Yue Di's heart pounded under Ye Yun's stare. He had pledged allegiance to Ye Yun under his ancestor's command and had witnessed firsthand how Ye Yun violently took control of the entire New Mortal Continent. It was said that with just one skill, Ye Yun could eliminate all opposing players on the continent.
Even the mighty Star-Ranked Territories of the past, including those in the swamp lands, found themselves confined by Ye Yun's influence and ultimately bowed to his overwhelming power.
"I understand, Master," Yue Di said, lowering his head.
"Good. How much longer will it take for your seven clans to reach the Ninth Cosmos?" Ye Yun smiled again.
"Based on the current progress, it will take about another month. Do you have any instructions, Master?" Yue Di asked respectfully.
To rendezvous with Ye Yun in the Tenth Cosmos, the seven clans were undertaking a near-total migration. The disposal of assets, the resettlement of their people, and crucially, the acquisition of star maps between the Eighth and Ninth Cosmos to chart a path, all consumed an immeasurable amount of resources and manpower.
Despite this immense undertaking, the seven clans were willing to bear even greater costs to reach Ye Yun's designated location as quickly as possible. It wasn't just Ye Yun who feared the peak powerhouses; they firmly believed Ye Yun could lead their seven clans out of their predicament, a belief evidently validated by the progress of individuals like Yue Di.
The more than six hundred individuals who had followed Ye Yun just seven to eight months prior had seen their power surge from Half-Saint to Great Saint in the real world. The leaders of the seven clans, including Yue Di, had even reached the Divine Sovereign realm.
Considering such growth rates, how many of the countless races thriving in the Heavenly Dao could achieve such a level through its power alone?
"Have you heard any news about the Demon Butterfly's movements?" Ye Yun had breathed a sigh of relief when he heard of her withdrawal, as, apart from himself, no one in the Human Star Domain could stand against her forces in the real world.
However, Ye Yun still kept a close watch on her activities. After all, she had carved a path from the First Cosmos, amassing immense wealth from the real world and colonizing countless star domains along the way.
Yet, since her retreat, there had been no word from her. Her talent on the leaderboard remained maxed out at nine, one level below Ye Yun's. Logically, this seemed unusual.
"No, and there was no mention of her during the recent Ten Thousand Races Hegemony event. However, some of her top generals have been causing quite a stir in higher-level maps these past few days."
"Recently, the first legion under the Demon Butterfly's command has been slaughtering magical beasts in the Myriad Longevity Mountain and Endless Forest Sea with seemingly insane ferocity. It's said they all have mission quotas, and to complete them, many have died multiple times a day."
Yue Di spoke with a similar note of bewilderment. With his current level and strength, he could travel to Myriad Longevity Mountain and Endless Forest Sea, but he also knew that his gains in other maps would be significantly less than in the New Mortal Continent. He even saw envy and longing in his own ancestor's eyes when looking at him.
More importantly, once one entered another map, they could never return to the New Mortal Continent. While the New Mortal Continent appeared to be under Ye Yun's complete control, it was still a game world. As players leveled up, some departed for higher-level maps, while new players arrived. Over time, Cloud Heaven City's influence would inevitably diminish.
"Madly slaughtering magical beasts?" Ye Yun had not visited those areas and was unsure of the rewards for killing magical beasts, but he assumed it was for accumulating wealth.
"Have you noticed anything unusual with the Wood Creature player we've been keeping a special watch on recently?" Ye Yun suddenly recalled Mu Tuo, a player from the Wood Creature race whom he had met upon arriving in the New Mortal Continent.
"There haven't been any particularly unusual actions, but he's been trading a significant amount of medicinal ingredients and supplies lately. Besides exchanging them for contribution points for himself, he's also helped several other players successfully enter Cloud Heaven City." Yue Di always took Ye Yun's instructions to heart.
"Oh? Who?"
"They are Bo Wo of the Frogmen race, Yu Lu of the Feather race, Le Mi Deng of the Titan race, and Yue Hou of my Moon Shadow race."
"Yo, all old acquaintances. Do you know their backgrounds?" Ye Yun chuckled upon hearing this. Aside from Lu Jie, were these not the very individuals from Desolate Wood City? He found it surprising they had all ended up in his Cloud Heaven City, especially considering the considerable resources required to join it now.
"We are not entirely sure, but my ancestor has assigned people to investigate, though success is unlikely. As for Yue Hou, she was originally a member of a branch of our Moon Shadow clan. That branch was wiped out in a war fifty years ago, leaving her, who was less than ten years old at the time. After the war, she refused the clan's compensation and left on her own. How she ended up with them is unknown."
"Heh, five people from five different races, interesting. It seems the Demon Butterfly is indeed laying the groundwork in the New Mortal Continent, a pity for her, encountering me," Ye Yun said with a laugh. His attention was drawn to the Demon Butterfly because of her remarkably strong rise. Her true ascent began during her time in the New Mortal Continent!
"Of the Star-Ranked Territories that surrendered previously, how many of their residents have become permanent residents of my Cloud Heaven City?"
"Besides the two that were destroyed by you, Master, a total of 7,420 residents from their territories applied to become permanent residents of Cloud Heaven City. And they are still sending five to six people to Cloud Heaven City every day."
What a grand gesture!
These Star-Ranked Territories had been incorporated into Cloud Heaven City relatively recently. The contribution points required to have so many people become permanent residents were astronomical.
Therefore, Ye Yun immediately concluded that these individuals were undoubtedly loyalists from their original Star-Ranked Territories, and likely had even larger powers backing them!
However, Ye Yun was unconcerned. With the Heavenly Dao Pact in place, these individuals dared not act against Cloud Heaven City, so Ye Yun was happy to oblige, especially with the material gains.
Cloud Heaven City had been established for over nine months now, spanning twenty New Mortal cycles, and had ranked first in territory points in all of them! Relying solely on this, Ye Yun had amassed immense wealth.
"Um, Master. A Demon race player from your hometown visited Cloud Heaven City with another Demon race player, wishing to meet you. Do you think you should see them?"
Lu Jie brought a Demon race player? Could it be that Mo Li had come to the New Mortal Continent?