As dawn broke, the sound of hooves grew urgent.
When Ye Cangtian arrived at the south side of the town, thousands had already gathered for the ambush.
"Are those the members of the Hidden Group? Only six of them?"
"Damn, sending so few people to explore an unknown region is practically suicide!"
"Good that they're dead! They'll serve as cannon fodder for us, hahaha..."
"Stop laughing. Do you think this is good news? Although the Hidden Group has fewer members this time, they are all elites. Perhaps they're using us as cannon fodder!"
As Ye Cangtian arrived with the Death Squad, a commotion erupted in the surrounding crowd.
In the days they had been here, not only the Hidden Group had been gathering intelligence, but other factions were also doing the same.
This was to ascertain who was strong and who was weak, whose treasures could be snatched, and whose could not.
According to their intelligence, the Hidden Group had not sent many people.
However, in their eyes, this was merely a superficial display. After all, in such a grand operation, which faction would not have some hidden trump cards?
Therefore, they believed that the Hidden Group must have concealed many people in the shadows.
Yet, as of now, apart from the six individuals, no other members of the Hidden Group were present, which caused them to become suspicious and led to the current unrest.
Ye Cangtian smiled at the situation before him, unconcerned.
In his opinion, the better the other side underestimated the Hidden Group, the better.
"Damn, I thought the Hidden Group was arrogant enough, but I didn't expect Dragon-Riding Villa to be even more arrogant!"
Just then, an irate voice boomed from the crowd again.
Turning their heads, they saw that the people from Dragon-Riding Villa were also slowly approaching.
They had expected a mighty procession, but what appeared before them were only three individuals.
That's right, Dragon-Riding Villa had only three people: Yuan Hao, Hong Liu, and Chen Gong, who had participated in the martial arts gathering.
In fact, if Chen Gong had not shown himself, Ye Cangtian would not have intended to bring him along.
The reason was simple: although Chen Gong had a cultivation of the third heaven, he was simply not strong enough to contend in the peak competition.
However, since Chen Gong had now revealed himself, not allowing him to accompany them would surely stir up public opinion.
The other members of Dragon-Riding Villa, whose strength was mediocre, could be excused with various pretexts, but it would be difficult to refuse someone like Chen Gong, who had a third-heaven cultivation.
"Hmph! How many people does Dragon-Riding Villa send, do you need to ask?"
Facing the uproar from the crowd, Hong Liu couldn't help but retort, his voice low and stern.
With that single sentence, the scene immediately fell silent.
After all, they were a peak faction, and it was best not to provoke them at this juncture.
Furthermore, Dragon-Riding Villa also had a contingent of people at Misty Rain Tower.
If a fight were to break out, these people would surely arrive in time, and they would not be able to gain any advantage.
"Cough! Cough!"
Just then, a series of light coughs could be heard. Turning their heads, they saw Qing Yan and Daoist Yu Xing leading the elites of Misty Rain Tower.
The next moment, a guard from Misty Rain Tower approached and whispered a few words to Qing Yan. Qing Yan nodded, then waved his hand, dismissing the guard.
"Everyone, all factions have now assembled. Regardless of the number, this is a contribution to the ancient ruins, and I implore everyone to unite.
"Now, I shall officially announce that the exploration of the unknown region officially commences..."
Wait!
Before Qing Yan could finish, a cold voice cut through the air.
Outside the south city gate, a figure was slowly approaching.
It was a man wearing a silver long robe, with a cloud-like emblem on his chest.
Upon seeing this, everyone's faces darkened. The arrival was from Flying Cloud Pavilion, but they had only sent one person, and had missed the martial arts gathering.
This was clearly a sign of disrespect towards the assembled participants, and some even believed that Flying Cloud Pavilion did not qualify to participate in the peak competition.
"Flying Cloud Pavilion member, have you come too early? Why didn't you show yourself after the peak competition ended!"
"Damn, the Hidden Group and Dragon-Riding Villa are already arrogant enough, but now it seems they are far behind your Flying Cloud Pavilion!"
"Flying Cloud Pavilion only sent you alone. It's no different from not coming at all. You should just turn back..."
A clamor erupted in the crowd, with two quasi-celestial realm experts from a leading faction at the front shouting particularly loudly.
Hmph!
As the voices fell, the man let out a cold snort. His eyes swept over the two quasi-celestial realm experts, and with a flash of his gaze, the two experts cried out and collapsed to the ground.
Their eyes were vacant, and no matter how people tried to interact with them, they remained unresponsive, as if they had become vegetative.
Upon witnessing this scene, the crowd immediately fell silent, and most of them broke out in a cold sweat.
This young man was too strong, especially his ability to incapacitate two individuals without a sound. His attack methods were truly bizarre.
A vicious mental attack.
Ye Cangtian, from within the crowd, fixed his gaze on the man. The mental attack he had just unleashed was firmly above the celestial level.
And this was merely a casual attack from the man. If he were to fight with all his might, he would likely be even more terrifying.
A person like this, even he had to be wary of.
"Soul One, these people are our allies, all willing to contribute to the development of China's ancient ruins. Why did you strike them so heavily!"
Qing Yan glared sharply at the man, speaking with extreme displeasure.
Before even departing, a death had occurred in the Misty Rain Tower town. How could they proceed with future actions if this were the case?
Soul One?
Was this the Heavenly Prodigy of Flying Cloud Pavilion, Soul One? Indeed, his power was formidable...
Upon hearing the man's name, everyone in the surrounding vicinity began to murmur to themselves.
Soul One looked calmly at Qing Yan and said indifferently, "Master Qing Yan, spare me the sanctimonious words. Talk of contributing to China's ancient ruins is all nonsense!
"Every single person here, are they not all here for treasures? Are they not all here for their own interests?"
This...
With that statement, Qing Yan's face immediately turned grim. Being so openly defied by a junior, and publicly embarrassed, truly infuriated him.
However, the problem was that he couldn't find a retort for the moment, as Soul One was speaking the truth.
Daoist Yu Xing, seeing Qing Yan's silence, immediately let out a cold snort and said, "Regardless, these people are about to risk their lives with us. Killing them like this is somewhat unreasonable, wouldn't you agree?"
Soul One heard this and lightly snorted, "Firstly, they are not qualified to risk their lives with my Flying Cloud Pavilion. Secondly, they insulted Flying Cloud Pavilion, and thus must pay with their lives!"
This!
Hearing the man's words, Daoist Yu Xing's face also darkened. He wanted to say more, but was stopped by Qing Yan.
The next moment, Qing Yan looked at Soul One and asked, "Soul One, why was your Flying Cloud Pavilion late? Where are the others?"
In Qing Yan's view, since things had already come to this, it was best to de-escalate the situation.
If they pursued the matter further, it might lead to a major conflict, and the peak competition might not be able to continue.
Soul One heard this and gave a contemptuous smile. He knew that even after killing two people, Qing Yan would not dare to pursue the matter seriously.
Thinking this, he said, "The journey from Flying Cloud Pavilion to Misty Rain Tower was perilous, which caused some delay. However, fortunately, Flying Cloud Pavilion did arrive before our departure.
"As for the others, you don't need to worry, Master Qing Yan. They will appear when the time is right."
Hearing Soul One's explanation, Qing Yan frowned, but said nothing further.
After a moment, he looked at the man and said, "Soul One, earlier they spoke disrespectfully to you, so I will not interfere further. However, during the upcoming operations, please restrain yourself.
"If you injure anyone without cause again, do not blame me for being harsh with you!"
Soul One heard this and merely gave a sinister smile, neither agreeing nor refusing.
However, the smile on his face sent a chill down the spines of those around him.
On the other side, Rose approached Ye Cangtian and whispered, "Soul One's methods are too ruthless. Why don't we find an opportunity to deal with him directly?"
There had already been friction between Flying Cloud Pavilion and Ye Cangtian, and Ye Cangtian had killed quite a few disciples of Flying Cloud Pavilion.
Therefore, in Rose's eyes, Flying Cloud Pavilion would surely make a move against the Hidden Group in future operations. Since that was the case, it would be better to strike first.
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian glanced at Rose and slowly shook his head, "No rush."
Although he understood Rose's intention, he knew that someone as formidable as Soul One would surely incur the resentment of some factions.
If that were the case, he didn't need to rush. He could let these factions clash with Soul One first, which would also allow him to gauge Flying Cloud Pavilion's hidden strength.
Upon hearing this explanation, Rose nodded and stepped back.