This Young Master is not Cannon Fodder-Chapter 700: Astonishing Improvement

In all honesty, Gu Longyu did not think targeting the Goddess of Death was a good idea—at least at this point in the war. The war had not reached its peak, and it was unlikely for the divinity to personally take measures yet. Forcing her appearance would likely incur devastating losses.

But after thinking about it, Gu Longyu realized what the upper echelon of the Death Defier Alliance were thinking.

Not everyone was like Gu Longyu. They held no joy toward the existence of the Goddess of Death because it represented a nearly unbeatable foe that they saw no hope of overcoming. They did not think deeper and realize that her existence represented a chance to rise to that level. This was especially the case for the less talented immortals. Most cultivators reached their peak once they became true immortals, and only a small percentage could become immortal monarchs. What hope did they have of reaching that elusive realm?

For these immortals, the Goddess of Death’s existence was akin to the Immortal Extermination Sword Formation hanging over their heads. Even if it wasn’t used, they would always be wary of it, never knowing when the enemy would unleash it and destroy them.

And defeating the Goddess of Death was not without its benefits.

Once the Goddess of Death fell, the Temple of Death would become demoralized. Even though the Death Defier Alliance would incur heavy losses, the immortals would likely be in high spirits, boosting their morale. The vast difference in morale would mean they would perform better, especially against the demoralized immortals of the Temple of Death.

If they were lucky, they could even kill the Goddess of Death.

Just the aura of the god-killing arm was enough to send palpitations through Gu Longyu’s heart. Even after becoming an immortal sovereign, he didn’t think anything would change. If someone told him it could destroy the universe, he would not dismiss the claim. Granted, Gu Longyu didn’t think a divinity would die so easily.

In the Death Defier Alliance’s scheme, Xi Yinian was merely bait. Said bait was as powerful as a peak immortal sovereign, but it wasn’t as if the Temple of Death and the Death Defier Alliance were lacking in peak immortal sovereigns. In every generation, a peak immortal sovereign would appear among the Temple of Death—and that was at the very least.

While the Ancient Sky Sect might not have a peak immortal sovereign every generation, the Death Defier Alliance was not composed of merely one force. The addition of several forces greatly boosted the alliance’s numbers, especially since both sides had immortal sovereigns who entered stasis once they realized they could not reach the elusive Divine Realm and were nearing the end of their willpower.

In normal times, Xi Yinian’s talent would be a treasure that the Temple of Death would protect at all costs, but in this war of hegemony, even a talented individual like him was only a powerful chess piece on the board. Gu Longyu was the same. Although he had reached the Origin Immortal Realm, he did not believe his power had exceeded the limits of an immortal sovereign.

Perhaps if he had more time to comprehend more of the Law of Five Phases and merge it with his Law of Destruction, he would break through the limit, but war waited for no one.

And so, Gu Longyu appeared on the third planet. He did not announce his presence and waited for Yinian to appear.

Speaking of planets, the Temple of Death had given up on Planet Madarchy. They recalled their forces and dispatched them to much more meaningful battlefields. This gave the denizens of Planet Madarchy the feeling that they had triumphed over their conquerors. Without the Xiyinet and an interplanetary teleportation array, how could they know that the danger had not passed?

If the Temple of Death won the war, they would return and conquer the sixteenth planet once more. It would be an even more brutal conquest. They would destroy the heritage of Planet Madarchy so that the new forces rising from the old forces’ ashes would become obedient lambs to be shepherded.

Even if the Temple of Death lost the war against the Death Defier Alliance, it did not mean Planet Madarchy was out of danger. It was still a very real possibility that they would choose to conquer it to make up for their lost territories and influence.

Of course, the Death Defier Alliance likely wouldn’t sit idly by, but Gu Longyu was digressing. In all honesty, he did not like the idea of ambushing Yinian.

He feared Yinian; that was true. Any battle he fought against the latter might result in his death now, but he hated escaping even more. Gu Longyu had always overcome the obstacles in front of him using his own power. Never before had a third party killed his target. And right now, he felt a sense of loss toward Yinian’s inevitable fate.

It was as if something originally his had been taken away, and he was helpless to do anything about it. Defeating Yinian was not just a personal goal, but an important step on his path. Gu Longyu knew that once he prevailed over the latter, the problem Yinian caused in his mindset would disappear, and his willpower would rise even higher. Not that someone else killing Yinian would affect him too much—just that he would need some time to adjust.

Gu Longyu knew the importance of this operation; otherwise, he would have objected long ago.

In outer space, he sensed the commotion on the continent below him. He hadn’t expanded his immortal sense, lest he clue the Temple of Death in on the Death Defier Alliance’s scheme. Still, the battle sent out powerful fluctuations that could be sensed from his location.

They were too far from the battlefield, so they could only wait for the signal. When the signal appeared, Gu Longyu did not move.

It was Empress Wintersnow who took action. She activated the interplanetary teleportation array behind her. Although it was called an interplanetary teleportation array, that did not mean it could only teleport between planets. Short-distance teleportation was actually much easier.

Aside from the Law of Ice, which she was most proficient in, Empress Wintersnow also had talent in the Law of Water and the Law of Space. That was the reason she was chosen for the interplanetary teleportation array. Her mastery of the Law of Space allowed her to teleport Gu Longyu and the other immortal sovereigns directly into the middle of the battle.

Unlike the usual light that appeared during teleportation, Gu Longyu and the others immediately disappeared.

Their appearance on the battlefield was too sudden, too surprising, causing no one to notice their presence—well, almost no one.

Gu Longyu charged straight at Yinian, but the latter reacted just as fast. His body faded into the air, as if vanishing. Even when Gu Longyu attacked the space, Yinian did not reappear, nor did he feel any feedback from his saber.

Compared to their last encounter, it seemed that Yinian had developed countermeasures against his unavoidable saber.

Gu Longyu showed no panic or surprise. Or rather, he would have been surprised if Yinian couldn’t come up with a countermeasure after all this time. Still, each method had its weaknesses, and Gu Longyu, who had become increasingly adept at using his current comprehension of the Law of Five Phases, immediately expanded his senses.

His fellow immortal sovereigns each revealed their own methods of detection, but after a while, annoyance appeared on their faces or in their eyes. Their plan hinged on finding Yinian, but what if they couldn’t find him and he ran away? Finding another chance like this would not come so easily again.

Suddenly, Gu Longyu rushed toward one of his companions, saber raised high. The immortal sovereign’s eyes widened in surprise, and he swiftly shifted his position. Just as Gu Longyu’s saber came down, it stopped midair, accompanied by a metallic clang.

A ripple spread, revealing a vague, humanoid shape. Even without seeing the figure’s face, Gu Longyu knew it was Yinian.

His eyes sharpened, and he immediately unleashed a flurry of blows. Unlike last time, Yinian did not choose to engage him, preferring to retreat. It was a smart move. No immortals were truly stupid, especially immortal sovereigns. They all guessed the identity of the transparent figure and unleashed their attacks with their greatest might without affecting Gu Longyu.

Despite his companions’ care, Gu Longyu’s actions were still slightly affected. Yinian took this chance to disappear again. Even though the other immortal sovereigns’ attacks reached his position, they phased through harmlessly, as if he weren’t in the same dimension.

Gu Longyu frowned. If he couldn’t fight Yinian directly, then their operation would become a joke. He was more inclined to believe that Yinian’s technique had a time limit. After all, although time-based techniques were esoteric and powerful, they had limits.

Yinian attacked another immortal sovereign of the Death Defier Alliance twice more, both attempts foiled by Gu Longyu. By now, it was clear that the other immortal sovereigns had no methods to detect the elusive Sword Emperor.

That didn’t mean they couldn’t do anything. Yinian didn’t act alone. Since they couldn’t target him, they could still clear out the unnecessary characters. Gu Longyu approved of this plan. It meant they would have to split further apart to chase them down once all of them fled, raising the danger posed by Yinian, but he didn’t think sacrificing two or three immortal sovereigns near the end of their lifespan for Yinian was a bad trade.

And so, the immortal sovereigns split apart, targeting the other members of the Temple of Death. Because the third planet was one of the core locations of the Death Goddess Planetary Alliance and was difficult for the Death Defier Alliance to attack without huge consequences, Yinian was the only sovereign-level immortal among the group. The rest were composed of a few immortal emperors and mostly immortal monarchs.

And so, the slaughter began.

Yinian naturally couldn’t sit still for long. Logically speaking, Yinian should have targeted the immortal farthest from Gu Longyu, making it more difficult for him to rescue his companion, but Yinian knew Gu Longyu would be on guard for that. So he might choose an unexpected target.

As for his criterion, Gu Longyu didn’t know, so he could only keep his senses sharp.

Gu Longyu’s eyes narrowed. He could feel a sharp fluctuation in the distance. Surprisingly, Yinian chose to attack the immortal sovereign farthest away.

He acted immediately, charging toward the source, but it was too late. Yinian unleashed an attack that pierced the chest of the immortal sovereign. He immediately retracted his blade and vanished once more. Although it was seemingly only a single wound on the chest, not even piercing the heart, the immortal sovereign’s face paled dramatically. The deathly aura around him rose exponentially.

After taking a quick glance, Gu Longyu knew there was no hope. Judging by the symptoms, Yinian had taken advantage of the immortal sovereign’s ending lifespan. This sounded simple, but it required an immense understanding of the Law of Death. Of course, the manifestation of this was that Yinian needed to charge up his attack. Otherwise, Gu Longyu would not have been able to sense the fluctuations and react so early.

Yinian attacked three more times. Two succeeded, while one failed. Although Gu Longyu failed to stop Yinian the third time, it was more a matter of luck. Still, that meant three immortal sovereigns had died. Even though they were already nearing death, three was a grave loss.

That didn’t mean Gu Longyu gained nothing. Through his many attempts and his own talent, he devised a rudimentary method to sense Yinian. He didn’t keep it to himself and shared it. Of course, it was a simplified version that those who had mastered half of the five elemental laws should be able to learn. It would be even more effective if the user had comprehended a trace of the Law of Five Phases.

Although it was a weakened version, it still helped greatly. Yinian repeated his attempts many times, but he succeeded only once. His other attempts resulted in a wide range of injuries, from light to severe. Sometimes, Gu Longyu was able to reach him and stop him; other times, Yinian could calmly vanish.

That didn’t mean Gu Longyu was helpless. The more Yinian took action, the more exposed he became in Gu Longyu’s eyes. Gu Longyu could understand his nemesis’ thought process. Yinian didn’t take those near-death immortal sovereigns seriously. He wanted to eliminate them and have a final showdown with Gu Longyu.

Gu Longyu would have obliged had it not been for the greater plan. He even suspected that Yinian might have left were it not for his presence.

Finally, he cracked Yinian’s concealment method. “Crack” wasn’t the right term; “broke” was more apt. Building upon the basis of his initial method, he developed a more powerful one that could sense Yinian. And so, he engaged Yinian in battle.

Before Yinian attacked again, Gu Longyu charged straight toward his location. He still couldn’t see Yinian and could only detect his presence, but it was enough. In essence, Yinian was invisible, but each clash created ripples that subtly exposed his figure.

The other immortal sovereigns attacked, but their spells mostly passed through harmlessly. Even those that could hit Yinian were ignored by the latter. He didn’t even register their contact, revealing his monstrous physique—a trait even Gu Longyu envied.

Through this battle, Gu Longyu realized that Yinian had improved substantially. It wasn’t enough to rival his current power, but Yinian now had the ability to seize the initiative at certain times. Coupled with his current style of swordplay, it gave Gu Longyu a headache.

The immortal sovereigns did not give up and continued attacking Yinian. Gu Longyu knew it was likely useless. His previous interactions with Yinian had revealed the latter’s monstrous endurance. That didn’t matter, because these immortal sovereigns weren’t the star players.

It was at this moment that Empress Wintersnow appeared with the interplanetary teleportation array. She wasn’t alone; two other immortals appeared as well. Like Empress Wintersnow, they controlled interplanetary teleportation arrays. The moment they appeared, they simultaneously activated all three arrays, affecting all the immortal sovereigns—Gu Longyu included—and, most importantly, Yinian.