Outside Chess Mountain, the autumn wind sighed, and the wilderness lay quiet.
Li Chen stood atop a ridge, gazing into the distance with his hands behind his back, until someone approached in a Chariot along the nearby Imperial Road.
"Greetings, honored envoy. May I ask if you have come alone?"
The Ying Family had sent a clan elder at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment to meet him, accompanied by several trusted aides.
Seeing Li Chen alone greatly surprised the Ying Family clan elder. He had assumed there would at least be a band of elite soldiers and capable officers.
"Is something wrong?" Li Chen looked at him with a faint, ambiguous smile, revealing his Core Formation aura.
The Ying Family clan elder shuddered and hurriedly lowered his head. "I merely asked out of idle curiosity. Please forgive me, honored envoy."
Li Chen said, "Enough needless talk. Take me inside at once. If this succeeds, your Ying Family will certainly reap the benefits!"
The Ying Family clan elder said, "Please follow me, honored envoy."
He led Li Chen to a lavishly decorated Chariot and respectfully invited him to take a seat. Then he drove it himself, taking Li Chen toward the Inner Valley deep within Chess Mountain.
This was the base of the Chess Mountain Trade Alliance's guardian legion. The Ying Family had mid-ranking commanders and lower-ranking leaders serving there, as well as considerable influence within the Elders' Council.
Under the pretext of conducting an inspection, the Ying Family elder easily brought Li Chen into the heavily guarded base and settled him inside.
Standing in a barracks room within the base, Li Chen nodded in satisfaction. "Good. From here on, I will act as circumstances dictate. If anything unusual happens afterward, your Ying Family need not put yourselves in a