Chapter 2669: Space Knife

The Dragon Lord had once despaired over this, but to his surprise, he heard from Zhu Yin today that someone in this world had used the power of space-time. Even though it wasn't his own ability, it was still incredibly astonishing.

This was a power the Dragon and Phoenix clans had painstakingly sought for countless years without success. It also involved a closely guarded secret of the Dragon Clan. This was why he was so eager to seek out the Phoenix Lord.

"There's no mistake. I've already asked Yin'er," the Dragon Lord stated definitively. "Based on her description, it's definitely the power of space-time."

The Phoenix Lord was stunned. The Dragon Lord spoke to her with such certainty that he must have confirmed everything with Zhu Yin. But that's the power of space-time! How could an outsider wield it? And in such a short time?

"I'll go find out!" The Phoenix Lord immediately turned to seek out Lu Ye. This matter was too important; it concerned not only the Dragon Clan's unknown secret but, to put it more seriously, even the very survival of the Dragon Clan. She had no choice but to be cautious. Therefore, she had to witness it personally!

"Wait!" The Dragon Lord raised a hand to stop her. "Don't alarm the outsider yet."

The Phoenix Lord turned, looking at the Dragon Lord in confusion, but the next moment, she understood and nodded slightly. Although she trusted Su Yan's judgment of people, and from the current situation, the young man named Lu Ye seemed to have decent character and temperament, it was ultimately impossible to truly know someone's heart. She didn't know the outsider's true nature. The power of space-time was too significant. If he knew how important it was, it would be hard to guarantee he wouldn't harbor ulterior motives. If that were the case, things could become uncontrollable, and both the Dragon and Phoenix clans might find themselves restrained.

"First of all," the Dragon Lord slowly began, "although Yin'er's description makes it seem undeniably like the power of space-time, you and I still need to confirm it with our own eyes."

The Phoenix Lord asked, "How do you intend to confirm it?"

"Yin'er told me about the danger they encountered at the time," he explained. "So, if we recreate that scenario, we can confirm it."

The Phoenix Lord understood. "I'll go into the Spatial Corridor later and catch some Void Beasts!"

The Dragon Lord added, "We can't make this too deliberate. Otherwise, not only will the outsider become suspicious, but even Yin'er will find it strange. Let's do it in Dragon City. The city's grand ceremony is in a few days. We can have Yin'er invite him to come and see, and then you and I can make arrangements secretly."

"That works," the Phoenix Lord slowly nodded. The Dragon Lord, when serious, was quite reliable. His desire for the power of space-time was far more intense than her own, yet even so, after hearing the news, he managed to suppress his urgency, clearly having thought everything through.

After only a brief discussion, the two top powerhouses set a plan into motion.

The target of their scheme was currently cultivating the Co-Cultivation Pact with Su Yan, digesting what he had gained, and the power of his Spatial Dao Seed was growing stronger and more stable. And in this cultivation, Su Yan also benefited greatly. The two figures remained closely intertwined, only separating after more than ten days.

Lu Ye felt refreshed and invigorated, while Su Yan's face was flushed.

Half a day later, outside the wooden house by the lake, Lu Ye's figure moved rapidly, flickering and darting. After a session of cultivation with Su Yan, his Void Traverse technique had become increasingly smooth and effortless. If it had many flaws when he was in the Spatial Corridor previously, then now it was immeasurably better than it was back then. This was a significant improvement. In intense battles, unskillfully executed secret techniques often create major openings, giving enemies an opportunity. It could be said that with this Void Traverse technique, Lu Ye would truly be fearless of encirclement in the future, unless someone employed means to interfere with space. Simple traversing techniques alone could not achieve this level. Without the reliance on spatial power, the execution of such techniques would leave many exploitable traces. Of course, this secret technique was not invincible. Its biggest drawback was that the distance it could traverse was not long enough, and it could not be compared to Void Shift.

While traversing like this, the long saber in Lu Ye's hand also danced lightly. Spatial power swirled around the blade, causing space to twist and become chaotic wherever Lu Ye passed. Thanks to that enlightened saber strike a few days ago, Lu Ye had glimpsed the mysteries of the Phoenix Clan's secret technique, "Near at Hand, Far Away." What he needed to do now was to transform this one strike into two saber-form secret techniques: one strike for "Near at Hand," and another for "Far Away." This required him to continuously swing his saber, feeling the sensation of space being compressed and stretched, allowing his instincts to remember this feeling. Only then could he wield it freely in battle. There was also the Ox-Striking Secret Technique.

All in all, this trip to the Phoenix Nest had yielded immense gains in a short period. Ultimately, it all came down to the Spatial Dao Seed. Without it, everything else would be illusory. Only with the Spatial Dao Seed as the foundation could these various spatial secret techniques be successfully executed.

Several days later, in front of the wooden house, Su Yan stood calmly, watching two figures interweaving and moving in mid-air, clashing fiercely. Compared to when Lu Ye cultivated alone, this part of the void became more chaotic, and continuously shattered as the two figures clashed. The two clashing individuals were both bare-handed: Lu Ye and his brother-in-law, Su Yun.

A few days prior, after Lu Ye had cultivated for some time, he felt something was missing. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration made him realize what he lacked. He lacked an opponent who could sharpen his skills! Originally, he intended to enter the Spatial Corridor again. With Su Yan's help, he had already digested what he gained and naturally desired to obtain more Void Dao Seeds to strengthen himself. However, the Phoenix Lord said that the Primordial Parasol Tree had recently been acting strangely, and the Spatial Corridor was closed. Having no choice, Lu Ye had to find an opponent himself. Currently, among the Phoenix Clan, suitable opponents for him were either Su Yan or Su Yun. He naturally wouldn't clash with Su Yan, so he could only trouble Su Yun.

Hearing that Lu Ye wanted to spar with him, Su Yun eagerly rushed over. He had always remembered being defeated by Lu Ye back then. As a proud Phoenix, he naturally wanted to avenge his previous humiliation; otherwise, he wouldn't have rushed so eagerly to confront Lu Ye when he first heard he was coming. That time, Su Yan had stopped him. This time, he could finally have his wish. Who would have thought that in this confrontation, he was still no match! What made him even more frustrated was that Lu Ye had deliberately used a power level equal to his own. His defeat was due to the disparity in their spatial abilities! This was even harder to accept than his previous defeat. Last time, it was simply a matter of inferior strength. This time, however, he was defeated by an outsider in the very essence of the Phoenix Clan's power. A Phoenix actually lost to an outsider in a spatial combat confrontation. If one hadn't experienced it firsthand, it would be impossible to believe.

"I'm not fighting anymore!" Su Yun roared as his figure rapidly retreated.

Lu Ye, still feeling he hadn't had enough, stopped. After all, he was his brother-in-law, so it wasn't good to push him too far.

"What kind of monster are you?!" Su Yun glared at him, a mix of sorrow and indignation on his face. He knew that Lu Ye had only recently begun cultivating the Dao Seed, so how could he have such terrifying mastery in this field?

Lu Ye didn't want to lose this opponent, so he patiently persuaded, "How about I only use eighty percent of my strength?"

Su Yun's expression shifted from sorrow and indignation to humiliation.

"Seventy percent works too!" Lu Ye conceded another step.

Su Yun soared into the sky, his furious roar echoing: "Lu Ye, I'll remember this! Sooner or later, I will defeat you!"

"Don't go! Sixty percent should be fine, right?" Lu Ye tried to persuade him to stay. He couldn't go any lower; any less, and he definitely wouldn't be an opponent, as Su Yun was, after all, a pure-blooded Phoenix.

There was no reply; Su Yun had already burst out of the Phoenix Nest and disappeared.

Lu Ye turned to look at Su Yan, who was watching from the side. She smiled, her lips pursed, and said, "I'll take his place."

Lu Ye was about to shake his head. His current mastery of the Spatial Dao surpassed Su Yan's. He could overwhelm Su Yun, but how could he do that to Su Yan? Suddenly, he felt something and looked up at the sky, smiling as he said, "He's back again." Su Yun must have been unable to resist the temptation of his words just now and wanted to get his revenge.

But when the figure appeared in Lu Ye's sight, he realized it wasn't Su Yun at all.

"Yin'er!" Su Yan was also a little surprised.

Zhu Yin looked puzzled. "What's wrong with little brother Su Yun? He looks so wronged." When she came over, she happened to run into Su Yun leaving. She noticed his eyes were red, and he ignored her when she tried to speak to him, leaving Zhu Yin completely baffled.

"Don't mind him," Su Yan said, finding it difficult to explain too much. She couldn't very well say that her clan brother had suffered a loss at Lu Ye's hands. "Sister Yin'er, why have you come? Are your injuries healed?" Previously, when Zhu Yin and Lu Ye emerged from the Spatial Corridor, she had wanted to talk more with Zhu Yin. Unfortunately, Zhu Yin was injured at the time and left in a hurry. She had planned to visit her in Dragon City in a few days, but to her surprise, Zhu Yin had come first.

"My injuries healed a while ago," Zhu Yin said, glancing at Lu Ye, who was standing nearby, and trying to keep her expression natural. Before coming, she had mentally prepared herself. Her encounter with Lu Ye had just been an accident, and they hadn't done anything shameful, so she didn't need to appear too uneasy. She figured Senior Brother Lu wouldn't casually spread news about such a matter. So, as long as she didn't bring it up, she could pretend nothing had happened.

"Sister, have you forgotten? The Dragon City Grand Ceremony is about to begin. I was ordered to come and invite the Phoenix Clan to attend the ceremony," Zhu Yin explained, the Dragon Lord's figure appearing in her mind. Her heart was full of suspicion. The Phoenix Nest had never been absent from the Dragon City Grand Ceremony. This matter had always been handled by the Combined Dao elders of both clans, but to her surprise, the Dragon Lord had appointed her today to be the inviter and come to the Phoenix Nest. If it were just this, it would be fine. She was now a Combined Dao practitioner, indeed qualified. But before the Dragon Lord left, he seemed to intentionally or unintentionally suggest that she invite her close female friends as well. Besides Su Yan, who else among her friends was close to her? Furthermore, even if she didn't extend the invitation, Su Yan definitely wouldn't be absent, as this grand event only occurred once every many years.