Sage of Humanity

Li Baxian suddenly realized that although his junior brother, Lu Ye, was only at the Level 5 realm and had always been protected by others, his heart was always clear as a mirror.

With a long sigh, he looked at Weh Ying and asked softly, "Can it be exchanged?"

The question seemed nonsensical, but Weh Ying shook her head, "She's asleep."

"Then we can't rely on the power of others," Li Baxian muttered to himself.

Since the direction of the situation was already predetermined, the details had to be thoroughly discussed.

He raised his hand and wiped his face, showing a look of worry, "My little junior brother has a kind heart and does not wish to see others die for him anymore. If Ten Thousand Demons Ridge thinks his previous proposal is feasible, then let's all discuss the details together!"

Implementing such a battle would definitely require the discussion of many aspects; it was not something that Lu Ye could push forward with a mere statement like "Whoever wants to kill me, feel free to come and fight."

Naturally, the discussion would be conducted by the strong cultivators from both sides. Even though Lu Ye was the cause of this event and the center of the conflict, he had no right to participate. His cultivation was too low, and his experience was limited.

However, with Li Baxian overseeing the matter, there was no need to worry that the outcome of the discussion would be unfavorable to him. Lu Ye had deeply experienced how protective his brothers and sisters from Righteous Blood Sect were, especially his eldest sister.

It was unclear what cultivation she possessed, yet she had withstood the punishment of Heaven's Augury and charged into the Spirit Stream battlefield, staying by his side without leaving an inch.

As Li Baxian spoke, he signaled to a sword cultivator in the crowd. The sword cultivator immediately came over with a flash, cupping his fists and saying, "Master Uncle Li!"

Although they appeared to be about the same age, Li Baxian's seniority was actually higher. It could be said that 99% of the cultivators mingling in the Spirit Stream battlefield were of a lower generation than he was.

This was something helpless; he didn't want to stay in the Spirit Stream battlefield forever, but his spiritual orifice was broken, and he could not advance, which made him feel quite desperate.

This sword cultivator came from the Beixuan Sword Sect and was also a strong contender on the Spirit Stream Ranking.

"Protect my junior brother well," Li Baxian instructed.

The sword cultivator immediately replied, "Master Uncle, rest assured."

Although Weh Ying was constantly protecting Lu Ye, her current state was not right. With the Thunderbolt Divine Lightning entwined around her, if one or two more people died by her hand, she would surely be destroyed by the Divine Lightning.

On the side of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, there was the Sacred Fire Order, whose members had their wits burned away by their own sacred fire; they were not normal people, and it was unclear if they would take risks.

This sword cultivator was an extra precaution.

Li Baxian darted out with a flash, accompanied by several other strong contenders from the Spirit Stream Ranking. Similarly, a few individuals from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge took flight. More than ten strong contenders from the Spirit Stream Ranking gathered to discuss the various details of the battle.

It didn't take long before their discussions became heated and confrontational, particularly with Li Baxian, whose spirit force fluctuated wildly, with Sword Qi rampaging all around him.

Watching the scene, Lu Ye nervously thought, "They're not going to start fighting, are they?" If a fight broke out, there would be no talking at all.

Weh Ying glanced over and reassured him, "They won't fight. It's all for show."

Watching for a while longer, Lu Ye noticed the situation seemed increasingly like it was about to escalate into a fight, yet no one made a move. He immediately understood Weh Ying was right...

He raised his hand and patted the shoulder of the sword cultivator standing in front of him, "Thank you, Senior Brother, for before."

This sword cultivator was the one who had blocked a powerful enemy for him earlier.

"The matters of Master Uncle Li are also the matters of Beixuan Sword Sect. Junior brother need not be so formal," the sword cultivator replied indifferently.

So now he was their junior brother? Lu Ye thought about his own age... Seniority was indeed a curious thing.

Weh Ying squatted down to play with Amber, who slightly raised her head, squinting her eyes, appearing very comfortable as Weh Ying scratched her chin.

It was strange to say, the dark purple Thunderbolt on Weh Ying seemed extremely fierce, but others who touched it felt nothing at all.

From other people's conversations, Lu Ye had learned that this thing was called Soul-Destroying Divine Lightning and seemed to be related to his eldest sister forcibly entering the Spirit Stream battlefield and killing people. The more people she killed, the greater the damage to her from this Divine Lightning.

But now, his eldest sister seemed completely unaffected, acting as if nothing was wrong. She allowed the dark purple lightning to leap about on her body, and Lu Ye didn't know whether she was really fine or just pretending to be.

"All the Managers of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge sects, come over here!" Li Baxian's loud call suddenly came from not too far away.

After hesitating for a moment, several figures flew in that direction. Lu Ye observed with a cold eye and noticed that at least forty people were going there!

In other words, there were that many sects from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge gathered here.

A little while later, a series of whispers suddenly came from over there. It sounded like Li Baxian's voice, although Lu Ye didn't hear it clearly. As the whispers sounded, a golden vortex appeared in the sky, and from within the vortex, a milky white beam of light fell straight toward Li Baxian.

Before the milky white pillar of light had completely descended, Li Baxian raised his hand to grab something, and astonishingly he seized an ancient-looking beast hide.

The pillar of light dissipated, and the golden vortex disappeared without a trace.

"What is that?" Lu Ye asked, seeing such a thing for the first time, he couldn't help but be curious.

"Heaven's Augury Pact!" Weh Ying explained, "This kind of contract that requires many people to sign together can be cumbersome if everyone makes vows separately, so you can use the Heaven's Augury Pact instead. However, it requires the expenditure of some merit points."

Lu Ye was quite amazed. Heaven's Augury seemed to be a mysterious and lofty existence in this world, one that watched over all living beings from above, yet with the expenditure of merit points, one could actually communicate with Heaven's Augury in some wondrous ways.

Li Baxian held the Heaven's Augury Pact, carefully reviewing it. He bit the tip of his finger, pressed a blood seal onto it as the leader, followed by a succession of cultivators doing the same.

Soon, the Heaven's Augury Pact was marked with dozens of bloody fingerprints.

Li Baxian's face shadowed with severity as he held the Heaven's Augury Pact and walked back.

A little while later, the powerhouses from the two camps started to clear the area. Under the restraint of those powerhouses, the bustling center of Golden Light Peak was emptied, even the bodies of the previously fallen were taken away.

The cultivators from both sides took their positions on opposite ends, while in the center, a makeshift arena spanning twenty zhang in area was demarcated—this was where Lu Ye would confront the cultivators from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge!

At this very moment, Lu Ye and Weh Ying were together inspecting the various clauses on the Heaven's Augury Pact, which had been drawn up by the strong from both sides, witnessed by Heaven's Augury itself, no one was allowed to break them.

The contract was comprehensive, with over thirty clauses considered in great detail, completely eliminating any chances of exploiting loopholes.

It included a clause that the highest cultivation level of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators who would face Lu Ye was limited to those who cultivated Earth-class techniques or below at the Level 6 Realm.

This specification was clearly made because cultivating at Level 6 with a Heaven Rank technique, who had opened the 180th orifice, and cultivating the Earth-class technique, who had only opened the 81st orifice, were entirely different beings, with a huge gap between them.

This was the advantage of having support from powerful allies; Lu Ye had not considered this before, but Li Baxian had.

Moreover, no external forces were allowed to be used during the battle. Spiritual Artifacts that had already been refined by the individual were not restricted, and the use of Spirit Talismans was not permitted, among other restrictions.

Under the constraints of these clauses, to win the victory, one must defeat Lu Ye in direct and fair combat!

Many of the clauses were not very favorable to Lu Ye, but some were advantageous to him.

For instance, in each battle, Lu Ye was allowed the right to rest for the time it took one incense stick to burn—a concession that Li Baxian had fought hard for. To a cultivator, the time for one incense stick to burn was incredibly short for recovery. Ten Thousand Demons Ridge sided had refused to agree to a longer time no matter what, and even Li Baxian was helpless to change their minds.

However, because of this, he had managed to secure another term even more beneficial to Lu Ye.
Enjoy new adventures at empire

That was to limit this battle to three days; if Lu Ye was still alive after three days, then the side of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge must retreat!

Or, Lu Ye could kill all the cultivators from the sects listed in the Heaven's Augury Pact that took their turn fighting him!

Lu Ye looked over each clause, memorizing them in his heart.

Weh Ying gazed at him with a worried expression, "Little junior brother, you don't have to do this. If Senior Brother Xie and I risk our lives to protect you, we might stand a chance of getting you out of here!"

Even though Li Baxian had tried his best, the likelihood of surviving three days under the relentless tag-team assault of the enemy, with just a Level 5 realm of cultivation, was almost non-existent. Dozens of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge sects each sending out a Level 5-6 cultivator would wear Lu Ye down to his death.

Hearing Weh Ying's words, Lu Ye shook his head, "Everyone has done enough for me, and so many have already died. I cannot always hide behind others. Big Sister and Fourth Senior Brother are willing to risk their lives to protect me, but as the junior brother, I wouldn't feel right accepting this. This battle started because of me; it's my duty to end it!"

Weh Ying felt choked up by emotions, having waited so many years only to finally have a junior brother, someone to hope for the continuation of their sect's lineage, only to be caught up in the power struggle between two great alliances.

Even she, who had forcefully made her way onto the Spirit Stream battlefield, found it hard to make much impact amidst such raging currents, let alone a junior brother at the Level 5 realm.

She cursed the injustice of the heavens and lamented her own insufficient cultivation level.

"Big Sister!" Li Baxian suddenly called out sharply.

Weh Ying's somewhat disordered aura slowly calmed, and her dilated pupils refocused.

"I won't die!" Lu Ye said with a steady tone, "I still want to see what the Righteous Blood Sect is really like. I have no home or family in this world. Since the sect master took me in, the Righteous Blood Sect is my home, and you and Fourth Senior Brother are my family! So, I will not die!"

He stepped forward, walking step by step to the center of the battle ring. The area between the two great alliances had already been set up as a simple stage. He stood firm, gazed at the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge camp, and spoke softly, "Who is ready to die?"

From Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, pairs of mocking eyes looked over, viewing Lu Ye as one would a dead man.

To them, this disciple of the Righteous Blood Sect must have lost his mind to make such a proposal before, daring to challenge the entire camp of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge with nothing more than a Level 5 realm. How utterly overreaching!

Now that the Heaven's Augury Pact had been agreed upon, the Haotian Alliance had no room left for regrets. Any who dared to interfere with the ensuing battle would be jointly eliminated by the powerhouses from both sides who had signed the pact, under the binding terms of the Heaven's Augury Pact.

So even someone like Yanh Xing could not dare to make any rash moves at this time. He could only watch from a distance, across Golden Light Peak, glaring fiercely at Li Baxian on the opposite side.