Chapter 390: Why Group Beating

Under normal circumstances, cultivators from the same faction do not challenge each other, as doing so could easily give an advantage to their opponents.

Lu Ye chose to challenge the cultivator ranked ninety-ninth. However, the information feedback from his battle imprint surprised him: that person was currently being challenged...

Naturally, one person cannot accept two challenges simultaneously. If Lu Ye insisted on challenging this person, he would have to wait until their current battle concluded.

He then changed his target to the cultivator ranked ninety-eighth. As it turned out, this person was also being challenged.

The bottom three cultivators on the Spirit Creek Ranking seemed quite busy...

It seemed that if one didn't have enough strength to push higher up the ranking, even if they managed to make it onto the Spirit Creek Ranking by luck, they would quickly be knocked off.

Just as Lu Ye was about to wait a bit longer, the name of the hundredth-ranked cultivator on the Spirit Creek Ranking suddenly distorted, then disappeared, and another person's name appeared in its place.

The original hundredth-ranked cultivator had been replaced!

Lu Ye quickly checked the faction of the newly listed cultivator. Confirming they were from the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge, he acted swiftly, immediately sending out a challenge.

This time, there was no feedback indicating the person was currently being challenged.

A moment later, that person accepted the challenge. They had no choice but to accept; if they refused, Lu Ye would take their place.

The opponent had just finished challenging someone and made it onto the Spirit Creek Ranking, so they would definitely need some time to recover. Therefore, although they accepted the challenge, the battle did not start immediately.

Having nothing else to do, Lu Ye practiced cultivation while taking spirit pills, simultaneously allowing the Talent Tree to continue devouring the Core Flame, and at the same time, dedicating a part of his mind to studying the Spirit Creek Ranking.

His knowledge of the Spirit Creek Ranking was all hearsay. Although he had previously reached the thirty-third position, he had quickly dropped off the list in just three days. Therefore, he didn't truly understand the intricacies of the ranking.

Time flew by, and two hours passed.

A message came through his battle imprint. Lu Ye immediately stopped what he was doing and prepared for battle.

From the depths of the ethereal, a celestial mechanism descended, enveloping him. The space around Lu Ye began to distort, his vision shifted, and a vast expanse of white light filled his sight.

When the white light dissipated, a figure instantly appeared not far opposite him. It was a man in his early twenties, likely the target of this challenge.

"Awooh..."

"Huh?"

Strange sounds came from beside him. Lu Ye turned his head and saw Amber and Yiyi standing beside him, both curiously looking around. Just a moment ago, one had been sleeping and the other cultivating, and somehow, they had suddenly appeared here.

"Lu Ye, where is this place?" Yiyi asked.

"I'll explain later."

Lu Ye turned his head and looked at the opponent. The Ten Thousand Devil Ridge cultivator opposite him was currently looking utterly shocked, staring at Lu Ye and Yiyi, then at Amber. He racked his brain but couldn't understand: it was supposed to be a one-on-one duel, how had it turned into a group brawl!

In Spirit Creek Ranking challenges, it was understandable for cultivators to bring their contracted spirit beasts! There were even cultivators of the Beast Taming lineage on the Spirit Creek Ranking who brought more than one spirit beast.

But having two enemies participating simultaneously was simply outrageous!

He was about to ask about the situation when he suddenly found Lu Ye's appearance very familiar. On closer inspection, wasn't this the very person their faction had been painstakingly searching for all this time, yet couldn't find a trace of?

Currently, a large number of cultivators from the Blade Leaf Alliance were still extensively searching the area where he had last disappeared, yet this guy had actually come to challenge the Spirit Creek Ranking!

"Lu Yiye!"

The Ten Thousand Devil Ridge cultivator let out a low cry, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

Out of nowhere, this walking treasure trove had appeared before him. If he could kill him here, then all the benefits would be his.

But this guy's strength was astonishing. Although he had barely made it onto the Spirit Creek Ranking, he truly had no confidence in winning this battle.

No sooner had he finished speaking, Lu Ye had already charged rapidly towards him.

The Ten Thousand Devil Ridge cultivator secretly cursed, because he himself was a blade cultivator. So, when choosing the battle terrain, he had specifically selected a very small space. This space contained nothing but a fighting platform dozens of zhang in circumference. Such a small space was undoubtedly very suitable for a blade cultivator to unleash their strength.

But Lu Ye was also a blade cultivator, and in such an environment, both sides would gain the same advantage.

With Wind Walk activated, his figure was agile, almost leaving afterimages in his wake. The distance of several dozen zhang between them rapidly closed.

This speed... the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge cultivator's eyelids twitched as he watched. He raised his hand and conjured his spirit artifact. Although he felt he probably couldn't be Lu Yiye's match, he was still a Spirit Creek Ranking cultivator after all. He ought to exchange at least a move or two to gauge Lu Ye's true strength.

Whooshing sounds echoed as the air was torn. As Lu Ye charged forward, nine streaks of light had already shot out from his weapon box. The streaks of light formed a straight line, soaring like meteors.

The Ten Thousand Devil Ridge cultivator had long heard of the power of Lu Ye's artifact manipulation. He immediately took out a Golden Body Talisman and slapped it onto himself, fully activating his spiritual power to protect himself.

"Roar!" A heaven-shaking tiger roar erupted. Visible waves of energy swept towards the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge cultivator. Struck by the sound waves, the person instantly felt as if he had been hammered on the head. While his head throbbed, golden stars burst before his eyes, and his spiritual power briefly dispersed.

He was greatly alarmed. The white tiger beside Lu Yiye actually possessed such divine power?

Just as he stabilized his mind, overwhelming spells already assailed him from the side. In his haste, his peripheral vision caught sight of the young girl who had entered with Lu Yiye, her spiritual power surging. Spell after spell rapidly formed, striking him as if they cost nothing.

The speed of her casting and the variety of spells were dazzling to behold.

Roaring sounds emanated. Spell after spell struck him. Even though the Ten Thousand Devil Ridge cultivator tried his best to dodge, he was still inevitably hit. The golden light on his body visibly faded.

A profound sense of danger arose in his heart.

He hurriedly opened his mouth: "I surre..."

Before he could utter the last word, the flying artifacts had already pierced through his Golden Body Talisman and protective spiritual power, tearing through the defense of the precious armor he wore close to his body. They drew out streams of fresh blood from his body. The powerful impact sent the man staggering back repeatedly, his body violently shaking.

Lu Ye rushed before him. His Immovable Mountain Blade unsheathed, he brought it down. As he swept past, the large head flew up into the sky, blood gushed from the headless neck, and a rain of blood fell.

A few zhang away, Lu Ye flicked the blood off his Immovable Mountain Blade and sheathed it.

So weak!

Since advancing to Heaven Seven and entering the core region, he had killed many Heaven Nine cultivators. But this was his first time directly battling and eliminating a Heaven Nine cultivator from the Spirit Creek Ranking. The opponent felt incredibly weak, utterly vulnerable.

Although Amber and Yiyi had intervened in this battle, the level of skill shown by the opponent still left Lu Ye somewhat disappointed.

Since entering the core region, Lu Ye had always been in a state of being besieged, and had never fought one-on-one. The Spirit Creek Ranking challenges, however, provided him with an excellent opportunity.

In this way, he could use this to test the gap between himself and other Spirit Creek Ranking powerhouses. Furthermore, since he chose to challenge the Spirit Creek Ranking, he naturally had to follow his Fourth Senior Brother's previous instructions: to reach the highest possible position in the shortest amount of time!

Yiyi stepped forward and collected the opponent's storage bag and spirit artifact. She then belatedly realized, "Lu Ye, Lu Ye, is this a Spirit Creek Ranking challenge?"

When she had first appeared here, she hadn't reacted immediately. Only now did she finally realize.

"Mm."

That Yiyi and Amber could both be teleported over to participate in the challenge was something Lu Ye hadn't anticipated.

However, strictly speaking, Amber was his spirit beast. As a blade cultivator, it was reasonable to bring a spirit beast to participate in a Spirit Creek Ranking challenge, and it was also permitted by the celestial mechanism.

And since Yiyi was Amber's wraith, she naturally followed along.

This subtly gave him many advantages.

"Let's go out," Lu Ye called out.

The celestial mechanism descended, his vision blurred, and he returned to the wooden house.

Yiyi floated in through the window, settling obediently in front of him. Amber also jumped onto his lap, waiting quietly. The two little ones clearly knew Lu Ye wouldn't stop there; they were going to accompany him in climbing the ranks.

Lu Ye once again activated his battle imprint, connecting to the Spirit Creek Ranking. He tried to challenge the ninety-ninth ranked cultivator, but still failed. He could only settle for the next best option and choose the ninety-eighth ranked cultivator.

This time, he succeeded.

What surprised Lu Ye was that his opponent didn't make him wait long. In just half an hour, the celestial mechanism descended, sending him into a small space.

The terrain for this battle was similar to the last, a small space only a few dozen zhang in circumference.

Cultivators who would choose such a space were either blade cultivators or body cultivators! Because only these two types of cultivators would choose terrain suitable for close-quarters combat. As for spell cultivators or ghost cultivators, they would definitely choose large-area terrains.

As the white light in his vision dissipated, Lu Ye immediately looked ahead. He saw a burly cultivator opposite him. As expected, the opponent was a body cultivator.

At this moment, the body cultivator was frowning as he scrutinized Lu Ye...

He had vaguely seemed to catch a fleeting glimpse of a figure just now. However, during the celestial mechanism's transmission, a large expanse of white light filled one's vision, so he wasn't sure if he had seen incorrectly.

The fleeting figure was, of course, Yiyi. She had now burrowed underground and concealed herself, to avoid letting the opponent discover that Lu Ye had two allies fighting him, which would needlessly add to their psychological pressure.

Furthermore, with Yiyi concealed, it was also convenient for her to launch a sneak attack at any time.

The body cultivator had already activated his spiritual power, his body brimming with vigor. A large spirit shield hung on his left arm, and in his right hand, he held a spiked mace. The mace head was covered in sharp barbs; being hit by it would certainly not be pleasant.

The body cultivator held his large shield in front of him, and tapped his shield with the spiked mace, making booming sounds. The provocation was very obvious. He also said, "Come here, little one from the Vast Sky Alliance..."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly stared intently at Lu Ye, and exclaimed in surprise, "Blade Leaf Demolisher?"

Lu Ye had already rushed towards him, still empowered by Wind Walk. His figure was like thunder and lightning, leaving an afterimage.

The distance between them rapidly closed. The body cultivator's expression shifted slightly. He secretly cursed his bad luck, thinking he had finally made it onto the Spirit Creek Ranking with great difficulty, only to be challenged by this jinx. It seemed his ninety-eighth position wouldn't be safe.