Li Yuxuan immediately went to find Huang Ya and ordered him to prepare to receive and settle the huge group of ghosts, and to arrange temporary living places for them.
Afterwards, he and Xiao Zhanjiang returned to the ground and greeted Huang Shasha at the ground stronghold.
Li Yu personally oversaw everything, as these were the first batch of ghosts to arrive in Kangcheng after the handover base was built, and their numbers were enormous, making it a good opportunity to test the practicality of the handover base.
Finally, he returned to the outskirts of the North City. Under the watchful eyes of the golden eyes, the army of ghosts who retained their consciousness marched in orderly fashion, passing through the newly built handover point in a well-ordered manner, heading to Kang City's underground residence for temporary stay. The process was exceptionally smooth.
Having just finished dealing with the ghostly matter, Ma Yuanbai rushed over and reported with a grave expression:
"Li Yu, what about Shi Tuo Yan...?"
Ma Yuanbai spoke slightly faster:
"He said that waking up Zhou Xiaopeng would not be difficult, but multiple restrictions had been placed on his body, and it seemed to be closely bound to some kind of remote ability."
“Forcibly breaking the awakening will immediately alert the caster, expose the location, and may even directly cause injury to the target.”
"Shita Yama asks, are you planning to take your time and work meticulously, quietly dismantling it, or...?"
Ma Yuanbai didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear—either spend a lot of time carefully cracking the code, or forcibly awaken the enemy and alert them.
A cold glint flashed in Li Yu's eyes; Zhou Zhenbei had indeed kept a backup plan.
He had already severed all the threads connecting Zhou Xiaopeng to his body, so before forcibly waking him up, absolutely no one could trace Zhou Xiaopeng's exact location by following the energy.
As long as it is deliberately hidden, it will never be found.
Li Yu pondered to himself that it was not yet time to awaken Zhou Xiaopeng, as they had not yet found the Deep Sea Watcher Bai Ya who could exchange lives for him.
We must wait for Bai Ya to arrive and for everything to be ready before we can temporarily awaken him when it's time to exchange lives. Even if Zhou Zhenbei discovers our location by then, it will be too late to come to our rescue.
Thinking of this, Li Yu suppressed his surging killing intent and replied coldly:
"Tell Shituoyan to suspend the operation for now, study it slowly, and do not disturb the restrictions."
"Yes!" Ma Yuanbai accepted the order and hurriedly left again.
Li Yu, Jiang Feng, and Xiao Zhan, who were present, all wished they could kill Zhou Zhenbei immediately.
The atmosphere became somewhat somber for a moment.
Li Yu knew he had to find Bai Ya as soon as possible.
Quickly regaining her composure, Li Yu looked at Xiao Zhan and the other person again, breaking the silence:
"I will have someone compile a report on suitable environments and habitats for ghosts and give it to you. You can settle down in Kangcheng first and make detailed plans after you recover from your injuries."
Jiang Feng and Xiao Zhan nodded, deciding to stay in Kangcheng for the time being, since they really had nowhere else to go at the moment.
Jiang Feng was also very clear that even if he returned to Jincheng immediately, he would not be able to bring down Zhou Zhenbei with the existing evidence. He might even be controlled and forced to accept an investigation.
Xiao Zhan planned to stay until he learned how to keep the ghosts of the Northern Iron Cavalry underground, forever guarding the Northern Border.
At this moment, Jiang Feng looked at the completely different new look of Kangcheng, and suddenly remembered something. His expression turned serious, and he said to Li Yu:
"Lord Li Yu, speaking of which, after Zhongzhou annexes all the forces outside the border, it will hold the long-delayed 'Zhongzhou Hegemony Tournament' in Jincheng."
At this point, Jiang Feng's tone carried a hint of sarcasm:
"Originally, it was just a competition to select geniuses who had awakened, but as more strong people participated, it turned into a competition to reset the rankings of the Wind and Cloud List."
"However, it now seems that the nature of this event has completely changed."
Through the Jincheng Jiang family behind him, Jiang Feng secretly learned the reason why the championship competition had been delayed again and again, and said directly:
"The participants are not only powerful Awakened Ones from Central Continent, but even people from the Holy See are involved. The selection of geniuses has become a nominal arena for various forces to show their strength and send out high-level Awakened Ones to clash."
"Are the Vatican people participating too?" Li Yu asked, his mind instantly conjuring up images of Antonio and his white-robed figures.
"Not just the Vatican," Jiang Feng said in a deep voice.
“Even those who have awakened have come from overseas islands.”
What should have been a great competition gradually turned into a strange affair, veerging towards the question of who was the strongest awakener, completely deviating from the original purpose of the tournament.
Even more bizarrely, the Central Plains government not only did not stop it, but was happy to see it happen, taking the opportunity to promote it extensively and invite more powerful awakened individuals to participate.
The intention was to use this grand event to intimidate all sides after the plan to annex the mainland succeeded, to demonstrate the strength of the Central Plains, and to showcase its inclusiveness and power.
Jiang Feng had a special trust in Li Yu's status as a Star Lord because Jiang Yue of the Jiang family had become the fourth Star Lord by chance, and they were in the same camp.
He looked at Li Yu, his expression turning serious, and cut to the chase:
“Lord Li Yu, you seized Kangcheng with swift and decisive means. Although there were reasons for it and strength is paramount, the people of Jincheng value rules and face the most. The Central State government may not directly hold you accountable because of your status, but someone will definitely use this as an excuse to make trouble.”
As a member of the Jiang family, Jiang Feng grew up in Jincheng and was well aware of the tricks involved. He sincerely reminded Jiang Feng:
"I predict that it won't be long before someone formally invites you to participate in the Central State Championship on behalf of the Central State. After all, according to what the Central State said before, the reward for the Central State Championship is the position of the Lord of Kangcheng."
"As a result, you beat us to the punch and became the first city lord of Kangcheng. Many people must be dissatisfied. Some will definitely take this opportunity to bring up old issues and say that only by winning the championship fair and square in front of everyone and proving that you have indisputable strength can you be worthy of the position of city lord of Kangcheng."
"At that time, when moral authority prevails, if you don't go, it will be seen as cowardice and weakness, which they can then use as an excuse to question the legitimacy of your rule over Kangcheng. If you do go, it will play right into the hands of some people."
"This is an open conspiracy, fraught with danger!"
Upon hearing this, a fierce glint flashed in Xiao Zhan's icy blue eyes: "What a scheme! They want to use the competition as a pretext to lure you away from Kangcheng, and then use you as a tool to kill."
"Those guys in Jincheng love to play these kinds of tricks. They don't dare to actually rob us, so they resort to these high-sounding methods."
“That’s right.” Jiang Feng nodded, a worried look on his face.
After hearing this, Li Yu's lips curled into a cold smile.
He raised his hand and grasped the phoenix bow floating in front of him, gently stroking the bowstring, and the bow emitted a deep hum.
"To prove their strength by participating in the championship?"
Li Yu's gaze held a chilling depth:
"I don't need to prove my abilities to anyone."
He replied decisively:
"But I'm going to this championship!"
Li Yu's tone was calm, yet it sent a chill down the spines of Xiao Zhan and Jiang Feng standing nearby.
The Phoenix Bow and the Frost Spear in Xiao Zhan's hand immediately resonated in a strange way, vibrating and humming at the same time.
"Perfect timing! I also want to go to Jincheng and settle accounts with certain people!"
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