102: Chapter 12, First-Tier Continent.

The figure wearing the black bird mask put down the whip in his hand, slowly turned his head, and said irritably:

"Who do you think you are? How dare you defy the orders of our Black Eagle Society!"

He stared at the young man in front of him and the snow fox on the youth's shoulder, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt. "Say one more word, and believe me, I'll exile you as well!"

The bird-masked man swung the icy whip down heavily.

A faint blue spatial ripple emanated from the Holy Fox on Chu Ran's shoulder.

The falling snowflakes, the walking people, the terror on the woman's face, and the whip about to strike her—everything in the surroundings froze at that moment!

In this corner of the world, only the young man walked forward slowly, leaving one footprint after another in the snow...

Chu Ran walked up to the bird-masked man, took the whip from his hand, and said calmly, "I still prefer to reason with people first."

The next moment, another faint blue spatial ripple spread out; the frozen snowflakes fell, and time resumed its flow...

Chu Ran toyed with the whip in his hand, looking at the bird-masked man before him.

The bird-masked man's eyes darted around incessantly, filled with a look of sheer terror...

To be able to freeze time instantly!

Even in Xue Prefecture, few could achieve such a domain!

Just who was this person before him?

"Tell me, what wrong did they commit?" Chu Ran asked indifferently.

Hei Ya felt a chill down his back. He didn't want to answer, but he felt an inexplicable, irresistible force compelling him... He had no choice but to say reluctantly, "They left footprints on the Sacred Snow. According to Xue Prefecture regulations, they are to be sentenced to exile!"

Chu Ran frowned. "What is the punishment of exile?"

Hearing this, Hei Ya's eyes flashed with confusion, but thinking of the overwhelming strength of the man before him, he could only brace himself and answer, "Walking thirty thousand miles back and forth across the Extreme Cold Snowfield on foot."

Thirty thousand miles?

With this bone-chilling cold, Chu Ran felt freezing just standing there. To walk thirty thousand miles...

This wasn't exile; it was clearly intended to freeze people to death!

To be frozen to death just for leaving a footprint—how precious could this Sacred Snow be?

"What is Sacred Snow?" Chu Ran asked.

The black bird-man pointed at the lake surface nearby. "That is Sacred Snow. It is the material specifically used to make Xue Prefecture Ice Lanterns."

"And what are Xue Prefecture Ice Lanterns?" Chu Ran continued to ask.

"The sacred lanterns at the entrance of the Xue Prefecture Inspector's compound."

"What is their function?" Chu Ran was puzzled.

"They look good."

?

Just because they look good?

Chu Ran's face was filled with astonishment.

The punishments in Xue Prefecture were truly severe; one had to forfeit their life just for stepping on some snow...

"How about this: I'll go talk to your Inspector. You release them," Chu Ran said calmly.

"No!" The black bird-man shook his head. "Even though you are strong, there is no such thing as retracting a penalty once it has been violated in Xue Prefecture. As a..."

Before the black bird-man could finish, the expression on his face froze, and his entire body was instantly turned into an ice sculpture.

"Then consider it dying in the line of duty."

Chu Ran curled his lip and said indifferently.

What kind of garbage rules are these?

...

The woman also regained consciousness. Seeing Hei Ya frozen into an ice sculpture, she began to kowtow to Chu Ran.

"Thank you, Master..." The sorrowful woman turned to look at her dying husband and nearly fainted.

Chu Ran stepped forward and placed his palm on the man's forehead. A warm current flowed from his palm into the man's brow. Heavenly Fire instantly cleared the icy chill within his body, and his face became visibly ruddy...

"He will be fine soon," Chu Ran said calmly. "Can you tell me why they are doing this?"

She wept bitterly, "The leader of the Black Eagle Society, Black Wind, had designs on me, but I refused him, so he found an excuse to retaliate against us!"

"The Black Eagle Society decides who lives and who dies! Violating the law is just a crime those beasts force upon us! They simply enjoy killing for sport!"

Chu Ran looked around; the people appearing from time to time were likely also those suffering the punishment of exile...

Since the Holy Fox had activated its domain, the power of the extreme cold within a hundred-mile radius could no longer invade them in the slightest. Thus, they no longer felt as miserable while walking as they had before...

Chu Ran thought about it and realized that the laws of Xue Prefecture were indeed far too warped. Despite being backed by the Kaiyang Divine Territory, the place was so backward it was no different from a primitive wasteland, likely because of the existence of groups like the Black Eagle Society...

It seemed that on the first continent of the Kaiyang Divine Territory, there were many people worthy of his judgment...

"You should leave quickly. That Hei Ya is Black Wind's younger brother. If Black Wind finds out, you will surely be wanted by the entire Black Eagle Society!" The woman said, looking at the young Chu Ran.

"If I leave, what about you?" Chu Ran asked calmly.

"You were forced to kill him to save us. We cannot let you be implicated..."

"I didn't kill him because I was forced to; the Black Eagle Society will likely meet the same end as him." A faint smile appeared on Chu Ran's face.

"You were the one who called me here. Isn't it a bit too soon to ask me to leave now..."

Lin Lian was stunned upon hearing this.

You were the one who called me here...

Could it be... that her plea for help just now really touched the heavens?

The next moment, the young man vanished from the spot instantly.

A tear slid down the corner of the stunned Lin Lian's eye, and she began to worship the spot where the young man had just been...

...

At the foot of the snowfield's mountain was a stronghold; this was the Black Eagle Society.

The Black Eagle Society was a guard post specifically established by Xue Prefecture for this Extreme Cold Snowfield.

As a place of exile, it was naturally ignored. As the saying goes, "When the tiger is away, the monkey becomes king." Black Wind had naturally become the local tyrant of this area, proficient in burning, killing, and looting...

The surrounding commoners, naturally, suffered unspeakably.

As a Level One Continent, Lingfeng Continent was divided into five major prefectures: Xue Prefecture, Bing Prefecture, Yan Prefecture, Shui Prefecture, and Feng Prefecture.

Due to the lack of a Governing God, turmoil and instability were the names of the game here; human trafficking and dark trades were everywhere...

There were countless entities like the Black Eagle Society here. As long as no God Realm powerhouse appeared, this place was their domain...

"Leader Black Wind! This is bad!" A black-masked man burst into Black Wind's courtyard, shouting.

Black Wind, who was just about to get into bed and make love with his concubine, immediately turned somber. He reluctantly got out of bed and walked out the door. "If you don't have a reasonable excuse for this interruption, I'll crush you and feed you to the pigs!"

The black-masked man panted heavily. "Just now... a light descended from the sky, and this snow suddenly lost its temperature. It doesn't even emit cold air anymore..."

Half-doubting, Black Wind grabbed a handful and found that the snow really didn't melt in his hand!

The next moment, a voice rang out from outside the stronghold gate:

"Which one is Black Wind? Get out here!"

...