Sage of Humanity

Fortunately, this big array was unhosted, otherwise Lu Ye would have had no point in trying. An array with someone in control and one without are two different things altogether; if someone controlled the array, its variations would be plentiful, and with his current strength, Lu Ye simply couldn't make suitable adjustments.

But an unattended array was different. It was unchanging and susceptible to being targeted.

As he continued his actions, the flow of spirit force within the array seemed to slow down a little, but this was far from sufficient.

Spirit force consumption wasn't trivial, so Lu Ye quickly took out a bottle of Breath Fruit wine and downed it, and stuffed several elixir pills into his mouth to continuously replenish his spirit force.

Time slowly passed, and the flow of spirit force in the array gradually slowed down, giving Lu Ye, who was making persistent efforts, a glimmer of hope for breaking the array.

After a long while, the speed at which the array's spirit force flowed had fallen to less than half of what it was before. At this point, Lu Ye clearly felt an even greater resistance. The array banners in his hands felt as heavy as a thousand jun, and he could feel a significant force pushing back from them.

The depletion of his spirit force accelerated, even as Lu Ye consumed Breath Fruit wine and ate elixir pills relentlessly but struggled to fully compensate.

A crackling sound echoed, and the hard-pressed Lu Ye fixed his gaze just to feel a chill in his heart because a fine crack had appeared on the array banner in his hand.

Relying on the thirty-two array banners to suppress the flow of the array's spirit force was akin to battling against the entire array. Even though the array was unattended, its intrinsic depth was still present. The impact caused by the flow of spirit force was immense, resulting in damage to the array banner.

Lu Ye grew anxious. If the breakthrough failed because of the array banner, it would be a terrible pity.

The array banners were made by him, but the materials were provided by Bai Qian. Bai Qian, who had received the Soul Cleansing Water from him, naturally provided the best materials. Even so, they were now struggling to hold up.

Crackling noises ensued; more cracks appeared, and the carefully crafted array banners seemed to become fragile like porcelain, ready to shatter at any moment.

Lu Ye quickly increased the infusion of his spirit force.

Now was the time to give it his all.

His spirit force drained away like water gushing through a breached dam, but his efforts finally paid off. The flow of the big array's spirit force was rapidly suppressed, and within just a few dozen moments, it completely stalled.

Lu Ye's face reddened as he fumbled in his storage sack and, with a raise of his hand, four streams of light flew out.

The four Spiritual Artifacts circled halfway up in the air and then, with the speed of lightning, bombarded the positions where the array's nodes were located.

As the attacks struck, a light flashed over each Spiritual Artifact, augmented by Sharpness spirit runes.

Lu Ye's eyes were fixed on the spot where the attacks landed, his heart lifting, and he even forgot to breathe.

After a brief standoff, a snapping sound rang out, and a dense network of cracks appeared at the points struck by the artifacts, quickly spreading outward.

With a crash...

As if an immense mirror had shattered, the entire protective array broke apart loudly, and with it, so too did Lu Ye's thirty-two array banners!

The array banners, crafted just half a month ago, turned into pieces amidst this trial.

Even Lu Ye himself was thrown backward by the shock of the array's spirit force being dispelled instantly, landing heavily on the ground.

Scrambling up, Lu Ye gasped for air, his pale face showing a trace of contentment.

He had broken a protective array with his own power, and not by easily targeted methods like before, but genuinely broken it!

Although this array was unattended, greatly reducing the difficulty of breaking it, if he were to actually assault the encampments of the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge forces, he wouldn't need to go to such lengths to dismantle an entire array. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire

From this day on, no protective arrays at the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge encampments on the Spirit Stream battlefield could stop his advance.

He wondered what the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge would think when they learned of this, hoping that by then, no one would be gone.

The shattered array banners were a minor issue; he could simply carve another set when he found the time.

What made Lu Ye somewhat distressed was that his spirit force was nearly depleted, and there probably wasn't much time left, possibly not enough to pass the next challenge.

He was satisfied.

Lu Ye sat down cross-legged; since he couldn't pass the next challenge anyway, he might as well not bother with it and take this opportunity to rest properly.

But, to Lu Ye's surprise, after the protective array was broken, there was no second challenge.

Normally, after passing one challenge, another would follow immediately, giving no respite. But this time, for some reason, it was different.

While Lu Ye was full of suspicion, a palm-sized glow suddenly floated down before his eyes. Although this glow wasn't as large as the previous ones, its color was much more intense.

One could imagine that the benefits contained within this glow must be extraordinarily vast.

Had he passed the thirty-third level's challenge? Lu Ye was momentarily stunned before realizing that the thirty-third level's challenge consisted solely of that one protective array, with nothing else.

This was indeed a pleasant surprise.

And it looked like his prior speculation was correct: the rewards granted by the Hundred Arrays Pagoda were related to the initial level of Array Path expertise when entering the pagoda. Since his expertise wasn't very high when he came in, even passing just one challenge on the thirty-third level had earned him extremely generous rewards.

```

Another clump of luminescent light drifted down, and though its color wasn't as dense, it was the size of a washbasin.

Lu Ye's expression grew increasingly solemn.

Such a massive clump of luminescence was unprecedented, and if it were to imprint itself in one's mind in an instant, wouldn't it be deadly?

Moreover, to receive two clumps of light after surpassing the thirty-third layer's test was unlike any previous instance.

As he was contemplating this, the washbasin-sized luminescence fell to the ground and dispersed.

Clang clang...

Something scattered all over the ground.

This luminescence, different from previous rewards, didn't contain vast knowledge of array paths; instead, it enveloped various objects.

Lu Ye focused his gaze and discovered poles of pitch-black array banners! After a quick check, there were precisely thirty-two of them.

Was this also a boon bestowed by the Hundred Arrays Pagoda?

Lu Ye was somewhat astonished; he had never heard of obtaining array banners as a reward for challenging the Hundred Arrays Pagoda. For all those array cultivators who came before, the benefits they had received were all intangible and beneficial to their mastery of array setups, nothing like being given array banners.

But this was precisely what Lu Ye needed at the moment.

He had originally planned, upon getting out, to spend some time at Tianyan Sect's training square crafting a new set of basic array banners. Since he had already made one set before, it wouldn't take much time to create another, and he would make it even better.

Now, with the reward from the Hundred Arrays Pagoda, it saved him some trouble.

Without investigating these array banners further, a set of basic array banners was precisely thirty-two; through different combinations and connections between the banners, it was enough to meet the needs of array setup and destruction within the Spirit Stream Realm and even the Cloud River Realm.

At first glance, these array banners were extraordinary. There was no rush; he could study them carefully when he had time.

After securing the array banners, Lu Ye then reached out towards the luminescent light before him.

Even after experiencing it more than thirty times, and even though his psyche was much more resilient than when he first entered the Hundred Arrays Pagoda, the experience was always miserable.

Outside the Hundred Arrays Pagoda, the cultivators waiting with bated breath sensed the unique vibration, felt the enlightenment from the resonance of the pagoda, and broke into cheering that rose and fell in waves.

They were here to witness the birth of a miracle, the making of history that would likely be recorded in the annals. Although they still did not know the identity of the one who challenged the pagoda, this was Tianyan Sect, and they were array cultivators. They shared in the glory!

Yooi Xiao and Bai Qian exchanged a glance, both letting out a long sigh of relief.

At last, it was over!

The pair had been on tenterhooks here for half a month, no longer needing to endure the torment of suspense.

They were shocked at Lu Ye's abilities, but still harbored some resentment deep down; the darn kid had caused such a fuss. With all his talent, he should just continue making a fuss. Tianyan Sect's Hundred Arrays Pagoda only had thirty-three layers, and if he wanted to continue, there would be nowhere for him to do so.

That said, both of them were filled with immense envy.

Righteous Blood Sect had taken on a fine disciple indeed! With such a disciple, how could the sect not prosper in the future? Moreover, the kid was not strictly an array cultivator. Even a fool could see his purpose in cultivating array paths. If he were to continue solely on the path of arrays, who knew how high he might rise?

The days ahead for Ten Thousand Demons Ridge would likely not be easy! Not to mention, the entire Spirit Stream battlefield would surely see a significant change.

This made Yooi Xiao feel somewhat dazed as he remembered some events from decades past. In that era, it seemed that a disciple from Righteous Blood Sect had set the trend for the Nine Provinces. Wherever the flag with a red base and golden flames went, Ten Thousand Demons Ridge would retreat three feet.

In that era, Righteous Blood Sect was at its zenith!

Was the pattern and splendor of the past about to reemerge?

Yooi Xiao felt relief on one account; during Veteran Thang's last visit from the Righteous Blood Sect, he had made a pact of alliance in secret with Thang.

The cheering in the valley gradually subsided, and the array cultivators began using the resonance of the pagoda to comprehend the essence of the Array Path. Cultivators who were not array experts craned their necks in anticipation, looking towards the direction of the Hundred Arrays Pagoda, all eager to know the true identity of the person challenging the tower this time.

After a painstakingly long wait, the great doors at the base of the Hundred Arrays Pagoda were pushed open, and a figure stepped out from within.

Many didn't recognize the young man emerging from the Hundred Arrays Pagoda, but there were some who identified him, mildly surprised yet feeling it was within reason.

If Zhao Li, who was thought to have perished, was still alive, there was no reason for Lu Yiye of Righteous Blood Sect to have died.

Lu Ye hadn't expected that so many people would have gathered in the valley, which usually was quiet, and that even Yooi Xiao and Bai Qian, among others, were waiting for him. Not just them, but also some True Lake Realm cultivators from Tianyan Sect, clearly high-ranking members of the sect.

"Sect Master Yooi, Veteran Bai," Lu Ye stepped forward and saluted.

Bai Qian replied with a smile and a nod, looking friendly. Regardless of how anxious and skeptical he'd been while Lu Ye was facing the challenges within the pagoda, the outcome was now clear before his eyes. The young man standing before him might not be high in cultivation, but he couldn't be regarded as a mere Spirit Stream Realm cultivator any longer.

Moreover, Lu Ye had previously gifted him with eight drops of Soul Cleansing Water, tangible benefits indeed. With those Soul Cleansing Waters, both he and Yooi Xiao had a chance to advance to the Divine Sea Realm, raising the grade of Tianyan Sect a notch.

```