Sage of Humanity

In terms of age, Lu Ye wasn't much different from Jiang Liuzi. Generally, those who could enter the Cloud River battlefield at such an age were all people with exceptional talent.

However, Lu Ye was currently wearing a fox-face mask, hiding his true face. Jiang Liuzi naturally couldn't see what he looked like, but from his physical characteristics, he could tell that Lu Ye was a man.

This displeased him.

Generally speaking, those who hid their faces under broad daylight weren't up to any good.

What confused Jiang Liuzi even more was that he couldn't tell which faction Lu Ye belonged to.

Based on Lu Ye's attire, he seemed like a combat cultivator, since only those who needed to fight in close quarters would wear clothes that wouldn't hinder their movement, such as those with wide-sleeved robes, which were generally worn by magic cultivators.

But there was also a small white beast perched on Lu Ye's shoulder... From this, he seemed to belong to the beast-taming faction, but he couldn't be sure, because the number of cultivators who had demon beasts with them wasn't small, and not every cultivator accompanied by a demon beast was from the beast-taming faction.

He didn't quite fit the mold of a combat cultivator, nor did he look like someone from the beast-taming faction. Jiang Liuzi could tell at a glance that the man in front of him was devious, so there was no reason for such a charade, especially wearing an ugly mask. This was obviously an attempt to confuse him.

A thought flashed through his mind, and Jiang Liuzi raised his hand and slashed a flying sword at Lu Ye.

As a sword cultivator dedicated to the path of the sword, what he hated most was those who skulked about and couldn't show their faces. What faction the other party belonged to, a fight would reveal it all!

The flying sword was incredibly fast, reaching Lu Ye almost the moment it was released.

To Jiang Liuzi's surprise, Lu Ye stood still, making no move. His supplies box at his waist vibrated slightly, and a streak of weapon control light met the flying sword head-on.

With a clear, ringing sound, the incoming flying sword was deflected. In the instant the Spiritual Artifacts collided, sparks seemed to fly.

Such a quick response!

A keen look appeared on Jiang Liuzi's face, which had been as calm as still water. Although it was a hurried exchange, he could infer a lot. His opponent's reaction was incredibly fast, and he seemed to have a lot of confidence in his own strength. Without sufficient confidence, he wouldn't have stood still in the face of a sword cultivator's flying sword.

This was the kind of opponent a sword cultivator needed! Not like those from before, who had strength but couldn't pique his interest.

The first flying sword was blocked, followed immediately by three more flying swords attacking.

The supplies box hummed again, and likewise, three Weapon Control Techniques met them.

Clang clang clang.

The sounds of collision continued unabated. The two figures stood fifty zhang apart, motionless, not showing any movement, yet their weapon controls were constantly clashing midair, the battle fierce, with spirit force waves chaotic.

After a moment, Jiang Liuzi's face showed surprise, for he found himself at a disadvantage in the contest of weapon controls!

Although both unleashed four weapon controls, the opponent's techniques were even more exquisite. Each control seemed as natural as moving one's own limbs, and the weapon controls flickered with light from time to time. Whenever that light passed, the opponent's weapon control speed and power would sharply increase.

This guy... what formidable mental fortitude!

What shocked Jiang Liuzi even more was that the fluctuation of the spirit force emanating from Lu Ye's body clearly indicated that this fox-faced man only had the cultivation of Cloud River Level 3!

It always had been him challenging those at higher levels, being challenged in return was a first for him, and by someone two levels higher no less. For a moment, it felt surreal.

Seeing his flying swords overpowered, Jiang Liuzi gritted his teeth and summoned nearly ten more sword lights.

If his weapon control technique was inferior to his opponent's, then he'd rely on quantity!

In an instant, more than ten sword lights chased after one another. Some were intercepting Lu Ye's weapon controls, while others were attacking Lu Ye directly.

Lu Ye's supplies box shook three times, and the remaining weapon controls also shot out.

The sounds of dense collisions continued to echo.

Jiang Liuzi was in trouble!

His over ten flying swords could only fight to a draw with the opponent's nine weapon controls. He couldn't help but suspect that the limit of the opponent's weapon controls wasn't nine; they could control even more; otherwise, it didn't make sense how skillfully they were being handled.

The limit of Lu Ye's weapon controls indeed wasn't nine. A long time ago, he had been able to control even more. But because he considered the lethality of weapon controls and the consumption on his own mind, he didn't refine more.

He was a combat cultivator. His main tactic was close-combat fighting, with Weapon Control Technique merely as an embellishment to supplement his long-range offensive capabilities. There was no need to pursue the extreme.

Besides, his supplies box could only nourish nine weapon controls.

Jiang Liuzi's expressionless face flickered with a trace of severity, and he summoned ten more flying swords!

He was determined, now let's see how you block this!

Lu Ye truly didn't have more weapon controls to block with. Watching the over ten sword lights approaching from all angles, he could only raise a hand. Red spirit force surged as a lifelike Fire Phoenix burst out of his palm, its tail feathers clearly distinguishable as it was made up of condensed spirit force.

Following the Fire Phoenix, the Fire Dragon Technique was unleashed. Both the dragon and the phoenix attacked in different directions.

Above the spirit mountaintop, the female magic cultivator of Level 4 stared blankly at the battlefield below, exclaiming softly, "Such quick spell casting, senior sister, is he a magic cultivator?"

Like Jiang Liuzi, this female magic cultivator had yet to figure out which sect Lu Ye belonged to, and such things weren't easy to pry into. It was only upon witnessing Lu Ye cast spells that she began to vaguely guess.

Xia Qianqian remained silent, recalling her experiences in the Ten Thousand Beasts Domain's secret realm.

Once, she naively thought Lu Ye was simply a combat cultivator, but after fighting side by side with him on several occasions, she realized that not only was he a combat cultivator, but he could also tame beasts, set up formations, and cast spells...

Xia Qianqian sometimes couldn't help but doubt whether a person's talent could be so grand. How could there be a cultivator in this world who excelled in several sects, and be quite skilled in each?

Just by looking at the speed and power with which Lu Ye was casting spells now, anyone would think he was a true magic cultivator. Without extensive time immersed in and cultivating spells, it would be impossible to cast them so swiftly.

But if anyone thought he was just a magic cultivator, they would probably be in for misfortune.

In the valley below, after initial probing, the battle suddenly intensified.

Sword light soared, magic and spells fluttered through the air.

The Fire Phoenix Technique and Fire Dragon Technique are accompanying techniques from the Red Lotus Soaring to Sky Technique. Since Lu Ye had cultivated it, he naturally hadn't forgotten, especially the Fire Phoenix Technique. After acquiring the Fire Phoenix Spirit Runes, Lu Ye found this particular technique even easier to use, and its might had increased considerably.

But Lu Ye was capable of more than just Fire Dragon Technique and Fire Phoenix Technique.

Previously, many spell-type spirit runes had been unlocked on his Talent Tree, such as Golden Arc, Lightning Attracting, Leaf Dance, Fiery Flames, Water Arrow, Earth Spike. Alone, each of these spirit runes could form an individual spell. Beyond that, they could also serve as the cores of various killing arrays. The effects of these spirit runes depended on how Lu Ye chose to utilize them.

Regardless, with the unlocking of these spirit runes on the Talent Tree, Lu Ye had ventured further and further down the path of a magic cultivator. If he were to pretend to be a magic cultivator, no one could see through his ruse.

However, back on the Spirit Stream battlefield, everyone knew that Lu Yiye from the Righteous Blood Sect was a sword-wielding combat cultivator. He couldn't pretend to be anything else even if he wanted to.

It was different in the Cloud River battlefield. Even without wearing the fox-face mask, no one knew who he was.

Just like now, seeing Lu Ye block every one of his flying swords with his spells, Jiang Liuzi immediately concluded one thing: This guy was a magic cultivator!

And then he became furiously angry. As a sword cultivator, what he feared the least was a magic cultivator—he was the bane of magic cultivators!

Yet today, his flying sword technique had been completely countered by a magic cultivator, and what was even more irksome was that this opponent was two levels lower than him in cultivation.

How could he tolerate this!

People like Jiang Liuzi are extremely proud.

Before, he had only utilized his flying sword because he believed that his flying sword technique was sufficient to defeat or even slay his opponent. It was also a way to probe the latter's strength.

But reality slapped him in the face. A magic cultivator two levels lower than him had such superb methods; he still had a long way to go in his own cultivation journey.

His flying sword technique alone could no longer resolve his opponent. If that was the case...

The sky filled with sword light suddenly retracted and swirled back. Jiang Liuzi now held a longsword in his hand, his fingers swiping over the blade. As spirit force surged around him, numerous flying swords spun like dragons, enfolding him within a sword dragon as he transformed into a beam of sword light rushing towards Lu Ye.

Every incoming weapon control and spell was blocked by the swirling sword dragon, with clanging and booming sounds stitched into one.

In an instant, the sword light barreled towards Lu Ye. As it dissipated, Jiang Liuzi's figure appeared at Lu Ye's side. No one saw how he did it; a sword cultivator's speed was just that fast.

The longsword radiated with a cold gleam as it thrust towards Lu Ye's neck.

Meet your doom!

Atop the spirit mountaintop, the female magic cultivator exclaimed in shock, while Xia Qianqian's heart also tensed.

Although she knew that Lu Ye was capable of defeating higher-level opponents, the helper summoned this time was evidently not ordinary. Faced with a Level 5 Cloud River sword cultivator, whether or not Lu Ye could win, Xia Qianqian couldn't leap to conclusions just yet.

In the midst of battle, the assured look on Jiang Liuzi's face turned to astonishment, for at the very moment he struck with his sword, he saw Lu Ye suddenly wielding a long saber in his hand...

Something seemed amiss!

The fierce spirit force that had been swirling around Lu Ye completely receded at that instant. With one hand on the sheath and the other on the saber handle, his blood Qi began to surge, merging and accumulating with that of Amber, who was perched on his shoulder.

His right arm slightly bulged for a moment. After a brief silence, an explosive force erupted like a volcano.

Single Flash!

The long saber was unsheathed, and as its bright light flashed, blood sprayed.

Jiang Liuzi was sent flying backward even faster than he had arrived. Struggling to maintain his posture, his eyes now brimmed with shock.

With another flash of saber light, a crescent-shaped saber light sliced out, chasing after Jiang Liuzi's retreating figure.

Boom...

Lu Ye's stance broke the ground beneath him as he shot forward, following the saber light he had unleashed. Not only that, but nine weapon control items flanked him, attacking the enemy from both sides, disturbing the opponent's state of mind.