The mercenaries watching from a distance were stunned by Ye Liuyun’s strength, their curiosity piqued.

Facing two opponents at the fifth level of Dominance simultaneously, Ye Liuyun fought with heightened caution. Against the Golden Lion, he employed his Golden Pupils, unleashing bolts of lightning and waves of fire from a distance, leaving several scorched patches on the beast’s hide.

At one point, he clashed head-on with the lion, the impact sending him flying backward. Yet, he landed unharmed, immediately gripping his blade and charging back into the fray.

Had it not been for his mastery of internal bloodline circulation—suppressing the lion’s power even further—he might not have withstood that devastating strike. The Golden Lion’s attacks were even fiercer than Ling Yuan’s.

Against the beast, Ye Liuyun’s Golden Crow Sacred Flames and lightning proved highly effective, draining the lion’s energy reserves rapidly.

"Damn, kid, you’re ridiculously strong!" Ling Yuan remarked, intrigued by Ye Liuyun’s limits.

Realizing his Golden Lion’s energy was nearly depleted, Ling Yuan summoned another beast—a massive serpent, also at the fifth level of Dominance.

"These are my last two beasts. Defeat them, and you win," Ling Yuan declared bluntly.

With a faint smile, Ye Liuyun sheathed his blade and shifted to a soul attack. The moment his divine soul surged into the serpent’s consciousness, the creature recoiled in fear, but its movements were far too slow to evade such an assault.

Yet Ye Liuyun merely intimidated it, withdrawing his soul before causing any real harm—after all, destroying Ling Yuan’s beasts wouldn’t be polite.

"Fine, you win!" Ling Yuan conceded without hesitation, his tone straightforward. One glance at Ye Liuyun’s soul power told him resistance was futile.

Just then, the leader of their mercenary group approached, clasping his hands in respect. "I am Xue Liang, captain of the Changliang Mercenary Corps. We were blind not to recognize your skill earlier. Truth be told, our humble group isn’t worthy of hosting someone of your caliber."

The man had sensed Ye Liuyun’s overwhelming soul power—enough to overpower even him. Fearing Ye Liuyun might challenge his leadership, he opted for a swift apology.

"You flatter me, Captain," Ye Liuyun replied with a courteous bow. "I’m new here and still unfamiliar with this place. If you’ll have me, I’d be honored to call you a friend. Though I won’t join the corps, rest assured—if you ever need aid, I’ll gladly lend my strength."

He understood Xue Liang’s concerns perfectly. The sheer intensity of his spiritual energy moments ago had clearly made Xue Liang worry about losing his position. But as a friend merely tagging along to gather information, Xue Liang naturally couldn’t refuse.

"Great! We always welcome friends aboard!" Xue Liang agreed with forced cheerfulness.

"Haha, alright kid, didn’t expect you’d slip through my fingers!" Ling Yuan scratched his head with an awkward chuckle. He’d taken an instant liking to Ye Liuyun. But with the boss’s decision made, all he could do was befriend the young man for now.

Soon, Ye Liuyun boarded their skyship for the return journey. Seizing the opportunity, he began questioning Ling Yuan about local affairs.

"I didn’t even notice your skyship earlier—how did it appear so suddenly?"

"That’s a special feature here. Every skyship has an accelerator. Engage it, and the vessel tears through the void to emerge light-years away instantly—perfect for long-distance travel or startling unsuspecting outsiders." Ling Yuan explained. "But the energy consumption’s enormous. We’re crawling back now because that single jump already put us in the red!"

"These skyships don’t just void-jump—they can cloak too. Expensive as hell though. This rustbucket here is our most valuable asset, worth three primal energies!"

"That expensive?" Ye Liuyun hadn’t expected such astronomical pricing.

Ling Yuan laughed. "You’ve no idea—this baby’s our lifeline for interstellar travel! Don’t let the rust fool you; we could still get two primal energies if we sold it today!"

Mentally, Ye Liuyun began calculating—perhaps he should acquire a used warship for Tong Xin and other weapon-refining master to study.

Turning to broader matters, he inquired about the star system.

"This is the Starplate Galaxy—’Starplate’ for short. Founded by the Starplate Empire’s ruler who reshaped an existing system. Just one empire rules all planets here."

"Don’t let the planetary primal energies fool you—cultivation resources are scarce. That’s why we formed mercenary bands, sticking together for survival. The only way to get resources? Raiding wherever we can."

Outside the city walls, anything goes—robbery, pillaging, no one bats an eye. But to enter the city? That’ll cost you a hefty fee of 100,000 top-grade divine crystals. And even if you make it inside, without powerful backing, the city guards will bleed you dry with their endless extortion.

That’s why the outskirts are packed with people, while the city itself is practically a ghost town. We avoid going in unless absolutely necessary. If you want to buy anything decent from the merchant guilds, though, you’ve got no choice. Sure, there are trading spots outside the city, but the goods are hit-or-miss, and the selection’s pitiful.

Right now, the empire’s busy fending off an invasion from the alien races up north, so most martial cultivators have flocked there. Folks like us? We’d rather not die for the empire, so we scrape by here instead.

As the man spoke, Ye Liuyun finally understood why the northern regions were bustling while this part of the cosmos felt so deserted. Still, he decided to scope things out here first before considering a move north.

"What’s the strength level of the martial cultivators around here?" Ye Liuyun asked Ling Yuan.

"Rumor has it the empire’s got warriors at the eighth level of Dominance, but who knows? We’ve never seen ‘em. On our planet, our boss is at the sixth level, and he’s already unmatched. Don’t let our small numbers fool you—we’ve got pull around here!

"If you run into trouble, just drop the name of our Changliang Mercenary Corps. That’ll keep the idiots from messing with you. Oh, and you might wanna change your outfit. That getup screams ‘outsider.’" Ling Yuan added with a smirk.

"Good point." Not one to court unnecessary trouble, Ye Liuyun willed his gilded armor to shift into the rough-and-tumble garb of a mercenary.

"Whoa, you’ve got gilded armor? That’s some serious treasure! You could trade it for a brand-new skyship like ours!" Ling Yuan’s eyes gleamed with envy.

"Only got this one. Trade it, and I’d be walking around naked," Ye Liuyun replied casually, though inwardly, he was calculating—a single suit of gilded armor for a skyship? That was a steal.

"What about the soldiers here? What’s their strength like?" Ye Liuyun pressed.

"Most city guards are only at the first or second level of Dominance. Even their captains barely hit the third or fourth. But they strut around like they own the place, backed by the empire. If they can’t handle you, the city lord’s enforcers will step in. Best steer clear of ‘em—bunch of rotten apples, every last one!" Ling Yuan spat.