Sage of Humanity

In an instant, the distance between them had closed to just thirty feet!

Dong Shuye had barely released a couple of Dao techniques before they were all dodged by Lu Ye.

Spirit force surged as a fiery red round disc appeared in front of Dong Shuye, and from the disc, countless fist-sized fireballs spewed out, densely covering the area ahead.

The dark cave immediately brightened with light.

This particular magic spell had been used by him two and a half months ago when he pursued Lu Ye. Compared to the Golden Arc Slash, each fireball's destructive power was much less, but their number and coverage area were greater, and Dong Shuye was somewhat more adept at utilizing fire-type spells than those of the metal type.

Lu Ye, who was charging straight at him, frowned and immediately backed away, his footsteps shifting as he tried to move around the side. However, Dong Shuye adjusted his direction at the same time, continuously pouring spirit force into the red disc in front of him.

Boom, boom, boom...

The fireballs flew out, hitting the walls of the cave and creating a dense noise. Behind a thick stalagmite column, the exhausted Amber huddled without moving. Having expended too much energy, it couldn't be of any help to Lu Ye. Before the battle started, Lu Ye had told it to hide here to avoid accidental injury.

Moreover, even if Amber had the energy to spare, it would be difficult for it to intervene in such a battle. Its growth had indeed been significant, but it still fell short compared to the enemies that Lu Ye was facing.

With his plan to launch a surprise attack thwarted, Lu Ye could only keep circling, using the stalagmites that rose from the ground to block Dong Shuye's attacks.

But he was not in a rush because this situation was to his advantage; maintaining the magic spell consumed Dong Shuye's spirit force, so it should be Dong Shuye who was anxious.

And indeed, just moments later, Dong Shuye switched spells, pointing his finger and sending a writhing fire serpent towards the stalagmite where Lu Ye was hiding. This serpent, conjured without the use of a Spirit Talisman, appeared even more lifelike than those that had been, with scales faintly visible on the burning body of the snake.

As the fire serpent wrapped around the stalagmite, Lu Ye had already moved to avoid it. Dong Shuye turned his head and saw Lu Ye once again rushing at him furiously from the side.

He hastily urged his spirit force, repeating the old trick, and another fiery red disc appeared, spewing out fist-sized fireballs.

At this moment, Lu Ye's movements began to seem unpredictable as he dodged one fireball after another, constantly narrowing the distance between them.

Dong Shuye frowned slightly; he noticed that Lu Ye's reactions seemed to have quickened a bit since earlier.

It wasn't an illusion; Lu Ye's movements had indeed sped up a little.

Although an increase in realm could enhance a cultivator's power, in reality, someone who had just advanced would need some time to adapt. To lure Dong Shuye into the trap, Lu Ye had deliberately held back the opening of his 63rd orifice, and when he made his breakthrough, Dong Shuye had already attacked, leaving him with no time to adapt to the changes in his body.

He could only get used to it while exchanging blows with Dong Shuye, and thankfully, the immense pressure of the intense combat accelerated his adaptation.

Once again pushed back, Lu Ye felt that in a few moments, he would have complete control over his newly gained power.

Continuing to hide behind the stalagmites, he avoided Dong Shuye's magical strikes, bursting out to attack whenever Dong Shuye adjusted his position.

His reactions and speed quickened yet again.

Lu Ye had a strong intuition that this time, he could succeed!

Dodging the fireballs one after another, Lu Ye countered those he couldn't evade with Defense Spirit Runes, thirty feet, twenty-five feet, fifteen feet...

Lu Ye drew his sword, and the moment the long blade left its sheath, fiery red spirit force clung to the edge. In the dark space, the entire sword seemed to catch on fire.

A flash of the blade, augmented by Sharpness Spirit Runes, and Lu Ye swung his sword down at Dong Shuye.

A look of bewilderment crossed Dong Shuye's face, seemingly at a loss as to how Lu Ye had managed to get so close so quickly. Almost instinctively, he raised his arms in front of him as if he planned to block the fierce strike with his own body.

With a clattering sound, golden spirit light shattered; it was the Golden Body Talisman Dong Shuye had slapped onto himself before entering the cave. A single slash at Lu Ye's current Level 5 realm was too much for a common Golden Body Talisman to withstand; it broke the golden light in just one strike.

However, before Lu Ye could rejoice, the light in front of him flickered and two crossing Golden Arc Slashes sped towards him in the shape of a cross.
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The distance was too close, there was no way to avoid it.

He had been duped!

After all, Dong Shuye was a Level 6-7 magic cultivator. The fact that Lu Ye could so easily approach him made it unlikely that he would make such a foolish move as to block with his arms.

It wasn't a defense against the attack; it was Dong Shuye using the motion to conceal his use of a spell, deceiving Lu Ye with such a convincingly real expression on his face.

Such a fine performance!

Actually, Lu Ye was mistaken. Dong Shuye's bewildered expression was genuine; he completely did not expect Lu Ye to close in on him so effortlessly. Raising his arms was premeditated; he had always given Lu Ye the impression that he could only unleash one spell at a time, but in reality, that wasn't his limit.

As Lu Ye's sword came slashing down, he took advantage of the momentum to release two crossing Golden Arc Slashes because he believed that with the Golden Body Talisman and his own spirit force for protection, Lu Ye couldn't possibly defeat him with one strike.

But if Lu Ye were to take two Golden Arc Slashes from him, he wouldn't die but would be in a terrible state!

This time, Dong Shuye's calculation had succeeded; his two Golden Arc Slashes struck Lu Ye's chest.

Lu Ye's body was sent flying, and in midair, he felt a stuffiness in his chest and coughed out a mist of blood.

But Dong Shuye also made a mistake.

In the instant of their exchange, Dong Shuye screamed in pain and retreated helplessly, looking down to see a deep bone-deep wound on his arms, with flesh turned inside out.

He couldn't help but widen his eyes...

Was this a slash that a Level 5 realm cultivator could make? What a joke!

That mere slash had first broken through his Golden Body Talisman, then his protective spirit force, and wounded both his arms!

Secretly feeling lucky that he was maintaining protective spirit force at all times, otherwise that slash could have chopped off both of his arms.

A newly promoted Level 5 cultivator, how could he have such a sharp attack, what quality of Spiritual Artifact was in the opponent's hand?

The last time he pursued Lu Ye, he had only seen Lu Ye using Defense Spirit Runes in combat, aware that his spirit runes had strong protective power. Only now, for the first time, had he experienced Lu Ye's offensive power and was genuinely scared out of his wits!

Feeling a secret dread, he had almost botched it.

"Cough, cough…" Over there, the blasted Lu Ye propped himself up with his sword, his mouth full of a rusty taste.

Dong Shuye concentrated and looked toward his chest, quickly disappointed. There was no sign of a slash wound on Lu Ye's chest. In that last instant, he had timely activated his Defense Spirit Runes for defense. Although he had blocked the slash, he couldn't block the force of the impact, which had caused Lu Ye an internal injury.

He sensed it slightly and felt stuffiness in his chest, but there were no signs of fractures, which was a good thing. After the Dragon Spring Body Tempering, his physique had greatly enhanced, and his ability to take hits had become much stronger.

Dong Shuye wouldn't give him time to catch his breath. Just as Lu Ye managed to stand up, he endured the pain in his arms and began casting magic and spells.

Golden, red, white spells, various magic and spells came one after another, incessantly. Lu Ye could only dodge in an embarrassed manner.

It took a while before he could gather his strength again, turn around, and charge towards Dong Shuye again, his long sword blazing like fire once more.

Having had the experience of rushing toward Dong Shuye once before, this time it became much easier, especially after Dong Shuye's arms were injured, the frequency he displayed magic and spells significantly reduced.

And as Lu Ye launched his assault, Dong Shuye was constantly retreating backward. At this time, the importance of choosing the battlefield in advance was evident. If it was outdoors, Dong Shuye could have easily slipped away from Lu Ye with a glide. But in this sealed space, he had no way to exploit his advantage.

The distance was once again rapidly closed, and Dong Shuye's expression gradually turned fierce and ferocious.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Ye had rushed to within three yards of Dong Shuye and, while ducking under a spell, swung his long sword upwards.

The determined slash, however, missed, and a powerful impact came from above. Lu Ye quickly raised his hand to activate the Defense Spirit Runes to block it, the force making him stoop slightly and slide backwards uncontrollably.

Looking up, Dong Shuye was floating in mid-air, looking down at Lu Ye with a mocking face, "Kid, you underestimate the magic cultivators too much!"

He really couldn't fly, but he had the Travel Through Air Skill. With this skill, short-term hovering was possible.

A Level 5 combat cultivator, unless he grew wings, what could he use to compete with him? One could say that the outcome of this battle was determined from the start.

He hadn't revealed this ability earlier because he thought he could kill Lu Ye, but after fighting back and forth, he realized that even if his opponent had just been promoted to Level 5, he was not so easy to kill. Now that his arm was injured, he should no longer delay and must end the battle quickly.

Raising his hand and pointing at Lu Ye, Dong Shuye's face was cold and his fingertips began to surge with spirit force. A round disc the size of a table top began to take shape.

With Lu Ye's speed being too fast, and the protection of those spirit runes, single-target spells were very difficult to kill him with, so Dong Shuye was preparing to use a large area-of-effect spell. He wanted to set the entire cave ablaze with fire to ensure the death of his opponent.

As the spirit force gathered disc began to take shape, spirit force started surging from below, accompanied by the sounds of pfft pfft, a fat firebird, moving with lightning speed, dove straight into Dong Shuye's embrace!

With a boom, the fat bird exploded, and a baffled Dong Shuye fell from the air; the disc that had just formed dissipated into smoke. In that instant, the fluctuation of spirit force in his body became extremely chaotic.

Magic? This guy could use magic? Dong Shuye, falling from the sky, had almost lost his ability to think. He had calculated every possibility but really did not expect that Lu Ye, this newly promoted Level 5 cultivator, would know magic and spells.

Moreover, the way the opponent cast that spell was as easy as reaching into a bag, even faster than him, catching him entirely off guard.

Was this guy also a magic cultivator?

Catching a glimpse of Lu Ye rapidly closing in from the corner of his eye, Dong Shuye quickly adjusted his posture. However, he was interrupted during the casting of that large spell and then took a direct hit from the opponent's spell. Even with his protective spirit force, the consequence was severe.

His spirit force was now running wild within his body, careening erratically through his spiritual orifice, leaving his body stiff and immobile.