"That’s the Mo Family’s Clan Banner...
"That’s the Li Family’s Clan Banner...
"The Hei Family’s Clan Banner...
"The Wang Family’s Clan Banner...
"Are all the nearby Three-Star Main Towns attacking us?
"But what is going on? Some of these Three-Star Main Towns are thousands of miles away from us, yet they are also attacking Ye Family Town? This is unbelievable!"
On the town wall, the people from the Four Great Halls had initially been in high spirits. They had wanted to take this opportunity to stand out and demonstrate their strength to the Ye Family. But now, there was only fear and despair in their hearts.
An army of a million could lay siege to an entire city! If they could besiege a city, what was a small Three-Star Main Town to them? Some of those with weaker resolve threw down their weapons and armor, fleeing rapidly. This was a battle they simply couldn’t fight.
At first, there was only one deserter, but soon, there were more and more.
"This is too terrifying, too terrifying.
"I don’t want to die. I joined the Four Great Halls for resources, not to throw my life away. I quit!"
Even the Hall Masters of the Four Great Halls resigned from their posts one after another. The current Hall Master of the Cyan Heaven Hall was the first to seek out Ye Xuan.
"Town Mayor, I am sorry, but this battle is a guaranteed loss. Rather than dying in combat, I might as well leave the Four Great Halls right now. Sir, please take care of yourself!"
The Hall Master of the Cyan Heaven Hall discarded his armor and turned to leave.
"Xuan’Er, aren’t you going to kill him? He’s shaking our troops’ morale!" Ye Yizhou’s voice rang out.
If even a Hall Master wanted to flee, why wouldn’t the ordinary disciples run?
Ye Xuan’s gaze deepened as he said, "People will do anything to survive. If I kill him, the others who want to flee will fight desperately against us. The Ye Family’s strength is inferior even to the Four Great Halls. If they fight for their lives... Father, how many of the Ye Family do you think will survive?"
His meaning was crystal clear: it wasn’t that he couldn’t kill him, but doing so would instead provoke a desperate counterattack from the Four Great Halls.
"So we’re just going to let them leave like this?" Ye Yizhou clenched his fists. If the people from the Four Great Halls left, the Ye Family wouldn’t be able to hold the line at all.
Ye Xuan sighed and said, "It’s the only way. Besides, he’s right. In this battle, defeat is absolutely certain."
At this moment, Ye Xuan was already considering an escape route. But both in the sky and on the ground, there were shadows of people everywhere! Even if there were secret passages in the town, they wouldn’t be able to escape. The densely packed, million-strong army could surround the entire town, sealing it off completely. Even the exits to the secret passages were likely being trampled under their feet. As for the sky, that was even more impossible. The Flying Beasts in the sky were not just for show.
"Xuan’Er, what exactly is going on? It feels like all the nearby Three-Star Main Towns are attacking us," Ye Yizhou spoke up again.
As his words fell, Ye Zeyun sighed. "These probably aren’t just the nearby Three-Star Main Towns. Looking at these Clan Banners fluttering in the wind, I’m afraid every single Three-Star Main Town within Hero City’s sphere of influence has arrived!"
"What!" The Ye Family members were completely stunned.
All the Three-Star Main Towns had arrived? No wonder there were so many of them. Even if each Main Town only sent ten thousand people, with over two hundred Main Towns, that would still be more than two million people.
To the side, Ye Xuan was deep in thought. His grandfather’s words had awakened him to the reality. He seemed to know why this was happening.
"Xuan’Er, how could you have offended all the Three-Star Main Towns?" Ye Yizhou asked again.
Ye Xuan replied, "Father, I didn’t offend the Three-Star Main Towns; I offended Hero City. It seems the Sun Family has discovered my identity. I underestimated them."
Ye Xuan had always believed that as long as he hid his appearance, the Sun Family wouldn’t be able to trace anything back to him. But now, it seemed he was wrong. The Sun Family members were smarter than he had imagined.
"The Sun Family?! But why didn’t they come themselves? Why cause such a massive commotion?"
"They want us to know the true meaning of despair." Saying this, Ye Xuan looked at the Ye Family members on the town wall.
Originally, there had been quite a few defenders on the wall. But now, pretty much only the Ye Family members were left. The people from the Four Great Halls and the other affiliated factions had all fled, hiding inside the town. But even so, they were plagued by panic and unease. Could they really hide from such a massive lineup? If these people attacked with all their might, they could definitely reduce the Ye Family’s Three-Star Main Town to ashes. All of them would die.
The current Ye Family Town was engulfed in despair.
Meanwhile, on a section of the town wall far in the distance, an old man suddenly appeared. With his hands clasped behind his back, he looked utterly detached from the mundane world, like an immortal deity. He glanced up at the sky, then looked at the million-strong army marching rapidly, soon to arrive at the town gates.
"How interesting. This is another spectacular story. But will this one end in tragedy as well?"
This old man was none other than that storyteller. With those words, he extended his right hand and began to calculate on his fingers. At first, he only used his right hand. But suddenly, his pupils narrowed, and he extended his left hand as well. His fingers moved faster and faster, yet he still couldn’t calculate a result.
"Strange!" The storyteller suddenly sat down on the ground.
A palm-sized tortoise shell appeared in his hand. Inside the shell were three Copper Coins. He began to shake the Copper Coins, executing the Six Divination Technique.
The hexagram of the very first line made the storyteller’s eyes widen. "Impossible... Why can’t it be calculated!"
He furrowed his brows and put away the Copper Coins. He wrote the two characters for Ye Xuan on the ground. He knew that the Town Mayor of Ye Family Town was named Ye Xuan.
He began to use the Character Divination Method. After making his calculations, he stood up in sheer astonishment. "I actually can’t divine his fate!"
After his shock faded, he looked toward Ye Xuan in the distance. From such a great distance, Ye Xuan’s figure was only the size of a finger. Yet, with eyes blazing like torches, he could see Ye Xuan’s appearance with crystal clarity.
"It’s him!" The storyteller recognized him immediately. This kid was the man with the chinstrap beard he had seen in Hero City that day.
The storyteller furrowed his brows, choosing not to continue calculating Ye Xuan’s destiny and fate. After a moment of thought, he wrote the two characters for Ye Family on the ground. He continued his deductions using the Character Divination Method.
"Now this is getting interesting. It seems the story isn’t over yet. However, Ye Xuan seems to belong to the Gongsun Family. In that case, the Celestial Secret Pavilion..."
The storyteller calculated with both hands, this time divining the fate of the Celestial Secret Pavilion. His expression shifted unpredictably. As he continued his calculations, the originally clear sky suddenly became densely covered in dark clouds. Above the clouds, thunder and lightning seemed to be condensing.
The storyteller stopped his hands immediately. After stopping, he looked at Ye Xuan again, his gaze incredibly complex.
...
"Fellow family members, I am sorry. It seems I have led the Ye Family to a dead end. I have no chance of winning this battle..." At this moment, Ye Xuan’s voice rang out across the town wall.
In the past, he had always been brimming with confidence. But this time, he truly had no chance of victory. There was a million-strong army out here. Even a powerful Cultivator would fight until they were exhausted to the point of collapse. This was absolutely the greatest crisis he had ever faced, bar none.
Even if he played all his trump cards, could he resolve this crisis? Difficult! Too difficult. So difficult that there was practically no chance. The oppressive aura of a million-strong army would deeply shake even an expert of the Celestial Spirit Realm.
A person’s essence, energy, and spirit also constituted a form of power. How formidable must the combined essence, energy, and spirit of a million Cultivators be? Facing a million Cultivators, even if Ye Xuan unleashed his Dragon Soul at full power, the oppressive might of his Dragon Soul Power would likely be more than halved.