Author’s Note: Patreon page out, feel free to stop by if you feel like you like supporting me or getting some advanced chapters. Other than that, less than 10 chapters until this volume ends… time sure flies by fast.

Enjoy!

“What!” Zhong Chun exclaimed as he heard Qian Yu.

“Which one and where did you see him?” Zhong Chun said as he walked over to look at the scrolls.

“This one,” Qian Yu pointed to the ugly portrait as he explained where he saw the person.

Nodding his head, Zhong Chun stood up and said, “I’ll be back, you can stay for a while. Actually you can just stay the night here if you want since it’s getting late. I’ll tell my servants to make a room for you when I come back.”

“Uhm, alright,” Qian Yu was a little taken back from the change in Zhong Chun who was normally very carefree in nature. ‘What is he going to do with that information?’ Qian Yu thought as he saw Zhong Chun leave the villa.

One hour later, under the first floor of Tiger’s Den, Zhong Chun hurriedly ran into a room as he said, “Captain, I have matters to report!”

On the other hand, a man was sitting at a desk reading some scrolls as he said, “What is it?”

“Peng An, he has been sighted in one of the smaller towns east from here,” Zhong Chun exclaimed as he took out a map and pointed at the town.

“Hmm, we’ve been searching the wilderness and mountains for him but it turns out he’s been right under our noses… Hahaha, this is a big merit. Well, is the source reliable?” the man said as he put down the reports and looked at Zhong Chun.

“Ahh, yes it should be. The source is the one I’ve previously recommended. Though at that time, I didn’t know he was from a sect,” Zhong Chun said.

“Hmm, that one. Usually we don’t recruit those from the sects until they become stronger. Alright, I’ll notify the general later when he arrives. In the meantime, compile a report on that guy and his background and give it to me whenever you can. We’ll continue monitoring him for now,” he ordered.

“Yes sir! I’ll do it immediately!” Zhong Chun said as he bowed down and left the room. 

A few hours passed and Zhong Chun returned to the villa while Qian Yu was cultivating the whole time. By this time, it was already late into the night and Tian Xinyi had relayed to him that the two were going to the nearby village.

“Did you go trade the information?” Qian Yu asked Zhong Chun who was just returning.

“Ahh.. Yea, kind of. Hopefully the information gets relayed upwards correctly,” Zhong Chun replied.

‘Nice, that’s pretty good since I don’t have to expose my identity,’ Qian Yu smiled inwardly as he believed there was no way someone like Zhong Chun would expose his source.

“Your room is ready, follow me. We’ll depart for the meeting tomorrow morning,” Zhong Chun said. 

“Alright,” Qian Yu nodded as he followed Zhong Chun. 

Soon it was the morning of the next day and the two were in the middle area of the capital in a large park spanning a few miles. 

‘Geez, there must be several millions of people here,’ Qian Yu thought to himself.

Looking around, Qian Yu saw countless cultivators with different robes and backgrounds. Some were nervous and fidgety. Others, silent with a straight countenance. Yet all of them were here with a single purpose. Under the threat of power that could potentially wipe them out, everyone had come together with the hope of overcoming this beast horde. In times of crisis, the bonds between humans grew stronger than ever.. 

Glancing upwards, he saw a few people currently standing on a high platform on top of a mountain. There were only a few but without a doubt Qian Yu knew they were the one calling the shots. 

Additionally, there was a large floating ship which Qian Yu assumed to be a flying artifact. He had only heard of these but this was the first time he had personally seen one. Comparing it to the ship that Qian Yu had taken to get from the Southern Ice Continent to the Soba Empire, this flying artifact was no smaller than that large ship.

As more and more people arrived, it wasn’t long until a man appeared and walked out from the crowd of people at the top. Wearing golden armor, he was a middle-aged man and his hair was neatly tied back. Despite being in front of the crowd of cultivators, his face eluded full confidence as if the millions of cultivators were simply nothing.

Seeing the man appear, the attention of everyone turned to him as the chatter started dying down.

Once the chattering stopped, the golden armored man loudly shouted, “Cultivators from afar. Cultivators of this home land. I thank everyone for being here. My name is Qiu Tai and I will be overseeing this sudden operation. Let’s all cooperate to the best of our abilities.” 

As he stated his names, Qian Yu started hearing murmurs around him.

‘Did he just say Qiu Tai?’ one person said. 

‘No way, it’s that Qiu Tai from the Qiu Clan in the Central Union?’ another person said.

‘Oh my god! We’re saved! Qiu Tai is a Martial Emperor!’ a third person couldn’t contain his excitement. 

‘Martial Emperor!?’ Qian Yu repeated inwardly as he heard the murmurs. From a simple glance, he didn’t look any different from the average middle aged person. Yet here he was, a Martial Emperor, a peak existence in flesh. Staring at him, Qian Yu’s blood started boiling as he couldn’t help but think to himself, ‘One day, I’ll be like him.’ 

Simultaneously, the morale of the cultivators all started rising as they all came to this realization as the chattering started coming back.

After a few seconds, Qiu Tai said, “Alright, I’ll give everyone a brief explanation before we head out. Time is of the essence. The spiritual beast horde is being caused by three people on the Hunted List through a certain set of artifacts. The horde will come from three sides being west, north, and east of the capital where the Soba Summits lie. The first wave is coming from the west in 4 days followed by the north 3 days after and lastly, the east another 2 days after that.”

“Our goal will be to stop the monster horde before the three waves reach the capital together so a majority of us will be heading towards the west to stop the horde. Yes, I know many of you are cultivators at the qi gathering and soul foundation realm. But you are not alone. Along with myself, there will be other experts fighting with you. We all have our strengths and weaknesses but together, we will overcome this and survive! Not only for us cultivators but for every soul on this land. Heroes will rise from the ashes of war!”

“QIU TAI QIU TAI QIU TAI!” As Qiu Tai continued his speech, the crowd started cheering louder and louder.