Chapter 114 – Have you pledged allegiance to the Boundless Giant?

In the tavern, Ye Sheng sat alone, savoring small dishes and drinking the expensive Fire Dragon Moxa. As he ate and drank, he observed the passersby on the street outside, enjoying this rare moment of tranquility.

“Is that Young Friend Ye?”

A hoarse voice suddenly called out, tinged with a hint of uncertainty.

Hearing the voice, Ye Sheng instinctively turned to look. When he saw the group of people not far away, he couldn’t help but pause in surprise.

This group was none other than the Elder ‘Duan Hongde,’ whom he had traveled with to the Sky-Suspended City, and his granddaughter, Duan Xiaojia.

Besides these two, ‘Xu Mentu,’ whom he had met in the Sky-Suspended City, and ‘Xu Xiao’an,’ who was pursuing Duan Xiaojia, were also present.

The four of them entered the tavern together. Duan Hongde happened to spot Ye Sheng but couldn’t quite believe he would see him here, which explained the uncertainty in his voice.

“It’s Elder Duan! What a coincidence!” Ye Sheng smiled, rising to his feet and cupping his hands in greeting. Duan Hongde had been extremely hospitable to him during their journey, though his later attempt to recruit Ye Sheng as a live-in son-in-law for the Duan family had left Ye Sheng both amused and embarrassed. He had hastily bid farewell and fled as if escaping.

Now, unexpectedly, they had met again here.

When Duan Xiaojia saw that it was indeed Ye Sheng, she seemed to recall the awkwardness of her grandfather’s attempt to recruit him as a son-in-law. Her delicate face flushed bright red, and she softly called out Ye Sheng’s name.

Duan Xiaojia had always held a favorable impression of Ye Sheng.

Upon seeing his rival in love, Xu Xiao’an’s face fell, and he showed no friendliness toward Ye Sheng.

Xu Mentu remained silent, his gaze flickering as he observed Ye Sheng.

Duan Hongde laughed heartily, walking over and excitedly grasping Ye Sheng’s hands. “It truly is a coincidence! I never expected to meet you again here!”

“What brings you here, Elder Duan?” Ye Sheng asked with a smile.

The Boundless Ghost Market was typically visited only by 3rd Revolution experts. Duan Hongde was merely an ordinary person, so it was surprising to see him in such a place.

Duan Hongde explained with a smile, “I’m a merchant. How could I miss such a great opportunity as the Secret Realm Ghost Seed?”

“True enough,” Ye Sheng nodded. Although Duan Hongde was an ordinary merchant, he managed a third-tier faction group with many experts under his command. It would be easy for him to arrange an escort to bring him here.

“Young Friend Ye, you must also be here for the Secret Realm Ghost Seed, right?” Duan Hongde asked with a smile, his eyes appraising Ye Sheng as he spoke.

After not seeing him for so many days, Duan Hongde felt that Ye Sheng seemed even more unfathomable.

Of course, this was merely a feeling.

Not only was Duan Hongde an ordinary person unable to sense Ye Sheng’s aura, but even a Cultivator would find it difficult to gauge Ye Sheng’s true depth.

“That’s right, I’m here for the Secret Realm Ghost Seed,” Ye Sheng nodded. There was no need to hide this, as nearly everyone who came to the Boundless Ghost Market now shared the same goal.

“With just you? You dare to compete for the opportunity of the Secret Realm Ghost Seed?” Xu Xiao’an interjected, unable to hide his resentment. Seeing his rival so capable filled him with deep unease.

As he spoke, his gaze occasionally drifted toward Duan Xiaojia beside him.

“I truly never imagined that Young Friend Ye would grow so quickly, to the point where he’s qualified to participate in matters like the Secret Realm Ghost Seed.”

Duan Hongde looked at Ye Sheng, his expression still filled with admiration.

“Please, have a seat!”

Ye Sheng gestured, inviting Duan Hongde and the others to sit down.

Duan Hongde sat down directly, and Duan Xiaojia followed, though his face was somewhat flushed.

Xu Xiaoan hadn’t originally intended to sit, but after glancing around, he noticed there were no extra seats left in the tavern.

Xu Mentu, who had been silent all along, suddenly smiled, patted Xu Xiaoan, and said, “Since Brother Ye has invited us, let’s sit.”

With that, he also sat down opposite Ye Sheng.

“Brother Ye, have you pledged allegiance to a Boundless Giant?”

After sitting down, Xu Mentu probed cautiously.

“No!” Ye Sheng shook his head.

Hearing this, Xu Xiaoan chuckled softly and muttered, “Why would a Boundless Giant take notice of him? Even my father isn’t qualified for that.”

His father, Xu Mentu, was an Expert at the Perfection realm with 300 times Combat Power, yet even such an Expert couldn’t catch the eye of a Boundless Giant.

It was simply because there were too many Experts under this Giant Level figure, and even 300 times Combat Power experts were commonplace among them.

Xu Mentu said, “So it’s a temporary allegiance? But which faction has Brother Ye joined?”

Lone cultivators weren’t qualified to pledge allegiance. Since Ye Sheng wasn’t under a Boundless Giant but had come here, he must have joined a faction closely aligned with a Boundless Giant.

“Huang Wenyue!”

Ye Sheng replied casually.

Duan Hongde’s eyes lit up. “Huang Wenyue?! He’s an Invincible Realm Expert! I never expected Brother Ye to pledge allegiance to him. Your future is boundless!”

Huang Wenyue indeed had a modest reputation among Invincible Realm Experts. After all, he was an expert capable of unleashing 700 times Combat Power, stronger than the average Invincible Realm Expert, and they were all familiar with him.

“Hmph!” Xu Mentu snorted coldly. He naturally knew of Huang Wenyue. He was just a minor figure with 300 times Combat Power, incomparable to a prominent figure like Huang Wenyue.

Xu Mentu sneered inwardly, thinking that even if this kid had pledged allegiance to Huang Wenyue, he was likely just a low-level underling, not worth mentioning.

Ye Sheng ordered more drinks and invited Duan Hongde to enjoy them together.

After that, Xu Mentu fell silent.

Only Duan Hongde conversed with Ye Sheng with great enthusiasm.

Seeing this, Xu Mentu’s gaze toward Ye Sheng grew even more obscure, though it was unclear what he was scheming.

Duan Xiaojia remained as before, unwilling to speak to Xu Xiaoan, his face flushed as he stared intently at Ye Sheng.

Boom!

The tavern was extremely lively, filled with constant noise. Amid their conversation, the entire tavern suddenly shook violently, causing everyone to fall silent involuntarily.

“What’s going on?”

A burly man at the next table, who had been playing a drinking game, stopped abruptly after the violent tremor and roared in displeasure.

“What happened?” Duan Hongde also looked startled and uncertain.

It wasn’t just the tavern that had shaken; the street outside had trembled as well.

Ye Sheng frowned, looking through the window toward the distant sky.

Xu Mentu’s eyes snapped open, also gazing toward the distant sky, and he said gravely, “Someone is fighting. The commotion from their clash has affected this entire area.”

Duan Hongde was shocked. “Who could be fighting? Such terrifying power?”

“It’s likely Invincible Realm Experts clashing, though I don’t know why.”

Xu Mentu looked toward the distant sky, faintly seeing several figures engaged in fierce combat.

Or, to be precise, several figures were ganging up on one person.

Every one of these figures was an Invincible Realm Expert.

In the tavern, the others were also stunned, crowding around the windows to look outside and see the distant scene.

“It’s Invincible Realm experts clashing!”

“No, it’s an Invincible Realm expert being jointly hunted down.”

“Who is this person? To be jointly hunted down?!”

The few burly men who were dissatisfied with the earlier commotion all quieted down upon hearing it was Invincible Realm experts in combat. They suppressed their discontent and gathered by the window to look outside.

“They’re fighting their way over here.”

“No, look carefully… it’s the one being surrounded who’s fleeing in this direction.”