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Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Cultivators led a tumultuous, violent life. Even the toughest cultivators could not avoid getting injured. The wound would heal given the proper care and treatment, but the same could not be said for hidden injuries.
Hua Ci was just a Heaven Eight cultivator, so she was unable to remove these types of injuries. Their second senior sister, Shui Yuan was the only one who was good enough to heal all of Lu Ye’s hidden injuries.
In fact, Shui Yuan would do exactly that for Lu Ye every time he returned to the headquarters.
Now, it would seem that the Spirit Mist of the Pool of Heaven also possessed the power to heal one’s hidden injuries. If nothing else, Lu Ye certainly felt much lighter than before. It was as if he had broken free from some sort of invisible weight.
He was still practicing Flash when suddenly, he received a message from Yu Lianzhou. It said, “Fellow Cultivator Lu, I am ascending to the Cloud River Realm now. Also, Shi Guang has already ascended to the Cloud River Realm.”
Lu Ye immediately checked the Scroll of Supremacy and confirmed that that was indeed the case. In fact, many familiar names had vanished from the Scroll of Supremacy. He practically did not recognize the bottom fifty rankers anymore.
The Scroll of Supremacy was updated very frequently. Normally, it took mere months for the entire list to be replaced by a completely new batch of cultivators. This was because even the lowest ranker should have absorbed their fill after entering the Pool of Heavens just three or four times. After that, there was no point in lingering in the Spirit Creek Battlefield any longer.
Yu Lianzhou had also mentioned the Yi Ye Elimination Front briefly. Lu Ye knew that it was a temporary organization the Thousand Demon Ridge had set up to eliminate him. In fact, Shi Guang himself was the leader of the group.
The Yi Ye Elimination Front was a loose and temporary organization to begin with, and now their leader was gone. He did not think he had anything to worry about from them anymore.
After conversing with Yu Lianzhou for a bit and bidding him goodbye, the sword cultivator’s name soon vanished from the Scroll of Supremacy as well.
Lu Ye resumed his blade technique training after that. If he was tired, then he would cultivate and study until he regained his strength.
Infinite Island Outpost, Core Circle.
Infinite Island was a Tier-One sect with a deep foundation and countless talents. Right now, a young man was standing at a deserted spot and watching an exquisite-looking pavilion from afar.
Lu Ye would have recognized him right away. He was none other than Luo Ji, an old foe of his.
Of course, they were both pretty weak at the time. Lu Ye was on his way to the Crimson Blood Sect’s Outpost when he passed through the Mystic Sect and Nine Star Clan’s territory. For the crime of killing the Young Master of the Nine Star Clan, he had earned a bounty on his head. Later, the Mystic Sect interfered and fought against the Nine Star Clan at the Split Sky Gorge.
Luo Ji was training with the Nine Star Clan at the time. Dong Shu Ye then requested him to kill Lu Ye.
He was the first true spell cultivator Lu Ye had fought. It was him who contributed to Lu Ye’s loathing of spell cultivators.
Of course, Lu Ye no longer loathed spell cultivators as much as he did in the past because they were fragile.
It had been a year and a half since that day. Luo Ji had also become a Heaven Seven cultivator.
Luo Ji was different from the ordinary cultivator. He had cultivated a Heaven Grade cultivation technique right from the get go. When Lu Ye fought him, he was just a Heaven-Grade Second-Order Realm cultivator with fifty unlocked Spiritual Points.
Lu Ye was Third-Order at the time. He and Luo Ji had had a close match.
Most cultivators avoided cultivating Heaven-Grade cultivation techniques right from the get go because it took more time and effort to unlock Spiritual Points. However, Luo Ji still managed to reach Heaven Seven and unlock just under three hundred Spiritual Points in one and a half years. He was talented, and he came from a good background. In addition, he had done Infinite Island a great service. That was why he was rewarded handsomely after the Nine Star Clan’s Outpost was breached, and he had returned to the Outpost.
However, Luo Ji wasn’t satisfied with his current achievements. It was simple. He was still a nobody in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, and the only noteworthy thing about him was his sect. On the other hand, his old rival was famous throughout Jiu Zhou, not to mention that he had become the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy as a Heaven Eight cultivator.
Any genius would feel inferior if they compared themselves to Lu Ye.
When Luo Ji had returned to the Infinite Island, he had sworn that he would defeat the Mountain Tiger and wipe out his past shame with his own hands. However, it was clear that his oath would never come true.
Today, there was only one person left in the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield who could defeat Lu Yi Ye, and she was none other than the woman he had brought back from the Nine Star Clan!
At the time, he had no idea what was so special about the dorky-looking woman. In fact, the only reason he went to the Nine Star Clan’s Outpost to train was to carry out the will of his Elder.
The Elder was an expert in divination, and he had divined that “the purple cloud comes from the south”. That was why many Infinite Island disciples had been dispatched to the south in search of the prophesied person. In the end, he was luckier than his fellow disciples.
Over time, it was proven that their Elder’s prophecy was true. The woman had appeared to be socially inept and untalented while she was cultivating under the Nine Star Clan, but after he took her back to their headquarters, she was immediately acknowledged by the inheritance of the progenitor of their sect. Since then, her cultivation had been improving by leaps and bounds.
The last time he saw her was a month ago. At the time, she was already a Heaven Eight cultivator. Knowing her cultivation speed, Luo Ji reckoned that she should reach Heaven Nine very soon!
Luo Ji’s cultivation speed was pretty quick, but it was nothing compared to hers.
“Are you waiting for Zi Yi, Junior Brother Luo?” A voice suddenly startled him from behind.
Luo Ji turned around and saw that it was his Legate, Senior Brother Kong Bu. He turned a little red as he said, “I was just… in the area.”
Kong Bu chuckled. “There is nothing to be ashamed about your love, not to mention that you are the only one in the entire sect who can hold a conversation with her. Seriously, I would be so lucky if she answered any of my questions three out of five times a day.”
Luo Ji hurriedly defended Zi Yi, “Zi Yi doesn’t mean ill. She’s just a little slow.”
The entire sect knew that Zi Yi was slow. If they asked her a question, there was a chance she would only realize it the next day before rushing to tell them her answer. Countless senior brothers and sisters had been confused by her strange behavior.
Kong Bu replied good-naturedly, “I know. You don’t need to be nervous, Junior Brother Luo. You know I’m not a narrow-minded person.”
The Legate paused for a second before sighing. “‘The purple cloud comes from the south’, huh? The Elder’s divination skill ages as well as fine wine.”
“Yeah. I knew it was her from the moment I heard someone calling her name at the Nine Star Clan’s Outpost.”
The great service Luo Ji had done for his sect back then was to bring Lan Zi Yi to them.
“Oh right, I have a question, senior brother. You’ve mentioned before that you’ve sparred with Zi Yi. Do you think she could defeat Lu Yi Ye if she ascends to Heaven Nine?” Luo Ji asked.
“Absolutely!” Kong Niu answered without hesitation, “Zi Yi was only a Heaven Eight cultivator when we sparred, but I still nearly lost to her back then.”
Luo Ji hadn’t known the outcome of that spar. He smiled widely and said, “I’m very glad to hear that.”
Not only was Lu Yi Ye the only Heaven Eight cultivator in a rank list dominated by Heaven Nine cultivators, he was also the champion. How could the Thousand Demon Ridge be comfortable with this outcome?
If Zi Yi emerged from her secluded cultivation as a Heaven Nine cultivator, she would be able to defeat Lu Yi Ye and earn their sect much glory.
“Considering her cultivation speed, it should not be long before she comes out of secluded cultivation.”
“I hope so,” Luo Ji responded before adding, “Before I forget, congratulations for entering the top twenty, senior brother.”
Kong Bu shook his head wryly. “You know I’m not worthy of my current spot.”
His placement only went up because those who ranked above him had ascended to the Cloud River Realm recently.
…
Lu Ye’s idle lifestyle lasted exactly three days before he received a message from Feng Yue. “Fifth senior brother, help! Many Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators are surrounding the Three Sages School’s Outpost right now. I think they’re aiming to get you!”
Lu Ye did not understand her message. “You say they’re aiming to get me, but I’m not at the Three Sages School, am I?”
Feng Yue replied, “Exactly. They couldn’t locate you, so they’re going to attack me instead. I don’t even know how they found out that I’m a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect… what should I do, fifth senior brother?”
“Wait for me!” Lu Ye responded before messaging his friends about the situation. He quickly got a number of replies.
As it turned out, the Thousand Demon Ridge had been growing increasingly restless since he became the champion and received the Heavens’ reward. This was only compounded by the fact that they had been unable to locate him for months.
Lu Yi Ye was already nigh unkillable to begin with. If they allowed him to grow any stronger than he already was, then he would truly be invincible.
That was why the Thousand Demon Ridge was trying to force him to show up by threatening Feng Yue.
The good news was that Feng Yue’s exposure wasn’t the result of espionage activity. When Lu Ye had entered the Core Circle, he had taken Feng Yue to the Three Sages School’s Outpost and left her there. Multiple Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had witnessed this with their own eyes.
It was a bit late, but they had made the connection eventually.
The Three Sages School wasn’t the only one who was surrounded. The Devoted Ones had been dragged into the mess as well.
When Feng Yuechan and Li Baxian were still around, no one dared to challenge the Devoted Ones. But now, their invincible protectors were no more.
While it was common knowledge that the Devoted Ones loathed the Crimson Blood Sect these days, the Thousand Demon Ridge couldn’t care less about their feud. More accurately, every Core Circle sect that was even tangentially related to the Crimson Blood Sect was being attacked.
As a result, the Devoted Ones was in quite the conundrum right now. It wasn’t like they could explain things to the Thousand Demon Ridge either. They had no choice but to defend their Outpost as best they could.
Thankfully, the Thousand Demon Ridge was only surrounding the Outposts instead of attacking. It was to pressure Lu Ye into showing himself.
Lu Ye did not really care what might befall the Devoted Ones, but the same could not be said for the Three Sages School.
To say that his sect owed the Three Sages School would be an understatement. First, his Sect Master had stolen fifty of their best disciples. Two, he had brought disaster to their doorsteps and cost them their Outpost even though their Sect Master was the one who requested he visited their Outpost. Also, he had failed to fulfill his promise to cultivate at their Outpost because of his troubles.
Lu Ye was going to cultivate in peace and silence until he reached Heaven Nine, but the Thousand Demon Ridge had no regard for his wishes.
While keeping a tight lid on his anger, Lu Ye messaged Feng Yue and said, “Please inform our friends in the Three Sages School to stay calm. If their Outpost is breached before I get there, I swear I will compensate them for their loss one way or another.”
Again Demonic punks are pooling together huge forces with impunity, while the Sky bums are sitting about with a thumb up their… Er, not doing anything