It was still quiet when Ou Yangming returned to the prefecture. The beast tide did not break out again, and the ferocious beasts, which previously filled the mountains and plains, were dispatched by the spirit beast elsewhere and were nowhere to be found.

Knowing that Ou Yangming had returned, several Supreme Great Ancestors hurried over and talked about this problem with grim looks.

"Gentlemen, we can't trace the ferocious beasts from the top of the city walls, but we'll definitely find them if we send scouts." Ou Yangming was surprised. He looked at the others in confusion and wondered, 'Were they frightened out of their wits by the spirit beast? How can they not figure it out?'

Nonetheless, Li Xinfan shook his head and said, "We've sent scouts at the peak of Yang Grade, but we can't find tracks of them within 15 kilometers from the city."

"15 kilometers?" Ou Yangming was stunned, and he furrowed his eyebrows. Although he was not a military master, he knew the basics.

A 15-kilometers range was not small at all. If there was no trace of their enemies within this distance, the prefecture could be considered safe.

Li Xinfan nodded. "This spirit beast is rather unusual; it has the ability to cover up their tracks. It was the same with the ferocious beasts at the beginning where they were already within 10 kilometers from the prefecture and had attacked the nearby villages by the time we noticed them. We had no idea how they appeared."

"Exactly. Now, they've also gone missing in a mysterious way. Having opponents that come and go like shadows is simply…" Deng Xiyuan sighed. He shook his head and looked afraid.

Even though he had a prejudice against Ou Yangming, given the circumstances, he had to seek the young fellow's opinion.

Ou Yangming had not entered Extreme Grade, but all the Supreme Great Ancestors were convinced by his reputation and abilities.

Apart from him, who else could have gone against the three Earthly Dragon Beasts?

Not to mention three dragon beasts, even if only one of the beasts was to be killed, nobody could have done it—not even with a magic tool or a divine weapon.

Ou Yangming pondered and asked, "What are the opinions of Elder Universe and Her Royal Highness?"

Among the two figures, one was extremely experienced while the other inherited the imperial family's secret technique, so perhaps they knew a thing or two.

Nevertheless, Li Xinfan and Deng Xiyuan shook their heads as they were dispirited. "They both said they've never encountered anything like that, so they can't make any judgment."

Ou Yangming smiled bitterly and spread out his hands. "Since they know nothing, how can I have any idea?"

The two highest officials in the prefecture looked at each other and were inevitably disappointed. That said, they expected this to happen, thus they were not too hopeful in the first place.

"Gentlemen, you're experts in organizing the city's defense, whereas I'm only a little soldier who will obey your orders," Ou Yangming noted after he cleared his throat, then he ran away and called out to them at the same time, "Please prepare some Earthly Dragon Beast flesh and blood and send it to the gate; I need it for something great."

Before his voice had died away, he was already nowhere to be found.

Li Xinfan and Deng Xiyuan exchanged glances. They suddenly felt that it was not a reliable move to entrust the hope of countering the beast tide to Ou Yangming…

※※※※

Ou Yangming ran as fast as he could back to the Ni family's small courtyard, where he dashed into Old Craftsman's room.

His eyes lit up the instant he saw Old Craftsman, and he shouted, "Old Man, I'm back!"

Old Craftsman was holding an ore, which was one of the peculiar stones retrieved by Ou Yangming from the Chaos Cave. He glanced at the young fellow and asked, "Have you met Miss Yinghong already?"

Ou Yangming blushed and smiled embarrassedly. "Old Man, please don't be mad. I should've come to see you first."

"Hmph! I'm just an old man, so why would you want to see me!" Old Craftsman put down the stone and said, "You're a young man, after all, and you're deeply in love, so it's normal that you're eager to see her after not meeting each other for a long time."

The young fellow looked at Old Craftsman in confusion as he could not tell if the old man was being sarcastic.

Just as he wanted to play the sorrow card to beg for Old Craftsman's forgiveness, the old man questioned, "B*stard, when are you planning to marry Miss Yinghong?"

Ou Yangming almost could not catch his breath. He coughed hard for some time before he responded, "Old Man, what are you talking about!"

Old Craftsman said in a serious tone, "Don't interrupt me! Hmph, do you think you've become amazing after going to the capital? You attracted other ladies and flirted with them. Is this how you treat Miss Yinghong?"

Ou Yangming gulped and wanted very badly to correct Old Craftsman's choice of words, but he quickly gave up the thought when he noticed the hostile look on the old man's face.

"I'm telling you—Miss Yinghong's a great lady; she protected and helped you before you rose. I don't care how successful you are now, you mustn't let her down, do you understand?" Old Craftsman lectured him sternly.

"Yes," Ou Yangming answered seriously.

Old Craftsman finally nodded as he was pleased. "I don't have great achievements, but I'm glad to have you. That said, the more you achieve, the more you need to learn to be a man. At the very least, you mustn't be an ungrateful person, or I won't die in peace."

Ou Yangming was shocked, and he quickly assured the old man. "Don't worry, I won't disappoint you."

Old Craftsman had been staunch and upright all his life. After he adopted Ou Yangming, he disciplined the young fellow strictly. If Ou Yangming did anything that let the old man down, he would certainly cut off their relationship, which was similar to one between a grandfather and his grandson.

The old man smiled kindly and waved his hand to shoo Ou Yangming out of the house. "I'd like to study these ores, so leave and do what you need to. Stay away from me and don't disturb me anymore."

Feeling helpless, Ou Yangming could only leave. He could not handle an old man that was fully immersed in his own world.

Following that, Ou Yangming went around the city to meet the representatives from different clans.

He did not hold a position in the city, but he became the backbone that connected local powerhouses and Supreme Great Ancestors from the capital.

Many things that could not be coordinated by both parties were solved as soon as he showed up and made the call.

Even if it was not during a crucial moment, nobody was willing to offend the young man, who was destined to have a promising future.

Despite that, Ou Yangming's ambition was elsewhere. He handled some affairs in a hurry and ordered some men to provide support to the 74 other Supreme Great Ancestors, who would arrive at the prefecture soon. Subsequently, he and the Ni family's Three Great Ancestors left the city with over ten carriages.

While everyone found his weird actions strange, nobody dared to say a word about it.

Some secrets would only become burdens and crises if they were known. Back when Ou Yangming faced Supreme Great Ancestors, he was always afraid and did not have the guts to overstep boundaries. Now, the tables had turned.

Ou Yangming, Ni Jingshen, and the others hurried on with their journey and finally arrived at the mysterious ravine.

Though the four of them needed to take care of more than ten carriages, the horses were well-trained, and the four of them were incredibly powerful, hence they had a smooth journey.

Moreover, they carried specially-made powder with them, so the smell was easily masked.

Needless to say, based on Ou Yangming's mental power level at the moment, nobody could stalk them at all. The young fellow was pleased that there were no abnormalities along their way, and they made it to the ravine safely.

"Thank you, seniors," Ou Yangming expressed his gratitude once they arrived at their destination. He was rather abashed when he added after a pause, "Seniors, please return to the prefecture."

Ni Xuetian did not know to cry or to laugh. "Lil' Friend Ou, this is the Ni family's secret realm, yet you're asking us to leave?"

Ou Yangming scratched his head and replied to the elder apologetically, "Seniors, please forgive me; I have a difficult reason."

If he made excuses or lied to Ni Jingshen and the two other great ancestors, the elders would have been unhappy. Given that he bluntly told them that he had an unexplainable reason for this, the three elders were relieved.

Ou Yangming was born to be unordinary, hence it was understandable if he did things that were out of the ordinary.

The elders suspected it was related to their secret realm, but they figured that Ou Yangming could not overturn the place since Big Yellow and Ni Yinghong were inside.

However, putting aside Ni Yinghong, they did not know that the big yellow dog and Ou Yangming were so close that they could even share the same pants.

With that, the three Supreme Great Ancestors left after handing over the things to Ou Yangming.

While it seemed like the beast tide was over, the way the ferocious beasts appeared and disappeared was too horrifying. Worried about the prefecture's safety, the three elders dared not stay in the ravine for too long.

Once they left, Ou Yangming summoned the big yellow dog through his mighty mental power.

When Big Yellow arrived at the ravine, it immediately got a whiff of the items in the piled-up bags even though special powder was used to cover up their smell.

The big yellow dog's eyes lit up right away. It pounced on Ou Yangming and stuck out its big tongue to lick the young fellow's face.

Ou Yangming pushed it away as he was disgusted by its saliva, but the fellow had become bigger and heavier. As such, it was not easy for him to get rid of it.

Big Yellow finally calmed down after some time. Afterward, the human and the dog put on their respective piece of equipment with the Devouring attribute and began to absorb the enormous energies from the flesh and blood.

As the Earthly Dragon Beast flesh and blood disappeared from the bags, Ou Yangming and the big yellow dog gained more formidable auras.

Ou Yangming's target was clear. He simply converted the energies into his mental power, which constantly increased like stacking blocks to a point where even he was taken aback.

61, 62, 63…

70, 71…

80…

90…

99!