Chapter 3000: Chapter 3000
Li Qingyang waited until they had all returned before issuing the order to retreat. Everyone boarded the flying vessel together.
The outcome of this battle had far exceeded his expectations. Not only had they completely obliterated an entire city, but they had also suffered minimal casualties.
After Ye Liuyun and the others returned, those who had previously teased Tang Xinyao now dared not utter a word.
These men had often made crude jokes in front of her, deliberately provoking her. But now, having witnessed their strength and sensing the killing intent radiating from Tang Xinyao, they realized this woman was not to be trifled with.
Ye Liuyun didn’t linger long either. After exchanging a few words with the group, he took Tang Xinyao and the others back into his spatial world to cultivate. Many of the bandits here also possessed spatial worlds, so no one found it particularly strange.
At this level of cultivation, it wasn’t unusual for martial artists with strong spatial powers to have expansive spatial realms. However, since most of these bandits were self-taught with no guidance in cultivation, few among them had developed formidable spatial abilities.
Many of their spatial worlds weren’t even large enough to accommodate so many people. At their level of training, the space required wasn’t just about fitting bodies—it had to be vast enough to support their cultivation needs.
Once Ye Liuyun and his group returned, the Thieving Cat proudly displayed all the stolen goods.
Both humans and beasts were dazzled by the sight. "This much? We’ve hit the jackpot!"
Tang Xinyao and the others couldn’t help but marvel. "The income from banditry really is substantial. These resources could sustain all of us for years of cultivation."
"Where exactly did you steal all this from?" Ye Liuyun, however, remained composed as he questioned the Thieving Cat. He needed to be prepared in case Li Qingyang or others came asking.
"Heh, I looted the city lord’s mansion, the merchant guild, two major clans, and the storage rings of some bandit leaders!" the Thieving Cat boasted smugly.
"Well done! Keep it up in the future!" Ye Liuyun praised him before handing the resources over to Lan Xin and the others to sort and distribute.
Then, he urged everyone to immediately begin replenishing their true energy, reminding them sternly:
"Don’t let your guard down. Be ready to fight the First Star Bandit Group at any moment. If they grow suspicious and attack us, we must be prepared to retaliate immediately."
"You all overexerted yourselves in this battle. Next time, try to conserve your True Essence. Remember, we’re infiltrating this bandit group—we must always be ready for combat."
"Understood!"
The group finally calmed down and dispersed to replenish their depleted reserves. After this fight, nearly ninety percent of their stored essence stones had been consumed. Especially toward the end, when they were breaking through the enemy formation, they had held nothing back.
Ye Liuyun had actually wanted to retreat by then, but since no one else was willing to back down, he went along with it. He figured that since this was their first battle, even if the bandits grew suspicious, it wouldn’t be a major issue.
Once their essence stones were fully restored, Ye Liuyun took a walk around the camp. Most of the bandits were busy cultivating or recovering, and no one seemed particularly concerned about who had taken the stolen resources.
This was actually standard practice among these outlaws—whoever seized the spoils kept them. After a battle, no one went around asking questions. Even if someone had taken more than their share, they wouldn’t admit it openly.
So most just assumed the resources had either been snatched up early or secretly claimed by someone inside the city.
As for the bandit leaders like Li Qingyang, they had no intention of interfering. Since they had already given the order to loot freely, there was no point in micromanaging.
If you wanted your men to fight fiercely, you had to let them keep some of the rewards. If you tried to take everything for yourself, no one would risk their lives for you in the future.
Seeing that no one was talking about it, Ye Liuyun relaxed slightly and returned to his own cultivation.
His clone had captured six fourth-level Harmonization cultivators and over twenty third-level ones—more than enough for training. So after each cultivation session, he would engage them in combat using only his Profound Essence, exhausting it completely before returning to refine more.
He couldn’t use any of his other powers. If he unleashed his divine soul or bloodline strength, these prisoners wouldn’t even last a single exchange. The sheer pressure from those forces alone would overwhelm them, making it impossible for him to hone his offensive or defensive skills in those areas.
Even when fighting solely with Profound Essence, only the fourth-level Harmonization warriors could occasionally land a hit on his physical body. He couldn’t even properly temper his own flesh this way.
"Ugh, the gap between my cultivation level and my other abilities is too wide. It’s hard to even find a suitable opponent!"
With no other choice, Ye Liuyun resigned himself to focusing on improving his weakest aspects first.
And the First Star Bandits just happened to give him that opportunity.
After Li Qingyang reported the results of the battle, their leader, Chang Yuxing, seeing how smoothly things were going, simply let him attack more cities.
So when Ye Liuyun and the others emerged again, Liu Yan shared the good news with him.
Naturally, Ye Liuyun had no objections—he was so excited he kept saying, "Great! Great!"
Seeing Ye Liuyun’s enthusiasm, Liu Yan laughed. "I can see it now—you people really do love a good fight!"
Still, he warned Ye Liuyun, "The Dragon Head Bandits won’t stay idle forever. In future battles, we might run into experts at the fifth or sixth level of the Unity Realm!"
This served as a reminder to Ye Liuyun—if he kept exposing his clones, the bandits would eventually catch on when facing such powerful opponents.
So from then on, he and his clones took turns wearing the invisibility cloak—devouring souls, protecting the group, guarding against ambushes, and secretly capturing prisoners for practice.
Half of the prisoners he’d previously taken had been killed during his own training, while the other half had been finished off by Thunderclap, the Dragon Maiden, and the other beasts. He needed fresh captures.
This time, however, with his clone lurking in the shadows, things were much easier. He also kept an eye on Li Qingyang while making his moves. Even if Li Qingyang noticed something amiss, he simply assumed the martial artists had dodged attacks with spatial movement—never suspecting they’d been whisked away. The battlefield was too chaotic for him to track every disappearance.
The beasts didn’t split up from Ye Liuyun this time either. They stuck together, sweeping through the city in a clockwise net, slaughtering bandits as they went.
Wherever they passed, their own forces would steer clear, leaving the battlefield to them while they moved toward the center to plunder resources.
They didn’t mind. Seizing every chance to hone their skills, they knew the Thieving Cat would ensure they still got the lion’s share of the loot. Ye Liuyun even instructed the cat to leave behind some less valuable resources—no need to strip the merchant guilds and city halls completely bare. Let others have a little something too.
They also avoided biting off more than they could chew, no longer wasting resources on heavily fortified spots. When other teams saw them holding back, they’d swarm in, smash the defenses, and ransack the place.
The corpses from their own kills were all collected and handed to Lan Xin for sorting, while the bodies went to the Demon Vine. Ye Liuyun estimated that if they kept this up, by the time they reached the Desolate Sea, the Demon Vine would have no trouble breaking through to the sixth level of the Unity Realm.
