As a soldier, this was unthinkable; they should only see codes, not individuals.

Therefore, her name was Mingyue, the Mingyue whose name evoked "moonlight in front of my bed."

The Mingyue who had once followed Li Chengyuan, and who had also had some dealings with Wang Zhan.

However, she couldn't understand it at all.

How could the youth who had once come from Chu State reach this point in just two to three short months?

Mingyue even remembered Wang Zhan's gaze when she had rushed to the Eastern Battlefield of the Oceania Wilderness, trying to help him escape from the strange atmosphere.

It had been somewhat silent, somewhat tired, somewhat sorrowful.

He had still been immature, but his heart was kind.

Although his gaze had been complicated, he had ultimately treated the old soldiers kindly.

Even a warrior who had wanted to take his life was pacified by him with just a cup of tea.

No one would have thought that this young man, full of kindness and a sense of belonging towards the Federation, would now audaciously dare to come before her, rebuke her, and give her the harshest warning.

He stated that all those forces were his.

Even though those forces had initially been delivered into Wang Zhan's hands by Li Chengyuan in Wang Zhan's name.

Everyone knew Li Chengyuan's true intention was merely to turn Wang Zhan into a puppet with an undeserved reputation.

Unexpectedly, when this recently adult young man gained his own power, his actions were even more decisive than Li Chengyuan's.

He no longer wanted to negotiate with the woman named Mingyue or the Li Chengyuan behind her; instead, he intended to forcefully claim all the "food on the table" for his own plate.

In other words, whether she agreed or not, she had to agree.

Because, since he could see through Mingyue's disguise.

That meant Li Chengyuan and Mingyue's schemes against him, and possibly even the larger plot behind them, had all been seen through by Wang Zhan.

The little boy from before had undoubtedly grown up.

So, for Mingyue, the moon tonight evoked an unprecedented sense of melancholy.

「Another day passed.」

This was also the third day since Wang Zhan had entered the Ming State Underground City, and the third day that the Ming State Underground City had completely vanished from the Federation's discourse.

All the expected guests were steadily drawing closer to Ming State City.

Then, they formed convoys, arriving quietly from several different directions.

Among them, Ouyang Yue, departing from Quan State, was naturally in the first group to arrive.

Her contingent was also the most powerful force among all the groups.

After all, they had five Martial Kings!

Never mind the Ming State Underground City; even in the entire Federation, they could go wherever they pleased, with no one capable of stopping them.

Therefore, they were naturally at a position of advantage and the first to truly arrive.

Therefore, outside Ming State City, Ouyang Yue, consumed by thoughts of revenge, was the first to alight from her vehicle, muttering under her breath as she looked at the withered and desolate city before her.

"Wang Zhan... Wang Zhan... Hmph, I never thought you were this kind of Wang Zhan! Good heavens, just a junior, and you dare come and take my bed! Just you wait! When I find you, I'll definitely teach you a lesson!"

Obviously, during the half-day journey in the vehicle, Ouyang Yue had carefully investigated and confirmed it.

Wang Zhan was indeed Wang Zhan, a youth from the slums of Chu State.

But he was clearly different from everyone else who came from the slums, seemingly possessing a natural aura of dominance.

This was evident not only from his glorious history at the Chu State Martial Arts Academy but also from his performance in the Federal Martial Arts Competition.

Because of him, even now, the true title of champion for Wang Zhan's year in the Federal Martial Arts Competition had yet to be officially announced.

This was especially true for those who were considered quite talented themselves.

They had originally been dead set on the championship, but after Wang Zhan appeared, even if the title were offered to them, they wouldn't dare accept it.

It would be an illegitimate title, and their claim unjustified.

Of course, Ouyang Yue had also inquired about it.

Although the title of champion had not been officially awarded, the first-place rewards had still gone to the Chu State Martial Arts Academy.

This made Ouyang Yue deeply suspicious.

Was that domineering and crafty Wang Zhan really a youth who would repay injury with kindness?

Or perhaps Wang Zhan's ambition hadn't been so apparent when he lacked sufficient strength.

But once Wang Zhan possessed enough strength, Ouyang Yue—whose soft bed he had forcibly occupied, forcing her to squeeze in with her own younger brother—could truly appreciate just how shameless his attitude and behavior were. He was an absolute psychopath, a complete maniac!

After all, that was her bed!

Why should she give it up just because he said so? Could it really be just because of that one teasing remark he made?

If she could actually beat him, she would have thrashed that little brat Wang Zhan until he cried for his mommy!

So, back then, she had vowed to make Wang Zhan pay.

Now, it was time to fulfill that promise.

A gentleman's revenge can wait ten years; a woman's revenge can't wait even one night.

However, in contrast to Ouyang Yue's triumphant and jubilant mood, her five senior martial brothers' and sisters' hearts grew increasingly heavy after learning about some recent developments in the Southwest region.

"I heard the area below has been sealed off for three days, and the Ming State Underground City itself has four Martial Kings..."

"Looking at it this way, that kid is no simple character! For an exchange student to achieve this, he'd have to be at least a core member of one of the Federation's 'Big Four'; only then could he possibly possess such strength..."

"Indeed. And since the Ming State Underground City itself has four Martial Kings, yet that boy has managed to stall things until today without any information leaking out, it just proves how dangerous this young fellow Wang Zhan is..."

Given this, it was fortunate they hadn't tried to break up the pair of lovebirds. Otherwise, they wouldn't just have their Little Junior Sister angry with them; they'd also have to deal with a mysterious youth from the Federation's Chu State!

However, not everyone held such a pessimistic view.

At least, the unremarkable man with an honest-looking face chuckled lightly.

"How do you all know that the one still in the Underground City is definitely Wang Zhan and those five Martial Kings?"

Everyone's expressions froze for a moment, then they exclaimed in sudden understanding.

"Exactly! If it's not that kid, but some other powerful faction involved, that would make much more sense!"

"Correct! We've been overestimating Wang Zhan's strength. In my opinion, even if the kid is a demon of talent, it's debatable whether he's even reached the Martial General realm yet. He couldn't possibly be this audacious. It seems we've misjudged the situation."

"Heh, regardless of who's down there, won't we find out if we just go in and take a look?"

Instantly, all eyes turned simultaneously towards their Little Junior Sister, Ouyang Yue!

They hadn't forgotten that this young woman was the one whose words carried the most weight among them.

"Little Junior Sister, shall we go in now?"

Ouyang Yue, as the leader, waved her hand grandly and declared, "Of course! I'm going in right now to tell that Wang Zhan he can offend anyone else, but not me! Let's go in! QUACK, QUACK, QUACK..."

Everyone was momentarily stunned. They couldn't help but want to cover their faces, looking at each other in dismay at their Little Junior Sister's antics.

Sigh, what a misfortune for our sect! She's even started making duck calls!

"I think she's a lost cause. We should marry her off quickly as soon as we get out of here! If our mentor finds out his favorite Little Junior Sister has learned to quack like a duck, what will become of us?"

"What else can we do but brace for it? If our mentor doesn't tear us apart like a duck carcass and eat us, we should consider ourselves lucky he's showing us some face..."

At this thought, all the Martial Kings could only shake their heads and smile bitterly.

What did it matter if they were Martial Kings? If they were fated to be useless, they were useless; if they had to be cowards, they were cowards.

"Let's go in! Let's see what kind of ability that kid has to make Little Junior Sister so infatuated..."

"Actually, whether he passes our 'test' or not doesn't really matter. In the end, we can't decide Little Junior Sister's marriage..."

"Junior Brother, don't you realize that sometimes, when you say such things out loud, you make all of us lose face?"

"Uh..."

After this exchange, the youngest among them, the Junior Brother who had just spoken, quickly scurried to the front with an obsequious expression.

He then eagerly volunteered to his senior martial brothers and sisters, "Let me! I'll go first! My body is tougher. If anything happens, I'll be the first to take the hit. I guarantee I won't die..."

However, merely a short while later, before Ouyang Yue and her group had even truly entered the Underground City, another unexpected group suddenly materialized outside Ming State City.

They looked like trouble, their killing intent palpable; they clearly came with ill intentions.

Furthermore, if anyone could have gotten close enough, they would have discovered that, although this group consisted of only five or six individuals, each wore a grey robe and a mask.

And it was an identical, featureless mask on each face, as they gazed fixedly into the distance.

Even though this place had become a Pandora's Box, or perhaps Schrödinger's Cat, and no one knew who would emerge as the next master of this city, their steps remained calm—so calm it was as if they were returning to their own home.

Then, one of them spoke: "Reconfirm the intelligence. Before the Lu Family from Jing State arrives, tail them. Objective: The Ming State Underground City, a Jing State concern."

"Yes, sir!"

Undoubtedly, the Lu Family, still searching for clues and focusing their investigation on this area, would never imagine that from the very moment they left Jing State, their every move had been observed by others.

"Report! We can proceed..."

The leading masked man immediately ordered, "Advance!"

"Understood!"

Soundlessly, the group quietly trailed behind Ouyang Yue's party.

Even though Ouyang Yue was accompanied by five Martial Kings, not a single one of them detected their presence.

「Soon after.」

Yet another group quietly arrived.

But what was strange was that, although this appeared to be another faction, it actually consisted of only a single, tall figure clad in a large black robe, with every inch of their skin concealed within it.

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