In the boundless desert with swirling sand, two figures dashed towards each other. At the moment their forms crossed, mana clashed, and the sound of metal against metal echoed.

Immediately, blood splattered, and one person burst out cursing, "Asura Field, damn your ancestors!"

It's unfair, why was he matched with such a strong opponent? Although they were both combat cultivators, the opponent's cultivation level was one rank higher, not to mention their terrifying strength. Even after exerting all his effort, he couldn't withstand the opponent's simple strike.

Even though he knew some newly arrived cultivators had unfathomable strength, experiencing it firsthand was still hard to accept.

As the words fell, the figure of the cultivator vanished.

The surrounding scenery shattered, and Lu Ye returned to his cave residence, picking up the Asura Authority Token to check.

Combat field ranking (Moon Jade): 53,621.

The recent duel was his tenth experience here. After ten matches, this ranking would be his initial position in the combat field.

The opponents he encountered were not strong, even quite weak, as none could withstand a slash from him, which was neither surprising nor gratifying to Lu Ye.

A ranking over fifty thousand wasn't low in the combat field of the Moon Jade Realm, but it certainly wasn't satisfying for him. His aim was singular: to top the Moon Jade Ranking.

Without delay, he continued engaging in battles. Though he had undergone ten duels, for him, they were not even a warm-up, not enough to stretch his muscles.

Having now obtained his ranking, there were two ways to engage in battles.

One option was to enter directly, where the combat field would randomly assign him an opponent. Depending on his performance during the duel, he might see his rank improved or reduced. However, regardless, the changes would not be drastic.

The other way was to directly challenge cultivators ranked ahead of him. This kind of challenge had its limits; he could only challenge those within a thousand places ahead. If he won, he would replace the challenged cultivator's position, while the loser would drop a place.

Lu Ye thought for a moment and chose the second method. After all, if he stuck to the former method, the rank improvement wouldn't be significant even after a victory. It was better to choose the second, more straightforward option, gaining a thousand ranks with each win.

Immersing his mind in the Asura Authority Token, Lu Ye quickly found a complete Moon Jade Ranking. Over fifty thousand names were listed there, starting with the rank, followed by the names, their domains or star systems, and finally, their performance in the combat field.

Take Lu Ye's information on the Moon Jade Ranking as an example:

53,621st, Lu Ye, Nine Heavens World, ten wins, zero losses.

Any cultivator in the Asura Field could use their Asura Authority Token to check such information. However, Lu Ye soon discovered that many names were blank, with even the domains marked as unknown.

He quickly understood that these individuals must have hidden their names and origins on the Moon Jade Ranking.

Cultivators had the right to do this, as the combat field did not prohibit it.

After considering it, he too opted to cloak his name and background.

He moved his gaze up the list to challenge the cultivator ranked one thousand places ahead, but after issuing the challenge, there was no feedback.

This clearly indicated that the challenged cultivator was not currently in the Sky Asura World; they were likely engaged in some training scenario.

This was a common occurrence, and when faced with it, Lu Ye could either wait for their return or choose another challenge target.

Naturally, he chose the latter.

He issued a challenge to the cultivator ranked 999 places ahead, but again, it didn't succeed.

He moved back one more place, and this time it finally succeeded, without having to wait long for the opponent, despite them having up to an hour to prepare as per the rules.

The combat field's portal opened once more, and Lu Ye stepped inside.

Ten breaths later, Lu Ye returned…

The cultivators ranked around fifty thousand were at about the Moon Jade Mid-Stage level of cultivation. They were not significantly stronger than those he had encountered before, making it easy to deal with them.

With one challenge, his rank improved by nearly a thousand.

Generally, once Lu Ye issued a challenge, the opponents would quickly accept, with only a few cultivators delaying, entering the combat field just as the hour-long preparation time expired, but that was of no real concern.

In just over a day, Lu Ye's ranking has jumped from fifty thousand to within ten thousand.

At this level of ranking, the rules of the challenge have changed again, where the challengable targets have narrowed from within one thousand to within one hundred, and the preparation time for the challenged party has increased from one hour to two hours, undoubtedly allowing cultivators to perform better in the combat field.

And cultivators ranked at this level have noticeably improved their strength; within ten thousand, they are basically all Moon Jade Late Stage cultivators, and it's rare to see Moon Jade Mid-Stage ones. Those few Mid-Stage cultivators undoubtedly possess the ability to fight across stages.

Lu Ye chose his target, a contender named Cher Chi from the Tri-Sun World, with Moon Jade Late Stage cultivation and seven hundred sixty wins, boasting a win rate of around sixty percent.

The portal of the combat field opened, and Lu Ye stepped inside, appearing in the combat field.

He immediately noticed the difference from previous combats, as outside the massive enclosed combat field, there were layers of stands where scattered cultivators were sitting and watching.

He had fought dozens of battles before but never had any spectators, yet this time he did.

Lu Ye was already aware of this aspect, so he wasn't surprised. According to the information he got from Chen Xuanhai, these cultivators watching were not just there to see the excitement; they could also place bets within the combat field, not limited to using spirit jade or Asura Seal. If the side they bet on won, the betting cultivators could share the stakes of the losing side.

Gui Yi mentioned this in the jade slip he gave Lu Ye, but Gui Yi advised not to participate, as countless bloody lessons tell us that anything associated with gambling leads to no good, perhaps bringing fleeting glory, but inevitably leading to losing everything.

The end of luck in gambling is bankruptcy.

Lu Ye actually wanted to participate, because he was very confident in his own strength, but unfortunately, the rules of the combat field forbid both parties in the combat to participate in the betting.

At this moment, in a location on the eastern side of the stands, there was a voluptuous woman with radiant beauty.

Just by looking at her makeup and attire, anyone would think she had a gentle and genteel demeanor, but in fact, although she wore a gown, she sat there in a bold manner, with one hand on the arm of her chair and the other resting on her knee, her body slightly leaned forward, her eyes, with faint bloodstains, flowed between the figures of Lu Ye and Cher Chi in combat, showing an expression of contemplation, as if assessing the strengths of the two.

Beside her was a petite and adorable young woman, who at this moment was holding onto the woman's arm, her face showing a pleading expression: "Master, you can't gamble anymore, the Asura Seals you worked hard to accumulate are almost all gone!"

The woman lazily ignored her chatter, pulled her into her embrace with a tug, and held onto her. The young woman instantly felt her face covered with softness, even struggling to breathe, and couldn't help but struggle.

The woman observed for a while, and couldn't help but scratch her head, feeling quite irritated.

With a "whimper" sound, she finally remembered her disciple, quickly released her, and the petite young woman, freed from constraint, took deep breaths, her face flushed.

The woman asked: "Dear disciple, whom do you think will win between these two?"

The petite young woman felt wronged: "Master, if you can't see it, how could I? Let's go!"

"Stop nagging, haven't I taught you, that wherever you fall, you should get back up there? It's not because I can't see, it's because I'm unlucky at gambling, unrelated to anything else. This time, you choose, and I'll definitely win!"

Those sitting on the stands cannot see detailed information about the combatants in the field, nor can they break through the isolating force of the combat field, so even if this woman has Sun Blaze cultivation, before the duo below engages in combat, it's hard to judge who's stronger.

"Quickly choose, time is running out." The woman urged.

The petite young woman knew her master's nature; everything was good except for her heavy gambling tendencies, often leading to bankruptcy, she was known as the poorest under the Sun Blaze in the whole stellar space.

Seeing deterrence didn't work, the petite young woman could only accept fate, but choosing a betting target was indeed a bit difficult for her, as it concerned the master's last bit of wealth. She gritted her teeth and randomly pointed in a direction: "Choose him then!"

The woman asked: "Why?"

The petite young woman was most troubled by this point, as the master often asked her to choose the betting target and then required her to explain the reason. She never had any reason, only pointing randomly, thought for a moment and said: "This one seems younger?"

The woman glanced at her discontentedly: "Nothing good comes from being young, only young lasses like you judge by appearance. Remember, ginger gets stronger with age!"

The petite young woman, unable to laugh or cry, thought to herself; she's already hundreds of years old, yet only her master still refers to her as a young girl.

The woman had made her decision, waving her fair hand: "I'll choose the older one!"

The petite young woman was speechless, wondering what was the point of having her choose the betting target.

In the combat field, Lu Ye waited quietly, also observing his opponent. At this ranking level, entering the combat field doesn't immediately start the combat but involves a wait of around thirty breaths, probably for those watching to place their bets.

Only after thirty breaths can the combat participants freely move.

Soon, thirty breaths had passed, and upon feeling the restricting force lift from him, Lu Ye immediately rushed forward.