Chapter 1894: Ranking Up

As Lu Ye made his move, his opponent also reacted. Amidst fluctuating mana, three great suns suddenly appeared behind him, brilliantly illuminating the entire arena.

Under the blazing sun, Che Chi's aura steadily ascended. With a raise of his hand, a sea of fire erupted, seemingly engulfing the sky, and massive fireballs surged forth, concealed within the inferno.

This single move immediately revealed a stark difference from the opponents Lu Ye had faced before. As expected from a cultivator ranked within the top ten thousand, he certainly possessed considerable skill.

In the stands, the woman who had placed her bet burst into hearty laughter. She pulled her disciple closer, kissed her smooth cheek, and delightedly exclaimed, "I knew it! This fellow is from the Three Suns Realm!"

While she couldn't discern much information from her vantage point in the stands, Che Chi's attire provided a telling clue. The Three Suns Realm, though not a top-tier domain, was a considerably renowned large realm. It earned its name because it was encircled by three great suns.

Cultivators from this realm predominantly practiced fire-attribute techniques, and thanks to their unique environment, their individual strength was remarkably high.

This was precisely why she placed her bet on him, and certainly not because of his age.

Both were Late Moonrise cultivators, but if one hailed from a realm like the Three Suns Realm and the other wasn't from a top-tier domain, there was virtually no hope of victory for the latter.

Furthermore, with one being a weapon cultivator and the other a spell cultivator, the spacious arena meant the weapon cultivator would expend considerable energy just to close the distance to the spell cultivator.

At this very moment, the entire arena was submerged in a sea of fire, leaving no clear ground, and fierce spells were relentlessly aimed at Lu Ye. Not only did the woman believe Che Chi's victory was assured, but almost all the cultivators watching shared the same conviction.

However, the woman's smile soon froze. Her beautiful eyes widened, and she gasped, "How is that possible?"

Amidst such fierce spell coverage, the young weapon cultivator remained completely unaffected, which was utterly illogical.

But the woman quickly realized, "This fellow's mana is also fire-attribute!" She had clearly seen the traces of Lu Ye channeling his mana, inconspicuous though they were amidst the bright light of the spells.

Yet, something still felt amiss. Even if this young weapon cultivator also possessed fire-attribute abilities, he shouldn't be able to handle it with such effortless ease.

Does he possess some treasure capable of suppressing fire? The woman fell into deep contemplation.

A flash of blade light, and the massive fireballs abruptly shattered. In the arena, the young weapon cultivator's figure darted forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, cutting through the waves of attacks. The numerous intricate spells unleashed by Che Chi were utterly incapable of impeding him.

The distance between the two rapidly closed, eliciting gasps from the spectators in the stands.

Anyone knew the dire consequences of a weapon cultivator getting close to a spell cultivator.

Che Chi sensed trouble. He had fought well over a thousand battles in this arena, encountering foes of varying strength, and his combat experience was exceptionally rich. Yet, no one had ever exerted such intense pressure on him.

If his opponent was like this even before closing the distance, what would happen once he truly got close?

In a flash, Che Chi's spells continued without pause. With a flick of his wrist, a copper ring-shaped magical artifact was unleashed. As mana fiercely surged into it, the copper ring instantly transformed into a fiery hoop, surging forward to intercept and block Lu Ye's advance.

Once unleashed, the fiery hoop split into two, then four, then eight. In just a few breaths, densely packed fiery hoops covered more than half of the arena.

No matter which direction Lu Ye attacked from, he would be unable to avoid the onslaught of these fiery hoops.

Che Chi had initially hoped this magical artifact would slightly impede his opponent, but the outcome left him utterly disappointed. His adversary was like an unyielding, savage ancient beast, fixated on its target and refusing to deviate in the slightest.

Loud booming sounds continuously echoed, the explosions of fiery hoops intermingled with the hum of spells. Powerful impacts swept in all directions, yet they were utterly incapable of disrupting the opponent's charging momentum.

Where Lu Ye's figure passed, the arena was left in utter disarray.

In a mere instant, he had charged and was upon Che Chi.

Che Chi had attempted to dodge and evade, but his inferior speed made his movements appear incredibly clumsy.

A bright flash of blade light appeared in his vision, sending shivers down Che Chi's spine. Without a second thought, he conjured a protective artifact to shield himself.

However, the very next instant, his face contorted in alarm. He clearly felt that as his opponent's long blade struck, the power of his protective artifact, on which he relied, dramatically weakened, even showing signs of imminent shattering.

That single strike… how terrifying!

Immense force struck, and even as he desperately channeled mana to stabilize himself, he was still sent flying high like a kite. It was certain that had he not conjured his protective artifact at that critical moment, he would have been defeated by his opponent's blade.

From the corner of his eye, he detected his opponent pursuing him like a shadow, clinging like a maggot to bone, and the long blade seemed to be raised high once more.

"I surrender!" Che Chi no longer hesitated and cried out swiftly.

Although such battles, no matter how fierce, were not life-threatening – the arena would ensure his safety at critical moments – if his opponent's blade were to strike again, his protective artifact would undoubtedly shatter.

Knowing he was outmatched, he naturally had no desire to lose a precious artifact. The correct response was to actively surrender and withdraw.

As he spoke, Che Chi's figure vanished, and Lu Ye's blade did not strike down.

The fiery glow that filled the arena receded and vanished, and Lu Ye disappeared along with it.

In the stands, the previously excited woman slumped in her chair, her eyes devoid of luster, as if she had just endured a thousand humiliations.

"Master..." the petite young woman gently called out to her.

The woman didn't respond, lying still as a dead fish.

"Oh, dear," the petite young woman sighed. She had known this would be the outcome, having witnessed such a scene countless times before.

She waited patiently. After a good while, the woman weakly murmured, "Let's go back."

"Alright," the petite young woman acknowledged, taking her master's arm. With a thought, they returned to their cave dwelling, where she gently placed her master, who seemed utterly listless, like a soulless automaton, onto a nearby jade bed.

Having witnessed this pattern countless times, the petite young woman wasn't overly concerned about her master's state. She knew that before long, her master would recover, participate in the Asura Field's trials to earn Asura Marks, and then return to the arena or the treasure vault to gamble her luck once more!

Only to revert to this state after losing her bets again… a never-ending cycle.

Suddenly, the woman sprang from the bed and cursed loudly, "How did that scoundrel weapon cultivator win? How *dare* he win?"

She then added furiously, "Don't let me find out who he is, or I'll surely kill him!"

"Yes, yes," the petite young woman nodded, acknowledging that another name had been added to her master's list of people to 'deal with.' Over the years, that list had swelled to at least eight hundred, if not a thousand names, but her master had always just talked big and never actually sought trouble with anyone.

Firstly, her master simply wasn't the type to act on such threats, and secondly, the Asura Field would never permit Sunlit cultivators to abuse their power and bully others.

"But speaking of which, Master," the petite young woman interjected, "that weapon cultivator is incredibly strong! That's definitely not his true ranking."

The woman nodded. "I saw it too. That wretched weapon cultivator has probably just entered the Asura Field; he's here to climb the ranks."

Che Chi, who was ranked within the top ten thousand, was defeated with such ease. It was clear that the weapon cultivator hadn't even used his full strength; if he had, there's no telling how powerful he truly would be.

As the master and disciple conversed, the petite young woman suddenly picked up her Asura Token and announced, "Master, someone is challenging me."

"Go on," the woman replied, slumping back onto the bed, lying spread-eagled. She silently agonized over her lost bet, the pain so intense it seemed to steal her breath.

The petite young woman acknowledged, and with nothing to prepare, she directly entered the arena.

Within the enclosed arena, she slowly materialized and immediately gazed toward her opponent. Although she didn't know who was challenging her or their true strength, she hoped the thirty-breath waiting period might allow her to discern some clues.

With a single glance, her eyes widened involuntarily, and she let out a soft gasp of surprise.

The opponent challenging her looked remarkably familiar: a very young face, dressed in combat attire, covered by a black and red trench coat, with a long blade at his waist. He looked incredibly capable.

Isn't this… the weapon cultivator who caused her Master to lose her bet?

The petite young woman had never imagined such a coincidence; her opponent had actually challenged *her*.

Upon closer thought, it wasn't so surprising. Che Chi, from the Three Suns Realm, was ranked only a few hundred places below her. According to the rule of challenging within a hundred ranks each time, this weapon cultivator, having defeated Che Chi, would only need to win a few more matches to be able to challenge her current rank.

Having personally witnessed how her opponent defeated Che Chi, the young woman knew she was no match. Since her own strength was comparable to Che Chi's, she was certain to lose this battle.

Even so, the young woman had no intention of backing down. Just as she prepared to fight with all her might, her master's dejected expression after losing her bets involuntarily reappeared in her mind.

Her Master truly was pitiful…

Meanwhile, Lu Ye was also observing his current opponent.

His opponent was named Walnut, though he didn't know if it was an alias or her true name. She hailed from the Ethereal Float Realm and, like him, was a Late Moonrise cultivator.

Lu Ye didn't know much about the Ethereal Float Realm, but there was an Ethereal Float Island in the Myriad Manifestation Sea that maintained trade relations with Three Realms Island. It was a rather impressive, high-grade spirit island.

Considering this, the Ethereal Float Realm's foundation likely wasn't weak.

Even though his opponent was a woman, Lu Ye had no reservations. Since he was in the arena, every battle demanded his full effort; there was no concept of holding back simply because his opponent was female.

The thirty-breath waiting period quickly elapsed. The moment he gained freedom, Lu Ye, as always, charged towards his opponent.

Walnut, his opponent, carried no distinguishing items, making it impossible to discern her faction. What puzzled Lu Ye was her visibly conflicted expression, as if she were deeply hesitant about something.

It wasn't until Lu Ye was within three *li* of her that Walnut suddenly raised her hand and called out, "Fellow cultivator, wait."