Beside the damaged battleship, Sky Inkstone led several Moon Jade under his command to charge at Lu Ye. As galactic pirates, they were battle-hardened and naturally wouldn't foolishly swarm together. During their advance, they dispersed, forming a semi-encirclement as if casting a large net toward Lu Ye.

The distance between them quickly closed.

Suddenly, the figure of a Moon Jade disappeared, and the power of magic began to unfold. Moreover, a cultivator summoned a magic treasure to strike at Lu Ye overhead.

Even though Lu Ye had previously demonstrated extremely terrifying prowess, facing many with few, the Moon Jades under Lightning's command felt little fear.

In an instant, the powers of magic and the treasure enveloped Lu Ye's figure, submerging him instantly.

Yet at this moment, Sky Inkstone suddenly cried out: "Be careful!"

When he turned to look, Lu Ye, who should have been in the distance, mysteriously appeared beside one of their Moon Jades, the black long saber slashing across with no hint of animosity or aura.

The targeted Moon Jade was precisely the magic cultivator who had just cast magic, initially thinking he had succeeded, his mind relaxed, and the momentary negligence quickly turned into a fatal crisis.

In a panic, he attempted to retreat but found it was too late. Hastily, he could only activate the power of his magic treasure to protect himself.

His surroundings suddenly shone brightly, followed by the light shattering. He stiffened as if struck by lightning, his face writhed with terror, never expecting that the protective magic treasure he had placed so much hope in couldn't even withstand a single blow from the opponent.

Although the grade of this magic treasure wasn't very high, only 5-star, it was at least meant for protection; it shouldn't have been broken through so easily.

He couldn't understand, and there was no time for further thought because after the protective magic treasure was broken, another swift slash fell, directly cleaving his form apart.

After the Boulder Mountain Saber upgraded to a magic treasure, besides becoming sharper, it had a remarkable suppression against protective magic treasures. Normally, even if Lu Ye wielded a 7-star or 8-star long saber, it wouldn't cut through the opponent's defense in one strike, but the Boulder Mountain Saber could.

No blood flowed out; as the opponent's body was slashed apart, this Moon Jade shattered into pieces of dim light.

This undoubtedly indicated that the opponent was just a shadow, left behind by some cultivator from an unknown era.

Almost at the same instant that Lu Ye succeeded, multiple attacks mercilessly bombarded from all directions. These galactic pirates showed no concern for their comrades' lives, demonstrating their brutality. To them, if this round of combined assault could take out Lu Ye along with their comrade, it would be profitable.

Lu Ye floated away, reappearing beside another Moon Jade in an instant.

Sky Inkstone's eyes widened in fury, not much distressed over the deaths of the Moon Jades under his command. After all, he wasn't truly the leader of Lightning; this was merely his identity for the training exercise, lacking substantial ties with the Moon Jades. However, if too many of these Moon Jades died or got injured, it would impede the plan he intended to execute next and affect the rewards for this training session's completion.

"How dare you!" he roared, charging at Lu Ye, attempting to save the targeted Moon Jade, but how could he possibly keep up? Just as he made his move, the targeted Moon Jade turned into specks of light under the saber's glow and dissipated.

First was the second, after the second was the third...

Sky Inkstone sorrowfully realized that the Moon Jades under his command couldn't even touch the enemy's clothing. This Nine Heavens leader was unknown for cultivating what kind of secret technique, darting here and there like a specter, impossible to grasp any pattern at all.

That alone would have been one thing, but this individual's long saber wielded terrifying destructive power; even the second-in-command ranked in the top thousand of the combat leaderboard wasn't an opponent to him for more than three breaths, let alone the other Moon Jades?

The only one able to fight him here was himself!

Yet the opponent refused to engage him directly, merely hopping around annoyingly. His Stone Race physique was robust enough, but in terms of speed and agility, he fell far short.

Knowing that if this continued, the Moon Jades under his command would likely be slaughtered clean, he made a decisive call, shouting angrily: "Fall back!"

He intended to personally resolve this Nine Heavens leader! The opponent's reluctance to confront him head-on was clearly due to sensing that he wasn't easy to provoke.

The Moon Jades who survived by chance were already terrified of Lu Ye, and upon hearing Sky Inkstone's command, they hesitated not even for a moment. They scattered like birds and beasts, each with lingering fear.

Yet even so, Lu Ye still pursued and killed another one.

Sky Inkstone had already charged over, his entire body shining brightly like a stone sculpture. His whole body expanded into a small giant, with blazing light erupting from his eye sockets.

One hand formed a fist, ferociously throwing a punch, bellowing: "Die!"

Just having dealt with a Moon Jade from Lightning, Lu Ye abruptly turned, and as the Boulder Mountain Saber glowed, the Divine Sharp Edge Spirit Runes were already reinforcing it, meeting the enormous fist head-on.

In the instant when fist met blade, the savage collision of mana transformed into visibly spreading shockwaves, enveloping a vast section of stellar space.

The overwhelming fury in Sky Inkstone's eyes turned into shock, and his gigantic form was sent flying backward, his view flipping as he felt a face full of bewilderment and helplessness.

Even though he knew before the fight that this Nine Heavens leader was very powerful, it was only after the actual clash that he realized the opponent's strength was far beyond his imagination!

The terrifying force released along with the saber's slash made even him feel inadequate in comparison.

Is this the human race?

Among the various races in the stellar space, few can match the Stone Race in physical strength at the same level of cultivation, and the human race is certainly not one of them.

Where did the terrifying power the other side suddenly unleashed come from?

What frightened Sky Inkstone even more was that he distinctly felt a crack appearing on his fist after the other party's blade strike!

This was an incredible thing because, in terms of physical resilience, the Stone Race could rank among the top three in the entire stellar space. Their powerful physique has always been their foundation and innate advantage. Even compared to even magical treasures of the same grade, they surpass, yet now, it was actually broken by a single slash.

He originally thought that the leader of Nine Heavens avoided him because he feared his strength. But after this exchange, he realized it wasn't the case at all.

On the other side, Lu Ye stabilized after sliding more than ten miles. It must be said that the power of the Stone Race in the Moon Jade Late Stage is indeed exaggerated. If he hadn't reached the pinnacle of the Constellation Realm and experienced huge growth after entering Moon Jade, he wouldn't necessarily be a match for the opponent in terms of strength alone.

Without any pause, Lu Ye dragged his saber and charged forward.

Sky Inkstone had just managed to steady himself when he felt an extremely fierce aura rushing towards him. He roared in defiance and charged at Lu Ye.

It must have been that he didn't perform well just now!

The two figures, one large and one small, collided. Fist shadows struck the void, blade light blossomed wildly, and mana clashed fiercely without rest.

Shortly after, Sky Inkstone turned and ran.

He can't fight this!

This leader of Nine Heavens is too agile, he's always a step slow, the opponent's strength is even greater, and their mana seems more pure and surging. What made him feel utterly despairing was the opponent's long knife, terrifyingly sharp, which his lifetime-tempered physique couldn't resist strike after strike.

In just a moment, Sky Inkstone was covered with injuries all over, and he clearly felt that each wound had a strange power lingering within, hindering healing.

He still had some strength left to protect himself, but he was sure that if he continued, he would surely die!

While he still had some strength left, he should run as far as he could. As for the reward for this training... if his life were at risk, what use would that reward be?

Failing in training isn't a first for Sky Inkstone. He's long accustomed and naturally knows when to make the right decisions.

He was relieved that Nine Heavens' leader didn't intend to pursue him, merely watched him flee into the depths of stellar space.

But... how suffocating, clearly just one step away from success. Sky Inkstone deeply imprinted the name Lu Ye of Nine Heavens in his mind, knowing that during future training, he might encounter this shadow again, and by then, he must not provoke him.

The leader escaped! Heavy casualties at the Moon Jade level.

The Lightning Galactic Pirates Group panicked instantly. Originally, when Lu Ye was contending against Sky Inkstone and those Moon Jade, the Lightning battleships were still besieging the Nine Heavens Galactic Pirates Group aggressively. However, once Lu Ye returned, the Lightning pirates scattered in a rush.

Lu Ye returned to his flagship, and after the round of fierce combat just now, this flagship was battered and tattered, and his subordinate Tiger Shark battleships suffered many losses.

"Leader!" Zi Xiao led a group of pirates forward, wearing expressions of worship.

Although they were fleeing earlier, they witnessed their own leader's invincible bravery. For pirates who've long been scraping by on the edge of life and death, having such a leader is undoubtedly a stabilizing force, bringing peace of mind.

"How are the casualties?" Lu Ye asked.

Zi Xiao quickly replied, "About thirty percent losses." This was because Lu Ye resolved it swiftly; otherwise, the casualties would have been more.

Lu Ye nodded. Thirty percent was still within acceptable limits.

"What should we do next?" Zi Xiao asked.

The recent incidents were indeed unexpected. Nine Heavens originally cooperated with Lightning to hunt down the Black Cloud fleet. Now, their leader chased Lightning to a rout and drove them off.

As humorous as it seemed, from Zi Xiao's perspective, the leader wasn't to blame. Lightning struck first; how could such a strong leader not retaliate?

Who knew Lightning was so vulnerable, chased off by the leader with a few strikes? In all his years following the leader, Zi Xiao never knew he was so formidable.

Lu Ye turned to look at the battlefield.

The battle situation was clear. Under Lightning's strategic coordination, the other galactic pirate groups dominated against the Black Cloud fleet. The fleeing Black Cloud fleet was now surrounded by the pirates, with no escape.