Gods of the Nation: You worship the God of Longevity, I worship the King of Hell!

Chapter 155 This is fucking possible! What an incredible bargain!
Thunderous applause that lasted for a long time.

Yu Feng raised his hand and pressed down lightly, and the central hall returned to silence.

He patted Lu Chen on the shoulder with a smile: "Patriarch Lu, you are so young, yet you have already joined the ranks of the newly rich. Looking across the country, at your age and at such a speed, you are probably the first in history to achieve such success. I hope you will remain humble and not be complacent, and create even greater glories!"

"Thank you for your encouragement, City Lord. I will do my utmost!"

"Okay, please take a seat."

Lu Chen sat down.

Yu Feng stood with his hands behind his back in front of the hall, his expression turning serious: "Alright, what I just said is a great event for today's meeting, and it's a good start for everyone. Now, let's talk about something else."

His gaze was like lightning, slowly sweeping across the entire room, exuding an air of authority, as if he wanted to see through everyone present.

"You have all probably heard about the matter between the Ma family and Ma Shilong. I won't go into the details."

In short, the mastermind behind the two recent murder cases in and around Jiangdu City—the S-level dungeon 'Academy of Rebirth' and the serial murder case—is a heretical cultivator from Hunan named Qiu Qianluo, and Ma Shilong from the Ma family.

"Xiannan evil cultivator?!"

Upon hearing this, all the family heads present gasped.

They knew some of the inside information about that place in southern Hunan.

Sun Qingcang said in a deep voice, "I never expected that this matter would be related to the evil cultivators of Hunan."

Everyone's eyes subconsciously glanced at Lu Chen—after all, the Rakshasa Sect originated from Hunan.

Yu Feng nodded: "That's right. Ma Shilong's father, Old Master Ma, is nearing the end of his life, but he is unwilling to accept this and does not want to fall into the cycle of reincarnation."

He even dared to attempt to cultivate himself into a ghost immortal in order to prolong his life.

As you all know, Ma Shilong is a famously filial son, but he is also a person who is overly devoted to filial piety.

Therefore, he risked everything and offended the wrath of the heavens by bringing Qiu Qianluo from Hunan to perform evil ghost cultivation techniques.

Both men are now in custody and have confessed to their crimes. It's remarkable that this case was solved…

He put his five fingers together and pointed them at Lu Chen: "We are also very grateful for the great help of Patriarch Lu. Without his assistance, this case would probably be difficult to solve quickly."

Lu Chen cupped his hands in greeting: "You flatter me, sir. In truth, my contribution is not great. If we are to speak of merit, it is all thanks to the Kitchen God and the City God of Jiangdu for their help in quickly solving this case!"

“No need to be modest, your contribution is also significant.” Yu Feng sat back in the main seat and continued, “Therefore, the reason I have summoned everyone here today is to discuss the handling of Ma Shilong.”

Qin Guangshan immediately spoke up: "City Lord, what's there to discuss? Just punish them according to the law."

"That's right, we must act in accordance with the law!"

"Such wickedness towards the people is unforgivable; beheading would be too lenient."

"Exactly!"

The heads of the families all echoed this sentiment.

Yu Feng snorted coldly: "Do you even need to tell me? Ma Shilong, along with that evil cultivator from Hunan, will naturally face the death penalty. However—"

He changed the subject and looked at everyone again: "This case has far-reaching implications and extremely negative impacts, causing incalculable damage to the reputation of Jiangdu City."

But I really can't understand why, as mortals, we are subject to the dictates of life and death. Having enjoyed wealth and honor for a lifetime, why do we still disregard morality and defy the will of Heaven at the end?

Such insatiable greed is utterly insane!
Do you really think cultivating to become a ghost immortal is some kind of easy path to heaven?
Such acts must be severely punished!

Although Yu Feng only mentioned Ma Shilong, it was clear that his words were also a warning to every family head present.

The case of Ma Shilong inevitably made this city lord wary of all the family heads in Jiangdu City.

For a moment, the expressions on the faces of the people below varied, but no one dared to respond.

Finally, Wu Jingzhi broke the silence: "The severe punishment the city lord spoke of specifically refers to..."

Yu Feng tapped the chair surface lightly with his fingertips: "It's very simple. According to past precedents, if the head of the family commits a crime, the family title should be stripped."

Therefore, from this day forward, the name of the Ma family as a newly rich family no longer exists.

However, given the extremely egregious nature of this case, and in order to serve as a warning to others, I have decided to impose the punishment of collective liability.

His tone suddenly turned grim: "Therefore, all three generations of the Ma family will be sentenced according to the law and imprisoned."

His wife, his children, and his brothers are sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

As for the old master of the Ma family... I have cut off his support and left him to fend for himself.

This is the retribution he deserved.

These words shocked all the family heads present.

No one expected that the Ma family would not only suffer misfortune this time, but also face annihilation.

This level of punishment is unprecedented.

As expected, this city lord is truly exceptionally righteous and indignant.

When dealing with the Rakshasa Cult, he didn't utter a single unnecessary word.

Unable to break through within minutes, he spared no effort to use his life essence to unleash a powerful divine power, intending to annihilate them in one fell swoop.

Therefore, upon careful consideration, the severity of this trial is both reasonable and unexpected.

For a moment, the heads of the various families were filled with a surge of thoughts.

Even Zhao Wanliang was surprised by the severity of Yu Fenghui's sentence.

The original plan was that only Ma Shilong would take the blame, but now the entire clan has been implicated.

However, he naturally wouldn't stand up for Ma Shilong at this moment.

After all, the Ma family is a pawn to be discarded either way; to him, discarding one person or discarding an entire clan makes no difference.

He could even use this verdict to appease Ma Shilong, saying that he would find a way to rescue his family and that he could just wait patiently.

As long as it drags on until the position of the prefecture is finalized.

Then Ma Shilong completely lost his usefulness.

After the discussion subsided, Yu Feng spoke again: "Does anyone have any objections to this verdict?"

The heads of the families exchanged glances and shook their heads.

Yu Feng nodded slightly: "The purpose of this heavy sentence is to set an example. If similar incidents happen again in the future, I hope those lawbreakers will think carefully about how many heads their families have to lose."

The family heads all chuckled awkwardly. —Damn it, it really was a trap!
—It's purely a case of making an example of someone.

"Alright, that's all I have to say. Now, I have another question for you." Yu Feng's tone softened slightly: "According to the law, the Ma Family Temple will be confiscated and auctioned off by the government."

Which of you is interested in the Ma Family Temple?

Or perhaps they want to go somewhere else.

Or perhaps any of your major clans would like to expand and incorporate another temple.

Or perhaps…

His gaze fell on Lu Chen: "Patriarch Lu, are you interested? This is a golden opportunity for you to establish a temple as soon as possible. The Ma Family Temple has an excellent location; it can at least be ranked among the top five in Jiangdu."

Sun Qingcang chimed in, "Xiao Chen, this is truly a great opportunity to quickly establish a temple! With an existing temple already in place, you only need to make minor repairs, and it won't be long before it's officially open. Moreover, the Ma Family Temple has a good design; it's one of the most innovative temples in Jiangdu City."

Sun Yourong nodded gently: "Indeed, you might as well go and take a look when you have time."

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat—I'm totally screwed!

Solving a case can actually bring such a windfall?
Indeed, if we were to start from scratch, from acquiring land, building temples, and acquiring statues of deities, it would take at least six months to complete.

But if they directly take over the Ma Family Temple...

That's quite fast.

He immediately asked, "Lord City Lord, how much would it cost to acquire the Ma Family Temple?"

Yu Feng smiled and said, "We'll discuss this in more detail later. Let me ask you this first: Which of you is interested in the Ma Family Temple?"

Zhao Jiutang winked at the two companies behind him, signaling them to raise the price.

Unexpectedly, Yu Feng seemed to have sensed this beforehand, his sharp gaze sweeping over the various families in the north of the city.

The two newly rich family heads immediately fell silent, and even Zhao Jiutang's expression changed several times, swallowing back the words he was about to say.

"Very well, since no one is interested, I will speak with Patriarch Lu privately later."

Yu Feng immediately made the decision, giving no further room for maneuver.

Everyone smiled upon hearing this and did not object.

After all, even a fool could see that Yu Feng was just going through the motions when he asked them questions.

This Ma Family Temple was prepared for Lu Chen.

After a few more casual words, the meeting came to an end.

"That's all for today. Thank you all for making the trip."

"You've worked hard, City Lord!"

The heads of the families all rose, bowed, and left the central hall one after another.

"Master Lu, please come with me."

"Yes."

Lu Chen responded and followed.

"I'll wait for you outside," Sun Yourong said softly as she brushed past him.

Lu Chen nodded slightly and followed Yu Feng into the inner room.

Inside the office, Yu Feng walked to his desk, pulled out a document, and tossed it to Lu Chen.

"This is?"

"The transfer document for the Ma Family Temple. The market price is about 300 million, and the internal guaranteed price is 200 million. If you think it's suitable, sign it, pay the money later, and then the Ma Family Temple will become the 'Lu Family Temple'."

"So fast?" Lu Chen hurriedly took the file bag.

"What, you think it's too expensive? You can go and ask around to see if I'm deliberately trying to rip you off," Yu Feng said, feigning anger.

"You flatter me, City Lord! How could I dare!" Lu Chen chuckled and solemnly cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your guidance, sir!"

"Alright, alright, stop pretending in front of me." Yu Feng chuckled, then became serious: "But even though you have enough military merits, can you come up with that 1 billion yuan asset verification?"

Lu Chen nodded solemnly: "Yes!"

Yu Feng was taken aback for a moment, then realized: "Looks like you've made quite a bit of money from the Rakshasa Sect."

"Isn't this all thanks to you, sir?" Lu Chen smiled earnestly, then paused, and suddenly asked meaningfully, "Sir, perhaps..."

"Hey, stop!" Yu Feng hurriedly raised his hand to interrupt him: "I am an upright official, incorruptible and will never be corrupted by money. I helped you this time purely because you solved this major case. It was just a small favor."

Lu Chen looked moved: "Your Excellency's noble character is truly admirable. I originally intended to offer you two 'Volcanic Spirit Ginseng' that I had obtained by chance..."

He flipped his palm, and two crimson ginsengs, faintly glowing with flames, appeared in the air.

"Volcanic Ginseng? A fifth-grade rare and precious herb!" Yu Feng's pupils shrank.

“Exactly.” Lu Chen sighed softly, “It’s just a pity… that it’s no longer suitable now.”

He was about to take it back.

"Ahem!" Yu Feng cleared his throat, deliberately letting his gaze drift elsewhere.

The meaning couldn't be clearer...

Lu Chen suppressed a laugh and pushed the spirit ginseng over.

With a flash of red light, the two spirit ginsengs disappeared into Feng's storage ring.

"You kid!"

Yu Feng pointed at him.

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter at the same time.

"sit!"

Yu Feng pointed to the sofa, and as soon as he sat down, he suddenly asked:
"Boy, let me ask you one more time: are you sure you didn't get any other clues from the Kitchen God besides Qiu Qianluo and Ma Shilong?"

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat. He shook his head and asked, "Sir, have you found out something?"

　Chapter Two is almost finished, and there will be a second update today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)