Sage of Humanity

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On the following day, in the valley, Lu Ye walked around while Mhu Ling, the healing cultivator, accompanied him.

He had been healing in the tent and felt too bored, so he went out for a walk and happened to meet Mhu Ling, who took the initiative to keep him company, which Lu Ye did not refuse.

Along the way, they encountered many cultivators who all greeted them enthusiastically.

It was natural for Mhu Ling to be so popular, as she was not only a healing cultivator but also had a pleasant appearance, which easily endeared her to others.

As for Lu Ye... now the entire Qing Yu Mountain camp of cultivators knew about a Level 4 cultivator named Yiye, who had fought his way out of the Tailuo Sect's rear alone and made it all the way to Qing Yu Mountain's territory, a feat that made him famous overnight.

Not only cultivators from the Qing Yu Mountain sect were here, but nearly half were independent cultivators who had been recruited. These independent cultivators were treated very well, with fine wine and dishes every day, immediate medical attention when injured, and Qing Yu Mountain even tallied merits daily and handed out the promised Spirit Stone rewards.
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One merit was worth two Spirit Stones, and any spoils of war were kept by the independent cultivators themselves. Moreover, those with outstanding merits would even have the opportunity to go to Dragon Spring with Qing Yu Mountain disciples after the Dragon Spring Meet.

All these tangible benefits had been maintained by Qing Yu Mountain for fifteen years, which was why they could recruit many independent cultivators to help before every Dragon Spring Meet.

For those independent cultivators, this was an opportunity not to be missed. As long as they survived the Dragon Spring Meet, they could obtain many cultivation resources.

Life as an independent cultivator was tough, and there were few ways to obtain resources, so many ambitious ones were willing to take a gamble. Participating in the Dragon Spring Meet indeed had risks, but on the Spirit Stream battlefield, where was there no risk?

Although Lu Ye felt that Xie Jin would not deceive him, hearing from others was one thing and seeing with his own eyes was another.

Now it seemed that the information recorded on the jade slip given to him by Xie Jin was indeed true.

"The Dragon Spring Meet is not only about the futures of the disciples from the three powers but also a struggle between the three families. Therefore, no one dares to take it lightly, and each time everyone gives it their all.

I know Junior Brother Yiye comes from a not-so-ordinary background, and probably doesn't think much of those rewards, but for the sake of being part of the Haotian Alliance camp, if Junior Brother Yiye is willing, please support Qing Yu Mountain in whatever way you can.

The entire Qing Yu Mountain would be immensely grateful," said Mhu Ling, who clearly had not encountered Lu Ye by chance but had come looking for him on purpose.

Since the day before when Qing Yu Mountain had taken Lu Ye away, Han Zheyue and the Qin family had gone mad, relentlessly pressuring Qing Yu Mountain without regard for losses, forcing Qing Yu Mountain into a strategic retreat and giving up many hilltops. Now, they had retained control of fewer than thirty hilltops.

This put pressure on Tang Wu.

Originally, he had not planned to persuade Lu Ye. Although he did want to recruit him, he feared that poor persuasion might cause offense, so Tang Wu had decided to let things take their course. But now, the sentiment within Qing Yu Mountain was riled up, with many disciples clamoring for a fight to the death with those two families.

Under such circumstances, a real battle would indeed put both families through hardship, but Qing Yu Mountain would also certainly suffer severe casualties.

This was an outcome Tang Wu could not accept.

Therefore, he thought of Lu Ye. Mhu Ling had been treating Lu Ye and Amber for the past two days. As a female healing cultivator, she was the best candidate to persuade Lu Ye. Even if Lu Ye was not interested in participating in the Dragon Spring Meet, it would not offend him.

Lu Ye had become accustomed to being mistaken for someone of extraordinary origin. He stopped walking, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Your sect has shown me kindness, and it is only right to repay that kindness. I will participate in the Dragon Spring Meet."

He had never intended to refuse Qing Yu Mountain's recruitment. The previous day, when more than twenty cultivators from Qing Yu Mountain had come to his aid, it had indeed saved him a lot of trouble. In retrospect, Qing Yu Mountain seemed to have deliberately arranged a battle to attract his attention with a series of protracted howls, guiding him in the direction of escape.

When others are kind to him and their intention to recruit him is obvious, Lu Ye naturally reciprocates.

Moreover, participating in the Dragon Spring Meet was not particularly dangerous for him, and he could take the opportunity to earn some cultivation resources.

Although he still had many elixir pills that could take him through to the Level 5 realm, both he and Amber's consumption was great, and there would come a time when their resources would run out. He had already sold all the origin magnetic ore and needed to plan ahead to gather resources for future cultivation.

The Dragon Spring Meet was an opportunity.

Killing the cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge would not only earn him some spoils of war, but every merit point could also be converted to Spirit Stone rewards. Even if he killed a Level 2 cultivator, that would be four Spirit Stones, which was enough for Yiyi to search for herbs for several days.

If he killed a Level 5 realm cultivator, besides the merit award in Spirit Stones, there would be an additional ten Spirit Stones—thirty in total!

How could Lu Ye refuse? His previous non-commitment was mainly due to him needing to heal and recover, and also because he wanted to see for himself if the treatment of the independent cultivators was indeed as described in the jade slip.

Now that he had confirmed everything, and since the other party had made their intentions clear, Lu Ye agreed smoothly.

Upon receiving an affirmative response, Mhu Ling looked surprised, "Are you serious, Junior Brother?" She had prepared many arguments and was ready to persuade with emotion and reason, not expecting them to be unnecessary.

Lu Ye nodded.

Mhu Ling happily looked at him, "Then I will contact Senior Brother Tang Wu and tell him the good news."

"However, I have one condition," Lu Ye spoke again.

"Tell me."

"Sister just mentioned that the Dragon Spring Meet will last a month? How many days have passed already?" Lu Ye asked.

"Seven days."

"That's too long. I have other matters to attend to. My condition is that I can withdraw from the Dragon Spring Meet at any time," Lu Ye didn't plan to tie himself down to Qing Yu Mountain. There were always uncertainties, and if the situation truly turned unfavorable, he would be able to leave at any moment. As for the matter he had to attend to, it was obviously just a pretext.

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"No problem," Mhu Ling readily agreed and began to manipulate his battlefield marking.

In the great hall of the central mountain peak, Tang Wu received the message, raised his eyebrows slightly, and breathed a sigh of relief. With such a fierce general added to his ranks, he didn't dare to say that the tide would be completely turned for Mount Qingyu, but at the very least, it could be stabilized. As for the lost mountain peaks, they could be slowly recaptured.

At the moment, Han Zheyue seemed a bit insane, and the enemy's two factions were at the height of their morale. It was not wise to continue clashing directly with the enemy. It was better to let them cool down for a few days; they could always strike back after their enthusiasm waned.

"What are you looking at? I'll gouge out those eyeballs of yours!" Han Zheyue turned her head and yelled angrily at Tang Wu.

Tang Wu said indifferently, "When will you give me the two hundred merits?"

Han Zheyue snorted lightly, "Who can prove which camp he is from? Anyway, I didn't see it with my own eyes, so it doesn't count!"

She was being somewhat unreasonable. Lu Ye's white dot had already entered the territory of Mount Qingyu and had stayed there peacefully for two days, which clearly indicated his allegiance.

However, when night fell, and Han Zheyue saw that white dot suddenly turn blue, her face turned sour.

"Do you still want to be unreasonable?" Tang Wu asked.

Han Zheyue turned her head away, "I didn't see it with my own eyes anyway, say what you want."

Two hundred merits were not a small sum even for those at the Level 9 realm, so why would Han Zheyue give in easily? After all, she was a woman, and as their factions were enemies, what was wrong with being obstinate? Since Heaven's Augury did not launch any punishment, it meant she had found a loophole to exploit.

Tang Wu only snorted and did not entangle with her.

Yet Han Zheyue was unrelenting, "Don't think that recruiting this person will do you any good. He is just one man; the Dragon Spring Meet relies on having more people!"

She was right, as each mountain peak needed cultivators for defense. With too few people, their strength would be too dispersed, and it would be easy for the enemy to defeat them one by one. This was also why the Qin family initially occupied only twenty-five peaks—they did not have many people.

"Then just wait and see," Tang Wu said indifferently, not interested in getting into a war of words with her.

Back in the tent in the valley, Xie Jin hurried back to meet with Lu Ye and signed a contract. The contract stipulated that during the Dragon Spring Meet, Lu Ye would follow the summons of Mount Qingyu and could withdraw at any time.

Other rewards and penalties were all specified in detail.

This was quite satisfactory to Lu Ye.

"Junior Brother Yiye, would you prefer to defend or attack?" Xie Jin asked after collecting the contract.

"Tell me the details."

Xie Jin explained, "If you want to attack, I can arrange for junior brother to join the assault team or the hunting team, coordinating with other teams to capture peaks and confront the cultivators from the other two houses. It's a tough and dangerous assignment.

If you want to defend, then you just need to guard a certain peak, which is relatively leisurely, and you can retreat if it's too dangerous."

As expected, Lu Ye responded, "Attack!"

What was the point of just defending? It was uncertain whether the enemy would come to him. Only by taking the initiative could he kill more enemies and earn more Spirit Stones. Wasn't the reason for participating in the Dragon Spring Meet to gather resources for future cultivation?

"I knew junior brother would choose this," Xie Jin smiled. "It just so happens that my team is short one person. Join me, junior brother. Rest tonight and come find me tomorrow."

Having said that, Xie Jin wiped his hand over his battlefield marking, and a streak of blue light flew toward Lu Ye. Lu Ye reached out to meet it, and it fell into his own marking.

The second good friend was born...

As for the first... he had already deleted it.

After explaining some matters, Xie Jin left.

Yiyi popped out from Amber, "Lu Ye, are we going to participate in the Dragon Spring Meet?"

"Don't you want to participate?" Lu Ye asked.

Yiyi shook her head, "We'll go wherever you go." The day before, she'd been in a huff with Lu Ye, but she got over it the next day. She was even afraid that Lu Ye would be angry and was very careful for a while until she was sure that Lu Ye was as usual before she relaxed.

Lu Ye rubbed her head gently, "Amber was hurt by them; we have to take revenge. After all, what comes around goes around!"

Yiyi nodded, "That makes sense."

"I don't really have any 'sense,'" he replied.

"Anyway, let's beat them until they're devastated!" Yiyi did not want to discuss the topic of reason with Lu Ye—it was ultimately a very upsetting topic.