Mianyan City, by this time, had become Ye Jingyu's domain. Backed by the Blood Demon Legion for strength, and buttressed by powerhouses like Ni Bo, Taotie, and Bing Ming, Ye Jingyu quickly secured his footing. However, the five Dark Alliance deacons—Xie Zuomiao, Hua Yusen, Teng Xiaoyan, Huo Yuanlei, and Wang Yuxin—who sought to pledge allegiance to him immediately, were refused. According to Ye Jingyu's plan, they still needed to remain in their current posts, hidden from sight, slowly accumulating their strength, ready to provide Ye Jingyu with the most crucial evidence at any moment. Moreover, thanks to the merit Ye Jingyu had just earned, the positions of these humans near their respective masters had notably risen, granting them access to deeper secrets.

Although these five deacons did not publicly defect to Mianyan City, two other high-ranking members of the Dark Alliance, the Red Sun Envoy Tian Luo and the Red Moon Envoy Fang Tianrui, defected to Ye Jingyu with a large retinue following the demise of the Overlord City Lord Ba and the Dark City Lord Jian.

And they defected openly. Such an action did not cause much of a stir, as Ye Jingyu’s current strength and standing were no longer inferior to those of the major city lords. With their human masters dead, it was only natural for them to align themselves with a human city lord.

Because of this turn of events, Mianyan City instantly ascended to become the tenth Great Power City, while the former rulers of Dark City and Overlord City were replaced by two generals from years past.

The new Lord of Dark City was Wu, the foremost general under the Destruction Lord, a super expert who had lived for several millennia. As for the Lord of Overlord City, it was Yuan, a general under the Fear Lord.

At this moment, the garrison in Mianyan City swelled to a total of three hundred thousand troops, comprising two hundred thousand humans and only one hundred thousand demons. Due to Ye Jingyu’s forceful emergence, Mianyan City had become only the second human-governed city within the Earth Alliance.

Ye Jingyu entrusted almost all domestic affairs of the city to Jiu Feng. She already possessed experience managing Ming Yan Tower in the past, and after so many years, managing Mianyan City was not a difficult task for her. However, the training of the army was delegated to Xiyang. Initially, the demons were unwilling to accept a woman as their superior, but in the face of Xiyang’s absolute might, all resistance was crushed. Many demons even whispered behind her back that Xiyang was the true demon.

Meanwhile, Bing Ming, Ni Bo, and Taotie remained within Mianyan City, relentlessly engaging in rigorous cultivation in hopes of breaking through. As for Ye Jingyu, he and the Monkey quietly vanished from Mianyan City. No one knew where the two had gone; not even Jiu Feng or Xiyang knew. Officially, it was announced that they were in secluded meditation.

Presently, atop an iceberg located in the northwest quadrant of the Earth Alliance, a man with disheveled hair, upon whose body several iron chains seemed to have "grown," sat silently on the peak. He allowed the ice blades, sharper than shards of glass, to strike his flesh. Occasionally, these ice blades scored bloody streaks across his body, yet he sat on as if unaffected, and the wounds gradually regenerated.

He could not recall how long he had been sitting there. Eventually, even the most violent ice blades could no longer leave a trace upon him. At this point, the man suddenly opened his eyes, and two beams of brilliant, piercing light shot out.

“Since you are here, why not show yourselves?” the man murmured, slowly rising from the mountain summit.

As his voice faded, two figures gradually materialized in the void. One was clad in black, his long black hair tied at the nape of his neck, a faint, almost imperceptible smile gracing his face—it was Ye Jingyu, whom he had seen on the arena stage that day. The other was a monkey, shimmering entirely in gold light yet clad in a Daoist robe.

“Jue, long time no see!” Seeing the disheveled man, Ye Jingyu smiled faintly.

“What brings you here?” This man was Jue, who had voluntarily withdrawn from the competition on the arena stage—the foremost genius whose power was sealed by the Destruction Lord thousands of years ago.

“Hehe, naturally, I’ve come to help you break the seal!” Ye Jingyu chuckled slightly.

“You are indeed the most talented human I have ever encountered. Last time, your combat power barely reached the Cosmic level. Have you broken through the Cosmic level in such a short time? Furthermore, even if you reached the Universe level, you could not shatter his seal,” Jue said lightly, observing the confident smile on Ye Jingyu’s face. This seal was peculiar; the stronger his own power became, the stronger the sealing force grew. For this reason, he had never dared to utilize excessive strength, instead continuously compressing the power within his body, hoping to one day use the accumulated force to shatter the seal in one go.

Yet, even now, he was not entirely confident in his ability to break the seal, unless he received assistance from a significantly greater external force—a force that this young man, who was merely Cosmic level previously, clearly could not possess.

“You need not concern yourself with that. I only wish to ask you one question: Do you believe in me?” Ye Jingyu ignored Jue’s slightly mocking tone, gazing directly into his eyes as he spoke.

Jue was momentarily stunned. He looked again at the confident smile on Ye Jingyu’s face, and finally, he nodded gently. This seal had tormented him for several millennia. He couldn't break it now anyway, so he might as well trust this fellow for once. At worst, if he failed, he could spend a few more thousand years accumulating power.

“If that is the case, then unleash all of your power as you wish!” Seeing Jue nod, Ye Jingyu spoke. If Jue hadn't trusted him, Ye Jingyu would have certainly turned and left.

With his current strength, plus the Monkey beside him, it wasn't impossible to contend with the three Great Lords. However, without first ascertaining the exact strength of the forces surrounding the three Lords, he wouldn't act rashly. Coming to assist Jue in breaking the seal was merely a favor—a casual repayment for the debt he owed that day.

Hearing Ye Jingyu’s voice filled with certainty, and glancing at the Monkey who stood silently by Ye Jingyu’s side without uttering a word, Jue nodded lightly.

He took a step forward, shouting loudly, and a vast power erupted instantly...

It was a force like a mountain flood. Even the Monkey King felt his eyes light up upon sensing such might. He truly hadn't expected that such terrifying power could be contained within this being who, in his eyes, resembled an ant.

However, as this power surged forth, the iron chains on Jue’s body seemed to inflate as if injected with stimulants, instantly lengthening by hundreds of feet, completely enveloping Jue’s body, seemingly attempting to compress all that power...

“Monkey, it’s your turn to act…” With the function of the Eye of Reincarnation, Ye Jingyu instantly discerned the nature of this seal—it merely absorbed Jue’s own power to contain him. The Monkey’s Fiery Eyes of Truth also saw through it at a glance. He grasped his iron staff and swung it directly toward the chains...

(One more chapter coming; still typing!) D