Chapter 858, Grand Sky City

Translator: Jon

Translation Checker: Silavin

 

The battle on the Spirit Peak soon ended. Without the Spell Cultivator’s control, the spell had significantly weakened. It crashed into Lu Ye’s Protection Glyph and shattered it. He was sent flying away. Although he was attacked, he was fine.

 

When he arrived at the Spirit Peak, he saw Shui Yuan and a cultivator whose blood was streaming out of his mouth. With a pale face, the cultivator pressed his hand against his chest and stood beside her.

 

His outfit suggested that he was a Spell Cultivator. He was the one who cast a spell to attack Lu Ye earlier.

 

Presently, he was giving Shui Yuan an explanation with a dejected expression. “It’s a misunderstanding, Senior Sister Shui Yuan. I’ve received a secret order that tells me to capture a crook from Thousand Demon Ridge who would pass by this place. I didn’t expect this kind of mistake to happen.”

 

“Whose secret order is it?” Shui Yuan demanded.

 

The Spell Cultivator put on a bitter smile. “You’re also part of Bing Zhou Watch, so you understand that no secrets are to be revealed. Please stop making things difficult for me.”

 

Since it was a secret order, he naturally couldn’t tell anyone about it.

 

Shui Yuan glared at him for a moment before saying through clenched teeth, “Get lost!”

 

The Spell Cultivator let out a breath and cupped his fists at the woman before leaving in a hurry.

 

“Second Senior Sister.” Lu Ye walked up to her.

 

He wasn’t surprised that Shui Yuan had been following him. Although he hadn’t detected the woman’s traces or aura along the way, he could feel that someone started tailing him the moment he left Crimson Blood Sect.

 

The Sect Master was with Lady Yun, so it was reasonable to assume that Shui Yuan was the one following him.

 

“Are you alright?” Shui Yuan asked while turning around and studying him. Upon making sure that he was fine, she set her mind at ease.

 

“I’m fine.” Lu Ye shook his head. “If I cannot make it to Grand Sky City on time, what would the consequences be?”

 

“Orders are to be obeyed. If you cannot make it there on time, you’ll be killed.”

 

Lu Ye arched his brow. “Is someone trying to get me killed?”

 

“It seems that you’ve realised it.”

 

Lu Ye said, “I never thought about that previously. However, some things are too coincidental.”

 

Not long after he left Crimson Blood Sect, he came across a flood that might kill many people. Then, he bumped into a Sword Cultivator from Grand Sky Coalition who was hunting down a crook from Thousand Demon Ridge. It so happened that the crook intended to capture Lu Ye.

 

Even if those two incidents were merely coincidences, things started getting suspicious when he came here and was suddenly ambushed.

 

Although Lu Ye could use the Protection Glyph, he might not be able to take an attack from a Real Lake Realm Master. If Shui Yuan hadn’t appeared in time and wounded the Spell Cultivator, which made it impossible for him to continue controlling the spell, Lu Ye would’ve been injured. He might even have gotten badly wounded.

 

Once that happened, he wouldn’t be able to move, and it was likely that he couldn’t arrive in Grand Sky City on time.

 

The Spell Cultivator who ambushed him might not know what was going on either, but from his perspective, his mistake wasn’t serious as long as he only injured Lu Ye and made sure the latter wasn’t killed. He was merely obeying the order. The incident could be dismissed as a misunderstanding, and he could just apologise afterwards.

 

That was the reason Shui Yuan didn’t kill him. Things would become thorny if she killed a Real Lake Realm Master who was on the same side. Moreover, the person might have been tricked as well.

 

“In that case, the flood and the fleeing cultivator from Thousand Demon Ridge were only meant to test the waters.” Lu Ye suddenly came to that realisation.

 

The two incidents could slow down Lu Ye, but the main objective was to find out if there was any powerful protector behind Lu Ye.

 

Since no powerful cultivator from the Crimson Blood Sect was found, the Spell Cultivator was then sent to attack Lu Ye.

 

“You’re clever, Little Junior Brother.” Shui Yuan glanced at Lu Ye. “Your life in Grand Sky City will be tough, so you have to be careful.”

 

“I understand.” Lu Ye dipped his head.

 

The person who could make such arrangements to harm Lu Ye must be powerful and hold an important position. Crimson Blood Sect was the one that was targeted, not Lu Ye.

 

Not all cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge were united, and it was the same case within the Grand Sky Coalition.

 

It was a coalition made up of Sects and Families of various sizes. There were many circles within the coalition, so it was only natural that they would do things for their own vested interests.

 

The incident from 30 years ago made many people resentful of the Crimson Blood Sect.

 

“Keep going. You won’t bump into any obstacle again. Once you join Bing Zhou Watch, you have to keep a low profile.”

 

Since Shui Yuan had shown up, the mastermind behind everything wouldn’t dare make a move again lest he be caught red-handed.

 

“Alright. Please take care of yourself, Senior Sister.” Lu Ye saluted her and turned around to leave.

 

Watching as Lu Ye left, Shui Yuan remained silent for a long time before she tapped on her Battlefield Imprint and sent several messages.

 

Just like what she had said, there were no more obstacles in front of Lu Ye. He flew forward at full speed and finally arrived in Grand Sky City in the evening.

 

The 12 Canyons in Bing Zhou made up Grand Sky Coalition’s defence line against Thousand Demon Ridge. Behind the 12 Canyons was the headquarters of Bing Zhou Watch.

 

Grand Sky City was also the last defence line of Grand Sky Coalition.

 

The city was vast and magnificent. The walls alone were about 300 metres tall. The walls were mottled with spots which were the traces left behind after several epic battles.

 

Decades ago, Grand Sky City faced a huge crisis and was almost occupied by those from Thousand Demon Ridge.

 

If the headquarters were conquered, they would lose Bing Zhou to Thousand Demon Ridge.

 

All the cities Lu Ye had seen so far were so insignificant compared with Grand Sky City. Even from several ten kilometres away, he could clearly see the defences on the walls.

 

He hastened his pace and soon arrived at the city. He looked around, trying to search for the entrance, but the city didn’t have a door.

 

Then, he saw many cultivators arriving and directly flying over the walls to enter the city.

 

Lu Ye came to the realisation that to cultivators who could fly, a door wasn’t necessary. If a door was there, it might become a weak point in the city’s defences. If they wanted to enter the city, they could just fly over the walls.

 

Lu Ye followed suit and flew over the wall to enter the city.

 

Upon his arrival, he immediately felt the Battlefield Imprint on the back of his hand vibrating, and then it radiated a blue glow.

 

Under normal circumstances, such a reaction would only happen when a cultivator proactively showcased his Battlefield Imprint.

 

There seemed to be a mysterious power in the city that could activate the Battlefield Imprints of cultivators who tried to enter the city. That way, they could easily find out which side these cultivators belonged to and make sure no cultivators from Thousand Demon Ridge could barge into the city.

 

Although the city was expansive, there were not many residents. Most of the cultivators were Cloud River Realm Masters who had just arrived from other places.

 

All cultivators had been driven out of Cloud River Battlefield as it was now being merged with the Peerless Continent. As such, no one could enter the Battlefield for the time being. With nowhere else to go, a lot of Cloud River Realm Masters came to the frontline where the two sides clashed.

 

Regardless, once they joined Bing Zhou Watch, they would get a monthly salary of battle points, which was an attractive incentive. If they could kill the enemies or complete tasks assigned to them, they would get even more benefits.

 

It was only natural that these cultivators were drawn to this place.

 

Therefore, even though there were many cultivators in Grand Sky City now, they mostly came from their Sects to join Bing Zhou Watch. Usually, this city was desolate as most of the sentries were at the frontline. Only a small number of people stayed at the headquarters.

 

Now that Lu Ye was in Grand Sky City, he had to report for duty first.

 

Unlike the other Cloud River Realm Masters, who took the initiative to join Bing Zhou Watch, Lu Ye came to this place upon receiving an order.

 

As such, he had to go to the Ministry of Orders and report for duty. Shui Yuan had told him about it before. He was given a three-day deadline. He had to report for duty before the deadline, and the time of his arrival in Grand Sky City didn’t matter.

 

Although he had no idea where the Ministry of Orders was, he could just ask around.

 

Soon, he arrived at a palace which was guarded by several cultivators. Upon seeing Lu Ye, they solemnly looked at him.

 

Lu Ye cupped his fists and said, “I’m Lu Ye from Crimson Blood Sect. I’m here to report for duty.”

 

The person on the left said, “Just wait here. The Commander is talking to a guest now.”

 

Lu Ye then stepped aside and waited in silence.

 

It was nighttime as the sky was full of Stars, but the entire city was still lively. Many cultivators were seen flying around in the sky.

 

Flying was not prohibited in Grand Sky City. After all, it was a massive city. If flying was banned, it would take them a lot of time to move around.

 

Since Lu Ye had nothing to do, he looked up to observe the cultivators and soon realised something.

 

There seemed to be some hidden rules among these cultivators. The stronger the cultivators were, the higher they would fly.

 

For example, Spirit Creek Realm Masters would drive Flight-Type Artifacts and stay around 30 metres above the ground. Cloud River Realm Masters would be around 60 metres above the ground, and Real Lake Realm Masters would fly higher than that.

 

Lu Ye wondered how these rules were even formed.

 

Although the city was busy as so many cultivators were flying around, the Ministry of Orders seemed desolate. He was the only one who was there to report for duty.

 

He didn’t think too deeply about it. He would just deal with anything that came his way.

 

As time passed, the Moon and Stars moved to different spots.

 

Lu Ye furrowed his brows.

 

He would only meet the three-day deadline by reporting for duty before that. Although he had arrived in Grand Sky City before the deadline, he would be punished with the death penalty if he couldn’t report for duty on time.

 

At the thought of this, Lu Ye approached one of the cultivators who were guarding the place. He cupped his fists and asked, “Senior Brother, when is the Commander going to see me?”

 

The cultivator shot Lu Ye a look and replied impassively, “Just keep waiting.”

 

Lu Ye frowned. “Will you please inform the Commander of my presence?”

 

“I told you to wait!” The cultivator appeared impatient.

 

Lu Ye stared fixedly at him.

 

The aroma of tea permeated the hall. A charming woman was taking a sip of tea while looking into the jade slip in her hand. Her smile suggested that she seemed to have discovered something interesting.

 

Beside her, a man in tight-fitting clothes leaned against the chair and crossed his legs. He seemed to be completely at ease.

 

“Your legs,” the woman said gently without looking at him.

 

The man in tight-fitting clothes snorted and uncrossed his legs. He then straightened up and asked, “He’s here. Aren’t you going to see him?”

 

“Why the hurry when time is not up yet?”

 

“He’s here to report for duty. If the deadline is due, he’ll be punished. Aren’t you worried Shui Yuan will come and fight you? She’s also a Divine Ocean Realm Master now.”