Darkness still enveloped the castle of Raging Fire, but the castle was glowing gloomily in the night like a firefly.
The news regarding the death of the castellan was spreading fast in the castle. From the slaveholders to Skywalkers, from Skywalkers to slaves, men, women, everyone was anxiously waiting in the dark and no one dared to sleep.
Those spies of the castle of Snowstorm were very excited. The power struggle in the castle of Raging Fire and the death of Lei Ming was huge news to them. They couldn’t even imagine what kind of prize they would receive.
However, they still needed to stay hidden. The lockdown hadn’t been lifted yet, the new person who was in charge of the castle at the moment might also carry out a search during the night, so they needed to be extra careful.
At the moment, in the palace of the castle of Raging Fire, many slaveholders were gathered in the hall of the palace waiting to meet Chamberlain and the fire messenger. Everyone was whispering nervously to each other in small groups.
Those who used to have a good relationship with Lei Ming were all planning how to give excuses to the fire messenger and to tell him that they had nothing to do with whatever Lei Ming was doing.
On the other hand, the slaveholders who were not on good terms with Lei Ming all secretly happy about what happened to Lei Ming.
The happiest person would be Cao Zhengyi, who was originally the lowest-ranking slaveholder amongst them.
When he entered the hall of the palace without any emotions, whether it was the low-level slaveholders like him or the high-level slaveholders, they all surrounded him as if he was the most important person in the castle.
“Brother Cao… I mean boss Cao, please help me this time. Whatever I did in the past was all because Lei Ming that monster forced me to do it… I had no choice…”
“Brother Cao, for the sake of me helping you in the last attack of the castle of Snowstorm… Please…”
“Brother, do you like the pretty girl I just sent to you? She is still a virgin…”
“Brother Zhengyi, we all know that you are always loyal to the brotherhood. Please look after brothers today. We have kept a really good bottle of spirit for you…”
…
“Okay! Okay! Stop… stop!” Cao Zhengyi said sternly. However, inside his mind, he was overjoyed by other people’s flattery.
“Everyone, stop talking! Brother Zhengyi has an announcement!” an older high-level slaveholder said loudly.
Instantly, the hall of the palace fell silent. Cao Zhengyi was satisfied with their behavior. “Chamberlain has already said that he would not go after anyone who had a close relationship with Lei Ming, so you all need to stop guessing. Grandpa is a man of his words. So you don’t need to worry, In terms of other things. I’ll be honest with grandpa. I’ll not alter anything.”
“Brother Zhengyi is truly a man!”
“Yes. Brother. We are depending on you!”
“Brother Zhengyi, if you need me to do anything in the future, I’ll not hesitate!”
“I’ve heard that it was the second General who exposed Lei Ming’s secret plan. So the castellan’s place could be his…”
“If the second General becomes castellan, then the deputy castellan will definitely be brother Zhengyi! That position is in charge of the castle’s food supply. That is a lucrative post!”
“Yes, brother Zhengyi, we all support you!”
…..
“No… don’t say anything about me, if you are really doing it, it will only cause harm to me. Lei Ming is a great example… It’s about time now, I think the fire messenger and Chamberlain are going to arrive soon, so please get ready,” Cao Zhengyi waved his hand and said.
“Brother Zhengyi, who is this grandpa really, I have heard that he single-handedly killed Lei Ming and Fu Hanbiao,” a low-level slaveholder asked curiously.
“Do you think that you are qualified to call him grandpa!? And don’t ask that many questions, it will get you killed!” Cao Zhengyi glared at the slaveholder and threatened.
The low-level slaveholder suddenly realised what Cao Zhengyi was talking about, he immediately lifted his hand and started slapping his own face for asking this stupid question, “brother, you are right… Right…”
“Okay, that’s enough, remember, don’t ask any questions,” Cao Zhengyi squinted his eyes and said. Then he casually said, “I am really thirsty, I have been running around for the entire afternoon…”
The slaveholder immediately stopped slapping his own face and quickly found him a cup of water on a table next to them.
Cao Zhengyi nodded his head and merely said, “Mhm” to approve the behavior of the low-level slaveholder.
But just when he took a sip of water, someone’s voice appeared behind the hall, “Have you done the things that have been assigned to you!?
“Cough… Cough…” Cao Zhengyi was instantly choked by the water, and then he quickly put down the cup of water and trotted towards the old man.
“Grandpa, don’t worry, no one is able to leave the castle tonight!” Cao Zhengyi bowed at the old man and said.
“Is everyone here?” Chu Yunsheng glanced at the quiet crowd and said.
“Yes. 7 high-level slaveholders and 21 low-level slaveholders are all here!” Cao Zhengyi immediately replied.
“Why are there also female slaveholders?” Chu Yunsheng whispered to Cao Zhengyi. He was quite surprised when he discovered that there were a few females here.
“Grandpa, probably you don’t know, we don’t actually have gender restrictions on who can be a slaveholder. They’re powerful Skywalkers, and because of all sorts of reasons, they joined the castle.”
“Oh. Okay, as long as they are working for us,” Chu Yunsheng said. He still had a hard time to imagine that women also kept slaves.
“Not only that, but there are other things, such as our Skywalkers are not just fire elemental Skywalkers, there are also ice elemental Skywalkers, and other elemental Skywalkers as well. I’ll explain to you in detail in the future,” Cao Zhengyi replied.
“Okay, we’ll talk about that in the future. Since everyone is here. Let’s see what the fire messenger wants to say,” Chu Yunsheng stepped aside and “ordered” the fake cloaked man to come out.
“All hail, the lord fire messenger!” Everyone bowed down at the same time and said loudly.
“Rise,” the fake cloaked man walked towards his seat and said coldly, “I’m very busy, so I’ll keep it short. Lei Ming and Fu Hanbiao were working in collusion with the castle of Snowstorm in attempting to overthrow me. The evidence is clear and he and his men have been executed. I know you are not involved in this and I don’t want to waste my time on killing people…”
“Thank you, my lord…”
“The castle needs a new castellan, but I need to focus on my cultivation practice. So Yuan Hongxue will be in charge of this. Anyone who dares to challenge his decision, the punishment is death!” The fake cloaked man didn’t wait for their reactions, he simply stood up and left the hall.
“We are happy to follow the chamberlain’s instructions,” all the slaveholders quickly replied, they didn’t dare to provoke the fire messenger who didn’t seem to be happy at the moment.
Chu Yunsheng waited until the fake fire messenger disappeared from everyone’s sight then said, “I need to take care of the fire messenger’s daily life, so I’ll need to choose someone else. Originally, I wanted to promote someone from the 7 high-level slaveholders. However, the fire messenger is concerned that some of you used to have a very close relationship with the former castellan Lei Ming. Although the fire messenger is not going to punish you, you all are not suitable for the castellan. Do you have any objections?” Chu Yunsheng glanced at 7 high-level slaveholders and said.
“No… no… we don’t have any,” all the high-level slaveholders said nervously and quickly at the same time. It was already fortunate enough for them to keep their lives so no one dared to ask for more.
“Okay, since no one has objections, then I’ll directly appoint someone,” Chu Yunsheng pointed at Cao Zhengyi and said, “Cao Zhengyi, since you have shown your loyalty to the fire messenger, I hereby appoint you as the new castellan. Do you have any problems with it?”
“WHAT!? Grandpa, are you sure… sure?…” Cao Zhengyi couldn’t believe what he heard, originally, he thought that he would be promoted to a high-level slaveholder at the most. But he didn’t expect that Chu Yunsheng wanted him to manage the entire castle.
“Huh!? You don’t want it?! You don’t want to work for the fire messenger!?” Chu Yunsheng’s face dropped.
“No… no… It is just that it happened too sudden… I don’t know if I am capable of doing it….” Cao Zhengyi couldn’t organize his thoughts properly, he was murmuring and thinking what to say at the same time.
“What do you guys think!” Chu Yunsheng looked at the 7 high-level slaveholders and said coldly.
Everyone was looking at each other in confusion. Of course, no one would think Cao Zhengyi was capable of doing it. The most suitable candidate should be the second General – Luo Hengshen. However, all of them still remembered what the fire messenger said, so no one dared to express the second opinion, “We all think Chamberlain is right!” The 7 high-level slaveholders quickly said.
“Then, that’s it. Also, Luo Hengshen contributed a lot to this investigation. So the fire messenger has personally awarded him a set of cultivation methods. He will still remain as the deputy castellan,” Chu Yunsheng said.
“Castellan Cao, from now on, you are formally the second castellan of the castle of Raging Fire. I hope that you can do your best to help the fire messenger,” Chu Yunsheng took out the castellan token that he found from Lei Ming’s pocket and passed it to Cao Zhengyi.
Cao Zhengyi used his shaking hands to take over the token and said respectfully, “I will do my best to help you and the fire messenger”
“Okay, now I am giving you your first task, let’s see what your performance is. Your first task is to prepare the entire castle for the possible incoming battle,” Chu Yunsheng took a sip of water and said calmly.
“Prepare for the battle?” Cao Zhengyi instantly raised his head and looked at Chu Yunsheng. All the slaveholders were also confused.
“Yes, get ready for the battle! I need a detailed report for the forces we have. As soon as possible,” Chu Yunsheng said. He needed the castle’s statistics so he could analyze the information to see if he could fight the castle of the Snowstorm and the divine realm.
“Yes… I will do it right now,” Cao Zhengyi nodded his head and said.
“Also, lift the lockdown. Let the news regarding what happened tonight spread in the castle as fast as it can. In terms of how you are going to deal with those spies, you can discuss with Luo Hengshen and other slaveholders,” Chu Yunsheng simply said.
