In Iron Wolf City, after the demon race army suddenly withdrew from Sky Demon Forest a month ago, the restrictions within the city were lifted a few days later.
The lives of the hunters in Iron Wolf City quickly returned to normal.
However, there was one significant change: after the deaths of the Guo brothers at the hands of Ling Feng, the Skull Gang, which was once a dominant force in the city, had become a scattered mess.
The elders within the gang began competing for power. Notably, Elder Tang Lie and Elder Jian Jian Baizhang, as mentioned in Chapter 526: Slaying Guo Zhan!<\ref>formed an alliance and exerted pressure on other factions, gradually positioning themselves as the new leaders of the Skull Gang.
During this period, Tang Lie revealed his true despicable and greedy nature by collecting so-called protection fees from all over the city. The other elders, seeing this, naturally followed suit. If Tang Lie was collecting protection fees, they certainly wouldn't miss out either.
As a result, the city’s factions found themselves paying four or five different protection fees, making it even more unbearable than when the Guo brothers were in power.
The various large, medium, and small factions within the city suffered greatly.
As the saying went, even a broken ship had three catties of nails, and a starving camel was still bigger than a horse!
Even though the Skull Gang was no longer as powerful as it once was, it was still not something that ordinary small and medium-sized factions could contend with. Faced with the ugly faces of the Skull Gang elders, they could only silently endure.
In the Sky Demon Forest, a figure dressed in white was swiftly moving through the dense woods.
Finally, the young man in white stopped and looked at the towering city in front of him before slowly exhaling a breath.
Ling Feng stretched lazily. After spending a month in the demon lands, returning to the human territories made him feel as if an eternity had passed in those lands.
As for the despicable donkey and little Qiongqi, Ling Feng had already returned them to the Five Elements Heavenly Palace.
"It seems the martial law in Iron Wolf City has been lifted."
Ling Feng touched his nose, noting that on his way back, he encountered several hunting parties in the outer regions of the Sky Demon Forest and even received invitations to join them.
Of course, Ling Feng had no interest in hunting those low-tier demonic beasts.
Passing through the city gate, Ling Feng walked along the streets, feeling a sense of familiarity as he saw the human figures moving around.
Suddenly, a horse-drawn convoy of about ten people sped past him, heading south.
"It's him!" Ling Feng touched his nose, a smile forming on his lips.
As he continued to walk, Ling Feng noticed several similar convoys rushing toward the southern part of the city. It seemed something significant was happening.
The gaze of a middle-aged man leading the convoy suddenly landed on Ling Feng. He immediately pulled the reins, dismounted, and quickly approached Ling Feng with a hearty laugh. "Little Feng, I never thought I’d see you again!"
"Senior Wang, that's not a very auspicious thing to say. Did you think I'd die in the Sky Demon Forest?" Ling Feng responded with a faint smile.
The middle-aged man who approached was none other than Wang Tianlin, the president of the Tianlin Chamber of Commerce.
"No, no." Wang Tianlin quickly waved his hands. "It's just that the forest became incredibly dangerous as you ventured deep into the Sky Demon Forest after causing a ruckus at Tianbao Pavilion..."
Wang Tianlin sighed, "But never mind, it's all in the past. The important thing is that you're back!"
Ling Feng raised an eyebrow and asked casually, "By the way, Senior Wang, where are you headed? It seems a lot of people in the city are heading south. What happened?"
"What else could it be? It's that damned Skull Gang!"
Wang Tianlin clenched his fists in anger and gritted his teeth. "I thought that after you got rid of the Guo brothers, we smaller factions in Iron Wolf City might finally have some peace. But now, Tang Lie and Jian Baizhang are even more ruthless!"
"Tang Lie?" Ling Feng sneered, "A centipede dies, but never falls down completely, huh?"
"Exactly!" Wang Tianlin sighed again, "Now, Tang Lie claims to have recovered Guo Zhan's remains outside the city and plans to hold a memorial service for the three Guo brothers."
"Damn it, what memorial service? It's just another excuse to collect money!"
A brawny man behind Wang Tianlin stepped forward and cursed, "In less than a month, those bastards from the Skull Gang have extorted over 30,000 elemental stones from us! Sometimes, our chamber of commerce doesn’t even make that much in a month!"
"Those bastards!" The martial artists of the Tianlin Chamber of Commerce gritted their teeth in hatred while cursing furiously.
However, despite their daily curses towards Tang Lie and the other Skull Gang elders, they knew their own limitations. If they didn’t want to be wiped out, they had no choice but to obediently pay up.
In this world, the law of survival was simple: the strong prey on the weak.
Without strength, you either paid or got out.
"Sigh..." Wang Tianlin looked at Ling Feng with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, but he quickly shook his head with a bitter smile. "Forget it, Little Feng, this matter has nothing to do with you. It’s better not to get involved. We should get going. If we're late, Tang Lie will probably accuse us of disrespecting the former leaders."
If it were just the Skull Gang, Wang Tianlin might have asked Ling Feng to help, but this issue was no longer just about the Skull Gang. The Skull Gang had become a piece of meat that everyone in the city wanted a share of.
The elders were doing everything they could to curry favor with those who could help them. If Ling Feng stepped in now, it would be akin to challenging all the major factions in Iron Wolf City, and possibly even the city lord!
Though Ling Feng was strong, every major family or faction had at least one or two king-tier experts in their ranks.
It wouldn’t be wise to involve Ling Feng in this.
Ling Feng glanced at Wang Tianlin, understanding his concerns. He smiled slightly and said lightly, "Since it's a memorial for the three Guo leaders, how could I not take a look?"
"Uh... Little Feng, you... You really shouldn't go," Wang Tianlin said seriously. "You don’t understand, this isn't just about the Skull Gang anymore."
Ling Feng chuckled and shrugged. "Those three Guo brothers were prominent figures in life. Now that they’re at the mourning hall, how can I not spit on them before leaving?"
Wang Tianlin and the martial artists of the chamber of commerce were all taken aback.
Good heavens, Ling Feng is still Ling Feng, and his arrogance is unmatched in Iron Wolf City!
Ling Feng’s expression turned serious. "I want to see exactly what Tang Lie thinks he's capable of. The three Guo brothers are dead, and yet these remnants still haven’t learned their lesson!"