Translator: Asuka Editor : Dhael Ligerkeys A short while later, the Mystic Sect cultivators under Chu Tian’s leadership found a tunnel to rest and recuperate. Chu Tian leaned against the rock wall, waiting for the people from the Sect to deliver the supplies while using his Battlefield Imprint to send out a message. Inside the base of Mystic Sect, several large buildings were scattered among the Spirit Peaks like the pieces on a chessboard. The Spiritual Qi lingered among the mountains and the base was enveloped in a dense fog. The situation inside could not be seen from the outside. It was clear that the base was protected by a Grand Array. In a courtyard located on one of the mountain peaks, the handsome and dashing Wang Yang dressed in white stood by the fish pond. He casually threw some fish food into the pond and watched the Koi fish in the pond competing for it. Xiao Zhu stood behind him quietly. All of a sudden, Xiao Zhu activated her Battlefield Imprint and quickly checked something. She lifted her head and said, “Young Master, Chu Tian encountered the Mountain Tiger. He invited the other party over for a visit but was rejected.” Wang Yang said nothing. He finished feeding the fish and dusted off his hands. Walking over to a chair nearby, he took a seat and sipped on a cup of tea. Only then did he speak unhurriedly. “It’s within my expectations. Somebody like that would not enter the base of another Sect so easily.” “Then, why did you invite him over, Young Master?” She was puzzled. He chuckled. “Many of our Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters in the Sect have received his saving grace. They even profited because of him. It’s only natural that we should extend a sign of sincerity. It is our choice whether or not to invite him. Likewise, it is his choice whether or not to accept the invitation.” She made a non-committal sound in response. “What else did the message say?” “Chu Tian confirms that the Mountain Tiger does indeed have a powerful Spirit Artifact in his possession. Also, that person called himself Yi Ye.” “Yi Ye?” He looked pensive for a moment, then he shook his head. The name was completely unfamiliar to him. Intriguing rising stars would pop up in the Cultivation World of Jiu Zhou from time to time. Few people would know of their existence before they debuted in the world. But, their light would be dazzling indeed once they began to shine. Needless to say, many rising stars would be eliminated before they could begin to shine. The Cultivation World was full of dangers, especially in this chaotic Spirit Creek Battlefield where countless geniuses died every year. “Chu Tian also claimed that this person seemed to have mastered a defensive Spiritual Pattern. That Spiritual Pattern could be used at will during battle and was capable of defending against the attacks of a Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master.” During the battle, Lu Ye had frequently activated the Spiritual Patterns in his arsenal. The Sharp Edge Spiritual Pattern was less noticeable because it was endowed upon the long knife. Even if it was activated, an outsider would only assume that it was a prohibition that came with the long knife. They would not think too deeply about it. On the contrary, the Protection Spiritual Pattern was not the same. Even if the Spiritual Pattern would vanish in an instant, there was no concealing it from Chu Tian’s intentional observation. “A defensive Spiritual Pattern that could be used at will during battle!?” He was actually a little shocked now. “A Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master!?” It had to be said that Spiritual Patterns were extremely complicated and mysterious. Therefore, it required a long time to learn and research the Spiritual Patterns. He himself had tried his hand at learning Spiritual Patterns when he was bored in the past. However, the lines and patterns recorded in the books were incredibly complicated and confusing. Reading the books left him feeling drowsy every time. It also made his head buzz painfully. In the end, he tore the book to pieces with his own hands and gave up on it… “That’s what Chu Tian said.” The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. “Which major Sect did this freak come from!?” Wang Yang had reached the conclusion that Lu Ye was definitely a disciple from one of the top major Sects who probably came to the Outer Circle for training due to a low cultivation base. The reason he formed such speculation was entirely due to Lu Ye’s shocking performance recently. According to the data from Mystic Sect, just based on what they had seen in the past few days, no less than 20 Nine Star Clan cultivators had lost their lives at Lu Ye’s hands. Furthermore, many of them were Fourth-Order Spirit Creek Realm Masters. Being able to kill beyond one’s cultivation was an indicator that a person came from a major Sect. A small Sect could not have produced such astounding disciples. Moreover, Lu Ye had a beast for a pet. That majestic beast was not something an ordinary person could subdue. Combined with the information that Chu Tian brought back today, Wang Yang was becoming more and more certain of his conjecture. Only a person who came from power could have such profound heritage and capability to activate a Spiritual Pattern in battle despite only being in the Third-Order Spirit Creek Realm. The name ‘Mountain Tiger’ was something Wang Yang himself came up with. That was because, in his opinion, Lu Ye was a fierce tiger climbing a mountain! “This manner of letting a disciple out to roam in the wild is a bit like something that Sect in Tian Zhou would do. Not to mention that there are many top Spiritual Pattern Masters there!” He murmured thoughtfully. Xiao Zhu did not know which Sect Wang Yang was referring to. All she knew was that the Mountain Tiger with the name ‘Yi Ye’ came from an unusual background. She asked, “Young Master, should we help him in secret?” “There’s no need for that.” He waved his hand dismissively. “He came out for training, so his survival has nothing to do with us. Why should we help him? If we don’t handle this matter well, we might end up hurting him instead.” Many of the major Sects had the habit of letting their disciples out to roam freely. These talented disciples would leave the protection of their Sects while their cultivation was still low and travel the world on their own to hone their skills. Although this manner of doing things was very risky, these people would far exceed their peers once they successfully developed their strength. That was why there was an unwritten rule in the Spirit Creek Battlefield: The major Sects could not retaliate even if their disciples in training were killed. This was the price they had to pay for the sake of growth. In any case, the major Sects were not short of talented individuals. They generally did not grieve the death of these geniuses, unless the dead disciple was a relative of a high-ranking individual in the Sect. Nevertheless, that would only count as the private act of revenge of an individual. It had nothing to do with the Sect. If Wang Yang could speculate that Lu Ye was a disciple from one of the major Sects, then it was only natural that Nine Star Clan would also come to the same conclusion. Even so, the Nine Star Clan did not give up hunting Lu Ye down. It wasn’t that the Nine Star Clan was not worried about the major Sects. It was just that they knew the major Sects would not trouble them over something as trivial as this. “Besides, this war began because of that person. Mystic Sect has helped to draw enough pressure away from him. If he knew what was good for him, he should obediently come and grovel at my feet to thank me instead!” He laughed lightly. She rolled her eyes at his words. As his personal maid, she knew much more than other people. The declaration of war might seem like Mystic Sect was simply taking advantage of the situation, but the truth was that it was premeditated. It was just that he had failed to find the right time to implement this plan. Lu Ye killing the Young Master of Nine Star Clan had simply given the opportunity for him to do so. Putting it that way, Lu Ye could be considered his lucky charm. He was about to leave for the Inner Circle of the battlefield. A Seventh-Order Spirit Creek Realm Master was nothing special there, so there was a high chance he might face extremely dangerous situations. That was why he wanted to deal a huge blow to the Nine Star Clan before he left. By doing so, even if something happened to him later, the situation here would be stable for a while until somebody could replace him. “How are the casualties?” Wang Yang asked. “30 have died, but 70% of them are rogue cultivators,” Xiao Zhu replied. He nodded at those words. The results were quite satisfactory to him. He ordered, “Intensify the efforts and end this declaration of war as soon as possible!” [Ending this declaration of war as soon as possible is only the beginning of my plan!]