Sage of Humanity

If even that level of saber skill couldn't penetrate Lan Ziyi's spirit robe protection, calling for Yiyi and Amber to join in a group beating wouldn't make much difference.

But one had to at least give it a try!

However, the opponent's speed was too fast, and to land a strike on her, he needed to create some opportunities.

During their combat, Lu Ye's figure suddenly staggered, appearing as if his strength was waning.

Lan Ziyi wouldn't miss such an opportunity, her right hand thrusting with her sword, piercing directly through Lu Ye's abdomen and out his back!

Lu Ye grunted.

Before Lu Ye could counterattack, Lan Ziyi's left-hand sword was already stabbing towards him, aiming for his neck. If it struck, Lu Ye would lose his fighting ability even if he didn't die.

That sharp longsword rapidly enlarged in his vision, and just as the sword came within reach, Lu Ye suddenly raised his left hand in front of himself.

The sword's tip pierced through the palm, going straight through.

Lu Ye reached out with his large hand, letting the entire sword run through his palm, then clenched his left fist.

"Snap!"

The clenched fist caught hold of one of Lan Ziyi's hands.

The woman on the other side looked up, her eyes brimming with shock. Reflected in her eyes was Lu Ye's cold expression, and at that instant, she realized something.

She had been tricked!

Lu Ye's earlier staggering was merely a ruse, bait to make her act rashly.

But this kind of bait had cost Lu Ye dearly, with one sword piercing through his abdomen and another through his palm—it was ruthlessly harsh, both to his enemy and even more so to himself.

Lan Ziyi's sense of alarm burst forth, her whole body felt a piercing sensation, a sign of a great crisis looming.

Suddenly, spirit light flashed over her body, and that spirit robe, which normally would only appear when she was in danger, manifested ahead of time this time.

Rip...

The sound of clothing tearing could be heard.

In that instant, Lu Ye's right arm, holding the sword, swelled immensely, bursting the fabric on his arm. His blood Qi surged toward his right arm in an extremely short time, causing his face to become as pale as paper.

Lu Ye lifted his sword, bringing it down with a thunderous chop.

The Boulder Mountain Saber created several afterimages in that instant!

Single Flash!

Repeated Slashing!

In that instant, Lu Ye delivered three slashes downward, all were Single Flash Saber Technique enhanced with Double-Sharpness spirit runes. This technique, which delivered multiple attacks in a very short time, was known as Repeated Slashing, specifically designed to break through strong defenses, and was most appropriate here.

Lu Ye had planned to deliver a fourth slash, but after three, his right arm was completely powerless and numb, swollen to the thickness of a thigh, with split skin, torn muscles, and drenched in blood, it looked extremely horrifying.

He didn't even feel when his Boulder Mountain Saber had flown out of his grasp.

When the first slash of Repeated Slashing came down, Lan Ziyi's spirit robe perfectly withstood it. But as the second slash fell, the luster on the spirit robe suddenly dimmed greatly.

The third slash broke through the spirit robe, carving a frightening wound on Lan Ziyi's body that began at her right shoulder down to her lower left abdomen, with flesh ripped apart and clothing shredded to reveal pale skin, and within the gruesome wound, one could faintly see the beating heart.

The three slashes of Repeated Slashing not only shattered Lan Ziyi's spirit robe but also inflicted heavy wounds, along with the massive force that sent her flying backward. Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

However, in the instant she was sent flying, Lan Ziyi's long leg swept out like a long whip to strike Lu Ye's temple.

This woman didn't miss any chance to counterattack! She was as ferocious as a wild beast.

In that moment, Lu Ye was completely unable to move, and without even the chance to react, he was swept away, miserably crashing to the ground.

As he hit the ground, two longswords were pulled from his body and palm, blood spouting forth.

Upon landing, Lu Ye's head spun, stars danced in front of his eyes. He stumbled to his feet, but dizzy and disoriented, he couldn't stand firmly and collapsed back to the ground. After several attempts, he barely managed to kneel on the ground.

While he was so utterly debilitated, it was no easier on the other side.

Lan Ziyi was dazed by the three slashes from Lu Ye, and before this battle, she truly had never expected someone of the Spirit Stream Realm to be able to injure her, let alone in such a grievous manner.

As Han Tiejun had told Lu Ye before, she had always approached the Spirit Stream Ranking with a gaming mentality.

Until she met Lu Ye.

She had used all her skills, yet she nearly perished beneath someone else's three slashes.

The instant she was sent flying by Lu Ye's slashes, Yiyi and Amber moved into action simultaneously.

Having followed Lu Ye for so long, the spirit and the tiger naturally knew when to step in and when to keep a low profile.

Before, when Lan Ziyi had her spirit robe for protection, even if they had made a move, it wouldn't have been very effective. But now that the spirit robe was shattered and Lu Ye was running on fumes, it was their turn to make an entrance.

But Lan Ziyi wasn't foolish. Now, severely injured, she was not in any shape to continue the fight. If it was only Lu Ye, she might still have a chance to risk a fight, the outcome uncertain.

Amber suddenly rushed towards her, followed by a girl who was randomly casting spells. Lan Ziyi took a moment to assess the situation before her lips moved rapidly, and she vanished from the combat field.

Yiyi's spells missed their mark, which almost got her nose out of joint in frustration.

She hurried over to Lu Ye, only to find him half-kneeling on the ground, completely still, as if he didn't even have a breath left in him. His eyes also lacked their usual luster and had become extremely dim...

With a cry, Yiyi let out a sob.

Since following Lu Ye until now, she had never seen him in such a dire state, not even when she had taken him to Mount Ying to seek aid from Sister Hua Ci, had he been this miserable.

She quickly laid Lu Ye down flat and called out to Amber, "Quick, get Lu Ye out of here."

Upon hearing this, Amber ran back with the Boulder Mountain Saber and then bit onto the collar of Lu Ye's clothes.

Before Yiyi flashed back into Amber's body, she looked up into the sky and yelled, "Get us out of here!"

Amidst the mists of destiny, Heaven's Augury descended, leaving the combat field empty of any people.

At the third floor of the wooden house, the figure of Amber carrying Lu Ye appeared.

Yiyi's voice, panicked and distraught, emanated from within Amber, "Sister Hua Ci, Sister Hua Ci!"

With the Heaven and Earth spirit force being sealed, Yiyi couldn't reveal her physical form, but when she was hiding inside Amber's body, she was actually able to communicate with others.

"I'm here!" Sister Hua Ci's voice immediately responded.

She had been waiting there all along and the room was already prepared with some hot water and herbal bandages, clearly expecting that Lu Ye would be injured in this battle.

Holding Lu Ye, Sister Hua Ci placed him on the bed and sat beside him, examining his injuries, her expression growing increasingly grave.

Looking up at Lu Ye's face once more, his eyes were open, but the glimmer within was dull. Yet through those eyes, it seemed he held a deep anticipation for tomorrow and the future.

Anxiously, Yiyi asked, "Sister Hua Ci, how is he?"

Sister Hua Ci pursed her lips and remained silent. Instead, she lifted her hand to cover Lu Ye's eyes and gently stroked them.

Yiyi felt a pang in her heart, her voice trembling, "Sister Hua Ci?"

"Hmm?" Sister Hua Ci responded, and seeing that Lu Ye's eyes were still open, she reached out to cover them again.

"What are you trying to do, you witch?" Lu Ye blinked his eyes weakly, "I'm not dead yet! I just didn't want to move to conserve strength."

"I know you're not dead," Sister Hua Ci defended, "I was just trying to let you rest properly. You're the one who looks like you won't die with your eyes closed!"

Lu Ye, angered and in pain, decided to close his eyes and ignore her.

Yiyi exclaimed indignantly, "Is this really the time for jokes?"

After a thorough examination, Lu Ye's injuries were severe. The wounds left by Lan Ziyi on his body were actually the least of his concerns; most were either flesh wounds or through-and-through injuries. With Lu Ye's current condition coupled with Sister Hua Ci's methods, he could recover within a few days.

The key issue was Lu Ye's right arm, which was torn to shreds as he exerted the Repeated Slashing state of the Single Flash Saber Technique. At the moment, his right arm was swollen as thick as a thigh, with blood Qi accumulating within and unable to dissipate, causing injuries both visible and hidden. Even with Sister Hua Ci's skills, healing him would take some effort.

Especially now that the spirit force was restricted, many techniques were difficult to use.

Half a day later, Lu Ye lay in a barrel, soaking comfortably amid the verdant medicinal solution. Sister Hua Ci sat beside him, promoting blood flow in his right arm. The room steamed with warmth, shrouded in a veil of mist.

The battle that had captured the attention of countless cultivators from both camps had ended in utter silence.

Yet the outcome of this battle was inadvertently spread far and wide.

Lan Ziyi of Endless Island, who had followed in Lu Ye's footsteps and soared to third place in a storm-like ascent, suffered a grievous injury and was defeated in her challenge against Lu Yiye from the Righteous Blood Sect!

The news spread without much stir, mainly because Lu Ye's strength had already become deeply ingrained in people's hearts. The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge camp, though initially considering Lan Ziyi's challenge an opportunity, had no idea how substantial that opportunity was.

As for her defeat, it meant little loss to the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge camp.

On the other hand, the Haotian Alliance breathed a sigh of relief. As the challenged party, Lu Ye's victory was expected. Had he been defeated, the first place on the ranking would have been jeopardized, prompting many from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge to likely clamor and make noise.

However, both the Haotian Alliance and Ten Thousand Demons Ridge had come to understand one thing.

That was, this vast Spirit Stream battlefield was about to be dominated by a single person!

Looking back through history, such a thing had never occurred before.

The previous three "cancers"—whether Feng Yuechan, Li Baxian, or Yanh Xing—were all powerful in their own right. But they belonged to two opposing camps and thus checked each other's power.

Furthermore, their strength was personal, unable to bring much benefit to their entire camp.

But Lu Yiye was different. Not only was he personally powerful, but he was also capable of things the three "cancers" could not achieve.

Back in the inner circle, he had already stirred up storms, leading the Haotian Alliance Allied Forces to overcome a hundred or so clan strongholds from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side.

In recent days within the Core Circle, he had continued to foment one disturbance after another. Although he hadn't breached any clan strongholds, who could ensure that he wouldn't do such a thing once he advanced to the 9th Heaven?

If he really set out to do this, there would truly be no one on the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side who could stop him!

Suddenly, the high-ranking members of the major powers within Ten Thousand Demons Ridge found themselves with grayer hair, faced with the most pressing issue of how to secure their own strongholds after Lu Yiye's ascent to the 9th Heaven.