"Everyone, whether he is Young Master Ye or not, we can't handle this matter anymore. We must immediately send a message to the headquarters and report this, letting the core leadership come and deal with it personally," an Intermediate Void God transmitted his voice to the other Deities.
At this moment, a large group of Alliance Army Deities had gathered in this world. Immediately, the Deities specifically responsible for intelligence collection and transmission began using the Alliance Army's special channels to quickly report to the headquarters.
All the other Deities stood cautiously at a distance, not daring to approach Ye Yunfei, and not even daring to look him directly in the eye.
Ye Yunfei slapping away five Intermediate Void Gods with a single palm had completely intimidated all the Deities present.
Moreover, quite a few quick-witted and exceptionally intelligent Deities had faintly guessed that this terrifying young man before them might very well be Ye Yunfei. While they couldn't be certain, they didn't dare make any more moves.
Facing Ye Yunfei, dozens of Deities dared not take any action—ultimately because they were starting to suspect Ye Yunfei's identity.
And so, this world fell into an uneasy atmosphere.
Ye Yunfei stood with his hands clasped behind his back, not moving a muscle. Far away, none of the Alliance Army Deities dared speak aloud; they were all quietly using voice transmissions to discuss.
After who knows how long, suddenly a large group of people hurriedly entered this world.
Kong Lao, Xiao Ziming, Ouyang Tao...
Many of the Alliance Army's core leadership had arrived.
The Deities who had been waiting in this world for a long time, seeing this incoming group, all brightened their eyes and rushed forward to greet them.
"Elder Kong, Elder Xiao, Elder Ouyang! You arriving is truly wonderful!"
Many Deities secretly breathed a sigh of relief. These core leaders of the Alliance Army held high positions and wielded great authority, able to mobilize the entire Alliance Army at will. Moreover, they could summon forces from other major powers like the Restorationists, the Fire Clan, the Flowery Divine Palace, and the Small Measures Pavilion. It could be said that within this void, apart from Ye Yunfei himself, these core leaders of the Alliance Army were the people with the greatest power.
"What exactly is going on here? Why is such a grand formation gathered?"
Kong Lao looked at the large group of Alliance Army Deities in this world and couldn't help but frown and ask.
"Elder Kong, this is what happened..."
Immediately, an Intermediate Void God stepped forward proactively and recounted everything that had happened in this world.
"Is it that young man you are talking about?"
At this moment, Kong Lao, Xiao Ziming, Ouyang Tao, and several other core leaders all noticed Ye Yunfei, who stood alone in the distance, hands clasped behind his back, his eyes closed in quiet contemplation.
"Yes, it's that young man. His strength is immense. Just a moment ago, with a single move, he defeated five of our Alliance Army's Intermediate Void Gods," one of the Deities spoke.
"A single move defeating five Intermediate Void Gods! Are there such formidable young men in our void? Unless..." Kong Lao revealed an expression of confusion, but as he spoke up to this point, he suddenly started in surprise.
"Unless it is Young Master Ye who would possess such terrifying prowess! Let's go. We'll go and take a look first."
Kong Lao immediately took the lead and rushed towards Ye Yunfei. Xiao Ziming, Ouyang Tao, and the other core leaders followed simultaneously, and the other Alliance Army Deities also trailed behind them.
Kong Lao cautiously came before Ye Yunfei, with Xiao Ziming and Ouyang Tao flanking him on either side. The three core leaders all carefully tried to sense Ye Yunfei's aura.
"I think this should indeed be Young Master Ye," Xiao Ziming transmitted his voice to Kong Lao and Ouyang Tao.
Ye Yunfei did not say a word. With a thought, numerous scenes began to materialize one after another in the space beside him. These were exactly the scenes from before, showing how Wu Shao had coerced those forces in that world into paying cultivation resources.
Watching the succession of scenes appearing beside Ye Yunfei, Kong Lao at first was still puzzled.
"How dare they! How dare someone commit such acts under the banner of our Alliance Army! Fine! This is simply an insult to the reputation of our Alliance Army!"
Seeing more, Kong Lao, Xiao Ziming, Ouyang Tao, and the other core leaders were one after another greatly enraged. Many other Deities also began to denounce the actions.
Only the first and second groups of Deities who had arrived dared not speak up, each falling as silent as cicadas in winter. Especially the first dozen or so Deities who had come to this world earlier, their faces pale, continuously retreating and hiding behind the crowd, not daring to show their faces—because they had already seen these scenes before. At that time, they had expressed no criticism or condemnation of the Wu Family; instead, they had helped them.
"It's over... our Wu Family is finished..."
Seeing this, the Wu Family's higher-ups all trembled from head to toe, knowing that things were looking grim.
The Wu Family's four Deities, who had been injured earlier by Ye Yunfei, had already been sent by Wu Family members into their ancestral land to recover.
Apart from those four Deities, the other Wu Family higher-ups had been watching events unfold from the side. Now, seeing the reactions of the Alliance Army core leaders, they knew in their hearts that trouble was brewing for the Wu Family.
"Young Master Ye, please rest assured. I will definitely handle this matter," said Kong Lao respectfully, stepping forward after watching the scenes beside Ye Yunfei. In his heart, he was already certain that this unfamiliar young man was Ye Yunfei.
"Indeed, Young Master Ye, we definitely will not tolerate such parasitic elements within the Alliance Army," Xiao Ziming immediately added.
"Young Master Ye! He really is Young Master Ye!"
The other Alliance Army Deities surrounding them felt great shock hearing Kong Lao and Xiao Ziming's words. Although many Deities had earlier guessed Ye Yunfei's identity, now that it was confirmed, they still felt immense astonishment.
"It's time for the Alliance Army to be properly rectified. This Wu Family is unqualified to remain within the Alliance Army. Furthermore, investigate whether, besides this Wu Family, there are others engaging in similar activities. Once uncovered, they shall be shown no mercy," Ye Yunfei gave a slight nod.
The next moment, Ye Yunfei resumed his original appearance and Soul Body aura.
"He really is Young Master Ye!"
At that moment, no one held any further doubts.
"We pay our respects to Young Master Ye!"
All members of the Alliance Army simultaneously bowed to Ye Yunfei, their voices ringing out in unison.
"It's over, it's over... I actually attacked Young Master Ye..."
Those Deities who had previously acted against Ye Yunfei felt as if they had fallen into an icy cavern, a chill permeating their entire bodies, unable to control their trembling.
"It's over, completely over... our Wu Family is finished. He is actually Young Master Ye! What foolish acts have we, the Wu Family, committed? To have provoked Young Master Ye, and even to have attacked him!"
All the Wu Family higher-ups turned ashen-faced with despair.
Within the Alliance Army, Ye Yunfei was the absolute core, the absolute spiritual pillar. Upon learning Ye Yunfei's identity, the Wu Family members even dared harbor not the slightest trace of resentment in their hearts; they felt only endless regret.
"After handling matters here, conduct a thorough inspection of the Alliance Army from top to bottom. It doesn't matter if the Alliance Army's numbers are fewer, but parasites like this must not be allowed to remain," Ye Yunfei stated calmly. After finishing his words, he took a step forward, and his figure vanished.
Ye Yunfei had originally come specifically to this Wu Family Headquarters after inadvertently witnessing Wu Shao exploiting the Alliance Army's banner to bully others and seize cultivation resources, prompting him to intervene. Now that the Alliance Army's core leaders had arrived, Ye Yunfei believed they could handle it properly and did not intend to waste any more time here.
"Let us act separately. In accordance with Young Master Ye's command, we shall conduct a thorough investigation of the Alliance Army from top to bottom," said Kong Lao to the several Alliance Army core leaders after Ye Yunfei departed.
Subsequently, these core leaders began dividing tasks and acting separately.
Kong Lao personally remained in this world to deal with the Wu Family matter.
He conducted an exhaustive inspection of everyone in the Wu Family, discovering that almost one-third of their members had engaged in similar activities as Wu Shao. Kong Lao did not spare a single one of these individuals; he dealt with them all.
Then, Kong Lao announced the expulsion of the Wu Family from the Alliance Army. If it weren't for consideration of the Wu Family having once participated in battles against the Guardian Faction, contributing some merit, Kong Lao would have already exterminated this Wu Family long ago.
From then on, the Wu Family was severely weakened, their strength greatly diminished, becoming an unranked minor clan.
And Wu Shao became the disgrace of the entire Wu Family.
Not long after, news of what transpired at the Wu Family Headquarters began to spread rapidly throughout the void, immediately causing a sensation.
"Young Master Ye acted so well! How deeply satisfying! Having Young Master Ye rule over our void is a blessing for all of us here!"
"From now on, our void will enter a golden age of peaceful development."
"Young Master Ye established the Alliance Army and defeated the Guardian Faction, becoming the foremost figure of our void. Despite his high position, he is able to treat other powers equally, forbidding members of the Alliance Army from abusing their power. Such a heroic and chivalrous person is truly rare in the world!"
Discussions about the events at the Wu Family Headquarters raged everywhere. Almost everyone praised and remembered Ye Yunfei's merits. For a time, Ye Yunfei's prestige within this void reached a new peak.
At the same time, the core leaders of the Alliance Army performed the thorough, top-to-bottom inspection of the Alliance Army. The results revealed that quite a few individuals, like that Wu Shao, had exploited the Alliance Army's banner to seek personal gain, damaging the Alliance Army's reputation.
The core leaders of the Alliance Army showed no leniency towards these individuals, dealing with them all.
"Young Master Ye, we have conducted a comprehensive, large-scale inspection of the entire Alliance Army. All problematic forces and individuals uncovered have been dealt with."
Three months later, within the Three Thousand Worlds, Kong Lao led a group of the Alliance Army's higher-ups to the location where Ye Yunfei was in seclusion to report to him.
After leaving the Wu Family, Ye Yunfei had returned directly to the Three Thousand Worlds, then found a place to enter closed-door cultivation.
"Good. If similar incidents occur in the future, they must be met with strict punishment, absolutely no leniency. This void cannot withstand further disturbance; it needs to recuperate and develop peacefully," Ye Yunfei nodded in agreement and replied.
"Young Master Ye, please rest assured. We know how to proceed," Kong Lao and the other Alliance Army leaders hurriedly answered in unison.
In the time that followed, Ye Yunfei remained in closed-door cultivation.
After the Wu Family incident, members of the Alliance Army, from top to bottom, exercised great caution and acted with much lower profiles when traveling abroad. Of course, the Alliance Army remained the most powerful superpower within this void, and they established branch bases in nearly every world group.
Although Alliance Army members became more subdued, their prestige and strength advanced even further, receiving the respect and veneration of all forces across every world group in this void.
Within the Hallucination Tower, two years of closed-door cultivation passed for Ye Yunfei without notice.
Over these two years, Ye Yunfei's two Soul Bodies and over thirty Soul Power planets had continuously practiced and comprehended various techniques and martial skills, causing his actual combat power to increase substantially once more.
"It's time to raise my own realm," Ye Yunfei said slowly after two years of seclusion.
"Oh? Are you planning to use a Divine King Fruit?" Hun Lao immediately understood Ye Yunfei's meaning.
Ye Yunfei had previously obtained over a dozen Divine King Fruits within the True Phoenix Tomb. He had only used a portion then, still retaining more than half.
"Yes, I plan to consume a Divine King Fruit. But I previously refined one before. I'm not sure if the Divine King Fruit will still be effective for me now?" Ye Yunfei was a bit concerned.
"You were only at the Demigod realm back then. Consuming the Divine King Fruit only enhanced your physical strength and constitution, without any influence on your realm. So I believe consuming a Divine King Fruit now should still be effective," Hun Lao said.
"I hope so."
Ye Yunfei waved a hand, and a black-and-white patterned fruit appeared before him—this was precisely the Divine King Fruit he had obtained earlier within the True Phoenix Tomb.
Divine King Fruits were extremely precious treasures for Void Gods. Consuming and refining one could immediately raise a small cultivation level. Furthermore, they would not cause lingering aftereffects on one's realm; instead, they would make one's foundation even more solid.
"I think you should save it until you reach the Intermediate or Advanced Void God stage before refining it. Its effect might be greater then," the Golden-Horned Dragon Silkworm said.
"No. My current combat power is already comparable to that of a Perfected Void God. For me, the three stages of Intermediate, Advanced, and Perfected Void God don't make much difference. Unless I could break through from Perfected Void God to a higher major realm and become a True God, that would bring a qualitative leap in my strength.
However, Divine King Fruits likely don't possess the effect of allowing breakthroughs from Void God to True God. Therefore, within the Void God realm, when I consume the Divine King Fruit makes little difference to me.
Besides, I might soon leave this void to explore others outside. So for now, I'll raise my realm, boosting my strength as much as possible to increase my confidence a bit," Ye Yunfei reasoned.
After speaking, Ye Yunfei hesitated no longer and began consuming and refining the Divine King Fruit.
Within the Hallucination Tower, ten days later, Ye Yunfei had completely refined a Divine King Fruit, and then encountered the Lightning Tribulation.
Ye Yunfei emerged from the Hallucination Tower. Dark clouds had already gathered in the sky above, lightning flickering brightly. After undergoing the tribulation, Ye Yunfei officially broke through to become an Intermediate Void God.
"I can now effortlessly fight against Perfected Void Gods without needing to rely on True God-level Dao Armaments," Ye Yunfei slowly said after his breakthrough, sensing the energy intensity within his body.
Ye Yunfei was confident that if he were to encounter the four Perfected Void Gods from before now, he could defeat them relying solely on his true combat prowess.
That meant, within the major Void God realm, Ye Yunfei now belonged among the peak-level experts. Ordinary Perfected Void Gods were simply not worth his consideration.
"If I add a True God-level Dao Armament to the mix, slaughtering Perfected Void Gods now would be as easy as killing chickens and butchering dogs," Ye Yunfei declared confidently.