Chapter 2478: Love Rival?

This is clearly a love rival! Lu Ye observed the young man's reactions, which grew more intense, and made a judgment.

Lu Ye didn't know the exact number of Phoenix clan members, but given that this young man was of the same clan as Su Yan, it was only natural for him to be infatuated with her.

No wonder this guy kept harping on about whether he was "worthy."

To the proud Dragon and Phoenix clans, all other races in this world were lowly. From the young man's perspective, Lu Ye and Su Yan were like a commoner, a "mud-footed peasant" who had emerged from the mire, and a distinguished young lady of noble status. They could not possibly have any interaction, let alone develop a relationship.

However, Lu Ye had even practiced the Cattle-Beating Secret Technique, which undoubtedly demonstrated Su Yan's closeness to him.

Seeing the young man opposite him on the verge of collapse, Lu Ye found it amusing, yet also felt a touch of pity. Still, his words were cold: "You want to kill me? Fine, but answer a few questions first!"

The young man's eyes were bloodshot as he snarled, "I'll kill whenever I please. Can you stop me?"

"Why is he acting like a child?" Lu Ye thought to himself. It was no wonder Su Yan wasn't interested in someone like him.

Ignoring his words, Lu Ye asked, "How did you find me?"

Lu Ye was certain of one thing: this young Phoenix clansman had come specifically for him, rather than discovering him by chance. After all, the moment he arrived, he had precisely pinpointed Lu Ye's hidden location.

This piqued Lu Ye's curiosity.

When he had parted ways with Su Yan, she had indeed given him a phoenix feather, intended to guide him to the Phoenix Nest. However, that item had always been carefully preserved within his Small Flower World and never removed.

Therefore, it was impossible for this Phoenix clansman to have found his location by sensing the phoenix feather.

If it wasn't for that phoenix feather, Lu Ye couldn't imagine what else on him could have allowed the other party to track him.

Moreover, they had never met prior to this.

It was better he hadn't asked. The moment he did, the young Phoenix clansman seemed to collapse even further, his face contorted in pain: "You received the Phoenix Prime Blood, which means you're forever marked with my Phoenix clan's insignia! Didn't she tell you about it?"

Lu Ye's eye twitched. Although he now understood the reason, he was unsure what expression to make at that moment.

This guy was indeed quite immature. Just moments ago, he was spouting arrogant words, claiming he'd kill if he wanted and wouldn't answer. Yet, with every emotional fluctuation, he blurted out answers to any question.

"So you sensed the Phoenix Prime Blood and tracked me here?"

"It's not about sensing the Phoenix Prime Blood; that's long gone..." The young man instinctively explained, then suddenly grew impatient: "I told you, you wouldn't understand. This is a unique ability of our Phoenix clan!"

"You already knew about my existence?"

"I didn't know!" The young man glared fiercely at Lu Ye. "I only knew there was such a person. After she returned that time, the clan elders noticed some clues. I just didn't expect to encounter you here."

"Is she here?" Lu Ye pressed.

Given that this young man from the Phoenix clan was here, Su Yan might very well be present too. Her cultivation and strength were certainly sufficient, and as a Child of the Star Abyss, she was absolutely qualified to participate in this competition.

Seeing his eager expression, the young man's emotions surprisingly stabilized. He looked at Lu Ye with a smug expression and said, "Whether she comes or not is none of your concern, is it? Do you think I'd tell you?"

This kind of personality was truly awful... Lu Ye's eyes narrowed slightly.

The young man suddenly snapped back to attention and snarled, "Why am I telling you all this? Get over here and die, you bastard!"

The moment his words fell, he abruptly appeared before Lu Ye, leaving only an afterimage in his original spot.

Space Shifting Technique!

By the time Lu Ye recovered his senses, a fist was already looming in his vision.

The long blade in his hand immediately slashed out diagonally, aiming to block the blow. However, to Lu Ye's utter astonishment, the strike he clearly should have parried inexplicably landed on him, sending him staggering, his protective Dao power scattering, and his qi and blood churning.

"What's going on?" Lu Ye frowned slightly.

Having cultivated for many years and engaged in countless life-or-death battles, the ability to block an enemy's attack was the most fundamental judgment in a cultivator's confrontation. If he made a mistake on even this basic point, Lu Ye would have died countless times over by now.

Yet, just now, the attack he clearly should have blocked had gone awry.

Such a fundamental error should never have occurred with him.

There was no time for deep thought, as the enemy's attacks suddenly grew much more furious. However, Lu Ye clearly sensed that despite the enemy's rage, there was no distinctly murderous intent; it seemed he merely wanted to teach him a lesson.

Lu Ye struggled to resist, his mind intensely focused.

But after only a moment, the same scenario as before recurred: the attack he should have blocked went awry once more...

However, armed with the previous experience, Lu Ye vaguely perceived some profound mystery this time, and he couldn't help but wear a thoughtful expression.

In a flash, dozens more clashes occurred. This high-intensity combat gradually pressured Lu Ye, who had not fully recovered. Although the Phoenix clansman was in slightly better condition, the difference was limited, and his combat experience ultimately proved somewhat insufficient.

At a certain moment, the void suddenly twisted slightly, precisely at the instant Lu Ye was about to parry the opponent's attack.

That's it!

This time, Lu Ye finally understood. He had failed to block the enemy's attacks twice not due to his own carelessness or negligence, but because the opponent had utilized a Phoenix clan talent to distort space in an instant, thereby creating the illusion that he had made an error.

Lu Ye had never seen this technique used by Su Yan, but considering Su Yan's Dao weapon was a longbow and she didn't need to engage in close combat, it was understandable.

This technique was very profound, and ordinary cultivators might not be able to counteract it.

But Lu Ye could!

The moment space slightly distorted, intricate and profound Dao patterns suddenly lit up on the Panshan Blade—these were the Void Dao patterns.

The profound power of the Dao patterns surged, and the distorted space was swiftly smoothed out.

The long blade in Lu Ye's hand shifted slightly, perfectly blocking the Phoenix clansman's furious attack.

A hint of astonishment flashed in the young Phoenix clansman's eyes. It was one thing that his Cattle-Beating Secret Technique had been effortlessly countered by Lu Ye earlier, especially since Lu Ye later demonstrated the same technique, proving he had practiced it. But now, even his other combat technique had been countered as well?

This instantly sent him into a rage, even though he had little anger left initially: "You brought this upon yourself!"

The moment his words fell, profound power surged around his body, and the smoothed space violently vibrated, as if a sheet of paper were being crumpled. Immediately after, the surrounding space shattered.

"Collapse!" the young Phoenix clansman roared.

Lu Ye instinctively felt a bad premonition. He had experienced a spatial collapse like this once before, when he and Tang Jun were trapped in a wormhole in the starry sky. However, that instance was caused by the formation of a wormhole, whereas this was a secret technique of the Phoenix clan.

In terms of scale, the previous instance was larger, as it was a natural disaster, whereas this was merely a man-made calamity.

However, in terms of danger, the previous instance simply could not compare to this one.

If the current Lu Ye encountered the previous situation, he could easily escape. But facing the spatial secret technique of a Dao-Integration Peak Phoenix clansman, he felt as if he was about to be pulled into it.

He didn't know what the consequences would be, but even Su Yan had warned him back then never to get lost in spatial rifts. She had said that even the Phoenix clan, who wielded spatial power, might not be able to escape unscathed from such an occurrence.

Daring not to hold back any longer, the Panshan Blade in his hand violently vibrated, and his entire body's Dao power furiously surged forth.

Blade Vibration!

Even when fighting Pelyn, Lu Ye hadn't used this secret technique, as he needed Liao to completely devour the mystery within Pelyn's silver spear, rather than simply slaying Pelyn.

But in this moment of crisis, he could no longer hold back.

As for the consequences of killing this young Phoenix clansman, Lu Ye had no time to consider them.

"You..." The young Phoenix clansman was greatly alarmed, as he clearly felt Lu Ye's Dao power surging towards him like a tide. His protective Dao power could withstand it for an instant, but not the continuous subsequent impact.

He realized that things were quickly going awry, and the battle was escalating in a direction he could no longer control.

Facing a life-or-death crisis, he likewise dared not hesitate. A golden light flashed in his eyes, and a loud cry echoed.

A pair of magnificent wings suddenly unfurled, and behind the young man, a splendid phantom of a phoenix flashed into existence.

The twisted, collapsing space shattered at this moment. Both Lu Ye and the young Phoenix clansman were flung backward in opposite directions, as if struck in the chest by a giant hammer, spilling countless drops of blood along the way.

Lu Ye held his breath, forcibly steadied himself, and looked up. He saw the young Phoenix clansman's figure flickering as he fled into the distance. From afar, his voice reached Lu Ye's ears: "I, Su Yun, remember you. Don't let me see you again!"

Watching the opponent disappear from his sight, Lu Ye then raised his left arm and pressed it against his violently trembling right arm. The skin on his right arm was split, blood flowed incessantly, and even the flesh itself was completely torn.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, suddenly realizing a problem: some things seemed to be different from what he had thought...

The young Phoenix clansman said his name was Su Yun, sharing the same surname as Su Yan.

Moreover, ever since he first saw Su Yun, Lu Ye had felt that the young man looked somewhat familiar.

Now that he thought about it, wasn't this familiarity precisely because he had seen a face somewhat similar to Su Yan's? Since the similarities weren't numerous, he hadn't immediately recognized it.

Damn it!

This guy might not be a love rival after all!

If he truly were a love rival, the other party wouldn't have lacked genuine murderous intent in the recent battle. In fact, that Collapse Secret Technique might not have been as dangerous as he had imagined; his own reaction had simply been a bit excessive.

What a mess!

Reflecting carefully, Lu Ye felt that the responsibility for things turning out this way lay entirely with Su Yun. If the situation was truly as he now suspected, then it was Su Yun's own problem.

If he had revealed his origin and identity from the beginning, they might have been able to sit down and have a proper discussion. But he immediately revealed his hostility without disguise and spoke incomprehensible words, which would make anyone overthink the situation.

The crucial question was... had Su Yan actually arrived?