Chapter 316: Chapter 315: What is Li Ping thinking? (Please Subscribe)
Not long after Chen Fan left, Anshan City gradually became restless.
People from the two camps outside the city gathered in a dozen or so streams, heading towards the city gate.
Last night, they all received a notification from the Village Chief that early the next morning, no one was to go hunting or stay at home; everyone had to head to the city gate because the Awakeners from the city had something important to announce.
Those who disobey would bear the consequences.
Who dared to defy the orders of the Awakeners in the city? In fact, many people stayed up all night and showed up with big dark circles under their eyes.
"Brother, what’s going on? What do the Awakeners want to announce?" a voice came from the crowd.
"Who knows? We’ll find out when we get there."
"I asked our Village Chief last night. He didn’t know either. He just said he was told to notify everyone, and if anyone didn’t know, he would be held responsible."
"Heavens, could it be something significant?"
"It does seem like there’s been some major occurrence in the city recently," a man muttered to himself.
"What kind of major occurrence?"
Hearing this, many people crowded around.
The man was startled by the attention and quickly waved his hand. "Nothing, nothing, I was just talking nonsense."
"Come on, brother, you obviously know something if you spoke up about it," someone insisted.
"Exactly, we are all in the same boat, heading to the city gate. What’s there to hide?"
"Brother, please, just tell us. If you ever need help, I’m here for you."
"Yeah, brother, just spill it. We promise we won’t spread it around."
Many around them made earnest pledges.
After all, nothing like this had ever happened before where everyone was summoned to gather at the city gate early in the morning.
"Alright then, we’re all brothers," the man said after some thought. "But what I’m about to say is hearsay. I can’t guarantee its truth, but whatever you hear, keep it down. Otherwise, it might cause unnecessary trouble."
"Sure, brother, just say it. We promise to keep quiet."
The man first looked around, then lowered his voice and said, "I heard that something has happened to the City Lord and the others."
"What! The City Lo—"
An exclamation was suddenly cut short as a large hand covered the speaker’s mouth.
Even though the others managed to stay composed, they widened their eyes in disbelief.
Someone asked shakily, "Brother, when you say something happened to the City Lord, do you mean...?"
"Yes," the man nodded and sighed lightly. "Just what you’re thinking."
"This?"
Everyone exchanged glances.
Just what they were thinking?
Could it be that the City Lord and the others had died?
Wasn’t the City Lord an incredibly powerful figure? Who could possibly have the ability to kill him?
Even during past Beast Tides, it was the City Lord and his people who had repelled them!
"Brother, what really happened? Can you explain a bit more clearly?"
"Yeah, how did something happen to the City Lord and the others? What exactly happened?"
"Brother, your words are leaving me in suspense."
The crowd pressed him, their faces filled with curiosity.
"I don’t know much detail, and I didn’t dare to ask around too much," the man shook his head. "I’ve told you all I know. If you ask more, I won’t have answers. If something bad happens in the future, we’ll have to rely on our luck."
His words only made the surrounding people feel even more uneasy.
Lin Hui and others from the Martial Arts Association were also in the crowd.
Unlike the fear and anxiety around them, their faces showed more confusion.
"Brother Lin, what’s happened? Why were we summoned to the city gate so early?"
"Yes, Brother Lin, what’s the Awakeners’ Association planning?"
"Does the President have any news?"
"I asked about it,"
Lin Hui shook his head gravely. "The President said he didn’t know what’s going on. Everyone outside the city received the notice, but there’s been no word from within the city."
"What, the President means only those of us outside the city were ordered to gather here?"
"That’s correct,"
Lin Hui nodded.
At that, the faces of the Martial Arts Association members turned grim.
Most of them were Martial Artists in the Muscle Refining and Body Tempering Realms and did not have the right to live inside the city.
The Awakeners’ Association notifying only those outside the city, could it be, they had some bad intentions?
Maybe they wanted to get rid of them for affecting the city’s appearance?
But was that necessary? They had lived outside for years, diligently and without causing trouble.
Moreover, they were part of the Martial Arts Association. Even if the Awakeners’ Association despised them, they shouldn’t go too far out of respect for the Martial Arts Association, right?
Lin Hui looked towards the city gate, where a dense crowd had already gathered, buzzing with discussions.
"If it’s fortune, it’s not disaster; if it’s disaster, it’s inevitable,"
he sighed inwardly.
For he knew more than those around him.
For example, the news of Yan Ming’s death.
To avoid causing panic, he hadn’t shared this information with the others.
But receiving the notice to gather the next morning at the city gate caused him great concern.
Could it be that the Awakeners’ Association thought the culprit who killed Yan Ming and the others was hidden among them? And they wanted to gather everyone to find the culprit?
The types of superpowers the Awakeners possessed were many and varied, and such methods were not out of the realm of possibility.
He sighed, hoping this matter would be resolved quickly without involving civilians.
Inside the city, people also noticed the commotion outside, gathering in small groups to discuss in low voices.
"What’s going on outside? I took a look and saw a huge crowd!"
"I saw it too, a dense mass of people! It’s like everyone outside the city has come!"
"Yes, they’ve blocked the city gate. We can’t even get close to it, let alone leave the city. Those people are really troublesome!"
"Exactly, they’re like leeches, living outside. Look at the filthy road out there. Every time I pass, I have to hold my nose and clutch my wallet tightly for fear of being robbed."
"Really? Are those people outside that bad?"
"Yes, lots of thieves and scammers. There’s even daylight robbery. Not just women, even men don’t dare to go alone."
"I don’t know why the City Lord allows those people to live outside. If it were up to me, I’d have driven them away long ago."
"Exactly."
"President, what these people are saying is just too much," Xu Jie said, clenching his fists.
He had wandered through many places before arriving at Anshan City, initially living outside, and only after reaching the Entry Force Realm did he get the right to live inside the city.
Life in the outside camps couldn’t compare with the city, but it wasn’t as bad as some people claimed.
The most frustrating part was that many who held such strong prejudices had themselves once lived outside the city.
Sun Wei shook his head and said, "This is human nature, amplified by the apocalypse. Pay them no mind."
"The President is right," Gao Shan nodded in agreement, then looked puzzled. "I wonder what the Awakeners’ Association plans to do by gathering all the people from outside the city?"
"Indeed,"
Tu Yue added curiously, "President, do you know why?"
The others looked over as well.
Sun Wei shook his head, "I don’t know much about it. But I do know one piece of news."
"What news?"
"After Gao Jinming went missing, the Awakeners’ Association appointed a new Awakener as their President."
"A new President!"
Xu Jie and the others exchanged glances.
The Awakeners’ Association moved quickly!
But it made sense. A country couldn’t go a day without a ruler, and neither could an association go without a president.
"President, what’s the background of their new President?"
"I’m not sure. All I know is that he’s quite formidable, and many C-level Awakeners are afraid of him."
"Is he that powerful?"
"I hope he’s not too overbearing. Otherwise, our Martial Arts Association will have a tough time."
"Yes, indeed." Tu Yue suddenly thought of something and widened her eyes. "President, could it be that today’s events are related to the new President of the Awakeners’ Association?"
"Tu Yue, are you suggesting the new President organized the early morning gathering at the city gate?"
"Exactly," Tu Yue looked at the others, "As the saying goes, new officials often burn three fires. Maybe he wants to show off and exercise his authority in front of everyone."
Hearing this, Gao Shan and the others nodded.
It wasn’t impossible; in fact, it seemed quite likely.
Their eyes showed traces of disdain at the thought.
For the President of the Awakeners’ Association to be so concerned with such a show of power before ordinary people seemed ridiculous.
Sun Wei, however, furrowed his brow.
He felt that things were not so simple.
If the other party wanted to assert dominance, why not come to him, the President of the Martial Arts Association’s branch? Why gather a crowd of ordinary people?
What exactly was Li Ping planning?