Chapter 137: Rainy Battle

Good book...

Rain poured down, accompanied by flashes of lightning and thunder.

Amber's figure, accompanied by Lu Ye, darted across the swamp like wind and lightning. Both were enveloped in a faint spiritual glow, which, though not completely blocking the rain, at least allowed them to see more clearly and prevented their vision from being obscured.

Behind them, Dong Shuye pursued relentlessly, having significantly closed the distance. He was like a leech that had caught the scent of blood, clinging tightly to Lu Ye's trail.

The distance closed not because Amber was slow, but because this particular swamp was incredibly challenging for it. Amber had just stepped into a mud pit, and if not for its speed, it would have been trapped. Coupled with the terrain's influence, their pursuer managed to gain ground.

As the Wind-Walking Talisman slowly depleted its power, Lu Ye was about to retrieve another when a surge of spiritual energy emanated from ahead. Two figures leaped into the air from either side, and a large net, glowing with spiritual energy, descended from above. It was clearly a spiritual artifact specifically designed for capturing beasts.

This swamp was home to many crocodile-like beasts, which were semi-wild and semi-domesticated, forming part of the property of the young master's family. As such, family members often came here to capture and sell them, often fetching a good price.

These two cultivators were originally hunting crocodiles here. Upon receiving Dong Shuye's message, they immediately set up an ambush, perfectly intercepting Amber as it fled.

As the net fell, Amber was in mid-air, leaping over a pond, with no foothold to dodge. It was thoroughly ensnared and fell downwards.

"We got it!" Both cultivators were overjoyed. This large tiger was the beast their young master wanted. If they could capture it, their mistress would surely reward them generously.

As they thought this, a figure surged through the thick rain, closing in on one of them, and a bright flash of a blade erupted.

It was Lu Ye, who had leaped from Amber's back the moment the net struck, using Amber's broad back as a springboard to attack one of the cultivators.

The large net was a spiritual artifact. If he couldn't cut it with one strike, he would also be entangled, unable to move. The safest course of action was to separate from Amber; under no circumstances could he allow himself to be trapped with it.

The incoming blade struck with formidable momentum. The attacked cultivator, also at the Fourth-Layer, was startled but not panicked. Dong Shuye had already informed them of this, and since their cultivation was the same, he wasn't afraid of Lu Ye. Moreover, he had a companion nearby, and Dong Shuye was also hot on their heels.

Therefore, he just needed to stall for a moment...

His thoughts were interrupted. With a loud clang, the weapon he had hastily raised to meet the blade was knocked flying, his right hand trembled uncontrollably, and his body staggered backward under a powerful force.

"Such strength?" The Fourth-Layer cultivator's face paled in shock. He had only ever felt such power from the Fifth-Layer body cultivators within his own clan.

Before he could react, another flash of bright blade light descended.

Blood mixed with rain splattered. The man stumbled and fell face-first into the mud.

Lu Ye, having dispatched a cultivator of the same level with two strikes, did not pause and charged towards the second man. The second man had just been about to provide support when he witnessed his clansman's tragic death, which disoriented him. For a moment, he didn't know whether to retreat or attack. As he hesitated, Lu Ye was already upon him, his long saber sweeping out a blur of light.

Clanging sounds rang out. The man blocked Lu Ye's first three strikes, but the fourth was impossible to parry. After being tempered by the Dragon Spring, Lu Ye's speed and strength in wielding his saber had significantly improved. Compared to his time at Hundred Peaks Mountain, although his cultivation hadn't increased much, his overall combat strength had grown.

The fourth strike landed on the man's chest. This was only because the man reacted quickly enough to take a step back; otherwise, this strike would have decapitated him.

His protective spiritual energy offered no resistance; the blade sliced through, the spiritual light shattered, and his chest was directly split open.

Lu Ye kicked him, sending him flying. The man let out a short scream before falling silent.

Two points of red light floated nearby. Lu Ye quickly moved to the trapped Amber and removed the spiritual net from it. Just as he was about to leave, it was already too late.

With a thunderous crash, as if a meteorite had fallen, mud and water splattered as a figure, radiating killing intent, stood twenty feet away, glaring at Lu Ye with fiery eyes.

Even the pouring rain could not obscure his hateful gaze.

Dong Shuye had arrived!

Lu Ye gripped his long saber tightly.

At this distance, fleeing from a spellcaster was undoubtedly unwise. To survive now, he had to fight!

A gap of three minor cultivation layers separated a Fourth-Layer from a Seventh-Layer, roughly fifty to sixty spiritual apertures. It could be said that Dong Shuye had at least twice as many spiritual apertures opened as Lu Ye.

Dong Shuye was still holding a mortal. Lu Ye glanced at him but paid him no further attention. Although it was strange that Dong Shuye brought a mortal along during the pursuit, now was not the time to consider such things.

"So cold..." The young master hugged his arms, teeth chattering. Though freezing, he still yearned for Amber and shouted at Lu Ye, "Hey, kid, I said I'd buy your big tiger, but Old Dong insisted on taking it by force. Don't blame me if you die."

He turned and ran a few yards behind Dong Shuye, shouting, "Old Dong, kill him! I'll cheer you on from here!"

He knew that as a mortal, he couldn't help Dong Shuye, so he ran away before the fight even started, lest he interfere with Dong Shuye.

"Whose young master is this?" Lu Ye's expression became strange when he heard the self-address.

He was reminded of the young lord of the Nine Stars Sect...

Young master, young lord—they were similar in status. The difference was that the last one he killed was a cultivator, while this one was a mortal.

Why did he always encounter young masters and young lords who sought trouble with him?

"How do you wish to die?" Dong Shuye glared at Lu Ye, a cruel grin spreading across his face.

Lu Ye remained silent, merely narrowing his eyes and staring ahead.

Twenty feet was too far; success would be difficult if the opponent was prepared. Lu Ye exhaled lightly, gripped his long saber, and stomped his foot, causing a circular splash in the ground as he lunged towards Dong Shuye.

Amber did not charge. Under Yi Yi's direction, it quietly retreated, disappearing into the rain.

Dong Shuye frowned, vaguely sensing that Lu Ye's explosive power as a Fourth-Layer cultivator was unusually strong, seemingly exceeding the typical capabilities of his realm.

However, that was all it was. As a former Seventh-Layer spellcaster, how could he allow Lu Ye to get close so easily?

He didn't even consider moving. With a raise of his hand, a crescent-shaped golden arc slashed towards Lu Ye. He did not use fire-elemental spells as he had before, because the timing was wrong. In such dreadful weather, activating fire-elemental spells would only be a joke.

The golden arc slash was incredibly fast; it had barely formed before it reached Lu Ye.

Lu Ye concentrated his spiritual energy in his eyes. He originally intended to discern the golden arc slash's trajectory before activating his Guardian spiritual pattern to block it.

However, as his attention became highly focused, everything around him seemed to slow down considerably...

He vaguely saw the golden arc slash's trajectory as it came towards him, and a feeling arose that he could dodge it. Following this intuition, he crouched down, and immediately felt a strong gust of wind pass over his head. The powerful slash created a vacuum in the rain, and a few strands of his hair flew away.

He had dodged it!

But the second golden arc slash was already upon him. Lu Ye raised his saber and struck, spiritual energy exploding. The golden arc slash was shattered, and Lu Ye's body stumbled backward slightly, his tiger mouth aching faintly.

The third attack came again. Dong Shuye was determined to kill Lu Ye here, so when he acted, he showed no mercy.

Lu Ye pulled back his feet, standing perfectly straight, chest out and stomach in, clearly seeing the golden arc slash pass by the tip of his nose.

He realized then that the benefits of Dragon Spring tempering were not just a stronger physique, enabling more powerful and swift saber strikes, but also a significantly faster reaction time. His eyes could now perceive things he couldn't before.

That's why he had the illusion that the entire world had slowed down.

This unexpected discovery solidified Lu Ye's plan.

He had originally intended to use the Guardian spiritual pattern to withstand the opponent's attacks, but using Guardian would not only consume spiritual energy but also force him to endure the force of the impact, potentially causing internal injuries.

Under the rain, Lu Ye's figure continuously pressed towards Dong Shuye. Golden arc slashes rained down, and he constantly dodged and parried them. If he couldn't dodge or parry in time, he would activate Guardian to block.

Occasionally, he would be pushed back, but overall, he was steadily closing in on Dong Shuye.

Dong Shuye frowned. If someone had told him before that a Fourth-Layer cultivator could advance while enduring his spell attacks, he would have thought they were crazy.

Although he was currently at the Sixth-Layer, he possessed the foundation of a Seventh-Layer. However, some spiritual apertures within him could no longer form a minor circulate, so his strength had indeed decreased significantly.

Yet, he would kill a Fourth-Layer cultivator with a few casual spells!

But now, this utterly impossible scenario was unfolding right before his eyes, and the person accomplishing it was the one he hated most in his life.

Dong Shuye became completely enraged. Spiritual energy surged, gathering before him, and a long spear formed from spiritual energy slowly took shape, instantly transforming into a golden light that shot towards Lu Ye.

Lu Ye immediately felt a sense of danger. This attack was too fast to dodge, and its power was immense; an ordinary Guardian spiritual pattern likely wouldn't hold!

In an instant, a Guardian spiritual pattern the size of a washbasin appeared before him, immensely powerful and shimmering with spiritual light.

With a bang, the spiritual energy spear struck the spiritual pattern. Lu Ye was almost thrown back by the recoil. He crouched, lowering his center of gravity, but his body still slid backward uncontrollably.

A moment later, both the spiritual energy spear and the Guardian spiritual pattern dissipated. Dong Shuye launched another spell towards Lu Ye, but Lu Ye charged forward rapidly, taking advantage of the brief lull in the opponent's spellcasting to close the distance.