Chapter 2963: Chapter 2963
The weapon-refining master were divided into two teams—one crafting general equipment like armor, weapons, Yuan-storage stones, and Yuan-exchange cauldrons, while the other focused on constructing the massive sphere and the Spirit Cat battleships.
The sphere’s navigation functions were entirely removed, limiting it to short-range movement and repurposing it purely as an offensive weapon, now dubbed the Firepower Chariot.
Meanwhile, the Spirit Cat battleships had their spatial traversal and stealth capabilities enhanced, their crew capacity reduced, and new models of varying sizes were developed to suit different mission requirements.
The alchemists, too, shifted their focus. Instead of their usual concoctions, they now primarily refined pills to condense divine souls, true essence, and bloodlines, along with others designed to strengthen the physical body, enhance spatial comprehension, or harness the power of heaven and earth—all aimed at boosting individual combat prowess.
Xuan Yuan Ling even established a temporary merchant guild on the planet, mobilizing a vast workforce and pooling all available resources to meet the diverse needs of the soldiers.
Li Xinran, Tang Xinyao, and the others were dazzled by the sheer variety of goods, eager to purchase everything in sight. Even Liang Xue and her companions frequently browsed the guild’s offerings, finding plenty of useful resources.
Ye Liuyun personally handpicked a wealth of materials for Ye Tiandao, hoping to accelerate her cultivation. At only the eighth level of the Dominator realm, she had become the weakest in the Vanguard Regiment. Though her blade intent was unmatched, it was hardly fitting for a commander to lag behind in strength.
Ye Tiandao retreated into her clone’s spatial world to train in seclusion, sparring with ancient demons to temper her true essence and swiftly advance her cultivation.
Beyond her, Ye Liuyun urged the other women not to hoard resources—so long as their foundations remained solid, they were to push their limits without hesitation.
He, too, followed his own advice. After absorbing vast amounts of primordial energy, his cultivation reached the late eighth level of the Dominator realm. Then, through sparring with two clones and repeated refinement of his profound essence, he broke through to the ninth level.
Though he hadn’t yet stepped into the Unity realm, his mastery of heaven and earth’s power had progressed to the point where it now swirled around him, hinting at the formation of an overwhelming aura. At the very least, he could effortlessly deflect attacks from a second-level Unity expert.
Infused with this celestial force, his strikes could now clash head-on with such opponents. Combined with his refined profound essence, he could hold his own against Unity-level martial artists—far surpassing even Li Daoyuan.
With his main body and both clones possessing golden pupils capable of emitting black-and-white light, survival wasn’t an issue, even against elite extraterrestrial foes.
His second clone had already nurtured two fire spirit. Though their flame power still fell short, the clone was otherwise formidable enough to undertake missions in place of the main body—especially against otherworldly beings, where the Buddha-light energy from his spatial world proved particularly effective.
After further refining his divine soul, bloodline, and physical strength, he even tested himself against the full-force assault of a fourth-level Unity Demon Vine. Though it could wound him, killing him was out of the question.
He even sought out Tang Xinyao and Tang Hao to spar with—both of them had already broken through to the second level of Unity Realm. Yet after crossing blades, he realized his advantage wasn’t as pronounced as he’d hoped.
Though his strength had improved across the board, the progress hadn’t brought him any real surprises. Constantly comparing himself to Unity Realm martial artists, and still influenced by his previous battle with the Ancient Demon, he couldn’t shake the feeling that his advancement was too slow.
"You call that slow? Fighting at the second level of Unity while still at Dominator Ninth—if that’s not enough, then what does that make the rest of us? Trash?" The women often teased him to lighten his mood.
Truth be told, spending every day in their company had made life too comfortable, and he was itching for something more.
Just then, Ye Liuyun received word that Tang Xinyao had set up a martial arena in the nearby starry void, specifically for soldiers who had recently broken through and wanted to test their skills.
She’d noticed many soldiers advancing in cultivation and then scrambling to find sparring partners in the void. Rather than leaving them to beg for training partners, she figured it’d be more efficient to organize a proper arena where everyone could face different opponents.
She even enlisted Wen Yuan’s help to construct the platform and spectator stands, turning it into a small business that earned resources on the side. Soldiers, with time on their hands, flocked to watch the matches and learn from others’ techniques—so business was booming.
Ye Liuyun immediately rushed over to join the excitement, signing up to fight and specifically challenging Unity Realm experts.
"You crafty little thing, always full of ideas—now you’re out here hustling for resources!" he joked with Tang Xinyao.
Since the arena forbade lethal force, he wasn’t worried about the soldiers’ safety and actually approved of her initiative.
Besides, this was exactly what the troops needed. Even he, after breaking through, had been desperate for a good fight—let alone the rank-and-file soldiers.
Tang Xinyao stuck out her tongue playfully. "What can I say? I had some free time, so why not earn a little extra? Welcome, Commander! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get the toughest opponents!"
Once word spread that Ye Liuyun was participating, the soldiers grew even more enthusiastic, packing the stands and drawing a lively crowd.
When his turn came, Tang Xinyao indeed matched him against the strongest newly-breakthrough fighters. But for Ye Liuyun, the pressure still wasn’t enough. After a few rounds, he stepped aside to watch the spectacle.
Coincidentally, Broken Horn and a few other non-human commanders had also come to spectate. He waved Broken Horn over and struck up a conversation, probing about the strength of non-human warriors—worried he might find no worthy opponents once he ventured into their territories.
However, Broken Horn and the others all claimed that they had also encountered enemies at the Unity Realm during battles. Based on their judgment, the strength of the alien races was also increasing—just not as rapidly as their own.
Broken Horn quickly explained to Ye Liuyun, "Master, as you know, the alien races can rapidly enhance their power through devouring. If they truly wanted to grow stronger, they would undoubtedly surpass human martial cultivators in speed. Whenever we improve in battle, their strength immediately rises in response, never allowing us to suppress them completely."
This gave Ye Liuyun a glimmer of hope, and he began to look forward to fighting the alien races again. Otherwise, he had been considering letting Yu Xiaofeng lead the troops against them while he ventured into other realms of the cosmos.
At that moment, several powerful alien warriors near Broken Horn were itching to step onto the arena. However, with so many humans present, they feared being at a disadvantage and hesitated to challenge anyone recklessly.
Noticing this, Ye Liuyun immediately invited them to spar, even promising a reward of a strand of Power of Origin to anyone who could defeat him.
The aliens erupted in cheers and eagerly followed him onto the stage.
Ye Liuyun fought five consecutive matches without relying on any special abilities. The aliens proved to be formidable opponents—so much so that he actually lost twice. True to his word, he granted the promised rewards, earning the aliens’ deep respect for his integrity.
