Hearing this, Ye Ming was truly dumbfounded.
The other party claimed he was one of the middle-tier individuals who hadn't betrayed their ancestors?
Or even their leader?
This...
Was it a joke?
But the problem was, a wisp of the other party's soul was in his hand.
If the other party were lying, Ye Ming would be able to detect it.
And the final result was... no abnormality.
The soul had no fluctuations.
This was the truth.
"This... this..."
Ye Ming stood there dumbfounded, looking at the old man kneeling before him, feeling somewhat at a loss.
This reversal was too sudden.
Not only Ye Ming hadn't expected it, but even Ye Qingzhu's mind was buzzing.
"Hehehe! Surprised, aren't you!"
The old man in the black robe still gave a wry smile and said, "There's no way around it. The internal situation of the Guardians is too complex. My actions were a desperate measure!"
"This... I..."
Ye Ming reached out and tugged at the old man's arm: "Perhaps... you should get up first."
It was really not good for him to continue kneeling like this.
"Young Master Ye is the inheritor of our ancestor, and naturally, he is the young master to us Guardians. My kneeling is not inappropriate."
After standing up, the old man in the gray robe smiled.
Having revealed his identity, he felt a sense of relief.
Otherwise, if he had to endure the pain of soul separation again, his old life would have been forfeit.
"Um... may I ask your name, senior?"
Ye Ming was indeed feeling a bit awkward.
Of course, it wasn't his fault.
Who could have imagined such a situation would occur?
"I am one of the Heaven-ranked Guardians within the organization, named Fan Shen."
Fan Shen introduced himself.
"Heaven-ranked Guardian?"
Ye Ming was a little confused.
Subsequently, Fan Shen explained to him in detail the hierarchical structure within the Guardians.
In the Legacy Guardians founded by Ye Zhisheng, the Guardians were divided into four ranks.
They were named Tian, Di, Xuan, and Huang (Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow).
The highest-ranked Guardians were called Heaven-ranked Guardians.
Next were the Earth-ranked Guardians.
Then the Profound-ranked Guardians.
And finally, the Yellow-ranked Guardians.
Ye Qingzhu was a Yellow-ranked Guardian.
According to Fan Shen, there were currently five Heaven-ranked Guardians within the organization.
Before his identity was revealed,
On the surface, three had betrayed their ancestors, one was neutral, and one adhered to the ancestral teachings.
As for the Earth-ranked Guardians, there were nearly twenty.
Most of them had been infiltrated by other forces from the Outside Land and had betrayed the cause.
Overall, the Guardians were now leaning towards betrayal.
If it weren't for Fan Shen and another Heaven-ranked Guardian working together in the open and in secret, the Legacy Guardians would likely have all revealed themselves by now.
And joined the conflict.
"This is the current situation."
After speaking, Fan Shen sighed helplessly.
"How long can this balance last?"
Ye Ming frowned and asked.
"The balance has already been lost!" Fan Shen shook his head and said gravely, "The one who was neutral has wavered."
"You mean..."
Ye Ming's gaze turned cold, understanding what the other party meant.
Once that neutral Heaven-ranked Guardian also chose to betray, the proportion of Heaven-ranked Guardians alone would reach... three to two.
They would already have the upper hand.
Not to mention the remaining Guardians.
"I suspect that within three days, they will also march into the present world!"
Although Fan Shen said it was a guess, his tone was full of gravity.
After all, he had been undercover for so many years. How could he not know the actions of the betrayers and whom they had contacted?
Now, it was only a matter of time before they revealed themselves.
"Young Master, this is actually not the worst news."
At this moment, Fan Shen's expression grew even heavier, as if he had thought of something.
His address to Ye Ming had also changed from "Young Master Ye" to "Young Master."
Hearing this address, Ye Ming was stunned for a moment, and then he smiled faintly, accepting it.
"What bad news?"
Fan Shen said solemnly, "Young Master, you should know about the Immortal Alliance, shouldn't you!"
The Immortal Alliance?
Upon hearing this name, Ye Ming's body trembled involuntarily.
During this period, the Immortal Alliance had been mentioned to him more than once.
"Do they have any new major movements?"
Ye Ming asked urgently.
It was worth noting that people from the Outside Land generally referred to members of the Immortal Alliance as "Remnants of the Origin."
However, those like Fan Shen, who were inheritors, did not address them in that way.
They simply called them members of the Immortal Alliance.
Clearly, these two ways of addressing carried different connotations.
"I am not entirely sure if they have any major movements."
"What I want to say is that those betrayers have recently been very close to the members of the Immortal Alliance. Some of them may have already joined them."
Joined the Immortal Alliance?
Hearing this news, Ye Ming was shocked again, unable to recover for a short while.
The Immortal Alliance alone was enough to give him a headache.
Now, the organization founded by his teacher had also joined them.
Wasn't this doubling the trouble!
"Young Master has inherited from our ancestor, so you should be aware of the relationship between our ancestor and the leader of the Immortal Alliance in the past."
Fan Shen said with a wry smile.
"I know that!"
Ye Ming nodded, recalling some past events recorded in the Immortal Scripture.
Ye Zhisheng had once mentioned that he had considered joining the Immortal Alliance.
Although he had ultimately refused.
From this alone, it was evident that the leader of the Immortal Alliance was definitely an extraordinary figure.
"It is precisely because of our ancestor's connection with the Immortal Alliance that some of the betrayers feel no significant psychological burden in joining them," Fan Shen said with a wry smile.
"After all, our ancestor himself had considered joining them."
The Immortal Alliance had seized upon this point to win them over.
"Alright! Let's not talk about them for now."
Ye Ming waved his hand, his head aching a little.
The Destiny Alliance had just been established and had not yet solidified its footing; there was no need to clash with the Immortal Alliance.
As long as they didn't provoke him,
They could coexist peacefully.
However, Ye Ming had a premonition that they might take the initiative to seek him out soon.
"Elder Fan, you should continue your undercover work. I need to be aware of their every move."
Ye Ming rubbed his temples, organizing his thoughts.
"Yes! I understand!"
Fan Shen knew that it wasn't the time to reveal himself yet.
At this moment, Ye Ming opened his palm, releasing Fan Shen's soul confinement and returning it to him.
Since their identities had been confirmed, this wisp of soul was no longer useful to him.
"Thank you, Young Master!"
Fan Shen quickly took it back.
He certainly didn't want to experience the previous pain again.
"Qingzhu, come here!"
Fan Shen beckoned to Ye Qingzhu, who responded and came over.
She had overheard their conversation and was feeling somewhat apprehensive at the moment.
"Young Master, Qingzhu was raised by me and is absolutely trustworthy."
Fan Shen recalled that he had previously interrupted Ye Ming and Nai Ni'er's intimate moment, so he spoke:
"From now on, she will serve you!"