Chapter 2758: Chapter 2758
Ye Liuyun’s golden eyes spotted the martial experts sent by the empire from afar. He swiftly led the alien races to encircle them in advance.
"Damn! There are actually alien elites here!" The martial experts were caught off guard. They immediately sent word back to the empire.
Ye Liuyun watched coldly as they transmitted the message before ordering the aliens to launch a feigned attack. Meanwhile, he and Zhuque took the opportunity to brand the four seventh-level Dominator experts with slave seals, turning them into his own forces. The four martial experts and the resources they carried served as some compensation for Ye Liuyun’s losses.
Meng Wenxiang promptly reported to the empire, claiming they had discovered remnants of the alien forces and that the three commanders had split up to pursue them.
Upon receiving the news, the empire indeed held back from executing them immediately. Instead, they reprimanded them for their failure to eradicate the aliens and ordered them to wipe out the remaining forces to atone for their mistakes.
Liu Haotian seized the moment to formally issue the command, instructing them to continue suppressing the alien threat—effectively postponing their punishment. To further encourage their recruitment efforts, Liu Haotian even sent them a substantial portion of the empire’s promised rewards.
Though they didn’t receive the empire’s rewards directly, Liu Haotian ensured they were well-supplied with resources.
The matter was resolved, and on the surface, everyone seemed satisfied. Yet, Han Qiao and Meng Wenxiang couldn’t help but feel deeply disillusioned with the empire.
Ye Liuyun, however, was pleased with the situation. The more the Star Disk Empire lost the loyalty of its people, the more advantageous it was for him.
He soon bid farewell to Han Qiao and Meng Wenxiang. "It’s time we part ways for now. Staying here any longer will only risk exposure. I’ll return to my territory to expand my influence. You two should find a place to grow your strength in secret."
"If the aliens attack again, will you come back and fight alongside us?" Han Qiao asked outright.
"Hard to say. It depends. Frankly, I’ve little desire to serve an empire like this," Ye Liuyun replied bluntly.
"What a waste of your talents," Meng Wenxiang sighed, though he didn’t press further. Even he and Han Qiao were uncertain whether they’d still fight for the empire in the future.
"Fair enough. Whatever happens, we’ll always be brothers. Keep the communication talismans—stay in touch," Han Qiao said, echoing the sentiment.
With that, the three parted ways, each heading in a different direction to forge their own paths.
Ye Liuyun opted to use the Black Tower’s teleportation function to return directly to Jing’an City, saving time and avoiding any unwanted attention during his journey.
Upon his return, he immediately sought out Lu Xiao, An Ran, and Ling Yuan to discuss expanding their territory and covertly strengthening the Wolf Hunt Mercenary Corps. He also brought the entire Blades Corps under Ye Tiandao’s command, assigning her the task of training the newly recruited martial experts to bolster her elite unit.
With these skilled warriors as fresh recruits, the Blades Corps’ strength surged rapidly. However, Ye Liuyun emphasized quality over quantity, insisting that the unit retain its signature lethal aura. He also summoned Pei Yong, tasking him with training ordinary mercenaries using the same brutal methods employed for the Death Legion.
To further consolidate his forces, Ye Liuyun ordered Lu Xiao to conscript all soldiers under the city lords within their territory. This move ensured that when Liu Haotian later conducted an imperial draft, their region contributed few recruits. Though these soldiers were of mediocre skill, Pei Yong could still whip them into shape—or at least use them as sparring partners for more capable troops.
Under Ye Liuyun’s leadership, the Wolf Hunt Corps expanded its control to fourteen planets. He had assumed the matter of Liu Zhong was settled, but imperial experts, after scrutinizing Liu Zhong’s death and the corpse of the alien overlord (eighth-level Dominator) Ye Liuyun had previously submitted, concluded that both had been killed by the same method.
Before his death, Liu Zhong had sent a message blaming an alien attack, yet the cause of death for the alien overlord remained unclear. Amid the chaos of war, no one had questioned the details. When Liu Haotian pressed Ye Liuyun for answers, he simply claimed a ferocious beast under his command had delivered the fatal strike during the skirmish.
Imperial analysts, however, deduced that such an attack must be extraordinarily powerful—capable of instantly slaying even an eighth-level Dominator. Their interest was piqued, and they became fixated on the beast Ye Liuyun had mentioned.
This time, they bypassed Liu Haotian entirely, discreetly deploying elite agents to track Ye Liuyun down. They contacted Lu Xiao, probing for information on Ye Liuyun’s whereabouts, but Lu Xiao promptly relayed their inquiries to him.
*What could they possibly want with me now?* Ye Liuyun couldn’t fathom their motives. Since his return, he had kept a low profile, making it difficult for the empire to locate him.
He ordered the Mercenary Guild to monitor any high-level martial artists snooping around while he continued his cultivation in seclusion.
Then, one day, Mo Ran sent an urgent message: several exceptionally powerful martial artists had been frequenting a local Mercenary Guild branch. They rarely made purchases but persistently inquired about the Wolf Hunt Corps.
Upon receiving the news, Ye Liuyun altered his appearance, disguising himself as an ordinary mercenary, and headed to the guild to investigate.
The next day, that group of martial cultivators came poking around again. Ye Liuyun observed that among the three visitors, one was at the seventh level of the Dominator realm, while the other two were at the sixth level. Before leaving, they merely purchased some beast meat.
After their departure, they appeared to loiter casually near the mercenary camp, but in reality, they were covertly probing the area with their divine senses.
Ye Liuyun followed them discreetly, trailing them all the way back to their own base. His divine sense far surpassed theirs, rendering him completely undetected. He shadowed them into a city, watching as they entered a tavern. Inside, he discovered over twenty of their companions—all at the sixth or seventh level of the Dominator realm.
This confirmed Ye Liuyun’s suspicion: these people were undoubtedly sent by the empire to hunt him down.
*"Would they really go to such lengths just for a dead man like Liu Zhong?"* He couldn’t shake the feeling that they had another motive.
So when they sent scouts out again, Ye Liuyun acted swiftly. Using his mastery over time, he launched a soul attack, seizing control of one seventh-level and two sixth-level Dominators. A quick soul search revealed their true objective—they were after the White Radiance technique.
But his move stirred up a hornet’s nest. These experts were bound by soul contracts, and the moment Ye Liuyun struck, they sensed the intrusion. Though they couldn’t confirm it was him, they quickly deduced the mercenaries were onto them. The remaining cultivators wasted no time in retreating.
*"This complicates things. If they’re after the technique, they won’t back down easily."* A sense of unease settled over Ye Liuyun—he knew this was far from over.
