Chapter 160: Next One

Fortunately, Li Baxian had previously made an agreement with Yan Xing to appease him: once this matter was resolved, he would give Yan Xing a chance to settle their grievances.

This was why Yan Xing could sit there calmly.

The numerous cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge watched with a hint of mockery and fervent desire. The Five-Stage cultivator standing on Golden Light Peak was a living treasure trove!

If they could kill him, the rewards would be endless.

Almost immediately after Lu Ye shouted those words, a burly man leaped forward, declaring, "I'm next!"

Although this fellow was only in the Five-Stage Realm, he was clearly a body cultivator. Relying on his tough skin and thick flesh, he wanted to test Lu Ye's skills. He also harbored a hopeful mentality, thinking that if he could somehow kill Lu Ye, he would become rich overnight!

"Jadeblood Sect, Lu Ye!" Lu Ye announced.

"White Wolf City, Shi Lei!" After speaking, he reached into his storage bag, intending to retrieve his defensive spirit weapon. With a defensive spirit weapon, he believed he would be invincible. However, just as his hand entered the bag, his face changed drastically, for Lu Ye was already charging towards him with astonishing speed.

Within a few strides, Lu Ye was in front of him. Shi Lei, the body cultivator, had just pulled out his defensive spirit weapon—a small, shield-like artifact. He quickly retreated, simultaneously channeling spiritual power into the weapon.

The long saber flashed as it left its sheath, infused with crimson spiritual power.

Shi Lei stood rooted to the spot, staring at Lu Ye in horror. A thin line of blood appeared across his throat, which rapidly widened. Immediately after, a fountain of blood erupted, and his head flew high under the impact of the gushing crimson.

Behind the headless corpse, the numerous cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge watched in utter shock, their jaws dropping in astonishment.

Although Han Zheyue had previously mentioned that Lu Ye could kill opponents of higher stages, dispatching a cultivator of the same stage so swiftly was still astonishing. Moreover, the victim was a body cultivator known for his tough skin and robust build. The fight had ended almost as soon as the combatants finished introducing themselves.

"Foolish!" scoffed a powerful cultivator from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge on the Spirit Stream List, referring to Shi Lei. Knowing his opponent was formidable, yet still underestimating him, failing to prepare before the battle, and only attempting to retrieve his defensive spirit weapon after stepping onto the arena—such a person was destined for little success, and even if he didn't die today, he would eventually.

Across the way, the Vast Sky Alliance camp erupted in thunderous cheers after a moment of surprise. Li Baxian's shout was the loudest, and Wei Yang's tense expression visibly relaxed a little.

Lu Ye collected Shi Lei's spirit shield and storage bag, then turned and tossed them to Wei Yang, who caught them. These were his spoils of war, his very first spoils!

Killing enemies and collecting spoils was a fine tradition that should never be abandoned.

After the defeat in the first battle, many cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge felt disgraced. However, most understood that this was only the beginning. The Ten Thousand Demon Ridge intended to fight Lu Ye in a continuous rotation. Each sect present had one combat slot; they could lose, they could die, and there would always be others to follow. But Lu Ye had no such luxury; if he failed even once, he would surely die.

With a three-day limit, there would be at least dozens, perhaps even more, battles. How could a Five-Stage cultivator possibly endure?

"Next!" Lu Ye returned to the front of his own camp, lightly flicking the blood from his saber.

The stewards of the various major sects in the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge held a private discussion. Soon, a woman stepped forward. She was quite beautiful, with a voluptuous figure, and, significantly, she wore very little, instantly drawing many gazes upon her appearance.

Wei Yang's face darkened instantly. "Slut!" she hissed.

Li Baxian also frowned, secretly worried. Faced with such a beauty, a hot-blooded young man might find it hard to deliver a killing blow. It had to be said, the second opponent put forth by the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge was very strategically chosen.

He turned to look at Lu Ye, who appeared calm as he announced his affiliation again, "Jadeblood Sect, Lu Ye!"

The woman glanced at the nearby corpse, then recoiled slightly, seemingly a little scared. Her timid expression was genuinely pitiful. Upon hearing Lu Ye's voice, she replied in a sweet, delicate tone, "Windflower Pavilion, Chuxue!"

With a roar, dirt and stones flew as Lu Ye charged towards her with incredible speed.

"Oh, junior brother, don't be so impatient!" Chuxue said in her delicate voice, yet her attack was utterly ruthless. With a flick of her hand, a blazing fireball appeared, followed by a pale-blue wind blade.

Crucially, as the woman attacked, her scanty clothing barely concealed her alluring figure, offering a feast for the eyes of the many watching cultivators.

"Shameless hussy!" Wei Yang was practically fuming, wishing she could go up and twist off the wench's head!

"Not good!" Li Baxian's expression, however, changed.

On the arena, Lu Ye raised his saber to strike the fireball. This fireball was even weaker than those cast by Dong Shuye, so he naturally felt no fear.

However, before he could strike the fireball, the wind blade trailing behind it suddenly exploded. A triumphant smile appeared on Chuxue's face as she silently exclaimed, "It worked!"

A fierce wind erupted, fueling the flames. The fireball instantly transformed into a raging inferno, its power surging by more than thirty percent, engulfing Lu Ye from above.

This was Chuxue's signature spell. As a Six-Stage spell cultivator, she didn't underestimate Lu Ye, who was one stage lower than her; after all, the body cultivator's corpse was still at her feet. Thus, she unleashed her deadliest move from the start, intending to eliminate Lu Ye in one blow.

However, her smile had barely bloomed before it froze. From within the blazing flames, Lu Ye's figure burst forth with fierce determination, his already astonishing speed suddenly increasing even further.

Chuxue's face paled with fright. She frantically channeled her spiritual power to cast defensive spells.

But it was too late. Lu Ye closed in, severing one of her raised arms with a single slash, then shattering the spiritual energy barrier in front of her with another, and finally carving a wound across her chest and abdomen.

A piercing scream tore through the air as the scantily clad woman stumbled backward, tears blurring her vision. The last thing she saw was a flash of gleaming saber light.

In front of the woman's corpse, Lu Ye stood somewhat disheveled. He had taken a slight hit just now. Fortunately, he had quickly activated his Spirit Guard to defend himself when he sensed danger, preventing significant injury, though his hair and clothes were singed in places.

This time, he didn't retreat to his original position. Instead, he stood before the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge's formation, slowly raising his long saber. "Next!"

The tip of his saber seemed to point at every single Ten Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator...

Behind him, the cultivators of the Vast Sky Alliance were silent. Many wore expressions of disbelief mixed with amusement; this Jadeblood Sect junior was perhaps a little too arrogant.

Yet, this scene... was truly exhilarating.

"Well killed!" Wei Yang's eyes curved into crescent moons. Her junior brother's merciless handling of the "flower" undoubtedly pleased her. White, plump, long legs meant nothing; before their sect's stance, they were just a pile of rotting flesh!

Li Baxian, however, his eye twitched. "Why is he acting just like third senior brother? And they both use sabers!" He suddenly felt a bit exasperated. "Why sabers?!"

The third battle quickly began.

According to the terms agreed upon in the Heavenly Secret Pact, Lu Ye had the option to rest for the time it took an incense stick to burn after each battle. However, since he didn't choose to rest, the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge naturally wouldn't give him any respite.

On the arena, Lu Ye practically chased the Six-Stage cultivator, hacking and slashing. In just a short while, he had the man on the defensive, leaving him with no chance to retaliate.

Witnessing this, the cultivators of the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge secretly felt fortunate. Luckily, they had known in advance that this Jadeblood Sect junior could kill opponents of higher stages. Otherwise, if they had truly agreed to his initial proposal, probably no Five-Stage cultivator would have dared to step up and die.

If even a Six-Stage cultivator was no match, how could a Five-Stage one be?

Saber light flashed, and blood splattered. Lu Ye pressed forward, just about to cleave his opponent down with a final strike, when the other man suddenly cried out, "I surrender!"

Lu Ye's long saber stopped just before his opponent's neck. The sharp blade cut through a layer of skin, and blood began to trickle out.

"I surrender!" The man quickly jumped back, reaching up to touch his neck, a look of profound relief and fear on his face.

If he had called out just a fraction of a second slower, his head would surely have been gone. Surrendering was disgraceful, but it was far better than losing his life.

Lu Ye withdrew his saber, not pursuing the kill. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but the Heavenly Secret Pact stipulated that the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge side had the option to surrender.

This option was only for the Ten Thousand Demon Ridge; Lu Ye had no such privilege. If he lost, he would die!

It could be said that from the very beginning, there was no fairness in this conflict.

But then, where in this world is there so much fairness?

The man slunk back, involuntarily shivering as he recalled the brief battle. He had never encountered a Five-Stage cultivator so aggressive and offensive. While fighting him, he couldn't help but feel the illusion that *he* was the one with the lower cultivation.

"Next!" Lu Ye looked ahead.

Someone leaped out, and the fourth battle began!

In the Vast Sky Alliance camp, several powerful cultivators from the Spirit Stream List gathered around Li Baxian. One frowned and said, "While this method of demoralizing the enemy is good, it consumes too much energy. He might not last much longer."

"Indeed," another added. "Though he fights ferociously, his attacks lack technique. Facing an enemy skilled in combat might pose a challenge."

As powerful cultivators on the Spirit Stream List, these individuals naturally possessed extremely keen insights. Although Lu Ye had only fought three battles, they had already identified a flaw: his overly aggressive fighting style.

If Lu Ye were facing only a few enemies, this wild style would be the best approach, often intimidating opponents. But he was facing too many enemies. At this point, a steady and methodical approach was the correct path. Moreover, with the powerful cultivators from the Spirit Stream List present, the enemies would not be intimidated; even if Lu Ye were twice as vicious, someone would still step forward to fight.

Furthermore, Lu Ye's attacks indeed lacked formal technique. Every saber strike was a killing move; one could say he attacked in whatever way was most convenient for killing.

This was the fighting style he had accumulated through countless battles, as no one had ever taught him how to use a saber.

While this method was undeniably fierce, it also had significant weaknesses, making it easy for an opponent to exploit openings.