Chapter 2768: Imperial Turmoil

Lingyuan's team directly grew to 30,000 members.

Many people, after screening, who did not meet the Sharp Blade Corps' requirements were directly handed over to Lingyuan.

Later, Ye Tiandao eliminated another 20,000, bringing Lingyuan's force up to 50,000.

Pei Yong's army had already expanded to 1,500,000.

He, along with Xiao Yunfang and Meng Qingyin, each led 500,000 troops, and they continued advancing toward the imperial capital.

However, after Ye Liuyun left the imperial capital, the chaos there did not cease.

Those major powers, especially some that had lost all their assets, naturally demanded an explanation from the Empire; not finding the thieves, they refused to agree to lift the siege on the imperial capital.

This also allowed Ye Liuyun's recruitment of Martial Cultivator elites to proceed smoothly, as the Empire had no time to interfere.

And the Empire also had grievances it could not voice.

Their Treasure Vault was completely looted.

But the Empire could not let this news leak, lest it cause greater chaos.

If those major powers learned of it, they might join forces to overthrow Liu Qiang's rule.

Emperor Liu Qiang at this point also stopped his cultivation and stepped out to oversee the situation.

Within the Royal Palace, the golden-armor and silver-armor guards were all on constant standby.

Other minor forces also quarreled with those major powers; even if they hadn't lost anything themselves, they claimed they had and demanded compensation from the Empire.

All these various forces used the same excuse: the Empire should be responsible for the safety of the imperial capital.

Now that many families in the imperial capital have been robbed, the Empire should compensate.

Then the Empire should investigate the thieves and recover the resources.

Liu Qiang also had the silver-armor guards search every household daily for suspicious individuals.

He almost captured and interrogated every idle person in the imperial capital, yet found no news of the thieves.

Liu Qiang, of course, knew it was Ye Liuyun's doing.

But now he is just putting on a show; he still has to make it look genuine.

If he exposed that Ye Liuyun was behind it, those major powers would demand even more compensation.

At that time those families would certainly say he provoked Ye Liuyun, implicating them.

They wouldn't dare confront Ye Liuyun; they could only unite to hold the Empire accountable.

But he was indeed curious how Ye Liuyun managed it—stealing so many families at once and even disappearing out of thin air within the imperial capital.

The imperial capital had been sealed off for half a month, still unable to be reopened, and those major powers refused.

The news had already spread throughout the Empire.

On Ye Liuyun's side, he kept seizing time to recruit, conscript, and seize Xingqiu.

He even personally appeared to recruit Martial Cultivator elites, to dispel suspicion that he had stolen resources.

In the end, Liu Qiang was also extremely irritated by these major powers.

"Since you won't reason, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Thinking this, he also struck at the most vocal major power; twenty thousand golden-armor guards and one hundred thousand silver-armor guards were deployed, completely wiping out that great family.

All the family's resources were confiscated.

Liu Qiang's forceful suppression outwardly frightened the other forces, but secretly they tightened their alliance, plotting to overthrow Liu Qiang's rule.

Their several families were now empty; if they don't start robbing the Empire or other minor forces, they won't survive.

So when Liu Qiang thought everything was fine and was about to announce the lifting of the siege on the imperial capital, those major powers unexpectedly stormed the imperial palace together, sparking internal turmoil.

Thus Liu Qiang no longer dared to lift the siege; he first had to eliminate those major powers, then the whole city would be bloodied again.

He also simply struck the minor force that had been causing trouble, looting a bit to offset his own losses.

But these various forces' family holdings were not limited to the capital; their branches spread everywhere.

Upon learning that their main line had been wiped out by the Empire, they immediately surrendered to Ye Liuyun to avoid further Imperial retribution.

These forces even, before surrendering, proactively robbed Chengzhu Fu, offering all its resources to Ye Liuyun as a protection fee.

Thus Ye Liuyun did nothing yet gained even more support.

The army's advance accelerated, occupying more Xingqiu.

And he left nothing for the Empire; once a Xingqiu was occupied, he either seized it outright or extracted its Primordial Power, causing the planet to collapse.

The internal strife among those major powers within the Empire also spilled into the army.

Liu Haotian, Meng Wenxiang, and over twenty other Leaders, all scions of the rebellious major powers, were on the spot stripped of their authority.

Fortunately, the other Leaders did not trouble them.

Moreover, Han Qiao led troops to guard Liu Haotian and Meng Wenxiang.

Meng Wenxiang's army also followed Han Qiao in protecting their Leaders, so the Empire for a time found it hard to decide how to deal with Liu Haotian and the others.

Without Liu Haotian and Meng Wenxiang's command, Han Qiao had no direction himself and could only seek Ye Liuyun's help.

Ye Liuyun immediately rushed over, first asking Liu Haotian and Meng Wenxiang for their opinions.

Because he wanted to rescue people, he needed their consent.

Otherwise, forcibly rescuing them would damage his reputation, turning them into outright traitors.

In the end, Liu Haotian decided to stay; even if he died, he would demonstrate his loyalty to the Empire.

Meng Wenxiang decided to defect to Ye Liuyun.

His family was gone, and he had no more reservations; he no longer wished to serve the Empire.

Han Qiao was the same, directly intending to join Ye Liuyun.

Liu Haotian also approved of Meng Wenxiang and Han Qiao's approach, letting them follow Ye Liuyun properly in the future.

It wasn't just Meng Wenxiang and Liu Haotian; the other captured Leaders also unanimously demanded that Ye Liuyun intervene to rescue them.

Ye Liuyun didn't refuse either; it was just a simple matter.

Afterwards, Meng Wenxiang, Han Qiao, and Liu Haotian tearfully bade farewell, then directly led their own subordinates' 400,000-strong army to join Ye Liuyun.

Other Leaders, a few of them also defected to Ye Liuyun, bringing 200,000 troops; the rest either had no soldiers and fled directly, or only brought some personal guards and fled.

Thus, Ye Liuyun made a trip to the camp and brought back another 600,000 troops.

Even the Empire's army dared not block Ye Liuyun; they could only watch helplessly as he took away those 600,000 troops.

After bringing them back, Ye Liuyun still had Meng Wenxiang and Han Qiao take charge of those 600,000 troops, letting them manage it themselves.

He merely changed the designation, making them the army of the Wolf Hunting Legion.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Qiang flew into a rage.

Things had already been bad enough lately; now the army suddenly lost 600,000 troops—how could he not be furious! The army's numbers were already insufficient, and now they're even lower.

He then took out all his anger on Liu Haotian, believing he was lax in disciplining his subordinates and had incited them to desert, ordering his execution.

Afterwards, he recalled Liu Haotian's suggestion, sending the Silver Armor Guards to arrest large numbers of martial cultivators from various families to conscript them, quickly replenishing the troops.