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Translator: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
The rising number of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators had prevented Lu Ye from being faster. At the slightest sign of disturbance, he had to halt his movements and rely on Glyph: Concealment to maintain his cover.
He quietly made some calculations.
By his reckoning, he needed to get out of this area and travel as far as he could, and only by doing so within two hours could he secure a better chance of survival.
The two-hour duration passed quickly.
Once again, the same blood-red glow swelled over the surface of his skin before it erupted into a bright pillar of crimson shooting up into the sky. No Cultivator nearby—unless they were blind—would miss such a conspicuous spectacle.
Lu Ye swiftly consumed several Spirit Pills and wings—conjured by Spiritual Power—ignited like flames on his back. Activating Glyph: Wings, he flapped his magically-formed pinions and sped into the distance in a streak of light.
With his position now exposed and no Teleportation Wards to rely on anymore, his own speed was pretty much all he could depend on.
Lu Ye might be just a Third-Order, but with Glyph: Wings, his speed could match that of Sixth- or Seventh-Orders. But with the addition of Glyph: Windwalk, his speed would be even faster.
Dots of light flashed up ahead—streaking jets of light that must be Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators who were nearby and were coming to investigate the crimson column of light earlier. The newcomers caught sight of a ball of red hurtling towards them at an incredible speed and they froze in surprise, coming to a halt.
The speed of a Cultivator’s flying speed was oftentimes seen as a demonstration of one’s cultivation rank. The faster a Cultivator could fly, the stronger and more powerful he must be—flying using some magical ability or Telekinesis alike. For this reason, weaker Cultivators would find it challenging to escape from stronger opponents, as fleeing was often futile.
When they first saw the red glowing ball of lighting that was Lu Ye approaching them, the coterie of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators initially assumed that it was one of theirs, a Thousand Demon Ridge elite.
It wasn’t until Lu Ye flew past them that the Battlefield Imprints on the back of their hands flashed with a garnet-red luminescence and they finally realized what was happening.
It was not a friendly Cultivator from their own faction, but an enemy from the Grand Sky Coalition.
And the effusion of Spiritual Power from the stranger was not as powerful as they had expected. He was just a Third- or Fourth-Order…
[A Third- or Fourth-Order of the Grand Sky Coalition?!]
One of them snapped back to his senses fast enough to exclaim, “That’s Lu Yi Ye!”
He was the first to circle around to give chase immediately. Being a Fifth-Order, he had nothing to fear about a Third-Order.
So did the rest of his companions, who immediately halted in their tracks and sped after him.
But all it took was a quarter of an hour for Lu Ye to throw them all off his trail. Dejected, they lamented mournfully at how they had let such a tremendous opportunity slip through their fingers.
Lu Ye no longer bothered to conceal himself. With Glyph: Wings in full swing, he darted through the skies, blazing past numerous Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators along the way. Clearly, no one had anticipated such temerity from him. Just like the first group he encountered before, no one was able to react in time to stop him at all.
News blazed across all corners of the Colosseum grounds, reporting the current whereabouts of Lu Yi Ye, while massive waves of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators swarmed after him like bees hunting for honey, keen to not lose his trail.
Lu Ye never stopped shoving Spirit Pills into his mouth to keep his Spiritual Power replenished.
The continued use of Glyph: Wings was enough to exhaust his Spiritual Power quickly; which he would not have enough to last for the entire—or even a half—day since he was just a Third-Order.
But even with the pills, it was still barely enough to keep up with the consumption.
And this was without even activating Glyph: Windwalk; if he were to do so, the drain would be even more extreme.
But time wasn’t waiting. The next two hours came by and the deep-scarlet column of light blasted into the sky once more.
A comet of light shot by him. Someone must have seen the spectacle and rushed over. That was fast, Lu Ye’s mind went before he could even move a finger and he knew at first glance that even with Glyph: Wing, his fleetness was nothing before such insurmountable speed.
He did not need to be told that it was an Eighth- or a Ninth-Order. The reality of helplessness—the crushing weight of resignation—set in. Was this his moment of reckoning?
With Glyphs: Wings and Windwalk, he had no need to fear anyone below the Seventh Order. Even Seventh-Orders. But Eighth- and Ninth-Orders were a completely different reality.
But he knew he needed to try. A resolute determination ignited within him, and he activated Glyph: Windwalk, increasing his speed further. However, this sudden burst of speed also broke the dam in him, causing his Spiritual Power to gush like a hole.
The Thousand Demon Ridge elite was visibly astounded by this sudden increase in speed. Angrily, he shouted, “There’s no escape for you, Lu Yi Ye! Surrender now and I might grant you a swift death!”
The voice sounded familiar, and Lu Ye immediately recalled who it was: Wei Que!
[What rotten luck! Why am I seeing this scoundrel everywhere I go!?] he mused with bursting annoyance and frustration.
In the midst of his rapid flight for survival, another flash of light shot up from below with the crescendoing rise of a meteor.
Lu Ye’s face turned pale as he tightly gripped his Golden Body Token in panic. He secretly mustered his Spiritual Power, ready to use this last life-saving trump card.
The huge displacement of Spiritual Energy from the new stranger was also a Ninth-Order.
Caught between the anvil and the hammer, he could see no way out of this predicament.
Lu Ye had chosen to walk away from Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan because there was only just one Golden Body Token, and in desperate situations, he could rely on it to save himself—or at least buy him a few more hours. But if Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan also ended up with him, they would only be faced with inescapable doom.
As the newcomer drew nearer, Lu Ye was so close to triggering the Golden Body Token when his voice echoed in Lu Ye’s ear, “Run!”
The shimmering presence of the newcomer brushed past him in the blink of an eye, intercepting Wei Que and stopping his pursuit.
Bursts of Spiritual Power effusion rippled as the two elite Cultivators engaged each other in a fierce battle.
“Thank you, Senior Brother!” Lu Ye managed to call out before darting away like a lightning bolt into the distance.
He didn’t know who it was. But whoever the person was, he had appeared at the most opportune moment possible by intercepting Wei Que and he was an ally from the Grand Sky Coalition.
Maybe he was one of those Li Baxian had called in a favor for help, or maybe he just happened to be passing by. Regardless, it was because of him that Lu Ye had narrowly escaped calamity.
Feeling grateful, Lu Ye sped away expeditiously.
He found a secluded spot not long after that where he landed. He needed to recover. The constant fleeing had been taxing and he couldn’t afford to miss any opportunity to replenish himself.
Barely minutes later, he heard a cascade of deafening booms, thunderous explosions in the air of something—or someone—breaking through the air barrier. It must be the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators catching up.
There was no way for him to remain completely hidden at all, not without his position being exposed every two hours. He might be safe—for now, for he knew that it would not be long before he needed to be on the run again. He had to move quickly and avoid staying in one place for too long to prevent being surrounded by a horde of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators.
He had a quick bite and swallowed a few more Spiritual Pills before he resumed his escape.
There was no need to activate Glyph: Wings yet. Without being exposed yet, there was no need to be overly hasty.
More than an hour had elapsed and the sanguinary-colored beam of light tunneling up into the sky would be erupting soon. By that time, Lu Ye would need to use Glyph: Wings once more and speed like the wind.
Escaping alive seemed more and more arduous by the minute and the Tracking Disc’s curse made it impossible for him to elude his pursuers. Every time his position was broadcasted, a huge stampede of angry and bloodthirsty Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators would be hot on his heels. Without any means to hide himself completely and remain undetected, there was very little a Third-Order like him could do.
Fleeing with all his might. That was pretty much all he could do. That would buy him as much time as possible, plus praying for the Colosseum’s closure to come quickly.
Luck did not seem to be favoring Lu Ye at the moment, as evidenced by the arterial-red dome-like forcefield of the Carnage Colosseum that refused to fade. In the meantime, Lu Ye did not fail to notice how his name had plunged down the rungs of the Carnage Roster, landing in the seventh position.
He would later encounter several more overpowering Eighth- and Ninth-Orders. He would struggle to get away from them, he was at least lucky enough to have help arrive on time to cut them off and stop them from tailing Lu Ye.
If help in the form of Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators who arrived just in time to save him could be chalked up to coincidence at first, Lu Ye did not need to be a genius to know that the repeated instances of timely interventions by allies here to save his life hinted just how great Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan’s influence was.
By now, all Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators within the Colosseum would have noticed the massive host of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators thronging. If anyone were still oblivious about what was going on, then Li Baxian and Feng Yuechan’s rallying of their allies would have made sure of that.
Fierce clashes erupted in many areas as a result between the Cultivators of the two major factions, leading to a bloody all-out battle royale raging through the whole Colosseum.
Usually, most Cultivators, except for a handful of elites who were on their last-minute hunting spree for more Carnage Points, would choose to lie low when the Carnage Colosseum neared its conclusion. Satisfied with the rewards and opportunities they had garnered up until that point, their primary goal would mostly be focused on self-preservation.
Yet this time, instead of curtailing violence and conflicts, the confrontation between both factions had just intensified several times over.
High up in the skies, Lu Ye was flying at the highest speed he could muster with Glyphs: Wings and Windwalk activated.
But despite his breakneck pace, a Cultivator, engulfed in a comet’s fleeting blaze, had been chasing him relentlessly for miles, and another stream of light was rapidly closing in from a dozen miles behind.
The one closer to him was an Eighth-Order while the other was a Ninth-Order.
Which were precisely the only ones who were able to catch up to him: Eighth- and Ninth-Orders.
There were three enemies at first. But one was thwarted by a Grand Sky Coalition ally who had appeared out of nowhere, leaving only two still hot on his tail.
That did not make the situation any better at all. The Eighth- and Ninth-Orders were rapidly and steadily narrowing the gap. The speed of the two more-superior Cultivators clearly outstripped his, especially the Ninth-Order, whose approach was visibly more accelerated.
It had been over a day since his frantic escape began. No one would have believed that a Third-Order would survive such a massive and long manhunt. Much credit was due to the assistance of several Grand Sky Coalition elites, but above all, it was Lu Ye’s remarkable speed that had kept him going.
But he was at his limits. His Spiritual Power was all but almost fully spent despite his continuous intake of Spiritual Pills and the mental stress of being constantly hunted, plus the pressure of facing imminent life-and-death situations was overwhelming him.
Yet, even in such dire circumstances, Lu Ye had never thought of giving up.
During one of his brief moments of rest when he passed by here before, he had constructed a Teleportation Ward somewhere around this vicinity. The Ward might have not been properly hidden and he lacked time back then to set up other magic wards to guard it, but if he could only find enough time to create a makeshift Teleportation Ward, he could immediately teleport himself there and shake off these two pursuers.
