"If you like, you can call me daddy."

Ye Qingzhou joked with a smile.

Xu Yuebing, standing to the side, wouldn't have it and teased, "Oh, you actually want to be my daddy!"

After a bout of laughter, the group began to discuss their academic pursuits.

Xu Yunxi had just graduated from her master's program and was currently pursuing a Ph.D. in martial arts. She had been worrying about which mentor to choose when she heard that Ye Qingzhou had been appointed a tenured professor at Imperial University, so she decided to follow him.

In both the martial arts world and the academic world, it's inevitable to consider social relationships.

Moreover, Xu Yunxi was wealthy and capable; such a high-quality student wouldn't be turned away by Ye Qingzhou.

The next day, Ye Qingzhou took Xu Yuebing and Xu Yunxi to the most bustling central district of the city. Each of them ordered a drink, enjoying a leisurely afternoon.

Yanmen is located at an important strategic point in the Dongji Kingdom's western border. To the east, it is an important northwestern industrial base of Dongji Kingdom; to the west, it serves as a critical passage into the center of the 'World Island'.

In ancient times, this place was a vast stretch of yellow sand, seldom visited by people.

Now, Dongji Kingdom has been working on desert control annually, turning deserts into green oases with substantial results. In addition, with the country's rising power, many small countries within the World Island range have started 'paying homage', boosting Yanmen's economic growth and making this military stronghold flourish, rivaling many coastal cities.

Wearing sunglasses, Xu Yunxi's fair skin appeared slightly translucent under the sunlight, an external manifestation of having cultivated the Ice Skin Jade Bone technique to a profound level.

"Ye Qingzhou, it seems you've been living quite leisurely recently."

"Being carefree is pretty nice indeed."

Ye Qingzhou nodded; recently, his meals and drinks at Yanmen Base have been covered by the official funds, making his days quite pleasant.

The three then discussed the aftermath of the Divine War in Chuyun Country.

Xu Yuebing sighed and said, "Ye Qingzhou, have you seen the recent news about Chuyun Country?"

"I've been busy contemplating the Golden Talisman Secret Text, not paying much attention. What happened?"

"After the Divine War, Japan sank, and only a tenth of its land remains, mostly mountainous and rocky, and completely unfit for farming. So, the survivors now face severe famine, and some islands have even erupted into humanitarian disasters..."

Through Xu Yuebing's narrative, Ye Qingzhou learned about the dire situation in the Land of Chuyun.

A country that heavily relied on external food and resource imports has now become a chessboard for the gods to contend, ending up in a miserable state.

Only one-tenth of the land remains, with just one-sixth of the population surviving. The entire nation's savings sank into the sea; it's tragic to even think about it.

There's no way to support twenty million hungry citizens just by fishing, is there? 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Ye Qingzhou, do you know? Recently, many martial arts schools from the Dongji Kingdom have set up martial arts halls in the Land of Chuyun."

"Oh? Are they taking advantage of the situation to recruit martial arts talents from Chuyun?"

"Hehe, not really."

Xu Yuebing, gloating, said, "These martial arts schools established their halls in Chuyun but mostly didn't recruit local martial arts apprentices. Instead, they sent their own talents there, setting up martial arts contests. The winners can receive ten bags of rice, each bag weighing about ten pounds."

"..."

Ye Qingzhou immediately understood that they were using the martial arts world in Chuyun to gain experience.

What if the Chuyun people, in anger and humiliation, fatally injured the Dongji Kingdom's martial arts talents?

It's probably Chuyun who should be worried; all their Martial Saints are dead, and the remaining people can't even fill their stomachs, all relying on aid from surrounding countries.

"What a sin."

Ye Qingzhou shook his head and sighed, not knowing who did such a ruthless thing to wipe out all the Martial Saints... Oh, it seems it was me, so it's fine then.

While Ye Qingzhou was leisurely having afternoon tea with Xu Yuebing and Xu Yunxi, piercing red alerts blared through the Yanmen Martial Arts Association Headquarters.

"Southwest Military Region asks for help! Martial Saint combat power is needed for support!"

Li Xiangyun, full of displeasure: "Why is there always a problem with the grotto heavens over there recently?"

Dongji Kingdom has established military regions in the southwest, western border, and northwest, building one militarized town after another, forming a solid defense line that can support each other at any time.

But once the defense line is breached, the enemy can advance unimpeded into the interior of the Dongji Kingdom, causing great destruction.

Especially in the southwestern region, the environment is very complex, and any attack is no trivial matter!

Soon, the Dubhe System had completed the collection and integration of intelligence, displaying seven conspicuous red dots on the screen.

"There are actually as many as seven? And judging by the energy response, four are at Grandmaster Level, three are Martial Saint Level?"

"Immediately mobilize the nearby troops and the Martial Arts Association, and ensure the threat does not enter our Dongji territory!"

Li Xiangyun, while ordering, summoned the Wind Spirit Armor, transforming into a golden light and soaring into the stratosphere, and then turned southwest, speeding away like the wind.

Rumble~

After she left, the thunderous sound dispersed in all directions.

Li Xiangyun had already rushed to the location of one of the attacks, simultaneously reporting: "Wang Ming! Lin Dao! The other two locations are entrusted to you!"

The Grandmaster-level incident has support from military regions along the defense line and can definitely be extinguished.

The problem is the Martial Saint-level threat!

If not handled properly, even if it's ultimately subdued, the resulting tragedy and loss are irreparable, and the disaster that happened in Chuyun Country might repeat on the Dongji Kingdom's land.

"Rest assured, I've already taken action!"

A steady middle-aged man's voice sounded; he is Lin Dao, the first warrior of the Western Border Military Region.

"I'm on the scene... Damn it... I need some time; there's an ancient giant insect emerging, probably another operating insect nest has been unearthed... I've already mobilized the heavy armored synthetic brigade for encirclement..."

Wang Ming's voice came intermittently, seemingly affected by some unknown interference.

Li Xiangyun knew Wang Ming had a rapid reaction force, which should be enough to tackle this threat.

The pink Wind Spirit Armor she piloted streaked like a shooting star, reaching the incident site within minutes.

In the southwestern region, over a city, endless steel turned into ruins, silkworm threads tethered to the ground, some piercing through assisting martial artists and soldiers.

The originally expected Martial Saint-level enemy, however, was nowhere to be seen.

"Something's wrong... Engage 'Eye of True Sight'!"

Li Xiangyun snorted coldly, and two dim beams of light suddenly lit up over the armor's eyes, able to see through illusions and reveal the five aggregates.

Then, in the video, above the city, a white 'giant cocoon' suddenly appeared!

It was similar to a silkworm cocoon, with threads clinging between skyscrapers, suspended in the air, reflecting sunlight, its surface shimmering with colors, dreamlike beautiful, yet not visible to ordinary eyes.

But for those who could see it, a strange message emerged in their hearts, with words of pollution spreading along...

"Time Dream Silkworm... Genetic weapon of the Ancient Kun Race... Not even broken from the cocoon yet, it possesses a Heaven-Ascending Seventh Layer Martial Saint Realm, able to form a Mental Imagery Domain..."

"We absolutely must not let it hatch!"

Li Xiangyun controlled her armor to raise the right arm, and a semi-transparent light blade immediately appeared, a blade of oscillating high-energy particles bound into shape.

As the director of Yanmen Public Security Bureau, the Wind Spirit Armor she wore was at the Celestial General Level, allowing grandmaster cultivation to exert Martial Saint power.

If entering overclocking state, it could even unleash Heaven-Ascending Eighth Layer Realm power!

Alas, this level of power posed no lethal threat to the Time Dream Silkworm.

Screech~

The high-energy particle saber sliced through the air, aiming at the cocoon, yet the closer she got, the slower Li Xiangyun's speed became, even her thoughts dulled, getting tossed away by spun cocoon silk, deeply embedding into the ground.

"Damn it... As expected, it's a Mental Imagery affecting Time Sense... This is troublesome."

Li Xiangyun's expression turned grim; her opponent was of the type she least wanted to face. As she was distressed, a voice came through the communication channel.

"This is Ye Qingzhou, I'll handle the next part."

As soon as the words fell, a stream of light pierced through the clouds like a sharp sword, fiercely rushing in.