Sage of Humanity

Enveloping Senior Brother Zhou was the tiny bell spirit artifact that Lu Ye had obtained from the Young Master of the Nine Stars Sect. For the past days, he had been nurturing it with his own spirit force, which proved quite effective. Although he hadn't fully refined the restrictions within it, he could at least unleash some of its power.

By channeling the power of the spirit bell, it could trap the enemy. That was exactly how Yiyi had been trapped before. As for other powers, Lu Ye was still unable to utilize them for the time being.

The sudden turn of events had occurred in the blink of an eye. Among the five cultivators from Cloudy Mountain, Senior Sister Yooi was killed, and Senior Brother Zhou was trapped, leaving only the last three at Level 3.

Before they could even grasp what had happened, Lu Ye had already charged at the one nearest to him with his knife drawn.

The man retreated frantically, hastily drawing his weapon to meet the enemy, yet Lu Ye had already brushed past him.

This Level 3 cultivator instantly froze in place, his body shook slightly and then he plunged to the ground, quickly staining the earth red with blood water.

Although both were at Level 3, how could a prepared, sharp blade be blocked by one who was caught off guard? At the moment of contact, life and death were determined. Read new chapters at empire

Lu Ye was already pouncing on the second Level 3 cultivator. It seemed to be Junior Brother Siong, the one who had almost wet his pants due to fright caused by Amber and Yiyi. He had slightly more time to react, but facing a ferocious assailant like Lu Ye, he had lost all courage to resist. He waved his weapon around wildly, retreating in panic, and even screamed, "Don't come any closer!"

That did nothing to delay his inevitable death. Lu Ye dashed up to him, swinging his knife down. In terror, Junior Brother Siong instinctively lifted his weapon to block, and a faint spirit light emerged from it.

This was also a low-grade Spiritual Artifact.

Such low-grade Spiritual Artifacts typically have reinforcement spirit runes imprinted within, since low-level cultivators fought in close-quarter combat. Having sturdier weapons meant that they could last longer in battle; otherwise, if the weapon broke mid-fight, they could only await death.

Just as the two Spiritual Artifacts were about to collide, Lu Ye flicked his wrist, and the Longsword missed the opponent's block, slashing down at an angle.

Had this been right after he left Qingyun Mountain, the slash would've been relentless, shattering the opponent's weapon first, but after surviving numerous life-and-death battles in the Sky-Splitting Gorge, Lu Ye's combat experience had significantly enhanced.

The slash nearly split the opponent's chest open, the beating heart faintly visible inside the ribcage.

"Ah!" The man screamed as he fell to the ground, not yet dead.

Lu Ye flipped his Longsword and stabbed down.

Junior Brother Siong convulsed violently for a moment before stiffening, then lay lifeless.

Lu Ye pulled out his Longsword, splattering hot blood, and without hesitation, turned to kill the third Level 3 cultivator.

This person was entangled by Amber, and Yiyi had also sprung into action, continuously causing distractions. As a Spiritual Body, she was extremely agile and elusive. The combination of the tiger and the spirit might not be able to harm him seriously, but they were more than capable of holding him off.

Seeing Lu Ye successively slay his two fellow sect members, the man realized he stood no chance. As he parried Amber with one hand, he scrambled through his storage sack with the other, hurriedly pulling out a Spirit Talisman.

Just as he was about to release the Spirit Talisman, Lu Ye was upon him, and his knife came swinging down!

The hand clutching the Spirit Talisman was severed at the wrist.

The severed hand dropped to the ground, blood sprayed, and a scream rang out, followed abruptly by silence. Lu Ye's Longsword had accurately pierced his mouth, penetrating the skull, and with a vigorous stir, crushed the man's vitality.

Amber was panting heavily on the side, and Yiyi ran up excitedly, "Lu Ye!"

Lu Ye flashed her a smile, but before he could speak, a loud boom sounded from not far away.

Lu Ye turned his head to look and saw the surface of the spirit bell flickering with spirit light, the tiny bell that was originally only the size of a water jar had swollen significantly.

After all, he had not completely refined the spirit bell and could only bring out some of its ability to trap the enemy. Moreover, the time it could hold the enemy was short. Senior Brother Zhou, with his Spirit Stream Level 5 cultivation, would certainly not sit still while trapped. His vigorous efforts to break out shortened the confinement time even more.

If Lu Ye didn't retrieve the spirit bell soon, the Spiritual Artifact would quickly be destroyed. The external defense of this bell was stronger, as it was, after all, a lifesaving Spiritual Artifact. Relatively speaking, it was easier to break from the inside.

"Take Amber further away!" Lu Ye hastily instructed as Amber was still recovering from injuries, and after being besieged by the group from Cloudy Mountain, it had been injured again. Its snow-white fur was now dyed red, and with its strength, it could hardly contribute to the upcoming battle.

Yiyi, without any fuss, merely admonished Lu Ye with concern, "Be careful!"

She took Amber a little further away but kept her eyes fixed on Lu Ye without blinking, ready to rush over with Amber at the first sign of trouble, ready to contribute whatever they could.

Lu Ye nodded and quickly ran toward Senior Brother Zhou. Midway, he tapped his hand and the spirit bell immediately flew up, shrank rapidly, and fell back into his hand.

As he retrieved the spirit bell, he had already leaped high, swinging down hard with his sword.

Senior Brother Zhou had just escaped from confinement when he saw a bright flash of the blade near his eyes. He lightly tapped forward with his Longsword, hitting right in the middle of Lu Ye's blade.

Lu Ye's form became unstable for a moment, not only was his attack broken, but he also staggered backwards.

Senior Brother Zhou immediately took advantage of the situation, his Longsword flickering with thrusts, sending out clusters of sword flowers in an attack that wasn't ferocious but persistent, forcing Lu Ye to retreat step by step.

This was the first time Lu Ye had encountered such an opponent. When he killed people, it was always with one fast, accurate, and ruthless slash, either severing the enemy's weapon or their body, cleanly and neatly. Even the Level 4 cultivators from Nine Stars Sect couldn't withstand his blade imbued with Sharpness.

But this Senior Brother Zhou's swordsmanship was exceptionally skilled, leaving Lu Ye at a loss for how to strike. The few hasty slashes he made not only were neutralized by the opponent, failing to injure him, but also allowed the opponent to inflict several wounds on him in return.

Lu Ye also activated the Defense Spirit Runes for protection, but the opponent's Longsword was like a snake, elusive and unpredictable, always avoiding the defense to strike at his body, causing him to waste some spirit force in vain.

Unless he activated a set of spirit runes that could be completely placed in front of him, he couldn't defend himself at all.

But to truly activate such spirit runes, not to mention the enormous consumption, Lu Ye wouldn't be able to attack either.

This kind of intense struggle was completely different from his initial battle with Luo Ji. Luo Ji was a magic cultivator; the magic and spells he deployed were always traceable, and Lu Ye's spirit runes could block them.

Senior Brother Zhou was a combat cultivator specializing in close combat; his sword strikes were difficult to predict.

So even though Luo Ji was equivalent to an average Level 5 cultivator, the feeling of combat with him was entirely different for Lu Ye. He could defeat Luo Ji, but he was certainly no match for Senior Brother Zhou.

After retreating over a dozen meters, the opponent's offense became even more intensive. Lu Ye immediately understood that in terms of combat skill, he was streets behind!

He had only truly begun his cultivation a few months ago, whereas this Senior Brother Zhou, at the Spirit Stream Level 5, who knew how long he had been cultivating, had his own mastery of swordsmanship.

If this continued, defeat was certain!

Lu Ye's heart hardened, and he spurred the protective spirit force to its full extent. Without care, he unleashed a ferocious slash. The Longsword in his hand flashed with spirit light, the Sharpness enhanced!