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nIn the living room of the Chen family’s house, the news was being broadcasted on the television.

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n“Dad, Mom, you guys should eat more too. The lychees grown in this otherworld taste amazing!” Chen Yiming said as he leaned against the sofa and peeled the skins off them.

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nNot long after, the trash can was filled with fruit shells. Chen Yiming’s hands moved very quickly.

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nFather Chen peeled a lychee and ate it in one bite. “Mayor Hong is too polite. He even asked someone to deliver the latest specialty from the otherworld.”

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n“Your sister is very tired from practicing archery. Leave some for her too,” Mother Chen said after eating a few of the lychees.

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nChen Yiming instantly recalled the scene he had seen of a martial arts trainee secretly snacking after practicing martial arts.

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nTraining the body in the disciple realm was essentially the same as working out for ordinary people. The difference was in the strength and method of training.

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nFor those with average physical talent, in order to increase their cultivation efficiency as much as possible, the martial arts teacher would instruct them to strictly follow a diet and not overeat or eat any snacks.

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nChen Yingying happened to have an average physical talent.

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n“Mom, lychees are high in sugar. If Yingying eats them, she’ll have wasted her day of training,” Chen Yiming said.

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nMother Chen was in disbelief and asked, “No way? Can’t she eat just a few?”

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nWithout waiting for Chen Yiming to reply, Father Chen interrupted, “That’s true. Those customized nutritious meals tend to be bland. It’ll be difficult to keep eating them after a period of time. Many of my friends are complaining in private that they’re afraid that making some new dishes for their children will affect their cultivation. It’s also uncomfortable to just watch and do nothing.”

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n“I see. Then let’s eat all the lychees. I’ll throw the shells away later. Your sister won’t be tempted if she doesn’t see them.” Mother Chen nodded.

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nFather Chen and Mother Chen increased the speed at which they peeled the shells, praising the sweetness from time to time.

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nChen Yiming left the rest of the lychees for his parents. When he went to wash his hands, he suddenly remembered that actually his sister was starting to break through to the warrior realm, so it didn’t matter if she didn’t follow a strict diet occasionally.

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nAfter all, it was not at the initial stage when ordinary people were trying to reach the disciple realm. However, since he had already said it, he could not take it back.

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nAfter washing his hands, he sat back on the sofa.

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nThe news from Jiangnan province quickly attracted Chen Yiming’s attention, making him forget that he had deprived his sister of the lychees for no good reason.

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n…

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nIn the afternoon, Chen Yiming continued to watch the news on the sofa like a retiree. In reality, he was waiting to see how the situation would develop.

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nIn this war, the humans were on the passive side. In principle, they didn’t want to get into a conflict with either the black river or the treants. Therefore, Chen Yiming could only wait.

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nAt this moment, Song Shanshan dragged Shen Mengwei over to the house.

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n“Are you getting used to the martial arts school?”

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nChen Yiming poured a glass of water for each of the girls.

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n“Everyone is very friendly.”

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nShen Mengwei and Song Shanshan sat down obediently and maintained their smiles.

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n“Master Wan from the Mantis Snake Sword School has been in the warrior realm for many years. He was also my teacher back then. If you have any questions, feel free to ask him. Don’t be shy,” Chen Yiming instructed Shen Mengwei.

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nThe Chen family’s sofa had a U-shaped design. Song Shanshan sat on the sofa at the side while Shen Mengwei sat beside Chen Yiming.

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nChen Yiming turned his head slightly as he spoke to Shen Mengwei. His gaze happened to drift to her chest, and he couldn’t help but compare it to what he had seen the last time.

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nHe sighed at how amazing the black water’s spiritual power was. It had imitated Shen Mengwei’s figure perfectly, from every angle. The only pity was that things came to an end too early that day.

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nSong Shanshan winked at Shen Mengwei, indicating that she should get straight to the point. However, Shen Mengwei sipped at the water several times and did not take any action.

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nSong Shanshan shamelessly asked, “After a week, other than the head, Mengmeng can’t find a suitable opponent to spar with…”

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nChen Yiming retracted his gaze and pretended to be in deep thought.

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nHe pointed at the news being broadcasted on the television and asked, “Is it about the war that Jiangnan province might face?”

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nShen Mengwei shook her head, but Song Shanshan nodded.

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nChen Yiming continued, “If a war breaks out, the Myriad Phenomena Sect will definitely take the lead to fight. Shen Mengwei is still at the stage of rapid development. It’s more appropriate for her to stay in East Lake City.”

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nBefore Song Shanshan could speak again, Shen Mengwei interrupted, “Then I won’t go to the Myriad Phenomena Sect for now. I’ll stay in East Lake City.”

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nSince her friend had already said so, Song Shanshan could only remain silent.

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nChen Yiming heaved a sigh of relief. As expected, people who focused on martial arts were different. On the other hand, Song Shanshan had too many thoughts and was too thick-skinned. He had to keep a distance from her in the future.

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nSoon, he sent the two girls out.

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nChen Yiming had his own reasons for not bringing Shen Mengwei to the Myriad Phenomena Sect immediately. He planned to let Shen Mengwei go through the channel of being recommended by Wan Rong.

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nShen Mengwei was the young genius he had helped the Myriad Phenomena Sect to recruit. He did not want the Myriad Phenomena Sect to misunderstand that he was taking in a direct disciple.

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n…

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nIn the blink of an eye, another week had passed. It had been half a month since the war between the black river and the treants was discovered.

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nOne day, a reconnaissance team failed to return on time. A few hours later, three treants dozens of meters tall walked out of the space-travel passage and set down their roots in the village.

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nIn the middle of the treant’s trunk was a human-like face. Compared to ordinary mutant plants, the other difference was that the branches were extremely agile and could move freely.

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nChen Yiming received the news immediately and was invited to Jiangnan City to discuss a solution.

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nHe immediately left East Lake City. Not long after, he arrived at the territory of Jiangnan City. 20 to 30 kilometers away from the city, he accidentally discovered a special unit stationed in the wilderness.

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nThere were less than 1,000 people in this unit, and their main weapons were the missile trucks. The special thing about them was that the missiles they carried were abnormally thick. In addition, Chen Yiming could sense from afar that a large number of military martial arts experts were guarding this unit.

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n“Could they all be carrying nuclear bombs?”

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nChen Yiming stopped on a mountain and observed the situation from afar.

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nOther than the strategic nuclear troops, there would not be any other conventional troops that would create such a large formation. Clearly, the fact that he had not taken the initiative to attack the black river and the treants had sent an extremely serious signal to the outside world.

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nThe martial arts masters of the country had a conservative and defensive attitude. It was obvious what kind of danger it represented. It could be said to be a disaster at the national level.

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nAfter the short break, Chen Yiming continued on his way to Jiangnan City.

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n…

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nIn front of the provincial government building,

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nWang Ronghui, the city guardian, waved to him and walked over. He said respectfully, “Everyone else is already here. They’re just waiting for you to give them their orders.”

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nChen Yiming smiled awkwardly. “I’m sorry about that. Besides, I don’t know how to command an army.”

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nWar wasn’t child’s play. Of course, Chen Yiming wouldn’t pretend to know something he wasn’t familiar with just because of his pride. In situations where an outsider took over the job without experience, history had shown that this would lead to an irreversible tragedy.

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nWang Ronghui continued to flatter him. “Those are just minor details. With a martial master holding the line, the soldiers will have the support and confidence not to retreat in fear.”

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nHearing this, Chen Yiming’s impression of Wang Ronghui improved, even though he knew that he was just being polite.

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nHowever, Chen Yiming still told him the truth. “Professional matters should be done by professionals. I really don’t know anything about war. I definitely won’t interfere in the order of command.”

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nAfter exchanging some pleasantries, Wang Ronghui led Chen Yiming to the large conference room.

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n…

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nIn the large conference room,

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nmore than 10 provincial representatives and four people from the northern martial arts sect had already arrived. In addition, the capital had sent a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a woman in her thirties.

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nEveryone’s expressions were solemn. To be able to participate in such a discussion, their statuses were not ordinary. It was precisely because they knew more about the situation that they knew the seriousness of the matter.

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nIf the nest was destroyed, no eggs would be left intact. If Jiangnan province could not withstand it, the neighboring provinces would not be spared either. In the end, the entire Daxia Kingdom would be in trouble.

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nWang Ronghui pushed open the door and entered. Chen Yiming followed behind him. Instantly, all the gazes in the meeting room landed on him.

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nWang Ronghui introduced them to Chen Yiming. “This is Madam Wu Jinyan from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is Ling Zhongyun, Zhu Song, Jiang Kai, Zhao Shumin…”

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nChen Yiming noted down the names of the spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the four people from the capital who were half a step away from the master realm. The representatives from the other provinces were just there to listen in, so he subconsciously ignored them.

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nLing Zhongyun, who was carrying a large bow on his back, secretly sized Chen Yiming up.

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nOn the surface, this person only looked a little handsome, and his aura was restrained, revealing nothing. If not for Wang Ronghui’s introduction, they would have treated him as a passerby and ignored him.

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nWhen the red-haired woman, Zhao Shumin, saw who it was, she revealed a rare shy expression. After meeting Chen Yiming’s gaze for a moment when he just entered the room, she averted her gaze and pretended to be deep in thought.

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nChen Yiming sat down in an empty seat.

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nWang Ronghui did not waste any time and started the meeting. He first projected the latest information on the screen, and a 10-minute video started to play.

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nThe air around the space-travel passage in the middle of the strange village suddenly became blurry. In the next moment, a treant that was dozens of meters tall walked out, and then two more walked out.

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nThe three treants let out muffled roars. After not receiving any response for a long time, they patrolled the surroundings of the strange mountain village and finally set down their roots in three different directions.

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nThe camera zoomed in, and the faces in the middle of the tree trunks disappeared. The three treants had turned into three huge trees, and they did not move at all, behaving as if they were huge trees that had always been there.

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nAfter the video ended, Wang Ronghui said, “We don’t know the outcome of the war between the black river and the treants in the otherworld, but there’s a high chance that the treants won.”

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n“From the information brought back by the reconnaissance team, there is an endless sea of treants. The number of them can’t be estimated, and we can’t judge what the treants’ attitude is towards the environment on this side of the space-travel passage.”

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nThe meeting room was silent for a long time. A provincial representative stood up and said, “According to the years of research done by several botanical experts, the subconscious mind of the treants, as a special plant life form, will not change when it comes to expanding their territory. There’s a high chance that after figuring out the situation on our side, they will gradually take root and expand their territory in all directions.”

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n“Therefore, I suggest that we should immediately launch a nuclear bomb to change the environment around the strange mountain village and use nuclear radiation to persuade the treants to leave.”

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nAs soon as he finished speaking, the other provincial representatives objected. “We have to use the nuclear bombs carefully. The problem started by Western Australia has yet to be completely resolved. We will be forced to move to the capital.”

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nThe representative who suggested using the nuclear bombs was not angered by this. This meeting was to exchange ideas and try to come up with the most suitable war plan.

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nThere was another period of silence. Seeing this, Wang Ronghui asked, “Other than using nuclear bombs, does anyone have any other good suggestions?”

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nThe representatives from the provinces looked at each other helplessly.

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nIn reality, when it came to a national disaster, the details of the battle could no longer affect the overall situation. The only ones who could influence the final outcome were the nuclear weapons and the martial masters.

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nThose below the master realm, no matter how strong they were, would just be cannon fodder. It was even considered normal for the top powers in the provinces to die in just one strike.

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nWang Ronghui nodded. “In that case, let’s put this topic aside for the time being. Let Madam Wu from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tell us some information about the foreign countries.”

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nWu Jinyan, who was wearing a suit, walked onto the stage with a serious expression. She projected the diplomatic announcement from the eight western countries on the screen.

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nSam Nation: Immediately release the control over the stronghold in the otherworld. Otherwise, full sanctions will be imposed.

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nThe Never-ending Day Empire: The otherworld belongs to all of humanity. The Daxia Kingdom must unconditionally open up the stronghold of the otherworld.

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nGaul: The base city should be switched to a shared system. Everyone should manage it together and share the benefits.

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n…

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n“The eight western countries want to take advantage of the situation and interfere in the internal affairs of the Daxia Kingdom?”

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na provincial representative asked angrily.

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nThe others also had ugly expressions on their faces as they suppressed their anger.

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nWu Jinyan explained, “According to the information sent back by the Daxia Kingdom’s spies in the west, they are most likely making an empty show of strength. This is especially true for the Sam Nation. One of their martial masters has yet to return, and the situation in the country is also unstable.”

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nThe expressions of the provincial representatives immediately improved.

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nThis was the normal international situation. The space-travel passage was not unique to any country. The top powers often could not be easily mobilized.

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nThe last time the Sam Nation mobilized a martial arts master, they had actually taken a huge risk and let him temporarily leave the country to head for the Daxia Kingdom.

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nHowever, the outcome was the worst-case scenario. It was obvious that the Sam Nation was already unable to take care of themselves. They did not have the ability to really threaten the Daxia Kingdom. They were just shooting their mouths off.

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nAs for the other seven countries, they used to be the underlings of the Sam Nation. Unless they could really work together, they would not be able to achieve anything.

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nAfter describing the international situation, Wu Jinyan quickly sat back down.

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nThe meeting returned to the original topic of whether to activate nuclear weapons and artificially create a nuclear radiation area.

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nLing Zhongyun stood up and suggested, “Perhaps we can consider killing the three treants rooted in the strange mountain village and the treants at the exit of the space-travel passage in the otherworld immediately to display our strength and intimidate the treants.”

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n“If the treants show signs of continuing to invade via the space-travel passage, we can directly launch a nuclear bomb at the strange mountain village and create a nuclear radiation zone. There’s a high chance that the weaker treants will not be able to move around in the nuclear radiation environment. We only need to focus our forces on dealing with the powerful treants who can rush out of the nuclear radiation environment.”

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nWhat Ling Zhongyun meant was that by combining the power of martial arts and nuclear weapons, even if the treants forcefully invaded, they would have to pass through a nuclear radiation zone first.

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nThis suggestion received the approval of almost everyone in the meeting room.

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nIf nothing unexpected happened, the general framework was pretty much settled. All that was left was to fill in the details.

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nChen Yiming pretended to cough. Everyone turned around and looked at him. He said, “This is a good plan, but I need to remind everyone of something.”

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n“I encountered a pool of black water similar to the black river in the Kunshan Sect. The other party displayed combat strength at the master realm. In addition, I heard from the three sect masters of the Kunshan Sect that their lord, which should be from the black river in the otherworld, is an existence that surpasses the master realm.”

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n“Therefore, for the plan to quickly kill and intimidate the treants, I’ll only be responsible for protecting the people who make a move. I won’t make a move for the time being to prevent attracting the attention of the strongest treants fighting the black river.”

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nThis…

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nSurpass the master realm?

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nChen Yiming’s words stunned the others in the meeting room. Everyone suffered a huge blow in their minds and couldn’t think straight for a moment.

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