Translator: Asuka Editor : Dhael Ligerkeys Lu Ye guessed that this had something to do with his recent improvements in terms of strength. It would seem that the stronger he became, the more powerful his Spiritual Patterns would become. In short, his Spiritual Patterns existed on the basis of his Spiritual Power. Furthermore, the long knife in his hand was still very much different from the ordinary iron sword he used before even though it just barely qualified to be considered a Spirit Artefact. Likewise, the power of the same Spiritual Pattern endowed upon a Spirit Artefact and an ordinary iron sword was also different. A Fiery Snake Talisman Paper combined with an attack fortified by the Sharp Edge allowed him to kill a body-tempering cultivator in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm when he was only in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm. In the meantime, his body barely paused as he bypassed the body-tempering cultivator and reached the gaudily-dressed Young Master in an instant. The Young Master was clearly frightened. The main reason was that everything had happened too quickly. He had just been thinking about studying the Spirit trapped inside the Mystic Spirit Bell. All of a sudden, a snow-white tiger rushed out after Senior Brother Zhang threw a punch at the huge bell. The tiger was closely followed by a vicious cultivator that immediately came for the kill. Before he could understand the situation, the body-tempering cultivator standing in front of him collapsed to the ground while clutching at his own neck… At the juncture of life-and-death, he instinctively shoved the woman in his embrace in front of him. The woman was completely caught off guard when he pushed her toward Lu Ye’s blade. Looking absolutely terrified, the woman could only watch helplessly as the sharp and cold light of a blade flashed in front of her eyes. She only had time to activate her Spiritual Power to protect herself before her vision began to turn upside-down and she quickly lost consciousness. Taking advantage of the short time bought by the woman’s sacrifice, the Young Master hurriedly took out a Spirit Talisman Paper from his Storage Bag, poured his Spiritual Power into it, raised his hand, and threw it out in front of him. Lu Ye’s ferocity had scared him out of his wits. He rarely fought anybody directly. Whenever he killed anybody, his two Senior Brothers would usually capture the opponent or beat his opponent half-to-death first before they let him deal the finishing blow. Thus, he had never experienced such a dangerous and adrenaline-fueled scene in the past. He even forgot to retrieve his Mystic Spirit Bell to protect himself. On the other hand, Lu Ye was extremely calm from the beginning to the end. He had a clear goal in front of him. Therefore, he managed to be as imposing as a Ninth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master even though he was only in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm! The character of a person was related to their past experiences. In this case, it was only natural for a Young Master who had been enjoying all sorts of luxuries since he was a child to be inferior to a miner who had struggled just to survive. All of a sudden, a whip-like attack appeared in front of Lu Ye. He was not surprised by this. Even that burly man had a Golden Body Talisman Paper to protect himself, so this Young Master would definitely have one too. The Spiritual Power in his body surged and erupted. Both his Macrocosmic Orbit and his Microcosmic Orbit were operating to their limits. His eyes overflowed with Spiritual Power, allowing him to clearly see where that attack would land. Then, something triangular that looked like a shield with complicated and intricate patterns flowing across it appeared on his chest. It was the Protection Spiritual Pattern! Almost at the same moment that the Spiritual Pattern was formed, the attack from the Spirit Talisman Paper arrived. He felt a huge force smashing right into him, causing him to feel a sudden tightness in his chest and a shortness of breath. He did not know how much the attack had impacted him. Nevertheless, he had no time to pay attention to his injuries at the moment. He had already rushed in front of the Young Master. Under the Young Master’s helpless gaze, he stabbed his knife forward. The protection formed from the Spiritual Power that the Young Master had managed to call up in his haste was as flimsy as paper mâché. It was penetrated by the long knife in an instant and the sharp blade pierced through his shoulder, causing blood to splatter everywhere. A blood-curdling scream rang out. On the other hand, Lu Ye pulled his knife out, turned around, and came to stand behind the Young Master with his knife pressed horizontally against the Young Master’s neck! The Young Master’s screams stopped abruptly. His entire body froze in place when he felt the cold touch of metal on his neck. Only a total of five seconds had passed since the tiger revealed itself until now. During that time, Lu Ye had broken through the defence of the sturdy body-tempering cultivator, cut down that woman in the Second-Order Spirit Creek Realm, and then captured the Young Master in front of him. In between, he had consecutively activated the Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern thrice and the Protection Spiritual Pattern once. There was no time for him to think about anything throughout the entire process. He had unsheathed his knife and killed those people all in one go. It had all happened very quickly. “Ow!” The tiger’s low roar came out. Its powerful figure flew backward, slammed against the rock cliff nearby, and slid to the ground. It was no match for the Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master at all. Therefore, it immediately fell into a disadvantage in just a few short moments. Even so, the winner showed no signs of joy whatsoever at his victory. He turned back to look at the chaotic battlefield behind him with eyes filled with complete disbelief… Junior Brother Sun was lying on the ground, clutching at his neck. His eyes were staring wide open and his body was twitching endlessly. Although he had yet to die, there was no saving him with that level of injury. Junior Sister Yuan’s headless corpse was lying by the side, blood spurting out of her neck with a gurgling sound. Her pretty head had rolled to the side with a lingering expression of horror and fear that remained on her face. The Young Master was bleeding profusely from his shoulder. A long knife was pressed against his neck and a hidden figure stood behind him. Only the eyes of that figure were exposed, staring at Senior Brother Zhang like a lone wolf. The look in those eyes was ferocious and decisive! [What’s going on!?] Senior Brother Zhang felt his scalp tingling in fear. [I only fought the snow-white tiger for a moment. How did my three other companions end up in a situation where two were dead while the other was injured and captured in those few moments!? And, who are these people!?] The tiger that was sent flying earlier got to its feet and walked over. However, it did not rashly attack Senior Brother Zhang again. That was because it could sense that it was no match for the other party. Besides, Lu Ye had already managed to capture one of their opponents. There was no need to be so anxious anymore. “Release the Spirit!” Lu Ye shouted, staring at Senior Brother Zhang. “Who are you?” Senior Brother Zhang asked through gritted teeth. The names of numerous accomplished opponents flashed through his mind, but he could not match Lu Ye’s appearance to any of those names. Lu Ye withdrew his long knife and brutally stabbed it into the Young Master’s leg. A piercing scream rang out and the Young Master practically fell to his knees. It was only because Lu Ye was holding him up that he managed to regain his footing. Pulling out the long knife again, Lu Ye pressed the knife back against the Young Master’s neck once more as blood splattered in the air. He looked at Senior Brother Zhang and repeated his previous words. “Release the Spirit!” “You…” Senior Brother Zhang felt as though his eyes were going to pop out of his eye sockets. He had underestimated Lu Ye’s decisiveness and ferocity. Even though all he did was utter something non-relevant, his actions had caused the Young Master to suffer another wound. Thus, the meaning behind the other party’s actions came across loud and clear. If he dared to speak nonsense again, the Young Master would be stabbed again! He did not know where the knife was going to stab next. With the Young Master being held hostage, even a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master like him was completely powerless since he did not dare to rush forward. It really made him feel extremely aggrieved. Ensuring the safety of the Young Master was his top priority at this moment. Otherwise, he would not be able to complete his mission and report back to his superiors. Looking gloomy, he said, “The Mystic Spirit Bell is a Spirit Artefact handed down by one of the Seniors of our Sect. It is not easy to release the huge bell once it is triggered. It will take some time!” Slice. The light of a blade gleamed for a moment and an arm went flying in response. The Young Master who was being held captive in front of Lu Ye was taken aback for a moment, then his entire body began trembling violently. He screamed loudly but did not dare to make any strange movements. That was because the weapon pressed against his neck could slice through his neck in a heartbeat at any time. He roared, “Zhang Wu, are you trying to kill this Young Master!? I will punish your entire family down to the last ancestor!” “Release the Spirit!” Lu Ye’s voice was low. It was obvious that he was losing his patience. “I’ll do it! I’ll do it! I’ll release the Spirit!” Snot and tears were flowing down the Young Master’s face unchecked. The pain was driving him crazy and the only reason he did not faint was that he was also a Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master. He lifted his remaining arm with great difficulty and cast a Secret Technique. Following that, the Mystic Spirit Bell that was upside-down on the ground immediately flew upward. The huge bell spun slightly and shrank rapidly before it flew back into the Young Master’s hand. Lu Ye was stunned. Only then did he realise that the Spirit Artefact had been under the Young Master’s control… Yi Yi, who had been trapped inside the huge bell, was freed from her restraints. She immediately rushed toward the tiger, plunged headlong into the tiger’s body, and disappeared out of sight. Although Senior Brother Zhang had intended to pull some dirty tricks, he did not dare to act rashly. Glancing at Lu Ye, who was hiding behind the Young Master, he slowly said, “Let the Young Master go. Today’s affairs will end here and we’ll leave it at that. I can swear on the Heavenly Oath.” “Okay!” Lu Ye responded. He reached out and shoved the Young Master from behind. The Young Master staggered forward a few steps. Before he could rejoice at escaping the jaws of death, he felt a fountain of hot liquid gushing out from his neck. “How dare you!?” Senior Brother Zhang roared wildly.