Sage of Humanity-Chapter 772 - 770: Never See This Guy Again

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The dense woods enveloped Ying Wuji who perched upon the trunk of a large tree, activating his Secret Technique to conceal his form and restrain his breath.

Of Lu Yiye's might, he had naturally heard recent tales.

Alone he stood against two hundred foes from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge, leaving his enemies to crumble and scatter.

Outside Heaven's Augury City, under the watchful eyes of the public, he slew Xia Liang with his saber, his reputation soaring high.

Such fearsome strength was beyond his means to confront directly, he admitted to himself, feeling utterly outmatched.

However, for a specter cultivator executing assassinations, the disparity in cultivation was never the principal concern. Like sword cultivators, their faction was innately capable of defeating enemies of higher realms.

But unlike the upfront approach of sword cultivators, specter cultivators always operate through stealth and guile, so no matter how powerful Lu Ye was, as long as he found an opportunity, he could kill him in one strike!

He had once suffered a major loss at the hands of Lu Ye. Previously, when Song Zhui led a group of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators to attack the Great Reversal Spirit Ground, Song Zhui distracted Lu Ye in the open while he lay in ambush. Barely within thirty feet of Lu Ye, he was inexplicably discovered, injured by Lu Ye's Formation, and forced to flee.

Gravely weakened, he healed deep within the Great Wilderness Mountain. By ill fate, he encountered Lu Ye departing from Great Reversal Valley via a teleportation array, suffering another setback.

At that time, Lu Ye was only at Cloud River Level 6, while he had already reached Cloud River Level 9!

It was a humiliation beyond compare!

After that encounter, he returned to the Nine Provinces sect headquarters and while healing, he diligently practiced the Secret Technique of Senluo Hall.

Half a year passed, and at last, he made significant progress.

Though his cultivation had not increased, his strength underwent a heaven-shaking transformation, and the previous losses at the hands of Lu Ye were debts he intended to repay.

It wasn't just this reason that compelled him to challenge Lu Ye.

More importantly, back in Great Reversal Valley, when Lu Ye perceived his concealed presence, he always felt it wasn't through the might of a Formation.

That Lu Yiye seemed to possess a special skill that allowed him to see through his concealment!

For a specter cultivator, this was absolutely unbearable. Being able to move unseen was their greatest advantage; if this advantage no longer existed, what purpose would a specter cultivator have?

Half a year later, every time he thought of that moment when Lu Yiye suddenly turned to look at him, Ying Wuji tossed and turned with worry.

Now that he had succeeded in his Secret Technique, his path as a specter cultivator far surpassing the one of half a year ago, he was confident enough to challenge Lu Ye!

In this battle, he aimed to confront his own flaws and uphold the honor of specter cultivators!

The mountain breeze was bleak. In his view, Lu Yiye hovered three zhang in the air, serenely suspended with a relaxed posture, utterly unguarded.

Ying Wuji's eyes were calm as a specter, as he leapt down from the tree trunk and swiftly approached Lu Ye.

Without a sound, without a trace.

Having envisioned combat with Lu Ye countless times, when he finally took action, Ying Wuji immersed himself in a ripple-less state.

For a specter cultivator, this was undoubtedly the perfect state.

In this state, relying on his foundation, he was confident in his ability to ambush even a True Lake Realm opponent.

As he moved, two pitch-black, ink-like curved sabers appeared in his hands.

Just as he closed in three zhang behind Lu Ye, he suddenly burst forth to launch his attack.

The tranquil space was disturbed by the sudden explosion of spirit force fluctuations, and amidst the howling wild winds, trees swayed violently.

Ying Wuji transformed into a black streak, like a dark thunderbolt, striking towards the heart of Lu Ye from behind.

In the blink of an eye, he was upon him.

At that instant, a fiery red light emerged, and as the piercing saber light descended, his tranquil state was shattered by shock. freeweɓnovel.cøm

Ying Wuji's figure suddenly became visible, his two curved sabers crossed in front of him, blocking the stroke that Lu Ye had turned around to deliver.

Their eyes met at close quarters, and Ying Wuji caught a glimpse of the chill in Lu Ye's eyes.

"You…" Ying Wuji's face was a picture of shock.

He didn't know if his previous movements had been exposed. If they had been, then Lu Yiye's perception was far too keen. He was not the same as he had been half a year ago; he had mastered Senluo Hall's Secret Technique, and his stealth had greatly improved since then.

Within the realms of Cloud River Realm, it made no sense for anyone to have spied his concealed movements, especially from behind.

Yet if not for foreseeing his approach, Lu Yiye's reaction speed was terrifyingly fast!

It was nearly as if the moment he made his move, Lu Yiye had counterattacked. Could such a feat be achieved within the Cloud River Realm?

"It's you!"

Lu Ye finally recognized who Ying Wuji was.

They had clashed once in Great Reversal Valley and once in the Great Wilderness Mountain. This fellow had suffered greatly at his hands twice, disappearing without a trace afterward, only to face him again in the Cloud River competition.

The first clash was where he wounded this man through the power of a Formation.

The second was like kicking a man when he was down...

Those encounters did not truly reflect his own strength.

This time was different; even with a one-level cultivation gap, once Ying Wuji revealed himself, he posed no further threat.

As they spoke, Lu Ye suddenly exerted strength in his hands.

Ying Wuji had no time for shock, as he suddenly felt an overpowering force on his twin sabers, forcing them apart. He could see the flaming long saber descending towards him.

Ying Wuji's pupils contracted, his spirit force fluctuating wildly as he hurriedly exclaimed, "Covert Shadow Formless, vanishing without a trace!"

The saber split Ying Wuji in two.

Lu Ye's eyebrows raised.

This strike didn't feel like it hit anything solid; what he had just cleaved seemed to be merely a shadow!

What secret technique was this?

He immediately turned his head, focusing on a certain area to the side, and with a powerful push from his feet, the ground cracked as he dashed fiercely towards that direction.

Ying Wuji, who had hidden his form once again, felt his scalp tingle!

Was his whereabouts discovered?

Impossible!

He had pushed this secret technique to its limit on himself; there was no reason it should be exposed so easily.

Yet even now, while his form was hidden, it seemed as though he could still see his own reflection in Lu Ye's eyes.

A terrifying sense of oppression swept over him as Lu Ye's figure approached, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

In that moment, he finally understood something.

This Lu Yiye bastard... his perception was incredibly strong, which was why he could so easily see through his tracks.

And his second saber strike... he definitely couldn't block it.

Without any hope for luck or pointless resistance, he quickly shouted, "I admit defeat!"

The moment his figure reappeared, it disappeared again, having been sent out of the area.

Lu Ye halted in his tracks, sheathed his saber, and after a moment, his figure also slowly faded away.

In the Senluo Hall, within Heaven's Augury Hall, Ying Wuji appeared, his face pale. Scanning his surroundings and seeing the familiar scene, he finally relaxed!

When he saw the waiting, gaunt old man, Ying Wuji went up to him with a guilt-ridden face: "Master, your disciple has been defeated."

As soon as the old man saw Ying Wuji, he guessed what had happened, so he didn't much care: "A single defeat doesn't mean anything. Cultivators cultivate for a lifetime, victory and defeat are common, and no one can ensure they are never defeated. Facing one's own shortcomings and recognizing your weaknesses is the only way to grow stronger."

"Yes." Ying Wuji nodded respectfully, then after thinking he added, "Master, that Lu Yiye's perception seems outrageously strong. My Concealment Technique had no effect on him at all, not even the Covert Shadow Formless secret technique worked."

This time, the old man couldn't help but be surprised: "He could see through even the Covert Shadow Formless?"

Ying Wuji nodded.

"That is indeed strange. In principle, unless someone is several levels higher in cultivation than you, they would be able to see through your movements. He's only at Cloud River Level 8 now, no matter how strong his perception is, how strong can it really be?"

"The disciple suspects that he may be gifted with an innate psyche far stronger than ordinary people," Ying Wuji speculated.

The strength of the psyche is directly determined by the strength of the psyche, and prior to the Divine Sea Realm, the increase in a cultivator's cultivation and the passing of time can indeed gradually strengthen the psyche, but all of that is passively accumulated and cannot be actively cultivated, unless one has consumed some precious treasure that can enhance the psyche's strength.

Such treasures are incredibly valuable, and even Divine Sea Realm strong cultivators would compete for them, so there's no way Lu Yiye, a mere Cloud River Realm cultivator, would have access to one.

Thus, Ying Wuji could only speculate like this, which was quite reasonable.

"If that's the case, then retreat from him, leave him be, avoid him, and after the long years have passed, look back on him again."

"Yes!" Ying Wuji responded respectfully, silently making up his mind.

In the future, wherever Lu Yiye appeared, he would surely retreat and avoid him—better yet, never see this guy again!

Defeating Ying Wuji wasn't much of a feat for Lu Ye. The ghost cultivator's main reliance had no effect in front of him; in terms of head-on combat power, Ying Wuji wasn't even comparable to Xia Liang, so how could he be his opponent?

Back at the Righteous Blood Sect's Heaven's Augury Hall, Lu Ye immersed his mind into the battlefield marking, continuing to draw lucky Fellow Daoists.

He didn't have any special targets in mind and just chose at random. Of course, he couldn't pick his fourth senior brother and the others.

After choosing several people in succession, the feedback from the marking indicated that these individuals were currently in battle.

He hadn't spent much time dealing with Ying Wuji, but for the others, that wasn't the case.

You see, those who were currently locked in fierce battles were all top hundred contenders, each with formidable strength. Typically, their battles wouldn't conclude in just a moment or two.

He wasn't in a hurry, continuing to make his choices.

Eventually, someone would be free.

It wasn't until he selected one person in particular that the battlefield marking gave a different feedback.

An empty voice resonated in his mind.

"Challenging Lan Ziyi."

This woman... seems a bit unlucky, Lu Ye thought.

But being chosen by him also proved something from a side note.

This woman was strong, so she could settle the score with her opponent in a very short time, and thus she was in an "idle" state at the moment.

After waiting a moment, that empty voice sounded again.

"The opponent accepts the challenge, you may choose the combat field."

As a combat cultivator, he naturally didn't fuss about the choice of battlefield; it would be one of those simplest combat fields with small spaces.

His vision blurred, and he found himself in the combat field.

Looking up, he saw Lan Ziyi not far away, looking at him with a furrowed brow.