Translator: Truth Editor : Dhael Ligerkeys Thank goodness the ward wasn’t controlled by someone, or Lu Ye wouldn’t even bother to try and breach it. The difference between a grand ward that was controlled by someone and one that wasn’t was like night and day. Even the most inexperienced controller would be able to make various adjustments to the grand ward, and right now Lu Ye was incapable of adapting to those changes. This one was static because it did not have a controller, so he could easily target its weaknesses. The Spiritual Power circulation of the grand ward grew slower and slower as he continued to pour his energy into the ward flag, but it was far from enough. He was losing Spiritual Power at a rapid pace, so Lu Ye quickly drank a bottle of Mystic Fruit cider and stuffed a couple of Spirit Pills into his mouth to replenish his Spiritual Power. Time passed bit by bit. It was a slow and arduous process, but Lu Ye could see that it wasn’t a hopeless endeavor. He continued to pour his Spiritual Power into the ward flag. Even more time passed, and the flow rate of the grand ward’s Spiritual Power was less than half of what it was. However, Lu Ye also felt a substantial increase in resistance from the grand ward. His ward flag had become as heavy as a mountain, and he could feel an obvious pushback of energy from it. Not only that, he was losing Spiritual Power at an increasing rate. Despite consuming the Mystic Fruit cider and Spirit Pills non-stop, he wasn’t quite able to keep up with the rate he was losing energy. Suddenly, a soft creak drew Lu Ye’s attention like a bee’s sting. His heart sank when he realized that a tiny crack had appeared on the ward flag he was holding. Right now, he was suppressing the grand ward’s flow of Spiritual Power with his thirty two ward flags. To put it simply, he was singlehandedly fighting against the grand ward. Even if the ward wasn’t controlled by anyone, it was still one of the most powerful grand wards he had ever faced. This was evident from the fact that his ward flag was getting damaged from the pushback of energy. Lu Ye became nervous. It would be a damn shame if he failed because his ward flag could not withstand the pressure. He might have forged the ward flag himself, but the materials had been provided by Bai Qian. Since he had gifted Bai Qian the Soul Cleansing Water, the great elder had reciprocated with the best materials to forge his ward flags. Even so, the ward flag wasn’t going to hang on much longer. Creak creak creak! More cracks appeared on the ward flag. It was as if the item was made of clay instead of metal, and it looked like it could shatter any minute now. Lu Ye hurriedly increased his output of Spiritual Power. At this stage, the only thing he could do was to invest it all in a do-or-die gamble. Spiritual Power started draining out of his body like an open dam. His hard work wasn’t wasted. The grand ward’s Spiritual Power slowed more and more until finally, it stopped dozens of breaths later. Lu Ye’s face was completely flushed when he shoved his hand into his Storage Bag. Four auras zoomed across the air the second he raised his hand. The four Spirit Artifacts made a full circle in the air before descending on top of the nodes like lightning. At the same time, Sharp Edge flashed across every Spirit Artifact. Lu Ye’s heart leaped to his throat as he stared at the affected nodes. He even forgot to breathe for a moment. There was a short struggle between the grand ward and his Spirit Artifacts before he heard what could only be described as the sound of breaking glass. At the same time, dense cracks started spreading from where the four telekinetic weapons had struck. Finally… Shatter! It was as if someone had brought a hammer to a giant mirror. Both the grand ward and his thirty two ward flags abruptly shattered into a million pieces! It had only been half a month since he created the ward flags. To think they would all shatter into pieces in this test! Even Lu Ye himself was thrown back by the sudden eruption of Spiritual Power and slammed against the floor. Lu Ye hurriedly climbed to his feet as he panted like a dog. Joy was peeking out of his pale white face though. It was because he had singlehandedly breached a grand ward. It was no cheap trick that the enemy could easily adapt to either. He had actually breached a grand ward in its entirety purely through his own power and skill! Of course, this wasn’t max difficulty per se since it wasn’t controlled by anyone. Then again, he hardly needed to take down an entire grand ward on his own when attacking a Thousand Demon Ridge Outpost. Heavens know what Thousand Demon Ridge would think when they learned of this. He could only hope that they wouldn’t pass away from sheer shock. It would be a waste of Contribution Points. The loss of his ward flags was a small issue. He could just forge another set when he exited the tower. What troubled Lu Ye was the fact that he was almost out of power, and there probably wasn’t much time left on the clock. He highly doubted that he would be able to pass the next test. That was fine though. He was satisfied with this. Lu Ye sat on the floor and adopted a meditative position. Since there was no chance he was going to overcome the next test, he might as well use this time to catch some rest. To Lu Ye’s surprise, no second test appeared after the grand ward was destroyed. In the past, the tests came one after another without giving him a chance to catch even half a breather. He wondered why. A million thoughts were running through his mind when suddenly, a palm-sized ball of light floated in front of his eyes. It wasn’t as big as some of the rewards he had seen earlier, but its color was much richer than normal. It probably meant that it contained an incredible volume of information. [I cleared the thirty-third floor already?] Lu Ye thought to himself in surprise. It was only now that he realized that the grand ward was the thirty-third floor’s one and only challenge. It was a surprise, but one that he welcomed greatly. This seemed to suggest that his earlier theory was correct. The rewards bestowed by the Hundred Wards Tower was determined by the initial level of one’s attainment when they initially entered the tower. Since he wasn’t particularly good when he first entered the tower, he was rewarded handsomely even though had overcome the test of the thirty-third floor only once. Another ball of light descended from the air. Its color wasn’t as rich as the first one, but it was the size of a washbasin. Frankly, it scared Lu Ye to see it. He had never seen such a huge reward before. Would it kill him the second he imprinted it into his head? Moreover, this was the first time ever he was given multiple rewards by the tower. He was still weighing the risks and rewards when the basin-sized ball of light landed on the floor. Then, it scattered into nothing and— Plink plank plunk… A bunch of items hit the floor with a series of metallic clangs. As it turned out, the reward was unlike any of the rewards he had obtained before. It was because it contained not a massive volume of information regarding the Way of Wards, but actual items. To be exact, it was a bunch of pitch black ward flags! He counted thirty two of them in total, and they made a perfect set. [The Hundred Wards Tower has a reward like this?] Lu Ye was surprised because he had never heard of the Hundred Wards Tower rewarding a set of ward flags. In fact, he was the first ward cultivator ever in the history of Jiu Zhou to ever receive such a reward. Again, Lu Ye didn’t mind this because it was exactly what he needed right now. He had been planning to head back to the forge and forge a new set of basic ward flags for himself. While he fully expected to forge them better and faster than he did at the beginning, it was still going to take some time and effort to perform the task. Now, that was no longer necessary. He did not bother inspecting these ward flags because the basic ward flags were thirty two flags a set, and they were good enough for most ward cultivators up to the Cloud River Realm. These ward flags were clearly extraordinary, so he didn’t think he would be able to make sense of them in a short time. He decided he could inspect them later when he wasn’t on a time limit. After he put the ward flags into his Storage Bag, he finally made a grab for the ball of light still floating in front of him. This was the third-third time he absorbed the ball of light, and his Divine Soul was much tougher than it was at the beginning. Unfortunately, the experience remained as bad as before. Outside the Hundred Wards Tower, every cultivator was holding their breaths and waiting to feel its unique vibration. When it did, thunderous applause and cheers filled the valley instantly. It was because they had witnessed the birth of a miracle, one that would go down in the history books as one of the most memorable events of its time. They still didn’t know who the mysterious challenger was, but the facts that the feat had taken place in the Heavenly Derivative Sect, and that they were all ward cultivators were more than enough for them to feel proud and honored about it! Yu Xiao and Bai Qian exchanged a glance with each other and let out a long, long sigh of relief. It was finally over. It had been a terrifying half a month, but they were finally free from the mental torment. Although they were utterly amazed by Lu Ye’s achievement, they had a lot to complain about the boy as a matter of course. The brat had turned out to be a bigger troublemaker than anyone could have imagined, but in the end, their Hundred Wards Tower only had thirty three floors. He could be the incarnation of the god of troublemakers, but even he had to stop for the moment. Their inner monologue aside, they were extremely envious of the Crimson Blood Sect as a matter of course. Any sect who had him was basically guaranteed to have a bright future, not to mention that the boy wasn’t even a pure ward cultivator. An idiot could tell why he really started cultivating the Way of Wards. If one day he could focus completely on the Way of Wards, Heavens only know how far he could go. One thing for certain though, Thousand Demon Ridge’s time of peace was over. Heck, a shake-up that would affect the entire Spirit Creek Battlefield was looming on the horizon. Yu Xiao could not help but recall a certain past several decades ago. At the time, a Crimson Blood Sect disciple had led a storm of change that affected the entire Jiu Zhou. Wherever the banner with a golden flame and a red background went, all Thousand Demon Ridge forces had backed away like it was their bane. Without exaggeration, the Crimson Blood Sect of that time had stood at the pinnacle of the world! [Is the Crimson Blood Sect going to rekindle their former glory?] All things considered, Yu Xiao was really glad that he had formed an alliance pact with Elder Tang of the Crimson Blood Sect in secret when the old man was here. The cheers in the valley eventually subsided, and the ward cultivators began meditating and finding inspiration from the resonance once more. However, their heads were all turned toward the entrance to the Hundred Wards Tower. It wasn’t just the ward cultivators either. Everyone wanted to know who the mysterious challenger was. Several painful hours later, their long wait finally came to an end. A young man pushed open the door and stepped into the open. There were many who didn’t recognize him, but those who did felt both astonished and a strange sense of understanding. They thought, “Oh, I should have figured it out sooner.” Zhao Li was thought to be dead, but that belief was disproved a while ago. Naturally, Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect must be alive as well. Lu Ye wasn’t expecting to see the sea of people gathered around the valley at all. Even Yu Xiao, Bai Qian and some of the Real Lake Realm cultivators of the Heavenly Derivative Sect were present as well. They were clearly the higher-ups of the sect. “Sect Master Yu, Elder Bai.” Lu Ye went up to them and saluted them respectfully. Bai Qian nodded with a kind smile on his face. He might have ranted and raved at Lu Ye in his head when the young man was challenging the tower, but there was no changing the fact that Lu Ye had, against all odds, created a miracle to be remembered for many years to come. He might still be a Spirit Creek Realm cultivator, but he could no longer treat him like one anymore. Plus, Lu Ye had gifted him eight drops of Soul Cleansing Water. That gift alone obligated him to give the young man preferential treatment. It was because the Soul Cleansing Water had given him and Yu Xiao the chance to ascend to Divine Ocean Realm and improve their sect’s Tier.