Chapter 694 An Emergency Meeting

The next morning, Chu Miao and Ye Xuan left the Soul Ring after everyone had rested.

The ruins of City S remained quiet.

After confirming that there were no surviving zombies hiding underground, Chu Miao selected an open area and took out the materials needed to build a temporary teleportation array.

City S was too far from City A. Even if they drove without stopping, the journey would take several days.

They didn’t have that much time to waste.

Chu Hao watched his sister place the spirit stones around the array and asked, "Will we leave this here?"

"No. This is a one-time array. It will collapse after everyone passes through."

"What if we need to return?"

"We can set up another one."

Chu Hao looked at the pile of high-quality spirit stones disappearing into the array.

"Bunny, you have become very wasteful."

Chu Miao stopped what she was doing and looked at him.

"If you would rather drive back, I can remove your name from the people using it."

"I was only praising you for being generous."

"That did not sound like praise."

"It was."

Chu Hao walked onto the completed array before she could change her mind.

Lei Ying followed while trying to hide his smile.

The saber-toothed tiger stepped onto the formation last. Its large body occupied nearly half the available space, forcing Lei Ying to stand near the edge.

"Move over," he told it.

"There is nowhere to move."

"You could make yourself smaller."

"You could stand on one leg."

Lei Ying stared at it.

"You have four legs."

"And you only need one."

Chu Miao activated the array before their argument could continue.

A bright light covered everyone.

The ruins of City S disappeared, and a moment later, they appeared inside the restricted teleportation hall in the Chu Sect.

Several disciples guarding the array jumped to their feet.

"Sect Master!"

Chu Miao stepped down from the formation.

"Where is Commander Shen?"

"He left for the military district early this morning."

"Contact him and tell him we are back. Ask him to return immediately."

"Yes, Sect Master."

One disciple hurried away while the others stared at the people emerging from the array.

Their attention soon settled on Chu Miao and Ye Xuan.

Even though the two had restrained their cultivation, the disciples could still sense that something about them had changed.

Their presence was calmer than before, yet it carried an invisible pressure.

One of the disciples gathered enough courage to ask, "Sect Master, did you and Instructor Ye advance?"

Chu Miao nodded.

"We both reached the Divine Transformation stage."

The teleportation hall became silent.

A spirit stone slipped from one disciple’s hand and rolled across the floor.

No one bent down to pick it up.

They had known that the sect master and Instructor Ye were powerful, but the Divine Transformation stage still seemed impossibly far away.

Most disciples had only reached Foundation Establishment. The more talented ones had entered Golden Core, while a few of the older cultivators were approaching Nascent Soul.

Divine Transformation was a realm they had only read about in cultivation manuals.

"Congratulations, Sect Master!"

Someone finally remembered to speak.

The other disciples reacted and offered their congratulations as well.

Their voices attracted several people outside the hall. Within a short time, news of the two breakthroughs began spreading through the sect.

Chu Miao allowed the excitement to continue for a while before raising her hand.

"Everyone should return to their duties. We will hold a celebration later."

The disciples immediately quieted down.

After they left the teleportation hall, Chu Hao looked at his sister.

"Will there really be a celebration?"

"After we deal with the zombies."

"That could take months."

"Then you should remember to remind me in a few months."

Chu Hao felt that his sister had no intention of remembering on her own.

They had barely reached the main residence when Butler Cheng hurried out to meet them.

"Bunny, you are finally back."

"Second Grandpa."

Butler Cheng looked over the entire group before relaxing.

"No one was injured?"

"No. Ah Xuan’s tribulation cleaned up the whole city for us."

Ye Xuan remained silent.

It was true, but the way she said it made his Divine Transformation tribulation sound like a cleaning service.

Butler Cheng noticed the changes in their cultivation and smiled.

"Both of you advanced?"

"Yes."

"That is good. Your parents will be happy. They have been asking when you would return."

"They are inside the Soul Ring. They will come out after we finish the meeting."

Butler Cheng nodded before remembering something.

"A group of eight survivors arrived two days ago. They carried your wooden token."

Ye Xuan immediately knew who he meant.

"Where are they?"

"They have been registered and given temporary housing. Two of them are level-five ability users, so they were assigned to the outer patrol team after their injuries were examined. The others are still undergoing training."

Butler Cheng paused.

"They were very nervous when they arrived. They kept asking whether the wooden token was genuine."

Chu Miao looked at Ye Xuan.

"You picked up more people?"

"I met them on the way to City S."

"Were they suitable?"

"Yes."

That one word was enough.

Ye Xuan would never bring people into the sect merely because he pitied them. If he had given them a token, their character had passed his test.

"We can meet them later," Chu Miao said. "The meeting comes first."

They entered the main conference room and spread the maps from City S across the long table.

Ye Xuan contacted Commander Shen through the communication device.

The call connected after a few seconds.

"Ye Xuan?"

"We are back."

Commander Shen’s tired voice became more alert.

"Did the breakthrough succeed?"

"Yes. Both of us advanced."

"Both?"

"Miaoer also faced her tribulation."

Commander Shen was quiet for a moment.

Then he sighed.

"You two are determined to make everyone else feel slow."

"You can complain after returning to the sect. We found something in City S."

Ye Xuan briefly explained the underground command room and the planned attacks.

Commander Shen stopped joking immediately.