Chapter 394: Last Ultimatum

Inside the wooden cabin, Lu Ye, having reached his limit, ushered out both Yi Yi and Hua Ci.

He checked the Spirit Stream Ranking. After a brief contemplation, he immersed his consciousness into his battlefield imprint, located Yu Lianzhou's mark, and sent a message: "Fellow Daoist Yu, do you know anyone ranked below fiftieth on the Spirit Stream Ranking?"

Yu Lianzhou quickly replied, "I know most of them, though I haven't interacted with a few. What's the matter?"

"I'd like your help to deliver a message to them."

Moments later, Yu Lianzhou understood Lu Ye's intention. Although he wasn't sure of Lu Ye's exact motives, he responded, "Consider it handled."

To get what he wanted from Bai Lan, he couldn't act alone; he needed others to cooperate.

After finishing his communication with Yu Lianzhou, Lu Ye connected his consciousness to the Spirit Stream Ranking and challenged Bai Lan once more!

Spirit Stream Ranking challenges, aside from adhering to a few rules, are not heavily restricted. Therefore, even though Lu Ye had just conceded, he was still able to issue another challenge.

On the large rock overlooking the cliff, Bai Lan was recounting the details of her previous battle with Lu Ye to her senior brother. As her senior brother was also on the Spirit Stream Ranking, and ranked higher than her, Lu Ye was bound to challenge him eventually.

Gathering more information about Lu Ye now would better prepare them for future encounters.

Suddenly, her battlefield imprint showed activity. Bai Lan checked it and instantly became displeased: "Lu Yiye challenged me again! We agreed on half an hour, but it's only been a quarter of an hour. He's so untrustworthy, truly a despicable person!"

"Just ignore him," the man chuckled.

"Mhm, I've refused him."

Bai Lan leaned comfortably into her senior brother's embrace, feeling relieved. She was now ranked fiftieth on the Spirit Stream Ranking, and Lu Yiye had moved up to forty-eighth, so she no longer needed to worry about being challenged by him.

Just as she thought this, the positions of the forty-eighth and fifty-third ranked individuals suddenly swapped. Lu Yiye had dropped to fifty-third, and the person who was originally fifty-third took Lu Yiye's forty-eighth spot!

The smile on Bai Lan's face slowly froze. Something... seemed amiss!

"Senior Brother!" Bai Lan's voice was trembling.

Such rapid rank changes clearly indicated that the Vast Heaven Alliance cultivator originally ranked fifty-third had challenged Lu Yiye, and Lu Yiye had subsequently refused.

A refusal was equivalent to conceding, which explained the rank swap.

While Lu Ye was ranked forty-eighth, he indeed couldn't challenge her. However, now that he was fifty-third, he was once again eligible to challenge her.

Her senior brother, who was clearly also monitoring the Spirit Stream Ranking, immediately realized the gravity of the situation: "He challenged you again?"

"Mhm..." Bai Lan was on the verge of tears.

She had initially believed that as long as her rank was lower than Lu Ye's, she wouldn't have to worry about being challenged by him. But who could have foreseen such a bizarre maneuver?

Lu Yiye's current stance was unmistakably clear: he was willing to sacrifice his own ranking just to relentlessly pursue her.

He was like an unshakeable parasite.

Bai Lan quickly refused, and their ranks swapped once more. This time, Bai Lan became fifty-third, and Lu Ye fiftieth. But very soon, Lu Ye dropped to fifty-fifth, having been challenged by the person previously at fifty-fifth...

It wasn't just the senior brother and sister observing the Spirit Stream Ranking; at that very moment, numerous individuals from both Myriad Devil Ridge and Vast Heaven Alliance were closely monitoring the changes.

The reason was simple: Lu Ye's rapid ascent in the rankings over the past few days had garnered him considerable attention.

Then, eyes across the realm witnessed a bizarre spectacle, unlike anything seen since the Spirit Stream Ranking's inception.

Lu Yiye of the Blood Sect and a female cultivator named Bai Lan from the Rain Gate were incessantly moving up and down the Spirit Stream Ranking, frequently swapping positions.

Although their ranks moved up and down, the involvement of other Vast Heaven Alliance cultivators meant their overall positions were continuously falling. Each drop was minor, only two or three places, but the sheer speed of these changes meant their rankings shifted almost in the blink of an eye.

In less than a quarter of an hour, these two had plummeted from the top fifty to outside the top seventy.

The Spirit Stream Ranking was being exploited!

No one had ever done such a thing before. It wasn't that it was particularly difficult to achieve, but rather that cultivators on the Spirit Stream Ranking always strived to advance. Who would intentionally retreat? The higher the rank, the more abundant the Heavenly Mechanism's rewards—and those were tangible benefits!

Yet, here it was, unfolding before their eyes!

Lu Yiye was intentionally falling back, and he was dragging someone else down with him, whether they liked it or not.

Within the Rain Gate sect, Bai Lan's eyes were vacant...

She racked her brain, unable to comprehend why she was being targeted so relentlessly!

If she were truly guilty, she wished the Heavenly Mechanism would punish her directly, rather than sending someone like Lu Yiye to torment her.

With so many cultivators on the Spirit Stream Ranking, why had that brute singled her out?

"Junior Sister, pull yourself together!" The man gripped Bai Lan's shoulders and shook her vigorously. Seeing his junior sister's haggard expression, his heart ached, feeling as if it were bleeding.

"Senior Brother!" Bai Lan burst into tears.

"Accept his challenge!" the man said with a solemn voice.

"But I'm no match for him."

"I'm not telling you to fight him. Once you accept, you'll have two hours. Stall for time; I'll come up with a solution."

In the wooden cabin in the Myriad Poison Forest, Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. "So, you finally decided to accept the challenge?"

It appeared they were trying to stall for time, but ultimately, it would be futile.

He held a book in his hand, consumed spirit pills, and calmly continued his cultivation.

Meanwhile, some unfavorable remarks about Lu Ye circulated throughout the Spirit Stream Battlefield. People claimed he was specifically bullying a woman, which was unmanly. They also accused him of only challenging those ranked below fiftieth on the Spirit Stream Ranking, taking pleasure in preying on the weak, and asserted that if he truly had skill, he should continue to challenge those in the top fifty.

Furthermore, a Myriad Devil Ridge cultivator ranked thirty-fourth publicly declared that he was waiting for Lu Ye at the thirty-fourth position!

As soon as this declaration was made, many other high-ranking Myriad Devil Ridge cultivators on the list also chimed in, daring Lu Ye to ascend quickly and face his demise.

During this period, Vast Heaven Alliance cultivators had been thoroughly entertained. Lu Ye's successive defeats of twenty or thirty Myriad Devil Ridge powerhouses on the Spirit Stream Ranking in just a few days had brought them immense satisfaction. They had all anticipated him challenging even higher ranks and eliminating more Myriad Devil Ridge powerhouses. Thus, when such a barrage of unfavorable comments against Lu Ye suddenly emerged, the Vast Heaven Alliance naturally wouldn't tolerate it.

For a time, the entire Spirit Stream Battlefield became exceptionally lively. Insults and arguments filled the air, and some hot-tempered individuals immediately initiated new ranking challenges.

The speed of changes on the Spirit Stream Ranking was unprecedented...

Communication between cultivators was exceedingly convenient, so various messages naturally reached Lu Ye's ears through different channels. He disregarded them, knowing that no matter how Myriad Devil Ridge cultivators cursed or provoked him, he wouldn't suffer any substantial losses; at worst, his reputation would just be slightly tarnished.

He already had a poor reputation among Myriad Devil Ridge cultivators anyway.

Every two hours, his and Bai Lan's ranks would shift, as Bai Lan consistently accepted the challenge, then left him waiting for two hours.

This was a rule of the Spirit Stream Ranking, and Lu Ye had no choice but to wait.

As for the cultivator ranked thirty-fourth, Lu Ye checked and discovered they belonged to the same sect as Bai Lan. It was likely a senior and junior brother relationship, and given this connection, it was understandable why he would stand up for Bai Lan.

And these clamorous remarks were likely spread by this individual.

However, this Rain Gate sect was quite formidable. For a second-grade sect to have two members in the top fifty of the Spirit Stream Ranking was a rare sight across Kyushu. Only in the special case of Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan, both from the Danxin Sect, had individuals consistently dominated the top positions on the Spirit Stream Ranking.

Three days passed in a flash.

Lu Ye and Bai Lan's rankings had plummeted to the very bottom of the list. Currently, Lu Ye was ranked hundredth, and Bai Lan ninety-seventh!

With just one more rank exchange, one of them was bound to fall off the Spirit Stream Ranking. As for who that person would be, the answer was self-evident.

At the Rain Gate's stronghold, Bai Lan's eyes were red and swollen. The immense pressure of the past few days had left her with almost no rest.

"Senior Brother!" Bai Lan lowered her head remorsefully.

Before her, the man placed a storage bag in Bai Lan's hand: "It contains twenty portions of Earth Core Fire. When you give it to him, make sure he swears a Heavenly Mechanism oath never to trouble you on the Spirit Stream Ranking again!"

"Senior Brother, I..."

The man raised a hand to interrupt her: "There are only a few days left until the Heavenly Mechanism bestows its rewards. If you fall off the ranking now, all your previous efforts will be wasted. These items are from the sect itself, and both the sect master and the second elder wish to resolve this peacefully, ensuring you receive your Heavenly Mechanism reward this time. If it's humiliating, then so be it; there will be ample opportunities to regain your pride later."

If the Spirit Stream Ranking were merely an honorary title, then falling off it wouldn't be a cause for concern. However, the ranking was directly tied to the Heavenly Mechanism's rewards, which were invaluable benefits for Spirit Stream Realm cultivators, and no one was willing to easily forgo them.

With only a few days remaining until the Heavenly Mechanism bestowed its rewards upon Bai Lan, dropping off the ranking now would be an immense loss.

Four thousand merit points were a substantial sum, but it was negligible when weighed against the future of an elite disciple from their sect. As a second-grade sect, the Rain Gate could certainly bear the cost.

"He hasn't challenged you again, has he?" the man asked.

"No."

"It seems he's giving you time to prepare. This is his final ultimatum."

Currently, Lu Ye was ranked hundredth. With just one more challenge, Bai Lan would become the hundredth. Then, Lu Ye could easily maneuver to drop her off the list. If he challenged her one more time after that, Bai Lan's name would completely vanish from the Spirit Stream Ranking.

Even if she had an opportunity to re-enter the ranking, all her previously accumulated time would be invalidated, and she would have to restart the one-month calculation period.

"So, when you meet him, you must explain things clearly, and then try your best to quickly climb to the highest possible rank. The rest will be up to me; I will make sure Lu Yiye pays for this!"

Bai Lan desperately wanted to say, "Senior Brother, you might not be a match for that brute," but she feared hurting his pride, so she found it difficult to speak.

"He challenged me!" Bai Lan's expression suddenly shifted as she checked her battlefield imprint.

"Go."

Bai Lan nodded, gripping the storage bag containing twenty portions of Earth Core Fire tightly. She composed herself, selected a suitable terrain, and accepted the challenge.