A wager's extra stake [Minor Teleportation Talisman], suppression with a raised hand, and all affairs settled!

Never underestimate how thoroughly rumors could spread.

The [Alliance Headquarters] naturally learned of this news as well and soon reported it to the true core stage figures among its upper ranks.

Inside a side hall.

A male cultivator in a dark brocade robe sat behind a desk. He had a square face, three long strands of beard beneath his chin, and an imposing expression. As he wrote and sketched with his brush, attending to some business, he also listened to someone speaking.

"-Left Protector, how do you think we should handle this matter?"

Seated before the desk was a short old man in gray robes, with a lean face and a short beard. He spoke with worry written across his features.

This man was [True Person Jingmu]. His cultivation remained stuck at the core formation early stage peak. Most likely, he had no hope of advancing further along his Dao path and would remain in the core formation early stage for good.

The [Alliance Headquarters] had only one [Left Protector], so the male cultivator in the dark brocade robe could only be [True Person Feng Yue].

Moreover, he was not merely the [Alliance Headquarters]' Left Protector. He had another identity: a disciple of "Old Ghost Jinlian" of [Fireforging Hall], the foremost of the Yuanshan Kingdom's five great powers.

Compared with before, [True Person Feng Yue]'s aura had not improved significantly. He was still in the core formation middle stage, though he was approaching its peak.

Lin Changheng had already caught up from behind and surpassed him.

Core formation cultivators like him, who belonged to major powers, enjoyed steady gains and an uninterrupted supply of resources. Compared with cultivators who explored the outside world and ventured through secret realms, however, they lacked the fierce boost that "fortunate opportunities" provided.

Of course,