Sage of Humanity

The blood-stained arena bore witness as Lu Ye looked up, to see the cat demon crouched low with one hand pressed against the ground, the other bringing it up to her mouth. She wore claw gloves on both hands, extraordinarily sharp. Licking the fresh blood from her claws, a strange light shone in her eyes, and she let out a soft meow, seemingly in provocation.

With a faint smile playing at the corners of her mouth, she had discerned Lu Ye's weakening state and the beckoning victory.

Her fluid movements and sharp claws revealed her true nature; she was no mere cat but a fierce leopard in disguise.

The figure on the ground suddenly rushed forward, taking a sharp turn as it neared. As Lu Ye's gaze shifted to his side and he rose to his feet, his saber thrust straight ahead!

A grating sound of friction filled the air, accompanied by sparks. The cat demon's figure came into view, and the saber's tip grazed her cheek, leaving a fine cut on her soft skin. Yet, she was smiling because at that moment, she had caught Lu Ye's long saber with her claw glove!

Lu Ye tried to withdraw his saber but failed.

The cat demon's other claw glove came swinging down, spirit light flashing upon it.

With a crack, the Spiritual Artifact long saber that had been with Lu Ye for months broke in two, leaving only half of the blade.

This Spiritual Artifact was obtained by him in Qingyun Mountain after killing a fair-skinned cultivator; it contained only a single restriction to reinforce the blade, and was considered the worst quality among Spiritual Artifacts. The fair-skinned cultivator's cultivation wasn't high, so he couldn't afford a better Spiritual Artifact.

Even though the quality was not high, the long saber had inflicted unimaginable damage in Lu Ye's hands because he could enhance it with Sharpness spirit runes.

Throughout his journey, at least fifty to sixty Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators had perished under this blade, and counting the executions in this very tournament, the number had already surpassed a hundred.

Today, the long saber that had accompanied Lu Ye on his travels was slashed apart!

Many cultivators from the Haotian Alliance turned pale, as the breaking of a cultivator's Spiritual Artifact undoubtedly compromised his strength, especially for Lu Ye, whose ability to defeat higher-level opponents was partly due to his own foundation and partly due to this Spiritual Artifact.

In contrast, the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side all let out sighs of relief, particularly those strong contenders on the Spirit Stream Ranking who all smiled broadly.

Victory was assured!

Both the Haotian Alliance and Ten Thousand Demons Ridge believed that the long saber in Lu Ye's hands was a high-quality Spiritual Artifact, as evidenced by the way those Level 6 cultivators had been chopped down with no power to retaliate—it was Lu Ye's lethal fang!

Therefore, the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side had always been seeking ways to clip this lethal fang. Once it was broken, they would be in an invincible position. The cultivators who had faced him before had chosen to exchange blows with Lu Ye, not because they believed they could defeat him, but in attempts to destroy his saber!

Unfortunately, no one had succeeded until now, when the cat demon, with her swift speed and a pair of claw gloves, managed to break that blade stained with the blood of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators!

With his lethal fang broken, this disciple from the Righteous Blood Sect named Lu Ye no longer had any possibility of resistance.

In the moment the long saber shattered, the cat demon excitedly lunged at Lu Ye, her sparkling eyes filled with excitement. She seemed to see a bounty of rewards calling her, and she also noticed Lu Ye swinging the broken saber towards her!

In the past, she would have avoided such a strike, as her defense was not strong despite her speed—a cut from Lu Ye would surely spell disaster.

But now she didn't avoid it; instead, she barrelled into Lu Ye's chest with the claw glove on her right hand reaching straight for his heart.

Thud…

Blood splattered as the cat demon's claw glove pierced Lu Ye's chest, but she froze in place, lifting her head to look at Lu Ye with puzzlement on her face, "How did you..."

Lu Ye kicked out, sending the cat demon flying before her. Mid-air, she raised her hand to cover her throat, and when she stumbled upon landing, a rush of blood spilled from between her hands, with more blood spilling from her mouth and nostrils. She gurgled as if trying to speak but couldn't make a sound. After struggling for a moment, the light quickly faded from her eyes.

Lu Ye then covered the wound on his chest, taking a deep breath. After checking, he found the injury was not severe; it hadn't touched his heart.

In that instant, he could have activated the Defense Spirit Runes for protection, but his spirit force was depleting rapidly with each battle, and as he consumed more elixir pills, the flow of his spirit force also became more sluggish. So, when possible, he preferred conserving his spirit force, and taking a minor injury didn't bother him much.

In the ensuing silence, he walked in front of the Haotian Alliance's camp with his broken saber, sat down cross-legged, and from his storage sack, took out Healing Medicine powder and applied it to his chest wound.

Weh Ying watched him, fists clenched, barely resisting the urge to rush forward and bandage his wounds…

"Idiot!" A Spirit Stream Ranking powerhouse from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cursed through clenched teeth. The moment Lu Ye's weapon broke was the closest they had been to victory. The cat demon should have been more vigilant, which would have given her a great chance to kill Lu Ye. But she had been too complacent, getting her throat cut open, dying ignominiously—a sheer act of stupidity.

The fortieth battle ended, leaving only three to go, and the sky was already bright!

But it no longer mattered, for Lu Ye's long saber was broken, and his power was surely greatly diminished. Surely the last three battles would see him defeated.

The Spirit Stream Ranking powerhouses exchanged glances and took a long breath.

Before signing the Heaven's Augury Pact with Li Baxian, none of them had expected the situation to unfold this way. They had thought that in such a relentless series of battles, Lu Ye, no matter how powerful, wouldn't be able to withstand ten rounds.

Yet now, not merely ten rounds—it had been forty!

By this time, they were most grateful for the information provided by Han Zheyue. Otherwise, having agreed to his challenge without any knowledge, they might have already been slaughtered through the forty-three sects, which would have been the biggest joke of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge.

Before the platform, three Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators looked at each other. They were the last three sects' challengers. One of them belonged to the Sacred Fire Order, with the shape of a raging flame on his forehead as if it were burning—an emblem of their Sacred Fire. The other two were disciples from mid-sized sects of either 3rd or 4th grade.

They had been arranged to fight last because of their backgrounds. Those who had gone before them were from less powerful sects, hence they had been placed earlier in the lineup.

The previous forty had paved the path to victory with their blood and deaths. Whoever entered the fray next would stand a great chance to reap the fruits of victory.

This was not just about rich rewards but also about their own future prospects, so all three were eager to be the next one in the arena.

However, as the Sacred Fire Order was only 4th grade, a step behind the other two, he hesitated for a moment before taking a step back, clearly yielding the opportunity to the others.

"Brother Hu Ping, what do you say?" one of them spoke up, his eyes filled with eagerness.
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"Brother Zih An really has posed me a dilemma," Hu Ping lowered his voice, "If I say I'll go first, you surely won't agree, but if I let you go first, I won't be happy either. At such a critical moment, we can't possibly decide a winner between us first."

"Indeed, but there still has to be a sequence," Zih An nodded.

"How about this, let him choose his opponent!"

"That way… very well!"

After a brief discussion, the two stood waiting in place, their gazes now turned toward Lu Ye who was making adjustments on the platform, as if looking at a dead man.

Near the Haotian Alliance side, Lu Ye silently assessed his own condition. It was poor; even with the time of burning one incense stick for recovery, his spirit force had not restored much. Continuing to fight like this, he had only about thirty percent of his spirit force left.

Though he had many injuries, they were not too severe. The healing medicine powder prepared by Hua Ci was highly effective for external wounds. Still, the symptoms of blood loss made him feel slightly dizzy.

He did not know how many people he had killed, nor did he know how many more battles he had to fight, but what he did know was if someone else entered the ring, then he had to stand out and fight.

This was the path he had chosen for himself. As he had said before, he did not fear death, but he refused to wait for it.

The incense candle beside him burned down, signaling the end of the recovery period.

Lu Ye pushed himself up with the broken saber, taking steps forward.

Weh Ying opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she held back.

She had wanted to tell Lu Ye that he needed to win just three more rounds, but she feared her words might affect Lu Ye's condition. Sometimes, knowing the future's course may not be beneficial.

On Golden Light Peak, the crowd that surrounded the area swelled to over five thousand as cultivators of both the big camps gathered here. When Lu Ye was resting, there had been a buzz of conversation, the scene messy and unstructured, but as he stepped out, the whole world fell silent.

Thousands of gazes focused on him, even the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators putting aside their previous disdain and mockery. The look in everyone's eyes became intensely solemn.

A Level 5 realm cultivator, who had fought forty battles without suffering a single defeat, such a proud record did not allow desecration by anyone, enemy camp cultivators included, all showing him substantial respect.

One could predict that for a long while into the future, the image of him carrying a broken saber and walking step by step onto a bloodstained platform would haunt many Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators' nightmares.

On the platform, Lu Ye stood firm as mountain winds howled in.

From Ten Thousand Demons Ridge side, two figures stepped forward. The next moment, thousands of sharp gazes from Haotian Alliance side bore down on them. Included were strong practitioners from the Spirit Stream Ranking, and the air suddenly filled with the impending threat of violence.

The two Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators nearly retracted in fear—this atmosphere… was too terrifying.

Realizing the peril, Hu Ping hurriedly explained, "We do not intend to gang up two against one; we just wish for Fellow Daoist Yiye to choose his opponent."

Zih An nodded repeatedly, implying that engaging in such dishonorable behavior was beneath them.

Lu Ye lifted his broken saber and pointed at Hu Ping, his expression calm, "Then it will be you."

Hu Ping's eyebrows rose in unexpected delight.

Although Zih An was reluctant, he still backed away.

Hu Ping took a deep breath and was about to formally introduce himself to Lu Ye when he suddenly heard a thud beside his ear, and as he looked over, he saw dirt splattered with blood flipping through the air. Lu Ye, like an arrow shot from a bow, lunged toward him.

Hu Ping was shocked; this guy always introduced himself before a fight, so why was he not even giving him a chance to speak this time? Had he gone mad?