Chapter 2402: Chapter 2402
Ye Liuyun humbly acknowledged everyone’s compliments, promising to collaborate whenever the opportunity arose.
Then he led Youming and the others back to his residence, where they gathered in the courtyard for a barbecue.
Meanwhile, in the leisure hall, Leng Jian sat alone, drowning his frustration in bitter wine, his resentment festering against Youming, Kuangsha, and Ye Liuyun.
He had expected Youming and the others to struggle during training, waiting eagerly to mock them upon their return. But to his dismay, when the others came back, the tables had turned—they ridiculed *him* instead.
They taunted him for looking down on others, only for those he dismissed to prove the strongest, with Youming’s group wiping out all the other teams. Their words, both overt and veiled, dripped with scorn for his character.
Furious, Leng Jian stormed off once more, retreating to his quarters.
"It’s only because of Youming and Kuangsha—those two powerhouses!" he muttered, having missed the full details of Ye Liuyun’s prowess. In his mind, no matter how strong Ye Liuyun was, he couldn’t possibly match *him*.
Yet, repeatedly humiliated in front of others, his pride couldn’t take it. He blamed Youming and the rest for his disgrace.
Meanwhile, Youming and the others sat around the fire, savoring roasted meat as they discussed forming a team with Ye Liuyun and Kuangsha.
Both Ye Liuyun and Kuangsha readily agreed, pleased with how well they had worked together and finding no issues with their companions.
Thus, their team was officially settled.
At Ye Liuyun’s suggestion, they even signed an equal-partnership contract—ensuring smoother communication and safeguarding against betrayal.
Next, they debated whether to take on more missions or continue training for a while longer.
Unanimously, they chose to venture out for assignments. After all, fighting among themselves had grown tiresome.
After everyone had dispersed, Ye Liuyun sought out Wuhen again to discuss ending his training and taking on missions.
Wuhen readily agreed. "That works. I’ve heard about your group’s training results—there aren’t any worthy opponents left for you here anyway.
I’ll convert the resources you need into mission points. Once you complete your assignments, you can redeem them. This way, you won’t miss out on better resources while pursuing your tasks."
"Thank you so much!" Ye Liuyun was genuinely touched by Wuhen’s consideration.
Wuhen simply nodded and added solemnly, "But remember this—once your strength reaches the level where you can fight a second-tier Heavenly Realm martial artist, come find me. I’ll provide you with more advanced training then.
This is crucial. And you must keep it to yourself—no one else can know."
Seeing how serious Wuhen was, Ye Liuyun gave a firm promise in return.
The next day, Ye Liuyun joined Youming and the others to select a mission.
He hadn’t realized before that multiple people could take on a mission together and even discuss their approach.
These were specialized assassination tasks designed for their team—eliminating specific high-profile targets at precise times and locations.
Black Kill would provide intel on when and where the target would appear, and the team would coordinate their strike.
These missions were time-sensitive and highly targeted. Like Youming’s previous assignment to kill Marquis Wanwei—if they failed in the moment, the opportunity would vanish.
The difficulty was far greater than ordinary missions, often allowing only one shot at success. The risks during retreat were also immense; a single misstep could mean total annihilation.
After scanning the options, Ye Liuyun realized how perilous these missions were for just a handful of operatives.
If he followed his old methods, he’d definitely need to bring soldiers along to stand a chance.
Yet Youming remained composed, meticulously examining each mission one by one.
Finally, he selected an assassination task targeting the Ninth Prince of the Sacred Dynasty.
According to the intel provided by Black Kill, the Ninth Prince was planning to enter a mystic realm with a group of martial experts to gather resources, accompanied only by a thousand praetorian and twenty warriors at the second level of the Heavenly Realm.
"The mystic realm is vast, and they’re not sending too many people. That gives us plenty of time to act," Youming analyzed.
"Exactly! And since there are martial cultivators inside, it’ll be easier for us to conceal our presence. Escaping afterward won’t be a problem either," Sky Eye agreed, considering this the least challenging mission.
Soon after, Mad Shark and One Blade also approved the choice, and then all eyes turned to Ye Liuyun.
"I don’t have any objections—I’ll follow your lead. But if a mystic realm has people in it, isn’t that just another world?"
Ye Liuyun had no strong opinion about the mission itself, as he saw them all as equally viable. However, his understanding of what constituted a "mystic realm" differed from the others.
"How is that the same? Only a complete planet can be called a world. If it’s just an island with a teleportation entrance and exit, then it’s a mystic realm," Mad Shark explained patiently.
The others simply assumed Ye Liuyun was a country bumpkin unfamiliar with such concepts, so no one found his question odd.
"Then who sets up the teleportation arrays at the mystic realm’s entrances?" Ye Liuyun pressed.
This time, Youming answered him. "Some of these entrances form naturally, but most are established by powerful cultivators who’ve been there before. The Sacred Dynasty often dispatches experts to scout such locations.
Once they discover an island rich in resources, they secretly set up a teleportation array and then send their forces to plunder it.
That’s why the Sacred Dynasty has such an abundance of resources."
"So you’re saying... a lot of the Sacred Dynasty’s wealth is stolen?" Ye Liuyun pressed further.
"Mmm." Youming nodded slightly, her gaze lingering on Ye Liuyun.
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun was lost in thought. It seems not just the Sacred Dynasty’s army, but the entire empire is no different—plundering resources wherever they go. At their core, they’re no better than the foreign tribes.
"Where does the Sacred Dynasty hoard all those stolen resources?" The question slipped out before he could stop himself.
"You think they’d let the likes of us know?" Kuangsha and the others burst into mocking laughter, finding his question utterly naive.
But Youming studied Ye Liuyun carefully before replying, "Best not dwell on that. Places like that are heavily guarded by elite troops and powerful experts. It’s not something a handful of people could ever breach."
"Oh." Ye Liuyun feigned indifference, though his mind raced. If only he could get his hands on that kind of intel...
Suddenly, it struck him—perhaps the Ninth Prince could lead him to the Sacred Dynasty’s treasure vaults. His eyes lit up with the realization, and he opened his mouth to speak.
But Youming, who had been watching him closely, immediately sent a voice transmission: "Don’t say it aloud!"
Ye Liuyun clamped his mouth shut, swallowing the idea whole.
"What’s with all the questions? Got something else to ask?" Yidao noticed his hesitation and prodded.
"Nothing important," Ye Liuyun deflected. "I was just thinking the intel didn’t mention the cultivation levels of the martial artists inside the secret realm."
"If it’s not in the intel, even Heisha wouldn’t know," Tianyan explained matter-of-factly.
Ye Liuyun nodded and fell silent, though his mind buzzed with suspicion. Was Youming after the same thing he was?
