The local city lords had been having a miserable ti lately.
On one hand, they couldn't collect fees from the rcenary groups; on the other, they were constantly robbed and extorted by Ye Liuyun, leaving them with almost no resources left.
Ye Liuyun, however, moved swiftly. He advanced rapidly along his planned route, circling back to Jing'an City in the end.
By then, he had altered his appearance so thoroughly that no one could recognize him.
During the battle with the Shangliang rcenary Group, Ye Liuyun used a soul attack to kill Xue Liang but spared Ling Yuan, deliberately keeping him alive.
When he t Ling Yuan face to face, he revealed his true appearance without hesitation, making no attempt to hide his identity.
Ling Yuan was stunned by how quickly Ye Liuyun had grown. Upon learning that Ye Liuyun specialized in extorting city lords and refused to pay them tribute, Ling Yuan imdiately agreed to join his cause.
His reluctance to serve in the military before had stemd from his refusal to work for the empire. Back then, he had no outlet for his strength—but now that Ye Liuyun was opposing the empire, he was more than willing to contribute.
Over this period, Ye Liuyun had undergone nurous battles, honing his skills. Even his companions—the Demon Vine, the Nine-Headed Demon Dragon, and the Vermilion Bird—had fought in many clashes, each growing stronger. Even the Thieving Cat's spatial abilities had improved, making thefts smoother than ever.
Ye Liuyun's rcenary group had now expanded to a thousand mbers. Among them, sixty-five were at the sixth level of the Dominator Realm, two hundred at the fifth level, and the rest were martial cultivators at the third or fourth level—none of them weak.
His two right-hand n were Ling Yuan and Mo Ran.
Ling Yuan excelled in head-on combat, while Mo Ran was a cunning strategist responsible for gathering intelligence.
Finally, the city lords began mobilizing their forces, preparing to unite and wipe out Ye Liuyun's rcenary band.
By then, Ye Liuyun felt he had gathered enough resources. The wealth he had amassed in these few months surpassed what he had earned in years of fighting before.
So, he withdrew his entire force into his spatial world, allowing them to focus on cultivation. anwhile, he altered his appearance once more and headed to the source of the world's primordial energy, intending to absorb it for his own training.
Of course, he wouldn't drain the planet's source energy completely. After absorbing roughly half, he'd imdiately withdraw and move to another planet, repeating the sa tactics—expanding his rcenary group, extorting city lords, and pilfering resources from rchant guilds and major factions.
Initially, the deceived city lords fell for the sche every ti. Especially after Ye Liuyun amassed a sizable following, he even had his n impersonate imperial soldiers to accompany him in extorting the city lords. Their success rate was nearly flawless.
Even when these city lords later realized they'd been swindled, none dared report it to the empire. They swallowed their grievances, too afraid to make a fuss, terrified that exposure would cost them their positions.
Emboldened by their silence, Ye Liuyun grew even bolder in his extortion. After sweeping through seven or eight planets, he had accumulated vast resources.
With more supplies than he could use, he established outposts on these planets, tasking his rcenaries with setting up rchant guilds to sell off the excess. Soon, their rcantile operations thrived, drawing custors away from the cities.
By then, the city lords found themselves powerless to suppress Ye Liuyun. His rcenary forces—beyond the elite thousand-strong unit at his side—numbered in the thousands on each planet, all aligned with the Wolf Hunt rcenary Corps. Moreover, the rcenaries had an extensive intelligence network. The mont a city lord mobilized troops, word reached Ye Liuyun, who would swiftly reinforce with his elite fighters.
After several clashes, the city lords found their forces dwindling, eventually retreating behind their walls. anwhile, defections to the Wolf Hunt rcenary Corps only grew.
Left with no choice, the city lords reported the situation to the empire under the guise of rampant banditry, pleading for imperial reinforcents. But the empire, preoccupied with its war against the demonic races, dismissed it as re rcenary expansionism. They dispatched a single inspector, Lu Xiao, with a thousand soldiers to assess the situation.
A seasoned official, Lu Xiao recognized the ss he was stepping into and knew his forces were insufficient. Before setting out, he contacted the city lords, instructing them to muster their troops.
Assured that this was the real inspector, the city lords complied imdiately. Yet, the mont they mobilized, the rcenaries caught wind of it. Ye Liuyun intercepted a prisoner, extracted the truth through soul-searching, and smirked.
"The real deal has arrived. Ti for to step down—temporarily."
He turned to Ling Yuan with a grin. "Gather so n, disguise them as cultivators and soldiers. We'll pose as city lords and greet this 'official' inspector in person."
"Hah! Got it!" Ling Yuan instantly grasped the plan—Ye Liuyun intended to ambush Lu Xiao. He hurried off to assemble the team, boarding an official city lord's airship for the ruse.
When Lu Xiao's small warship arrived, it crossed paths with their vessel. Using his Thousand Illusions technique, Ye Liuyun morphed into the likeness of a city lord and disembarked with a mixed group of cultivators and soldiers.
"We've co to welco Inspector Lu," they announced. "With the rcenary unrest lately, we feared you might encounter trouble on the road, so we took the liberty of eting you in advance."
"Let them co aboard!" Lu Xiao didn't think much of it, assuming soone had genuinely co to escort him. Hearing about the rcenaries' formidable strength, he actually felt safer having an ard escort.
Thus, Ye Liuyun and his crew easily boarded the airship. The mont they t Lu Xiao, Ye Liuyun imdiately launched a soul attack, branding him with a slave seal. Lu Xiao cursed his rotten luck—he never expected the rcenaries here to be so brazen as to hijack an official vessel.
Ye Liuyun first ordered Lu Xiao to hand over all his resources before disembarking from the warship, leaving him to deal with the city lords on his own.
Through soul-searching, however, Ye Liuyun learned that the Inspector Envoys wielded imnse authority—they could appoint or dismiss city lords at will. According to Lu Xiao's mories, they even had the power to restructure the governance of entire planets.
Ye Liuyun needed ti to strategize how best to exploit these planets and infiltrate the heart of this star system.
anwhile, Lu Xiao, now Ye Liuyun's unwilling servant, dared not show the slightest resentnt toward his master. Instead, he took out his frustrations on the city lords. Upon arrival, he imdiately dismissed every one of them who had co to greet him. He didn't appoint replacents, leaving the positions vacant.
This was a tried-and-true thod among Inspector Envoys to extort resources. Soon enough, powerful factions vying for the empty seats began showering Lu Xiao with gifts and supplies, replenishing his coffers in no ti. The deposed city lords had no recourse—no channels to file complaints—so they had no choice but to accept their fate.
After making his rounds and collecting his bribes, Lu Xiao issued a decree: the Wolf Hunt rcenary Corps was operating legally, and no city was to send troops against them henceforth.
The newly appointed city lords, knowing they stood no chance against Ye Liuyun, didn't protest. As long as he didn't raid their cities, they couldn't care less.
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