TL: Etude
"Someone's coming!"
Ye Tian sensed with his spiritual power that a group of people had arrived outside his villa. They were the high-ranking officials from the Linhai Base.
"We pay our respects to Grandmaster Ye!"
Old Man Li and the other Great Martial Warriors stood outside Ye Tian's door, bowing deeply.
"Come in."
Ye Tian's voice rang out.
Li and the other Great Martial Warriors entered and soon saw Ye Tian and the War Blood Sky Dragon. Though the dragon had restrained its aura, it made no effort to hide its realm or imposing presence.
A top-tier beast!
Old Man Li looked at the dragon, Xiao Xue, his body trembling. He felt that this beast had the power to kill him in an instant. It was undoubtedly a fearsome top-tier beast.
Then, his eyes fell upon Ye Tian, and he was struck with awe.
"Grandmaster!"
Ye Tian's realm had reached that of a Grandmaster, not just a Great Martial Warrior. Not only was Old Man Li stunned, but so were the other Great Martial Warriors. They had referred to Ye Tian as a Grandmaster solely because he had demonstrated battle prowess exceeding that of an ordinary Grandmaster. His true cultivation, however, had been at the level of a Great Martial Warrior. But now, Ye Tian had actually ascended to the realm of a Grandmaster.
A Great Martial Warrior-level Ye Tian had been able to slay Grandmasters. Now that he was a Grandmaster, would killing ordinary Grandmasters be as easy as killing chickens and slaughtering dogs?
Respect!
Everyone became even more respectful towards Ye Tian, not daring to slack off.
"Grandmaster Ye, why have you returned?" Old Man Li acted humbly, lacking the Grandmaster's domineering aura and pressure, appearing instead like a complete lackey.
"A crisis is impending for Linhai Base, so I've returned," Ye Tian revealed without hiding anything. He felt that the people of Linhai Base had a right to know. Moreover, he hoped that Old Man Li and others could assist him with some tasks. Therefore, he decided to tell them the truth.
"A crisis in Linhai Base!!"
Old Man Li felt panic surge within him. He had suspected this might be the case, which was why he had called a meeting, but until it was confirmed, there had been a glimmer of hope.
But now, Ye Tian, who had returned from Demon Sea Base, had personally declared that a crisis was imminent for Linhai Base. There was no doubt left.
"Grandmaster Ye, please save Linhai Base!"
Lin Wanli pleaded, and Old Man Li and the other Great Martial Warriors also quickly followed suit: "Grandmaster Ye, please rescue Linhai Base!"
"Sigh," Ye Tian sighed deeply, "I returned this time to address this issue. But let me warn you, if we cannot hold, I will not stay in Linhai Base. I'll flee at the first opportunity. You should also prepare to flee at any moment. Whether you can actually escape, that depends on your luck."
Old Man Li's face changed, "Grandmaster Ye, is it the king beast that annihilated the Tieya (Iron Fang) Base planning to strike at Linhai Base?"
"No," Ye Tian shook his head. "If it were just a king beast causing the catastrophe, Demon Sea Base wouldn't abandon Linhai Base. This place is like a gateway for Demon Sea Base. But now Demon Sea Base can't even reinforce Linhai Base because Demon Sea Base itself is facing an existential crisis!"
Boom!!!
This news completely shocked Old Man Li and others. Demon Sea Base was a massive base with countless Grandmasters and numerous king-level beings. Could such an enormous base really be facing a crisis of annihilation?
What kind of disaster could that be?
They couldn't even fathom, let alone dare to imagine it.
"Will Linhai Base also face the same crisis as Demon Sea Base?" Lin Wanli asked in despair.
"Yes," Ye Tian replied solemnly, "I don't know the specific details, but I know that an unprecedented beast tide is about to erupt. Demon Sea Base and a few other major bases are all within the attack range. As for small bases like Linhai, they're merely within the affected scope. But even a minor impact is more than a small base like Linhai can withstand. Under these circumstances, Demon Sea Base will undoubtedly prioritize defending their own base and will not be able to assist other bases."
"I understand."
Lin Wanli finally understood why the people from the Martial Pavilion and the bank had fled. In their eyes, although the Demon Sea Base was also dangerous, its chances of survival were much greater than those of Linhai Base. If nothing unexpected happened, Linhai Base was almost certain to be annihilated.
"Master Ye, can we move to Demon Sea Base now?" Lin Wanli asked with hope.
"Absolutely not!" Ye Tian flatly rejected Lin Wanli's suggestion, explaining, "Most people in the Demon Sea Base are unaware of the impending beast tide. This is to prevent panic. Only core members of major powers are informed. If you were to move there, it would become public knowledge. Do you believe that those major powers wouldn't send people outside the Demon Sea Base to kill you?"
Whoosh!
Everyone's expressions changed, and they promptly abandoned the idea.
"Master Ye, what should we do now?" asked Old Li.
Being a master himself, Old Li had more than a hundred good years left and certainly didn't want to die.
"First, let's set up some arrays. According to my estimation, we have several days before the beast tide erupts. I will set up some defensive arrays in the meantime, which should be somewhat useful," Ye Tian said.
"Arrays? Master Ye, are you also an array master?" Old Li was surprised.
He had been to the Demon Sea Base and was well aware of the status of array masters there.
"Indeed," Ye Tian nodded.
"Master Ye, do we need to help with anything?" Old Li looked at Ye Tian.
"Bring me a batch of array plate embryos. These are not complicated but require high-quality yuan force materials. The blacksmiths in Linhai Base can forge them. Get me as many as you can," Ye Tian instructed.
"Alright, we'll go right away!"
The group immediately set out to gather array plate embryos. Ye Tian began crafting arrays, primarily focusing on defensive and offensive ones.
This time, he brought quite a number of array plates but knew it wouldn't be enough, which is why he had asked Old Li and the others to get more.
Ye Tian carved the array patterns onto the plates one by one. With his top-notch talent in array crafting, he was able to create a basic array plate in less than ten minutes and a mid-level one in less than half an hour.
As for high-tier array plates, he was not yet capable of crafting them, as his mastery in arrays was only at the mid-level.
"Focus on basic array plates and supplement with mid-level ones," Ye Tian set this as his crafting plan.
Days passed by—
Every day, Ye Tian was able to craft around 100 basic array plates, but only a few mid-level ones. The price he paid for this was a complete lack of rest and no time for cultivation.
Five days flew by.
Ye Tian had crafted a total of 489 basic array plates and 18 mid-level ones.
Subsequently, he had all the defensive arrays embedded into the walls surrounding Linhai Base by Old Li and the others. As for the offensive arrays, they were placed on the open ground outside Linhai Base.
During this period, Linhai Base was closed off, not allowing people to enter or exit, so as to avoid triggering the arrays.
Ye Tian unusually took a half-day off, choosing not to continue crafting. If he didn't maintain his condition, a decrease in his fighting ability would be a significant issue.
The arrays could only slightly hold back the beast tide; what he would really rely on was his own combat strength.
Therefore, he had to remain at his peak state.