhelming sense of impending doom.
"Are these statue guardians far stronger than me?" Luo Feng was shocked. "Even with my five transformation techniques, I feel like I wouldn't be able to withstand them."
The two statue guardians looked at him for a moment, then returned to their original positions, silently staring ahead.
Only then did Luo Feng fully step into the Hall of Inheritance.