Chapter 418: Lan Ziyi

After a single strike, Lu Ye's right arm, holding the saber, became sore and swollen. The skin of his entire right arm was lobster-red, like a cooked shrimp shell, and hot vapor rose from it.

His whole right arm ached, swelled, and trembled uncontrollably.

Lu Ye clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly until his right arm slowly recovered.

Reflecting on that strike, Lu Ye felt as if a heavy cloud had been lifted, revealing the bright moon.

Up until now, his cultivation had relied solely on his own effort and exploration, with no clear understanding of what was right or wrong. His Third Senior Brother's insights into saber techniques had undoubtedly shown him a clear path.

A short while later, feeling his right arm had fully recovered, Lu Ye performed another strike just as he had before.

Two or three hours later, Lu Ye switched the saber to his left hand and continued practicing.

He struck meticulously, one blow after another.

That night, when Hua Ci returned from her outdoor cultivation, she found Lu Ye standing motionless in the courtyard, his arms hanging naturally at his sides. His Mountain-Shattering Saber was stuck in the ground beside his feet.

Their eyes met, and Lu Ye groaned, "Help!"

Hua Ci looked closely and was greatly alarmed to see his two arms swollen as thick as his thighs.

She quickly stepped forward to examine him. After confirming it was merely qi and blood stagnation and nothing serious, she felt relieved. She then asked Lu Ye for the reason, and learning he had brought this upon himself for saber cultivation, she felt helpless.

Since the swelling was caused by too much qi and blood accumulating without dissipating in time, it wasn't a major issue. With Hua Ci's vigorous patting, rubbing, and blood-invigorating massage, Lu Ye's arms returned to normal after just one night.

The following day was no different.

However, after suffering once, Lu Ye became a bit more mindful when practicing saber techniques, so the situation was slightly better than the first day.

Every day thereafter, Lu Ye practiced saber techniques during the day and had Hua Ci treat him at night. As his saber mastery grew day by day, the side effects of performing that blood-shifting technique also diminished.

One day, while Hua Ci was treating Lu Ye's arms, she suddenly asked, "Haven't you been paying attention to the Spirit Stream Ranking recently?"

"No, why?"

When he was previously climbing the ranks, he often paid attention to the Spirit Stream Ranking. But ever since he became the top-ranked cultivator, he hadn't focused much on it, as few people could currently threaten his dominance.

"Take a look."

Lu Ye connected his consciousness to the Spirit Stream Ranking and scanned it from top to bottom. There were some changes on the list; several familiar names had disappeared, seemingly having advanced to the Cloud River Realm.

As he continued to look down, after reaching the seventy-something ranks, Lu Ye suddenly noticed something amiss.

Among the thirty people ranked between fortieth and seventieth, only a handful belonged to the Haotian Alliance; the rest were all from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge.

This situation seemed familiar!

The last time Lu Ye had climbed the rankings, he had caused a similar situation because all the cultivators from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge ranked ahead of him had been killed by him.

This made Lu Ye's gaze fix on a name ranked thirty-eighth.

Lan Ziyi!

He had never seen this name before, which meant the person had likely only recently appeared on the Spirit Stream Ranking.

"Do you see it?" Hua Ci asked.

"When did she start climbing the ranks?"

"Yesterday!"

Lu Ye was surprised.

In just one day, she had reached thirty-eighth on the Spirit Stream Ranking. This speed was no less impressive than his own previous ascent, perhaps even faster.

"That person must be very strong. Be careful; it's highly likely she's targeting you," Hua Ci reminded him.

"Limitless Isle..."

Lu Ye pondered; he seemed to have had some dealings with someone from this faction.

If he remembered correctly, Luo Ji, whom he had met in Sky-Rending Gorge, was from Limitless Isle.

As expected of a first-grade sect, their foundation was truly profound. Not only had he encountered Luo Ji, who cultivated a Heaven-grade cultivation method, but now another Lan Ziyi had suddenly appeared...

Hua Ci's assertion that this person was likely targeting him was not baseless.

Ten Thousand Demon Ridge had repeatedly targeted him before, with various factions attempting to surround and kill him, yet each time ending in failure. Now that he was hiding in the Myriad Poison Forest, Ten Thousand Demon Ridge was powerless. If they wanted to kill him, they could only do so through a challenge on the Spirit Stream Ranking.

But Lu Ye's strength as the top-ranked Spirit Stream cultivator was not for show. Almost all the strong cultivators from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge on the Spirit Stream Ranking had suffered at his hands; even powerhouses like Shi Guang were no match for him.

Perhaps only the deceased Yan Xing had the qualification to defeat Lu Ye.

At this critical juncture, Lan Ziyi had suddenly appeared from Ten Thousand Demon Ridge. This woman's method of climbing the ranks was identical to Lu Ye's back then: challenging each Haotian Alliance powerhouse ranked above her, leaving the Haotian Alliance utterly defenseless. In just one day, she had reached thirty-eighth place...

As Lu Ye and Hua Ci were speaking, Lan Ziyi's ranking jumped up two more spots, securing the thirty-sixth position. The name of the person previously ranked thirty-sixth had suddenly vanished without a trace, clearly indicating they had died in battle.

Mimicking Lu Ye's method of climbing the ranks and choosing such a sensitive time, it was hard to believe she wasn't targeting Lu Ye.

"It'll be time for the Heavenly Secret's reward in seven or eight days, right?" Hua Ci asked again.

Lu Ye calculated and nodded, saying, "Seven days!"

Twenty-three days had already passed since the last baptism of the Heavenly Secret's reward.