Chapter 2650: Constant Improvement

"Congratulations, My Lady, you've finally achieved your wish!" Beside Ni Chilien, Changming cupped his fists in congratulations, though his expression showed a hint of suspicion. Unlike Ni Chilien, he didn't know much about Yuanxi City.

When he had previously conspired with Jing Lei, he had specifically inquired about information regarding Yuanxi City. He knew that his lady's Unity City had only recently been promoted to the Grand-tier.

Given that, how could it have advanced to the Cosmic-tier so quickly?

He truly couldn't understand it.

He then remarked, "My Lady can act freely now."

Previously, Ni Chilien hadn't intervened to help, waiting for Yuanxi City to fall, hoping to break Yuanxi's resolve so she could bring Yuanxi back to Chilien City.

Now that Yuanxi City had advanced to the Cosmic-tier and their agreement was fulfilled, Ni Chilien no longer had any reservations.

Yet, he didn't know that his lady still had no intention of acting.

Ni Chilien shook her head and said, "She's not in danger for now. Let's wait and see."

If possible, she actually preferred not to reveal herself, as it might provoke Yuanxi's resentment, who might feel that she had been hidden in the shadows, coldly observing.

She didn't want Yuanxi to have even a hint of ill feeling towards her.

At this moment, Yuanxi's strength increased further, and Lu Ye felt it most distinctly. As the city advanced to the Cosmic-tier, his own Dao power consumption suddenly increased significantly, which was undoubtedly the clearest manifestation of Yuanxi's growing power.

This, in turn, made her eliminate enemies even faster.

If Yuanxi was previously just a fierce wolf, now she was a mighty tiger.

Another figure charged out from the city – it was Lotus, the master of the Golden Stamen Tower. Under the authority of the First Deputy City Lord, she also received a boost from the Unity Orb. Dao power surged around her, and wherever she went, the Star Abyss aura boiled. Lightning rolled from the Thunderwood in her hand, transforming into streaks of thunder dragons that enveloped the entire Yuanxi City.

As soon as she appeared, she took over from Yuanxi, protecting the city!

The First Deputy City Lord didn't receive the full amplification of the Unity Orb; it came with a discount. And because the city had only recently advanced, her strength had not increased by much at present, only about thirty percent.

This amplification was roughly equivalent to what an Earth-tier City Lord would enjoy.

Therefore, her primary focus was not on killing enemies, but on fully protecting the city. Under the swirling thunder dragons, anyone who dared to approach became paralyzed and slowed, as the lightning, like a pool of thunder, evaporated the thick blood mist.

However, with her power alone, she still couldn't provide complete protection. Numerous attacks continuously rained down on the city's defenses, causing the great array, which had just stabilized slightly, to weaken once more.

This was why Xue Jiu, even after determining that Yuanxi City had advanced to the Cosmic-tier, still felt there was an opportunity to exploit.

However, soon, the Blood Drinker City Lord, hidden in the shadows, felt something was wrong.

"My Lady, isn't Master Lotus's strength continuously increasing?" Changming also faintly perceived some mystery, because even with the blood sea obscuring their view, the intermittent flashes of lightning grew brighter and brighter, and Lotus's aura was constantly rising. This undoubtedly indicated that her strength was continuously growing.

This scene was truly bizarre.

"You're not mistaken! Her strength is indeed continuously increasing."

"How can this be?" Changming was truly perplexed.

Ni Chilien's gaze, however, turned towards Yuanxi City, and she said softly, "Because the foundation of Yuanxi's Unity Orb in that city is rapidly increasing!"

Her own strength was much greater than Changming's, and she possessed ocular techniques, allowing her to see things more clearly.

When Lotus first charged out from the city, her power was only equivalent to that of an Earth-tier City Lord. Yet, now she was equivalent to a Heaven-tier City Lord, and that wasn't all; she was still rapidly improving, visibly approaching the level of a Grand-tier City Lord.

This was clearly not her own ability, but an effect brought about by the changes in Yuanxi City's Unity Orb.

Almost simultaneously with Ni Chilien's words, Yuanxi City's defensive great array suddenly erupted with a burst of light, then instantly became much more solid.

"The Second Deputy City Lord has gained the amplification power of the Unity Orb!" Ni Chilien raised an eyebrow, having already made her judgment. Moreover, Yuanxi City's Second Deputy City Lord was also the one in charge of the defensive great array.

Xue Jiu had no chance left!

If Xue Jiu had some chance when Yuanxi City had just advanced to the Cosmic-tier, that opportunity had now vanished into thin air.

With the Second Deputy City Lord, who was in charge of the defensive great array, gaining the amplification power of the Unity Orb, it meant that Yuanxi City's defensive capabilities had greatly increased, making it even harder to breach.

Currently, Yuanxi was primarily attacking, while Lotus was primarily defending. Although the enemies' Unity numbers were large, they were ultimately just lambs to the slaughter. Just moments ago, Lotus needed several moves to eliminate an enemy; now, like Yuanxi, she could destroy a Unity in a single strike.

The Thunderwood in her hand had already transformed into a streak of lightning, held in her palm, making her appear as if a thunder god had descended.

"How could My Lady have so many Unity Orb fragments?" Changming scratched his head, feeling utterly bewildered.

He himself had once been a Cosmic-tier City Lord, so he naturally knew how difficult it was to improve the foundation of a Unity Orb. For a newly advanced Unity City to allow its Second Deputy City Lord to receive amplification, an immense amount of accumulation was required.

Therefore, he couldn't understand where Yuanxi got so many Unity Orb fragments. In such a short time, the changes in Yuanxi City could be said to have surpassed thousands, even tens of thousands, of years of accumulation for a typical Unity Orb.

"However, this Second Deputy City Lord doesn't seem to be very strong..." Ni Chilien shook her head slightly. If the other party were strong enough, Yuanxi City's current defenses wouldn't be just at this level; they would be even more stable.

Her discerning eye immediately spotted the problem.

Inside the Central Great Hall, You Die's expression was strained as she fully exerted herself to maintain the great array's operation. Her foundation was, after all, too shallow, so even with the Second Deputy City Lord's enhancement, she found it difficult to unleash the full extent of this power.

In fact, this enhancement had become a burden for her, and as the city's Unity Orb foundation continuously strengthened, this burden would grow heavier.

Fortunately, she had just obtained a soul core. This soul core, from the mother bug of the Li Cricket insect nest, had been absorbed into her soul sea and was now acting as a support, helping her endure the pressure.

She secretly resolved that once today's events concluded, she must quickly refine this soul core, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to keep up with Yuanxi City's development pace.

In truth, had Yuanxi City not been understaffed, her foundational strength would have been insufficient to manage the defensive great array. One only needed to look at other Unity Cities to know that those qualified to manage defensive great arrays were typically the strongest or second-strongest individuals below the City Lord, because defense was crucial during a siege.

Yuanxi City had no choice in this matter. Below Yuanxi, there were only three Unity cultivators: Lotus was a crucial combat force and couldn't be left to guard the city, and Huan Qing had been recovering from injuries. Therefore, only You Die could undertake this vital task, and her unique background as a mother bug made her the best candidate to remain and oversee the defenses.

Furthermore, Yuanxi City had never been known for its strong defenses. It could be said that this was absolutely the most perilous siege the city had ever faced.

"Someone else has charged out!" Changming suddenly exclaimed.

In his vision, a faint streak of light was seen darting out from Yuanxi City.

Ni Chilien understood immediately. "The Third Deputy City Lord!"

Within this short period, Yuanxi's Unity City was already able to support the Third Deputy City Lord in receiving the Unity Orb's amplification power. By this moment, Lotus, who had charged out first, was demonstrating strength fifty to sixty percent greater than her normal state, and it showed no signs of stopping.

This situation, not only did Changming fail to understand it, even Ni Chilien was somewhat perplexed.

She had never known that Yuanxi had stockpiled so many Unity Orb fragments within the city. The key question was... where did she get them?

"How can this be!" In the blood sea, Xue Jiu's clone was almost driven mad.

This small Yuanxi City had brought him too many surprises today. It was one thing for it to take that crucial step and advance to the Cosmic-tier, but to have grown to such an extent in such a short period was astounding.

At present, his side still had superior numbers, but it was utterly useless.

Not only was Yuanxi unstoppable, but Lotus was also now beyond what those Unity cultivators could contend with. Even the Third Deputy City Lord, who charged out last, was wreaking havoc.

Moreover, Yuanxi City's defenses had begun to stabilize.

With this ebb and flow, Xue Jiu's clone saw no hope of winning this battle.

During the previous 'Game of Chess' contest, Xue Jiu's soul fragment had arrived relatively late, so he hadn't witnessed Lu Ye shattering Black Blood City's Unity Orb. Even if he had, he might not have understood, because under normal circumstances, the shattering of Black Blood City's Unity Orb could at most create a Grand-tier city.

However, with Lu Ye's power, Black Blood City's Unity Orb had been fully integrated into Yuanxi City.

In other words, Yuanxi City could now have as many Deputy City Lords as Black Blood City had before, because City Lord Yuan's Unity Orb foundation was even stronger than Black Blood City's had been!

Xue Jiu's clone was filled with regret. Had he known this earlier, he would have done anything to deploy several more Unity Cities and more Unity cultivators. If there had been a few City Lord-level powerhouses in this battle, the outcome would have been vastly different.

But regret was useless. The wormhole he had opened, after allowing five of the most powerful experts to pass through, could no longer accommodate more Unity cultivators.

In his opinion, a lineup of over a hundred Unity cultivators, personally led by his clone, should have been enough to conquer Yuanxi City.

"Kid, try to escape if you can. I'll find you soon enough." From within the blood sea, Xue Jiu's clone's voice drifted out.

The next moment, numerous surviving Unity cultivators of the Insect and Blood races rapidly retreated, clearly having received Xue Jiu's command.

Although he didn't care about the lives of his subordinate Unity cultivators, their deaths still had to be valuable. Just as before, he was prepared to sacrifice lives; as long as he could capture Lu Ye's physical body, he wouldn't mind if all those Unity cultivators perished.

But circumstances were different now. Since there was no hope left in this battle, it was no longer cost-effective to send those Unity cultivators to their deaths. Naturally, as many as could escape, should.

Yuanxi gritted her teeth and pursued, eliminating several more Unity cultivators before finally stopping.

Lu Ye was somewhat confused. His lady seemed quite angry at the moment, so he spoke to comfort her, "This battle was a great victory, My Lady. There's no need to be angry with such trash."

Yuanxi's expression then softened slightly, and she sighed faintly, saying, "You're right."