Huo Ting’an quickly shot Qiao Yu a meaningful glance, urging him to speak up on his behalf.

"City Lord, I don’t think a few kind words will cut it here. You’d better just name the compensation in resources," Qiao Yu suggested.

"But how do I phrase it? If I say the wrong thing and he refuses, I could be charged with bribing a superior!" Huo Ting’an still wanted Qiao Yu to take the lead. That way, if anything went wrong, he could distance himself.

"Fine then," Qiao Yu reluctantly agreed, pretending to communicate telepathically with Ye Liuyun.

"Hmm, I suppose that’s up to me," Ye Liuyun feigned a response before falling silent again.

"What did he say?" Huo Ting’an pressed anxiously.

"I tested the waters—asked if he had full discretion over what gets reported, whether minor details could be omitted. His answer clearly leaves you an out, my lord. Hurry, now!" Qiao Yu replied.

"How much should I offer?" Huo Ting’an asked.

"At this point, you’re still worrying about the amount? Give everything you’ve got! Resources can be replenished, but if you and your family lose your lives, what good will wealth do?" Qiao Yu urged. "A man of his stature granting you this chance is rare enough. If you squander it, it’s game over! If you offer too little, do you think he’ll even consider it?"

"Alright!" Huo Ting’an, now thoroughly panicked, retrieved all the origin energy from his spatial world, packed it into a Interspatial Ring, and handed it to Ye Liuyun. "This... is just a small token of our gratitude. We hope you might put in a good word for us when the time comes."

Ye Liuyun glanced at it and was stunned—it contained the origin energy of over ten thousand intact worlds.

*Good heavens! Since when are city lords this wealthy?*

His heart raced with excitement, but his expression remained unreadable as he weighed the ring in his hand before casually placing it on the table.

"Well, I’ll do what I can," he sighed, closing his eyes as if resting.

"It’s not enough! The Inspector thinks it’s too little!" Qiao Yu immediately whispered to Huo Ting’an.

Huo Ting’an looked on the verge of tears. "This is all I have, and I’ve given it to him already."

"Then go borrow more! From what I gathered, the Inspector isn’t outright refusing—he just thinks it’s too little. If you can scrape together double the amount, that should do the trick!" Qiao Yu suggested urgently.

Huo Ting’an swallowed hard. "That much more?"

Still, he agreed. He asked Qiao Yu to keep Ye Liuyun company while he hurried off to borrow the resources. Turning to Ye Liuyun, he forced a polite smile. "Inspector Ye, please excuse me for a moment—I’ll go check on the food."

Ye Liuyun gave a slight nod, waving him off without a second glance.

The moment Huo Ting’an left, he dashed to neighboring factions, making no mention of the reason—only that it was an emergency. After scrambling together another ten thousand units of primal energy, he rushed back and handed it over.

By then, Ye Liuyun had already started eating, not bothering to wait. When Huo Ting’an presented the Interspatial Ring, the inspector inspected it briefly before pocketing both rings without ceremony.

Then, as if doing him a favor, Ye Liuyun remarked, "Since you’ve gone to such lengths, I suppose I’ll lend you a hand. Remember this: I merely tracked a thief to your city and requested reinforcements, which you generously provided. If we succeed in capturing the culprit, you might even earn some imperial rewards."

"Thank you, Inspector Ye!" Huo Ting’an forced gratitude through gritted teeth, though inwardly, his heart bled. He had no idea how he’d ever repay the borrowed resources.

Ye Liuyun wasted no time preparing to leave Jing’an City.

"Enough talk. Are your men ready? The longer we delay, the farther that thief gets."

"They’re assembled. Very well—I won’t hold you up any longer. May you swiftly apprehend the criminal!" Huo Ting’an exhaled in relief, glad to finally see the troublesome inspector depart.

"Appreciate the well-wishes."

With a perfunctory nod, Ye Liuyun motioned for Qiao Yu to lead the group. They boarded an airship and soared out of the city without another glance back.

As soon as the airship left the city, Ye Liuyun casually pointed in a random direction and ordered Qiao Yu to pursue it.

One by one, he summoned the martial artists into his cabin under the pretense of assigning tasks, secretly branding each of them with a slave seal. Once he had dealt with all of them, he changed back into mercenary attire and distributed stolen uniforms from the merchant guild to the others, transforming the entire group into a convincing mercenary crew. He then had Qiao Yu switch to a different airship, abandoning the official vessel.

"Ha! This haul is incredible!" Ye Liuyun finally allowed himself a moment of celebration, turning to Qiao Yu and the other martial experts. "How in the world is your city lord so filthy rich?"

"Master," Qiao Yu replied, "half of those resources were plundered by mercenary bands. The other half was extorted by the major factions."

"Oh?" Ye Liuyun raised an eyebrow. "The mercenaries hand over their loot to the city lord?"

"Of course," Qiao Yu explained. "Without the city lord’s cooperation, they’d never manage to steal so much. And they don’t just give up half—it’s seventy percent. They only keep thirty for themselves."

"I see," Ye Liuyun mused. "And the other factions?"

"They’re the ones pulling the strings behind those mercenary groups," another martial artist, a sixth-level Dominator, chimed in.

"No wonder!" Ye Liuyun chuckled darkly. "You all really have quite the cozy arrangement." He couldn’t help but feel justified in swindling them.

According to the experts, this was the norm across every city on their planet—hell, even the entire star system. City lords deliberately drove commoners out by inflating prices, then had mercenaries rob them for massive profits. The privileged conditions within the cities were reserved for major factions, who in turn paid exorbitant fees for land and "protection."

After some thought, Ye Liuyun decided to establish his own mercenary band—the Wolf Hunters—specializing in robbing other mercenary groups. And he’d start right here on this planet.

First, he took the airship on a loop through the void, familiarizing himself with its spatial traversal capabilities while memorizing the locations of every city. Then, he charted a course and brought the ship down. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

The moment they landed, they clashed with local mercenary bands. With their overwhelming number of elite fighters, they swiftly crushed seven or eight groups, becoming the dominant force in the region.

Naturally, the city lord sent envoys to negotiate, threatening to mobilize troops if Ye Liuyun refused to submit.

Unfazed, Ye Liuyun ignored the ultimatum. Instead, he slipped into the city with his thieving cat, looted everything in sight, then posed as an inspector to extort the city lord himself.

Within months, every mercenary band in the area had fallen under his command. And the resources of the city lords and merchant guilds? All found their way into Ye Liuyun’s hands.