Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
“Kill me if you dare!” Brother Wu uttered through gritted teeth while glaring at Lu Ye. Fearlessness was the one thing every Jiu Zhou cultivator seemed to possess, not to mention that he, a Heaven Nine cultivator, had lost to a Heaven Seven cultivator who was way younger than him. What else was there to say?
Lu Ye withdrew his saber and spun on one leg. Before Brother Wu could react, Lu Ye landed a powerful kick on his left temple that tore his hastily built Spiritual Power Shield apart and sent him flying across the air once more. This time, he wasn’t able to climb back to his feet. The kick had knocked him out completely.
The fight was brief, but the eruptions of Spiritual Power still drew the attention of many Devoted Ones cultivators. It wasn’t long before several figures rushed over to the scene. They immediately saw their Brother Wu lying on the ground, possibly dead, and three strangers that definitely should not be standing within their Outpost. One of them was even carrying a saber in one hand and gushing with Spiritual Power.
“Enemy attack!” Someone shouted.
The entire Outpost came to life at that cry. Countless cultivators began rushing over from multiple directions. At the same time, the people who had already arrived mercilessly ganged up on Lu Ye. Sure, they didn’t know who the newcomers were, but it did not change the fact that they had somehow barged into their Outpost and possibly even killed Brother Wu. The only way to respond to such violence was with violence.
The flying weapons were the first to arrive. For a time, the Outpost was filled with the sounds of flying weapons whistling through the air.
The Inviolable moving so fast that it was almost a blur, Lu Ye accurately sent every Spirit Artifact that flew his way into the air. He himself traveled back and forth the battlefield like lightning because he had imbued himself with Windwalk beforehand.
Zzzt zzzt zzzt! Muffled groans of pain erupted, and blood splattered against the ground.
There weren’t many Heaven Nine cultivators even in the Core Circle because everyone except those who were consolidating their power or climbing the Scroll of Supremacy had chosen to ascend to the Cloud River Realm. The Brother Wu Lu Ye just knocked out was one of those who were in the middle of consolidating his power. This period could be as short as ten days, or as long as three months. It was all up to the cultivator’s choice.
Even then, those aiming to climb the Scroll of Supremacy still wouldn’t stay at the Spirit Creek Realm for too long.
As a result, the Scroll of Supremacy was updated more frequently than most rankings, and the list was filled with new names practically every few months.
Of course, the top three were exceptions to the rule…
The first few attackers were all Heaven Seven or Heaven Eight, and at Lu Ye’s current skill level, he did not need much effort to take them all down. His only problem was how to take them down fast enough so that he wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the reinforcements.
The first few waves of attackers were easily defeated and repelled by Lu Ye. As time passed, their faces grew more and more serious. Why? Because they had never seen such a powerful Heaven Seven cultivator, of course.
It wasn’t long before more Devoted Ones disciples joined the attack, and this time Amber revealed his true self and let out a mighty roar. He was an entire size bigger than he was earlier, and the light gold Spirit Beast energy surrounding his body looked thick enough to be solid. The roar immediately caused a wave of dizziness among the charging cultivators.
Yi Yi also appeared and fired spells in every direction. Her casting speed and amount were positively terrifying.
Ju Jia soundlessly moved behind Lu Ye and gathered a large ball of Spiritual Power in his hand. After it had transformed into a barrier that looked like a turtle’s shell, he held it up and blocked all the attacks directly at Lu Ye’s back.
More and more Devoted Ones cultivators were starting to surround them, and the attacks grew dense enough that Lu Ye could no longer take the fight to the enemy without risking massive injuries. His flying weapons flew out of his Weapon Holder one after another and created a storm of blades around him. His skill with them was positively breathtaking.
From a bird’s eye view, one could see that countless Devoted Ones cultivators had surrounded the three cultivators and one tiger at the center, spells and flying weapons clashing in mid-air non-stop.
The Devoted Ones’ attack hit Lu Ye’s group again and again like waves, but they always managed to stop them without fail.
Suddenly, an angry roar cut through the chaos, “Cease your struggle and allow yourself to be captured, or I will kill her right now.”
.
Lu Ye’s group looked back and saw that a Devoted Ones disciple had captured Feng Yue before they knew it. Not only was he pressing a blade against her milky white neck, it had cut into her skin and caused her to bleed out a little. Feng Yue looked like she might faint on her feet.
There was a short silence before Lu Ye’s group withdrew their gaze. Then, they continued blocking the incoming attacks coming their way and launching a counter attack from time to time.
That was not the reaction the guy was expecting at all. He looked confused as Feng Yue moaned in despair, “Do I look like I’m a part of their group? I’m just a stray they picked up on the road, dude. Uuuuuuuuuu!”
At the same time, she raged internally at her past self for following Lu Ye to the Core Circle when she should’ve entered the Inner Circle instead considering her cultivation level. It wasn’t like the decision itself was bad, but what in the world made her fifth senior brother think that kicking down the Devoted Ones’ front door and having a showdown was a good idea? Was he dropped as a child or something?
Now, they were probably all going to die.
The battle was in full swing when suddenly, a handsome man appeared in the Sanctum of Providence. It was none other than Li Baxian teleporting to the Outpost after hearing about his junior brother’s arrival from Shui Yuan.
He was very happy that his junior brother had come to visit him as a matter of course. He was just wondering how he should welcome his junior brother when suddenly, he sensed that all was not right in the Outpost. He could feel chaotic waves of Spiritual Power coming from a certain direction and what definitely sounded like an incredibly intense battle.
Li Baxian blanched. He immediately dashed toward the exit.
“Senior brother,” Feng Yuechan called out to him. She had been waiting for him outside the sanctum.
Li Baxian was so bothered by the bad premonition growing in his heart that he didn’t even bother correcting her before asking, “Is someone attacking our Outpost?”
It had been years since they encountered such a thing. Ever since he and Feng Yuechan had reached the top of the Scroll of Supremacy, the Outpost had become as solid as a rock. Even the Tier-One sects didn’t dare to provoke them without good reason.
“No, that’s not it.” Feng Yuechan grabbed his hand, summoned her flying Spirit Artifact, and flew them both into the sky.
Li Baxian focused his eyes on the battle happening in the distance. He immediately exclaimed in horror, “Junior brother!” 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦.𝘦𝑡
As it turned out, it wasn’t the Thousand Demon Ridge attacking the Outpost. It was his junior brother being attacked by his own disciples, and it looked like he was in great danger.
Li Baxian was going to rush to his junior brother’s rescue when Feng Yuechan stopped him.
“What?”
“Have you wondered why Junior Brother Lu came to the Outpost and caused such a scene, senior brother? He is a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect. He should know better than to do something like this.”
Li Baxian replied in an urgent tone, “Can we talk after we save him?”
He was puzzled by his junior brother’s odd behavior as well, but this was not the time to be figuring the ins and outs of the incident. The truth could reveal itself after the conflict was stopped.
“Junior Brother Lu and his companions aren’t in danger. Can’t you see that our disciples aren’t aiming to kill?”
Now that she mentioned it, Li Baxian realized that she was right. He hadn’t noticed because he was gripped by panic, but if the Devoted Ones’ disciples truly wanted Lu Ye’s group dead, they would’ve died a long time ago considering the sheer amount of people that were attacking them.
The assault was undeniably fierce, but they were fighting with the goal of capturing them. That was why they were able to hold out for this long.
“You’re the one who gave the order?” Li Baxian realized in hindsight.
Feng Yuechan nodded.
“What on earth are you guys doing?” Li Baxian was growing more and more confused.
Feng Yuechan replied, “You’re a smart man, senior brother. Do you still not understand why Junior Brother Lu is doing all this? He had probably come here to speak with you, and our disciples tried to make trouble for him. The rest is history.”
Li Baxian’s eyes glittered when he heard this. “What did you tell him?”
“Just so you know, I did not speak to Junior Brother Lu before. But I’m not the only one who knows, am I?” Feng Yuechan gave his hand a squeeze before adding, “Do not worry, senior brother. I will handle this right now.”
Although she had ordered her disciples not to fight to kill, one could not be too careful. The only reason she hadn’t stopped it earlier was because she wanted Li Baxian to witness this with his own eyes.
Right after she said this, she appeared on the battlefield in the blink of an eye. While floating in the air, she ordered lightly, “Stop!”
As the champion of the Scroll of Supremacy, Feng Yuechan was clearly well-respected despite her origin. The second she gave the order, everyone who was attacking Lu Ye’s group immediately stopped what they were doing and withdrew. Many of them were covered in wounds, and some looked like they had been punched in the face. And they were. They were close combat cultivators who had tried to fight Lu Ye and Ju Jia at close range only to come up very, very short.
Of course, it wasn’t like Lu Ye’s group was doing too good themselves. Lu Ye was covered in enough wounds that his entire shirt was drenched in blood. Thankfully, it only looked terrible. None of his injuries were severe.
Ju Jia was even more ridiculous. There wasn’t even a scratch on the guy’s skin.
“You outnumbered your enemy almost a hundred to one, and yet this is the outcome, huh? Impressive. All of you are truly living up to the teachings of our sect.”
Her sarcastic comment caused everyone who had fought in the battle to turn as red as a tomato.
Sure, part of the reason they weren’t able to take down Lu Ye’s group yet was because she had ordered them not to kill, but they had still outnumbered the enemy almost a hundred to one. Not only that, no one in Lu Ye’s group was higher than Heaven Seven. Considering the odds, anything less than an immediate and crushing victory was a stain on their honor, much less this.
“The Outpost really has been peaceful for too long. It was great living under my and Senior Brother Li’s wings, wasn’t it? So great that most of you seem to have forgotten how to fight. What will happen if the two of us are gone, and you have to defend yourselves one day? Are you guys just going to let the enemies roll over you?”
The group looked ashamed enough to bury themselves in the ground. No one dared to say a word against her.
“Many people believe that our Outpost is as solid as a rock with me and Senior Brother Li around, but that’s only because they haven’t noticed the rot beneath the surface. You all think that you can slack off in your training because someone up top will support the weight of the Heavens for you, but do you really think we can protect you forever? At this rate, you can unlock all three hundred and sixty Spiritual Points and ascend to the Cloud River Realm, and our enemies are still going to slaughter you like chicks!”
She then glared at the cultivator still holding Feng Yue hostage and rebuked him harshly, “And you! Is this what you’ve learned after all the years we’ve spent raising you? Bullying the weak and taking hostages to win a battle? Sure, the gloves are off if the enemy is the Thousand Demon Ridge, but who are these people? They are Grand Sky Coalition cultivators just like us! What were you thinking?”
The cultivator visibly flinched. “Senior sister, that’s not what I—”
“Do not find an excuse for your actions! That is the way of a weakling! If you were strong, you would be fighting instead of taking a frail woman hostage, not to mention that she’s a medicine cultivator! Seriously, what kind of man would hold a medicine cultivator hostage?”
That was going a bit too far, but no one was stupid enough to tell Feng Yuechan off. The cultivator turned beet red as he let go of Feng Yue.
Feng Yue hurriedly put a few steps between herself and the Devoted Ones cultivator before shooting Feng Yuechan a grateful look. [Oh man, the Core Circle is too dangerous. I want to go home.]