Chapter 2990: Chapter 2990
"Captain Liu? Is it time to assemble already?" Ye Liuyun asked Liu Yan in confusion upon seeing him.
The timing was much earlier than originally scheduled.
"No, I have something to discuss with you! Are you all heading out?" Liu Yan clearly had urgent business, as he didn’t even notice that their cultivation levels had each advanced by a stage.
"We’ve been cooped up training and wanted to stretch our legs. But since you’re here, Captain, come inside and talk!"
Ye Liuyun immediately ushered Liu Yan into the room, signaling for Tang Xinyao and the others to wait outside.
Liu Yan also waved his hand, instructing his subordinates to remain where they were.
Noticing the gesture, Ye Liuyun cut straight to the point once they were inside. "Captain Liu, no need for formalities. If you’ve got something to say, just say it!"
"Good man, straight to the point!" Liu Yan laughed.
Without mincing words, he continued, "After you signed up last time, I already mentioned you to my boss. He was impressed with your group’s strength and agreed on the spot to keep you and your nine guards.
"This time, he sent me personally. Recruitment is almost over, but some of his other cities haven’t met their quotas. He wants to ask for your help—to capture sixty more people.
"Of course, he won’t let you work for nothing. Name your price, and I’ll relay it to him."
Hearing this, Ye Liuyun responded generously, "Brother Liu, if you’re talking like that, you’re not treating me as a brother. If the boss needs help and we’re capable, how could we possibly ask for payment?
"We’ll take care of it. We’ll head out immediately and bring those sixty back within five days—you have my word."
Liu Yan hadn’t expected Ye Liuyun to agree so readily, without even mentioning compensation. It left him momentarily speechless, his prepared arguments unneeded.
"Good man, you’ve got honor! Then I won’t stand on ceremony either. Go ahead—I’ll make sure you’re properly rewarded!" he declared, matching Ye Liuyun’s boldness.
The two of them discussed further and finalized their plan to head to East City.
Only then did Liu Yan notice that Ye Liuyun had broken through to a new realm!
"You broke through? Just over ten days after returning?" Liu Yan was puzzled.
Ye Liuyun had no choice but to make up an excuse: "I was on the verge of breaking through already—just suppressing it. After that last battle, I couldn’t hold it back anymore!"
Hearing this, Liu Yan nodded.
"Breaking through is even better! That’ll make it easier for the boss to vouch for you. Otherwise, if your realm was too low, people might get jealous."
After exchanging a few more words, Ye Liuyun saw Liu Yan off.
Then, he summoned his doppelganger, draped it in an invisibility cloak, and sent it ahead to scout the path.
Now that his spatial power had strengthened, he had no worries about sending his doppelganger out. Even if it encountered martial artists at the sixth level of the Unity Realm, as long as it remained cautious, they wouldn’t detect it.
Meanwhile, he continued leading Tang Xinyao and the others toward the East City gate.
This time, no one tailed them as they left, but the moment they approached the East City gate, the nearby scouts immediately perked up with excitement.
Yet, Ye Liuyun’s group acted as if they hadn’t noticed, striding straight out of the city without hesitation.
"These people react way too fast! We’ve barely left the city, and there’s already an ambush ahead!"
Within half an hour of leaving the city, Tang Xinyao’s divine sense had already detected the martial artists lying in wait for them.
In truth, Ye Liuyun had noticed them much earlier. The ambush party was sizable—over sixty fighters. Clearly, the bandit groups in this area had heard rumors of Ye Liuyun’s strength and had come prepared.
There were five martial cultivators at the Fourth Level of Guiyi, twelve at the Third Level, and the rest were all at the First or Second Level.
Ye Liuyun had already released the demonic beasts in advance, along with Li Xinran, whose cultivation had now reached the First Level of Guiyi. Seeing that she was fully armored and equipped with protective artifacts against soul attacks, he felt reassured and allowed her to join the battle for experience.
As for himself, he charged ahead using spatial power, aiming to eliminate the strongest opponents first.
With a flicker, Ye Liuyun vanished from sight, only to reappear behind a Fourth-Level Guiyi cultivator. With a single slash of his blade, he cleaved the man in two. Then, with a spatial compression, he crushed another powerful foe.
He swung his blade once more, using spatial power to deliver the strike directly in front of another strong opponent. The cultivator attempted to deflect the attack with his own spatial manipulation while reinforcing his defenses with the power of heaven and earth. But to his shock, his spatial control failed, and the protective barrier of cosmic energy shattered effortlessly under Ye Liuyun’s blade—splitting him in half.
Above yet another powerhouse, a spatial the Null abruptly materialized.
The man’s first instinct was to dodge, but he suddenly found the space around him locked tight. Realizing escape was impossible, he tried to use his own spatial power to repel the the Null—only to discover his strength was far too weak to make any difference. Helpless, he watched as the void swallowed him whole.
By the time the last Fourth-Level Guiyi expert tried to intervene, it was already too late. The ambushers had been spread too thin, making immediate assistance impossible.
Next, Ye Liuyun employed temporal power to snatch away nine Third-Level Guiyi cultivators and eleven Second-Level ones. The rest he left alone, hovering in the void, ready to assist his allies at any moment.
This sudden, devastating assault forced the ambushers to reveal their positions, sending waves of panic through the bandits. But by then, Ye Liuyun’s team had already closed in—escape was no longer an option.
The Dragon Maiden, now at the mid-stage of Third-Level Guiyi, was even more confident against Fourth-Level opponents. She charged straight at one of the remaining powerhouses.
Of the three remaining Third-Level experts, Lei Ming and the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, both at the mid-stage of Second-Level Guiyi, each engaged one, while the last was instantly obliterated by the Vermilion Bird’s soul attack.
The remaining martial cultivators were no match even for Tang Xinyao and Tang Hao, who had both broken through to the Third Level of Guiyi. They dispatched their foes with ease, even complaining to Ye Liuyun for not leaving them a couple of Third-Level opponents to test their skills.
Glancing over the battlefield, Ye Liuyun noted that Li Xinran, tempered by battles against the alien races, fought with ruthless precision. Satisfied, he turned his attention elsewhere.
Emerging from the void, he began striking down the remaining Second-Level Guiyi cultivators with the power of heaven and earth—each palm strike or fist blow effortlessly crushing one.
When attacks came his way, he didn’t even bother blocking. The cosmic energy swirling around him was enough to deflect any assault.
"Next time, I should find a Third-Level Guiyi opponent to test myself against," Ye Liuyun mused. But his clone had already warned him—there were still plenty of ambushers ahead. There was no need to rush.
