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Translator: TheBrokenPen
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Every time the spectacle of the sanguine-red column of light repeated, the Thousand Demon Ridge horde that congregated around Lu Ye swelled as more Cultivators arrived.
Barely six hours had elapsed, but the Thousand Demon Ridge Ninth-Orders alone had numbered more than a dozen while those of lesser ranks that made up the bulk of the entire horde, had grown to several hundred men strong.
The Ninth-Order elites circled around Lu Ye, surrounding him in a ring of steel as they openly discussed ways to deal with him—a deplorable act of blatant audacity.
Some did not like how the situation was developing at all, Xia Liang and his two companions—they were the first to have cornered Lu Ye here—in particular. The rewards which should have been theirs and theirs alone had just become an early Christmas for everyone here.
In the brief deliberation, an understanding between all parties was swiftly achieved.
Of the rich bounty for Lu Yi Ye’s head, two-tenths of the full share would go to Tan Sheng for his dissemination of the information about Lu Ye. Such was the pact he had made with all Thousand Demon Ridge elites in the Colosseum and it could not be altered.
The next two-tenth share would go to Xia Liang and his other two companions.
They were the ones who had managed to pin Lu Yi Ye down here. Without their help, this would still be another endless chase. No one could nor would dispute that claim was well-deserved for their pivotal contributions.
The rest of the share would be divided into two halves. The first half would be equally shared by all Ninth-Orders while the other half would be distributed evenly to all the lesser Cultivators present.
It was a plan that would come no nearer to please everyone, but it was the best one the elites could come up with for now.
Even before his last breath, the enemies—like a pack of hungry wolves—were waiting to claim their share of his death as if it had become a virtual certainty.
With the discussion duly completed, all that remained was to endure the interlude of waiting.
The wait for the expiration of the Golden Body Token’s protection that would signal their triumph…
Seated amidst the gargantuan mass of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators, an unfazed Lu Ye was calmly consuming more Spirit Pills to replenish himself. He could care less about any ogling onlookers, and they did not do anything to stop him either.
After all, with the effects of the Golden Body Token still protecting Lu Ye, any attempts to hinder him would only prove futile.
In mere hours, Lu Ye’s Spiritual Power had been fully restored. Nonchalantly, he even retrieved a piece of jerky from his Storage Sphere and consumed it with gusto.
As he chewed at his food, he peered around and beheld a few familiar faces.
There was Tan Sheng, who had arrived more than two hours ago and was glowering at him from a distance, positively sour at how things had turned out.
If only he had managed to vanquish Lu Ye swiftly enough to seize the coveted top spot on the Carnage Roster. But now, not only had his rank on the Roster slid down into oblivion, even his share from the bounty had been diminished to a mere fraction. To say that his losses were undeniably severe was an understatement.
Not far away from Tan Sheng, Lu Ye spied Wei Que engaged in jovial conversation with familiar acquaintances.
Amidst the disarrayed crowd, Lu Ye also spotted the Jiang brothers.
The back of every Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivator’s hand glowed with a crimson luminescence. Lu Ye’s emitted a distinct blue radiance, a singular light amid the myriad hues of red.
Sensing Lu Ye’s gaze, Jiang Liuzi and his brother looked up, and a slight nod from Lu Ye met their eyes.
His composure took Jiang Liuzi and his brother by surprise. Whether Lu Ye was just feigning bravado or was genuinely fearless despite the impossible odds, they did not know.
That a Third-Order who depended solely on the duration of a Golden Body Token’s eldritch protection to stay alive while being surrounded by a host of enemy Cultivators of greater number and power than him could maintain such unwavering composure was something completely unimaginable to Jiang Liuzi, much less replicate the feat himself.
Lu Ye was surveying the crowd around him when his Battlefield Imprint registered the arrival of a new message. He looked down and saw it was Li Baxian.
“Hold on, Lu Ye! I’m getting help!”
News of Lu Ye being held up here by hundreds and even thousands of Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators had prompted more to join the massing throng. So much so that even Grand Sky Coalition Cultivators soon realized what was going on.
That sent Li Baxian—who was hiding somewhere twenty miles away with Feng Yuechan—into a state of panic.
But there was little he could do. Being just Fourth-Order Cultivators, they did not have the means to save Lu Ye from such indomitable peril. However, given the current situation, their anxiety was futile. Both of them possessed only Fourth-Order cultivation, making it impossible for them to rescue Lu Ye amidst the encirclement of numerous powerful foes. Hence, they could ill afford any rash actions.
Their only recourse now was to enlist help from as many Grand Sky Coalition elites as possible. But to even penetrate such a huge encirclement of powerful foes would require a force of at least two dozen or more Ninth-Orders, making this a nigh impossible feat. To launch a rescue without enough strength would only spell defeat if not suicide and the animosity between the Thousand Demon Ridge and Grand Sky Coalition would ensure that.
Roping in enough men would have been doable had they had enough time. But Lu Ye’s divine protection could be wearing off any minute, and mustering enough men who were scattered around the Colosseum grounds would take a long time.
Regret gnawed at Li Baxian’s heart as he lamented himself for failing to ascend into the Cloud River Realm sooner. If only he had reached the Ninth-Order too, then he would not have to be so helpless while his junior faced imminent doom.
But even if he had ascended earlier, he might have already advanced to the True Lake Realm by now. At any rate, there was no version of this where he would be in place to deliver Lu Ye from death.
As far as Li Baxian was concerned, it was ultimately his own inadequacy—his own weakness that he could not rescue Lu Ye.
“Very well,” Lu Ye replied simply.
He scanned his surroundings and inhaled gently. His preparations were nearly complete and it was time to initiate his plan.
His only lifeline right now in this quandary was the impregnable protection of the Golden Body Token.
However, he was acutely aware that the Token’s effects had a limited duration, and once that time elapsed, his fate would be sealed, whether he liked it or not.
Unless he could set up a Teleportation Ward here and magic himself more than two hundred miles away, there really was not much hope of survival.
Waiting for death was out of the question for Lu Ye. He might not be seeing any chance of escaping, but he sure could see how he might drag a few souls down to the grave with him.
Especially that Tan Sheng fellow who had started all this. If he had not activated the Tracking Disc’s secret function, then he would not be in this predicament at all!
A fierce surge of Spiritual Power flowed within him and the circle of a Glyph swiftly came into form before his chest.
The huge burst of Spiritual Power swelling inside him surged into the Glyph like a torrent.
This did not escape the notice of the Ninth-Orders huddled around Lu Ye. Eyes homed in on Lu Ye, the expressions of the Ninth-Orders filled with astonishment and uncertainty, unsure what Lu Ye was attempting to pull off.
“Don’t even think that whatever trick you’re trying will save you, brat. There’s no escaping for you,” warned Wei Que.
Lu Ye raised his head, his expression deadly calm, and said, “Nope, I’m not thinking of running away. Don’t worry.”
Lu Ye stuffed his mouth with another handful of Spirit Pills as he spoke. This bold act of devouring Spirit Pills in such large quantities had left many onlookers dumbfounded. It was unheard of but the enemy Cultivators around him were willing to give him a pass, given Lu Ye’s current predicament.
“What are you doing?” a frowning Wei Que demanded.
“What do you think I can do?” Lu Ye retorted.
The response left Wei Que momentarily stumped. He was right; given Lu Ye’s current circumstances, what could he possibly do? He might try to resist, but what could he do as a Third-Order against so many enemy Ninth-Orders?
As it turned out, he was not the only one with that idea.
The rest of the Ninth-Orders might have seen what Lu Ye was doing, but they paid little heed to his subtle movements.
Seconds ticked by. The more Spirit Pills Lu Ye consumed, the more Spiritual Power was seeping into the Glyph now hovering just over his chest. His store of Spiritual Power diminished, but his aura was gradually growing stronger, steadily surpassing the level expected of a Third-Order.
A measure of the auric displacement of his Spiritual Power would yield that he had reached the levels of a Fourth- or Fifth-Order.
It was a peculiar situation that began to arouse widespread wariness among the crowd.
“Cease whatever it is you’re doing, Lu Yi Ye, or I—”one of the enemy Cultivators sternly warned.
“Or what?” Lu Ye snapped at the speaker, who fell silent.
Indeed, what else could they threaten him with?
Beating him up? With the effects of the Golden Body Token still working, who could possibly harm Lu Ye? Threats could do little to him and even if they were to act, it would just be a waste of time and effort.
The enemy Cultivator waited for seconds before speaking again, “Cooperate obediently, and perhaps you’ll get a quick and clean death. Try anything stupid and I guarantee you that death won’t be the worst thing you’ll be getting!”
Lu Ye couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to him; he ignored the jibe and stuffed another handful of Spirit Pills into his mouth.
He had finished all of Sister’s Shuiyuan’s Mystic Fruit cider or he could have restored his Spiritual Power more speedily. The effects of Spirit Pills could barely compare to Mystic Fruit cider.
In the meantime, the Spiritual Power stored within the Glyph on his chest had reached its limit.
But it wasn’t enough.
Lu Ye could still remember vividly the last time he used this Glyph. That gave him the idea of giving a grand surprise to the Thousand Demon Ridge Cultivators here.
His Spiritual Power churned once again, and another Glyph similar to the one on his front now appeared on his back. He channeled his power and infused the pattern with his eldritch energy
Lu Ye’s expression grew somber as his aura burgeoned.
Maintaining the two Glyphs required an enormous amount of mental focus, especially since he needed to be supplying a huge amount of Spiritual Power to both of them. Failure to maintain concentration could see the Glyphs crumbling, causing all the infused Spiritual Power to erupt instantly. Even the Golden Body Token might not be able to fully protect him from such a devastating implosion.
The Golden Body Token’s effect could fend off threats from without, but it might not be as effective against threats from within.
Fortunately for Lu Ye, his mental strength far outstripped most other Cultivators of the same rank. So long as he could remain focused, there was little chance of any problem unless he faced significant disruptions.
“Something’s not right!” Xia Liang yelped all of a sudden.
The auric displacement of Lu Ye’s Spiritual Power far exceeded that of a Third-Order—the Fifth or Sixth Order, in fact—and it was still growing with every ticking second.
Even a fool could see that something was amiss.
Angry choruses clamored from all around Lu Ye. “Stop playing tricks, Lu Yi Ye!” a voice cried.
Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought that it was Lu Ye who was trying to commit some evil and heinous acts, even though it was Lu Ye who was cornered, surrounded, and trapped here by these sanctimonious scoundrels.
More voices piped in, flinging threatening and abusive language.
Lu Ye paid no attention to their words. He ignored them and continued channeling more Spiritual Power into the Glyphs.
The Thousand Demon Ridge elites could find no recourse to thwart Lu Ye. Frustrated and helpless, they could only sit on their own laps while Lu Ye continued his work in the peace provided by the Golden Body Token’s magical effect. All around him, indignant and seething enemy Cultivators could only grumble, why was the Token’s protective magic still holding after so many hours? Why hadn’t it disappeared yet?
Would that it had, then any one of the many Ninth-Order elites would pounce at the chance to slay the famous Lu Yi Ye.
