Chapter 3004: Chapter 3004
Liu Yan rushed to meet them the moment they returned, bombarding them with anxious questions.
"You had me worried sick! I thought you weren’t coming back! Did everything go smoothly? Why did it take so long?"
"The situation was a bit unusual. Come on, let’s report to the boss first," Ye Liuyun said curtly, steering him straight toward Li Qingyang without further explanation.
When briefing Li Qingyang, Ye Liuyun omitted the part about capturing three powerful warriors. Instead, he simply mentioned that the Dragon Head Bandits had sent four cultivators at the sixth level of the Guiyi Realm, along with reinforcements infiltrating the city from the outskirts, which had prolonged their mission.
Li Qingyang nodded understandingly. "They probably thought you lacked strong backup, so they dared to make a move. No matter—success is what counts. Go get some rest now!"
After praising them, he dismissed the team to recuperate, then relayed the news to the bandit leader, Chang Yuxing, confirming the feasibility of their strategy.
"This team is that strong? You don’t think they’ll try to snatch the treasure from us later, do you?" Chang Yuxing immediately voiced his suspicion.
"Don’t worry. I’ll keep them busy with battles along the way. By the time we reach the treasure, they won’t get a chance to step forward," Li Qingyang replied dismissively.
He genuinely believed Ye Liuyun’s group was formidable—too valuable to waste. If they showed no signs of betrayal when the time came, he even considered recruiting them.
Chang Yuxing conceded that while Ye Liuyun’s team was strong, they hadn’t yet faced true elites. Both bandit factions still held their top experts in reserve, with plenty of hidden strength to rely on. There was no need for excessive concern.
"Fine. Just keep an eye on them then," Chang Yuxing agreed, though he added a warning: "But mark my words—the Dragon Head Bandits won’t stay idle much longer. We’ve already taken ten of their cities in a row."
"I expect they’ll retaliate soon. But rest easy—I’ve made all the necessary preparations," Li Qingyang said confidently.
Without further discussion, Chang Yuxing ordered the fleet to press onward to the next planet, as if intent on continuing their assault on the Dragon Head Bandits’ territory.
The leader of the Dragon Head Bandits, Feng Yulong, was currently discussing countermeasures with two martial cultivators.
They couldn’t care less about the lost cities, but the deaths of three powerful fighters had caught their attention. Even with their formidable strength, warriors like Zhankong, Wuying, and Baolong were rare—there were no more than twenty of their caliber in the entire group.
Feng Yulong, an elderly-looking man leaning on a dragon-headed cane, exuded no detectable aura, making his cultivation level impossible to discern.
With a skeptical frown, he turned to the two martial cultivators and asked, "Has Chang Yuxing already revealed his trump card this early?"
A demonic cultivator shrouded in black robes, his body wreathed in flickering demonic energy and a chilling ghostly aura, was the first to respond. "According to our investigation, the group that attacked was the same team of foreign martial cultivators who handed over the key. They weren’t originally part of the First Star Bandits."
This black-robed demonic cultivator was none other than the deputy leader of the Dragon Head Bandits—infamously known as the Ghost King.
He continued, "Their motives remain unclear. After surrendering the key, they’ve been sticking close to the First Star Bandits. With their strength, they’re probably just looking to claim a share of the spoils."
The other martial cultivator was a refined young master, leisurely waving a folding fan. He was also a deputy leader of the Dragon Head Bandits, serving as their strategist—known as the Wandering Prince.
Gently swaying his fan, he remarked, "Chang Yuxing might not even give them the chance. I suspect he’s just using them temporarily and will eventually push them aside."
Feng Yulong nodded in agreement. "Then send someone to try recruiting them. If they refuse, forget about them—no need to waste further effort. As for Chang Yuxing, it’s time to make our move. If he wants to weaken us first, then let’s strike sooner rather than later. The outcome will be the same either way."
The Wandering Prince gave a slow nod, still fanning himself. "Very well. I’ll handle the arrangements."
Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun, Tang Xinyao, and the others found themselves surrounded by bandits like Liu Yan, bombarded with endless questions.
The bandits were burning with curiosity, eager to learn how Ye Liuyun’s group had managed to seize the city.
"Did you really take down the city all by yourselves?"
"You folks must have hit the jackpot this time, huh?"
Several bandits eyed Ye Liuyun and his group with envy, coveting the vast resources they had seized from the entire city.
As Ye Liuyun briefly recounted their conquest, he couldn’t help but worry inwardly about stirring jealousy and suspicion among others. After cautiously dealing with the bandits, he led his companions back to their spatial realm to train, while also probing Zhan Kong, Wu Ying, and Bao Long for details about the true strength of the two bandit factions.
He figured it was wise to get a grasp of their adversaries’ real power beforehand—otherwise, he might find himself at a disadvantage. If the Dragon Head Bandits had such formidable experts, then the First Star Bandits must possess them as well.
According to Zhan Kong and the others, both factions boasted genuine powerhouses at their level, numbering at least ten or more. And sooner or later, clashes were inevitable during this treasure hunt. However, the exact count remained a tightly guarded secret.
In their estimation, the two factions likely had comparable numbers of such elites—otherwise, one would have already absorbed the other by now. Ye Liuyun found this reasoning quite plausible.
As for the rank-and-file bandits, whether there were a thousand or a hundred made little difference—they were insignificant in the face of true powerhouses.
"Then wouldn’t capturing you three alert the Dragon Head Bandit leader?" Ye Liuyun quickly realized that seizing such formidable figures would undoubtedly draw their leader’s attention.
Zhan Kong and the other two nodded in unison. "Absolutely."
Immediately, Ye Liuyun decided that in future city raids, he would deploy all three of them—cloaked in invisibility mantles—to keep watch for elite adversaries. Otherwise, if such experts struck without warning, they’d be caught completely off guard. He now knew he had to tread carefully with both factions.
At the same time, he recognized the vast gap between his own strength and that of true powerhouses. Without his mastery of temporal power, he wouldn’t stand a chance against them—he wouldn’t even be able to locate them.
So without delay, he had the three experts instruct him on how to enhance his various abilities.
As for refining profound essence, Bao Long practiced a technique called the *Condensing Yuan Art*, which involved repeatedly burning and cooling true essence within his core to achieve denser energy. Ye Liuyun promptly extracted the method through soul-searching and shared it with the group, spurring even the beasts into fervent practice—they were awestruck by the sheer density of Bao Long’s energy.
Zhan Kong’s spatial power stemmed from an accidental encounter with a chaotic void in a secret realm, which granted him his insights. Wu Ying, on the other hand, possessed an innate bloodline affinity with the forces of heaven and earth—something Ye Liuyun couldn’t replicate directly. His only path to improvement was through sparring with them and gradually refining his comprehension.
