"Who is this kid's martial artist?" Yang Kaixuan asked publicly.
But the response was silence.
Most of the martial artists on the hillside were from the Yang family, but there were also small families from other bases in Qingcheng.
"Don't know him, he's not from our Yang family," the Yang family elder replied first.
"Never seen him, he's not from our Sun family either."
"Our Li family doesn't have anyone like this."
"......"
Martial artists from other families in Qingcheng Base also denied knowing him.
"I am not a martial artist from a base family. I just joined temporarily for this beast extermination mission," Ye Ningze explained before these families could finish identifying him.
"I joined the Wind Wolf team. Our team has completed its mission, and I am very interested in the Divine Power Ants, so I came to take a look."
Hearing Ye Ningze's explanation, everyone suddenly understood.
Nearly a thousand martial artists entered Sunset Forest this time.
Among these martial artists, excluding the large teams formed by the major families, there were also many smaller teams.
Teams like Wind Wolf were tasked with exterminating fierce beasts within a designated area.
Therefore, Ye Ningze's explanation was perfectly plausible.
After Ye Ningze finished speaking, a young martial artist in front of Yang Kaixuan spoke up.
"What he said is true. I've seen him before. He is indeed a martial artist from our Qingcheng Base."
The speaker was Yang Chenfeng, the son of the Yang family patriarch.
Yang Chenfeng recognized Ye Ningze because he had tried to recruit Ye Ningze before, but Ye Ningze had not agreed at the time.
"So that's how it is," Yang Kaixuan nodded slightly upon hearing Yang Chenfeng's corroboration.
Although Ye Ningze's identity had been confirmed, everyone present was still surprised that Ye Ningze's team could complete the mission so quickly.
While everyone was surprised, the old man who had sensed Ye Ningze's aura spoke.
"So, you are a Grandmaster realm martial artist. No wonder you could complete the mission so quickly. In that case, you should stay and execute the mission with us."
Hearing the old man's words, everyone present was shocked, and their hearts churned like a stormy sea.
"What, he's actually a Grandmaster realm martial artist?" Yang Chenfeng looked at Ye Ningze in disbelief, his eyes almost popping out.
If he had known earlier that Ye Ningze was a Grandmaster realm martial artist, he would have tried his best to recruit him, no matter what.
Not just Yang Chenfeng, but everyone present harbored the intention to recruit him.
This young martial artist, Ye Ningze, had broken through to the Grandmaster realm at such a young age, indicating extraordinary potential.
There was a high probability of him possessing high-level cultivation talent!
However, at this moment, Ye Ningze sensed killing intent from within the crowd.
"It seems like jealousy," Ye Ningze thought to himself.
Jealousy distorts people's faces.
In fact, Ye Ningze had long anticipated that his realm being revealed would inevitably attract envy from other families.
However, in the presence of a Great Grandmaster, Ye Ningze could not hide his aura even if he wanted to.
Since that was the case, he might as well openly display his realm.
Breaking through to the Grandmaster realm at his age, while difficult, was not impossible.
It was just that in the small Qingcheng Base, no one had ever achieved it.
In higher-level bases, martial artists with high-level cultivation talent like Ye Ningze were not uncommon.
Ye Ningze's appearance in Qingcheng Base made him stand out like a crane among chickens.
Naturally, Ye Ningze's vision had long surpassed that of an intermediate base.
Once his realm stabilized, Ye Ningze would leave with his sister for a higher-level base.
But these people before him had no idea of Ye Ningze's aspirations.
These families had grown accustomed to their dominance in Qingcheng Base.
They absolutely could not tolerate the rise of other emerging families.
These families would never understand Ye Ningze's broader perspective.
The Great Grandmaster who discovered Ye Ningze was clearly the person in charge here. When he asked Ye Ningze to stay, no one else dared to say anything.
Thus, Ye Ningze stood aside and waited quietly.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the soil and approached the old Great Grandmaster.
He cupped his fists and reported, "Elder Hong, the mission is complete!"
Ye Ningze looked at the martial artist who suddenly appeared and reported to the old Great Grandmaster, feeling a bit surprised.
"Earth attribute talent?"
He was certain that this martial artist had not dug his way out, as there were no holes or cracks in the ground.
It was somewhat like the earth-bending technique in movies, appearing completely out of the ground.
In certain situations, such earth attribute talent was indeed good, but it also had obvious limitations.
It could not pass through steel, mountains, rocks, or rivers.
Moreover, it could be very dangerous underground; one could easily encounter peril.
Ye Ningze thought about it and gave up the idea of copying this talent.
Compared to such flashy talents, Ye Ningze cared more about talents that enhanced his combat strength.
"Everyone spread out!" Hong Lao commanded as Ye Ningze was contemplating.
Swish swish swish!
Upon hearing Hong Lao's order, the martial artists quickly moved away from their positions, distancing themselves from the hillside.
Everyone's expression was tense, as if something big was about to happen.
Seeing this, Ye Ningze also retreated to the side with them.
"Begin!"
After the martial artists had retreated, Hong Lao shouted.
As soon as his voice fell, the ground began to shake.
Boom boom boom!!
As if from a magnitude ten earthquake, a terrifying surge of primal energy emanated from underground.
"This, this is?"
Ye Ningze was horrified, his expression changing slightly.
He could feel the terrifying fluctuations coming from underground, a surge that seemed capable of annihilating the earth.
"This fluctuation is too strong; even Great Grandmaster martial artists cannot produce such a terrifying fluctuation!"
Just as Ye Ningze was astonished, an unbelievable scene unfolded. The entire hillside instantly exploded, sending countless rocks flying like cannonballs in all directions.
Some of the rocks landed near the martial artists, but these martial artists were powerful enough to easily shatter them.
In a blink of an eye, the hillside in front of them disappeared, revealing a large cavern.
And beneath the cavern lay a large number of dead Divine Power Ants, their bodies still burning with flames.
At the same time, Ye Ningze sensed that the temperature in this area had suddenly risen by more than ten degrees.
"It's a bit like the missiles from my previous life," Ye Ningze secretly marveled.
However, this was clearly not a missile, as he could sense primal energy fluctuations underground.
This was likely similar to the principle of missiles, where primal energy was condensed into a missile and then detonated to produce destructive power.
"What terrifying power, how was this achieved?!"
An elite martial artist was greatly astonished, his eyes revealing unconcealed fear.
Hearing this, Yang Chenfeng sneered and explained, "This is a flame bomb refined from the heart material of top-tier fire-attribute fierce beasts. It was provided by our Yang family!"