Chapter 2998: Chapter 2998
Ye Liuyun never returned to the exploration team after that, choosing instead to remain with the bandit group and becoming a member of Liu Yan’s squad.
Over the next few nights, they continued eliminating spies and informants, while Ye Liuyun expanded the bandit group’s numbers to fifty. His clone and the Thieving Cat also took action daily, not only increasing their force of sixth-level Harmonization experts to thirty but also gathering enough high-tier resources to ensure their cultivation needs were met for the journey ahead.
The First Star Bandits had nearly eradicated their lingering threats. Even if they couldn’t wipe out every infiltrator planted by the Dragon Head Bandits, they had at least stripped them of the ability to launch attacks on cities.
With that, they replenished their ranks with five hundred more bandits and immediately set off on their expedition.
Three medium-sized airships flew in a straight line toward the desolate expanse of the Firebrand Star System. At normal speed, the journey would take three months. As soon as the fleet began moving, Ye Liuyun led his group into his spatial world to focus on cultivation.
But before he could even train for two days, Liu Yan summoned him back.
Emerging to find Liu Yan’s unusually stern expression, Ye Liuyun asked, puzzled, “Brother Liu, what’s wrong?”
Liu Yan sighed and sent a voice transmission: *“Liuyun, I think it’s best if you switch back to the exploration team. Our leader just received orders—we’re to attack several Dragon Head Bandit territories along the way, retaliating against them. The boss says this is the chief’s way of provoking the Dragon Head Bandits into striking us early, so we don’t get ambushed on our return trip. But the bad news is, our group is the main force for this operation, and we’ll be assaulting their cities. The fighting will be brutal. Staying with us would only put you in greater danger. You’ve helped me so much—I have to make sure you’re safe. Once the fleet stops, swap places with those ten from the exploration team and just focus on cultivating. Let them come with me for the battle.”*
Ye Liuyun considered it briefly. The bandit group had high-tier fighters to handle the elites, leaving ordinary bandits as perfect practice targets for his group. Plus, the Thieving Cat could loot freely, bringing back even more resources.
So he deliberately sighed and said, “So Brother Liu doesn’t really see me as one of your own, huh? If you’re so eager to get rid of me, fine—I’ll go.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” Liu Yan frowned, baffled. “I’m trying to protect you—how is that ‘getting rid of you’?”
Ye Liuyun also feigned a solemn expression and explained, "If you truly consider me a brother, why wouldn’t you let me fight alongside you? Sooner or later, I’ll join the bandit group and stand with you in battle. If you push me away now, doesn’t that mean you don’t see me as one of your own? Or that you never intended to let me join in the first place?"
Liu Yan shook his head vigorously, his voice urgent as he clarified, "Brother, you’ve got me all wrong. I’ve long regarded you as one of us. It’s just that I promised to keep all ten of you safe—I don’t want you dying on the road halfway through."
"Brother Liu, if you really see me as a brother, then stop speaking like an outsider. Since we’re already part of your team, we won’t back down when the fight comes, and we certainly won’t let you and the others face the danger alone.
"As for the battle, don’t worry about us. We’re not weak. Besides, I still have those demon beasts under my control—we’ll be even safer in a fight than you."
Ye Liuyun made these remarks openly in front of all the bandits, so not only Liu Yan but the others also felt that Ye Liuyun was truly a brother to them, worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder in battle.
They were already somewhat aware of the combat prowess of Ye Liuyun and his group, so they didn’t dismiss him just because his cultivation level seemed low. Moreover, half of the current team consisted of people Ye Liuyun had captured—all under his command.
Liu Yan gave him a firm pat on the shoulder, his voice thick with emotion as he vowed, "Alright, Liuyun, I overthought things. From now on, I won’t say anything that makes us seem like strangers!"
Ye Liuyun nodded solemnly in response.
"Then you all should focus on training and prepare for the fight!" Liu Yan didn’t waste any more words, immediately urging Ye Liuyun to return and cultivate, striving to boost his strength as much as possible.
Once back, Ye Liuyun relayed the news to his companions. Far from being worried, they were all excited, feeling that training for a while before heading into battle was just what they needed.
Especially Thieving Cat—Ye Liuyun had tasked him with infiltrating the merchant guild and the city lord’s residence this time, and he was free to steal from anyone else along the way. The prospect thrilled him, and he threw himself into training with renewed vigor.
Their next mission was set for five or six days later, which meant over fifty days in the spatial realm—plenty of time for them to cultivate and improve.
Ye Liuyun finally absorbed the fire-attribute primordial energy and, alongside his doppelganger, began refining other resources. Most of these resources were meant to enhance and strengthen their divine souls, bloodlines, and other attributes. Both Ye Liuyun and his doppelganger worked on body tempering while absorbing the energy.
Thus, after more than twenty days, Ye Liuyun’s cultivation level hadn’t advanced in the slightest, but his strength in other areas had improved significantly.
Now, both his and his doppelganger’s divine souls, bloodlines, and physical bodies far surpassed their current cultivation realm.
Though he wasn’t entirely sure how powerful late-stage Unity Realm experts truly were in every aspect, one thing was certain—none of the Unity Realm sixth-level opponents he’d encountered so far could match his level of soul strength, power of bloodline, or physical body.
So for the remaining time, he focused entirely on refining his advance energy, channeling more of the world’s natural energy into it to enhance its purity.
He had already noticed something—the martial cultivators here possessed remarkably refined True Yuan, unlike the kind he’d often seen before, where the energy was loose and unstable. This was likely due to their constant battles and life-or-death struggles.
As Ye Liuyun trained, he also found himself craving real combat to temper himself. The women in his spatial world could still find suitable sparring partners among themselves.
But for him? Even among the Ancient Demon Clan, he couldn’t find an opponent who could truly push him. Many of his abilities inherently countered demonic power, making even Unity Realm third-level Ancient Demons no match for him.
Sparring with the Demon Vine would only drain its energy. Fighting the Unity Realm sixth-level prisoners? In terms of pure True Yuan, he couldn’t compete with those experts. And when it came to battling Tang Xinyao and the others, he had to hold back, afraid of accidentally injuring them.
*Looks like when I go out to fight, I’ll have to grab a few Unity Realm third or fourth-level martial cultivators to practice on. The conflict between these two bandit groups is working in my favor. Best if they clash a few more times before reaching the Desolate Sea.*
He realized that simply training alone was too slow for improving the quality of his advance energy. Only under real pressure could he advance quickly. Moreover, now that his soul and power of bloodline had grown, his combat techniques needed refinement as well.
His spatial power and control over natural energy also required further development. He was convinced—only through battle, only when pushed to his limits, could he truly accelerate his progress.
