Moral coercion?
Taking advantage of the chaos?
A flock of sparrows stirred while the dove tried to nest?
Lu Ye looked at these people and confirmed who his enemies were.
He had no intention of turning against the human race. Fortunately, these dumb bastards didn’t represent the whole of humanity.
“Then let’s begin.”
Lu Ye stood up, taking a single step forward.
His figure seemed to ignore all spatial distance—within a blink, he appeared before Gu Qingtian. The stone sword in his hand erupted with a dazzling flash of sword light.
A sharp, tearing screech rang out through the void.
Gu Qingtian’s face changed. A phantom green lotus bloomed above his head, releasing endless rays of what looked like chaotic energy that cascaded down to form a powerful defense.
The sword light slammed into the lotus aura.
Boom!
Gu Qingtian was blasted backward, crashing through a small mountain, a trail of blood mist lingering behind him the entire way.
Lu Ye’s figure didn’t pause for even a breath. He vanished in an instant once more.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sword light screamed through the air, shrill and ferocious—a terrifying display of speed and power.
Fast.
Too fast.
Some couldn’t even defend themselves before being cut down, dying on the spot.
One man, one sword—this was punishment for their offense.
“Lu Ye!”
Ding Yuqing’s face changed drastically. She cried out.
He couldn’t kill them all. Over something like this—if Lu Ye slaughtered everyone here, once they returned to the Great Wilderness, there’d be nowhere left for him to stand.
Lu Ye didn’t listen.
His sword strikes only grew more intense, more terrifying.
Typical sword qi—or most sword qi—was known for its sharpness. But Lu Ye’s sword qi was never just sharp.
It was forceful and sharp.
Each arc of sword qi felt like a heavenly seal, crashing down with the power to shatter the skies.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Clouds of blood mist burst one after another.
Shangguan Wuchang’s expression shifted drastically. Before entering the Heaven’s Chosen Ancient Battlefield, he’d once said “Then I’ll die”—but that didn’t mean he actually wanted to die.
“Protect me!”
He roared.
The powerhouses of the Supreme Empire rushed in front of Shangguan Wuchang, their artifacts glowing with radiant energy.
Lu Ye, having already flung aside those who had spoken earlier, now stood before the cultivators of the Supreme Empire.
“Lu Ye! I bear the Supreme Imperial Seal—if you kill me, the Supreme Empire will never stop hunting you down!” Shangguan Wuchang shouted.
At those words, the cultivators of the Supreme Empire almost cursed him aloud.
Why say that? You might as well just beg for your life.
Lu Ye gave a faint smile. The stone sword pointed straight at the gathered Supreme Empire cultivators.
His foot slammed into the earth.
Boom!
The ground trembled violently.
Countless sword lights swirled around Lu Ye, forming into a piercing cone of force.
“Die.”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Massive clouds of blood erupted as Lu Ye tore through the ranks of Supreme Empire cultivators—impaling Shangguan Wuchang along with them.
Even in his final moments, Shangguan Wuchang’s eyes were filled with disbelief.
Madman. This guy was a fucking madman!
How dared he?
Didn’t he realize that the more he killed, the more freely he slaughtered here, the more certain it became that the moment he left the Heaven’s Chosen Ancient Battlefield—he’d face complete annihilation?
With that final thought, Shangguan Wuchang’s consciousness was utterly extinguished.
A beam of light flew rapidly toward Lu Ye.
Lu Ye reached out. The imprint of the Supreme Imperial Seal landed in his palm.
With a casual twist of his hand, Dao clashed with Dao—grinding, shattering, dispersing into nothingness.
And it wasn’t over.
Lu Ye’s gaze turned toward the wounded figures all around him.
Protecting the human race?
In his past life, he had protected the human race. In this life, he could do the same.
Love and sentiment should exist beneath heaven and earth—not vanish just because he himself had lost them.
But this “human race” did not include those who chose to stand in his way on his path.
Lu Ye moved again.
Then kill them all cleanly.
Ding Yuqing could no longer stay composed—she stepped directly in front of Lu Ye.
“Lu Ye, you can’t keep killing,” she said urgently. “You still have to leave here. They’ve already been taught a lesson—if you keep killing, even Grand Dao Sect won’t be able to protect you anymore.”
They had instigated this first. Lu Ye’s retaliation had been heavy-handed, yes, but still defensible.
But now? They were already severely wounded. If he kept going, even Grand Dao Sect wouldn’t know how to justify it anymore.
“Senior Brother Lu, please... that’s enough.”
Linghu Wushuang ran over too, trying to talk him down.
“She’s right, Lu-shixiong. Calm down!”
Xiao Huarong followed, joining in the effort.
Lu Ye...
He had originally intended to kill them all, but looking at the worry in the eyes of his Grand Dao Sect peers, he smiled lightly.
There were still people who cared about him?
Sigh...
“Just one more. The last one.”
Ding Yuqing clenched her fist. Lu Ye’s strength was terrifying—so overwhelming it chilled her to the bone.
There was only one phrase to describe this battle.
Utter devastation.
She knew that if Lu Ye truly wanted to act, there was no way she could stop him.
The only reason he was holding back now—was as a favor to her.
One more...
“You’re not planning to kill...”
Lu Ye nodded, giving her a gentle smile as he stepped past her.
His target: Gu Qingtian.
Gu Qingtian crawled out of the rubble, his face a mix of shock and rage.
“Fine, fine! You’re truly powerful, I—”
His aura suddenly surged, breaking through the Core Infant realm and stepping into the Void Refinement stage in an instant.
But that was all the time he had to speak.
Lu Ye’s sword descended vertically with one slash.
This beam of sword light was hundreds of feet long, laced with wind and mist, crackling with lightning and thunder.
Gu Qingtian roared in fury.
“Eternal Green Lotus, Heaven-Dominating Sky!”
The illusion of a massive green lotus swelled, shielding the entire sky above him.
The sword light crashed into the lotus.
It shuddered violently.
Veins bulged faintly beneath Lu Ye’s arms as his force pressed downward.
“Break!”
Boom!
The green lotus exploded into powder.
The colossal sword light crushed everything—Gu Qingtian included—and carved a deep trench into the earth.
The world fell silent.
Lu Ye sheathed his stone sword and looked around at everyone present.
“This was done by me, Lu Ye alone. If anyone seeks revenge, come find me. I’ll be waiting.”
“And...”
“Never mind. Just get lost.”
Lu Ye’s figure disappeared, reappearing beneath the Dao Comprehension Tree. He closed his eyes once more.
His face remained as calm as still water.
The battle just now—fierce as wildfire—now seemed like a mere illusion.
All the cultivators present stood frozen, as if someone had nailed them in place.
No one spoke for a long time.
Ding Yuqing’s scalp tingled.
She looked around and said, “Um... let’s leave. Disturbing someone’s cultivation is rude. Whatever we need to talk about, we can do it somewhere else.”
Arguing or protesting here was out of the question.
If Lu Ye got mad again and came out swinging, Ding Yuqing feared she wouldn’t even have anyone left to ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ argue with.
Li Wubai’s eyes were filled with pure excitement—his whole body trembled.
Strong.
That sword intent just now... too strong!
He couldn’t suppress the fear in his heart—but the more he feared, the more exhilarated he became.
One by one, people left, dragging corpses or helping the severely wounded.
Lu Qingyan had wanted to take Gu Qingtian’s body with her—but Gu Qingtian was already nothing but paste.
She...
Was suddenly very glad she hadn’t said a word earlier.