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Translator: Raikov
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
On Skysword Peak, Lu Ye wrapped up the slips in his hand and looked up at Yun Qingyue. His gaze was calm, but his words were decisive. “Go. I won’t kill you. And also, pass on this message to your superiors. As long as this Lu is alive, I will come to the Spirit Creek Battlefield every six months and pick out thirty Core Circle Sects to raze their Outposts.”
Saying so, he stood up slowly and brought out his Flight-Type Artifact as if he was going to leave at once.
Alarmed, Yun Qingyue quickly called out, “Please wait, Cultivator Lu.”
“What else do you want?” Lu Ye cocked his head to the side while looking at her.
The Thousand Demon Ridge wanted him to refrain from setting foot on the Spirit Creek Battlefield in the future, but he would never accept such a condition. He had no need to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield anymore after advancing into the Cloud River Realm, nor would he threaten the Thousand Demon Ridge with either the cultivators in the Spirit Creek Battlefield or the matters concerning it as one may do the same thing once or twice, but never thrice. Including this time, he had extorted the Thousand Demon Ridge twice, and if he were to do it again, they would definitely tolerate his threats and would most likely fight to the death with him.
However, it should be up to his own wishes whether or not he chooses to enter the Spirit Creek Battlefield. It was not up to the Thousand Demon Ridge to force him to stay out of it.
If they insisted on maintaining that stance, then there was no longer any need for them to speak further.
Facing Lu Ye, Yun Qingyue felt powerless and could only sigh. “Cultivator Lu, the matter is still negotiable…”
She knew that as they had reached this point of the negotiation, then she must never show any signs of weakness on her end. However, it was no longer possible. Lu Ye was taking his leave, and if she did not show weakness now, then the thirty sects in the Thousand Demon Ridge faction may end up having to suffer.
And he even said that he would come once every half a year. How could anyone withstand that?
If that truly were to happen, then there will be no Spirit Creek Realm cultivator in any Core Circle Sect that will have a peaceful space to cultivate in in the future. The Spirit Creek Realm was the foundation for all sects, and if that foundation was to be broken, then it would shake the future development of the entire sect.
Standing on the Spirit Boat, Lu Ye looked at Yun Qingyue in silence.
Yun Qingyue pursed her red lips and finally broke the silence after a long while. “Unless a situation like what you experienced in the Carnage Colosseum happens again, then Cultivator Lu must not attack the Outposts in the Spirit Creek Battlefield for no reason!”
Compared to the previous condition, this had much more leeway. It did not restrict Lu Ye’s entry into the Spirit Creek Battlefield and instead restricted his actions against the Thousand Demon Ridge’s sects and clans, but that was only if the incident in the Carnage Colosseum did not happen again.
Though they were simple words, Lu Ye did manage to glean some information about the Thousand Demon Ridge’s stance.
Clearly, they still had not given up on killing him.
Inside the Carnage Colosseum, so many of the Thousand Demon Ridge’s experts who had cultivation levels that far surpassed Lu Ye pursued after him jointly, and they even employed the secret techniques of the Tracking Disc to make it so he had nowhere to run or hide. In the end, Lu Ye found himself encircled by hundreds, even thousands of people. Setting aside the longstanding grudges and disputes between the two major factions, the Thousand Demon Ridge had indeed gone overboard in that event. He was fortunate to have survived the attack, but not without paying a tremendous price. So, when he came to the Spirit Creek Battlefield seeking revenge, no one could blame him for doing so.
However, if in the future, the Thousand Demon Ridge were to target Lu Ye again, they would undoubtedly exercise more caution and would never give him the chance to retaliate again.
“This is the bottom line of the Divine Ocean Realm Masters’ compromise. If Cultivator Lu cannot agree, then please feel free to do as you please.”
After saying her piece, she stared at Lu Ye anxiously, unsure of whether he would accept.
Lu Ye calmly nodded. “Sure. Anything else?”
While he was aware that the Thousand Demon Ridge had not given up on killing him, honestly, the path of cultivation would be dull without such trials. Ever since he stepped onto the path of cultivation, Lu Ye had been facing opponents stronger than himself, especially after his identity as a disciple of the Crimson Blood Sect was exposed. He had faced various forms of suppression and opposition without cessation.
It was precisely through these trials that he advanced so triumphantly and dominated the Spirit Creek Battlefield.
The Thousand Demon Ridge also wouldn’t fear targeting him again just because of this incident, and he had no grounds to demand that the Thousand Demon Ridge cease targeting him in the future either.
These matters were mutually understood, and there was no need for explicit clarification.
Seeing that Lu Ye had agreed, Yun Qingyue let out a long sigh of relief, and her expression eased considerably. She had always been kind in nature and was truly unwilling to witness excessive bloodshed.
“Furthermore, every injustice has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor. If Cultivator Lu wishes to seek reprisal in the future, please direct your efforts towards those truly responsible and do not involve innocent parties.”
The cultivators who troubled Lu Ye in the Carnage Colosseum were all from different backgrounds, but it was certain that not all of the Core Circle Sects’ disciples were involved.
However, Lu Ye’s conditions encompassed all the Core Circle Sects, inadvertently subjecting many to undue harm, yet they could not explain themselves out of the situation. They couldn’t just ask Lu Ye to raise his hand high in mercy because their own disciples were not part of the Carnage Colosseum incident, right? That would make them a laughingstock.
“Of course.”
Lu Ye nodded. “Anything else?”
Yun Qingyue shook her head. “No.”
For a moment, she felt taken aback. Was everything settled so easily? She had thought that Yi Ye wouldn’t agree so readily and had even prepared numerous arguments to persuade him only to find that none were necessary.
“You’re done, but I have two more conditions.”
Yun Qingyue’s expression stiffened, and she urged him nervously, “Please speak, Cultivator Lu.”
“Inside the Carnage Colosseum, there was an individual named Xia Liang who wielded the blade. If I’m not mistaken, he should be from the Raving Bladesmen. I won’t be visiting the Raving Bladesmen’s Outpost, but please relay this for me. Besides thirty thousand Contribution Points worth of resources, they must also provide twenty sets of blade technique insights. Otherwise, I wouldn’t mind paying them a visit.”
Yun Qingyue took careful note of it. “Very well.”
As long as they were not unique copies, blade technique insights were not highly valuable. Even then, extra copies could be made. The Raving Bladesmen likely had an abundance of such insights, so twenty shouldn’t be difficult for them to take out.
“Additionally, the Wind Cloud Mansion’s share should be increased by a hundred thousand Contribution Points.”
“The Wind Cloud Mansion…” Yun Qingyue was speechless. Wasn’t the Wind Cloud Mansion Senior Brother Wu’s Sect? Yi Ye asking the Wind Cloud Mansion to increase their offering by a hundred thousand was undoubtedly a response to Wu Jun’s poor attitude during the previous negotiations.
This young brat appeared reasonable on the surface but was actually quite petty.
“Putting up a show to manipulate me should come with consequences, don’t you think so, Cultivator Yun?”
Lu Ye shot a glance at Yun Qingyue.
Yun Qingyue forced a smile. “It seems Cultivator Lu saw through our act from the start.” It wasn’t a particularly sophisticated tactic to begin with, so it was to be expected that they would be caught.
With a sigh, Yun Qingyue continued, “I will relay your conditions back to my faction, but before we conclude this, I must ask Cultivator Lu to sign the Sacred Pact.”
“Very well!”
Verbal promises were not as binding as a Sacred Pact.
Yun Qingyue promptly produced the Sacred Pact, listing a series of terms before handing it to Lu Ye to review. Lu Ye carefully inspected it, making sure there were no hidden loopholes before stamping his own handprint on it.
Yun Qingyue, representing the Thousand Demon Ridge, also imprinted her handprint, then the Sacred Pact radiated with a brilliant light that signified that the contract was formed.
After putting away the Sacred Pact, Yun Qingyue felt much more relieved. Honestly, despite facing only a Cloud River Realm cultivator, the burden on her heart had been unprecedentedly heavy. Now that things had been settled, her mission was finally over.
“Well, Cultivator Lu, until we meet again.” Yun Qingyue bowed gracefully to Lu Ye and summoned her flower basket Spirit Artifact, flying away.
Lu Ye watched her leave and contemplated for a moment. Instead of continuing to read, he went to the side, retrieved his saber and cut down a large tree in a neat stroke before chopping it into several sections, busying himself in this manner.
Time passed.
Three days later, Lu Ye, who sat on a stone reading, suddenly spoke up. “Leave the items here. Take the corresponding wooden plaque for each sect’s offering. You can take it as a return gift from this Lu. Once the ten-day deadline is up, the wooden plaques of the sects remaining here will be the sects I visit.”
Though there was no one in front of him, Lu Ye had perceived the presence of some unfamiliar auras around him.
These people were naturally here to deliver the offerings, yet they hesitated to reveal themselves due to his imposing reputation.
Hearing Lu Ye’s words, they turned to look towards the area several meters away from him. There lay hundreds of wooden plaques, each carved with the name of a sect, corresponding to each sect in the Thousand Demon Ridge.
Lu Ye had meticulously carved these wooden plaques based on the markings on the 10-point map, so he couldn’t possibly miss any sect. Rather than a means to keep count, however, he was using this method to strengthen his memory. There were so many sects in the Thousand Demon Ridge. Through this, Lu Ye was able to more or less recognise the sects in the Core Circle, so if he bumped into any of the Thousand Demon Ridge’s cultivators in the future, if he tried to ask for their sect names, this knowledge should help him match their background to what they claimed.
Only now did they comprehend Lu Ye’s intentions.
It wasn’t until a while later that people began showing themselves. They walked up to Lu Ye, placed down a Storage Bag before him, then took a wooden plaque with them before quickly departing.
With someone to start things off, more people soon emerged, placing down their Storage Bags without a word and taking away their own sect’s wooden plaques.
Time passed, and as the pile of Storage Bags before Lu Ye grew, the number of wooden plaques shrank.
Every cultivator who came to deliver the offerings could see the impressive stack of Storage Bags, and they knew that they contained valuable items worth millions of Contribution Points, but no one dared to be greedy. It took a lot to finally settle things with Yi Ye, and if anything unexpected were to happen at this point, not only would Yi Ye not spare them, the sects behind them would also draw the ire of the Thousand Demon Ridge faction.
At a certain moment, Lu Ye could sense that the wooden plaque of the Raving Bladesmen had been taken. With a raise of his hand, he retrieved the Storage Bag that had just been left behind. Upon opening it, he found not only various treasures but also twenty sets of blade technique insights.
Sure enough, that Xia Liang was indeed from the Raving Bladesmen!
Otherwise, the Raving Bladesmen wouldn’t have given in so obediently. When Lu Ye personally visited them before, he had only gotten ten sets of blade technique insights out of them.
Eagerly, Lu Ye began perusing one of the copies.
Inwardly, he could only sigh since there were no sects within the Grand Sky Coalition that specialized in blade techniques. Otherwise, he could have furthered his training without needing to ask for blade technique insights from someone else.
Moreover, the insights they provided were unlikely to be the best. Given Lu Ye’s current strength and mastery of blade techniques, these insights could only offer minor improvements and wouldn’t lead to any breakthroughs.
If only the Grand Sky Coalition could conquer the Raving Bladesmen someday.
Of course, that was naught but a wishful thought. The Raving Bladesmen was a First-Tier Sect with a profound foundation. Conquering them was easier said than done.
