Chapter 590 Routed

Wufang City was now the headquarters of the Boundless Alliance. After returning from the Heavenly Pagoda, the leaders of the various sects had gathered here to coordinate the martial forces of the entire Boundless Realm.

At this moment, the city lord's mansion was in utter chaos.

“Are all you people from the Black Flame Sect a bunch of pigs? The Windwild Realm had half your numbers, yet you couldn’t even hold out for three days!”

“Stop with the sarcasm! As if your Heavenly Eagle Sect is so formidable—you only lasted one day longer than us on this route!”

“One more day is still holding out! Do you know how many people our Heavenly Eagle Sect lost for that one day? Not like your Black Flame Sect, which retreated the moment things looked bad!”

“Bah! Who retreated immediately? We lost several elders in this great battle, with heavy casualties. If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll have it out with you!”

Another sect leader was about to speak when Qin Hongtao, already impatient, roared, “All of you, shut up! The five armies of the Windwild Realm are gradually closing in on Redlight City. Once Redlight City falls, the terrain will be wide open, extremely disadvantageous for our Boundless Alliance, and you still have the mind to bicker!”

At his shout, everyone fell silent.

Now the Windwild Realm was sweeping through the entire southeastern part of the Boundless Realm like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

At present, the martial artists of the Boundless Realm became terror-stricken at the mere mention of the Windwild Realm.

The Windwild Realm did not seem eager to expand outward, but wherever they went, they inevitably raised their blades and slaughtered all martial artists.

Thus, wherever the armies of the Windwild Realm passed, the martial artists of the Boundless Realm were utterly routed.

Now, a large number of martial artists from the southeast had fled into Redlight City.

And Redlight City was an extremely important pass; once occupied by the Windwild Realm, the Boundless Realm would be in a very passive position.

The alliance leader, Ning Yixian, sat at the head, his brows deeply furrowed, as if he hadn’t heard the quarrels of those people, lost in thought.

Now seeing the group quiet down, Ning Yixian spoke slowly, “I won’t elaborate on the importance of Redlight City. The city lord of Redlight City, Su Hu, has sent an urgent plea for reinforcements to the alliance, requesting that we send troops to aid him. Does anyone have recommendations?”

The group of elders exchanged glances, hesitation clear on their faces, but none of them were willing to speak.

The war between the two sides was now gradually unfolding in full, but both sides still maintained a final restraint—neither side’s Divine Travel experts had yet entered the fray.

Once Divine Travel experts joined the battle, it would mean a full escalation of the conflict, and the decisive moment between the two sides would not be far off.

These elders had already dispatched considerable forces to engage the Windwild Realm on the front lines, but the front lines had suffered a complete defeat, making them even more protective of their own strength, unwilling to send people to the front.

“Hmph! Our three sects have already sent elite forces to four cities in the southeast! We old fellows haven’t said a word, and you’ve all turned coward?”

Seeing that these people were still thinking of preserving their strength at such a time, the icy Jingxuan finally lost his temper.

The other sect elders were all silent as cicadas in winter, none daring to make a sound.

Jingxuan usually didn’t speak, but when he did, his words carried considerable weight.

Although the alliance had been formed, these sects of the Boundless Realm all had their own legacies; how could they bear to send their own people to die?

Ning Yixian swept his gaze over the crowd and said calmly, “No one speaks? Then I’ll call on someone by name.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the entire council hall tensed up.

Ning Yixian’s eyes passed over each person’s face one by one; every time his gaze landed on someone, their breathing became rapid.

Ning Yixian’s gaze finally settled on the elder of the Black Flame Sect who had spoken earlier, and the man felt his scalp tingle.

Redlight City was a hot potato, a mission from which few returned. If they sent their Black Flame Sect people there, how could they ever come back?

Just as the Black Flame Sect elder’s face was full of bitterness, a servant entered to report, “Alliance Leader, Lord Ye Yuan has returned and is now outside the hall.”

Ning Yixian stood up abruptly and said, “Quick! Quickly invite him in!”

Seeing Ning Yixian’s expression, the Black Flame Sect elder let out a long sigh of relief.

At any rate, this immediate crisis had passed.

Before long, Ye Yuan, along with Liu Hong and the other three, entered the council hall leisurely.

Ning Yixian’s gaze locked firmly on Ye Yuan, a look of shock in his eyes.

“Several alliance leaders, all well?” Ye Yuan said.

Ning Yixian snapped back to reality, grabbed Ye Yuan’s arm, and said in surprise, “Brother Ye, your rate of progress is too astonishing! Before entering the Heavenly Pagoda, you were only at the second level of Sea Transformation, and in less than a month, you’ve already broken through to the eighth level of Sea Transformation. I’m truly amazed, old brother!”

The tense atmosphere in the hall was completely broken by Ye Yuan’s return, relaxing everyone considerably.

But when they heard Ning Yixian’s words, everyone suddenly realized.

Participating in a trial, only about a month in total, and he had broken through six levels—that was too incredible!

Ye Yuan, however, was unconcerned and said with a smile, “Heh, I obtained some opportunities in the Heavenly Pagoda, which led to the breakthrough.”

Ning Yixian’s expression turned serious, and he asked, “Brother Ye, which floor did you finally reach?”

At his question, everyone pricked up their ears.

They were all very curious about which floor Ye Yuan had ultimately reached.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, “The eighth floor.”

The council hall immediately filled with the sound of gasps.

“This… is this a joke? The eighth floor! In the past ten thousand years, only one person has reached the eighth floor!”

“Doesn’t that mean Ye Yuan is tied for the number one genius in ten thousand years? My god, that’s too unbelievable!”

“Do you think he might be boasting? The seventh floor is already incredibly heaven-defying; the eighth floor…”

“Boast your head! Before Ye Yuan came out, he had achieved perfect clearance twice in a row. Reaching the eighth floor is only fitting, right? And with Elder Hai and those four geniuses present, such a lie would be exposed in minutes!”

Little did they know, Ye Yuan was not boasting but was being too modest.

Hearing this, Ning Yixian said excitedly, “Brother Ye is truly a genius among geniuses, even surpassing the Grand Perfection True Lord from several thousand years ago in talent! Congratulations, brother! With your talent, ascending to the Divine Realm is just around the corner!”

Ye Yuan smiled and said, “One must eat one’s meal bite by bite. I’m only at the Sea Transformation stage now; there’s still a long way to go before ascension!”

Hearing this, Ning Yixian’s estimation of Ye Yuan rose even higher.

Compared to Guo Taoqun and the others, although Ye Yuan was younger, he was much more composed.

“By the way, there’s something I need to tell everyone, and you should prepare yourselves mentally. The Heavenly Pagoda… is no more.”