Should she stick to her current achievements and secure second place, or should she continue to strive for first place? For Haitang, this was undoubtedly a difficult choice. She also knew that her choice would affect the development of her domain for the next fifty years.
But no matter how difficult it was, she still had to make a decision.
After a short while, she said, "Let's go grab the fourth spirit ball!"
They already had three balls, and only six had appeared in the Black Abyss. In other words, they still had three chances!
If they were lucky, they might be able to grab one.
Most importantly, the eastern region had never had such a good chance in so many years. If they missed this chance, who knew when they would be able to fight for first place again.
Haitang was a woman, but she still had the heart to do her best for her domain.
Hearing this, everyone in the eastern region agreed. They were clearly inclined to work harder, and their thoughts were similar to Haitang's. Of course, it was also because Lu Ye had shown enough strength just now.
To be able to kill a mid Constellation Realm expert in one strike, even if the opponent had underestimated him, this also meant that Lu Ye's strength was roughly comparable to a late Constellation Realm expert. At the late Constellation Realm, the difference between them and the other two regions was barely even. So even if their overall strength was still inferior to others, the difference was not that great.
They would try. Even if they failed, there was no loss!
Just as the eastern region made their decision, a figure quickly flew through the Black Abyss. It was the western region's Ye Chaoqun. However, he did not fly towards his own camp, but towards the southern camp. No one knew what he wanted to do.
A short while later, he stopped. A stream of light welcomed him. It was the southern region's nine people.
From afar, the southern region's people saw Ye Chaoqun's figure. Observing the spirit energy fluctuations on his body, how could they not know his identity?
If it was during the process of fighting for the spirit balls, the southern region would not hesitate to surround Ye Chaoqun and deal with him first.
But now that no new spirit balls had appeared, the southern region did not have the intention to kill. And with Ye Chaoqun's attitude, he clearly did not come to fight.
After a moment of thought, the southern region's late Constellation Realm expert ordered his people to wait in place. He rushed out of the formation alone and went forward.
A moment later, he stopped several li away from Ye Chaoqun and cupped his fists. "Duan Xiuchen!"
Ye Chaoqun returned the greeting and introduced himself.
Duan Xiuchen looked meaningfully at Ye Chaoqun. "Brother Ye, why have you come?"
Ye Chaoqun said concisely, "Alliance!"
Duan Xiuchen exclaimed in surprise. His expression was slightly exaggerated. "Who is the enemy?"
"The east, of course!"
Duan Xiuchen revealed a puzzled expression. "Brother Ye wants to form an alliance with me and then deal with the east together. Did I hear correctly?"
Ye Chaoqun naturally knew what he was thinking. If it wasn't for that battle just now, and if the South hadn't suddenly come looking for an alliance with him, he wouldn't have taken it seriously.
Why would such a weak eastern region need the other two tribes to join hands? Any one of them would be able to crush it.
But in fact, only after experiencing the battle just now did one realize that the seemingly fragile eastern region was not as simple as it seemed. There was a man-eating giant worm hidden in the lineup of those nine people!
"That's right!" Ye Chaoqun nodded.
Duan Xiuchen laughed loudly. "That won't do, that won't do. Our southern region and eastern region have a very solid alliance. The eastern region is our southern region's closest friend, our blood brothers. How can we turn against you just because of a few words from the western region? If this were to spread out, wouldn't people say that our southern region is untrustworthy?"
Disregarding everything else, the cooperation between the southern region and eastern region had been very pleasant. Both sides had taken a spirit ball each, leaving the western region helpless.
Thus, Duan Xiuchen felt that the alliance with the eastern region could continue.
On the other hand, this Ye Chaoqun had come out of nowhere. He seemed to have come alone and was full of sincerity, but who knew what he had in mind. Perhaps he was trying to ruin the alliance between the southern and eastern regions.
With such considerations, how could Duan Xiuchen agree to Ye Chaoqun's suggestion so easily?
In the past, the three tribes not only had to compete in the Black Abyss with bravado, they also had to compete in wits. Each alliance had to rely on the leader's intelligence.
Ye Chaoqun sighed. "The eastern region already has three balls!"
Duan Xiuchen said, "I was just about to ask you. What is your western region doing? How did you let the eastern region snatch the spirit ball away? "
Previously, the western region had given up on fighting them and rushed to the location of the newly born spirit ball. The southern region thought that the spirit ball would fall into the western region's hands. Who would have thought that the final result would be so surprising? The spirit ball showed no signs of moving towards the western region's camp. Instead, it firmly moved towards the eastern region's camp.
Now, it had clearly been settled.
Ye Chaoqun didn't answer. Instead, he asked, "What does Daoist Duan think about the strength of the western region's six people?"
He didn't say nine people, only six. He was obviously referring to the formation when they parted ways with the southern region.
Duan Xiuchen said seriously, "Very strong. If the six of you continue to fight, my southern region can only exchange a life for a life and send you all back to the main camp."
At that time, the spirit ball was relatively close to the southern region's camp. Thus, exchanging a life for a life was advantageous for the southern region. In fact, Duan Xiuchen was already prepared to do so. However, the sudden appearance of the sixth spirit ball and the retreat of the western region's six people was the only reason he didn't carry out the plan.
Ye Chaoqun said, "But the six of us were turned upside down by the eastern region. If I didn't escape quickly when I saw the situation was bad, I'm afraid I would have been reborn."
Duan Xiuchen was shocked. "Is that true?"
"Absolutely true!"
"Impossible!" Duan Xiuchen's face was full of disbelief. He was very clear about the strength of the western region's six people. One was late stage, two were mid stage, and three were early stage. Although there were fewer people, dealing with the eastern region wasn't a problem. How could they have been killed so miserably?
Moreover, did the eastern region have this kind of ability? What a fantasy!
This Ye Chaoqun was simply spouting nonsense!
Ye Chaoqun knew that Duan Xiuchen was still doubting him. He said indifferently, "That spirit ball is now in the eastern region's camp. Does Daoist Duan think that if the western region still had the strength to fight, we would give it up so easily?"
This was a problem that couldn't be ignored. If Ye Chaoqun was using words to bewitch him and sow discord, this was very likely to happen. However, if they had to pay the price of a spirit ball, no one would be willing to do so.
Duan Xiuchen was bewildered. "We were really turned upside down by the eastern region?"
Ye Chaoqun was a bit annoyed. "How many times does Daoist Duan want me to repeat such a shameful thing?"
Duan Xiuchen was finally sure that the other party wasn't lying to him. However … he really couldn't imagine how the eastern region had done it.
A thought flashed through his mind. "They hid their cultivation?"
Ye Chaoqun shook his head. "Their cultivation is as it seems on the surface. One of them is in the middle stage, while the other eight are in the early stage."
"Then they set up a formation beforehand and borrowed the power of the formation?"
"They fought head-on without any external help!"
Duan Xiuchen was furious. "I'm speaking sincerely to Daoist Duan. Don't deceive me!"
Ye Chaoqun sighed again. "The eastern region has an external aid that isn't from the Human Tribe. Although he's only in the early stage of the Constellation Realm, he has the strength of a late stage Constellation Realm cultivator. One of my western region's middle stage cultivators was killed by him in one slash. As such, Daoist Duan should understand why my western region suffered such a crushing defeat."
"Early stage Constellation Realm cultivator, late stage strength … A saber user?" Duan Xiuchen tried hard to recall, and immediately recalled Lu Ye's appearance. He remembered that it was this person who talked to him and formed an alliance. At that time, he felt that this person wasn't from the Human Tribe. Looking at it now, he really wasn't.
He said angrily, "The eastern region is too shameless. They actually asked for external aid!"
If it was the Human Tribe, it was impossible for an early stage cultivator to possess the strength of a late stage cultivator because of the restrictions of the cultivation system. However, if it was an external tribe, it was understandable. Especially if it was the Human Tribe, an incredible person would often pop up from there.
Ye Chaoqun said, "The eastern region has been declining for a long time. There aren't many Constellation Realm cultivators, so it's normal for them to ask for external aid once in a while. Let's not talk about this for now. The key is to reevaluate the eastern region's strength and the threat they can bring. "
When they left the eastern region, Ye Chaoqun also thought of hiding the eastern region's situation so that the ignorant southern region would clash with the eastern region. Then, the western region would take advantage of the situation.
However, after careful consideration, he realized that this method wasn't reliable. Especially since the southern region and the eastern region had already cooperated once. If their plan failed and the two sides worked together again to attack the western region, then the western region would be in trouble.
So after thinking about it, he felt that it was best to ally with the southern region.
That was why he came to the southern region and told them everything.
Duan Xiuchen laughed loudly. "My southern allies are so strong, and we've worked together before. Why wouldn't I work with them again? Why would I work with your western region instead?"
Ye Chaoqun reiterated, "Because the eastern region already has three balls!"
Duan Xiuchen stopped laughing. His expression became serious. "Continue!"
Ye Chaoqun knew that he already had some thoughts in his mind, so he struck while the iron was hot. "In this competition, on the surface, the eastern region is the weakest. Moreover, they're not just a little bit weaker than our two tribes. But now, they have three balls. On the other hand, you and I have two. The southern region has two balls, while the western region only has one. If this continues, no matter what, the eastern region will be ranked second at the very least. At that time, which of our two tribes will take first place, and which of us will fall last? We might have to fight to the death, and the eastern region might even benefit from it. If they really take the opportunity to take first place, then where will the southern and western regions' faces be? Moreover, once we leave the Black Abyss, how will we explain ourselves to Martial Uncle Rizhao and the others? How can we say that with such a strong lineup, we can't beat a mid-stage team from the eastern region? Some words are easy to say, but not easy to hear. "
"Fellow Daoist Ye means …"
Ye Chaoqun said, "All this time, it's always been our two tribes fighting for first and second place. Since the eastern region has maintained third place for so many years, then let them continue! We can't throw away such a good tradition. "
Duan Xiuchen raised his brows. "But the eastern region already has three balls!"
Ye Chaoqun said indifferently, "It's not like we can't steal them …"
(End of Chapter)
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