Chapter 1913: Dividing the Spoils

Abro didn't wait long—only about fifteen minutes—before Gusheng reappeared in the cave, covered in blood. Gusheng immediately began cursing at him, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

We agreed you'd hammer him until his strength was less than ten percent!

Gusheng knew Abro's words were often exaggerated, but he never imagined it was pure bravado. The human soldier-cultivator showed no sign of injury, and his speed after a burst of spiritual power was incredibly fast. Gusheng, with his already severe injuries, couldn't evade at all. He struggled to contend for a while but was ultimately cut down by a few slashes and forced out of the fight.

At his peak, Gusheng certainly wouldn't have lost so quickly. His strength was comparable to Abro's, and while he might not have been able to defeat the opponent if Abro couldn't, he could have at least held his own for a time, avoiding such a humiliating and swift defeat.

Instead, he was now covered in blood from several cuts, without even having managed to gauge the opponent's true capabilities.

Abro ignored Gusheng's curses, his brows furrowed in deep thought. After a long moment, he exclaimed, "So he really wasn't using his full strength!"

He had already felt this when he fought Lu Ye: that Lu Ye's strength seemed to increase progressively as Abro unleashed his Savage Beast Transformation.

It seemed the opponent wasn't in a hurry to win, but rather wanted to temper himself through such a fierce contest.

This wasn't uncommon; many powerful cultivators confident in their abilities would do the same when facing a suitable opponent. Abro himself had done so when he first climbed the rankings. Because worthy opponents were rare, he relished every confrontation with a strong adversary.

The most obvious evidence was the peculiar blade technique the opponent employed. It was a powerful technique capable of injuring even Abro, a Barbarian who practiced ancient arts. The opponent could have used it from the start but chose not to. Only when he sensed Abro's strength had reached its limit did he begin to strike with full force; before that, he had maintained an evenly matched fight.

The fact that the opponent could do this undoubtedly indicated that his limits were higher and greater than Abro's.

Abro's eyes lit up.

All this time, Abro had been deeply exploring the potential of his Moon Realm cultivation. Otherwise, with his foundation, he could have long since begun his advancement to the Sun Realm. He felt he still had untapped potential, but without a suitable opponent, he had never been able to fully unleash it.

But now, the appearance of that human soldier-cultivator offered him a glimmer of hope. If someone else could be that strong, why couldn't he?

A sound from nearby revealed Gusheng collapsing onto his bed. His old wounds hadn't healed, and now he had fresh ones. Gusheng felt utterly exhausted. Crucially, he had already sensed a strange power lingering in his wounds, impeding their recovery.

In the Moon Realm battle arena, countless cultivators were astounded. The era of Gusheng and Abro dominating the Moon Realm rankings had come to an end. Ever since those two arrived at the Asura Arena, the top spot had been exclusively theirs, taken in turns, with no one else ever qualifying.

Until today, just moments ago, it was claimed by a human soldier-cultivator of unknown origin.

This individual first challenged Abro. After an intense battle, Abro was defeated and voluntarily conceded. Without pausing, he then faced Gusheng. The fight against Gusheng was a swift and decisive victory. The watching cultivators could all see that Gusheng appeared to be severely injured and thus unable to display his full strength.

Since the human soldier-cultivator had defeated Abro at his peak, defeating a severely injured Gusheng was naturally a trivial matter.

A new era had dawned, and countless people sought to uncover the identity and origin of the new top-ranked cultivator. Unfortunately, since Lu Ye had only recently arrived at the Asura Arena and had few deep interactions with anyone, the information they could gather was scarce.

Meanwhile, in his cave, Lu Ye took a short rest before receiving a message from Walnut, inviting him to meet at the Grand Treasure Vault Plaza.

Lu Ye immediately felt a sense of anticipation.

After battling in the arena for so long, it was finally time to share the spoils.

He took out his Asura Token, and with a thought, instantly appeared inside the Treasure Vault.

Just as he found his footing, he heard a familiar voice from nearby call out, "Over here!"

Lu Ye turned his head and saw Walnut bouncing and waving at him, with a dignified woman standing beside her.

He had seen the woman before; she was always with Walnut whenever she entered the battle arena, suggesting their relationship was extraordinary.

Lu Ye stepped forward, nodded at Walnut, and then looked at the woman.

Walnut introduced, "This is my Master."

Lu Ye's heart tightened. Walnut was a Moon Realm cultivator, so her Master must be a Sun Realm cultivator.

The woman smiled and said, "My name is Nanlian."

Lu Ye bowed and said, "Greetings, fellow cultivator."

Nanlian smiled faintly. "You are very impressive," she said. In all her years at the battle arena, she had never encountered anyone so remarkable. Thanks to Lu Ye, she was now quite wealthy. Of course, that was secondary; the main thing was the sheer thrill she experienced by betting on Lu Ye throughout his battles. It was a joy she had never known before, the pleasure of spending lavishly, where success meant a massive increase in wealth and failure meant losing everything. This experience greatly aided the tempering of her state of mind.

Walnut excitedly chimed in, "Fellow cultivator, guess how many Asura Marks you'll get control of according to our Asura Pact agreement?"

Observing her excited expression, Lu Ye knew she had made a significant gain, so he casually offered, "One million?"

Walnut playfully held up three slender fingers and beamed, "Over three million six hundred seventy thousand!"

This was partly because her initial capital was limited and not enough people placed bets in the final match; otherwise, she would have won even more.

Looking back at Lu Ye's various battles, the one where she won the most was undoubtedly his fight with Abro. In that battle, besides a few individuals with peculiar insights who placed their bets on Lu Ye, it was only her and her Master; nearly everyone else bet on Abro.

After all, who could have imagined that a human soldier-cultivator, never seen before, could make Abro voluntarily concede?

The Asura Marks Lu Ye was entitled to control amounted to over 3.67 million. This meant her total earnings were double that figure, as they had agreed on a fifty-fifty split.

Of course, Asura Marks couldn't be directly traded, so Lu Ye would only gain the right to control them.

"What do you want to buy, fellow cultivator?" Walnut asked. "I'll go buy it for you now."

"Please help me exchange for some treasures that enhance the quality of one's Dharma Source," Lu Ye replied.

Walnut understood. Such treasures were commonly needed by cultivators above the Moon Realm, so Lu Ye's request was perfectly normal. She nodded and said, "Then please wait here for a moment, fellow cultivator."

With that, the Master and disciple vanished.

Lu Ye quietly waited nearby.

Not long after, Walnut and her Master reappeared. She handed a storage ring to Lu Ye, saying, "I exchanged for a few items. Please check them, fellow cultivator."

"No need," Lu Ye replied, taking the storage ring. With the Asura Pact in place, Walnut wouldn't dare tamper with anything unless she had a death wish.

As Walnut spoke, she produced another item and handed it to Lu Ye. "This is a gift from my Master," she said.

Lu Ye looked and saw a large piece of Azure Spirit Moon Marrow. He had seen this item previously while browsing the Treasure Vault and vaguely remembered its price being over 380,000 Asura Marks. This piece appeared noticeably larger, roughly estimating its value at no less than 500,000 Asura Marks.

Lu Ye pondered for a moment, then took it. "Many thanks," he said.

Although the saying goes, "one should not accept gifts without contributing," Nanlian had consistently placed bets on Lu Ye alongside her disciple. She had earned significantly more Asura Marks than Walnut, so a piece of Azure Spirit Moon Marrow was a small token of her appreciation.

Knowing this, Lu Ye didn't decline. After all, his need for such treasures was immense, and having an extra piece now might save him a lot of trouble later.

Nanlian smiled gently. "There's no need," she said. "Thanks to you, I am quite wealthy now."

She spoke frankly, with no reservations.

"Are you free, fellow cultivator?" Walnut asked from the side.

"Why?" Lu Ye asked, looking at her.

Walnut giggled. "If you're free, fellow cultivator, I'd like to invite you for a drink," she said. Someone like Lu Ye was rarely encountered, and her Master had instructed her to interact with him as much as possible if the opportunity arose, as they might need his help someday.

Lu Ye thought for a moment. "The battle just now was quite taxing..." he said. He had no interest in drinking, especially not with two women he barely knew; it would be awkward with nothing to talk about.

Walnut understood. "Next time, then," she said. "Just call me whenever you're free, fellow cultivator."

Lu Ye readily agreed.

Walnut and her Master bid farewell and departed. However, before leaving, Nanlian suddenly seemed to recall something. She turned to Lu Ye and said, "By the way, if you have nothing else to do, you might want to visit the Bounty Hall. You could find some good rewards there. But if you do go, I advise you to disguise yourself; otherwise, you might easily attract resentment."

The Bounty Hall...

Lu Ye naturally knew of this place. It was where cultivators in the Asura Arena independently posted various bounty missions, with Asura Marks as rewards. However, cultivators couldn't set their own prices; the rewards were determined by the Asura Arena based on the mission's difficulty. This system was clearly in place to prevent cultivators from transferring Asura Marks through such methods.

After all, if they could set their own prices, cultivators could simply post a very easy mission with an extremely high reward and have their own people accept it.

What did Nanlian want him to do at the Bounty Hall? And why disguise himself?

However, Lu Ye could feel that Nanlian bore him no ill will. In fact, because he had helped her win so many Asura Marks, she was filled with goodwill and appreciation.

After some thought, Lu Ye decided to visit the Bounty Hall to see for himself; he had nothing else to do anyway.

As for refining the newly acquired treasures that could improve Dharma Source quality, with his Talent Tree, it would take no effort at all.

He didn't rush to the Bounty Hall, choosing instead to return to his cave.

Since Nanlian advised him to disguise himself, he would follow her advice. This was something he was extremely proficient at.