Chapter 2453: Unique Ability of This One Family

Although somewhat disappointed, Lu Ye was already very satisfied. This was, after all, an unexpected gain, and Yuan Xi was accommodating. Had it been another city lord, they might not have entertained his request under the circumstances.

"Congratulations, my lord, on taking another city!" Lu Ye said, cupping his fists in salute.

Yuan Xi smiled slightly. "We only killed their city lord; we still need to assault the city itself."

"It seems that won't be necessary," Lu Ye replied, shaking his head and informing her that the cultivators from Chenshuang City had already fled.

Yuan Xi nodded. "He knows what's good for him!" As she spoke, she extended her hand and retrieved the legacies left behind by the three deceased Dao Integration cultivators. Then, she looked at Lu Ye with a smile. "Is killing Dao Integration cultivators fun?"

She was clearly referring to how Lu Ye had specifically insisted on personally executing the Chenshuang City Lord earlier, and also to the first Dao Integration cultivator who was killed – despite being clearly doomed, Lu Ye had still gone for the final blow. In her opinion, Lu Ye was simply experiencing the thrill of a weaker person defeating a stronger one.

Lu Ye responded a moment later, "Just to satisfy a craving."

Yuan Xi made no comment, setting off towards Chenshuang City, with Lu Ye following closely behind.

They soon arrived before the city.

Lu Ye was immediately surprised. "They didn't all flee?"

He had thought all the cultivators from Chenshuang City had run away, but now he realized a few had remained. There weren't many, only four, seemingly all Dao Fusion cultivators, led by a white-haired elder, standing respectfully in the city square.

The city's protective formation had been deactivated, so Yuan Xi and Lu Ye entered the city without any obstruction. They hovered in the air, one behind the other, looking down at the Dao Fusion cultivators below.

The elder, with his head bowed, showed little of a defeated person's panic. Instead, his voice boomed like a bell as he cupped his fists and spoke, "Fan Wu greets both sirs."

The three behind him also bowed, though compared to Fan Wu's composure, they appeared somewhat flustered.

This was because wars between Dao Integration Cities often ended with the victorious side slaughtering the defeated. Aside from the inevitable casualties and grudges formed during sieges, each Dao Integration City itself had a limited capacity; they couldn't accommodate an infinite number of people.

There were many considerations, the greatest being that if too many people were accommodated, cultivation efficiency would decrease.

Therefore, each Dao Integration City had its own standards for the number of people it could house. Generally, higher-quality Dao Integration Cities could accommodate more individuals.

For instance, the top ten Dao Integration Cities, the most populous ones, could host over a hundred thousand cultivators, essentially becoming not just cities but entire realms.

In such circumstances, the defeated side in a siege, if they managed to survive, would usually flee. Very few were willing to stay, as there was no guarantee their former enemies would accept them; if not, they would simply be waiting for death.

Yet, Fan Wu remained, bringing a few Dao Fusion cultivators with him.

Yuan Xi remained silent, clearly maintaining the demeanor of a city lord. Understanding her intention, Lu Ye stepped forward, placed his hand on the hilt of his Panshan Blade, and with palpable killing intent, he said, "Speak. How do you wish to die?"

He naturally perceived their intention to surrender, but to do so, they needed to demonstrate their value. Having spent some time with Yuan Xi, he understood her principle of preferring quality over quantity when it came to her subordinates; otherwise, she wouldn't have spent a fortune in the Hehe Realm buying those few slaves.

Those slaves were not ordinary individuals; each had their own strengths, and Yuan Xi must have spent a significant amount of Dao Fish to acquire them.

Lu Ye wasn't set on killing these Dao Fusion cultivators, but if they proved to be of little value, then killing them wouldn't be out of the question.

Fan Wu finally looked up, meeting Lu Ye's eyes. He stated solemnly, "Your might is absolute, and if you wish to kill us, we naturally have no power to resist. But would you please hear me out? If, after listening, you still wish to kill us, then we will willingly offer our necks and not resist."

Lu Ye secretly nodded. Regardless of Fan Wu's cultivation or strength, such composure at a critical moment between life and death was rare.

"Then speak," Lu Ye said indifferently. "If your words are satisfactory, perhaps your lives may be spared."

Fan Wu was concise. "To be frank with both sirs, I took it upon myself to preserve the greatest spoils of this battle for you!"

Lu Ye's voice was calm. "What did you preserve?"

"The Dao Integration Orb!" Fan Wu replied.

"Explain," Lu Ye said, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"You must have seen, sirs, that when the battle for Chenshuang turned unfavorable, many cultivators in the city fled under the leadership of Lord Hequ. Lord Hequ even contemplated shattering this city's Dao Integration Orb before leaving, but I strongly dissuaded him, making him abandon that thought."

Lu Ye didn't know who Hequ was, but from Fan Wu's words, it seemed he was the Dao Integration cultivator who had fled.

In fact, Lu Ye had previously worried about this. If the enemy realized their situation was dire and shattered the Dao Integration Orb before fleeing, then this siege would yield little gain.

Furthermore, he could imagine that such incidents were common in the Inner Realm; cultivators often harbored resentment, and many would choose to be shattered jade rather than intact tiles.

Earlier, when he saw many cultivators from Chenshuang fleeing, he had worried about this, but at the time, he had no opportunity to stop them.

If Hequ had indeed chosen to shatter the Dao Integration Orb, he could have taken a small portion of its fragments. Then, with his Dao Integration cultivation and possessing those fragments, he would have received favorable treatment, whether by establishing his own Dao Integration City or joining another.

For Hequ, this would have been the most normal and best choice, but he ultimately did not do it.

Lu Ye suddenly became curious as to how Fan Wu had managed to dissuade him.

"How did you persuade him?" Lu Ye asked, intrigued.

Fan Wu replied, "It wasn't really persuasion. I merely asked him two questions." Without waiting for Lu Ye to ask further, Fan Wu continued, "My first question was, 'How strong is the enemy?' And my second was, 'If the enraged enemy pursues you, are you confident you can escape?'"

"That's it?"

"That's it," Fan Wu replied respectfully. "Lord Hequ is a reasonable man and naturally understands the principle that convenience for others is convenience for oneself. So, he made the wise choice and simply fled for his life."

"You're good!" Yuan Xi, who had been silent, suddenly spoke with a smile.

Lu Ye immediately understood that Fan Wu's life would be spared.

Just as he had said, he had helped Yuan Xi City preserve the greatest spoils of this battle, which was a significant contribution. With such a merit, Yuan Xi naturally wouldn't be harsh on him.

"Tell me, what do you want?" Yuan Xi asked again.

Fan Wu bowed and cupped his fists. "My lord, I am old and desire nothing for myself. I only wish for you to take us into the city. From now on, we shall follow your lead."

As if fearing Yuan Xi might refuse, he added, "To be honest, my lord, I have no great abilities otherwise, but I do possess some understanding of formation arrays. Should you need to set up any formations in the future, the few of us should be able to assist."

Yuan Xi tilted her head, glanced at Lu Ye, her expression seeking his opinion.

Lu Ye was completely bewildered as to why she was looking at him. Yuan Xi City was hers; whether to accept them or kill them, she didn't need to ask for his opinion at all.

However, Fan Wu had already stated his case so clearly. If Yuan Xi still chose to kill them, it would seem heartless. Since the City Lord was consulting him, Lu Ye naturally had to respond, so he nodded slightly.

Yuan Xi, however, did not immediately give her answer. She merely instructed, "Wait here!" and then led Lu Ye, flying towards the central great hall.

They quickly entered and found the Dao Integration Orb.

Although Fan Wu had just claimed to have preserved the Dao Integration Orb for Yuan Xi City, it wasn't certain until they saw it with their own eyes.

In comparison, the Dao Integration Orb of a Heaven-grade Dao Integration City was clearly more lustrous than that of an Earth-grade one.

"Are you ready?" Yuan Xi asked, looking at Lu Ye.

Lu Ye suddenly felt a little nervous.

He didn't know exactly how he had intercepted the fragments of the Flowing Light Dao Integration Orb last time. It was just a vague sensation, and he had simply followed it.

He wasn't even sure if it was truly his ability, as he hadn't exerted any power then.

He had always intended to verify this, and today was the day.

So, when Yuan Xi asked if he was ready, he didn't know what he was supposed to prepare.

This was different from combat, where there was at least a clear objective.

Just as Lu Ye was about to speak, asking Yuan Xi to wait while he tried to recall that feeling from before, he saw Yuan Xi strike the Dao Integration Orb with her palm.

The massive Dao Integration Orb immediately shattered, transforming into numerous smaller fragments that scattered in all directions.

Yuan Xi was well-prepared; with a surge of her Dao power, many fragments of the Dao Integration Orb paused in mid-air. However, more were unaffected, rapidly fading as they flew, poised to disappear into the unseen void.

It was at this very instant, with Lu Ye still unprepared, that the strange sensation welled up within him once more.

Immediately, he raised his hand slightly, spread his fingers, pointed them towards the multitude of Dao Integration Orb fragments, and clenched his fist sharply!

At that moment, the many fading Dao Integration Orb fragments seemed to encounter an obstruction, rapidly re-solidifying and hovering in their original positions.

Lu Ye's expression remained calm, but his heart was surging with emotion.

It was confirmed: he indeed possessed the ability to intercept Dao Integration Orb fragments.

Even though he had done it himself, and it wasn't the first time, Lu Ye still found it incredible.

Yuan Xi, tilting her head, looked at him with a smile. "Well done, Grand Commander. Your ability is probably unique in the entire Inner Realm."

At the very least, she had never heard of anyone being able to intercept Dao Integration Orb fragments about to vanish into the unseen. Given her status and experience, if she hadn't seen it, it likely had never happened before.

"How exactly do you do it?" Yuan Xi asked with keen interest.

How was it done? Lu Ye himself couldn't explain. Before attacking Flowing Light, he hadn't even known he possessed this ability.