Sage of Humanity

In the inner circle of the battlefield, within a perilous land, the aftermath of a great battle left a man drenched in blood, meditating to regulate his breath, while a worn yet bright-eyed young girl with twin buns stood nearby on guard.

As the young master rested, weary as she was, she would not let anyone disturb him.

This master-servant duo was none other than Wang Yeang and Xiaozhu from Xuanmen. After conquering the Nine Stars Sect's territory, Wang Yeang led Xiaozhu away from the outer circle and ventured into the inner circle, because with their level of cultivation, only in the inner circle could they refine themselves and gain substantial benefits.

In the outer circle, they could indeed dominate, but that would only stagnate their cultivation. Any cultivator with a bit of ambition, upon reaching a certain level of power, would move toward the inner circle and core circle, mainly because that was where they could earn ample merits.

While meditating, Wang suddenly opened his eyes and checked his battlefield marking.

"Hmm?" His expression suddenly turned very strange.

Xiaozhu, hearing the noise, turned to look: "What's the matter, young master?"

Wang Yeang glanced at her, "You might not believe this, but Dong Shuye just sent me a message."

"Dong Shuye?" Xiaozhu was astonished.

The Nine Stars Sect's base had been taken, and in his rushed return, the young master had broken three of Dong's spiritual orifices, since then there had been no word from him. Later, news came from the Nine Stars Sect that Dong Shuye had betrayed the sect, and although they issued a warrant for him, they had not managed to apprehend him.

The Spirit Stream battlefield was vast, and unless the Nine Stars Sect dispatched several high-level cultivators to trace Dong Shuye's whereabouts, he would be hard to locate.

The reason Dong Shuye could send Wang a message was, naturally, because they had added each other as "friends"...

This was not because they were friendly, but because as governors of their respective sects' territories, who were mutual enemies, skirmishes often broke out among their junior brothers and sisters, necessitating occasional negotiations between the parties.

Leaving each other's imprints in their battlefield markings also facilitated communication across distances, sparing many inconveniences.

It was initially Dong Shuye who added Wang Yeang.

But he deeply regretted this decision because, since they could contact each other via the battlefield markings, Wang Yeang would occasionally send greetings like "I'll chop off your head" or "come out and die," which greatly annoyed Dong Shuye, who several times considered erasing Wang's imprint.

Since the three spiritual orifices of Dong Shuye were destroyed, Wang Yeang had not sought him out again. His future prospects were doomed, and Dong Shuye posed no threat to Wang. Moreover, being wanted by the Nine Stars Sect, he held little interest for Wang.

Unexpectedly, today he took the initiative to send a message.

"What did he say?" Xiaozhu asked, curious.

"You might not believe it again, but he sent news about that mountain tiger."

"Mountain tiger Lu Yiye?"

Xiaozhu remembered this person clearly. Though not a disciple of Xuanmen, he played a significant role in their conquest of the Nine Stars Sect territory. She had even sold him an Earth-class technique on the young master's orders. Nearly three months had passed, and Xiaozhu did not expect to hear from him again, especially not from Dong Shuye.

The whole matter had an air of eeriness about it, no wonder the young master's expression was so peculiar.

"You should see it for yourself." Wang Yeang said and transmitted the message to Xiaozhu.

Upon reading it, Xiaozhu's brow furrowed deeply.

"Lu Yiye, riding a snow-white tiger, disciple of the Righteous Blood Sect in Bingzhou, a peerless genius, his cultivation increased from Level 3 in the Spirit Stream to Level 5 in just two with two half months, now located at Fengyun Mountain on what appears to be a return to his sect."

Such an abrupt piece of news.

If Lu Ye saw this message, he would probably be stunned. The title of a peerless genius was something he utterly couldn't afford, as his talent was only rated a single leaf back in Evil Moon Valley, something Yue Shan the mustachioed man had teased him about extensively.

"Righteous Blood Sect in Bingzhou?" Xiaozhu said, surprised yet amused: "Young master, seems we guessed wrong. That mountain tiger doesn't seem to be a disciple of some big sect." Enjoy exclusive content from empire

"Yes, we guessed wrong." Wang Yeang said, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth, "But his origins aren't less significant than those top sect disciples."

"Righteous Blood Sect in Bingzhou..." Xiaozhu muttered, vaguely remembering having heard of that sect's name before, but it hadn't really registered until just then when the young master mentioned it: "Is it that sect?"

"Exactly that sect!"

Xiaozhu startled, suddenly realizing something was amiss, "Why would Dong Shuye send young master this message?"

"He wasn't just sending it to me. At the brink of death, he transmitted it to everyone in the imprints of the marking."

"Is he about to die?"

"He is already dead!" Wang Yeang had tried to contact Dong Shuye when he received the message, but the seal belonging to Dong Shuye in the battlefield marking was slowly dissipating, a sign that the other party had died.

In an instant, Wang Yeang understood Dong Shuye's intentions. This simple message could very likely cause a huge stir in the Spirit Stream battlefield, and even across the entire Nine Provinces.

Wang Yeang did not know how many people Dong Shuye had passed the message to, but judging by his choice to indiscriminately broadcast the message, he must have been close to death before sending it, so there was simply no time to discern who was marked in the seals.

Was it the mountain tiger who killed Dong Shuye? It was highly likely, according to the message, that Lu Yiye had reached the Spirit Stream Level 5, while Dong Shuye, having broken his 3rd orifice, had his cultivation fall to Level 6. For some monstrous figures, killing someone a step higher was not difficult.

What a terrifying rate of cultivation. If the message from Dong Shuye was correct, then he had truly underestimated that mountain tiger. Despite not coming from a top-tier powerhouse, that rival might very well be stronger than disciples born into such forces.

Suddenly, a rush of blood surged to Wang Yeang's chest, and he abruptly stood up.

"Young Master?" Xiaozhu did not understand why her young master suddenly seemed ready for battle.

"A grand gathering is about to begin. Let us go and meet the heroes of the world!" Wang Yeang declared, striding towards the door as he ordered, "Spread the news outwards!"

"Oh." Xiaozhu followed Wang Yeang, tapping her own battlefield marking.

At that moment, many people in the Spirit Stream battlefield received Dong Shuye's message. Some were indifferent, having no clue what Dong Shuye intended with this news, but others looked grave and hurriedly reported it higher up.

From one to ten, ten to a hundred, the news had spread across the entire Spirit Stream battlefield in less than half a day, alerting those who were concerned that the righteous Blood Sect of Bingzhou had a genius disciple whose cultivation speed was incredibly fast, having grown from Spirit Stream Level 3 to Level 5 in just over two months.

The world never lacks geniuses in cultivation. Advancing two levels in a little over two months may seem significant, but in the early stages of a cultivator's development, such speed is achievable given sufficient resources and a good cultivation environment, especially for disciples from top-tier big sects.

Or perhaps some serendipity occurred on the battlefield...

What exactly the Spirit Stream battlefield is, where it is located in the Nine Provinces, remains a mystery to this day. Some speculate that the Spirit Stream battlefield has no connection to the Nine Provinces and originates from a world beyond; others believe that this battlefield was a space segregated by powerful beings in ancient times.

Both theories have their reasons, as many relics that do not match the style of the Nine Provinces have appeared in the battlefield, along with some extremely ancient ruins. These sites are usually hidden deeply and unnoticed, but occasionally, some incredibly fortunate individuals encounter serendipity in these places and ascend to great heights thereafter.

If that disciple from the Righteous Blood Sect had some fortuitous encounters in the battlefield, his advancement of two levels in a bit over two months would be explainable.

However, soon, news about Lu Yiye came from within the Nine Provinces.

Less than six months ago, the Haotian Alliance of Bingzhou attacked Evil Moon Valley. After its conquest, ten sects took in disciples. At that time, Lu Yiye was taken in by the Righteous Blood Sect.

His real name is Lu Ye, but "Yiye" was just a nickname someone gave him at the time because when his talent was tested, he was found to have only opened one orifice.

At that time, he had only opened his first orifice!

In other words, in less than half a year, Lu Yiye had grown from a cultivator with one opened orifice to a Level 5 realm—an average of more than one level advancement per month. Compared to advancing two levels in two and a half months, increasing from one to five levels in less than six months was undoubtedly even more astounding!

Yiye's talent was not considered genius-level, and such rapid growth could only be explained by some fortuitous encounter.

Moreover, he did not have a very good cultivation environment, because, on the way back to the sect with Thang Yifeng, the sect master, they encountered an attack.

Afterward, it was reported that although Thang Yifeng had managed to kill the attackers, he himself was severely injured and had been resting and healing in Mount Ao, not leaving for the past six months. As for Lu Ye, he was said to have tragically died in the aftermath of the battle.

Just after taking in a new sect disciple, the Righteous Blood Sect had again lost its legacy...

The Deputy Leader of the Haotian Alliance, Pang Zhen, confirmed this news and, furious, ordered a thorough investigation, catching several big fish secretly colluding with the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge camp. At the time, this incident caused a huge uproar in the entire Bingzhou cultivation world.

But now it seems, Pang Zhen was merely blowing hot air.

Lu Ye had not died; instead, he had been sent by Thang Yifeng into the Spirit Stream battlefield, and even whether Thang Yifeng had been severely injured was still uncertain.

After all, that old fox Thang Yifeng, despite seeming to be a saintly and venerable Daoist, was actually full of trickery... Back then, cultivators from the Ten Thousand Demons ridge camp in the Nine Provinces suffered greatly under his manipulation.

News travels fast in the cultivation world. In just one day, Lu Ye's origins and the incident of the attack en route to the sect with the sect master were uncovered, down to the minutest details.

Some facts simply cannot be hidden. Once there is a clue, those who are keen can connect all the dots.

Suddenly, many sects started taking things seriously. Bingzhou's Righteous Blood Sect, once a majorly renowned sect in the entire Nine Provinces and the nightmare of many opposing forces, was the entity under whose repression the cultivators of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge had struggled to survive in that era.