Translator: Truth Editor : Dhael Ligerkeys Both sides confirmed each other’s cultivation level after a moment of observation. The two cultivators on the other island were Seventh-Order cultivators. They carried a saber and a sword, respectively, and they looked like combat cultivators. Before the island got close, the thinner of the two cultivators called out to them, “Which faction do you belong to, fellow cultivators? We belong to Grand Sky Coalition!” Their Battlefield Imprints weren’t responding yet because they were still pretty far away from each other. At a close enough range, the imprints would automatically light up and expose the person’s faction just like when they had fought the two Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators before. This was one of the rules of the Battle Royale of the Legates. It made it easy for the cultivators to recognize each other’s factions. Lu Ye did not respond to the thin cultivator’s call. He simply stared at the man expressionlessly. The thin cultivator said again, “If you don’t mind, can you please show your Battlefield Imprints, fellow cultivators? We would like to avoid friendly fire, you see.” This time, Lu Ye responded by channeling his Spiritual Power and raising one arm. The next moment, a fat Fire Bird flapped its fat wings and flew straight toward the opposing island. Hua Ci was so stunned by how… rotund the Fire Bird was that she blanked out for a second before following up with an Aquamarine Arrow. This was the first time she saw Lu Ye using a spell technique, much less one with such an impressive style. If not for the inappropriateness of the occasion, she would have burst out laughing already. Now she understood why Lu Ye had put away his saber… The spells had been launched straight at the other party. While Lu Ye could not tell if the other party was lying, he was certain they harbored questionable motives at the very least. In Jiu Zhou and the Spirit Creek Battlefield, it was common sense for unfamiliar cultivators to hide their factions from each other. That they had given up their faction so readily only made him suspicious. That was why Lu Ye had decided to attack first. If the other party was from the Grand Sky Coalition, then he wouldn’t mind offering them an apology after the islands were merged. But if they hailed from the Thousand Demon Ridge, then he would be making the first move against them. One way or another, he wanted the initiative to be in their hands, not the other party’s. There was a burst of Spiritual Power as the thin cultivator exploded in anger, “How dare you launch a surprise attack against us! You must be looking to die real bad!” The guy was mouthy, but he certainly wasn’t slow. Both men dodged out of harm’s way in an instant. Neither Lu Ye’s Fire Phoenix Technique nor Hua Ci’s Aquamarine Arrow was particularly fast or powerful, not to mention that they were still quite some distance away from each other. Therefore, it wasn’t difficult for them to dodge the spells. For a time, Lu Ye and Hua Ci threw ineffective spell after ineffective spell at their opponents until finally, the two combat cultivators decided it was a bit humiliating to dodge enemy fire without retaliating at least a little. A quick discussion later, they fished out Spirit Talisman Papers from their Storage Bags, activated them and threw them at Lu Ye and Hua Ci. For a time, spells flew between the closing islands like colorful fireworks. Fire Birds, Aquamarine Arrows, Golden Arcs and Icicles flew all over the place. While retaliating, the thin cultivator declared with a malicious grin, “Two little Sixth-Order spell cultivators, huh? Just you wait. You’re going to regret attacking us real soon!” Suddenly, both parties swayed unsteadily on their feet. It was because the two islands had finally collided with each other. As if on cue, Lu Ye and Hua Ci floundered all over the place as if they had no sense of balance at all. On the other hand, the two combat cultivators quickly steadied themselves and rushed toward Lu Ye and Hua Ci at high speed. As the distance between them shortened, the back of everyone’s hand started glowing brightly. While Lu Ye and Hua Ci’s glowed blue, the two combat cultivators’ glowed red. Grand Sky Coalition? No, they were obviously Thousand Demon Ridge! “You are dead!” The thin cultivator uttered in a chilling tone while dodging Lu Ye’s spells. He was just a few seconds away from the young man now. When his companion charged toward Hua Ci, the young woman immediately ditched Lu Ye and fled in haste. “Haha!” The thin cultivator cackled at the sight. It was always a treat to watch fellow partners abandoning one another to escape his wrath. The thin cultivator dodged one last spell before leaping high into the sky. He unsheathed his sword with a victorious look on his face. Not only did his opponent fail to maintain his distance from a combat cultivator, his cultivation level was an Order lower than his. This was his victory no matter how you looked at it! It was at this moment he saw Lu Ye pulling a saber from his Storage Bag. “Hmm?” A tinge of worry suddenly colored his features. When Lu Ye swung the saber at him, and fiery red Spiritual Power covered his vision, that worry reached peak level in an instant and transformed into terror! Clang! His sword was sent flying in the first strike. As he was in mid-air, he would only watch as Lu Ye’s saber—it looked like the entire blade was on fire because it was covered in red Spiritual Power—cut through his arm and his body! “Aiya!” The thin cultivator let out a bloodcurdling scream as he was sent flying. A shower of blood exploded from his body, and his arm flew lifelessly into the air. It was only now he realized that the Sixth-Order young man wasn’t a spell cultivator after all. He was a combat cultivator! Still, how did he cast his spells so quickly? It wasn’t like he never suspected that the young man was trying to pull a fast one on him, but his casting speed had dispelled his doubts. It was the kind of speed that was only attainable with an incredible amount of practice. [That crafty little bastard!] The thin cultivator swore in his head while making a hand seal with his remaining hand. His Spiritual Power cycled furiously as his sword sang and transformed into a beam of light. Unfortunately, a saber flashed across his vision before he could do anything with the sword. The next thing he knew, his life had already departed his body. It had only been three breaths since the thin cultivator charged Lu Ye… After Lu Ye had slain his opponent, he wasted no time in rushing to Hua Ci’s aid. Although the young woman had great running speed, she was ultimately no match for a combat cultivator. She was about to be caught up when a bloodcurdling scream caused the man’s heart to skip a beat. When he turned to look behind him, he saw that Lu Ye was approaching him at high speed. [My partner died? But how? Also, I thought that young man’s a spell cultivator, so why is he wielding a saber?] One difficult question after another popped into his head. He was just deciding whether to turn around and face Lu Ye or continue his pursuit when suddenly, vertigo struck him without warning. He had accidentally stepped on a gray mushroom. Nigh invisible spores clung to his body and entered his lungs as he breathed. He had no idea what just happened, but he instinctively channeled his Spiritual Power and chased away the uncomfortable feeling. It was only a moment’s delay, but Lu Ye was already in front of him and swinging his saber. He had no choice but to fight the young man. Metallic clangs rang across the battlefield. Sparks flew everywhere as Spirit Artifact clashed against Spirit Artifact. Since she no longer had to flee for her life, Hua Ci turned around and cycled her own Spiritual Power. Suddenly, the Spiritual Light surrounding the Seventh-Order cultivator grew dimmer and dimmer. Lu Ye could visibly feel his enemy’s moves weakening with each strike. At the beginning, his enemy had performed exactly as a Seventh-Order cultivator would. Two moves later, his Spiritual Power suddenly weakened as if some sort of invisible power was suppressing a portion of his strength. It actually dropped to that of a Sixth-Order cultivator. Lu Ye could have killed a Seventh-Order cultivator with little effort, much less a Sixth-Order. That said, he wanted to see how Hua Ci’s mushrooms performed in battle, so he dragged out the fight instead of ending it immediately. It didn’t take long before the enemy cultivator’s Spiritual Power weakened yet again. This time, not only did his strength fall to that of a Fifth-Order cultivator, the ominous scene he saw at Mount Ying reared its head once more. Tiny mushrooms started growing out of the man’s eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth. It was terrifying to say the least. This time, even the enemy noticed that something was terribly wrong. After he drove Lu Ye away with an attack, he yelled at them in panic and anger, “What did you do to me?” “Is this all?” Lu Ye asked Hua Ci. “More or less, yes.” “Okay. You can kill him now.” “Who, me?” “Duh? He’s worth 14 Contribution Points, you know?” “But my hands are made for healing the wounded and saving lives, not murder,” Hua Ci complained with an affronted look. “I’ll take you both to the grave with me!” The Thousand Demon Ridge cultivator roared in fury before charging straight toward Lu Ye. Not only had they treated him like air, they had discussed the value of his life right in front of him. No one could have borne such humiliation. It was too late though. Before he could reach Lu Ye, the tiny mushrooms growing out of his head suddenly exploded in rapid succession like tiny fireworks. When the explosions ended, the man’s face was a gruesome goo of melted flesh, and he hit the ground with a resounding thud. Even the blood pooling beneath his body was greenish red instead of normal red. A pair of red lights then flew toward Hua Ci and Lu Ye respectively. The Contribution Points went to Hua Ci, and the Blessing Lu Ye. Lu Ye looked at Hua Ci and held a gaze for a moment. She smiled innocently as she asked, “Why are you staring at me like that? It’s the mushrooms that killed him, not me.” What could Lu Ye even say to that? In the end, he decided to ignore it and focused on gathering the loot. While he was inspecting the Battlefield Imprint, he suddenly realized that he got not one, but two Blessings. In other words, these two Thousand Demon Ridge cultivators had killed a team of cultivators and stolen their Blessing prior to meeting them. His face turned thoughtful when he realized this. From the looks of it, the longer they survived and the more enemies they killed, the greater the rewards they would receive. He could only imagine what kind of reward they would receive if they managed to kill the final team. After all, every time a participant team dies, the Blessing they paid as the entry cost would be transferred to the victor. After the battle, Lu Ye and Hua Ci proceeded to investigate the other island. While crossing over, they discovered that the two islands weren’t actually merged into one seamless whole. They were just stuck together like a pair of magnets. At the same time, they were both floating in a certain direction. Hua Ci walked to the other island with a spring in her step. She was going to grow her mushrooms, of course. Ideally, she wanted to transform every island that floated their way into an invisible death trap. This way, anyone who dared to enter their territory would have to endure hell. Lu Ye did not follow her this time. There was no danger since the enemies had already been killed. Lu Ye discovered that the World Spiritual Qi of the island had become richer after the merging. Since he hadn’t used up much energy during the fight, it only took him a moment to return to full strength. Two hours later, Hua Ci returned to his side while humming a song he had never heard before. She seemed to be in very high spirits. “Your mushrooms seemed more powerful than before,” Lu Ye voiced his thoughts. He was pretty sure they weren’t this strong when she had used the same tactic against that Seventh-Order cultivator at Mount Ying. They hadn’t taken effect nearly as fast either. “Senior Sister Shi Yuan’s the one who taught me,” she explained. Lu Ye exclaimed in surprise, “She knows how to grow mushrooms as well?” “No, but she does have the foresight and the experience. It’s no problem for her to instruct a small cultivator like me.” He couldn’t deny that. As if seeing through his thoughts, Hua Ci added, smiling, “All medicine cultivators are experts in poison. Whether they’re willing to use it this way is another matter entirely. After all, how can you heal without knowing the illness? How can you treat poison without knowing poison? If you think that medicine cultivators are easy to bully just because they look soft and cuddly, you’ve got another thing coming.” “I’ve never underestimated anyone before, and I’m not about to start now!”