Shopkeeper Tong was quite advanced in years, yet possessed only a Second-Order Open Heaven cultivation. It was plain to see he came from humble origins. Warriors like him were countless throughout the Outside — not everyone enjoyed the favorable cultivation environment and abundant resources that the Void Land's disciples had access to.
Limited by their aptitude and resources, many warriors who managed to achieve Open Heaven could only reach the first or second order at most, which was essentially the ceiling of their potential.
Even back when Dingfeng City had that batch of over three hundred Open Heaven cultivators ascend, a full eighty-nine of them were Second-Order Open Heaven, let alone elsewhere.
For someone like Shopkeeper Tong — no background, no patron, and modest personal strength — surviving in the Outside was an enormously difficult task.
He had toiled his entire life, burning through most of his savings, just to finally secure a shop in the Void Star City and run a small business. It was enough to keep him fed and clothed. But then the Void Star City had suddenly descended into chaos, and now nine out of ten warriors had fled. These past days, Shopkeeper Tong could hardly eat or sleep for worrying.
With no foot traffic in the city, where would his customers come from? Without customers, how was he supposed to survive going forward?
He wanted to leave, but where could he go? He lacked the funds to secure another shop elsewhere, and he simply couldn't bring himself to abandon the shop into which he had poured the better part of his life's work — it had cost him a small fortune to acquire in the first place.
Truthfully, most of the warriors who had remained in the city were in much the same situation as Shopkeeper Tong. They were essentially trapped with nowhere to turn, staying behind only out of desperation, hoping some miracle might appear on the horizon.
His claim that he wanted to rush to Yun Xinghua's aid may not have been entirely genuine, but his sincere hope that Yun Xinghua would return was no pretense. After all, when Yun Xinghua had been managing the city before, order within the Star City had been well maintained, and no one dared come looking for trouble.
After Yun Xinghua had been captured, business had plummeted, and troublemakers had shown up constantly to stir up incidents, pestering him to the point that he had been forced to shut his doors.
Which was why his words now carried such unmistakable sincerity.
When he finished, Shopkeeper Tong cupped his fists: "Lord Yun, the Star City is in complete disarray right now, its order has collapsed entirely. This old man humbly begs Lord Yun to step forward and take command of the situation!"
Behind Shopkeeper Tong, a group of shopkeepers all cupped their fists in turn: "We beg Lord Yun to take charge — we would be eternally grateful."
Upon hearing this, Yun Xinghua replied: "Shopkeepers, please remain calm. With the Lord of our Void Land, Master Yang, gracing us with his presence, the Star City will surely be set right. I am nothing more than a humble foot soldier of the Sect Master, and I shall carry out his orders accordingly."
Though the shopkeepers had already noticed that this group revolved around Yang Kai as its leader, none of them actually knew him and could only address Yun Xinghua. Now, upon hearing this introduction, they all cupped their fists in greeting, speaking in unison: "We greet Sect Master Yang!"
Yang Kai's Emperor Realm cultivation and aura were on full display. Many among the assembled crowd were low-order Open Heaven cultivators, yet none looked down on him for his comparatively weak cultivation. To be surrounded and elevated by so many Open Heaven cultivators — Yang Kai's status and standing had long since transcended mere cultivation level. Moreover, even a figure as prominent as Yun Xinghua had just called himself this young man's foot soldier. How could they dare treat him as an ordinary Emperor Master? Yun Xinghua was a bona fide Fourth-Order Open Heaven cultivator.
Yang Kai gave a slight nod: "I am well aware of the difficulties you all face, but please rest assured — our Void Land has relocated here today precisely with the goal of restoring the Star City."
The crowd exchanged glances and broke into elation.
They had previously been puzzled as to why the Void Land had moved even its headquarters over. Now that they heard it was to revitalize the Star City, how could they not be overjoyed? They could also feel the Void Land's determination in this.
After all, the Void Land was a second-rate power, and it boasted a formidable number of Open Heaven cultivators. If it was truly committed to restoring the Star City, conditions here should be more than tolerable going forward.
Then someone asked worriedly: "Sect Master Yang, we've heard that a coalition led by the Heavenly Sword Alliance has recently been causing trouble for the Void Land. Might we ask how matters stand?"
Since they would be making their living in the Void Star City going forward, they naturally wanted to know about the Void Land's friends and enemies, lest they be caught up in some conflict.
Yun Xinghua let out a cold laugh: "A pack of jumping clowns — hardly worth mentioning! Kong Feng, the Alliance Master of the Heavenly Sword Alliance, was beheaded with a single sword stroke by our Sect Master, and the Hundred Families Alliance was utterly annihilated!"
A wave of gasps rippled through the crowd. Everyone was stunned.
While some rumors had indeed reached the Star City — that the Hundred Families Alliance had been wiped out and that even Kong Feng had perished on the battlefield — no one had been able to confirm it. The events had happened only recently, and word hadn't fully spread yet, so no one knew the actual details.
But now that Yun Xinghua himself had said so, it had to be true.
The Void Land was truly that powerful? The Hundred Families Alliance had attacked in force, only to be annihilated to the last man — and Kong Feng, a Sixth-Order Open Heaven cultivator, had actually been killed?