Among the group of martial cultivators, the young man at the forefront scrutinized them with a sweeping gaze.

Wu Qingcheng and her companions had made their move with only a few women and demonic beasts by their side. They had observed that this outpost of the alien race lacked any formidable experts, which was why they hadn’t bothered to summon Ye Liuyun and the others.

The young man’s eyes darted left and right, taking in the sight of each woman—each one breathtakingly beautiful, leaving him momentarily dazzled.

It was the elder among them, unable to hold back any longer, who interjected gruffly, "This alien outpost was discovered by us first. We’ve been lying in ambush here all along, just about to strike when you disrupted our plans.

"Though it was you who eliminated the aliens, the source energy here rightfully belongs to us. And all the resources you seized from them must be handed over as well."

"Exactly! And that white tiger stays with us too!" another martial cultivator chimed in, clearly recognizing the beast’s value.

Wu Qingcheng and the others knew they were spouting nonsense. If they had truly been here first, they wouldn’t have dared to show their faces—especially with the Songstress and Lan’er, both at the Dominator Realm, standing among them.

At this point, the young leader raised a hand to silence his companions. Straightening his robes with exaggerated dignity, he spoke in a practiced, ingratiating tone, "Fair maidens, I am Cui Xinghe, a Sacred Son of the Sheng Yuan Academy from the Tianhong World.

"Like you, we are here to eradicate the alien scourge. You need not fear us. But facing these creatures alone is far too perilous. Why not join forces with us? Under our protection, your safety will be assured—we have Dominator Realm experts guarding us."

His words were lofty and polished, but these women were no naive novices. They saw right through his thinly veiled ulterior motives.

"Pfft! A toad lusting after swan flesh!" Helian Xiu couldn’t help but blurt out. "You think a bunch of trash like you can lay a finger on us?"

To their surprise, Cui Xinghe didn’t take offense. Instead, he chuckled. "With the alien race running rampant, slaughtering human martial cultivators indiscriminately, only the Tianhong World has the strength to resist them in this region. And within Tianhong, our Sheng Yuan Academy stands at the pinnacle of power.

"I don’t know which world you hail from, but surely you’ve heard how we recently repelled an invasion of millions of alien troops. That alone speaks volumes about our might.

"Without us, every world would have long been devoured by those monsters. I’ve extended my kindness as far as courtesy allows. If you insist on refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit... well, that’s on you."

"Heh, couldn’t even keep up the act for two sentences! ’Benevolence to the fullest’? Are you sure you’ve got what it takes?" Fyeng Wanru retorted with icy sarcasm.

Both sides were evenly matched in strength. Though Feng Hongxiu hadn’t quite reached the Dominator Realm, she was close. Moreover, with the songstress and Lan’er lurking in the shadows, they wouldn’t be at a disadvantage if a fight broke out.

"Hmph, you women aren’t bad-looking. Out of chivalry, I’d rather not stoop to your level—fighting would ruin such beauty," Cui Xinghe sneered, his arrogance on full display. "But you’re far too insolent. Seems I’ll have to teach you a lesson before you’ll submit. So, how do you want this? One by one, or all at once?"

Confident in his numerical advantage and the presence of powerful allies, Cui Xinghe saw no possibility of defeat.

Several martial artists nearby chimed in eagerly: "Young Master Cui, if we fight, whoever captures these women gets to keep them, right?"

"Yeah, Young Master Cui, surely you won’t hog all these beauties for yourself?" another added with a leer.

Among the group, a few weren’t wearing Sheng Yuan Academy uniforms, suggesting they were a ragtag band hastily assembled to ambush the alien outpost.

Cui Xinghe’s gaze swept over Wu Qingcheng and the others, lingering on their striking beauty. But with so many eyes watching, he couldn’t claim them all for himself.

Reluctantly, he agreed to let strength decide the outcome—though his focus remained fixed on Wu Qingcheng, Su Miaoyin, and Xia Lingshuang.

His plan was clear: let the elders handle Feng Hongxiu while he made the first move on Wu Qingcheng, then seize the other two.

But the flicker in his eyes betrayed his intentions before he could act.

"Disgusting!" Xia Lingshuang spat.

"Now!" Wu Qingcheng had seen enough. She sent a mental command to her allies, unwilling to endure another moment of their vile remarks or worse.

Originally, she’d considered enduring for the sake of Ye Liuyun’s alliance plans. But faced with such brazen lechery, striking first was the only option.

The women and demonic beasts simultaneously launched their attacks.

The songstress and Lan’er were particularly exhilarated—this was their first time slaying a powerhouse at the Dominator level. Without hesitation, they struck decisively. Wusheng and Hanguang, wielding their razor-sharp daggers, moved like shadows—one plunged into the old man’s back, piercing his heart, while the other slit his throat from behind.

The old man had been entirely focused on Feng Hongxiu, whose aura was the most formidable. The moment he saw her make a move, he braced himself for her assault—only to be blindsided by the lethal strikes from behind.

But Feng Hongxiu’s attack had merely been a feint. She swiftly redirected her assault toward Cui Xinghe. At the same time, Phantom Hands struck Cui from behind, aiming straight for his heart. However, his soft armor absorbed the blow, leaving only his outer robes shredded. The impact still sent him stumbling forward—just in time to meet Feng Hongxiu’s full-force sword strike, which blasted him backward like a ragdoll.

Gritting his teeth through the pain, Cui Xinghe hurled out a treasure—a flat, tablet-like object. The moment his feet touched it, he vanished in the blink of an eye.

*Must be a speed-type treasure.*

Seeing that pursuit was futile, the group abandoned the chase and turned their attention to the remaining enemies. The martial artists were swiftly dispatched. Two disciples from Shengyuan Academy, clad in soft armor, held out slightly longer—until one was crushed by the Stone Ape’s spiked club, while the other was frozen solid by the combined efforts of Wu Qingcheng, Manshu, and Lan Bing. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

One disciple, realizing the hopelessness of the situation, immediately surrendered.

Feng Hongxiu sealed his true energy and handed him over to Ye Liuyun for a soul search, hoping to extract information about the Tianhong World.

Ye Liuyun hadn’t expected to encounter human martial artists resisting the alien invaders here. After probing the disciple’s memories to understand the situation, he delved deeper into the details of the Tianhong World.

The Tianhong World was a realm comparable in size to the Sacred Land. It, too, had a Dominator-level powerhouse—a senior elder from Shengyuan Academy. In fact, Tianhong’s overall strength surpassed that of the Sacred Land, as its forces had managed to repel an army of millions from the alien race.

Though the victory had come at a heavy cost, it was a victory nonetheless.

Now, the Tianhong World was on the offensive, dispatching numerous experts to seek out and dismantle the alien race’s strongholds wherever they lurked.