Sage of Humanity

In the grand hall, Liew Yuemei laughed triumphantly. Xiao Xinghe was heartbroken, staring blankly at the spot where Lu Ye had disappeared, filled with self-blame and regret.

Now, in this situation, he was powerless to intervene in any way. Once the power of an exotic treasure like the combat arena was activated, not to mention a True Lake Level 3 like him, even someone from the Divine Sea Realm could not interfere.

Little Junior Brother and Chen Ke had entered the small space of the combat arena; the outcome was already predictable.

He suddenly looked up, glaring at Liew Yuemei with anger: "Lord Mountain Pass Chief, aren't you afraid of Heaven's Augury backlash for such despicable actions?"

Liew Yuemei stopped laughing and snorted coldly: "Heaven's Augury backlash? I haven't violated any of the terms on the Heaven's Augury Pact, so how could there be any backlash?"

Xiao Xinghe suddenly realized: "Did you tamper with the Heaven's Augury Pact?"

"So what if I did?" At this point, Liew Yuemei no longer needed to hide anything. Entering the combat arena, only one could leave alive, and she believed it would surely be Chen Ke who walked out.

Xiao Xinghe was filled with rage, reaching for his saber hilt, when Lin Yinxiu caught his arm. Xiao Xinghe turned to look, seeing Lin Yinxiu shaking her head slightly.

Xiao Xinghe was only at True Lake Level 3. If he really drew his saber against Liew Yuemei, it would be a breach of hierarchy, defying the higher rank. Liew Yuemei could kill him on the spot without issue.

Xiao Xinghe knew this well, but Liew Yuemei, being in the Divine Sea Realm, calculated against his Junior Brother who was only True Lake Level 3, which made his anger erupt like a volcano.

"Anything is possible before the result comes out," Lin Yinxiu advised softly.

Xiao Xinghe paused, nodding slightly, forcibly calming himself down.

Liew Yuemei sneered, looking at Xiao Xinghe with some disappointment. She had hoped he would attack her just now, so she would have a legitimate reason to kill him.

But that didn't matter much. Just thinking about how Lu Yiye would inevitably die at Chen Ke's hands cleared much of her pent-up frustration from the past days.

...

In the small space of the combat arena, two figures suddenly appeared, standing apart on either side.

Lu Ye's face still held the panic from earlier, but it quickly turned calm.

Chen Ke, who initially wanted to savor the sight, was surprised to see Lu Ye settle down so quickly: "You have a pretty good temperament. What a pity. Tell me, how do you want to die? I'll try my best to fulfill your wish."

Saying this, he summoned his spirit weapon, which turned out to be a spear.

Chen Ke was quite striking in appearance, and with the spear in hand, his aura was profound, exuding a majestic presence.

Lu Ye said nothing, drawing the Boulder Mountain Saber slowly from his waist, silently calculating that this battle couldn't be won too easily. He had to have a hard fight against Chen Ke. If he won too effortlessly, it would only make Liew Yuemei suspicious, leading to unnecessary trouble later. The best outcome would be a narrow victory, killing Chen Ke but appearing severely battered himself, so he couldn't use his Mental Consciousness or some ultimate moves...

It wasn't too difficult to handle this.

Lu Ye's silence made Chen Ke's face darken, and he snorted coldly: "In that case, don't blame me for showing no mercy."

With those words, his figure blurred as he rushed towards Lu Ye.

Lu Ye moved at the same instant.

The two figures charged at each other, colliding in a flash, saber slashing down, spear thrusting out.

With a clang, spirit force surged, and a visible shockwave spread outward from their clash.

Chen Ke's expression turned slightly astonished at that moment because the imagined scene of his opponent collapsing instantly did not occur. The slash from Lu Ye was in no way inferior to his own in both speed and power, resulting in an evenly matched exchange.

This guy... is this strong?

In that instant, Chen Ke secretly rejoiced that Liew Yuemei hadn't sent Qi Wu to fight. Based on what he sensed from this brief clash, Qi Wu might not have been a match for his opponent.

No wonder he dared to enter the combat arena actively; he really had something to rely on.

Clang clang clang...

Chen Ke's mind was racing with thoughts, but his hands didn't stop, as his spear engaged and parried continuously with Lu Ye.

Yet the more they fought, the more shocked he became...

He hadn't used his full strength with the first spear strike, because he thought there was no need to go all out against an opponent whose cultivation was lower by four small levels.

Each subsequent spear attack was stronger than the last, and after six or seven strikes, he was holding nothing back, yet Lu Ye still countered flawlessly.

This made it all feel absurd to him.

Unbelievable, yet undeniable, Chen Ke shouted in anger, frantically unleashing spirit force, intensifying his ferocious assault.

At the clang of a weapon clash, the moment saber met spear, Chen Ke felt a numbness in his palm, causing his spear to lift involuntarily, almost flying out of his hand. Shocked, he gripped tightly, but this left him vulnerable.

A deadly killing intent rushed towards him, causing Chen Ke's pupils to contract because, at that instant, Lu Ye's saber thrust straight at his heart.

In the life-and-death crisis, Chen Ke demonstrated the profound foundation of a sect disciple. Facing such a slash, he didn't lose his composure, merely shifting slightly to the side while his spear thrust out in a life-for-life exchange.

He was fierce, and Lu Ye was no less so.

A hissing sound was heard as both sustained injuries, blood splattering.

Neither retreated, continuing to fight at close quarters.

The battle reached a fever pitch in an extremely short time. Both fought with only attack in mind, barely dodging even when faced with deadly threats.

As such, the fight appeared extremely brutal. In no time, both Lu Ye and Chen Ke were drenched in blood, as if cast from crimson.

With the accumulation of injuries and the prolonged effort, Chen Ke's sharp momentum showed signs of waning. In contrast, Lu Ye remained as steady as ever, his aura unwavering.

In yet another life-for-life struggle, Chen Ke dared not continue, defiantly taking a slash from Lu Ye to swiftly retreat, quickly distancing himself from Lu Ye.

Looking up, he saw Lu Ye standing calmly in his original spot, with no intention of pursuit, his breathing steady. Although he appeared somewhat disheveled, Chen Ke knew his injuries were not severe.

Moreover, throughout the battle, Lu Ye's every action gave Chen Ke a strange feeling.

He suddenly realized: "Were you playing with me?"

A chilling realization surged through his mind. This adversary before him... his strength actually surpassed his own, which is why he was able to control the battle's rhythm from beginning to end.

He could hardly believe the disparity in power despite being both at Level 4 cultivation seemingly meant nothing.

What kind of monster was he facing?

Dare not to delay, he hurriedly took out an elixir pill from his storage sack, swallowed it whole, and urged his spirit force to refine it.

At this moment, taking an elixir pill was naturally not for healing but to squeeze out his own potential. He already sensed that if the fight continued this way, his death was inevitable, so even though the elixir pill was precious and had severe aftereffects, he ignored it.

Once the combat arena is activated, only one can walk out alive. During this time, no one can interfere. To survive, he must do everything to kill the enemy before him.

Lu Ye just watched him indifferently, with no intention of interruption, which only increased Chen Ke's anxiety.

After three breaths, the spirit light around Chen Ke's body suddenly became much denser, and his spirit force almost boiled, with his aura soaring as a result.

Feeling the surging power within, Chen Ke's heart calmed slightly.

"Do you know..." Lu Ye suddenly spoke, his Boulder Mountain Saber twirling into a knife stance, his aura also becoming increasingly condensed.

Yet Chen Ke felt as though facing a formidable enemy. Under Lu Ye's aura influence, an irresistible illusion arose within him.

He knew this wasn't the best time to strike, but he couldn't suppress the fear in his heart.

Knowing that dragging on longer would rob him of the courage to strike, he immediately lunged forward, channeling all his power into the long spear in hand, nearly becoming one with it and turning into a rainbow light.

Enhanced by the elixir pill he had just swallowed, this was undoubtedly his strongest strike so far.

He didn't know if it could kill his opponent, but he knew that if this strike failed, it would be him who died.

In the blink of an eye, he was close at hand.

"If I wanted to kill you..."

Lu Ye thrust his long saber, and in that instant, Chen Ke's pupils shrank suddenly, inexplicably seeing a celestial space rise behind Lu Ye, dotted with Myriad Stars.

The stars fell, their overwhelming light engulfing him.

Each starlight was a glimmer of the saber...

An inexplicable force swept through his mind, causing a sudden brain-splitting pain, dispersing his spirit force, and rendering his all-out spear thrust powerless.

The two figures passed by each other, Lu Ye stood firm, lightly flicked his Boulder Mountain Saber, and sheathed it.

"It's just a matter of one slash!"

Several feet behind, Chen Ke remained in his spear-thrusting posture, as if immobilized by a curse, frozen in place.

His face was pale as paper, his expression twisted and pained, with his entire body trembling slightly.

As Lu Ye's words fell, countless fine blood columns suddenly burst from Chen Ke, especially violently from his chest.

"Mental Consciousness..." Chen Ke murmured, his long spear fell to the ground, and he collapsed forward with a heavy thud.

As Chen Ke's aura vanished, the small space of the combat arena swiftly became illusory.

In the grand hall, Xiao Xinghe waited anxiously.

Suddenly, the Void twisted, vaguely revealing a silhouette in the place where the combat arena disappeared.

Several pairs of eyes swiftly looked over.

Xiao Xinghe's eyes turned bloodshot, fearing he would see a scene he didn't want to, while Liew Yuemei's expression was one of joy tinged with a hint of madness, ready to witness a favorable turn of events.

However, soon her joyous expression turned into one of shock because it seemed that the emerging silhouette wasn't Chen Ke's but Lu Yiye's.

In the blink of an eye, the blurry silhouette solidified into Lu Ye, covered in blood, appearing in the grand hall, breathing lightly. He looked toward the worried and shocked Xiao Xinghe, revealing a smile: "I won."

Crack...

The table in front of Liew Yuemei shattered into pieces.