Sage of Humanity

In the wooden hut, Lu Ye accepted the challenge, chose the terrain of the combat field, and as fate would have it, Heaven's Augury descended, causing the figures of a man and a tiger to quickly vanish.

It was still the same combat field, covering just a few dozen square feet. Lu Ye steadied his stance, waited for the white light in his vision to scatter, and then lifted his gaze to size up the opposite side.
Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

On the other side of the combat field, a tall woman dressed in purple quietly stood there. Her appearance was undoubtedly beautiful, and her physique was exceptional, exuding an aura of tranquility and refined elegance.

This woman was named Lan Ziyi, dressed in purple, truly living up to her name.

Lu Ye's gaze shifted downward, his eyebrows imperceptibly raising.

While he assessed the other, the other was also assessing him. As the strongest members emergent from their respective camps, it wasn't about empathy for each other; observing the opponent before a big battle was an instinct.

Lan Ziyi showed no signs of equipped Spiritual Artifacts. Could she be a magic cultivator? Lu Ye pondered skeptically.

Yet, looking at her apparel, it didn't quite seem so.

Whether she was or not, he would know after trying.

The supplies box at his waist buzzed, releasing nine streaks of spirit light like tigers bursting from their gates, chasing the moon and stars as they attacked Lan Ziyi, covering most of the dozens of feet in a blink.

Lan Ziyi raised her hand and pointed forward. A pure streak of spirit force transformed into a spirit force line and shot out.

This was not any magic or spell, but a precise control of one's own spirit force. Yet its power was no less significant than any spell.

Surprisingly, after this spirit force line shot out, it suddenly split into nine, each aiming at the nine streaks of spirit light.

With a series of clinking sounds, all nine of Lu Ye's controlled weapons were blocked.

More spirit force lines shot out from the opposite side, some unchanged, others suddenly branching off. In an instant, the space before Lu Ye was interwoven into a vast net with spirit force lines, casting down over him.

This spirit force net locked the earth and sealed the sky, leaving Lu Ye with nowhere to evade.

The Boulder Mountain Saber thunderously unsheathed, with a strike toward the front.

A fiery red streak flashed past, the spirit force net covering Lu Ye was cleaved open, and he shot out like an arrow released from its bow, charging toward Lan Ziyi.

If the opponent seemed to be a magic cultivator, then Lu Ye naturally would engage closely with her to maximize his advantage.

However, as soon as Lu Ye charged forward, he heard the clear sound of a chime, lifting his eyes just in time to see more than a dozen streaks of light attacking from that side.

Those many streaks of light, were all flying swords!

A magic cultivator commanding flying swords? That was quite uncommon.

Lu Ye remained undisturbed amidst change; his psyche under control, he had the nine controlled weapons surrounding him meet those flying swords, while his steps did not cease and he continued his assault.

The clinking sounds were incessant to the ears, as both parties' weapons clashed and sparred mid-air, sending sparks flying everywhere.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Ye had closed in to within ten feet of Lan Ziyi, the Boulder Mountain Saber wrapped in fiery light, bursting with killing intent.

Lan Ziyi, who hadn't moved from her spot, lifted her hand to grasp in the void, and a two-handed glaive appeared in her hands, Lu Ye hadn't even seen clearly how the sword had appeared.

This was a two-handed glaive, much wider than a traditional longsword, and appeared significantly bulkier, providing a striking visual contrast when held by such a woman as Lan Ziyi.

With both hands on the glaive's handle, she faced Lu Ye's descending saber and met his strike with her sword!

Boom...

In the combat field, a wave of energy swept over and a moment of violent spirit force explosion, Lu Ye's figure shook, but he steadied his body.

Lan Ziyi also slightly bent her body, yet she did not take a single step back.

This surprised Lu Ye, as no Spirit Stream Realm cultivator had ever taken one of his slashes without retreating, not even the physique cultivators of the 9th Heaven.

Yet this delicate and tall woman had managed it.

This person was definitely not any magic cultivator!

What also concerned Lu Ye was that from the beginning to the end, the woman had a light smile at the corner of her mouth. Her silent demeanor carried an air of superiority.

Han Tiejun was right; this woman was tricky and truly faced the battle with a gamelike attitude.

Locked in close combat, the two stood less than ten feet apart, eyes locked, with one red and one blue spirit force under their respective commands, fiercely colliding and clashing.

In general, this was the time when the Sun Blaze Spirit Runes would come into play...

Spirit light flashed upon the Boulder Mountain Saber, bursting with dazzling light, and just then, Lu Ye felt an overwhelming force from ahead. Propelled by that fierce power, he found himself drifting several feet backward.

Simultaneously, Lan Ziyi seized the moment to retreat, closing her eyes.

Clink, clink, clang...

Around them, the controlled weapons and flying swords were still relentlessly clashing, even as their swords crossed, this skirmish did not cease.

Such a test undoubtedly challenged one's psyche. Lu Ye's psyche was strong because he had purified his soul in the Soul Cleansing Pool and continued to consume a considerable amount of Soul Cleansing Water afterward.

However, the strength of Lan Ziyi's psyche was no less than Lu Ye's, which was somewhat bewildering.

Just as they were both retreating, a flying sword broke through Lu Ye's weapon control blockade and slashed at him silently.

Lu Ye, not yet having landed, didn't even look as he lashed out with a saber, its destructive power dimming the spirit light of the flying sword and sending it flying to the edge of the combat field.

The usually infallible Sun Blaze Spirit Runes didn't work wonders this time, as Lan Ziyi's reaction was too quick; the moment she sensed something was amiss, she pushed Lu Ye away while simultaneously closing her eyes.

When the light scattered, two figures charged at each other again in another fierce collision, akin to two great mountains smashing together, their great sword and longsword enveloped in differently colored glows, intertwining and bursting with killing intent.

Lu Ye's eyes narrowed, having sensed something amiss the moment he was pushed back.

This woman's strength seemed excessively great, and now he felt it even more clearly; each time their swords clashed, his arm shook slightly, and his palms gradually went numb.

It was almost unbelievable.

In a contest of strength, he had actually been bested by a woman!

Looking at her blood Qi, it wasn't incredibly vigorous, so how could she possibly unleash such formidable power?

During the clash, Lu Ye thought of a possibility and immediately formed Insight Spirit Runes in his eyes.

Under his insight, he finally saw the truth.

In terms of blood Qi energy, Lan Ziyi certainly was not as potent as him, but this woman clearly mastered the Blood Moving Technique; every time her great sword chopped down, she could perfectly utilize all her strength, which is why her burst of power was stronger than his.

This was something Lu Ye could not match; although he had practiced the Blood Moving Technique for a few days, he was nowhere near as skilled as she was.

If one were to compare, if the power inside Lu Ye's body was a hundred, then Lan Ziyi's would only be about seventy or eighty; but without using the Blood Moving Technique, Lu Ye could only unleash half of his own strength, and although using the Blood Moving Technique, he could match her, he could never achieve her level of proficiency.

In contrast, Lan Ziyi could unleash all her strength at any time.

Lu Ye dared not use the Blood Moving Technique lightly; the battle had just begun, and it was irrational to prematurely use his trump card without understanding the opponent's capabilities fully.

A trump card should indeed be something that finalizes the battle!

Although he was outmatched in strength, Lu Ye still had spirit runes to activate—Move-Like-The-Wind, Hefty Weight, Sharpness—all sorts of spirit runes employed in various ways, which also caused Lan Ziyi quite a bit of trouble, rendering the fight inconclusive for the time being.

Amber roamed the edge of the battlefield while Yiyi hid underground, neither taking part in this fight.

Both the spirit and the tiger knew Lu Ye's intentions; encountering such an opponent was rare, and naturally, he wanted to fight joyously first to hone his own skills, rather than overwhelming the opponent with numbers which, even if victorious, would hold little satisfaction.

The airborne exchanges of controlled weapons and flying swords gradually quietened...

Both Lu Ye and Lan Ziyi had recognized the other's power, facing such an opponent, neither could afford any distraction, thus they both recalled their controlled weapons and flying swords.

Once more, a fierce collision occurred, with the effectiveness of the Hefty Weight Spirit Runes causing Lan Ziyi to stoop almost to the ground, almost kneeling from a momentary oversight, Lu Ye gathered his blood Qi energy madly towards his right arm; instantly, his entire right arm swelled, turning a bright red.

The Boulder Mountain Saber also flashed with spirit light, enhanced by Double-Sharpness.

Single Flash!

He struck successfully!

This strike hit Lan Ziyi's waist, relying on the burst of Single Flash and the enhancement from Double-Sharpness Spirit Runes, no one in the Spirit Stream Realm could withstand this hit, and Lan Ziyi's most likely fate was to be split in two, instantly killed.

However, the next moment, Lu Ye realized something was wrong.

This strike indeed hit Lan Ziyi, but her body had not been split apart; the moment the longsword fell, Lu Ye distinctly saw a thick barrier enveloping Lan Ziyi entirely.

The immense force sent Lan Ziyi flying, tumbling several times in mid-air before she landed awkwardly.

However, Lu Ye also felt pain in his abdomen; in the instant she was sent flying, the great sword pierced Lu Ye's body, penetrating three inches deep; had he not sent Lan Ziyi flying, the sword almost would have skewered him!

Such a wound inflicted by the great sword was considerably severe.

Lu Ye's abdomen immediately gushed blood, his body staggering backward.

He quickly formed Bloodstain Spirit Runes at his chest, and under the pull of the runes, the flowing blood gathered back.

Standing there, Lu Ye frowned and looked over at the woman.

He couldn't fathom what kind of defense that was, capable of blocking his attack enhanced by Sharpness Spirit Runes and even the activated Blood Moving Technique of Single Flash!

He hadn't seen Lan Ziyi activate any Spiritual Artifacts, indicating the barrier was her own doing.

This is troubling!

If even Single Flash couldn't break through her defense, how was he to kill her?

On the other side, Lan Ziyi, half crouching with her great sword grounded and legs dragging two lines in the combat field, barely managed to not fall.

Although she didn't know what measure she'd used to block that fatal strike, thus avoiding the fate of being bisected at the waist by Lu Ye, she could not mitigate the violent impact, and now blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.

She leaned on her longsword and slowly stood up, her eyes curiously sizing up Lu Ye as if reassessing him.