Inside the cave residence, Lu Ye held the Asura Authority Token, examining his ranking in the combat field.

Seventh place, Lu Ye, Nine Heavens World, two hundred and thirty-two wins, zero losses.

Challenges within the top ten can only be carried out sequentially according to the rules, meaning Lu Ye can presently challenge only one opponent, the one ranked sixth.

Unless this opponent is currently not in the Sky Asura Domain, Lu Ye will only then be able to skip him to challenge the fifth rank.

After a brief rest and recovery, Lu Ye continued to challenge. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

However, this time he didn't succeed, indicating that the sixth-ranked opponent is undoubtedly not in the Sky Asura Domain.

Lu Ye has encountered this situation many times before, so it's not unfamiliar to him. He felt a bit regretful because this way, he missed a chance to spar with a top Moon Jade.

He redirected his focus to challenge the fifth rank.

Again, no success, but Lu Ye was unfazed and continued to challenge the fourth, third, second... and first rank.

A moment later, Lu Ye frowned and fell into contemplation.

It seems those ranked ahead of him are quite busy and are currently not in the Sky Asura Domain, probably engaged in training.

This inevitably left him somewhat unsatisfied, and his plan to push to the top of the rankings was thus thwarted.

However, this is not a big issue. As advised by Chen Xuanhai, Lu Ye knows that three days before the combat field's final rankings are settled, all cultivators wishing to maintain their rankings typically return to the Sky Asura Domain, especially the top-ranked ones, who would certainly not miss this timing.

Because if they fail to return in time and are challenged, they would be directly judged as defeated.

Unlike now, where Lu Ye's challenge didn't succeed, and their rankings remain unaffected.

Unable to challenge anyone momentarily, Lu Ye could only give up and checked the next combat field's settlement time, finding that it would be about a month later.

Thinking for a bit, he sent a message to Walnut, informing her of this situation.

Walnut quickly messaged back: "Fellow Daoist, please come to the treasure vault's main square. I'll exchange the Asura Seal you were allocated for the resources you need."

"No need, keep it for now; I'll decide after this combat field settlement,"

On the other side, Walnut was briefly stunned, and when she sent another message back, she received no response.

On the jade bed beside, a woman lay sprawled out, clutching her Asura Authority Token as if holding the most precious treasure in the world, a blissful, simple smile on her face.

Suddenly she sat up, looking at Walnut: "Which combat field to enter?"

Walnut stared blankly at her master: "The top six ranked ones are all not in the Sky Asura Domain; he can't challenge them right now."

Upon hearing this, the woman couldn't help but show a disappointed look: "What a pity! This boy, now with a hundred victories and utterly dominant, has a great chance of winning even if he continues to challenge." With a sigh, she continued, "No choice if he can't challenge; then let's split the gains with him."

Walnut said, "He said not to for now, waiting until after the combat field settlement."

The woman blinked, immediately realizing: "Interesting... This boy obviously plans to continue challenging in the three days before the settlement! Does he really have that much confidence?" If he weren't determined to keep challenging, why especially wait to split after settlement?

Honestly, she has watched quite a few of Lu Ye's battles, but until now, she still can't quite gauge the depth of Lu Ye's capabilities. After all, the combat field isolates the inside from the outside, and from the viewing stand, many things are unclear, making it hard to perceive accurately, even for her, an expert at Sun Blaze level, sometimes misjudging.

"Master, what should we do?" Walnut asked.

The woman thought for a moment, feeling excited, and said, "If he intends to keep challenging, then we'll keep betting on him!"

Walnut felt anxious: "But Master, the challenges will surely get harder and harder, and if he loses one of those bouts..."

Winning for so long, once there's a loss, everything gained until now would turn to smoke.

The woman winked at her, deep excitement in her eyes: "This is the thrill of gambling, my dear disciple, all that involves immense risk and uncertainty is what makes it truly worth chasing."

"Ugh!" Walnut sighed deeply, feeling her master is beyond saving; whenever gambling is involved, she inevitably becomes fascinated.

The woman's eyes glimmered with anticipation for the arrival of three days before the settlement.

Within Lu Ye's cave residence, concluding the communication with Walnut, he directly stepped outside.

There was still almost a month left until the settlement day, and he obviously couldn't wait here indefinitely. Although he couldn't participate in the combat field, there was no issue with joining the Asura Field practice.

This was one of his purposes for coming to the Asura Field. Only by earning enough Asura Seals could he exchange them for the resources he needed from the treasure vault.

Leaving his cave residence, Lu Ye leaped into the sky.

Looking around, he could clearly see many cultivators nearby also soaring upwards, much like the scene he witnessed when he had first entered the Sky Asura World with Gui Yi. These cultivators were clearly on their way to practice as well.

In a flash, his figure rose higher until, at a certain moment, Lu Ye suddenly felt as if he had collided with a soft, invisible membrane.

His vision drastically darkened, and even his powerful perceptive abilities vanished without a trace at that instant.

He remained unfazed, although it was his first time participating in this practice, he had gathered sufficient information on it and knew it was a process every cultivator must go through.

His current state was peculiar; he knew he still existed, yet he couldn't feel it, as if he had transformed entirely into a separate consciousness.

In the vast darkness, an ancient and desolate voice echoed by his ear.

"The Black Cloud Continent, with its deep foundations, vast domain, and abundant resources, produced numerous talents in the cultivation world. The domain flourished until one day when a cultivator brought back a treasure from stellar space."

Suddenly, a light appeared in the darkness, and an object manifested before Lu Ye. It was a sphere about the size of a human head, entirely green. Though its nature was unclear, Lu Ye knew this must be the treasure mentioned by the desolate voice.

The light dissipated, and his vision was once again shrouded in darkness.

"News leaked, attracting countless elites to compete for it, leading to a great war. The Black Cloud shattered. The remaining cultivators escorted the Black Cloud Sect's heir into stellar space, seeking refuge in the neighboring star system."

Again, a light appeared, and Lu Ye saw a broken fleet navigating through the bright stellar space. The light flickered, casting shadows over the damaged battleships as if they could face annihilation at any moment.

Lu Ye raised his eyebrow, thinking this practice likely involved escorting the so-called Black Cloud Sect heir, needing only to ensure this broken fleet reached the neighboring star system to complete the trial.

This task didn't seem too difficult.

Based on the information he had, the difficulty of a cultivator's first entry into the Asura Field practice was generally not too high, usually manageable with the self-capability of the cultivators. This could be considered a benefit provided by the Asura Field, allowing cultivators to familiarize themselves firsthand with the practice process.

However, aside from the first practice, there were no such benefits for the rest. Generally, each practice posed a risk to one's life, because only then could the practice serve its purpose.

The Sky Asura clan was so formidable back in the day because they honed themselves in the Asura Field. Survival of the fittest, those who couldn't match up were eliminated through successive practices, leaving only the elites. This laid the foundation for their dominance over hundreds of star systems.

As his thoughts shifted, the ancient and desolate voice resounded again: "You, the leader of the Nine Heavens Galactic Pirates Group, guiding your galactic pirate group along with others, are chasing down to seize that treasure, vowing to annihilate the Black Cloud cultivators completely!"

Lu Ye couldn't help but be surprised.

Hearing the earlier part, he thought this practice was about protecting the Black Cloud Sect heir and that sphere-like treasure, then escorting them to the neighboring star system to complete the practice mission. Having cultivated thus far, he had always been kind-hearted, never shirking the duty of protecting the weak.

But unexpectedly, this time he was on the side of evil!

Lu Ye frowned, finding wrongdoing to be against his beliefs, but such is the Asura Field trial. No one knows beforehand what identity the Asura Field will assign or what kind of challenge it will present.

Moreover, the Sky Asura clan wasn't a benevolent race; otherwise, they wouldn't have enslaved so many star systems. These practices were initially designed for the Sky Asura clan, so morality didn't matter to them.

Lu Ye sighed helplessly; at this point, he had no choice but to accept it and decide how to act when the time came.

The Asura Field practice's outcome isn't rigid but highly flexible. As long as one shows excellent performance in practice, even if not acting according to the Asura Field's arrangements, they can still earn corresponding Asura Seals as rewards.

In a way, each practice serves as a real-world scenario where cultivators can make any decisions they wish.

Once more, the light appeared, and this time, a fleet of moderate scale entered Lu Ye's vision. Over a dozen Tiger Shark battleships surrounded a medium-sized battleship, with two large characters engraved on the battleship's hull: Nine Heavens!

Undoubtedly, this was his galactic pirate group, currently in pursuit of the Black Cloud fleet. However, in terms of scale, his Nine Heavens Galactic Pirates Group was far inferior to the Black Cloud fleet.

His vision suddenly extended forward, penetrating beyond the battleship's barrier, and Lu Ye was surprised to see a familiar figure sitting on a chair inside the ship, a long blade resting sideways beside, eyes gazing ahead with a dignified yet commanding presence.

Who else could it be but himself?

His vision abruptly merged with the figure sitting on the chair, and Lu Ye once again felt the presence of his physical body, blinking in disbelief.

Realizing he was already inside the battleship, mirroring what he had just seen, sitting right there.