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Translator: Jon
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
“A Deathmatch Platform!” Tan Sheng, who was defending against the attacks of the Wolf Mutants, suddenly gasped. Looking at the square item that was shining brightly, he suddenly realized something. “I see!”
[No wonder Huo Liaoyuan has been behaving so strangely today! It was all to activate this item!]
Everything made sense now. The Sacred Universe Arcane Glade cultivators had taken the initiative to launch an attack but stubbornly remained on the defense for some reason. On the other hand, Huo Liaoyuan had screamed and yelled like a madman but did not exhibit any other symptoms of insanity even though he looked as though he had gone mad with rage.
Everything up until now was just an illusion to pave the way for this moment!
“As I expected…” Xia Liang quietly murmured to himself. The situation had turned out just as he suspected. Huo Liaoyuan had a Deathmatch Platform after all.
There were two reasons that prompted Xia Liang to reach this conclusion. The first reason was that Huo Liaoyuan had been acting strangely. The second reason was that the aura Huo Liaoyuan wrapped around Lu Ye was very abnormal. It turned out that the aura did not belong to Huo Liaoyuan but from within the Deathmatch Platform. That would explain how the aura had exceeded Huo Liaoyuan’s natural limits.
There were many Exotic Treasures in Jiu Zhou, and these Exotic Treasures generally contained various bizarre effects. The Tracking Disc Tan Sheng previously used to track down Lu Ye’s whereabouts and the Golden Body Token Lu Ye used to protect himself were Exotic Treasures.
Similarly, the Deathmatch Platform was also a type of Exotic Treasure. Its sole function was to transport the person who activated the effects of the Deathmatch Platform and the targeted enemy into an arena where both parties had to fight each other to the death!
In terms of value, the Deathmatch Platform was naturally not as valuable as the Golden Body Token that Lu Ye once used. The Golden Body Token was an item that could provide absolute protection after all. On the other hand, the Deathmatch Platform was not meant for protection. It was an item to force one’s enemy into a fight to the death, so there were great limitations to the item in terms of functionality. Moreover, the enemy had to be weaker than the person wielding the Deathmatch Platform.
There were also prerequisites that had to be fulfilled in order to activate the item. For example, the wielder had to ensure that the aura coming from the item could lock onto the targeted enemy completely. In other words, Huo Liaoyuan could not be too far away from Lu Ye. In addition, the Deathmatch Platform required some time to gain momentum before activation. During this period, the distance between Huo Liaoyuan and Lu Ye could not exceed a certain range. Otherwise, the effects of the Deathmatch Platform would not activate.
That was the reason why Huo Liaoyuan had decided to launch an attack on the Arcane Glade today and why he had not bothered to learn more about the location of the Divine Opportunity Column from Xia Liang. The existence of the Divine Opportunity Column did not matter. As long as he succeeded in activating the power of the Deathmatch Platform, then Lu Yi Ye was doomed.
Huo Liaoyuan’s strange behavior earlier had merely been a disguise to make Lu Ye relax his vigilance. Looking at the situation now, the plan had succeeded perfectly. Lu Ye only noticed the crisis at the very last moment, but it was too late by the time he noticed. The power of the Exotic Treasure had already been fully activated when the two rays of light shot out from the Deathmatch Platform and wrapped around the bodies of both Huo Liaoyuan and Lu Ye.
Li Baxian’s flying swords and Feng Yuechan’s Spell Techniques blasted toward the Deathmatch Platform without stopping. Nevertheless, the small Deathmatch Platform was completely unaffected by the storm of attacks.
Following a burst of blinding light, the figures of Lu Ye and Huo Liao Yuan vanished out of sight along with the small Deathmatch Platform.
“Little Junior Brother!” Li Baxian shouted in horror, powerless to stop Lu Ye from being dragged away.
“Let’s go!” Xia Liang shouted, pulling away and hastily withdrawing from battle.
Tan Sheng, who had been warned in advance, quickly followed suit. The Sacred Universe Arcane Glade cultivators also retreated from battle in a swift but orderly manner.
Although Li Baxian and the two others furiously pursued the cultivators from behind the wolf pack, their efforts produced minimal effect. They could only watch helplessly as the cultivators retreated beyond the range of the Aerial Lock Ward, quickly soared into the sky, and escaped into the distance.
The wolf pack pursued the cultivators to the edge of the Arcane Glade. Even though their howls resounded throughout the Arcane Glade, they did not take another step forward. Although they could fight equally against the Sacred Universe Arcane Glade cultivators within the range of the Aerial Lock Ward, they would be nothing more than sitting ducks if they left the range of the Aerial Lock Ward.
Li Baxian might be livid and worried, but he retained his rationality. He quickly stopped pursuing his enemies and immediately checked Lu Ye’s Battlefield Imprint.
At the moment, Lu Ye and Huo Liaoyuan had been drawn into the space formed by the Deathmatch Platform. There was nothing he could do to help Lu Ye, regardless of how skilful or resourceful he was. The only thing he could do was determine whether Lu Ye was dead or alive through the Battlefield Imprint.
“Senior Brother…” Feng Yuechan leaned over and called out softly. Then, she reassured him. “He might not be in trouble. Senior Brother, have you forgotten that Junior Brother Lu killed several Seventh Order Masters in the Carnage Colosseum when he was only a Third Order Master? Compared to back then, he is now a Fifth Order Master.”
The results of that battle were not solely due to Lu Ye’s contributions but the combined efforts of three people. Be that as it may, a ray of hope shone in Li Baxian’s eyes when he heard her comforting words.
He nodded repeatedly. “That’s right. Little Junior Brother might not be in trouble. As long as he can activate his final trump card…” His sentence trailed off, and his expression darkened again. Raising his head, he glanced at her with eyes that had gone dim with despair. “Amber… is sleeping!”
The activation of Lu Ye’s final trump card required the cooperation of Amber. However, Amber had been sleeping since the day it consumed the Mutant Core of the elite-level Spirit Beast and remained unconscious even now. Moreover, Amber was not the only one who had fallen asleep. Yi Yi was also in deep slumber.
In other words, the current Lu Ye had no external forces to help him! He was alone in a battle against an opponent who was four Minor Realms stronger than himself…
Li Baxian abruptly lost all strength in his body and staggered weakly. At the same time, his complexion turned very pale.
…
The space within the Deathmatch Platform was about one kilometer wide in length and width. The sky was an empty void, and there were enchantment barriers on all sides.
It was not to say that the space within the Deathmatch Platform was only so big. Rather, the size of the space generally changed according to the wielder’s cultivation.
As a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master, the current size was the maximum range that Huo Liaoyuan could achieve when he activated the Deathmatch Platform. In comparison, the range of the Deathmatch Platform might stretch out across a radius of five kilometers or more if a cultivator in the Divine Ocean Realm were to activate the Exotic Treasure instead.
The invisible force wrapped around Lu Ye immediately disappeared without a trace as soon as his figure appeared in this space. He immediately regained his ability to move around freely. Upon observing his surroundings, he instantly caught sight of Huo Liaoyuan standing on the opposite side of the Deathmatch Platform.
In any case, the surrounding environment was very familiar to him. He had been to similar places before, and more than once at that.
During the ranking matches in the Spirit Creek Battlefield’s Roll of Supremacy, some of his opponents had chosen similar terrains. Likewise, he would choose similar terrains whenever other people challenged him. It was just that the range had been smaller to make it easier for the Combat Cultivators to bring out their strengths. Putting it this way, this place was probably similar to the challenges of the Spirit Creek Battlefield’s Roll of Supremacy. It was just that Huo Liaoyuan had borrowed the strength of an Exotic Treasure to drag them both into this place.
Lu Ye summoned his Spiritual Power. His Spiritual Power flowed smoothly without the slightest hindrance. Then, he soared into the air and attempted to fly out of the arena. However, his movements were obstructed by the enchantments in the surroundings. He could tell that the strength of the enchantments was not something he could influence or damage in any way.
Trapped in such a small space with a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master as his opponent, he was stuck in an unprecedentedly dangerous situation! Although his strength had increased significantly compared to when he was in the Carnage Colosseum, he would never consider himself a match for a Ninth Order Cloud River Realm Master. Based on the strength he could exert at the moment, he would stand a fighting chance against an Eight Order Master. Against a Ninth Order Master… he would be forced to activate the Beast Form Secret Technique. Unfortunately, it was impossible for him to utilize the Beast Form Secret Technique because Amber was sleeping deeply right now.
In that case, the only trump card he could use against his enemy was the Fire Phoenix Glyph. It was just that he needed to accumulate his strength for a certain amount of time before he could activate the Fire Phoenix Glyph. In this tight space, his enemy would not be stupid enough to let him gather his strength slowly. As soon as he attempted to activate the Fire Phoenix Glyph, he would surely invite a fierce storm of attacks down on himself.
[This is going to be troublesome!]
“Stop wasting your energy.” Observing Lu Ye’s attempts to escape from this space, Huo Liaoyuan’s voice sounded leisurely. “Inside the Deathmatch Platform, it’s a fight to the death. Only one of us will survive today. The Deathmatch Platform will only be released when one party is dead!”
[The Deathmatch Platform?] Lu Ye frowned at those words. [I’ve never heard of that before.]
Although he was now a cultivator in the Cloud River Realm who even reached the Fifth Order Cloud River Realm, his knowledge and experience were too shallow compared to other cultivators. There was no helping it. It had not been long since he started cultivating after all.
Nevertheless, based on his experience earlier and Huo Liaoyuan’s previous actions, the Deathmatch Platform was probably an Exotic Treasure with a special function.
“Why don’t you take a guess? Who do you think will die?” Huo Liaoyuan placed his hands behind his back and coldly looked down on Lu Ye from where he stood more than ten meters above the ground.
Lu Ye shot a faint look at Huo Liaoyuan and rubbed his thumb along the hilt of the Inviolable Saber.
Fortunately, there was a small silver lining in the situation. The Ninth Order Master who used the Deathmatch Platform on him was from Cult Blackfyre! Most of the Cult Blackfyre cultivators were Spell Cultivators with the Fire Attribute, and he was least afraid of the Fire Attribute!
If Xia Liang or Tan Sheng had been the ones to activate the Deathmatch Platform instead, he would undoubtedly be doomed to death. But, it was just Huo Liaoyuan. The situation was not completely hopeless.
“Lu Yi Ye!” Huo Liaoyuan shouted angrily. Lu Ye’s silence had undoubtedly provoked his rage, and his expression was livid. “You had better die obediently. If not, I have many methods to torture you to death!”
Inside the Deathmatch Platform, outsiders and external forces could not interfere in the battle. His cultivation was four Minor Realms higher than Lu Ye’s cultivation, so he was certain of his victory. Be that as it may, the prospect of victory was not enough to alleviate the rage burning in his heart.
The losses suffered by the Sacred Universe Arcane Glade on this mission were too heavy to bear. More than sixty people died in battle on the first day, and another nearly twenty people lost their lives in the invasion today. These casualties were practically half the number of people he originally brought with him. Not to mention, he had been forced to activate a precious Exotic Treasure like the Deathmatch Platform.
Even if he managed to defeat Lu Ye today, the Sect would surely hold him responsible for the losses. Therefore, he could only hope to make up for his mistakes by bringing back a victory. Otherwise, his future would be ruined forever.
His victory would probably make up for his mistakes since the bounty on Lu Ye’s head was ridiculously high. He would not only be regarded as innocent if he slaughtered Lu Ye but his actions would also be regarded as a huge contribution to the Sect. After all, which major Sect in the Thousand Demon Ridge did not want Lu Ye dead?
The only response Huo Liaoyuan received was Lu Ye’s charge. Lu Ye leapt forward like an agile cheetah. Thanks to the Blessing of Windwalk, an afterimage appeared behind him as he swiftly closed the distance of one kilometer.
In a battle against a Spell Cultivator, the first thing a Combat Cultivator should do was close the distance and engage in close combat. Even if he was only in the Fifth Order and Huo Liaoyuan was in the Ninth Order, it would be hard to say who would survive if he managed to close the distance between them. After all, Spell Cultivators generally spend their time cultivating various Spell Techniques. It was only natural that their physique was relatively more fragile.
For that reason, Lu Ye took the initiative to attack even though he would not suffer any negative consequences if the battle dragged out.
