After leaving the cave and meeting with Zhen Gan, Wu Guang and Elder Di proceeded to return to Coastal Hill City.

When Zhen Gan heard about the number of riches hidden in between all that stacks and chests, he was amazed. His normally deadpan face looked like a steamed bun from all that smiling, and so Wu Guang traveled along with two Elders full of joy. After all, Elder Di was constantly smiling as well.

Zhen Gan's happiness came from the fact that there were a lot of refining materials, and Wu Guang assured him that he will share part of them with the Council members even if all of them are retained by him.

It took almost all the journey for Zhen Gan to snap out and quickly explain to Wu Guang what they were supposed to do now.

Seemingly he had already notified the City Lord about a severe incident, and so they would meet with him, Lady Shenlan, and a pair of other related people in the Central District Palace.

He also explained that although they will speak mostly the truth, all events regarding Wu Guang's family and what happened inside the cave will be omitted. In short, they will mention the collusion between the Underhill group and the Black Eagles, as well as give out names of people involved. As for the incidents, they will mainly center on Wu Guang's kidnapping, assassination attempt, and problems with the administration.

Zhen Gan would do the talking while Wu Guang would be most probably asked out of the room anyway, but to avoid any mistakes, both he and Elder Di went over the story.

The Central District, or the original Coastal Hill City, was smaller than the Port District. All the residents were required to pay very high taxes, and people who could not afford them had to move to either the Black or Port districts.

So it's no wonder that the entire Central District looked like a rich residential area with only nobles, rich merchants, experts and their servants or followers living and moving around.

Built over an enormous hill that gave the city its name, each building could be considered a work of art. Indeed, there was none in sight without elaborate carvings or rich ornaments.

With Zhen Gan leading the way, they easily passed through the gates of the District and after reaching the top-most point of the hill, turned towards the main square.

The square was by far the biggest open area in the district, being at least half a mile into each direction.

Arriving from the north, where the road laid, Wu Guang had a clear view of all the plaza.

The south side was home to the most popular, and expensive as well, restaurants, taverns, tea houses, and other similar places.

As for the east side, it was occupied by the 'Coastal Hill Martial Academy', which before the war was considered the best place to train on the island. And albeit it had declined sharply with the after-war rise of the 'Three Hills Sect' and the other two powers, it still had several dozens of renowned instructors and geniuses.

While right on the opposite side from the Martial Academy was the location of what could be called a small city inside a city, the Palace and all the administrative buildings. Their destination was the Palace itself, and so after a brief moment which Zhen Gan waited for Wu Guang to look around, he motioned for him and Elder Di to follow.

The Palace gates closed an hour before sunset, and so they were already closed. Still, after the guards noticed Zhen Gan's approach, the gates were quickly opened and a steward practically came out running to meet them.

"Estemeed Palace Master Zhen! The Lord has ordered me to receive and lead you towards the small hall" As soon Zhen Gan and company were in hearing range, the steward saluted while bowing and quickly explained.

With a simple nod, which was very well along the lines of how someone of Zhen Gan's strength and status should act, the latter acknowledged the information and motioned for the steward to show the way.

The Main Palace was simply enormous, being several times the size of the Sect's own. But Wu Guang did not really pay much attention except to note the runes engraved on almost each of the columns and walls. These runes not only were part of the set that guaranteed the palace's indestructibility but also were made to look like part of the design. In fact, some of the runes were half-covered with gold leaves to create an overall image of flood dragons guarding the Palace.

Such work was just a masterpiece, after all, engraving the runes was already hard work, but to make them appear as art? That was a mark of a real Grandmaster.

Noticing Wu Guang's interest, the steward quickly explained. It turned out that the palace was rebuilt twenty years ago and by a fortune stroke, a Rune Grandmaster titled 'Dragon Rune Sovereign' agreed to create these sets. Although the cost was enormous and could easily bankrupt even an Island Power, the City's numerous merchants and nobles cooperated and covered it.

"In other words, the City Lord extorted everyone to pay for his Palace" Elder Di sent Wu Guang a qi transmission. Hearing such words, Wu Guang was surprised, after all, Elder Di was always full of smiles and would be the last person expected to throw out sarcastic remarks. "Hoh, it seems that Elder Di does not like this City Lord at all" Wu Guang thought inwardly.

After crossing about half of the Palace and making several turns, the steward arrived before a gold lacquered door guarded by two fully armored guards. The guards seemingly were already informed, as they immediately opened the doors and the steward ushered Zhen Gan, Elder Di, and Wu Guang inside.

The small hall was small only in name, as it was easily two hundred feet from wall to wall, and was equally gaudy as the rest of the Palace. There was a throne inside, but no one sat on it. On the contrary, the four present people were currently standing in the center of the hall, discussing something. As the four heard the doors opening, they turned towards them to meet the new arrivals.

Wu Guang had never seen the City Lord even while living in the city, but he quickly identified him from the rumors he had heard. The Coastal Hill City Quan Su was an old man, nearing his 9th decade of life, but because of his cultivation, he looked only about 60 years old. He could not be said to be tall among cultivators, but he was by far taller than commoners, being 6 feet tall. Standing straight and imposing, he gave the airs of a ruler and a warrior. His hair and beard were gray and groomed, while the gold-adorned red robes only added to his majesty.

Accompanying him there were two similarly-looking middle-aged men. Albeit Wu Guang could not identify him, judging from the rich clothes and closeness to the City Lord, they were not common people.

As for the fourth person in the room, it was no one else than Lady Shenlan.

During the round of greetings and introductions, the two men were introduced as the Wei brothers. The Elder brother was the head of the Merchant Guild in the City, while the younger one was no one else than the current head of the Wei auction house.

Elder Di continued hiding his real status and introduced himself simply as an Elder in charge of Wu Guang's mission and safety. Wu Guang was introduced as a disciple on which the Sect had very high hopes. Only after all this, the real talk started.

Obviously, the one to speak was Zhen Gan, who not only was the strongest person in the room, but openly his status was not less than the City Lord's himself. He quickly related the happenings around Wu Guang's life and inheritance, and indirectly blamed the City Lord for not paying attention to Zhen Gan's petition.

"In any case, I can't blame Lord Quan for young friend Wu Guang's situation, after all, it is far beneath your standing. But! I can't ignore the fact of a conspiration taking roots freely. Especially one that endangers the Island as a whole"

Normally such accusations would be out of place, but Zhen Gan was not only strong and backed by the Sect, he was also someone who fought alongside the City Lord a few years ago and so could be said to be a brother in arms. Unsurprisingly, the City Lord let all this slide and even showed up an ashamed face, fully accepting the blame.

"Palace Master Zhen, I am indeed to blame for such. Even though I had no idea that such things were happening, it does not change that both the Underhill group and the escapees from the 'Inverted Tower' were hiding in my city. Thankfully the Sect intervened. Still, there are just too many things that I can not understand and so I hope you will be able to explain"

Explanations were indeed needed, as Zhen Gan had not yet revealed anything about the Black Eagles or shared names of the people involved. He had only briefly mentioned that a few important people from the Port District were involved. This was made to check for reactions from Lady Shenlan and the Wei brothers.

Such a talk would be very confidential, and so Wu Guang and Elder Di used this moment to say their farewells and leave. They had nothing to do there and actually only visited because of their involvement. Plus, neither Zhen Gan nor Elder Di thought that it would be wise to let the City Lord and rest know about Wu Guang's pivotal role in all this.

After exiting the palace, they did not wait for Zhen Gan to finish, directly returning to the 'Three Waves' mansion in the Port District.

There Wu Guang met up with Lan Yanshi and his teammates and shared with them most of what happened. He still had to hide the information about the treasures, but at least they now knew that he was safe and everything finished. He also shared the news that revenge for Lan Yanshi's family was taken.

Hearing this, Lan Yanshi grew pale and weakly sat down. This was understandable, after all, she had wished for this moment for a long time. Wu Guang decided to let her accommodate her thoughts alone and only mentioned that when she was ready, they would have to talk.

Yuan Taotu, Kuang Jing, and Wei simply rejoiced that Wu Guang was now out of danger, after all, they had seen with their eyes how dangerous was the situation he was forced into.

"So Brother Wu is now the owner of a Manor?"

"Yes"

"Did you obtain anything else?" Kuang Jing enthusiastically questioned.

"I did obtain some, but it will take time to understand what and how much" Wu Guang could not reveal the truth for now, but he did not outright lie either.

"Good! We should go celebrate!"

"Hahaha, I would love to do it, but I am too tired from today. Let's celebrate tomorrow. After we go to the auction, we can sit down somewhere and have a good time. Remember that the day after tomorrow we are returning to the sect"

"Uhhh... You did not have to remind me that we have to escort the caravan back!"

"Hahaha, it's our mission after all. Even though all this went a bit out of control, we still have to accomplish it and get our reward, don't we?"

"Yeah" In the end Kuang Jing had no option but to agree with Wu Guang's point of view.

Yuan Taotu and Wei were silent during all this time, but as Wu Guang intended to return to his room, they both shortly congratulated him on the resolution of his matters.

Afterward, Wu Guang reached his room and directly went to sleep, deciding to deal with the box and other remaining matters tomorrow. He was indeed tired, after all, he had not really rested well during the last days. His Mind Power was also greatly spent between all its usages, and a good night's sleep was exactly what was needed to let it start slowly recuperating.