Chapter 1893: I Choose the Older One

In the boundless desert, filled with swirling sand, two figures streaked across the ground, moving towards each other. The instant their forms crossed, their magical powers collided, and the clang of metal striking metal echoed.

Immediately after, blood splattered, and one of them cursed loudly: “Shura Field, I curse your ancestors!”

“It’s outrageous! Why was I assigned such a powerful opponent? We’re both weapon cultivators, and it’s bad enough that their cultivation was a realm higher than mine, but their strength was also terrifying. I gave my all, yet couldn’t even withstand a single unadorned strike from them.”

Although he knew some newly arrived cultivators had unfathomable strength, personally encountering one was still hard to accept.

As his words fell, the cultivator’s figure vanished.

The surrounding scenery shattered, and Lu Ye returned to his own cave dwelling, picking up his Asura Token to examine it.

Arena Ranking (Moon Bloom Realm): 53,621.

The battle he had just fought was his tenth here. After ten battles, this ranking would be his initial placement in the Arena.

The opponents he encountered weren't strong; in fact, they were quite weak. Hardly any of them could withstand a single blade strike from him. Lu Ye wasn't surprised by this, nor was he complacent.

A ranking of over fifty thousand wasn't low when considering the entire Moon Bloom Realm Arena, but for him, it was naturally unsatisfactory. He had only one goal: to be number one on the Moon Bloom Ranking.

He continued to participate in battles without pause. Although he had gone through ten skirmishes, it barely counted as a warm-up for him; he hadn't even fully stretched his muscles and bones.

Now that he had his own ranking, there were two ways to participate in battles.

One was to enter directly, and the Arena would randomly assign him an opponent. His ranking would either increase or decrease based on his performance in the battle, but regardless of whether it rose or fell, the change in ranking wouldn't be significant.

The other way was to directly challenge cultivators ranked higher than him. This type of challenge had limitations: he could only challenge opponents within a thousand ranks of his own. If he won, he would take the challenged person’s ranking, and the loser would drop one spot.

Lu Ye pondered for a moment and chose the second method. Even if he continued with the previous method, a win wouldn't significantly improve his ranking. It was better to pick the second one for a more direct approach, gaining a thousand ranks with each victory.

Immersing his mind in the Asura Token, Lu Ye immediately saw a complete Moon Bloom Ranking list. Over half a million names were listed, arranged by: first, the ranking; then, their respective names; followed by their home realm or star system; and finally, their battle record in the Arena.

For example, Lu Ye’s information on the Moon Bloom Ranking:

53,621st place, Lu Ye, Nine Heavens Realm, ten wins and zero losses.

This kind of information could be checked by any cultivator in the Shura Field using their Asura Token. However, Lu Ye soon discovered that many cultivators’ names were listed as “Nameless,” and even their home realms were listed as “Unknown.”

He immediately understood that these individuals must have hidden their names and origins on the Moon Bloom Ranking.

Cultivators had the right to do this, and the Arena did not prohibit it.

After thinking about it, he followed suit, concealing his own name and origin.

He shifted his gaze upward and began to challenge the cultivator ranked a thousand places ahead of him. However, after he sent out the challenge, there was no informational feedback.

This undoubtedly indicated that the challenged cultivator was not currently in the Heavenly Asura Realm. They were likely in a training scenario somewhere.

This was a common occurrence. When this happened, Lu Ye could either wait for the opponent to return or choose a different target.

He, of course, chose the latter.

He challenged the cultivator ranked 999 places ahead of him again, but surprisingly, he still couldn't succeed.

Stepping back one more rank, he finally succeeded this time. And the opponent didn't make Lu Ye wait long at all, even though by rule, they had half an hour of preparation time.

The Arena’s gate opened again, and Lu Ye stepped inside.

Ten breaths later, Lu Ye returned…

Cultivators ranked around fifty thousand had cultivation levels only in the mid-Moon Bloom Realm. They weren't much stronger than the opponents he had previously encountered, so dealing with them was naturally not difficult.

Each challenge increased his ranking by approximately a thousand places.

Basically, once Lu Ye initiated a challenge, the challenged party would quickly accept. Occasionally, a few cultivators would stall, only entering the Arena when the half-hour preparation time limit expired, but this caused no real harm.

In just over a day, Lu Ye’s ranking soared from fifty thousand to within ten thousand.

Once his ranking reached this level, the challenge rules changed again. The range of challengeable opponents narrowed from within a thousand ranks to within a hundred ranks. The challenged party’s preparation time also increased from half an hour to an hour. This was undoubtedly to allow cultivators in the Arena to perform better.

Cultivators at this rank showed significant changes in strength. Within the top ten thousand, most were late-Moon Bloom Realm cultivators. Mid-Moon Bloom Realm cultivators were rare, and the few who appeared undoubtedly possessed the ability to fight beyond their realm.

Lu Ye chose his target: an opponent named Che Chi from the Three Suns Realm. He was a late-Moon Bloom Realm cultivator with a record of 760 victories and a win rate of about sixty percent.

The Arena’s gate opened, and Lu Ye stepped inside, appearing within the Arena.

He immediately noticed a difference in this battle compared to previous ones. Outside the massive, enclosed Arena, there were tiers of spectator stands. Sparse figures of cultivators sat observing from these stands.

He had gone through dozens of battles before, but there had never been any spectators. This time, there were.

Lu Ye was already aware of this situation, so he wasn't surprised. According to information he had learned from Chen Xuanhai, these observing cultivators weren't just watching for entertainment. They could also place bets within the Arena, using either spirit jade or Asura Seals. If the favored side won, the numerous betting cultivators would divide the stakes of the losing cultivators.

Gui Yi’s jade slip also mentioned this, but her advice was not to participate. Throughout history, many people had learned through bloody lessons that anything associated with gambling rarely ended well. One might enjoy temporary glory, but there would always come a time when everything was lost.

The ultimate outcome of gambling luck was utter destitution.

Lu Ye actually wanted to participate, as he was very confident in his own strength. Unfortunately, the Arena’s rules stipulated that the combatants themselves were not allowed to place bets.

At this moment, in a certain spot on the east side of the spectator stands, sat a beautiful, voluptuous woman.

Judging by her makeup and attire, anyone would assume she had a gentle and dignified temperament. In reality, though she wore a palace gown, she sat there boldly and unrestrainedly. One hand propped on the armrest of the nearby chair, the other resting on her knee, her body leaned slightly forward. Her eyes, faintly bloodshot, continuously shifted between Lu Ye and Che Chi in the battle, her expression thoughtful, as if evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the two.

Beside her, another woman, small and pretty, was currently clinging to the elder woman’s arm, her face full of pleading. “Master,” she begged, “you can’t gamble anymore! Your hard-earned Asura Seals are almost all gone!”

The elder woman, disinclined to listen to her chatter, reached out and pulled her into her embrace. With one arm restraining her, the younger woman immediately felt her face covered by something soft, and even her breathing became difficult, causing her to struggle.

After watching for a while, the elder woman couldn't help but scratch her head, feeling very frustrated.

A muffled "mmmph" sound escaped, and only then did she remember her disciple. She quickly released her, and the small woman, freed from the constraint, gasped for air, her face flushed.

The elder woman asked, “My dear disciple, look at these two. Which one do you think will win?”

The small woman pouted aggrievedly: “Master, if even you can’t tell, how am I supposed to? Let’s just leave!”

“Don’t chatter,” the elder woman rebuked. “Haven’t I taught you that you must get up where you fall? The reason I can’t tell is because my gambling luck is bad, nothing else. This time, you pick for me, and I’m sure to win!”

From the spectator stands, it was impossible to see the specific information of the combatants in the Arena. Moreover, there were isolating forces from the Arena itself, so even though this elder woman possessed Sunlit Realm cultivation, she couldn't determine who was stronger or weaker before the two below began fighting.

“Quick, choose, choose! Not much time left,” the elder woman urged.

The small woman knew her master’s disposition well. She was good in all regards, except for her heavy gambling addiction, which often led her to destitution. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was the poorest Sunlit Realm cultivator in the entire Starry Sky.

Unable to dissuade her, the small woman could only resign herself to fate. However, asking her to choose a betting target was undoubtedly difficult for her, as it concerned her master’s last bit of savings. She could only grit her teeth and point vaguely in a direction: “Then him!”

The elder woman asked, “Why?”

This was what troubled the small woman the most. Her master often asked her to help choose betting targets but also demanded reasons. She had no real reason; it was just a random pointer. After thinking, she said, “This one is younger?”

The elder woman gave her a displeased glance: “What’s good about being young? Only young girls like you judge by appearances. Remember, experience makes one sharper!”

The small woman didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She was hundreds of years old herself; only her master would still call her a young girl.

The elder woman had made her decision. With a wave of her fair hand, she declared, “I choose the older one!”

The small woman was speechless. If that was the case, what was the point of asking her to choose a betting target?

In the Arena, Lu Ye waited quietly, observing his opponent. At this rank, entering the Arena didn't mean immediate combat. There was a waiting period of about thirty breaths, likely to facilitate betting among the spectators.

Only after thirty breaths could both combatants move freely.

Soon, the thirty breaths passed. As soon as Lu Ye sensed the restraining force disappear, he immediately dashed forward.