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In terms of age, Lu Ye and Jiang Liuzi were practically peers. They were both geniuses to be able to enter the Cloud River Battlefield as young as they were.
However, Lu Ye was currently covering his face with a fox mask. Jiang Liuzi could tell from his appearance that he was a man, but that was it.
This greatly displeased Jiang Liuzi. Generally speaking, a person who needed to hide their face in day-to-day dealings was bad news.
That wasn’t the only thing that frustrated the sword cultivator. He was unable to tell what type of cultivator Lu Ye was.
At first glance, Lu Ye looked like a combat cultivator. Only a combat cultivator would choose to wear tight-fitting clothes that did not restrict their movement. On the opposite spectrum, only spell cultivators would choose to wear baggy clothes with massive sleeves.
On the other hand, Lu Ye was also carrying a small, white-colored Spirit Beast on his shoulder, so perhaps he was a Beast Tamer. He could not say for certain though. There were many cultivators who took a Spirit Beast with them on their journey, but not all of them were Beast Tamers.
So, he was facing off against someone who might or might not be a combat cultivator and/or a Beast Tamer. The thought alone made him, a sword cultivator who dedicated his life solely to the sword, feel like puking. The guy in front of him had to be a treacherous bastard who used deception and underhanded methods to win his battles, or he would not need these disguises. Speaking of disguises, the face mask he chose to cover his face was absolutely loathsome. It was clearly another way to keep him on his toes.
Jiang Liuzi immediately launched a flying sword at Lu Ye after that.
Most sword cultivators had a one track mind. In Jiang Liuzi’s case, there was no one he loathed more than crafty little shits who swindled their way to victory. It did not matter what type of cultivator Lu Ye was. He would know once he forced him to act!
The flying sword moved so fast that it crossed over a hundred meters of distance in nearly an instant. Jiang Liuzi expected Lu Ye to dodge out of the way, but to his surprise, Lu Ye responded by unleashing a flying weapon of his own. Sparks erupted from the point of impact as sword clashed against sword.
[He’s fast!]
For the first time, a sliver of eagerness entered Jiang Liuzi’s expression. Although the exchange was brief, it was enough for him to glimpse a lot of things. For starters, he could tell that his opponent possessed incredible reaction speed. Second, he was tremendously confident in his own abilities. He would not have been able to remain calm and react perfectly to a sword cultivator’s sword otherwise.
This was exactly the type of opponent a sword cultivator needed to face to hone themselves! He wouldn’t say that his previous opponents were weak, but they were unable to draw out his interest at all because they lacked certain qualities.
His first sword was blocked, but that was hardly the only flying weapon Jiang Liuzi possessed. Another three flew toward Lu Ye from different angles.
Lu Ye met the attack head on with another three flying weapons of his own.
Clang clang clang!
Metallic clangs resounded throughout the valley as the six swords clashed in the space between the two cultivators. It sounded like a mini war was going on even though neither man moved a muscle.
A short while later, Jiang Liuzi’s expression morphed into surprise. It was because he realized that he was losing the flying weapon duel!
They were both controlling four flying weapons, but his opponent’s telekinesis skills were clearly superior to his. Not only was Lu Ye controlling his swords like his own finger, he noticed that the weapons would flash from time to time. Every time they did, their speed and power would increase drastically.
[Bastard… just how strong is his mind to overcome me in a flying weapon duel?]
What shocked Jiang Liuzi even more was Lu Ye’s Spiritual Power. He could sense that he was just a Third-Order Cloud River Realm cultivator!
Jiang Liuzi was usually the one challenging opponents whose cultivation level was higher than his. He had never been on the receiving end and losing until now, not to mention that Lu Ye was two minor realms below him! It was so absurd that, for a second, he actually wondered if he was hallucinating.
Realizing that his enemy was going to push back against him if he did not do something soon, Jiang Liuzi gritted his teeth and unleashed another nine swords.
If his skill wasn’t on par with his enemy’s, then he would compensate for that weakness with quantity!
The battle immediately climbed to a new level of intensity as a dozen swords chased after each other in the air. While keeping his enemies’ flying weapons busy, Jiang Liuzi sent the rest after Lu Ye himself.
Lu Ye still had swords to spare, however. His final three flying swords exited his Weapon Holder with a whoosh.
The clash continued, and Jiang Liuzi felt even more frustrated than before. Despite having deployed at least a dozen flying swords, he was only able to fight Lu Ye to a standstill. In fact, he strongly suspected that Lu Ye could control more than nine flying weapons. He could not possibly display the level of fine control he was displaying otherwise.
He was right. Lu Ye could control more than nine flying weapons. In fact, he could control more since he was just a mere Spirit Creek Realm cultivator. The reason he didn’t refine more flying weapons was out of consideration of their offensive power and their upkeep when deployed.
Lu Ye was a combat cultivator. He excelled in many areas thanks to the Tree of Glyphs, but his main fighting style was ultimately close-quarter combat. From his perspective, the Way of Telekinesis was just one way to deal with enemies beyond his normal range. He saw no need to push it to its absolute limits, not to mention that the Weapon Holder could only nurture a maximum of nine flying weapons.
Killing intent flashed across Jiang Liuzi’s expression as he unleashed another ten flying swords!
[Let’s see how you deal with this!] He thought grimly to himself.
It wasn’t a bad tactic. Lu Ye literally did not have any more flying weapons to spare, and the ten flying swords were coming at him from multiple directions. Left with no choice, the combat cultivator channeled his Fire Attribute Spiritual Power into one hand and fired a Fire Phoenix at the incoming swords. The Fire Phoenix looked so lifelike that even the feathers were clearly visible.
At the same time, he fired a Fire Dragon technique with the other hand.
On the Spirit Peak, the Fourth-Order spell cultivator cried out in surprise after seeing this, “What incredible cast speed! Is he a spell cultivator, senior sister?”
Just like Jiang Liuzi, the female spell cultivator still hadn’t figured out what type of cultivator Lu Ye was even now. It wasn’t like she could ask him about it. It was only now that she had a good reference point to venture a guess.
Instead of answering, Xia Qianqian recalled her experiences in the Myriad Beasts Domain. Once upon a time, she naively thought that Lu Ye was a pure combat cultivator as well. However, she gradually learned how wrong she was when Lu Ye displayed his attainment in Beast Taming, wards, spells and more…
Sometimes, Xia Qianqian literally wondered if Lu Ye was a monster clad in human skin. Was it truly possible for anyone to be this talented? There were countless wannabes who tried to dabble in multiple Ways especially during the start of their cultivation journey. Most of them failed miserably, and the few who succeeded never truly excelled in their secondary cultivations. Lu Ye was the only one she ever knew who dabbled in multiple Ways and, against all odds, excelled in all of them.
Just look at the spells he was casting right now. Anyone would’ve believed that he was a true spell cultivator judging from their power and cast speed. There was no way he could cast as quickly as he did if he hadn’t invested an enormous amount of time into studying and practicing his spells.
However, as someone who had fought side by side with Lu Ye, Xia Qianqian knew that that would be a huge mistake.
In the valley, the battle had risen to a new crescendo after the probing stage was over. Swords and spells flew all over the battlefield.
Lu Ye had picked up the Fire Phoenix technique and Fire Dragon technique way back when he cultivated the Red Lotus Sky Mnemonic. Naturally, he wouldn’t forget these spell techniques. This was especially true for the Fire Phoenix Technique. Ever since he obtained the Glyph: Fire Phoenix, he had been getting better and better at casting the spell. It was also a lot more powerful than before.
However, the Fire Dragon technique and Fire Phoenix technique weren’t the only spell techniques he could cast. He had unlocked many spell-type Glyphs on the Tree of Glyphs including Golden Arc, Lightning Invoking, Leaf Dance, Fire, Water Arrow and Earth Protrusion. If he constructed the Glyphs individually, he could totally use them to blast his enemies into smithereens. Of course, he could also use them to set up offensive wards and so on. It all depended on where and how he applied the Glyphs.
He had never intended to become a spell cultivator, but there was no denying that he was going further and further down the Way due to the Tree of Glyphs unlocking these Glyphs. If he wanted to pretend to be a spell cultivator, literally no one could see through his “disguise”.
Unfortunately, he could never fool anyone on the Spirit Creek Battlefield because everyone knew Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect was a saber-using combat cultivator. They might be wowed by his spell proficiency, but they would never mistake him for an actual spell cultivator.
It was different in the Cloud River Battlefield though. Even before he acquired the face masks, no one had recognized him as Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect.
Meanwhile, Jiang Liuzi thought he discovered the truth when he saw Lu Ye casting the multiple spells to block his flying swords. [He’s a spell cultivator!]
Rage immediately followed the realization. As a sword cultivator, the last cultivator he was afraid of was a spell cultivator. It was because he was their natural counter.
However, not only was said spell cultivator blocking all of his flying swords right now, the sonuvabitch was two minor realms below him!
How could he possibly endure this humiliation?
An ordinary cultivator would’ve found the shame unbearable, let alone someone as prideful as Jiang Liuzi.
Previously, he only used his flying swords because he thought his telekinesis was enough to defeat or slay Lu Ye. It was also a common probing technique.
Unfortunately, reality proved to be a harsh mistress. Who would have thought that he, a top ten ranker of the Scroll of Supremacy and a powerful sword cultivator, would be outdone by a spell cultivator who was two minor realms below him? Then again, he should’ve known that the world was a vast place.
[If telekinesis isn’t enough to defeat him, then…]
Jiang Liuzi abruptly withdrew all of his flying swords. At the same time, a sword appeared in his hand seemingly out of nowhere. When he wiped his fingers across the blade, and his Spiritual Power surged, the flying swords started spinning around him like a hurricane. While hidden behind a storm of flying swords, Jiang Liuzi launched himself forward and charged toward Lu Ye at high speed.
All the spells and flying weapons Lu Ye fired at him were blocked by the blade hurricane. Not only that, the sword cultivator reached Lu Ye’s flank in the blink of an eye.
No one truly saw how Jiang Liuzi got there. Sword cultivators were just that fast.
Without pause, Jiang Liuzi thrust his sword toward Lu Ye’s neck.
[Die!]
On the Spirit Peak, the female spell cultivator let out a cry of surprise and fear. Xia Qianqian’s heartbeat had quickened as well.
Although she knew Lu Ye was strong enough to defeat opponents above his cultivation level, it was clear that Jiang Liuzi was no ordinary Fifth-Order sword cultivator. It was a coin toss whether Lu Ye could actually defeat his opponent.
Jiang Liuzi was sure he could kill Lu Ye with the strike, but his expression morphed into shock all of a sudden. It was because he noticed a saber appearing in Lu Ye’s hand at the same time he thrust his sword forward!
[Something smells fishy about this!]
Lu Ye’s raging Spiritual Power was abruptly withdrawn into his body. At the same time, he placed one hand on the Inviolable and another on the sheath. His vitality began churning and mingling with Amber’s.
His right arm swelled a little, and there was a brief lull that was not unlike the calm before the storm. Then, violent energy poured out of Lu Ye like a volcanic eruption.
Flash!
The saber left its sheath, spilling blood and sending Jiang Liuzi flying even faster than he was charging earlier. His eyes widened in disbelief even as he did his best to catch himself.
The saber flashed again, and a crescent-shaped energy flew straight toward him.
Boom…
That wasn’t all. Lu Ye kicked off the ground hard enough to crack it and followed behind his own energy attack like a shadow. At the same time, he controlled all nine of his flying weapons to attack Jiang Liuzi from all sides.
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