These emissaries began taking count one after another.
It had to be said that among the various races, there were still some groups harboring wishful thoughts, slipping one or two extra people into the thousand-person quota set for each race.
They did so to gain a tiny little advantage.
But these emissaries were hardly drawing pay for nothing. Under their meticulous scrutiny, every one of those extra people was ferreted out.
The groups that had intended to secretly profit were all left incomparably embarrassed. No matter how they pleaded and explained, they could not undo it. Some even had several of their slots deducted as a result.
And so, after roughly an hour, the counting came to an end.
Once the count was complete, Yuan Hong Heavenly Venerate waved his hand. "Bring out the Merfolk Empress. Have her open the Eye of the Northern Underworld. It is time for us to leave."
At the mention of the Merfolk Empress, Yang Chen looked around, surprise on his face.
Logically speaking, as the mistress of this place, Empress Luo Ying should have been nearby. With his divine sense spread out, he should have been able to detect her at any time.
Yet even now, he had not caught so much as a shadow of her. It was truly strange.
As he stood there in inward surprise, several other Southern Realm Emissaries had already gone to summon Empress Luo Ying.
When Empress Luo Ying appeared again, she was accompanied by several Southern Realm Emissaries, and her expression was visibly rather unsightly.
Yang Chen fixed his gaze on her, and his expression suddenly tightened. Looking closely at Empress Luo Ying now, he saw her bloodshot eyes and the faint wounds on her body.
Those wounds had clearly been treated. When she had first suffered