TL: Etude
At the Linhai Base.
Warriors were still hunting ferocious beasts in the wilderness, while ordinary people or martial trainees carried on with their daily routines. None of them noticed the impending beast tide. Meanwhile, it seemed that the Demon Sea Base had completely abandoned Linhai Base and would not notify anyone there.
However, many high-ranking officials at Linhai Base sensed something unusual. Not that they discovered the beast tide, but they noticed that the higher-ups from the Martial Pavilion and the banks were secretly evacuating. A meeting was convened in response to this situation.
Zong Shi, the old man, and a group of major warriors, gathered at the Lin family's residence. Since the Lin family was nominally in charge, it was the natural place for the meeting. But this time, the meeting was chaired not by Lin Wanli but by Zong Shi, the only one qualified for the task.
At the meeting, Zong Shi began, "Ladies and gentlemen, you must all be quite aware by now. The top officials in the black market's Martial Pavilion have all discreetly left, and the Pavilion's leader, Wu, is nowhere to be found. The entire Pavilion is left with only martial warriors and trainees from our Linhai Base. The same goes for the banks; their higher-ups have also vanished. According to our investigation, they have all gone to the Demon Sea Base."
"Gone to the Demon Sea Base?" The warriors frowned in unison.
"Did something happen at the Demon Sea Base?" one of the warriors asked.
Zong Shi shook his head, "I'm not sure. It could be that something has happened at the Demon Sea Base, but it's more likely that something is about to happen here at Linhai Base!"
"What? Something's going to happen at Linhai Base?" A Great Martial Warrior, originally from the Tieya (Iron Fang) Base, immediately exclaimed. He had experienced the fall of the Tieya Base not long ago. Could it be that Linhai Base was next?
At this point, Zong Shi elaborated, "Think about it. If something happened at Demon Sea Base, what would be the benefit for those people from the bank and the Martial Pavilion to go there? They are but low-ranking individuals at Demon Sea Base; they have better lives here in Linhai. They've all left, obviously in a hurry to leave Linhai Base. I can't think of another reason besides the base being in danger."
"Can we contact Demon Sea Base to find out what's going on?" Lin Wanli asked, furrowing his brow.
"We can't," Zong Shi shook his head. "All the communication equipment capable of making contact has been taken away. The communicators we bought can only be used within Linhai Base; we fundamentally can't reach anyone at Demon Sea Base."
"Could it be the same group of beasts that destroyed Tieya Base coming to Linhai? Their leader is a king-level beast, although the weakest kind. One breath from it could kill us all. If a king-level beast attacks, Linhai Base would certainly not be able to withstand it. That would explain why the people from the Martial Pavilion and the bank are leaving," a warrior speculated.
"Unlikely!" Zong Shi refuted. "I sent people to investigate, and that group of beasts hasn't shown any movement. They shouldn't be coming to Linhai. Furthermore, even if a king-level beast did attack, it would just be the weakest kind of king-level beast, artificially promoted through special means. Its real combat power is equivalent to a pseudo-king-level beast. It may have the power and defense of a king-level beast, but it lacks the speed. Demon Sea Base has quite a few king-level beings; any one of them could wipe out that group of beasts."
"Then what is the situation?" Another warrior grew anxious.
"Should we also go to Demon Sea Base to hide?" One warrior suggested.
"No!" Lin Wanli was the first to disagree. "Most of us have families. Are we to abandon them? Moreover, how can we be sure that the issue is not with Demon Sea Base? What if they're currently in a battle? Going there would be sending ourselves to death."
Lin Wanli's words were met with the agreement of several major warriors, and the one who had suggested hiding was given a warning by Zong Shi.
Just at that moment, an Elite Martial Warrior burst into the room to report. "Master, esteemed warriors, something terrible has happened! A fearsome beast has invaded the base!" The messenger announced in a state of panic.
Old Master Li immediately questioned, "What kind of beast? What exactly has happened?"
The other senior warriors also stared intently at the Elite Martial Warrior, equally eager to find out what had occurred. "Sirs, just moments ago, a flying beast, ten meters in length, flew into the base. It moved too swiftly for anyone to react. It seems to have landed in the Central Garden District!" said the Elite Martial Warrior.
"Central Garden District!"
Everyone present was familiar with this area. Long ago, it was just an ordinary villa district, but ever since the rise of Ye Tian, the prices of the villas there had skyrocketed. However, with Ye Tian's departure, the prices had dropped again.
"Let's go and see," Old Master Li led the way, and the senior warriors followed.
Shortly thereafter, they arrived at the Central Garden District. Almost immediately, someone came to report: "Sirs, Master Ye Tian has returned!"
"Master Ye Tian has returned?" The crowd was overjoyed.
Ye Tian had been at the Demon Sea Base for a long time and undoubtedly knew the details of what had happened. They might be able to learn from him why the Martial Arts Hall and the banks had withdrawn.
Old Master Li was both happy and worried at this moment. He was pleased that the strange situation at Linhai Base might finally be explained. However, he was concerned that he could no longer freely command everyone and had to submit to Ye Tian's authority, a matter he found irksome.
Still, he said, "Come, let us go and pay our respects to Master Ye Tian!"
A group of senior warriors followed a Grandmaster, creating quite a stir as they walked through the Central Garden. The news of Master Ye Tian's return spread like wildfire throughout Linhai Base, reaching countless people.
However, most went about their usual activities without much emotional upheaval. After all, a person of Ye Tian's caliber was unlikely to interact with them, so excessive attention seemed pointless.
Ye Tian's Villa.
At that moment, Ye Tian was cleaning up a bit. After all, he would be staying here for some time to come.
Xiao Xue, his pet, looked around disdainfully. "Master, this dump is nowhere near as good as our home. Why are we staying here?"
"This was my home before," Ye Tian glanced at Xiao Xue.
Xiao Xue quickly corrected itself: "Master, I think this place has a classical style. It's definitely a great place to live!"
"Your reaction speed is pretty fast, and your will to survive is strong. It seems you've grown quickly," Ye Tian said, maintaining a calm exterior but feeling quite astonished on the inside.
He remembered when Xiao Xue had just been born; it could only say simple words like "hungry," "thirsty," and "sleep." Now, not much time had passed, and Xiao Xue had not only grown to ten meters in length but had also developed intelligence almost comparable to that of a human child.
This rate of growth and talent was truly shocking.
"Truly worthy of a Dawn-tier bloodline talent," Ye Tian mused to himself.