Sage of Humanity-Chapter 1540 - 1538: My Blade...

Lu Ye suddenly understood something and realized the true nature of this so-called opportunity exclusive to combat cultivators.

Originally, he thought that only by passing this test could he attain the opportunity.

But now it seems that the test itself is the greatest opportunity!

After this, his saber skills would definitely advance to a higher level, which is a benefit that normal hard cultivation could not provide.

As for why it involves combat cultivators... Lu Ye couldn't understand, but according to Duu Lang, this opportunity had appeared in the desolate land for a hundred years. During that century, it had manifested several times.

If it were a tangible opportunity, it would have been taken away long ago, leaving only this peculiar opportunity to be preserved.

This is likely the result tacitly approved by the strong cultivators of the four galaxies, leaving such an opportunity here to allow combat cultivators from the home galaxy to temper themselves and enhance their combat abilities.

However, Lu Ye soon noticed something unusual. His opponent seemed to possess a strong learning ability because once Lu Ye found and countered a flaw, that flaw disappeared and would never appear again.

During the fierce battle, time slowly passed by.

Initially, Lu Ye was able to maintain balance between them by constantly seeking out flaws, but as the opponent's saber skills continuously improved, flaws became harder to find, until Lu Ye could no longer find any exploitable opportunities.

Combat returned to a state of equilibrium, and neither side could do anything to the other!

But Lu Ye knew that if things continued this way, he would be the one to lose; in fact, without the Talent Tree, he would have already been defeated because the wounds caused by the opponent's long saber were too bizarre.

Right now, although the Talent Tree is restraining the Mysterious Power of the opponent's long saber, if he doesn't resolve the opponent, this battle will never end...

He must think of a way to take down this opponent.

This is the downside of insufficient information. Cultivators like Xu Dingyang and Luo Shenzhi, who know the details of the opportunity, would never feel the urge to defeat another version of themselves because they know it's too difficult, almost impossible.

At this moment, it's been two days since the internal opportunity on Planet Tengu was activated. During these two days, cultivators have continuously appeared out of nowhere outside Planet Tengu, all of them combat cultivators who were still inside before.

The first group to appear had looks of obvious disappointment and frustration because they lost too early and didn't gain much benefit from the opportunity. However, the later the cultivators appeared, the more joyful they looked because they gained enough benefit.

Lih Shang, who was waiting outside, was unaware of the situation, as Lu Ye had yet to emerge, making it impossible to inquire about the circumstances.

Fortunately, Duu Lang appeared, greeting with a joyful expression.

Lih Shang hurriedly asked, "What's the situation inside?"

Duu Lang quickly recounted his experience, and upon hearing it, Lih Shang showed a thoughtful expression, then asked many details, all of which Duu Lang answered truthfully.

Finally, she asked, "How did you get out?"

Duu Lang said, "I got out naturally after losing."

Lih Shang understood, knowing that since Lu Ye had not appeared, he must still be fighting inside, having not yet lost.

However, it seems that the timing of a cultivator's defeat doesn't relate to their cultivation level because a Late Stage Constellation cultivator had already emerged, yet Duu Lang, an Early Stage Constellation, only appeared now. Since everyone inside encounters versions of themselves, those who can more accurately perceive their own shortcomings can persist longer.

Lu Ye was completely unaware that losing would allow him to leave. Currently, he's single-mindedly focused on defeating the opponent in front of him.

But everyone has the same background, the same strength, and even identical combat styles. Anything Lu Ye can execute, the enemy can also perform; achieving such an outcome without employing any External Force is essentially an impossible task.

Yet he remains persistent because he thought of a possibility!

When he first entered the hall, a Mysterious Power swept over his body, then the statue transformed into his likeness, acquiring all the techniques he had at that moment.

If that's the case, then if he now possessed a new technique, perhaps he could defeat the opponent.

However, he probably only had one chance because once he executed that technique, the opponent would definitely be able to do the same.

Back when battling Blood Hero, Lu Ye discovered a problem: with his current strength, it's hard to threaten cultivators with far superior strength. Take Blood Hero for example: at that time, saintliness had suppressed his cultivation to Moon Jade Early Stage, but the Boulder Mountain Saber could at most inflict some simple wounds on him, without much impact.

If it weren't for Lih Shang initiating a soul battle, extinguishing the opponent from the psyche, Lu Ye would have had no way against Blood Hero in that fight.

Recently, Lu Ye has been thinking about how to solve this problem; changing sabers is impossible, and the Divine Sharp Edge Spirit Runes couldn't make the Boulder Mountain Saber sharper.

After much thought, he indeed came up with a solution, though this idea has yet to be fully perfected.

Until this time, during a life-and-death struggle with another version of himself, Lu Ye felt it was time to try it. If it works, perhaps it could end decisively; if not, then other plans must be made.

With a calm heart and clear gaze, the Boulder Mountain Saber was raised, blocking an attack from the opponent.

The duel had been ongoing for several days, and since it was a fight with another version of himself, they already knew each other inside out. It was almost as if with a mere lift of a hand, the opponent would know exactly what was coming next.

Seizing the moment the opponent withdrew their blade, Lu Ye suddenly gripped the hilt with both hands. This unusual action clearly caught the shadow across from him off guard, as up until now, Lu Ye had only wielded his blade single-handed.

The sound of tides subtly rose, yet this time, there were no sweeping flashes of the blade. With both hands on the saber, Lu Ye advanced swiftly and struck down towards his foe.

The timing of this slash was exquisitely precise, giving the opponent no chance to parry. Yet at the point of impact, a Sacred Guard Spirit Rune shimmered into existence on the enemy's skin.

Such clashes between the Divine Sharp Edge and Sacred Guard had happened countless times over these past days. The spear and the shield were in constant stalemate, with neither able to best the other.

But this time, things felt notably different. Not only had Lu Ye's expression become more focused, but the opponent's face also turned grave.

As the Boulder Mountain Saber cleaved into the Sacred Guard, it was not simply empowered by the Divine Sharp Edge, but looking closely, countless tiny, dense tides surged and flowed in a rapid current.

In an instant, the blade of the Boulder Mountain Saber seemed to transform into a serrated edge, the minute tides upon it flowing with even more ferocious intensity.

This was Lu Ye's alternative application of the Tidal Sea Ten Thousand Waves, an approach he'd been contemplating recently.

His thinking was simple: since the sharpness of the Boulder Mountain Saber was no longer sufficient to threaten opponents with particularly strong physiques, instead of trying to enhance its sharpness which was too challenging, he considered a different angle — if it isn't sharp enough, sawing could work too.

A saw can't chop any piece of dry wood but it can saw through it easily.

This was the first time using this method against an enemy, he hadn't even tried it out before, so he wasn't sure of its effectiveness.

Thus, with this strike, Lu Ye was watching intently.

The effect was immediate; the Sacred Guard Spirit Rune, which could have withstood a blow with additional divine sharp edge power, shattered in an instant under this assault, allowing the Boulder Mountain Saber to slice smoothly into the foe's body, cutting from the shoulder blade down to the entrails!

The scene froze as the enemy stood unmoving, looking at Lu Ye with amazement.

Lu Ye panted heavily, the relentless combat over these days had taken its toll on him, but fortunately, this strike hadn't let him down.

"You've won!" The figure identical to Lu Ye suddenly spoke.

Lu Ye was startled.

He hadn't heard the opponent speak at all since their fight began, believing them to be a manifestation of some mysterious power, and didn't expect they could actually talk.

Being able to talk... Did that mean they were alive?

Yet no blood flowed from the wound; the incision opened by the Boulder Mountain Saber was clean and smooth, not like that of flesh and blood.

Instinctively, he tried to pull his saber back, only to find it stuck. The opponent's opened flesh clamped tightly to the blade.

As the opponent struck with a slash of their own, Lu Ye had no choice but to retreat.

His expression was grim.

This was the second time recently that he had lost his saber; the first was in that secret place when the Great Lust Demon Spider had caused him to lose his Boulder Mountain Saber, but fortunately he managed to slay the Great Lust Demon Spider and retrieve it.

The shadow stood there with the Boulder Mountain Saber embedded in their body, seemingly unaffected, gazing with a smirk at Lu Ye. "I had planned to spend my twilight years in this cursed place, but I didn't expect to encounter a young guy like you. Since you've won, I can only honor the ancient pact! But kid, remember this: never lose your own saber again!"

As these words were spoken, a shocking scene unfolded before Lu Ye; the Boulder Mountain Saber embedded in the shadow's body began to melt quickly and was entirely absorbed by him.

Lu Ye raised his hand in anguish, "My saber..."

The Boulder Mountain Saber had been his loyal weapon since shortly after he began cultivation. He had even hoped to find a Phoenix Sky Blue Crystal to advance it to a magic treasure. Yet now, the Phoenix Sky Blue Crystal was nowhere to be found, and the Boulder Mountain Saber had been absorbed!

This shadow... What in the world was it?

Moreover, what did he mean by some kind of ancient pact?

Though furious at heart, Lu Ye did not act rashly, as he sensed that the shadow's strength was certainly not limited to what it had displayed previously.

What he had seen might just be the tip of the iceberg.

He tried linking with the red talisman, but still, there was no response.

As Lu Ye pondered his next move, the shadow spoke again, "Kid, don't live too long. This old man has been asleep for far too long and just wants to wake up sooner!"

With that, and under Lu Ye's astonished gaze, the entire figure began to rapidly dissolve.