Those two Imperial Guard commanders hadn’t come with just five thousand soldiers. They had originally been escorting supplies and reinforcements for the Sixth Prince’s army, carrying twenty thousand sets of true-grade seventh-tier armor and weapons, three thousand sets of true-grade ninth-tier armor and weapons, plus all kinds of pills, origin energy, crystals, warships, and other military gear—everything now belonged to Ye Liuyun.

“Now I’ve got troops, gear, and resources all in one haul!” Ye Liuyun grinned from ear to ear and contacted Qiong Qi to tell him the good news.

When Qiong Qi heard how massive the haul was, he sighed again, saying Ye Liuyun’s luck defied the heavens.

In his excitement, Ye Liuyun overlooked the attention his use of the teleportation black tower would draw from the chamber of commerce. This was the Holy Flame Consortium’s lodging district; anyone using a teleportation treasure to break straight through their defensive array was bound to be noticed.

When he’d first left using the black tower, the consortium had already detected someone breaching the array and departing. Since it was an exit, none of their business, no one had bothered to investigate.

But when he suddenly tore the array open again to return, the consortium—worried someone might be harming their guests—immediately dispatched a guard squad to check.

Qingyu had arrived long ago and was waiting, but the four old servants had told her Ye Liuyun was in cultivation, so she cultivated as well. Though she wasn’t in the same room, the spatial ripple from his return still caught her attention.

Thus, when the guards came to inquire, Qingyu stepped out too, curious what he was up to—though she didn’t know he’d just teleported back from outside.

Unaware the array here could actually sense the black tower, Ye Liuyun explained it away as spatial-force practice causing the fluctuation.

Since he refused to elaborate, the guards couldn’t press further; Ye Liuyun was the villa’s owner, and confirming his safety was enough. They withdrew.

Still, such a bizarre incident couldn’t be hidden from the steward—he didn’t dare shoulder responsibility if something went wrong.

In a secluded corner of the villa district stood an exquisite little tower, wrapped in layers of arrays even Ye Liuyun’s golden pupils couldn’t pierce.

On the second floor, a woman in white sipped tea while listening to the steward’s report. She ordered him to keep the matter secret and dismissed him.

Once he left, she murmured to herself, “The timing does line up. Who exactly is this man?”

She was Princess Jiang Yunmo of the Fireseal Dynasty—and the true power behind the Holy Flame Consortium.

She had already taken note when Ye Liuyun bought demonic beasts and corpses in bulk; she didn’t believe anyone would stockpile that much feed and resources for mere magical beasts.

She knew the exact times the black tower had left and returned. Shortly after Ye Liuyun’s reappearance, word arrived that the Imperial Guard had suffered losses and their array masters had been seized.

Of course, coincidences and guesswork weren’t proof, and she still didn’t know this “Young Master Li” was Ye Liuyun. So she could only keep watching.

She had long known Qingyu was acting as his guide, so until he finished trading those beasts, she wasn’t worried he’d vanish; in a few days she could simply question Qingyu about his movements.

After the consortium guards questioned him, Ye Liuyun realized the consortium was no ordinary power; future moves would require extra caution.

He ran into Qingyu just then and, taking two old servants along, asked her to show him around—he wanted lodgings where the black tower could come and go unhindered.

Outside the consortium, he looked straight into Qingyu’s eyes with his soul-scarlet pupils and had her suggest such places, but she honestly told him every inn and villa in the capital used similar arrays; wherever he stayed, the result would be the same.

Helpless, Ye Liuyun could only remain at the Holy Flame Consortium—though his guard was now fully up.

“The Fireseal Dynasty must suspect I possess a teleportation treasure; they’ll likely set their sights on me. I’m not safe here.”

With that thought, he scanned for anyone tailing or watching him, but after circling the city he found no one.

Qingyu led him around, explaining the capital’s layout. All the while, Ye Liuyun used his red pupils to steer her into pointing out well-informed individuals who could be bound by soul contracts. Qingyu named several and told him their usual haunts.

Then Ye Liuyun had her take him to a tavern for information. “We’ve walked half the day; let’s find a place to eat and rest.”

Qingyu promptly brought him to a tavern suited for gossip.

The Holy Flame Consortium’s own restaurant was too high-end—only private rooms, useless for eavesdropping. Mid-tier establishments where young nobles and junior Imperial Guard officers gathered were far better.

They entered one such tavern, ordered food and wine, and sat down.

They had barely taken their seats when they overheard several Imperial Guards, just off rotation, discussing the disappearance of their comrades and the abduction of the array masters. They even knew it had happened aboard the warship that was supposed to deliver supplies and reinforcements.

“All the resources and soldiers—captured?” Some guards still refused to believe it.

“Absolutely! Even the grand array masters and disciples from the Myriad Transformations Sect were taken along with them!” a well-informed soldier confirmed.

“Was it that Ye Liuyun?” one guard asked, the name already sticking in their minds.

“No one knows who did it yet...”

Another guard chimed in, “I told you—ordinary business wouldn’t make Commander Jiang march out with ten thousand Imperial Guards!”

“Probably the same as last time: they’ll find nothing...”

Listening to their chatter, Ye Liuyun found it hard to credit.

“These guards have ears everywhere!”

The thought had barely formed when he used his scarlet-pupil soul art to control Qingyu and sent her a silent question: if he wanted to fish for information here, who should he grab as a spy?

Qingyu answered without hesitation: target the waiters and the steward on this floor.

Ye Liuyun studied her, more convinced than ever that this “shopping guide” was no simple girl. An ordinary person would never have come up with that so readily; either she had considered it before or she did it so often it had become second nature.

He didn’t care. His soul power far surpassed hers; after casting the illusion with his scarlet pupils, he would simply erase her memories. In Qingyu’s mind, she had merely shown him around and chatted casually—never once had he asked the crucial questions.