Chapter 2632: Come for the Second Match

The Wind Rises in Kyushu

Everything in the world has its own weight, which is determined by its value. The Chaotic Scale measures precisely this kind of weight.

Compared to Jiao, Lu Ye's strength was currently much weaker, causing his side of the scale to be very high. However, as he began throwing out numerous spoils of war, his position rapidly descended.

Lu Ye understood the purpose of the Chaotic Scale, and so did Jiao. Seeing Lu Ye's actions, Jiao immediately grew anxious. Like Lu Ye, he frantically threw out his own spoils of war, shouting as he did so, "Despicable! You won't succeed!"

He had never imagined Lu Ye would summon the Chaotic Scale to deal with him. He had been on the verge of success, even resorting to the Divine Calamity Borrowing spell, but the Chaotic Scale's appearance introduced many new variables. He now had to ensure that his side of the scale wasn't pressed down by Lu Ye; if it were, he would be in deep trouble.

The scene suddenly became comical. The two who had just been fighting to the death were now like competitors, continuously pulling all sorts of items from their storage devices and dropping them at their feet, as if two cunning merchants were preparing for a clearance sale.

Lu Ye had many spoils of war, and Jiao had a considerable amount as well. Both had slain numerous enemies within the game. As they continued, the scales on both sides swung wildly up and down, making it impossible to maintain balance.

However, Jiao had lived for countless years longer than Lu Ye and possessed far greater wealth. No matter how hard Lu Ye tried, he could only slightly lower his position, only to be quickly pushed up again.

Seeing time rapidly slip away and his own spoils of war dwindling while Jiao's supply remained endless, Lu Ye gritted his teeth and exchanged another affiliated treasure from the Star Abyss Treasury. While its price was certainly not comparable to the Chaotic Scale, this affiliated treasure was on the same level as the Spring Radiance Sword. When this affiliated treasure was dropped at his feet, Lu Ye felt his own height plummet, and visibly, Jiao on the opposite side soared high, like a seesaw.

"You..." Jiao's eyes nearly popped out. He had been indignant when Lu Ye exchanged for the Chaotic Scale earlier, unable to comprehend how Lu Ye, also a Son of the Star Abyss, could be so wealthy. Now he realized that wasn't even the half of it; Lu Ye could even exchange for affiliated treasures! The value of an affiliated treasure was immense, and its weight was incredibly heavy, directly overriding all of Jiao's previous contributions.

The hourglass was about to run out; at most, five breaths remained!

Jiao's expression changed rapidly. He quickly took out various treasures from his storage devices. He had been reluctant to use them before, as they were highly valuable and very useful to him, but now he had no choice. The enemy had even used an affiliated treasure for weighing; he simply had no choice. As he acted, the severely unbalanced scale slowly began to level. Jiao kept his eyes fixed on Lu Ye's movements, fearing he might produce another affiliated treasure. If that happened, he would surely die today! However, he absolutely refused to believe that Lu Ye could be that wealthy.

Fortunately, Lu Ye made no further moves until all the sand in the hourglass ran out. Jiao's efforts paid off; his side of the scale was still slightly heavier and lower than Lu Ye's. This was mainly because the numerous treasures he took out in the last five breaths were all of great value, effectively negating the advantage of Lu Ye's affiliated treasure.

The moment the sand in the hourglass disappeared, the entire Chaotic Scale shattered and transformed into two balls of light that flew into Lu Ye and Jiao respectively. The numerous spoils of war, treasures, and even the affiliated treasure that they had previously dropped at their feet disappeared at the same time. These were the stakes they paid to measure their strength, and the price for leveraging the power of a supreme treasure.

As the light entered their bodies, Lu Ye felt his aura steadily climb, while Jiao's rapidly weakened considerably. This was the purpose of the Chaotic Scale: Lu Ye had used it to strip away some of Jiao's power! And he didn't even have to bear the risks of Jiao using the Divine Calamity Borrowing spell. It must be said, the Chaotic Scale was profound, but the cost of using it once was too great. Lu Ye alone consumed two affiliated treasures, not to mention the numerous spoils of war.

"Let's have a second round!" Though disheveled, Lu Ye's eyes were exceptionally bright. As he spoke, he was the first to charge towards Jiao.

"Scum, do you think this will save your life? You will die today!" Jiao roared as he pounced. Using the Divine Calamity Borrowing spell put a strain on him, and he couldn't maintain it indefinitely. Furthermore, the scale had just shown that his strength was still slightly superior to Lu Ye's, meaning all of the enemy's efforts were merely a prolonged struggle for survival.

In a flash, the two figures collided. Blades flashed, and golden and silver lights danced as clanging sounds rang out incessantly. Their respective Dao powers clashed, and vital energy surged and dissipated. Lu Ye found the scale's depiction accurate: he was still slightly inferior to Jiao at this moment. But this was precisely what he desired. In fact, at the last moment of measuring strength, he could still have exchanged for an affiliated treasure, but doing so would have been meaningless. He only needed to be able to withstand Jiao's attacks and survive.

Blood splattered. Unlike the complete suppression from before, after their strengths waxed and waned, the situation was now more evenly matched; at most, Lu Ye suffered slightly more. The continuous clanging of their Dao weapons had not stopped since the beginning. Jiao was eager to defeat Lu Ye, so he attacked with all his might. Lu Ye, on the other hand, blocked when he could and endured when he couldn't. Given that the strength gap was no longer large, Jiao could no longer even severely injure him.

Until a certain moment, as Lu Ye swung his blade, the excited voice of Liao echoed in his mind: "Shatter it for me!"

With a crash, the golden short blade in Jiao's hand shattered, turning into points of light that vanished. He clearly hadn't expected such a change to occur and was momentarily stunned. He only snapped back to reality when he felt a sharp pain in his neck. A cloud of blood mist burst around him, transforming into a streak of blood as he rapidly retreated. He instantly fled over ten miles, then looked down at his right hand, which was now empty. The golden short blade that had accompanied him for countless years had actually been shattered.

"How..." Jiao's eyes trembled violently, filled with disbelief. Then he noticed something strange about the silver short blade in his left hand. When he glanced at it, the silver short blade actually disintegrated like a handful of sand, slipping from his fingertips and vanishing without a trace.

"Impossible!" Jiao roared, utterly unable to accept this reality.

"Pfft..." A mouthful of blood spurted from his lips. He was already under immense pressure from using the Divine Calamity Borrowing spell; with his own integrated Dao weapon shattered, his foundation broken, and his reserves severely depleted, this latest blow was simply too much to bear. The massive shadow behind him twisted even more violently. Even on the surface of Jiao's body, bumps began to swell, with endless malice flowing within.

"What did you do?" Jiao, his mouth full of blood, glared at Lu Ye through gritted teeth. But soon, he recalled a rumor, his gaze fixed on the dark long blade in Lu Ye's hand: "Is that a Weapon Spirit?"

There was a Weapon Spirit in the Inner Realm, which was the famous Ba Qiu's Dao weapon. This top expert of the Inner Realm had once used his Dao weapon to shatter affiliated treasures, and not just one, causing many powerful cultivators to suffer great losses. Ordinary cultivators might not know these secrets, but how could an expert of Jiao's level not have heard of them? So he immediately realized that the one in Lu Ye's hand was also a Weapon Spirit, of the same type as Ba Qiu's Dao weapon; otherwise, his own Dao weapon couldn't have been shattered. It suddenly dawned on him: no wonder this guy had often targeted his affiliated treasures during their previous confrontations.

"Indeed, it's a Weapon Spirit..." Lu Ye didn't look at him, simply lowering his gaze to Panshancutter. Because after Liao shattered Jiao's affiliated treasures, it sent a message to Lu Ye: "I'm going to sleep for a while. Don't disturb me unless it's important!" Then Lu Ye could no longer sense its presence. This guy really does sleep whenever it feels like it!

But this was a good thing. Since Liao had ascended to an affiliated treasure, it no longer fell into deep slumber as before, usually remaining conscious and only doing so during advancement. Its current need for slumber meant that Liao was about to pass its second threshold! When it awoke, it would certainly be even stronger.

Lu Ye's joy wasn't limited to just this; Liao's current slumber meant he wouldn't need to invest affiliated treasures into Panshancutter anymore. He could now wholeheartedly feed affiliated treasures to the Talent Tree, which would decrease his demand for them. Originally, the arena side was already preparing for him to participate in a death match as soon as the time was right, but now, it seemed, he wouldn't have to go through such trouble. He would also have to find Gong Mao later to retrieve that affiliated treasure.

"A Weapon Spirit!" Jiao seemed greatly shocked. Ba Qiu's rise had once brought waves of bloodshed to the Inner Realm, with countless powerful cultivators falling beneath his blade. Now, another Weapon Spirit had actually appeared! Crucially, this guy, like Ba Qiu, was also human. How fortunate were humans that, despite constant suppression, such figures continued to rise. What frightened him even more was that this guy was also a Son of the Star Abyss; Ba Qiu hadn't even had this identity back then.

Jiao's first thought was to definitely get out of here alive and spread this news. At this moment, with his Dao weapon shattered and the pressure from the Divine Calamity Borrowing spell upon him, he no longer hoped to kill Lu Ye and seize any Star Abyss blessings; he only wished to survive. But then he remembered: this was the Combat Arena! He and Lu Ye had to fight to the death for this space to be lifted.

"Are you ready to die?" A voice suddenly came from ahead, startling Jiao, whose thoughts were racing. When he looked up, Lu Ye had already advanced, blade raised, ready to kill!

Jiao's expression kept changing, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do. His hands were now empty. Not only was his integrated Dao weapon shattered, but even his spare Dao weapons were gone because he had thrown them all into the Chaotic Scale earlier. One could say he was currently practically disarmed. Now that the power dynamic had reversed, for him to contend with Lu Ye in such a state, how could he possibly have the confidence?