TL: Etude
"Greetings, everyone!"
Ye Tian greeted the crowd with a closed-fist salute.
Above him, Yun Mengli glanced at Ye Tian and nodded slightly, saying, "Young Brother Ye, please take a seat wherever you like."
Ye Tian nodded, choosing a seat toward the back, and sat down.
The other King-level figures present didn't pay much attention to Ye Tian. After all, Ye Tian was just a Grandmaster-level warrior. Although he possessed the combat power of a King-level warrior, he was merely comparable to not-so-powerful King-level figures. Ye Tian wasn't in the same league as the truly strong King-level warriors.
Before Ye Tian had truly matured, they wouldn't pay him much attention.
One King-level warrior after another arrived, and soon the hall was filled with almost 60 King-level figures.
Ye Tian sat silently but observed the talents of those present in secret.
"Most have extraordinary cultivation talents; only a few like Lord Yue Ling have top-tier cultivation talents. They must have become King-level warriors by chance. As for those with Morning Star-level cultivation talents, there's not a single one."
Ye Tian wasn't surprised by this. If they did have Morning Star-level cultivation talents, they might have already easily broken through the King-level bottleneck and advance to the next stage.
After another half-hour, the number of King-level warriors had risen to 73.
One could say that almost all the King-level warriors from the Demon Sea base had arrived.
Originally, there should have been more King-level warriors at the Demon Sea base, but the recent great battle had claimed many of them. So there were only 73 left; 72 if Ye Tian wasn't counted.
Once everyone had assembled, Yun Mengli began, "Everyone, the purpose of this meeting is to discuss the spatial rift 30,000 miles away. Although our three major bases have repelled the beast tide and killed three invincible King Beasts, these losses are inconsequential to the beasts. Their foundation is far too strong. Humans have only been around for about a hundred years since the origin energy appeared, so naturally, we can't compare with the beasts. If it weren't for the world's suppression, the truly terrifying existence of these beasts would have descended upon Earth and wiped us out long ago."
The King-level figures below nodded, agreeing with Yun Mengli's statement.
Humanity was indeed too weak. The more they understood the beasts, the more they were shocked by their strength.
The gap between the two sides was far too great!
Yun Mengli continued, "If we don't deal with this spatial rift, more invincible King Beasts will continue to come, and the beast tide will erupt again. I've discussed this with the other two major bases. All three of us will join forces to seal the spatial rift!"
"Is it possible to seal the spatial rift?"
A King-level warrior asked skeptically.
"Yes," Yun Mengli affirmed. "The super base has developed a top-tier array that can seal the void and suppress the spatial rift. However, it can only suppress three-star spatial rifts or below. It's powerless against anything above three stars. The spatial rift 60,000 miles away was explored and found to be only a three-star rift. It can bring in at most a few invincible King Beasts; otherwise, our three bases won't be able to withstand the beast tide."
"The super base actually developed an array that can suppress a three-star rift!"
Many King-level warriors were shocked beyond belief.
Ye Tian was somewhat bewildered and didn't speak, but he quickly learned about the classifications of spatial rifts from the conversations among other King-level warriors.
Ye Tian felt a bit perplexed as he listened but quickly gleaned information about the classification of spatial rifts from the conversations among other king-level experts.
It turned out that spatial rifts were categorized based on their size, the level of spatial pressure they exerted, and the tier of powerhouses that could pass through them. The spatial rift they had encountered last time was of zero-star level, merely connecting to some secret realm and certainly not to the world of ferocious beasts.
Above that were one-star, two-star, and three-star spatial rifts. As for four-star and higher, those were not even something that king-level experts could fathom; only super-bases could handle such rifts.
A hundred years ago, when spatial rifts first appeared, they were mostly of one-star level. Otherwise, humanity would have been wiped out long ago. Moreover, spatial rifts would gradually upgrade over time, even growing into two-star, three-star, and possibly four-star rifts. Most of the high-level spatial rifts had evolved slowly over time.
If the spatial rift 60,000 miles away were to gradually grow into a four-star rift, then a great number of invincible king beasts, and even beings above that level, would emerge. By that time, the Demon Sea base would be easily overrun and wiped off the Earth. Therefore, the spatial rift must be sealed!
"King Mengli, setting up a top-level array isn't easy, especially one that can suppress a three-star spatial rift. Even our top-level array master at Demon Sea base can't achieve that, right?" a king-level expert questioned.
"True," Yun Mengli acknowledged. "Even if we have the design and materials, our top array master at Demon Sea base won't be able to set it up. However, among the three major bases, we have four top-level array masters, fifty high-tier array masters, and hundreds of intermediate and thousands of junior array masters. Together, they can set up such a top-level array."
"So, all the array masters will work together, each contributing what they can? That indeed provides hope for successfully setting up a top-level array."
The king-level experts nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Yun Mengli spoke solemnly, "However, the ferocious beasts won't let us set up the array easily. They will surely attack us. Our task is to hold off the beasts so that the array masters can focus on their work."
"We will certainly drive the ferocious beasts back through the spatial rift, giving them no chance to disrupt the setting up of the array," the king-level experts concurred.
"Good," Yun Mengli nodded approvingly. "In three days, all the materials for setting up the top-level array will be gathered. We will immediately head to the spatial rift; any delay could lead to complications. If the beasts send three more invincible king beasts, we'll be in trouble. The invincible king beast this time wasn't that strong and was likely just a probe. The next one could be an extraordinarily formidable invincible king beast, something I can't handle."
When the subject of extraordinarily formidable invincible king beasts came up, a flicker of alarm passed through Yun Mengli's eyes, something that Ye Tian and several other king-level experts noticed.
Clearly, Yun Mengli had encountered such an invincible king beast before, likely at a super-base.
The meeting ended, and the king-level experts dispersed.
Ye Tian returned to his residence, planning to use the next few days for cultivation. As for his remaining opportunity to duplicate, there was no hurry; he would decide later.
In a flash, three days passed.
...
Asking for votes! Asking for stones!