Ye Bufan listened to Ye Qingyi's words and smiled helplessly. Ye Bufan had always found it difficult to understand why Ye Qingyi was unwilling to act easily. When they were in the Taiyi Divine Sect's cultivation secret realm, Ye Bufan had asked Ye Qingyi.
Ye Qingyi told Ye Bufan that the so-called struggles on Blue Star now were merely child's play. The truly brutal events would inevitably occur after the constraints completely disappeared.
Hiding their strength now was a matter of conserving energy. They couldn't focus all their efforts on the matters at hand.
Ye Bufan initially didn't fully grasp this. It wasn't until Ye Qingyi explained that the Kyushu region was currently facing all the countries and forces outside of Kyushu, but once the constraints were lifted, it would be the entire Blue Star that would face forces from other star domains.
Therefore, as long as those individuals didn't go too far, Ye Qingyi wouldn't kill them, but would try his best to preserve the strength of the cultivators in the Kyushu region.
Ye Bufan hadn't expected Ye Qingyi to think so far ahead, but he admired him for doing so.
The people from Sakura Island retreated, but according to Ye Qingyi's prediction, they would surely return again within a short period. Song Mingqin immediately began negotiating with the leaders of several families and sects, urging everyone to rest and conserve their strength before the Sakura Island forces launched another attack.
"I wonder if Bai Zizhen can reach an agreement with the Living Yama," Ye Qingyi murmured to himself.
Ye Bufan didn't know the answer to this question either, only that the possibility was slim. After all, the Demonic Sect and the righteous sects and families had always been at odds, making it incredibly difficult to put aside their prejudices in such a short time.
Just as Ye Bufan had thought, Bai Zizhen returned with his men two days later.
"Senior Bai, how did it go?" Song Mingqin asked, stepping forward.
Bai Zizhen shook his head helplessly and said, "The Living Yama's exact words were, 'Each fights for themselves. Those who can break out on their own prove their strength and are its symbol.'"
Qu Fei snorted and said, "I knew that Living Yama wouldn't cooperate. How could the Demonic Sect and our righteous factions put aside years of animosity just like that?"
"So what do we do now? Do we confront the Sakura Island people head-on?" Qu Fei asked. "I'm also a cultivator at the Core Formation stage now. It's the perfect time to go on a killing spree and teach those Sakura Island people a lesson."
"We cannot confront them head-on. At this juncture, we must use our wits," Song Mingqin said. "A direct confrontation would not be a wise choice. Therefore, we should plan carefully."
"Mingqin Sword Immortal speaks wisely," Huangfu Zheng said, stepping forward. "The Sakura Island forces this time are all elites. Currently, we are in the open and they are in the shadows. Besides manpower, they also have formations. Once we enter their formations, we are likely to be put in a passive position and suffer heavy losses."
"Since the Demonic Sect refuses to cooperate with us, we should unite even more and break out as one fist," said another cultivator from a cultivation family who had come with Huangfu Zheng.
"Patriarch Shangguan speaks the truth. What we need to do now is unite and deal with the Sakura Island people," Huangfu Zheng added.
"If that's the case, let's choose someone to lead us," Chu Tai emerged from the forest behind them.
"That's easy. We just need to choose the strongest person among us to be our leader," Huangfu Zheng said to everyone.
"I nominate Elder Bai Zizhen of the Tianxing Sect," Song Mingqin and Qu Fei exchanged glances and said in unison.
Ye Bufan instinctively turned to look at Ye Qingyi. To his surprise, Ye Qingyi gave him a look.
Currently, excluding Ye Qingyi's hidden strength, Bai Zizhen should be the cultivator with the highest cultivation base present. Especially after leaving the Taiyi Divine Sect, Bai Zizhen's aura had significantly improved.
"I nominate Gongsun Chengtian from our cultivation families," at this moment, someone from the cultivation families also stepped forward.
"Gongsun Chengtian's strength should not be inferior to Senior Bai, right? I recall he only broke through to the Core Formation stage recently," Qu Fei couldn't help but snort when he heard this.
"What if there's a slight difference in strength? What matters now is not who is stronger, but how they can lead us to break through the blockade of the Sakura Island people," a patriarch from a cultivation family stepped forward to argue.
Qu Fei was about to say something more when Song Mingqin gave him a look and said, "Everyone, I believe the reason you wish to nominate someone from your cultivation families as the leader is your fear that we from the cultivation sects will be biased towards the sects and will not be fair and just. I am not talented, but I have a suggestion: why don't both sides nominate one person to discuss the matter together?"
"This..." The people from the cultivation families looked at each other.
"Otherwise, if we continue like this, with neither side yielding, no one will be convinced. The best approach is to nominate family representatives whom everyone trusts and respects," Song Mingqin said. "Otherwise, if we continue to wear ourselves down, we will only give the Sakura Island people an opportunity."
"That makes sense," Huangfu Zheng said. "Then we, from the families, will discuss and nominate one person, and your side will nominate one person."
Thus, the cultivation sects and cultivation families returned to their respective areas to discuss.
Ye Bufan, Ye Qingyi, Ye Qingcheng, and others watched from the side.
"Ye Bufan, why aren't you joining in?" Ye Qingcheng asked Ye Bufan.
"I don't belong to any sect," Ye Bufan said with a slight smile. "So I'll stand with you all."
"Little brother Ye, have you forgotten your identity so quickly? You are also part of a sect," Ye Qingyi chuckled. "Ye Bufan is now the Sect Master."
"What?" Ye Qingcheng was confused at first, then as she realized something, her eyes began to sparkle. Ling'er and Xun'er behind her also looked at Ye Bufan.
"Could it be?" Before Ye Qingcheng could ask, Ye Qingyi nodded and said, "Yes, it's just as you thought."
"Ye Bufan, you're amazing!" Ye Qingcheng playfully punched Ye Bufan's shoulder. "Then you'll be incredible in the future. I'm sticking with this strong ally. Don't forget about me if you get anything good."
"What are you talking about? Aren't the legs of the Underground City strong enough for you?" Ye Qingyi glared at Ye Qingcheng.
"That's different," Ye Qingcheng said. "What I mean is, I'm sticking with both strong allies. From now on, when I go out, who would dare bully me?"
Ye Qingyi looked at Ye Qingcheng's expression and smiled helplessly, shaking her head.
While they were talking, the sects and families had already selected their leaders.