Chapter 1907: Can't Fight

Walnut and her master, following the message from Lu Ye, entered the viewing stands of the combat arena. They immediately spotted Lu Ye's figure below, preparing for battle.

When she turned to look at Lu Ye's opponent for this challenge, Walnut couldn't help but be startled: "Why is he challenging the third-ranked fighter?"

According to her previous information, Lu Ye's ranking on the Moon Bloom Combat Roster was only seventh, so he should have been challenging the sixth-ranked fighter.

She wondered why he had made such a large leap, skipping several ranks.

She then checked the information on the third-ranked fighter and immediately remembered: "It's Tian Yan of the Stone Clan."

She had never met Tian Yan before but had heard of his formidable reputation. Among Moon Bloom level cultivators, he was known as the "Millennium Third," meaning his ranking in the Moon Bloom combat arena had consistently remained at third place for many years, neither rising nor falling.

This was because he had defeated every cultivator who challenged him, yet he lacked the ability to defeat the two cultivators ranked above him, thus maintaining his third-place standing.

"Master, which side should we bet on?" Walnut found herself in a dilemma. Although she had a good impression of Lu Ye based on his previous combat results, Tian Yan was no ordinary Moon Bloom cultivator; he couldn't have maintained his "Millennium Third" title without significant strength.

Walnut was unsure if Lu Ye was a match for Tian Yan. If they placed their bet incorrectly, a large sum of Asura Marks would vanish into thin air.

She naturally needed to be cautious.

The woman heard her and said, "Since we're gambling, let's go for a big one. Bet everything on Lu Ye."

Walnut hesitated, "But Master..."

"No 'buts'!" The woman interrupted her, saying earnestly, "Little Walnut, I've taught you for so many years, why do you still not understand? The joy of gambling lies in the process, not the outcome. If you overthink it, you lose the fun."

Walnut muttered to herself that this was precisely why her master often gambled away everything she owned.

However, she knew her master's temperament. If her master decided to bet on Lu Ye, it undoubtedly meant that even her master didn't have high hopes for him, which allowed her to enjoy the thrilling tension of awaiting the outcome.

Should she place a bet on Tian Yan instead? That way, no matter who won, one of them would profit.

As she pondered this, her gaze suddenly fell upon Tian Yan's unusually strange expression in the arena below.

At that moment, within the enclosed arena, Lu Ye stood casually, looking around. He spotted Walnut and her master and gave them a slight nod.

Far across from him, Tian Yan was in a peculiar state. He stared wide-eyed towards Lu Ye, looking somewhat suspicious, then surprised, followed by wariness, and finally an odd expression as if he had stepped in something unpleasant.

This was because he recognized Lu Ye as the very person who had beaten him into a frantic retreat during a previous training scenario!

For a moment, he couldn't believe his eyes. Based on his previous deductions, Lu Ye, the 'Nine Heavens Leader,' had to be a phantom left behind by some monstrous talent from a bygone era. In the entire Asura Grounds, only two Moon Bloom cultivators were stronger than him, and they had always suppressed him for years. It was impossible for another such powerful individual to simply appear out of nowhere.

Now he knew, one really had appeared out of nowhere!

Compared to those two, the pressure Lu Ye of the Nine Heavens exerted on him seemed no less intense!

If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad. Tian Yan's strength was considerable, and with the arena's rule protecting participants from death, he wouldn't back down even if he wasn't a match. He would still fight with all his might to uphold the dignity of his Stone Clan.

But... Lu Ye was not only powerful, his methods were also disgusting! The wounds he had inflicted in the previous training scenario had been continuously plagued by strange energies. Even as a member of the Stone Clan, Tian Yan couldn't heal them naturally. He had no choice but to seek help from a Sun Glow elder of his clan to suppress and remove the energies, which took ten days.

If he were to be wounded by Lu Ye again in this fight, wouldn't he have to go through another long recovery?

He had been thoroughly disgusted by the experience recently. His injuries were finally almost healed, and he certainly didn't want to go through such a terrible ordeal again.

Moreover, a Sun Glow's time was incredibly precious; how could he continuously occupy a clan elder for his healing?

This battle... he couldn't fight it!

The thirty seconds of preparation time quickly passed. Lu Ye turned to look at his opponent, and the moment his body was free to move, he rushed forward.

He suddenly felt something was strange. His opponent... seemed familiar?

Before he could get a clear look, his opponent's figure suddenly vanished.

Lu Ye instinctively thought his opponent was a ghost cultivator who had used a technique to hide themselves, but he quickly realized something was wrong. His vision blurred, and he found himself back in his own abode.

Lu Ye was stunned.

In the combat arena, the highly anticipated battle that countless cultivators had waited for had just begun and already ended. Walnut, who had been full of nervous anticipation, was stunned for a moment before quickly checking her Asura Token. Upon seeing the sudden increase in the number of Asura Marks, she couldn't help but leap up, exclaiming, "We won!"

She had placed her bet on Lu Ye at the very last moment. By observing Tian Yan's expressions, she sensed something was off, and with a decisive resolve, she placed her wager on Lu Ye.

This single bet brought a significant profit.

This was because, apart from her and her master, only a small fraction of people in the entire arena had bet on Lu Ye; most had placed their wagers on the more renowned Tian Yan.

According to the rule where winners share the losers' bets, the earnings from this match were undoubtedly substantial, especially since she had risked her entire fortune, making her share far greater than anyone else's.

The woman, however, frowned. Although winning the bet pleased her, Tian Yan's decision to retreat without fighting struck her as odd.

There was no risk to life in the combat arena. If Tian Yan had no intention of fighting, he could have simply refused Lu Ye's challenge, which would have directly updated the rankings. Given that he accepted the challenge, why would he then voluntarily concede?

Even as a Sun Glow cultivator with a keen mind, the woman couldn't understand why Tian Yan had done this.

The entire arena, however, erupted. Countless cultivators cursed, shouting phrases like "fixed match" and "secret dealings," demanding that the Asura Grounds provide justice.

The cultivators who had bet on Tian Yan felt they had lost unfairly. There had never been a precedent of a fighter retreating without combat in the arena, especially not from the third-ranked Tian Yan.

This led people to suspect that Tian Yan and Lu Ye might have made a secret deal, manipulating the combat outcome to profit.

If such a thing were true, the Asura Grounds would certainly not stand idly by. Any formal request for investigation would be rigorously handled by the Asura Grounds.

Disappointingly, however, no matter how fiercely they protested, Lu Ye and Tian Yan's rankings on the leaderboard remained unchanged, not erased.

In Tian Yan's abode, he suddenly reappeared.

The Sun Glow Stone Clan member nodded and asked, "You won?"

He wasn't surprised that Tian Yan would win. In the entire Asura Grounds at the Moon Bloom level, no one was stronger than Tian Yan except for those two individuals. He wondered who had been foolish enough to challenge him this time.

Tian Yan looked embarrassed, scratching his face as he replied, "I lost."

"Hm?" The Sun Glow Stone Clan member was startled. "How is that possible?"

Moreover, defeating Tian Yan in such a short time—even those two couldn't do that, could they? Based on the time, it seemed Tian Yan was dealt with in just a few moves right after entering the arena. Who could possess such immense power?

"Elder, it was that guy who challenged me!" Tian Yan said, looking dejected.

The Sun Glow Stone Clan member asked, surprised and suspicious, "The one who injured you before?"

"That's him!" Tian Yan nodded emphatically. "I originally thought he was a phantom left by some monstrous talent from a bygone era, but I never imagined he wasn't. He's from this era, so I didn't fight. I conceded and withdrew."

The Sun Glow Stone Clan member nodded, "A wise decision."

Losing wasn't shameful. Cultivators who hone themselves in the combat arena didn't fear winning or losing. The crucial point was that the wounds inflicted by the opponent's long blade were truly repulsive. That was the real reason Tian Yan retreated.

"How can there be someone like that in this world?" Tian Yan wondered, completely bewildered.

The Sun Glow Stone Clan member said, "Staying in one corner means you'll only ever see the patch of sky above your head. Experiencing more setbacks on your path to growth isn't a bad thing. Your future is still long; a temporary contest means little."

"I understand, Elder." Tian Yan wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat. He thought for a moment and said, "I've never heard of this guy before; he must have only recently arrived at the Asura Grounds. From his momentum, he's probably aiming for the top spot. He'll definitely challenge those two others. Elder, I'd like to go observe the matches. Can my healing be postponed slightly?"

"Of course," the Sun Glow Stone Clan member agreed.

"Thank you, Elder!"

In Lu Ye's abode, he checked his ranking and found that he had risen to third place, with only two cultivators ahead of him. He concentrated on examining the basic information of these two individuals.

He discovered that the top-ranked cultivator was Gu Sheng from the Yellow Dragon Realm, and below Gu Sheng was a cultivator named Abro from the Ancient Barbarian Realm.

Lu Ye's thoughts stirred. The Yellow Dragon Realm certainly lived up to its reputation; its name was heard everywhere. Yellow Dragon Island in the Myriad Elephant Sea was renowned, and now the top-ranked fighter in this combat arena also hailed from the Yellow Dragon Realm.

It truly was one of the top realms in the starry sky, teeming with talent.

He had some slight knowledge of the Ancient Barbarian Realm, which was a very peculiar realm. Generally, realms of all sizes in the starry sky were affected by changes in the overall environment, leading to various transformations. These changes might be subtle and imperceptible, but over long periods, the accumulated alterations became significant.

This was also why the current cultivation environment was entirely different from the ancient barbaric era.

Only within the ancient, naturally formed wonders of the starry sky did features from ancient times persist.

The Ancient Barbarian Realm was special because it possessed this characteristic of a starry sky wonder; it seemed untouched by changes in the wider environment, with the entire realm maintaining its ancient appearance and conditions.