Chapter 1955: Killing

The burly man rebuked Yu Hong, then turned a cold gaze to Lu Ye: "I haven't truly killed a Moon Splendor cultivator before. If you're seeking death, don't blame anyone else."

A rolling sound…

Something rolled with a sound, and everyone stared in astonishment at the infant-fist-sized object that suddenly appeared at Lu Ye's feet. It looked like a die. No one noticed when it appeared; it rolled a few times before slowly settling. A faint glow shimmered, then converged into a single large character. The character, 'Kill,' transformed back into a faint glow and vanished into Lu Ye's glabella.

The next instant, an incredibly terrifying killing intent, almost palpable, suddenly erupted from Lu Ye, making everyone turn their heads. As they watched, a layer of visible, translucent matter solidified and writhed on Lu Ye's body, resembling a living creature, extremely bizarre. What was even more astonishing was that this translucent, writhing substance occasionally formed distorted human faces, wailing silently, a sight that sent shivers down their spines.

"What the hell is that?" The burly man, about to give an order, changed his expression. What he saw defied his understanding. Watching the distorted human faces appear and vanish, he felt a chill creep into his heart. Even more terrifying was the killing intent emanating from Lu Ye; unless experienced firsthand, it was hard to imagine such an intense aura existed in the world.

Everyone was astonished, and so was Lu Ye. Aqi Duo had told him before that as long as the Dice of Fate was in the Asura Arena, once a cultivator entered a trial scenario, it would roll once, regardless of their wishes. It seemed this was indeed the case. He just hadn't expected it to roll the character 'Kill' this time! Could such a character even be rolled? This item truly offered constant surprises. He himself hadn't shown any killing intent; what gathered on his body was undoubtedly the mysterious power bestowed by the Dice of Fate.

"What are you waiting for?" Yu Hong shrieked. Deep down, she felt something was terribly wrong. The burly man sensed it too, and immediately waved his hand, "Kill him!" As he spoke, he was the first to charge towards Lu Ye, while countless attacks from all directions rained down upon Lu Ye's position.

Lu Ye raised his hand, gripped his saber, and fiercely channeled his spiritual power. In an instant, layers of Sacred Guardian Spirit Runes assembled and interlocked, shielding himself and Yu Yaorao behind him. His Mountain Crushing Saber slowly emerged from its sheath, and he calmly, unhurriedly swung it forward.

The burly man, who was just swinging a fist at him, instantly blanched. With that saber strike came an incredibly terrifying killing intent that instantly invaded his mind. In his vision, Lu Ye's not-so-tall figure now seemed to blot out the sky and earth, appearing grotesque and horrifying. The moment his mind was seized, his spiritual power became chaotic. The fierce blow he launched had less than half of its full strength. Then came a sharp pain... and he froze in place.

Multicolored lights simultaneously engulfed Lu Ye and Yu Yaorao. Yu Hong, standing at a distance, watched with wide eyes, but her face immediately turned ashen. The "wild man" she had suddenly summoned, along with that "bitch" Yu Yaorao, were completely unharmed; all attacks had been blocked. She looked back at the burly man and suddenly witnessed a horrifying sight: a line of blood appeared across his body, and with a squelch, he split entirely in two. The boundless clamor abruptly fell silent.

"Get back," Lu Ye's voice echoed beside Yu Yaorao's ear, and then he shot forward. Screams erupted one after another. As saber glints flickered in and out of sight, figures fell to the ground. Yu Hong felt ice-cold, body and mind. She desperately channeled spiritual power to enhance her vision, but she couldn't discern the enemy's movement trajectory at all. He darted back and forth like a ghost; in just a brief moment, thirty figures dissipated into specks of light.

"Impossible!" Yu Hong couldn't accept the reality before her. In her view, even if the summoned person truly possessed Moon Splendor cultivation, under suppression and only able to exhibit Star Constellation strength, their numerous forces should have been more than enough to take him down. But in reality, despite their numbers, their side was falling like straw in the wind; wherever that person's figure passed, someone inevitably perished. Was this truly Moon Splendor power? That couldn't be right. The Nine Profundities also had Moon Splendor cultivators, but even the most powerful Moon Splendor cultivator wouldn't be this strong after being suppressed. What was wrong with this man?

Suddenly, the figure engaged in slaughter stopped. Yu Hong stared intently, seeing that the person had no trace of blood on him, nor any sign of breathlessness, as if the recent massacre was merely butchering chickens and dogs. Corpses turned into specks of light and vanished. Besides her, only five people remained standing in the field. In just under five breaths, a hundred Star Constellation cultivators had died just like that!

Yu Yaorao was also greatly shaken. Before deciding to summon Lu Ye, she had believed he could help her resolve the crisis, but she never imagined the process would be so effortless. Was this the true weight of being at the top of the Moon Splendor rankings?

Lu Ye turned his head to the side, where a thin, tall cultivator with a shifty expression stood, holding Wanzi captive. He hadn't moved at all until now. At this moment, his earlier shifty look was gone, replaced by boundless fear and unease.

Seeing Lu Ye look at him, the thin, tall cultivator quickly drew the longsword from his waist and pressed it against Wanzi's fair neck. "Don't... don't come any closer, or I'll kill her!" Wanzi's cultivation was sealed, and the sharp sword immediately cut a bloody mark on her neck, making her let out a small cry. Her expression was pitiful, and though her life wasn't her own, a strange light gleamed in her eyes as she pleaded with Lu Ye, "Help!"

Lu Ye, gripping his long saber, walked towards her step by step. "Don't worry, I'll make him accompany you in death!" "What good would that do?" Wanzi felt the cultivator's panic behind her and the pain in her neck; tears were on the verge of flowing.

"Don't come any closer!" The thin, tall cultivator screamed in terror, retreating involuntarily, with the hostage Wanzi forced to move back with him. "Die!" Lu Ye's long saber suddenly slashed forward.

The aura of death enveloped her. Wanzi tightly shut her eyes, lamenting inwardly that she would die in such a place, and that her killer was the rescuer summoned by Yu Yaorao. What a ridiculous and tragic way to die. The next moment, she felt a force from behind push her away. Opening her eyes again, she stumbled into a broad embrace. Before she could register anything, the person casually tossed her aside like a small cat, and then she heard another scream.

Scrambling to her feet, Wanzi checked her condition and couldn't help but gasp, "I'm not dead! I'm alive!" Only then did she belatedly realize that the thin, tall cultivator holding her hostage must have buckled under immense psychological pressure, pushing her forward as a shield in a life-or-death moment... She quickly turned her head to see that the summoned rescuer was indeed standing before a corpse; the thin, tall cultivator had been killed with a single saber strike. With the thin, tall cultivator dead, only four people remained alive on the scene.

Wanzi turned to look aside and saw Yu Yaorao and Yu Hong staring at each other. Yu Yaorao's expression was as cold as ice, while Yu Hong's earlier smugness and arrogance had vanished, replaced by boundless terror and fear. She glanced repeatedly at Lu Ye, seemingly wanting to flee but daring not to move recklessly. Clearly, Lu Ye's recent slaughter had terrified her. As a Star Constellation cultivator herself, she naturally knew the standard of such cultivators, but the strength displayed by the rescuer Yu Yaorao had summoned was beyond imagination. A team of nearly a hundred people had been completely wiped out just like that. Even a Moon Splendor cultivator wouldn't have done it so swiftly and decisively.

In awkward silence, Yu Hong squeezed out a smile: "Yaorao..." Yu Yaorao turned to Lu Ye: "Brother, could I trouble you with one more thing?" No sooner had she spoken than Lu Ye's figure suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was already standing behind Yu Hong, his Mountain Crushing Saber gently thrust forward. Yu Hong seemed to sense it, but had no time to dodge. Her body stiffened, and she looked down to see a saber tip protruding from her chest. She looked at Yu Yaorao one last time, her expression extremely complex, seemingly regretful, but more so, unwilling. The long saber withdrew, and Yu Hong fell forward, blood staining the ground beneath her.

Yu Yaorao bit her red lip, turning her gaze away from Yu Hong's corpse. She felt as if all her strength had been drained, and she slumped to the ground. Lu Ye watched her from the side, unmoving. Wanzi sighed and silently stepped forward, pulling Yu Yaorao into her embrace. "Waaah..." Yu Yaorao began to cry, heart-wrenchingly, her tears quickly soaking Wanzi's shoulder.

After a long while, Yu Yaorao gradually calmed down. She looked up, but Lu Ye's figure was no longer there; she hadn't noticed when he left... The surrounding scenery also began to solidify and shatter, clearly indicating the end of this trial.

In front of the Haichuan Tower, Lu Ye returned and continued to help the Heavenly Asura clan members resolve their bloodline curse-poison issues. Dealing with a few Star Constellations was no big deal for him. Even though his cultivation was suppressed to only allow him to exert Star Constellation level strength, he had long since reached perfection in that realm. How could those weak, crooked individuals be his opponents? Not to mention the boundless killing intent augmented by the Dice of Fate; under that level of killing intent's erosion, any enemy who directly faced him would lose control of their mind. As for Yu Yaorao... she was a cultivator after all. Although she had faced betrayal, for a cultivator, anything that doesn't kill them only makes them stronger. So Lu Ye wasn't worried that Yu Yaorao wouldn't recover; she likely just needed a little time. He had been with the Heavenly Asuras for almost a year now, spending his days either helping them with the bloodline curse-poison or reading jade slips in the Haichuan Tower. For Lu Ye, such days were quite monotonous, so Yu Yaorao's summons had been a perfect opportunity for him to stretch his limbs, which significantly improved his mood.