Sage of Humanity

"Righteous Blood Sect disciple Lu Ye hereby challenges the various sects of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. Those with equal cultivation who wish to kill me, come and fight!"

The deep and sonorous voice, driven by spirit force, spread outward, drawing pairs of eyes towards Lu Ye, filled with surprise, confusion, and more shock than anything else.

To challenge so many sects of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge single-handedly was indeed a display of imposing arrogance, but in reality, it was the height of folly. Human strength has its limits. Nearly a thousand from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge were present here, and even if only a fraction of them were in the Level 5 realm like Lu Ye, there would still be over a hundred.

To put it unpleasantly, they could drown Lu Ye in their spit.

However, there was no denying that his courage truly turned heads.

The strong warrior from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge raised an eyebrow, "Can you represent Righteous Blood Sect, represent the Haotian Alliance?"

Li Baxian's expression was stern, "The child speaks nonsense; don't take him seriously, everyone!"

Lu Ye turned his head, giving him a smile, then looked towards the speaker from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, "I cannot represent anyone but myself. But isn't everyone here for me? The strife has reached a point where it cannot be resolved normally, unless you wish for more deaths! I'm only providing a method to solve the problem. Moreover, I have some demands.

If Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cannot agree to them, then forget everything I've said. You can continue fighting, and I'll watch quietly!"

"Speak!" the warrior from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge said gravely.

"Each big sect, I will only fight one battle, and only against one person at a time! If I am defeated, I have nothing to say. But if, by luck, I win, then that sect must withdraw from this strife. Let Heaven's Augury be the witness!"

As he finished speaking, Li Baxian's eyebrows rose. He had thought his junior brother was acting recklessly out of anger, not thinking clearly, but now it seemed he had some strategy. However, the only issue now was how strong his junior brother was and whether he could handle so many battles.

If his junior brother indeed had the strength, then this plan could settle the strife. But if he lacked the strength, then he would surely become a stepping stone for someone else's rise to power. The bounty for killing Righteous Blood Sect's Lu Ye was not small.

He turned his head to look at Weh Ying, his eyes seeking her opinion. Weh Ying shook her head slowly, indicating she didn't know either about her junior brother's strength. Neither of them had interacted with Lu Ye before. Although Weh Ying had known about a junior brother being taken in by the sect master, she had only met him in person yesterday and had no idea about Lu Ye's capabilities.

"How about it? Isn't there anyone in the vast Ten Thousand Demons Ridge willing to fight?"

On the smooth, mirror-like Golden Light Peak, both groups of cultivators were silent, with only Lu Ye's voice echoing.

Suddenly, a woman said, "You, Lu Ye, can kill beyond your level. With the same cultivation level, how many can be your match? It seems you are playing a clever game!"

At the sound of the voice, a woman walked out from the crowd with a cold face, staring at Lu Ye. It was none other than Han Zheyue from Tailuo Sect.

Lu Ye had been pursued by her before, but fortunately, Tang Wu had been hidden nearby, blocking her. Now, with no sign of Tang Wu, this Han Zheyue actually came out again.

"This kid can kill beyond his level?" The powerhouse within the top twenty of the Spirit Stream Ranking frowned upon hearing this. That's why this Lu Ye from Righteous Blood Sect was so arrogant—he had such confidence.

Han Zheyue saluted this person with cupped fists and continued staring at Lu Ye, "Indeed, when he was at Spirit Stream Level 4, he killed several of our Tailuo Sect's Level 5 realm cultivators. Now he's in the Level 5 realm. To kill him, you'd need at least someone from Level 6 to do it."

"Oh? Quite the talent, no wonder Righteous Blood Sect took him in."

"And you may not know that this kid is also proficient in using a type of defensive spirit runes in combat, so breaking through his defense is very difficult," Han Zheyue continued to reveal Lu Ye's secrets, her face alight with satisfaction and a look that seemed to say, 'Let's see if you die now.'

As these words came out, the whole place was in uproar.

Spirit runes were familiar to any cultivator as an indispensable part of their life and cultivation. The Nine Provinces even had a group called spirit runes masters, most of whom weren't very skilled in combat because they devoted too much of their effort to the study of spirit runes and rarely engaged in fighting.

Yet among the spirit runes masters, an extremely small portion were the ones you should never provoke. They were known as combat spirit runes masters, or battle runes masters for short. Compared to the terrifying lethality of sword cultivators, their methods were unpredictable and varied. Those who opposed them often died without knowing how it happened.

The study of spirit runes was complex and intricate. Under normal circumstances, cultivators began studying spirit runes only after a certain level of cultivation, and even then, it was just the beginning. To integrate spirit runes into combat required years of accumulation.

The Nine Provinces continent was vast with countless cultivators, yet the well-known battle runes masters were less than a hundred. These individuals were highly esteemed guests of the big sects.

A Level 5 realm cultivator capable of using spirit runes in battle was unheard of, let alone seen. This was outright a promising seedling for a battle runes master, and if those renowned battle runes masters knew about him, they would probably fight to take him as a disciple.

"So, everyone, don't be fooled by him. If you let someone of the same cultivation level fight him, as many who go, that many will die," Han Zheyue looked at Lu Ye with a mocking face. When he had made his declaration, she had seen through his intentions.

"Is Sang He your senior brother?" A faint voice suddenly sounded in Han Zheyue's ear.

Her smile immediately stiffened on her face, looking timidly at Li Baxian, who had asked her, she denied, "No, not at all!"

Li Baxian said indifferently, "Good, be ready to collect his corpse then."

Han Zheyue cursed inwardly, "The people of Righteous Blood Sect are being unreasonably protective. All I did was speak a few truths, yet I'm threatened like this. Brother Sang He, you must run quickly if you ever encounter Li Baxian in the future—being slow means death!"

And also, it wasn't on purpose!

The powerful cultivator from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge suddenly smiled and said to Lu Ye, "Your suggestion just now was good, but regarding the cultivation level, I think it should be limited to no higher than Level 6. What do you think?"

Lu Ye's face turned ashen, silent, the picture of someone whose scheme had been exposed yet who was powerless to do anything about it.

The powerful cultivator from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge indifferently said, "Just now you talked about responsibility when it concerns yourself, about having the courage to bear that responsibility. So, is this all the responsibility you can bear? The people of Righteous Blood Sect are just like this after all!"

"Fine!" Lu Ye's forehead bulged with veins, seemingly provoked.

Li Baxian and Weh Ying, however, chorused, "Junior brother must not!"

The powerful cultivator from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge quickly said, "The person involved has already agreed; yet, you two are trying to interfere. Why, do you really want the people from the Haotian Alliance to continue fighting to the death for your Righteous Blood Sect? A sect that's almost been expelled still struggling—what for!"

Li Baxian was at a loss for words by his remark and, after glaring at the man, he turned to Lu Ye, "Junior brother, you are being rash; he's clearly provoking you. How can you agree to such a thing so easily?" Even if Lu Ye truly had the ability to kill opponents of a higher realm, pitting himself against cultivators of the same cultivation level was already risky enough.

He was not facing just one person, but a group. If it were against Level 6, there would be no hope at all.

Lu Ye turned his head to look at him and said, "Brother, I can do it!"

Li Baxian wanted badly to say you can't do anything, rashness is something every young man experiences, but it often comes with a terrible price.

Even at Level 5, he wouldn't have dared to take on such a fight. It was truly life-threatening. But meeting Lu Ye's gaze, he found no anger or struggle in his eyes, only a sort of eager anticipation…

Lu Ye's eyelids dipped briefly as he looked towards Li Baxian's hand. The latter instantly understood, flicked his finger on the back of his own hand, and sent a blue light floating towards Lu Ye.

He then messaged telepathically, "Junior brother, how capable are you? Give your brother some details."

"I've killed a few of Level 6. Never killed a Level 7, but if I fight with all my might, perhaps there's a chance!"

"!" Li Baxian was shocked. This wasn't just overcoming an opponent of a higher realm, this was skipping two levels! Was his junior brother really this fierce? The old head may be stubborn, but his insight is as sharp as ever!

He showed no sign of this on his face, instead looking genuinely worried as he continued to message, "Was it intentional just now?"

That act of being so humiliated and provoked into agreement had seemed so real; he hadn't spotted even a single flaw.

"Just going with the flow," Lu Ye replied. He hadn't expected to encounter Han Zheyue here and hadn't noticed her previously. With his secret uncovered by Han Zheyue, challenging cultivators of the same cultivation level was no longer possible.

"If you really go through with this, it's going to be a continuous battle! There must be thirty sects here from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge if not fifty. Can you handle it?"
Experience tales at empire

"I will do my best! Brother, continuing to fight won't benefit anyone. If this matter can be settled, then it's the best solution to the problem."

Li Baxian fell silent, for how could he not know this?

Ten Thousand Demons Ridge was also aware of this fact. The current situation had spiraled beyond anyone's control because more and more cultivators from both sides involved in the conflict concerning Lu Ye were joining. The battles that would follow would become even more chaotic.

Yesterday, there were only a thousand people on Golden Light Peak, but today that number had nearly doubled and would only further increase.

Did Ten Thousand Demons Ridge really wish to take advice from a Level 5 cultivator? If they weren't in a difficult position, they would've dismissed whatever Lu Ye said.

One could say that Lu Ye made a suggestion that was to the benefit of both sides when they needed it the most. That was the biggest reason why Ten Thousand Demons Ridge was willing to agree to his proposal.

Furthermore, with things progressing to this point, many from the Haotian Alliance would hope for the situation to move in this direction. If he refused, it would only make Righteous Blood Sect lose its appeal with the masses...

Especially after Ten Thousand Demons Ridge made that statement about the Haotian Alliance fighting to the death for Righteous Blood Sect.

The people from the Haotian Alliance came here mostly under orders, but it was different for those from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge; they stand to gain immensely by killing Lu Ye.

Thus, whether he liked it or not, once Lu Ye put forward the suggestion, it was bound to be carried out.