Chapter 1045: Challenge of a Thousand

Ye Liuyun, this is a big favor to the Fourth Prince.

So when he reported to the Imperial Court, he also brought Ye Liuyun along, giving a reward and counting Ye Liuyun as part of it.

In fact, Ye Liuyun now controls Chengyu City and is already the de facto controller of the Shadows in this region.

But he doesn't want to control Shadow members this way; he still wants to use the opportunity to train.

Ye Liuyun's current opponents have realms far above his, so each battle always requires the aid of fierce beasts.

He always feels the fights aren't satisfying.

Now he will use Shadow members to properly hone his combat skills.

He originally planned to leave after the contest, but now he'll linger a bit.

Fortunately, the War Dragon Sect is not far from Qian Long Academy, so it doesn't waste much time.

Thus, he both cultivates and waits for the Crown Prince to heal.

The Crown Prince has no internal injuries, only a broken arm.

An Elder of the War Dragon Sect gave a simple wound treatment, then handed him some muscle‑regenerating pills, and sent him back.

If it weren't for being wounded by the Shadows, the War Dragon Sect wouldn't have bothered at all.

Entering the Secret Realm is dangerous by nature; casualties are normal.

But now, with the human factor of the Shadows, they can't completely ignore it.

Currently, they also harbor deep hatred toward the Shadow organization.

After investigation, they found the spiritual energy in the Secret Realm has significantly dropped.

They sent strongmen to inspect and discovered Shadow corpses inside the Cave; scattered throughout the Secret Realm they also found abandoned Shadow bodies and traces.

Later, they followed the trail and found the Elder who let the Shadows in.

That Elder's family had been coerced by the Shadows, so he reluctantly let them in.

He thought the Shadows only entered to assassinate Ye Liuyun, but didn't expect such a disaster.

At this point, the War Dragon Sect was utterly enraged. The Secret Realm was nearly destroyed by the Shadows; they couldn't just let it go. So they mobilized everyone to kill Shadow members.

Unfortunately, they couldn't locate any Shadow members, let alone know the Shadows' whereabouts.

Moreover, many Shadows had already received orders from Chengyu City, left early, and rushed to the assassination battlefield. So the War Dragon Sect this time made a lot of noise but little effect.

Meanwhile, Ye Liuyun at this moment had smoothly returned to Qian Long Academy with the others.

On the way, the Elders were on edge, fearing the Shadows might strike en route. Unexpectedly, their return journey was unusually smooth, with no danger at all.

Only Ye Liuyun himself knew he wouldn't be assassinated by the Shadows.

Before departing, he sent a message to Qin Peng, asking him to send people to fetch items. He also had Qin Peng bring the Poison Technique resources that Du Yan had stored for him, for cultivating Poison Technique.

These items aren't even worth triggering the Black Tower.

After returning, Ye Liuyun first went to the Hall of Merit to exchange some Demon‑Transforming Pills, Transmission Talismans, pills, and other supplies for the fierce beasts.

Then he packed twenty Zao Hua Realm fierce beasts and some resources prepared for Qin Peng's group into a Storage Ring, awaiting Qin Peng's people to collect.

Ling Shuang, Yuan Datou, and the Fourth Prince all came to find him.

The Fourth Prince naturally came about the Shadow matter.

"Has the Imperial Court sent people to verify?" Ye Liuyun asked the Fourth Prince.

"We've already dispatched experts, but haven't received a reply!"

Fourth Prince Xia Tian Yuan replied, then began probing how Ye Liuyun obtained the information.

However, Ye Liuyun kept his mouth tight, revealing nothing.

He knows that once the Fourth Prince reports this to the Imperial Court, they will send people to investigate and resolve it. If it involves Alien Evil Artifact, the Imperial Court won't allow the Shadows to grow.

"The Shadows are gathering at the assassination battlefield, waiting to kill you! Why would you go to the assassination battlefield?" the Fourth Prince asked, puzzled.

"I told them!" Ye Liuyun laughed. "I wanted to settle the matter in one go, to avoid future trouble!"

"You… do you know how many Shadow members there are? Now the Secret Realm has at least a thousand Shadow members, with realms ranging from the first Zao Hua level to the first Respect level."

The Fourth Prince was so shocked he didn't know what to say.

"I know: there are only four Respect‑level Shadows left, three stages of Zao Hua Realm each with two to three hundred people, and also over a hundred Yin‑Yang Eight‑Nine Layers Shadows!"

Ye Liuyun had long obtained precise information from Chengyu City.

"How do you know? Then why are you still going?"

The Fourth Prince was even more puzzled, how could Ye Liuyun know so clearly, and he was even rushing off.

Ye Liuyun smiled and said, "Fighting like this is more exciting! I haven't let loose in a battle for a long time!"

"Boss, are we fighting? Take me with you! I'm itching for a fight!" Yuan Datou perked up at the mention of a fight.

"Alright, take you!" Ye Liuyun immediately agreed.

"I also want to go!" Ling Shuang volunteered to join.

"Alright! Both of you go back and prepare; we set out early tomorrow. This time we'll face over a thousand people!"

Ye Liuyun immediately sent them back to prepare, also teaching them the Shadow Concealment Technique so they could familiarize themselves beforehand.

Xia Tianqiong heard this, made no sound, and immediately went back to prepare.

"Are you crazy? A few of us taking on a thousand?"

Xia Tian Yuan was about to shout in shock.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of exterminating all these Shadows; you just focus on being the Fourth Prince!"

Ye Liuyun reassured him, then sent him out and began cultivating.

Within the Space World, Lei Ming and the others were also making preparations.

Even the fierce beasts were readied by Ye Liuyun for action.

Ye Liuyun equipped each of them with a Transmission Talisman to prevent them from getting lost, and left a Divine Sense mark on Ye Tiandao and Huo Hu so they could be found later.

He also gave each of them a high-rank ferocious beast, in case they were suddenly attacked by high-rank experts.

After that, he checked the medicinal pills and other supplies they had prepared, found nothing wrong, and then he returned to his cultivation with peace of mind.

He cultivated the Ten Thousand Poison Heart Sutra himself, while his clone cultivated the Primordial Spirit Secret Technique. Both of them were constantly compressing and condensing True Essence.

Before dawn, he checked the Storage Yuan Stone again, put on the divine artifact robe underneath, and wore the Exotic Scale Armor over it.

His clone wore the same attire, only using a different weapon.

Ye Liuyun gave the Invisibility Cloak to Huo Hu, so she could protect everyone from the shadows.

But Ye Liuyun also told her not to act unless absolutely necessary.

Ye Liuyun's Physical Body alone could withstand the attacks of early high-rank experts, so Huo Hu didn't worry about him getting hurt. Her main task was still to protect the others' safety.