Chapter 1895: Walnut

Lu Ye had been in countless battles, big and small, so he naturally wouldn't let his opponent's words disrupt his rhythm. He didn't know if it was an enemy's trick, so even after hearing Walnut's voice, his offensive remained unchanged.

Seeing this, Walnut grew anxious and spoke very quickly: "Fellow Daoist, I will withdraw from this battle myself. I just want to make friends with you."

Although she knew her life wasn't in danger here, seeing the soldier-cultivator charging forward with such overwhelming momentum still filled Walnut with dread. She finally understood why Che Chi had lost so quickly. This terrifying sense of oppression was something she had never experienced before.

Almost as soon as her words faded, she felt a slight chill at her neck. When she realized what was happening, her opponent was already standing beside her, the long saber pressed against her throat.

Lu Ye didn't strike with the saber, as his opponent genuinely seemed to have no intention of resisting.

Lu Ye frowned and asked, "Do you know me?"

He had just arrived and only knew Gui Yi in this Asura Arena. The sudden request for friendship made Lu Ye wonder if Walnut had also come from the Myriad Manifestation Sea and had met him before.

Walnut paused, then quickly shook her head. "I haven't met you before."

"Then why do you want to be friends with me?" Lu Ye asked.

"Can we discuss it later? This isn't the place to talk," Walnut asked cautiously. "If Fellow Daoist is willing, could we exchange marks?"

Lu Ye considered it. He was indeed curious, and merely exchanging marks wasn't a big deal. He immediately put away his saber and took out his Asura Token.

Seeing this, Walnut sighed in relief and also took out her Asura Token.

Then, under the stunned gaze of countless cultivators in the stands, the two exchanged marks, and Walnut's figure dissipated.

By voluntarily conceding, she left, and Lu Ye naturally won the match, causing his arena ranking to rise by nearly a hundred spots.

Many spectators had placed bets on Walnut for this battle, and this outcome immediately sparked a chorus of angry shouts and accusations of foul play.

However, they could only curse for a few moments. Outsiders couldn't interfere with any choices made by cultivators in the arena. Walnut's voluntary concession led to their lost bets; they could only blame their bad luck.

Inside his cave dwelling, as soon as Lu Ye appeared, his Asura Token reacted. He checked it, and as expected, it was a message from Walnut.

"Fellow Daoist, please don't rush to participate in another arena battle. I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

Lu Ye replied, "What is it?"

Meanwhile, in Walnut's cave dwelling, she hurried to her master's side, exclaiming excitedly, "Master, that soldier-cultivator just challenged me!"

The woman, who had been lying sprawled out on the jade bed, instantly perked up. She leaped to her feet and gripped her disciple's shoulders, her eyes gleaming. "Good disciple, did you defeat him and get revenge for me?"

Walnut gave a wry smile. "No, I conceded and withdrew."

Her master considered this and realized it made sense. She knew her disciple's strength well; that wretched soldier-cultivator had defeated Che Chi as easily as slaughtering a chick. How could her disciple be a match? Her enthusiasm immediately waned. "Then what's the point of telling me this?"

Walnut held up her Asura Token. "I exchanged marks with him!"

Her master's eyes instantly brightened. "Really?"

Walnut said, "Of course I wouldn't lie to you. I'm talking to him right now."

Her master immediately urged, "Quick, quick! Ask him which arena he'll enter for his next battle. I need to place a bet! This soldier-cultivator is very strong; he definitely belongs in the top five hundred."

She had misjudged earlier, betting on Che Chi and losing everything. However, she had seen Lu Ye's strength firsthand and was certain that his current ranking didn't reflect his true ability. Therefore, in the upcoming battles, he was sure to advance rapidly.

If she could follow him into those battles and place her bets on him, she might not get rich, but she could certainly recover her recent losses.

It was precisely this idea that prompted Walnut to exchange Asura Token marks with Lu Ye. She felt her master was truly pathetic, losing nine out of ten bets and often squandering all her hard-earned Asura Marks in one go.

"But Master," Walnut asked, "you just lost all your Asura Marks. What will you bet with?"

Her master said smugly, "Who told you I was betting Asura Marks just now?"

Walnut was puzzled. "Then Master, you..."

"I was betting spirit jade just now! My spirit jade is gone, but my Asura Marks are still here," her master said with a smile that was truly radiant, though her expression was still a bit smug.

"I'll talk to him," Walnut said, and quickly sent another message.

On the other side, after Walnut's explanation, Lu Ye finally understood what she intended to do. He had to admit, the woman was quite clever; after seeing just one of his battles, she realized it was a way to make money.

Many others probably realized this too, but Walnut was lucky. She happened to be challenged by him and managed to establish contact, whereas other cultivators who realized the same thing had no way to reach him.

Lu Ye couldn't help but feel a little concerned. "Won't doing this violate any rules of the Asura Arena?"

Walnut said, "Of course not. This kind of thing is actually very common. Besides, the winnings aren't a direct multiple of the bet; instead, the winners divide the losing side's stakes. Strictly speaking, it's just a gamble among spectators, and the Asura Arena doesn't lose anything."

Lu Ye understood, then asked, "How can you ensure you enter my specific arena to place bets?"

Walnut replied, "Every arena has a number. You'll see it if you look up after you enter. Just send me a message then, and I can enter using that number."

Lu Ye hadn't noticed this. He had fought so many matches, always focusing on his opponents, and had never bothered to look up at the ceiling.

"One last question, what's in it for me?"

By allowing Walnut to bet on him, Lu Ye could ensure her victory, but that was solely her gain. He would be doing all the hard work in the battles while others reaped all the rewards, which he naturally wasn't happy about.

Walnut clearly anticipated this and answered without hesitation, "A three-seven split. All my winnings will be split with you, three-seven."

"Asura Marks can't be traded. How would you share them with me?" Lu Ye asked.

"While Asura Marks can't be traded directly, I can exchange them for resources at the Asura Treasury and give those to you."

Lu Ye understood. That was indeed a way!

Then he asked, "I get seventy percent?"

"I get seventy percent!"

In his cave dwelling, Lu Ye blinked and replied, "At least fifty-fifty, otherwise forget it."

He expected her to negotiate, but unexpectedly, Walnut quickly agreed: "Alright, then it's fifty-fifty!"

This made Lu Ye somewhat uncertain. "How can I be sure you'll share the winnings after you've won the bets?" If Walnut reneged, he would be powerless.

"If Fellow Daoist has time, could you come to the Treasury Plaza? We can sign an Asura Contract there. With a contract in place, neither of us can go back on our word."

Lu Ye readily agreed. In fact, he had intended to sign an Asura Contract with her anyway, as its binding nature in the Asura Arena was equivalent to the Heavenly Secret Contracts of Kyushu in earlier times.

A short while later, Lu Ye met Walnut again at the Treasury Plaza.

She had already drafted the Asura Contract. Lu Ye picked it up to inspect it, confirmed there were no issues, and that all terms matched their prior discussion. He then readily imprinted his mark.

Walnut followed suit. With their two marks, the Asura Contract dissipated into thin air. Simultaneously, Lu Ye distinctly felt an inexplicable power surge into his body.

But the very next moment, his innate talent tree stirred within him. His expression froze, and he quickly turned his internal vision inward.

As he observed with his mind, he saw his innate talent tree burning fiercely. However, at this moment, a golden chain-like anomaly, resembling a long snake, was coiled around the talent tree.

As the flames blazed, the snake-like chain trembled incessantly.

Large swathes of gray mist rose into the air.

This sight greatly astonished Lu Ye, as nothing like it had ever happened before.

After a brief thought, he realized that the snake-like chain must be the mysterious power of the Asura Contract. Strictly speaking, the Asura Contract was an extension of the Asura Arena's power, and even if it seemed insignificant, it was still the power of a supreme treasure.

Yet, the talent tree was incinerating it as if it were an external force invading his body!

Could the talent tree actually contend with the power of a supreme treasure? Although the incineration progress was slow, the rising gray mist clearly indicated that the chain was indeed being burned away.

If this continued, the chain would eventually be completely incinerated.

And once this chain was incinerated, the Asura Contract would no longer hold any binding power over him.

This was undoubtedly an unexpected discovery, leading Lu Ye to wonder if his talent tree was also a supreme treasure of the starry sky.

He had considered this before, but since all the supreme treasures of the starry sky he had encountered possessed marvelous and mighty powers, unlike the talent tree's manifestation, he had ruled out that possibility, believing the talent tree to be more akin to an inheritance.

However, this current unexpected event made him reconsider.

Because, as far as he knew, only supreme treasures could contend with the power of other supreme treasures.

Perhaps the talent tree truly was a supreme treasure of the starry sky, albeit one that was somewhat different from what he understood. It might be a supreme treasure that continuously transformed and evolved as a cultivator's cultivation grew!

He couldn't stop the talent tree from incinerating the chain, and even if he could, he wouldn't want to, because he wanted to know if the talent tree was truly capable of completely destroying this chain.

If it could, then within this Asura Arena, no form of Asura Contract would hold any binding power over him.

The contract Walnut signed with him certainly posed no harm, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't encounter harmful ones in the future. The talent tree possessing such an ability would undoubtedly give him an extra trump card here.