Su Yuan frowned. "A small group of Scavengers? Since you've reported it to the Alliance, what are you worried about? With Black Flame City's million-strong army, holding them off shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Jia Jicheng gave a bitter smile. "I'm just afraid there might be some powerful Scavengers mixed in. If they're too strong, we won't be able to hold them off. Even if we can deal with them, the losses will be devastating! If you, Senior, could oversee the defense, we could allocate you ten percent of the defensive battle's Merit Points. Even if you don't end up needing to take action in the end, we'll still hand them over in full!"

Upon hearing this, Su Yuan's heart stirred.

The Merit Points from such a large battle would definitely be substantial, but the danger level was also unknown. Who knew what level of existence had wandered over?

However, with the boost from his ninety-order defensive treasure and the power boost from Zhan Tian, holding back one or two higher-level Scavengers shouldn't be a problem.

After some thought, Su Yuan said, "I'm currently in secluded cultivation in Black Flame City. If there's real trouble, you can tear open this command talisman. If I feel I can handle the fight at that time, I'll step in to help!"

Su Yuan tossed a command talisman to Jia Jicheng.

Jia Jicheng hurriedly caught it, but when he looked up again, Su Yuan's figure was already gone.

He walked out of the Chaos where the Chaos Stele was located and saw the cultivator stationed there.

He was certain this guardian must know that powerful expert's identity. However, this guardian was directly under the Alliance's command, not managed by Black Flame City. Besides, there was no need to ask. Asking too much was pointless; he just needed to be sure the other party would lend a hand when the time came.

"I need to report this news to the City Lord. I promised ten percent of the Merit Points without prior authorization; I still need the City Lord's approval!"

Regarding this, Deputy City Lord Jia was very confident. The City Lord was only at the fortieth-order anyway. If he knew there was a forty-fifth-order expert overseeing the defense, he would definitely be thrilled.

He hurriedly arrived at the deepest part of Black Flame City, where there was surprisingly a small courtyard.

In the courtyard, an old man was tending to a small plot of land like a farmer.

Within the plot, seven Nothingness Spiritual Plants were growing, and the old man was meticulously caring for them.

"City Lord! City Lord! Jia has urgent news to report!" Jia Jicheng rushed over.

"What's the matter, so flustered?" the old farmer asked with a calm expression.

"I just saw an expert with forty-fifth-order True Intent comprehension at the Chaos Stele!" Jia Jicheng said excitedly. "He actually jumped from the forty-first-order area all the way to the forty-fifth-order in one go! It's simply outrageous!"

Upon hearing this, the old farmer showed a look of surprise. "Really?"

"I saw it with my own eyes! He broke through consecutively from the forty-first-order area and reached the forty-fifth-order!" Jia Jicheng paused for a moment before continuing, "I invited him to help defend against the upcoming small group of Scavengers. As payment, I offered him ten percent of the entire battle's Merit Points as a reward. I need to report this matter to you!"

The old farmer nodded. "Fine, just ten percent of the reward, it's nothing. Compared to the potential massive losses Black Flame City might suffer, wealth is merely an external possession!"

"This is the command talisman he gave, saying to tear it open in a critical moment. If he feels he can win the fight, he'll appear!"

Jia Jicheng handed it over.

"You keep it yourself and judge the situation when the time comes! If powerful enemies appear, I'll have to take the field. I won't be able to assess the overall situation and won't have time to tear open a command talisman."

The old City Lord returned the talisman to Jia Jicheng.

Jia Jicheng immediately felt a heavy pressure. This was the old City Lord's trust in him; he couldn't fail to live up to the other's regard.

The old City Lord comforted him, "A squad from the Second Frontline will come to help. You don't need to worry. We probably won't need to use this talisman when the time comes."

Jia Jicheng's mouth twitched. "Usually, when people say that, it inevitably means it *will* be used! The situation on the Second Frontline is also tight, right? The Scavengers are increasing!"

"The situation isn't that bad yet, what the hell are you worried about!" The old City Lord waved his hand. "Get lost!"

"Yes!"

Jia Jicheng gave an awkward smile and retreated from the courtyard.

In the courtyard, the old City Lord, who resembled a farmer, continued cultivating the Nothingness Spiritual Roots before him, comprehending the Life Great Dao within them.

Spiritual plants capable of growing within Nothingness absolutely contained profound Chaos True Intent.

From these seven Nothingness Spiritual Plants, he had already gained five orders of True Intent comprehension.

Therefore, he wasn't actually at the fortieth-order anymore; he was now at the forty-fifth-order.

He hadn't told anyone else about this. As the old City Lord, having a few trump cards was perfectly normal.

On the other side.

Su Yuan returned to the Seven Stars Artifacting Shop and summoned the first client who had commissioned custom artifact forging.

Soon, Zeng An hurried over.

In the VIP room, Zeng An asked nervously, "Master Seven Stars, have you already finished the forging?"

He wasn't worried about forging failure, as Su Yuan had promised it would definitely be forged. He was just concerned about the quality of the finished product.

Su Yuan smiled slightly. "Naturally, the forging was successful. Look, they're right over there!"

Zeng An turned his head and saw two transparent covers in the distance, each containing a treasure floating inside. One was a small pagoda, the other a bead.

Zeng An exclaimed with joy, "Master Seven Stars, I never expected you to finish the forging so quickly!"

"Haha, I'm honored to have fulfilled the mission. You can take them directly now!" Su Yuan laughed.

Zeng An carefully approached the bead, reached into the cover, and when he took the bead out, a vast sense of Heavy Water Intent washed over him.

Zeng An immediately channeled his Chaos Origin into it, easily completing the refinement. This Dominator Artifact felt as if it had originally been a part of his body. It hardly required any comprehension to refine smoothly; he could pick it up and use it immediately!

This was an Exclusive Dominator Artifact, forged with his Origin Crystal as the core. His Chaos Origin was in perfect harmony with it.

Next, Zeng An tried activating the treasure.

A Heavy Water Domain immediately enveloped an area. Within the scope of this domain, he himself felt as comfortable as a fish in water, his strength significantly boosted. Anyone else inside, however, would immediately have their movements restricted and suffer various debuff effects!

"This is a twenty-seventh-order Peerless-Grade Dominator Artifact! Its quality is far better than the other Dominator Artifacts I possess!"

Zeng An was overjoyed. He had struck it big!

Moreover, this treasure indeed had room for expansion. In the future, when he advanced to the twenty-eighth or twenty-ninth order, it could be easily upgraded as well!

He put away the water bead, then took out the second Dominator Artifact.

Once the small pagoda emerged, it expanded infinitely, its size directly reaching a height of several million light-years. And this was its base size! If the internal Chaos Dao Patterns were activated, it could expand even further!

A Suppression and Sealing-type Dominator Artifact!

Zeng An excitedly refined this treasure. Upon sensing the Chaos Dao Patterns inside, he was utterly stunned. "Th-this... this is a Peerless-Grade Chaos Dominator Artifact?"

Su Yuan smiled slightly. "The luck was good, my touch was on fire. I managed to forge a Peerless-Grade Dominator Artifact by chance."

Zeng An felt like he was going to go crazy with joy! A Peerless-Grade Dominator Artifact was worth several times, even over ten times, more than an ordinary Peerless-Grade one! He had truly struck it big this time!