I Inherited 5,000 Years of Family Property

"My lord, that one is Randall, the chief of the Earthbane Royal Tribe; that is Shada, chief of the Cloudstorm Royal Tribe; then Kirel, chief of the Rift Sky Royal Tribe; Yazan, chief of the Ice Fury Royal Tribe; and Vigus, chief of the Sand Burst Royal Tribe."

After Zhang Menglong arrived, the chiefs of the five great Royal Tribes all showed up one after another with their people. Lucas naturally knew these people very well, especially when he saw Randall of the Earthbane Royal Family—there was anger in his eyes he simply couldn’t suppress.

"Mm, got it." Zhang Menglong silently memorized these people. As they brushed past him, his gaze almost collided with theirs, sparks flying intensely.

Especially Kirel, chief of the Rift Sky Royal Family—his eyes were sharp enough to kill. After all, back then, in that internal struggle, the other bloodline lost, and his bloodline didn’t exactly end up well either. The losses were heavy; they’d only won by a slight margin.

It was just that this hatred of his was obviously a bit one‑sided. Zhang Menglong, after all, had zero personal grudge against the Rift Sky Royal Family.

There were 27 tribes present, but only 500 Ice Demon Flowers. On average, that’s just over 20 per faction. Calling this scramble "intense" would be an understatement.

Of course, in actual distribution there was never such a thing as an even split. Last time the Ice Demon Flowers matured, each of the five superpowers got 80 flowers, directly taking four‑fifths of the total.

The remaining twenty‑odd tribes fought themselves half to death over the last 100 Ice Demon Flowers. Levitz was the one who told Zhang Menglong this. In this kind of struggle, even a single Ice Demon Flower is incredibly precious.

The City Lord had prepared a lavish banquet for the visiting tribal chiefs: 27 tables in total, each seating 11 people—exactly one chief plus ten core members.

"Everyone, the once‑in‑a‑century maturation of the Ice Demon Flowers is almost upon us. Today we’re here to discuss how they’ll be allocated. Please try to value harmony. I don’t care how fiercely you fight here in the City Lord’s Mansion today, but once the distribution is over, do your best not to start brawls again. Otherwise, my City Lord’s Mansion will still not sit back and ignore it."

"Hahaha, City Lord, rest easy. That kind of thing won’t happen again. We won’t make things difficult for you."

"That’s right. For this round of quotas, everyone competes according to their own ability. Once we leave, there definitely won’t be any more fighting."

"What’s going on?" Zhang Menglong asked Lucas beside him.

"Chief, there are 27 tribes here. What do you think the principle of distribution is?" Lucas countered.

"Paying money?" That was Zhang Menglong’s guess. Normally for things like this, isn’t it just an auction—highest bidder wins?

"You do have to pay, but that’s not all," Lucas said. "There are two criteria to measure how many quotas a tribe can get. First is whether you’ve made outstanding contributions to Ice King City as a whole, and to the Ice Demon Race as a whole. Only those who meet this basic threshold are qualified to compete for Ice Demon Flowers."

"And the second?"

"Who’s got the bigger fist," Lucas said. "The price of Ice Demon Flowers is completely fixed—one flower costs 1,000 Supreme Crystals. But the basis for even naming your price is having enough strength. Otherwise, even if you get the Ice Demon Flowers, it’s very hard to safely bring them back to your tribe. Every time the auction for Ice Demon Flowers ends, as soon as people leave the City Lord’s Mansion, there will be one conflict, if not several."

"And of course, 1,000 Supreme Crystals per flower isn’t a small amount for any tribe. Some tribes might empty out all their assets and still not be able to buy more than a few."

"So that’s how it is." Zhang Menglong nodded. He’d clearly oversimplified the matter, thinking it could be settled just with money. Turned out you still had to rely on whose fists were bigger.

"The City Lord can hardly stamp this out, but also can’t just turn a blind eye and watch the Ice Demon Race’s power be worn down by infighting. So he can only issue a warning. But every time, everyone agrees on the surface and then goes right back to doing things their own way."

"No wonder the City Lord’s expression looks like he just ate shit." Zhang Menglong had noticed that when those chiefs swore they wouldn’t fight again, the City Lord’s face clearly said one thing—"Like hell I believe you."

"All right, let’s begin. Same as always: one Ice Demon Flower for 1,000 Supreme Crystals. Everyone can report the quantity you want based on your own needs."

"Cloudstorm Royal Family wants 80 Ice Demon Flowers."

"Hmph, our Earthbane Royal Family wants 80 as well."

"Sand Burst, same!"

"Ice Fury, 80 flowers!"

"Rift Sky, 80 flowers!"

The City Lord had barely finished speaking when the five super‑tribe chiefs spoke up in turn, neatly allocating 400 out of the 500 Ice Demon Flowers among themselves.

"You’re really that domineering? You already took plenty last time, and you still want this many this year. How are the rest of us supposed to develop?"

"Chiefs, you five Royal Tribes get to eat meat; at least leave us a sip of soup, yeah?"

"How about this: I think 60 flowers per tribe for you guys sounds fair. We absolutely won’t look for trouble with any of the Royal Families in any way."

The chiefs of the smaller tribes were extremely unhappy, but they didn’t dare speak too aggressively. They could only negotiate in this half‑pleading, half‑discussing tone.

"If you’ve got objections, just spit them out. We’ll settle it right here!"

The five Royal Tribe chiefs burst forth with an aura that brooked no argument.

"Leaving you 100 flowers is already giving you a lot of face. Many of you are going to be pawning your pots and selling your iron just for a single flower. What’s the point?"

"My Ice King Throne wants all 500 flowers!" Just as the five tribes were arguing with the others till their faces were flushed, Zhang Menglong spoke up.

In an instant, everyone’s gaze focused on him.

"Hey, look, you guys are already this poor, and you still insist on wasting money on this? What’s the point?" Zhang Menglong shook his head. "You weren’t willing to cough up a few thousand Supreme Crystals to bail out one of your own, yet when it comes to Ice Demon Flowers you’re all suddenly very enthusiastic. Instead of putting some effort into fixing up your run‑down little manors, you’d rather scrimp and save to buy these things—why?"

"See, my Ice King Throne is loaded. Spending 500,000 Supreme Crystals is nothing. Let me help you shoulder this pressure and burden. I just arrived in Ice King City; it’s only right that I take on a bit of social responsibility."

Zhang Menglong’s words made everyone’s faces burn. Everything he’d said boiled down to one thing: they were poor. Even the five super‑tribes, in his eyes, were still paupers. Their so‑called manors were no different from slums. He was basically slapping them right in the face.

"Hmph! Since when does some tribe that was just put together dare talk like this in the City Lord’s Mansion?"

"Sure, you’re rich. But the City Lord has rules: only those who have contributed to Ice King City as a whole and to the entire Ice Demon Race are qualified to purchase Ice Demon Flowers. Do you have that qualification?"

"So we’re talking contributions, huh?" Zhang Menglong said. "City Lord, I have an important message for you."

"Oh? Go ahead, Brother Menglong."

"Last night I read the stars and counted my fingers, and today our Ice King City is fated for a great calamity. I’m telling you this so you can prepare in advance—immediately gather all your guards and be ready to protect Ice King City at any moment!"

....