Chapter 2767: Assault on the Imperial Palace

The entire imperial capital was panicking at this moment.

The strong Martial Cultivators of each major faction gathered to guard their families' resources.

Yet despite so many strong ones, they could not find any trace of that thief cat.

Someone, after the thief cat had made off carelessly, noticed a slight spatial fluctuation, but could not keep up with the thief cat's pace.

Moreover, the thief cat's destination was inside the Storage Rings of other major factions' Clan Chiefs and Elders and the like; even if they pursued there, they would have to explain themselves.

And the thief cat took advantage of the chaos, stole a haul, and then withdrew.

Except for the Empire's emperor Liu Qiang, who was training inside a sealed Cultivation Room, the thief cat felt it was unsafe to act for fear of being discovered, and the wealthy great families were visited a second time; stealing from their Treasure Vaults was not enough, the thief cat also took the resources inside their Storage Rings.

In one night, it turned several major factions into penniless paupers.

Afterward, it went to a few other smaller families, visited their Treasure Vaults, and then returned to Ye Liuyun's Space World.

The Storage Ring it produced contained thousands.

"Ha ha, absorb it at will, as a reward for you!"

Ye Liuyun directly tossed that thief cat into a heap of Primordial Power.

"Now you know I'm useful, right?"

The thief cat said proudly.

It actually couldn't use that many resources itself; stealing was simply a hobby.

Ye Liuyun didn't even know how Liu Yunyao gave this Demon Lion such an accurate nickname.

"Thief Cat!"

It fits its role perfectly.

That guy sometimes, within Ye Liuyun's Space World, would casually steal a few things to tease Lan Xin and others, then send them back.

At that moment, a squad of Silver‑armored guards also patrolled the street where Ye Liuyun was.

This squad of Silver‑armored guards was definitely the palace guards of the Imperial Palace, not ordinary Imperial Guard.

Their realms were all Dominant Fourth and Fifth Layers, higher than those of ordinary Imperial Guard.

The Imperial Guard were at this time defending the city and guarding the various passes.

These Silver‑armored guards began to search house by house.

Ye Liuyun, without waiting for them to finish searching, directly deployed the two thousand people that Ye Tiandao had prepared onto the street.

"Kill!"

Those people, once out, immediately acted, quickly slaying a Silver‑armored squad and then rushed straight toward the Royal Palace.

Ye Liuyun donned the Invisibility Cloak and followed the two thousand soldiers toward the Royal Palace.

There were actually many Silver‑armored guards in the city—at least twenty‑plus thousand—but they were scattered, unable to gather at once, so the advance of those two thousand was very swift and soon reached the Imperial Palace.

But before they could charge into the Imperial Palace, they ran into five thousand Gold‑armored guards who had been waiting for them.

Each of these guards was finely equipped, their realms above Dominant Sixth Layer, and all wore gold armor and wielded gold spears.

"Kill!"

A gold‑armored captain raised his spear and shouted, and the gold‑armored guards behind him surged forward in formation, slaying Ye Liuyun's two thousand.

Overall, their realms were higher than those of Ye Liuyun's two thousand.

Ye Liuyun seized the moment, released the two Dominant Eighth Layer Foreign Tribe members, letting them become invisible and exert pressure, charging forward to slay the gold‑armored guards.

One of them also coordinated with Ye Liuyun to attack that gold‑armored captain.

The sudden appearance of those two Dominant Eighth Layer strong ones caused a hint of panic among the gold‑armored guards.

But they quickly steadied themselves and began layered interceptions.

Ye Liuyun seized the chance to use a Spiritual Soul Attack, planting a Slave Seal on that gold‑armored captain; a quick Soul Search revealed that there were still twenty thousand such gold‑armored guards in the Imperial Palace.

Silver‑armored guards numbered over a hundred thousand within the Imperial Palace.

"Fight to the end!"

Ye Liuyun gave a command to the two thousand, then withdrew the two Dominant Eighth Layer Foreign Tribe members and slipped away quietly.

Those two thousand soldiers, eliminated by the spear unit, fought wildly until the last one fell, even burning their Nascent Cores to cover Ye Liuyun's exit, and used a teleport via the Black Tower to leave the imperial capital.

Only after emerging did Ye Liuyun finally let out a breath.

"I never imagined the entire imperial capital was actually a spatial treasure! No wonder it can be sealed at any time!"

Ye Liuyun estimated that if the Empire hadn't taken other major factions' feelings into account and had kept everyone inside that space under control, it would probably be hard for him to get out.

Only a thief cat with special abilities, whether a person or a beast, could move freely inside.

Afterward, he also studied the Empire's strength in detail.

He captured that gold‑armored captain to learn the true strength of the Imperial Palace.

After the Soul Search, he suddenly felt that the strong ones he had might indeed find it difficult to confront the Empire.

Because the Imperial Palace had fifty thousand gold‑armored guards and two hundred thousand silver‑armored guards, rotating shifts.

Besides these guards, there were also several thousand strong individuals in the royal family.

As for whether there were any Dominant Eighth Layer strong ones, the gold‑armored captain was also unsure.

Other major factions each had several thousand Dominant Sixth and Seventh Layer strong ones they could employ, and even more Martial Cultivators of Dominant Third to Fifth Layers within their families.

Therefore, if Ye Liuyun were to attack the imperial capital, his current power alone would truly be insufficient.

"So it seems the Empire still hides many forces; from now on, I won't help them fight the Foreign Tribes—let them send their own people to fight!"

Ye Liuyun thought to himself.

Moreover, he thought that given the Imperial Palace's strength, cultivating a Dominant Eighth Layer strong one was still quite possible.

Thus, one cannot assume the Empire truly lacks Dominant Eighth Layer strong ones.

His recent assault on the Imperial Palace, though merely a trial, revealed the Empire's true strength, and those two thousand eliminated soldiers were not in vain.

If he didn't have this information, Ye Liuyun would rashly attack the imperial capital later, and the losses would be huge.

Now that he knows the opponent's strength, he will naturally start preparing in advance.

He immediately orders Mo Ran to lead a team here, to cooperate with him in continuing to recruit strong Martial Cultivators around the imperial capital.

Moreover, he has Lu Xiao spread the word outward, releasing the news that the Empire is rounding up strong Martial Cultivators.

As a result, many strong Martial Cultivators immediately begin fleeing the imperial capital's outskirts, heading far away to seek refuge with Ye Liuyun's forces.

When some strong Martial Cultivators hesitate, Mo Ran and others come directly to recruit, and many join on the spot.

Thus Ye Liuyun's strong Martial Cultivator unit expands instantly.

These people are all handed to Ye Tiandao for unified training, bolstering the Spearhead Corps' strength.

Ling Yuan is also transferred out of the Spearhead Corps, tasked specifically with overseeing those eliminated by the Corps and the army's guard units.

These are also Martial Cultivators who dominate the Fifth to Seventh Layers; although unsuited for the Spearhead Corps, their power still far exceeds that of ordinary people.

Ye Liuyun expands recruitment from the imperial capital's outskirts outward, all the way until joining the main army, enlisting strong Martial Cultivators along the way.

The Spearhead Corps is directly expanded to 70,000 members.

Ye Tiandao plans to eventually trim it down to 50,000.

This is already the Spearhead Corps' limit; even if the numbers increase, she cannot train them all.