The Sword God of the Universe

Chapter 2554: Chapter 2554: Unprecedented Prosperity

Tiger Roar City being taken left everyone up and down in the Eight Gods Pill Sect utterly furious.

In the midst of this fury, they were forced to accept a reality: within this Kunling Heaven, a force had appeared that dared to go head-to-head with their Eight Gods Pill Sect. This force not only dared to challenge them, it even took the initiative to strike and seize the cities under their control.

Since the founding of the Eight Gods Pill Sect, such a thing had scarcely ever happened. The Sect’s dominance was beyond doubt; even the other Superpowers in the Heavenly Domain almost never had the courage to confront the Eight Gods Pill Sect. It was not that those Superpowers all feared the Eight Gods Pill Sect, but that to become enemies with it would be a losing bargain—when it came to Elixirs, they had to rely on the Eight Gods Pill Sect.

Using its advantage in Elixirs, the Eight Gods Pill Sect established a vast web of connections throughout the Heavenly Domain. This unseen yet very real network allowed this Superpower, which did not excel in sheer martial force, to wield an influence that actually surpassed other Superpowers.

Yet now, the lofty position of the Eight Gods Pill Sect upon its divine altar had become somewhat less secure.

All of this stemmed from the rise of Hongmeng City.

The hatred the Eight Gods Pill Sect bore toward Hongmeng City and toward Jing Yan had reached a point of mutual irreconcilability. However, the high-level figures of the Eight Gods Pill Sect had not lost their reason. They knew very clearly that the angrier one was, the more one had to stay calm. The Eight Gods Pill Sect had grown step by step to its present size and strength, and it had never been by blindly charging around in a fit of hotheadedness. The leader of the Sect, Mingze Sect Master, understood that he, and the vast Alchemy Dao force beneath him, at this time needed to endure in silence.

Even if the rumors outside grew ever more vile, the Eight Gods Pill Sect had to swallow them.

”Sect Master, what did you say? Recall all the reinforcements heading to Tiger Roar City?” an elder looked at Mingze Sect Master in puzzlement.

After Hongmeng City published its proclamation of crusade, the headquarters of the Eight Gods Pill Sect had used every channel available to dispatch additional reinforcements to Tiger Roar City. These reinforcements rushed toward Tiger Roar City at top speed. Unfortunately, the Guard strength in Tiger Roar City failed to hold out until any reinforcements arrived.

Once the news that Tiger Roar City had fallen spread, all the various reinforcements naturally halted their approach to the city for the moment, waiting for the next orders from the big figures in the upper echelons.

Mingze Sect Master’s decision was to withdraw all reinforcements for Tiger Roar City.

”Sect Master, are we going to give up on Tiger Roar City?” another elder asked with a frown.

At this point, recalling all the forces from every route was equivalent to voluntarily abandoning the attempt to regain control of Tiger Roar City.

”Everyone!” Mingze Sect Master swept his gaze over the hall.

”At present, there is a Thunder Warrior puppet army inside Tiger Roar City. What we can confirm is that there is already one High-level Thunder Warrior and thirty ordinary Thunder Warriors. Just for these Thunder Warrior puppets alone, how many Immortal Venerables do you think we’d need to suppress them?” Mingze Sect Master said in a low voice.

”Tiger Roar City lies no more than a few million li from Hongmeng City. At Jing Yan’s speed, it won’t take him long at all to rush from Hongmeng City to Tiger Roar City. That is to say, even if we assemble a large number of Immortal Venerate Realm powerhouses to suppress those Thunder Warriors, Jing Yan would still have enough time to provide support.” Mingze Sect Master did not wish to admit it, but he had no choice: taking back control of Tiger Roar City was far, far too difficult.

Relying only on the strength of the Eight Gods Pill Sect, it was almost impossible.

”Are we just going to give up Tiger Roar City like this? Are we to abandon the business in the Thunder Domain?” someone protested indignantly.

They were unwilling!

The Eight Gods Pill Sect had never been slapped in the face like this before! Never!

”This is something we can’t help, yet it’s a reality we must accept. We will wait! Right now, we can only wait. Everyone, one day, we will take back everything we once lost.” Mingze Sect Master’s voice grew impassioned.

Unwilling as they were, there was nothing they could do!

...

With Hongmeng City seizing Tiger Roar City, this war came to an end just like that.

The Eight Gods Pill Sect made no attempt to retake control of Tiger Roar City. They didn’t even send troops there to probe the situation.

To outsiders, the Eight Gods Pill Sect’s abandonment of Tiger Roar City seemed very decisive.

Some said the Eight Gods Pill Sect had grown afraid of Hongmeng City, that Mingze Sect Master was afraid of City Lord Jing Yan. All sorts of harsh, cutting rumors that made one’s blood boil could be heard everywhere in the Heavenly Domain. Yet the Eight Gods Pill Sect never responded, as if tacitly acknowledging that it had softened in the face of Hongmeng City.

As time went on, this matter gradually subsided.

As many had predicted, the Eight Gods Pill Sect’s business withdrew from the Thunder Domain. And with the Sect’s withdrawal, other forces doing Elixir business in the Thunder Domain ushered in a period of rapid growth. Of course, the one who profited the most was still Hongmeng Pill Tower.

Taking advantage of the momentum from seizing Tiger Roar City, Hongmeng Pill Tower first established a Pill Tower Branch there, and not long after, it set up branches in many of the larger cities throughout the Thunder Domain.

Hongmeng Pill Tower entered a phase of rapid expansion.

Borne on the momentum of its thunderous capture of Tiger Roar City, Hongmeng Pill Tower’s expansion went extremely smoothly. In cities controlled by various forces, it encountered practically no obstruction. Those forces, big and small, clearly all feared angering Hongmeng City and City Lord Jing Yan, lest their own cities end up with the same fate as the Eight Gods Pill Sect’s Tiger Roar City.

What Jing Yan gained from taking Tiger Roar City was, in truth, not short-term tangible benefits. The main gain for Hongmeng City was a dramatic surge in influence—nor Jing Yan’s personal influence, but the overall influence of the city itself.

From the moment he took control of Tiger Roar City, the number of talents from all fields flocking under Jing Yan’s banner began to grow at a geometric rate. Some possessed extremely strong Dao Skill talent, some had Soul Cultivation Talent, some were uniquely gifted in Alchemy Dao, and some were extraordinarily sensitive to Array Dao arrangements. These were precisely the kinds of talents Jing Yan most wanted and most needed.

With the addition of these talents in various fields, Jing Yan could ultimately truly revitalize the Thunder Domain. Without them, even if he controlled the entire Thunder Domain, it would not mean much.

The arrival of these talents greatly enriched Hongmeng City’s reserve of personnel.

As long as there were no issues with their loyalty, Jing Yan spared no effort in cultivating them. From the revenues of Hongmeng Pill Tower, Hongmeng Cultivation Tower, and taxes, Jing Yan specially drew out a portion to be used for nurturing these people.

Hongmeng City’s development became unprecedentedly prosperous.

The Thunder Domain likewise seemed to have entered a period of peace. The prosperity and development of Hongmeng City, for the next ten thousand years, did not suffer any significant impact. Those Superpowers that bore enmity toward Hongmeng City seemed to have accepted its existence.