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Although there were no personal feuds between them, Szi Guang was Lu Ye’s final opponent on the Spirit Stream Ranking, and he was also the last face of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.
Rank one on the Spirit Stream Ranking is a symbol, and even more so, an identity. The cultivators of the two major camps would not easily let the opposition take it away.
In the previous ten or so years, this position was dominated by Loyal Heart Sect’s Feng Yuechan, a situation that was unavoidable; after all, who else but her had immersed themselves at the Spirit Stream Realm level for over a decade?
The cultivators of her cohort were already at Cloud River-True Lake, yet she remained at the Spirit Stream Realm. The strong foundation she had built over many years was not something that upcoming talents could easily challenge.
Finally, with the removal of the three great plagues on the Spirit Stream Ranking, it was Ten Thousand Demons Ridge’s turn to rise to the top of the ranking for once.
But how long had that lasted? Just two months at best!
From the Haotian Alliance, a Lu Yiye appeared, advancing like a hot knife through butter, singing all the way, breaking various records of past years, and now he even qualified to contend for the top rank!
Therefore, no matter what, Szi Guang could not afford to lose this battle, nor did he dare to! If Lu Ye managed to ascend to the top of the Spirit Stream Ranking with the cultivation of 8th Heaven, then the cultivators of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge would forever be considered inferior.
In the combat field spanning dozens of zhang, Lu Ye looked at the figure boiling with spirit force on the other side and raised an eyebrow.
His current opponent seemed a bit off, as if he had ingested some kind of elixir pill that temporarily boosted strength!
Indeed, such elixir pills existed in the cultivation world. Lu Ye had seen one called Explosive Qi Pill when he once browsed the Heaven’s Augury treasure vault. Once ingested, within the time it took for one incense stick to burn, the flow of spirit force in a cultivator’s body could increase by three or four times, which in turn would drastically enhance their overall strength.
But these kinds of elixir pills that could temporarily increase a cultivator’s strength often came with severe side effects. The stronger the effect, the more violent the repercussions.
Szi Guang had apparently ingested something similar to the Explosive Qi Pill before coming in. If he couldn’t resolve Lu Ye within the time of one incense stick, he would be left without any strength to fight back.
"I’ll handle it myself," Lu Ye said softly all of a sudden.
He was speaking to Yiyi, who had already slipped underground, ready to strike at any moment. But Lu Ye had felt extremely frustrated in his previous few challenges, and now that he finally met a normal opponent, albeit one who seemed to have taken an Explosive Qi Pill beforehand, he still didn’t want Yiyi to intervene.
As Szi Guang roared angrily, he charged at Lu Ye like thunder, building up momentum in his long spear as he rushed over.
Lu Ye met him head-on.
In the combat field, the distance of several dozen zhang closed in a blink of an eye and then clashed violently.
The Boulder Mountain Saber was unsheathed, and the blade covered in leaping flames slashed down.
The long spear struck out, like a sleeping dragon suddenly thrusting its head out of its lair.
In that instant of stalemate, a thunderous boom rang out. The spirit force, under severe compression, burst forth wildly, and both figures were sent flying backward from the impact.
Mid-air, Lu Ye felt his palm go numb. Hastily stabilizing his figure, he grabbed Amber, who was crouching on his shoulder, tossed her aside, and landed in a sorry state before backpedaling several zhang to steady himself.
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Regardless of whether Szi Guang had pre-ingested a strength-enhancing elixir pill or not, Lu Ye felt as if he had met a worthy adversary. Engaged in such a fight, he couldn’t spare the attention to protect Amber.
On the other side, Szi Guang also landed, his feet unmoving yet his body sliding nearly ten zhang backward.
Before he could steady himself, a figure flashed in his vision. Lu Ye had already pounced in front of him, with the sharp long Saber stabbing straight at him.
In the face of such a ferocious strike, most would choose to evade with all their might, but Szi Guang merely shifted his body slightly to the side. His long spear, dragon-like, thrust at Lu Ye in return.
A ripping sound echoed as the two figures crossed paths, blood spraying in the air.
A bloody mark appeared on Lu Ye’s waist and abdomen, while Szi Guang’s chest was also lacerated.
This was bound to be a ferocious battle. Both combatants were determined to kill their opponent and neither showed any intention of retreating, leading to injuries for both parties after just the second exchange.
But Lu Ye’s wound was lighter, because the moment the opponent’s long spear came down, he had managed to form a Defense Spirit Rune!
Even though it couldn’t fully block the might of that strike, it did relieve much of its force.
Szi Guang seemed not to feel the pain, as he rotated his long spear a half circle in front of him and, in a fluid change of hands, the spear’s tip turned into its butt end. He thrust it backward in a smooth motion.
The change was so swift it was difficult to counter.
At this moment, Lu Ye still had his back turned to him, as the spearhead aimed supremely accurately at the back of Lu Ye’s head.
Hidden in the shadows, Yiyi nearly cried out in alarm, and even Amber hurriedly prepared to save her master.
However, Lu Ye seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and suddenly crouched lower, causing the spear to graze his scalp as it poked out.
Avoiding such an unexpected strike undoubtedly demonstrated Lu Ye’s excellent perception. At that moment, there was an unmistakable sharp pain at the back of his head, accompanied by an acute sense of fatal threat.
Curling up his body, he delivered a backlash with his Saber, striking Szi Guang’s chest at the same moment he himself was struck by Szi Guang’s long spear on the ground.
It was Szi Guang who, having his thrust miss, naturally pressed down his spear like a whip.
Forced back by that strike, Szi Guang looked down at his own chest, where even the protective treasure armor he wore failed to withstand the Sharpness of his opponent’s long saber. At his chest were two ferocious wounds where flesh had been lacerated, dying his clothing red with blood.
If it were not for the treasure armor protecting him, those two strikes would have already claimed his life.
On the other side, Lu Ye staggered to his feet, his right cheek twitching uncontrollably, marked by the imprint of a rod...
Struck by Szi Guang’s spear shaft...
The imprint stretched from his face all the way to his right side, burning with pain.
"You’re very strong!" Szi Guang exclaimed loudly, his words carrying heartfelt admiration.
Lu Ye fell silent for a moment before responding indifferently, "So are you!"
Even though he wanted nothing more than to pin his opponent down and hack him to hundreds of pieces, that did not affect the pleasure he took from such praise. Acknowledgment from an adversary was undoubtedly the most genuine.
"It’s not the same," Szi Guang slowly shook his head, "I’ve been on the Spirit Stream Ranking for several months now, receiving Heaven’s Augury blessings monthly, and before coming here, I even took an Explosive Qi Pill, enabling me to exert strength far beyond my own level. Yet you have nothing, and your cultivation level is even a level lower than mine..."
As he spoke, Szi Guang himself began to doubt life’s fairness—did such people truly exist? Despite being a small level higher in cultivation, having received several Heaven’s Augury blessings, and after consuming an Explosive Qi Pill, he was only able to fight to a draw.
If his opponent had his kind of background, just how powerful would he be?
For such a person to continue living was undoubtedly a nightmare for the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.
"Are you done talking?" Lu Ye, holding the Boulder Mountain Saber, grew impatient.
"One last thing," Szi Guang bared his teeth in a fierce smile, "Although it’s not very glorious, I’m glad I took the Explosive Qi Pill before coming in. Otherwise, I’d be no match for you!"
As the final word was spoken, both of them lunged at each other once more, and a Fight to the Death began again just as before. Saber and spear shadows clashed, killing intent erupted, and violent spirit force swept unrestrained across the combat field spanning dozens of yards, with fresh blood spattering and the continuous clang of weapons colliding.
Neither of them resorted to weapon control tactics; from the beginning, it was a bloody, hand-to-hand combat. Lu Ye was motivated by pent-up rage, while Szi Guang understood that he was no match for Lu Ye in the way of Weapon Control, naturally not wanting to humiliate himself.
However, as time passed, the strength Lu Ye displayed was noticeably increasing, both in terms of speed and power, much stronger than at the beginning.
As the Boulder Mountain Saber drew another spray of blood, Szi Guang’s leg whipped across Lu Ye’s shoulder with the force of a lash. Even after activating the Defense Spirit Runes in advance, Lu Ye was sent flying by this kick, crashing heavily to the ground and rolling several times before he stopped, quickly scrambling to his feet with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his left arm hanging weakly, unable to exert any strength.
Dislocated!
"So you also took an elixir pill beforehand to enhance your strength," Szi Guang snorted coldly.
He was clearly aware of the enhancement in Lu Ye’s strength, which led him to assume that Lu Ye had done the same as himself, though Lu Ye’s increase was visible to the naked eye and not a sudden eruption, so he guessed Lu Ye’s pill must have been of a milder variety, not as violent as the Explosive Qi Pill.
Lu Ye couldn’t be bothered to explain; he had not taken any strength-enhancing elixir pill.
All he had done was construct a Bloodstain Spirit Rune on himself!
He had acquired this spirit rune a long time ago, and up to now, he had only used it once, which was in the Spirit Stream Defense Battle.
After obtaining the spirit rune, he rarely encountered an opponent who was equally matched or just slightly stronger than him.
The function of this spirit rune was to absorb the blood spilling from Lu Ye’s body to enhance his strength.
Simply put, the more Lu Ye was injured, the stronger the spirit rune’s effect became.
In recent days, Lu Ye had often been chased by large groups of people, leaving him no opportunity to utilize the Bloodstain Spirit Runes.
But challenging Szi Guang did give him this chance.
Biting down on the Boulder Mountain Saber, he took a bandage from his storage sack and carelessly wrapped it around his left arm a few times, fixing the flailing limb in place.
During this process, Szi Guang naturally wouldn’t just watch, but it was unfortunate for him that Lu Ye moved too quickly. By the time he got close, Lu Ye had already finished.
Facing the spear stabbing towards him, Lu Ye thrust forward with his saber, breaking through the blossoming spear shadows and closing in on Szi Guang.
Szi Guang’s color changed as he drew back his spear to block, but the Boulder Mountain Saber struck down.
With a resounding crash, Szi Guang’s body lightened, and he was knocked away.
With the augmentation from the Bloodstain Spirit Runes, both the speed and power of Lu Ye’s saber strikes underwent a drastic transformation, turning a once evenly matched battle into a one-sided affair.
Lu Ye activated Move-Like-The-Wind, catapulting forward, leaping high, and bringing down a heavy slash.
Though Szi Guang barely managed to block the blow, the immense force still sent him crashing down, while Lu Ye, mid-air, gracefully spun around and swept out his right leg like a whip.
Szi Guang, yet to touch ground, was sent flying again, and with this whip-like kick landing on his head, he saw stars flash before his eyes.