Chapter 2616: Unrivaled and Invincible

Novel:

Time passed, and the short twenty breaths quickly went by.

Beside the chessboard, Black Blood hesitated slightly, but still decided to move the surviving ghost cultivator away. He had originally intended not to bother, feeling these individuals were useless and didn't deserve to survive. However, if he left them, Lu Ye would have another opportunity to kill one of them. Therefore, he could only move him away, to prevent him from suffering another fatal blow.

In the sea of blood, the ghost cultivator quickly sensed he was being moved. However, he felt no joy; instead, his heart was bitter. He wasn't at the edge of the grid at that moment, but rather at some distance, and he secretly regretted it. If he had known his current predicament, he would have stayed close to the edge of the grid. In that case, he would have only needed an instant to escape into an adjacent grid, thereby ensuring his safety.

But from his current position, it would take three breaths. Crucially, he didn't know the enemy's whereabouts. Furthermore, being in the sea of blood meant that any unusual movement would certainly trigger the enemy's restraining tactics. However, since matters had come to this, he had no other choice. He couldn't stay there indefinitely; the immense pressure made him uneasy, and he would sooner or later expose a weakness.

So, after a brief contemplation, the ghost cultivator suddenly unleashed his secret technique and darted at top speed toward the direction he was being moved. The tranquility of the sea of blood was instantly shattered. Beside the ghost cultivator, countless undercurrents suddenly surged into existence. These currents twisted and surged, like bloody hands wrapping around the ghost cultivator, obstructing his movement and slowing his progress.

The ghost cultivator furiously channeled his Dao power, waving both hands. The light from the short-bladed Dao weapons in his hands flickered erratically; each flicker signified the destruction of an undercurrent hand. His speed was greatly reduced. Fortunately, he finally reached the edge of the grid, just one step away from escaping to safety. A gleam lit up in the ghost cultivator's eyes.

But in that very instant, the sea of blood ahead suddenly solidified, as if transforming into a crimson wall. The ghost cultivator crashed headlong into it, instantly feeling as though he had plunged into thick mud. The gleam in his eyes instantly dimmed. Even now, he couldn't sense Lu Ye's presence, yet he knew clearly in his heart that this elusive enemy must have already reached his side.

"'Break!' roared the ghost cultivator. With his short blades crossed, a massive cross-slash swept forward, breaking through the final obstruction."

His body suddenly stiffened. A sharp pain erupted in his chest, as if a blade had pierced him from the front, running through his body. The ghost cultivator's pupils constricted abruptly, and he stared fixedly ahead. He still couldn't see Lu Ye, but he knew clearly that Lu Ye was now standing right in front of him.

"'Hah...' The ghost cultivator let out an ambiguous laugh, a mix of unwillingness and relief. He raised his hands, his short blades poised to strike. But as the violent energy from the blade piercing his body erupted, all his strength rapidly drained away. In the end, he only managed to strike a pose, unable to truly retaliate. His life force was extinguished. The sea of blood receded.

Inside the grid, several corpses lay strewn, but Lu Ye was still nowhere to be seen.

Black Blood had already closed his eyes. He truly didn't want to look at the corpses of those useless individuals, as it only infuriated him. Fortunately, he had the foresight not to conscript the surviving Fusion-Dao cultivators as well, or they would have all simply been sent to their deaths. Two breaths later, he slowly opened his eyes, turning his gaze to another part of the chessboard, and transmitted a message: "Jiao!"

His gaze fell precisely on the position of his first vice-city lord. At that moment, Jiao was on a killing spree, much like Lu Ye, with numerous corpses strewn around him. Although there were many corpses on his side, only one was a Harmony-Dao cultivator; the rest were all Fusion-Dao cultivators. Even without the amplification of a Harmony-Dao Orb, Jiao's strength was not something an ordinary Harmony-Dao cultivator could contend with, as he possessed the foundation of a Cosmic-level Harmony-Dao city lord. And within this chess game, a strong individual like him would become progressively stronger as he killed more enemies.

Jiao didn't immediately respond to Black Blood. Instead, he annihilated the last few enemies in front of him before finally saying, "Speak!"

"'I want you to kill someone,' Black Blood transmitted."

"'I won't!' Jiao snorted coldly, his face displeased. He had been making similar requests earlier, but Black Blood had completely ignored them. Now that Black Blood suddenly wanted to issue orders to him, how could he possibly indulge it?

Black Blood, however, was unfazed. "Didn't you want to kill that person? Don't you want to anymore?"

Only then did Jiao's expression shift. "The one you're talking about—is it the one I want to kill?"

At the beginning of the game, he had strongly requested Black Blood's help in finding Lu Ye's whereabouts, wanting Black Blood to arrange a meeting between them. As fellow Sons of the Star Abyss, Jiao's murderous intent towards Lu Ye was exceptionally strong. It was unfortunate that Black Blood had previously ignored him, which was why Jiao had been in a perpetually bad mood. Trapped within the chess game, his piece on the board was entirely unable to act independently, dependent solely on the chess player's commands. Having rarely encountered another Son of the Star Abyss, how could he be willing to miss such an opportunity?

"'Of course!' Black Blood replied in a deep voice. 'Your matter has always been on my mind. Since you've spoken, I naturally wish to fulfill your desire. Your current distance isn't very far, so I can try to move you there. As for whether you can kill him, that will depend on your own ability.'"

Jiao's spirits lifted upon hearing this. "How many rounds will it take to get me to meet him?" As for Black Blood's words, he wouldn't take them seriously at all; he had known Black Blood's true attitude towards him for years. But no matter what reason caused Black Blood to compromise, as long as he could meet that human martial cultivator, that was all that mattered.

"'It's hard to say, but I'll do my best,' Black Blood replied. He didn't dare to make a definitive promise, as while he was moving Jiao, Lu Ye was also being moved by Yuan Xi."

"'Alright, if I truly get to meet that human, I'll owe you a favor.' Jiao nodded in satisfaction. 'However, I have one condition!'"

"'What is it?' Black Blood asked."

"'I want to fight him one-on-one! When you move me, you cannot let anyone else accompany me!'"

Black Blood immediately frowned. "He has killed many Harmony-Dao cultivators; his current strength is formidable!"

Had Jiao not made this request, Black Blood had genuinely intended to conscript more personnel to accompany Jiao. With a formidable figure like Jiao leading, they could ensure the human martial cultivator's annihilation without fail. But Jiao insisted on this particular condition.

"'He's not weak, but does that mean I'm not strong?' Jiao sneered. He himself was qualified to be a Black side chess player; if he hadn't been injured during the struggle with Yuan Xi and others, it might not have been Black Blood sitting beside the chessboard now. Moreover, since the game began, he had killed many enemies and was confident that no one on the chessboard could be stronger than him. As long as Black Blood could arrange his meeting with Lu Ye, it would surely be Lu Ye's doom!

Black Blood was silent for a moment, then asked, "Why must it be a one-on-one fight?"

Jiao frowned slightly. He hadn't wanted to say too much, but he still spoke: "You should know my identity."

"'What identity?' Black Blood's first thought was the identity of his first vice-city lord. But then he quickly realized, 'You mean, he is also...'"

No wonder Jiao harbored such strong murderous intent towards that human martial cultivator. He had indeed heard that it was best for Sons of the Star Abyss not to meet, as any encounter would inevitably lead to a fierce battle.

"'Therefore, I need to fight him alone and kill him openly and fairly. Only then can I seize certain things from him. Do you understand now?'"

Black Blood understood. "'I understand. However, while you have this intention, he might not be willing. What if he has helpers with him then?'"

"'Then I'll cut them all down!' Jiao's face was filled with confidence."

Black Blood pondered, then finally nodded. "Then, as you wish."

His vice-city lord had always been rather disobedient, possessing a rebellious streak. This time, Black Blood needed to leverage his power, and since Jiao had made a demand, Black Blood could only agree. If he went against Jiao's wishes, Jiao might not put in his full effort, which was a very probable outcome. Rather than risking that, it was better to indulge him.

As for whether the human martial cultivator could defeat Jiao, Black Blood wasn't particularly concerned. He knew Lu Ye was currently very strong, having killed many Harmony-Dao and Fusion-Dao cultivators, but such strength was insignificant before Jiao. He knew Jiao's strength inside and out.

While these two were conversing, Lu Ye was already examining his own gains. His own strength had increased significantly. Before killing the Body Cultivator in this grid, his strength was already over 2,100 Dao; the deaths of four Harmony-Dao cultivators directly boosted his strength by another 200. He had already utilized the surprise left behind after the Body Cultivator's death. The remaining three (victims) still held three surprises. What greatly excited Lu Ye was that all three of these surprises could enhance his own strength.

Three clumps of shimmering light successively integrated into his body and vanished. When Lu Ye gently clenched his fist to gauge his power, he felt that his strength was nearly at 3,000 Dao. What an astonishing increase! It's important to note that his inherent foundation, even with the aid of Dao weapons, was just over a thousand. All this additional power was acquired from killing enemies, a blessing from the supreme treasure's rules, and this borrowed strength came with absolutely no personal consumption or burden. Was this akin to experiencing the sensation of Harmony-Dao in advance? However, Lu Ye knew that even Harmony-Dao cultivators bore burdens when borrowing power; it wasn't an unlimited process. Therefore, this feeling was still somewhat different from true Harmony-Dao.

Suddenly, he had an abrupt feeling that he could be utterly invincible on this chessboard. However, he quickly suppressed this thought, knowing well that one could be confident but not arrogant. While his strength increased from killing enemies, so did the enemies' strength from killing. Moreover, within the game, many Harmony-Dao cultivators were originally stronger than him; their starting points were considerably higher. Therefore, claiming invincibility now was still premature.

His greater advantage over others was his ability to continuously acquire surprises. Any surprise that could enhance his strength was equivalent to killing four Harmony-Dao cultivators. Therefore, under similar circumstances, the extent of his strength increase far surpassed that of other cultivators. And this was something only the White side's chess player and he himself knew; even Black Blood, the Black side's chess player, was completely unaware of it.

It was another new round. As Lu Ye was moved, he darted into an adjacent grid. With his movement, the Divine Concealment technique lost its effect, and his figure was revealed.

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