Chapter 1455: Tong Continent Administrative Council
Xu Meijing's current situation, overall Yang Haoran was still quite satisfied. Although Xu Meijing's situation was very passive, at least she wasn't imprisoned. This was already a blessing in disguise, for under such circumstances, this outcome could be considered good.
While on Half-Moon Island, after Yang Haoran learned of Xu Meijing's current plight from Tang Shi, the stone hanging in his heart finally dropped. Although Xu Meijing's letter of guarantee and letter of commitment were both aimed at him, Yang Haoran, he didn't take them to heart.
To Yang Haoran, as long as Xu Meijing was not in mortal danger, not imprisoned by the Underworld Office, and not cast into the eighteen layers of hell, he would be content. He was well aware of Xu Meijing's abilities and cunning. As long as she survived this ordeal, over time, as everyone's focus shifted, Xu Meijing would undoubtedly be able to employ her methods to turn the tide and not remain passive.
After arriving in Tong Continent, Zhong Siyu and Ma Ling, at Yang Haoran's request, used a secret art to temporarily alter their appearances. Yang Haoran, as the Underworld Office's most wanted fugitive, was naturally no exception.
Truth be told, few people knew of Zhong Siyu and Ma Ling's existence, and the Underworld Office hadn't issued bounties for them. However, for safety reasons, Yang Haoran still had them change their appearances, to avoid trouble as much as possible.
Ma Ling, for her part, was indifferent; whatever Yang Haoran asked, she did. Zhong Siyu, however, was rather displeased. Her reason for resisting was that Yang Haoran was telling her what to do. Yet, remembering the benefits she would need to extract from Yang Haoran upon returning to Half-Moon Island, she stifled her inner resistance and complied.
Since both of them had altered their appearances, Yang Haoran, being the Underworld Office's most wanted fugitive, naturally couldn't show his true face. If he did, trouble would certainly come knocking. Thus, he self-consciously changed his looks.
At this moment, the three of them were not within the Underworld Office's territory. Knowing the Underworld Office was hunting him worldwide, Yang Haoran wouldn't be so foolish as to venture into their domain unless absolutely forced to. Their current location was within the jurisdiction of the Tong Continent Administrative Council.
After the turmoil of the Underworld chaos began, many administrative councils existed across the four continents. However, these local administrative councils were either controlled by other forces or had been annihilated by them. Only a handful of administrative councils, by virtue of having powerful experts overseeing them, managed to establish their own domains, but without exception, the territories they occupied were small.
Furthermore, these administrative councils capable of establishing their own domains clearly understood that their rule was merely temporary. Once a major power set its sights on them, destroying them would be no difficult feat. Their ability to rule a small area wasn't due to their inherent strength, but because stronger nearby forces had no time to bother with them. The moment those stronger forces decided to act against them, that would be their demise.
To avoid such a tragedy, administrative councils in various regions decided to band together for warmth, to survive in this manner. Thus, the strongest, the Tong Continent Administrative Council, became the preferred choice for the vast majority of local administrative councils.
Local administrative councils sought survival, hence they approached the strongest, the Tong Continent Administrative Council. The Tong Continent Administrative Council also wished to strengthen itself, and therefore did not reject the inclusion of other local administrative councils. Both sides were willing, and they hit it off instantly. Thus, multiple individual entities merged into a single whole; the local administrative councils gained room to survive, and the Tong Continent Administrative Council successfully expanded its power as desired.
It was precisely because a large number of local administrative councils chose to integrate into the Tong Continent Administrative Council that the latter successfully occupied a considerable territory in Tong Continent.
Otherwise, with the Tong Continent Administrative Council's former strength, occupying a small territory in Tong Continent would naturally not have been a problem. But if it desired to control a large territory, it clearly wouldn't have had the ability to do so.
Of course, there were still quite a few local administrative councils across the four continents, but not all of them integrated into the Tong Continent Administrative Council. A portion chose to go it alone, either because they had powerful experts overseeing them or because they were clinging to a slim hope. However, those administrative councils that opted for independence were a small minority; the vast majority integrated into the Tong Continent Administrative Council for survival.
The source of the administrative councils' power differed from that of the various major sects. The administrative councils' power was rather mixed, whereas the power of the major sects was more unified. The most predominant force within the administrative councils, however, was the Exorcists. Because they had no ties to any major sect, and the sects couldn't control them, their joining the administrative councils incurred no burden. Furthermore, the administrative councils offered substantial rewards, which is why Exorcists joined them the most, thus becoming the predominant force of the administrative councils.
In truth, while survival was the primary objective for the vast majority of local administrative councils choosing to integrate into the Tong Continent Administrative Council, there was also another aim: they wished for the administrative councils to restore their former glory and become the rulers of the four continents, even if only nominally.
Although they knew this idea was somewhat whimsical and success was unlikely, they still held onto a sliver of fantasy in their hearts.
Even before the Tong Continent Underworld Office suffered a fatal blow, its influence couldn't reach the Tong Continent Administrative Council. Now, the Tong Continent Underworld Office had not only lost its Great Emperor but also three Guardians; it could barely protect itself. Naturally, its influence would find it even harder to extend into the territory of the Tong Continent Administrative Council. Yang Haoran's decision to set his destination within the Tong Continent Administrative Council's territory for this operation was precisely due to this consideration.
On a desolate, uninhabited Gobi Desert, a spatial rift appeared. A man and two women stepped out of the spatial rift. These three were none other than Yang Haoran and his companions, whose appearances had been altered.
"Yang Haoran, this place is godforsaken, you can't even see a ghost here. What did you bring us here for?"
As soon as they stepped out of the spatial rift, Zhong Siyu couldn't help but complain to Yang Haoran. Her slightly furrowed brow clearly showed her extreme dissatisfaction with the place. She had been hoping to act a few more times, so she could extract a Soul Crystal from Yang Haoran when they returned to Half-Moon Island. Here, in this desolate area, she had no opportunity to act, so she was naturally a hundred times unwilling to be here.
Hearing this, Yang Haoran made a shushing gesture to Zhong Siyu.
"Young Mistress," he whispered, "Walls have ears. Don't call me by my real name, or if someone with ill intentions overhears, the three of us will be in trouble."
Yang Haoran reminded her softly. Although this was the territory of the Tong Continent Administrative Council, where the Tong Continent Underworld Office's influence couldn't reach, this 'inability to reach' only pertained to sensitive matters. The Underworld Office's bounty on Yang Haoran was not considered sensitive by the Tong Continent Administrative Council, so Yang Haoran was still a wanted man here. Furthermore, there were quite a few people eager to capture him, for the rewards offered by the Underworld Office were simply too generous. If anyone knew he was Yang Haoran, the consequences were obvious.
Zhong Siyu paid no mind to Yang Haoran's reminder, a look of disdain even appearing on her face.
"Hmph, timid as a mouse!"
Yang Haoran simply smiled faintly, not bothering to bicker with Zhong Siyu. Instead, he waved his hand, setting up a restrictive barrier. This barrier was not small, spanning a diameter of a thousand meters. After completing this, he turned his gaze to Ma Ling.
"Ma Ling," Yang Haoran began, "I'd like to trouble you to set up a long-distance teleportation array here, one that connects with our long-distance teleportation array on Half-Moon Island. Can you do that?"
Yang Haoran asked Ma Ling, who nodded, giving him an affirmative reply.
"No problem," she replied. "The long-distance teleportation array on Half-Moon Island is very intact, so as long as I set up a corresponding teleportation array here, it can be connected to the one on Half-Moon Island."
Back when personnel were transferred, although Yang Haoran destroyed the teleportation array in the Cloud Haze Mountain Range, he did not destroy the one on Half-Moon Island. Not only did he not destroy it, he specifically arranged personnel to protect the grand array, preventing it from suffering even the slightest damage. Therefore, to this day, the long-distance teleportation array on Half-Moon Island remains perfectly preserved.
Receiving Ma Ling's affirmative reply, the smile on Yang Haoran's face deepened slightly.
"Good," he said. "I'll leave this matter to you. We're not particularly pressed for time this time, so you don't need to rush like last time. Be as meticulous as possible when setting up the grand array; taking a bit more time is fine, as long as you ensure the grand array operates without any issues."
Ma Ling nodded in assent, then wasted no time, immediately setting to work. Her efficiency was beyond reproach.
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