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If Lu Ye were to be perfectly honest, Amber wasn’t very helpful despite its best efforts and intentions. It was a different story if it became a Champion-class Spirit Beast, however. At the very least, it would be able to stand on its own feet in the Cloud River Battlefield, not to mention that they had formed the Life Energy Art and Beast Pact Art as well. The stronger Amber was, the greater the benefits Lu Ye could reap from his Tamed Beast.
As for Yi Yi, she was Amber’s Ghost Spirit. Their lives were literally tied to one another. If Amber became a Champion-class Spirit Beast, she should naturally reach the level of a Cloud River Realm cultivator as well.
Everyone’s growth had skyrocketed after their adventure in the Myriad Beasts Domain.
Four hours later, after the first Purple Amulet had run its course, he took out his second Purple Amulet and crushed it.
Time passed peacefully amidst dull, dull cultivation.
On the third day, Lu Ye heard a series of knocks on his door and set down his book. He opened the door and came face to face with Kitty Shen.
“What is it?”
Kitty Shen looked over his shoulder and noticed the slumbering Amber. However, she didn’t think too much about it and said, “The Wisp of Sanctification was stolen, and our Arcane Glade was destroyed. What are your future plans?”
Lu Ye shook his head to indicate he hadn’t thought that far away. If this was the Spirit Creek Battlefield, he might’ve considered returning to his Outpost and lending them his aid. Cultivating there would be slow, but it was better than nothing.
In the Cloud River Battlefield, a cultivator without an Arcane Glade was no different from a homeless person. They could only roam the world and seek out opportunities to the best of their abilities.
“In that case, would you like to come with me?” Kitty Shen asked expectantly.
“Where are you going?”
“A friend of mine just messaged me saying that she had stumbled upon a newly born Arcane Glade. She needs to gather a group of trustworthy companions as soon as possible. I’m going to meet up with her, and you’re more than welcome to join me. You’re a ward cultivator, I’m sure she won’t turn you away.”
Ward cultivators were easily the most popular breed of cultivators in the Cloud River Battlefield because their skills were critical in improving the defense of an Arcane Glade. Lu Ye’s cultivation level might be a bit weak, but he was skilled enough in the Way of Wards that any group with an Arcane Glade that was Tertius-level or below should accept him.
Kitty Shen had thought of Lu Ye immediately after she received that message. She had also asked her friend about this and obtained their permission. That was why she had come to offer him an invitation.
However, Lu Ye shook his head after thinking for a moment. “Thank you, but I don’t think I’ll be joining you. I need to find that sect mate of mine.”
He didn’t know what the hell was going on with Ju Jia, but the body-tempering cultivator still hadn’t shown up at the Arcane Glade even though it had been almost two months since he messaged him about it.
Yesterday, when Lu Ye was checking in with Ju Jia, he discovered in horror that the body-tempering cultivator was still half a month away from the Arcane Glade, and that was assuming he was traveling at the normal pace of a Cloud River Realm cultivator too. At Ju Jia’s pace, it might be months, maybe half a year before he finally showed up.
Moreover, Amber was in the middle of ascending right now. He could neither leave it behind nor take it with him. He could use the Spirit Beast Bag, but there was a chance it might disrupt its ascension. It just wasn’t worth the risk.
“Is that so…” Kitty Shen’s eyes turned disappointed. “Are you sure?”
Lu Ye shook his head firmly.
The young woman broke into a wry smile and said, “I guess this is goodbye then. I hope we will still be friends when we meet again in the future.”
Even now, they still didn’t know the other person’s name or faction. This rarely happened in the Spirit Creek Battlefield, but was an all too common sight in the Cloud River Battlefield. In fact, companions who seemed as close as siblings could turn on each other in the blink of an eye. Take Lan Ziyi and him for example. They had afforded each other their full cooperation during their adventure in the Myriad Beasts Domain, but he did not doubt for a second that she would kill him if given the opportunity. It was the same for him.
“Take care!”
“You too.” Kitty Shen gave Lu Ye one last sunny smile before walking away and leaping into the air. It wasn’t long before she vanished into the horizon.
They were strangers who had run into each other by chance and hung out with each other out of convenience’s sake. Naturally, they weren’t going to stay with each other until the end. It had always been a matter of time before they separated once the thing that tied them together was gone.
Neither person felt too sad about the parting since not enough time had passed for their relationship to deepen into something meaningful. Kitty Shen had left with no regrets, and Lu Ye didn’t feel sorry about her departure.
This would not be the first or the last parting he experienced in his cultivation journey.
Suddenly, Lu Ye looked up into the sky and raised his hand. Something small, white and cold landed on his palm before melting into cool water.
It was snowing.
Maybe it was because he was a Third-Order cultivator now, but it was only now that he noticed the drop in temperature. He could not help but recall his time as a mining slave in the Evil Moon Valley. At the time, winter was easily his most feared season bar none. Countless mining slaves had died from the cold because they were neither fed enough food nor given enough clothes to keep warm. He himself had barely stayed alive by stealing the clothes of the frozen corpses around him.
Today, he no longer suffered from the weather as he had before. It was one of the benefits of being at a higher cultivation.
He walked back into his room and resumed his reading. He had already used up all of his Amulets, so the only way to continue his cultivation was to consume Spirit Pills. In this regard, Lu Ye was far more advantaged than any other cultivator. For as long as the Tree of Glyphs were fueled, he could consume a gazillion Spirit Pills and never suffer the sequelae—assuming he could refine them in time, of course.
This was the true reason he didn’t really need an Arcane Glade.
The snow was pretty heavy. After he got bored with reading and cultivating, he left the house and began honing his blade technique. His moves hadn’t changed, but somehow it felt different to perform the dance under the heavy snow.
As of late, Lu Ye had a feeling that his blade skills had reached a bottleneck. He was close to making a breakthrough, but unlike his cultivation, he couldn’t just pour Spiritual Power into his body until it automatically entered the next level. Moreover, he could feel each cultivation breakthrough clearly. During the Spirit Creek Realm, it was unlocking the next Spiritual Point. During the Cloud River Realm, it was the sudden expansion of his river of Spiritual Power. It was impossible not to notice when he entered the next minor realm.
Making a breakthrough in his blade skills was different, however. There were no clear milestones that informed him how close he was to the next level. Consuming Spirit Pills or inhaling World Spiritual Qi wouldn’t help him either.
He had considered using the Mystic Fruit to hasten his progress, but Amber was still asleep right now. Right now, it would be folly to enter the Rift of Illusions at best. Both him and Amber would be completely defenseless if an enemy chose that exact moment to attack them.
This hill was pretty secluded, but everyone in the Cloud River Battlefield could fly. Theoretically, there was no place in this world that a Cloud River Realm cultivator could not reach. In fact, many cultivators had passed through the hill during this time, even though none of them noticed his presence because of the Concealment Ward he set up. As long as he didn’t cause waves on purpose, and as long as the other cultivators weren’t looking too closely, it was unlikely that he would be discovered.
Amber remained asleep for seven days straight, and the snow had continued for just as long. The snow outside his wards was at least a meter deep.
Lu Ye was practicing his blade technique when suddenly, he heard a strange noise coming from inside his house. He immediately looked over just in time to see Yi Yi flying out into the open.
Lu Ye’s eyes lit up as he put away his saber and walked up to her. The young girl slammed into his chest so hard that he was knocked to the ground.
Yi Yi clutched his waist with a death grip, burying her face into his chest like she was trying to sink into him. Her fragrant hair tickled his nose because of the aggressive action.
Lu Ye rubbed Yi Yi’s head gently while voicing his puzzlement, “What’s wrong?”
They had met each other when they were both weaklings. Together they had gone through thick and thin for three years. She viewed him as her family, and he her, but this was the first time he saw her reacting this violently. Even now, he could feel her petite figure trembling slightly with fear and shock.
“Lu Ye, I dreamed for a very, very long time. It was such a long, deep dream that I… I thought I would never awaken from it,” She said with a sob.
Amber had fallen asleep while undergoing its ascension, and Yi Yi, its Ghost Spirit, was affected as well. Only seven days had passed from Lu Ye’s perspective, but from Yi Yi’s, it might as well be seven years.
Moreover, the feeling had reminded her about her past. At the beginning, she felt like she was stuck in this black, unwakeable dream until one day, she abruptly awakened to reality. Since then, she became Amber’s Ghost Spirit.
That was why there was nothing she feared more than being stuck in an unwakeable dream.
“Uuuu… I’m scared!” Yi Yi started crying loudly.
Lu Ye continued to caress her head gently and tried to console her, “The dream is over. There’s no need to be afraid any longer.”
“Uuuuuu!” Unfortunately, it only made her sobs louder.
It was at this moment that a tiger’s head entered the corner of his eyes. It was Amber exiting the house. Judging from its energetic appearance, it was clear that it had completed its ascension. That was why it had awakened at the same time as Yi Yi.
Lu Ye shot Amber a look, but Amber immediately turned away in refusal. He could almost hear it saying, “Don’t look at me! I know nothing about consoling girls!”
Lu Ye’s gaze immediately sharpened into disdain. Amber countered with an innocent expression.
Knowing that he couldn’t rely on the white tiger’s help, he had no choice but to try another method. He started stroking her back gently while humming a happy rhyme. He hoped that it would be enough to chase away the sorrow in her heart.
It actually worked. Amber immediately straightened its large ears in concentration. Yi Yi’s sobs gradually softened over time until it was completely gone. Still leaning against his chest, she looked up at Lu Ye and stared at him with reddened, astonished eyes.
She was astonished because she never knew that Lu Ye could sing. Moreover, the tune was unlike anything she had ever heard.
When Lu Ye reached the end of his tune, Yi Yi sniffed once before asking, “What song is that?”
“Don’t Be Afraid.”
“Really? That’s a weird way to name a song,” Yi Yi stared at him doubtfully while wondering if he was lying to her. She then added, “Sing it again, but with lyrics this time.”
“Er, I only know how to hum the tune…”
“I don’t care! I want to hear it!” Yi Yi demanded while pursing her lips like she was about to cry again.
“Fine, fine.”
And so, Lu Ye cleared his throat and began singing the song, the lyrics of which he had almost forgotten. As expected, he could not stop going off-key because he hadn’t sung in a very, very long time…
Amber covered its face after listening to his song for just a moment. Yi Yi was barely holding back her laughter as well.
At first, Lu Ye was too embarrassed to give it his all. Eventually though, his volume grew louder and louder until he was practically singing on top of his lungs. Yi Yi and Amber were his only audiences anyway. There was nothing to be embarrassed about.
When he was done, he sneakily dropped a snowball into Yi Yi’s back and let out an evil cackle, “This is your punishment for laughing at me!”
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