Chapter 2289: Chapter 2289 Hidden Strength
Ye Liuyun’s clone rushed straight to the City Lord Manor and looted its treasury clean. Only after securing the wealth did he summon the Blade Legion within the city to regroup outside, where they joined Ye Tiandao and the others to excavate the mineral vein.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun stationed himself outside the Royal Management’s palace, observing any movement.
After a month of lockdown, the royal city and its formations were reopened, as no trace of Yun Mengyi’s Xenocide had been found. With the restrictions lifted, they could move freely again.
Ye Liuyun took the opportunity to monitor the palace, watching for any powerful martial practitioners who might emerge to reinforce Greenfield City.
However, he doubted they would redeploy the martial practitioners guarding the spiritual spring.
That location had just over a hundred stationed expert, with the Royal Management controlling only about thirty. It was far too few to handle a sudden crisis in Greenfield City.
As expected, a group of over a hundred martial practitioners emerged from the palace, led by a young man who surprised Ye Liuyun by revealing himself to be a prince.
Ye Liuyun’s subordinates addressed him as the Eighth Prince.
Based on previous intelligence from within the Regalty, Xue Jinling, the Eighth Prince was believed to be at the early eighth-tier realm.
However, Ye Liuyun’s Golden Phantom Eyes revealed his true cultivation to be at the late ninth tier, concealed by a treasure that masked his aura.
These events further suggested that the Royal Management was likely concealing its true strength.
Ye Liuyun’s clone received this information and immediately instructed everyone to erase their traces as quickly as possible. He then transported them all into the Spatial World and returned to the city with Qiong Qi.
On this occasion, they went in pretending to be alchemists from the Royal Management’s City Lord Manor in Greenfield City. They first went to buy medicinal herbs from the local merchants’ guild before resting at their inn.
By the time Xue Jinling arrived at the mineral vein, he found it almost completely excavated. Wasting no time, he returned to the city, took control of the City Lord Manor, and deployed martial practitioners to conduct a citywide search. He also reorganized the garrison and sealed off the city in an effort to locate the rebels.
When his men investigated the inn where Ye Liuyun and Qiong Qi were staying, their assumed identities allowed them to pass the inspection without suspicion.
Unable to find any trace of the Xenocide, the Xue Jinling ordered repeated searches.
Meanwhile, the medicinal herbs ordered by Ye Liuyun’s clone and Qiong Qi had arrived. After retrieving them, Ye Liuyun stored Qiong Qi in the Spatial World, donned a Concealcape, and infiltrated the City Lord Manor. There, he assassinated a guard and took his place, allowing him to monitor Xue Jinling’s movements up close.
On the second round of patrols, the city guards discovered that the clone and Qiong Qi had vanished. Their exhaustive search turned up nothing. Upon confirming with the merchants’ guild, they learned that the two had already collected their medicinal herbs.
With the city on lockdown, Xue Jinling found it suspicious that they had managed to leave unnoticed.
Furthermore, their arrival at the inn coincided precisely with his own arrival in the city, deepening his doubts.
He immediately dispatched men to Greenfield City to investigate. However, the City Lord Manor had already fallen under Ye Liuyun’s control and curtly dismissed the inquiry, stating that his people were none of the Royal Management’s concern.
Xue Jinling’s subordinates were experts from the royal palace. They were arrogant and unwilling to be slighted. Infuriated by the City Lord Manor’s response, they exchanged harsh words—only to be severely beaten and thrown out of the City Lord Manor, gravely injured.
The injured man struggled to reach the Conveyor Formation and returned to Xue Jinling, exaggerating the report of his mistreatment.
"What? A mere City Lord dares to attack my men? This is outright rebellion!" Xue Jinling was furious upon hearing this. Without hesitation, he summoned twenty martial practitioners and immediately traveled to Greenfield City via the Conveyor Formation.
However, just as he arrived, the City Lord of Sky Fortune Town from the Royal Management also entered Greenshire City. Both groups made their way to the City Lord Manor in succession.
Arrogant as ever, Xue Jinling ordered his men to attack the City Lord Manor the moment they arrived.
But to his surprise, instead of delivering punishment, he was the one who ended up besieged and attacked by both factions. Fortunately, his subordinates fought desperately to protect him, trying to ensure his escape.
Yet, as they attempted to retreat through the Conveyor Formation, a large contingent of guards suddenly appeared, blocking their way. Left with no other choice, Xue Jinling’s men managed to send him out of Greenfield City. However, his subordinates were unable to escape.
Once outside, Xue Jinling wasted no time reporting the situation to the Royal Management while making his way to Greenfield City.
Meanwhile, the City Lords of Greenfield and Sky Fortune Town also reported back to their respective Royal Management. They claimed that Xue Jinling had led an unprovoked attack on Greenfield City, prompting them to join forces and drive him away.
At the same time, Ye Liuyun’s clone deployed the Blade Legion, launching a coordinated strike against the powerful experts within Greenfield City.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Ye Liuyun’s clone infiltrated the residence of the injured martial practitioner, devoured his Divine Soul, and ensured there would be no living witness to reveal the truth.
He then released Qiong Qi, and together they assisted the Blade Legion in exterminating all the experts within the city.
Some experts managed to escape, but Ye Liuyun’s clone did not pursue them. Instead, he marked the last remaining one with a Slaving Seal, capturing him within the Spatial World.
Then, he instructed the martial practitioner under the Slaving Seal to contact Xue Jinling and confirm his location. Once determined, he altered his appearance to match that of the controlled martial practitioner and went to meet Xue Jinling.
Meanwhile, Qiong Qi led the Blade Legion out of the city, only for all of them to be swiftly absorbed into the Spatial World by his clone.
With the Phantom Illusion and the Spatial World at his disposal, Ye Liuyun ensured that the Royal Management would never be able to track him or the Blade Legion.
A day later, the clone and over a dozen martial practitioners regrouped with Xue Jinling and escorted him back to Greenfield City.
In response, the Royal Management deployed two hundred expert martial practitioners and ten thousand praetorian to reinforce Greenfield City. Leading them was Bai Shengwang Xue Rongwu, a renowned figure in the Royal Management.
However, the moment Xue Jinling and his men entered the city, they found themselves surrounded by Xue Rongwu’s forces.
"My apologies, Eighth Prince," Xue Rongwu said politely, "but this situation is of grave importance. I must inspect your Divine Souls to ensure none of you have been manipulated."
The clone hadn’t expected this move. However, he could already tell that Xue Rongwu’s Divine Soul was far weaker than his own.
Still, through the Slaving Seal, he signaled for the martial practitioners from Greenfield City and Sky Fortune Town to advance. They charged forward via the Conveyor Formation.
"What is this, Xue Rongwu? Are you doubting me?" The Eighth Prince was clearly displeased, unwilling to expose his Ocean of Consciousness to scrutiny and risk revealing his secrets.
"This is a direct order from the Royal Management," Xue Rongwu replied firmly. "Rest assured, Your Highness, I will only verify the integrity of your Divine Soul and will not probe into any other information."
Although his words were courteous, his tone was absolute. Besides, he invoked the authority of the Royal Management to leave no room for refusal.
"Your Highness, allow me to go first. My lord, please proceed."
Disguised as a martial practitioner, Ye Liuyun stepped forward voluntarily.
He knew that Xue Jinling would never refuse an order from the Royal Management. Rather than waiting, he took the initiative. It made himself appear perceptive while also providing Xue Jinling with a way to back down gracefully.
Moreover, the other martial practitioners were about to arrive through the Conveyor Formation, presenting the perfect opportunity to turn the tables on Xue Rongwu.
"Alright!" As expected, Xue Jinling accepted the step down and agreed to the clone’s request.
Xue Rongwu was satisfied with the display. He found this guard to be rather tactful.
