Chapter 2824: The World No Longer Has One Man City

The Winds Rise in Kyushu

"Brother Ye," a soft voice called out. Lu Ye looked up to see several figures appear before him.

They were the Harmonizers from Yuanxi City.

Earlier, You Die and the others had remained hidden in the city, watching everything from afar. They had personally witnessed Lu Ye slay Ba Qiu, and their hearts were filled with immeasurable shock. Though they didn't know the reason, they could feel the deep sorrow in Lu Ye's heart, which was why they hadn't approached to disturb him until now.

"Senior Brother!" Su Yan and Zhu Yin exclaimed in unison.

Huan Qing remained silent, merely glancing at Fu Wei, whose eyes were red and swollen. She frowned, then stepped forward and gently patted his shoulder, seemingly wanting to offer some words of comfort but unsure how to begin. Fu Wei, whose emotions had just begun to improve, somehow burst into wails again, instinctively grabbing Huan Qing's calf like a drowning person clutching at a life raft. Huan Qing's body stiffened, and she nearly kicked him away. But remembering that Fu Wei had just lost a loved one and was overwhelmed with grief, she ultimately sighed, endured it, and gently caressed his shiny bald head with her slender, jade-like hand. Fu Wei cried even harder, his shoulders shaking violently.

Lu Ye's eye twitched at the sight.

"Wait here," he instructed, then turned and walked to the throne, gazing at the bright orb nestled in its left armrest.

That was a Cosmic-tier Harmonizer Orb, one of only ten in the Inner Realm, responsible for the renown of its Ten Great Harmonizer Cities. After the fall of Blood Drink City, only nine remained. Now that Ba Qiu was dead, this Cosmic-tier Harmonizer Orb naturally belonged to Lu Ye.

Lu Ye's expression was complex as he gazed at the dazzling orb.

Originally, after his Small World Secret Art reached its eighth stage of completion, he should have begun collecting more Harmonizer Orb fragments to elevate his Small World's Harmonizer Orb to the Cosmic tier. However, this was an extremely arduous task, as the leap from Stellar-tier to Cosmic-tier would undoubtedly be an unimaginably vast undertaking. Lu Ye estimated that relying solely on attacking other Harmonizer Cities to gather fragments would take him at least several years, and that was assuming he was lucky enough to conquer Stellar-tier cities. Furthermore, he wasn't sure if ordinary Harmonizer Orb fragments alone could elevate his own Harmonizer Orb to the Cosmic tier. In the Inner Realm, a Harmonizer Orb required a core fragment to advance to the Cosmic tier. This was also why, throughout history, there had always been only ten Cosmic-tier Harmonizer Cities in the Inner Realm: when the Harmonizer Orb, a supreme treasure, shattered, only ten core fragments were created!

Yuanxi had once aspired to build the most supreme Harmonizer City, surpassing the Ten, but she knew in her heart that it was just a dream. The utmost she could achieve was to develop Yuanxi City to the Stellar tier; even reaching the Cosmic tier was impossible, let alone surpassing the Ten Great Cities. That was why she had agreed to Ni Chilain's request back then, because under normal circumstances, elevating Yuanxi City to the Stellar tier would be its limit.

For Lu Ye, all his previous worries had now vanished. As long as he could refine all the fragments of the Harmonizer Orb before him, his own Small World's Harmonizer Orb would certainly be able to advance to the Cosmic tier.

After a few moments of silence, he punched out. The dazzling orb shattered, and countless fragments scattered. Lu Ye raised his hand and clenched his fist. Time seemed to stop, and the myriad fragments froze in mid-air. His gaze immediately fixed on a certain spot. There, among the fragments, was one that looked no different from the others, yet seemed to possess an unusual quality.

It was one of the Harmonizer Orb's core fragments!

Lu Ye reached out, and all the fragments swiftly converged on him, gathering before him. Yifu City trembled. Before Lu Ye could react, the dilapidated small city suddenly disintegrated, turning into scattered pieces that floated away in all directions. Only a few figures remained standing in mid-air.

Lu Ye sighed. With Ba Qiu's death, Yifu City, too, was destroyed as the Harmonizer Orb shattered. From this day forward, this vast Inner Realm would no longer witness the city's glory.

When Lu Ye returned to the others from Yuanxi City, carrying a large bundle, he saw the small hand that had been caressing Fu Wei's shiny head now pulling his ear, lifting him off the ground. Fu Wei's eyes were still red and swollen, and he grimaced.

Beside Huan Qing, Su Yan was looking astonished as she played with a crescent moon-shaped treasure, from which an inexplicable radiant light flowed.

"Moon Wheel?" Lu Ye murmured, looking at the object in Su Yan's hand. He was naturally familiar with this subordinate treasure, having seized it from the Starry Sky Spectacle years ago. He had later given it to Su Yun, who brought it back to Phoenix Nest and then passed it to Su Yan. This was one of the foundations of Su Yan's advancement to Harmonizer. However, seeing it again today, the Moon Wheel seemed to have undergone some changes.

Su Yan said, "Senior Brother, it seems to be rejoicing."

"Hmm?" Lu Ye paused. "Let me see."

As he spoke, he took the Moon Wheel from Su Yan's hand, and after a brief inspection, his expression grew complex. He handed the subordinate treasure back to Su Yan. "Nourish it well. Perhaps one day, it truly will recover its supreme treasure glory."

Su Yan nodded slightly. She had realized the potential for this subordinate treasure in her hand to recover its supreme treasure glory when she refined it, but there had been no sign of it for years—until now. The Moon Wheel had been shattered by Ba Qiu. Before its destruction, it must have sensed its fate. The subordinate treasure in Su Yan's hand was the last one it had nurtured, and it had left a part of its own origin within it. Thus, compared to other Moon Wheel subordinate treasures, the one in her hand was the only one capable of growth.

Within this Star Abyss, while the number of supreme treasures wasn't extremely small, it wasn't large either. But everyone knew that supreme treasures weren't something just anyone could subdue. Even powerful figures like the Ten City Lords typically possessed only one each; subduing each supreme treasure had consumed immense energy and a long period of time for them. Supreme treasures could be considered the most powerful artifacts cultivators could wield, and also the highest quality treasures in this universe.

Lu Ye sighed, "Back then, in that spectacle, before the Moon Wheel's great battle with Ba Qiu, it came to find me and entrusted me with a task."

Fu Wei couldn't help but turn his head, his swollen eyes full of curiosity. "What did it want Senior Brother to do?" He had been present during that scramble for the Moon Wheel subordinate treasures, and it was during that event that he met Lu Ye in the spectacle and found his own destiny.

"The Moon Wheel asked me to help it avenge itself one day..." Lu Ye exhaled softly. At the time, he had felt the Moon Wheel's request was somewhat far-fetched, as his strength wasn't significant then, and Ba Qiu was the Inner Realm's foremost expert. For it to ask him to exact revenge was simply an impossible feat. Even if, for argument's sake, Lu Ye did possess such strength, why would he engage in a life-and-death struggle with Ba Qiu without cause? At least, that's what he thought at the time...

Lu Ye hadn't agreed to the request that day, yet the Moon Wheel was certain he would do it. To his surprise, the Moon Wheel's words had truly become a prophecy; today's battle had confirmed its request from that day. It had hidden a wisp of its spiritual essence and much of its origin within the last nurtured subordinate treasure, remaining dormant until Ba Qiu's death and Yifu City's destruction, when it finally revived. Otherwise, a mere subordinate treasure couldn't possibly convey such joyous emotion. If supreme treasures were considered living beings, then subordinate treasures were essentially inanimate objects.

Lu Ye secretly marveled. The Moon Wheel must have possessed some ability to foresee the future; otherwise, it wouldn't have sought him out specifically to make such a request. However, even with the spiritual essence and origin it left in the last subordinate treasure, it wouldn't be easy for the Moon Wheel in Su Yan's hand to recover its supreme treasure glory. Ultimately, it was merely a sliver of possibility—likely the Moon Wheel's final act of defiance.

"Let's return to the city first," Lu Ye called out, then flew toward Yuanxi City, carrying the large bundle.

A short while later, in the main assembly hall, all the cultivators of the city gathered. Fan Wu and the others gazed at Lu Ye with reverence. They, too, had watched today's battle from afar. Their City Lord had forcefully slain the Inner Realm's foremost expert, so wouldn't Lu Ye now be the Inner Realm's number one? This filled them all with a sense of honor.

A quiet stillness settled in the hall. Only Lu Ye, seated at the head, tapped his fingers against the armrest of his chair, seemingly pondering something. After a long silence, Lu Ye finally spoke: "I intend to relinquish my position as City Lord."

Everyone, who had been expecting Lu Ye to say something else, was startled by his words. You Die looked utterly bewildered. "Brother Ye, why is that?" It hadn't been long since Lu Ye assumed the role of City Lord, and he had left soon after, only returning today. They hadn't expected his first act upon returning to be relinquishing his position as City Lord.

"Because this City Lord position offers me no benefit whatsoever!" Lu Ye slowly declared. "Due to certain reasons, I've been abandoned, even abhorred, by that will. Therefore, I currently cannot rely on any form of external power, including the Harmonizer Orb's amplification!" If he couldn't utilize the Harmonizer Orb's amplification, then being City Lord or not made no difference. With Lu Ye's current foundation, he didn't care for a mere few hundred points of power increase. Thus, after much thought, he concluded that he might as well not be the City Lord.

"But Senior Brother, if you don't serve as City Lord, who will succeed you?" Zhu Yin asked. "The City Lord of a Stellar-tier city isn't just anyone; without a sufficient foundation, one simply cannot withstand that level of amplification." Among the current Harmonizers in the city, while Zhu Yin and Su Yan were both Middle-tier Harmonizers, their foundations were still insufficient to bear such a heavy responsibility.

Lu Ye turned his gaze aside. Fu Wei's expression became slightly awkward. The moment Lu Ye mentioned relinquishing his position, Fu Wei knew what it meant. Under everyone's gaze, Fu Wei let out a dry chuckle.

Huan Qing suddenly spoke up. "I haven't had a chance to ask: what's going on with your strength?" Zhu Yin and Su Yan were equally curious. They had never seen Fu Wei truly cultivate, so everyone had assumed he had only recently become a Harmonizer. Yet, when he charged out of Yuanxi City to assist Lu Ye earlier, they suddenly realized that this seemingly idle and carefree fellow, who had been loafing around the city, had actually grown to an awe-inspiring degree.

Fu Wei could only briefly repeat what he had just told Lu Ye. You Die and the others listened with immense longing; the idea of continuously growing stronger without needing to cultivate truly made others envious.

"So, your current foundation is sufficient to take over as this city's Lord?" You Die asked.

"I suppose I could..." Fu Wei scratched his head. "But if I take over, it also won't have much meaning."