Sage of Humanity
Chapter 1912 - 1910: Battle with Arbuluo
In the last round, Walnut made a big decision to bet on Lu Ye, because Sky Inkstone was renowned and she wasn't sure if Lu Ye could win.
But Lu Ye actually won, even though she didn't understand exactly what happened.
This round, she didn't really want to bet because Arbuluo's reputation was too great. She felt that no matter how strong Lu Ye was, it was impossible for him to be stronger than Arbuluo, and betting would be a waste, as she had already won enough before.
But she couldn't resist her master's persuasion and encouragement! Somehow, in a moment of confusion, she bet the entire Asura Seal on Lu Ye.
It was too late to regret now, her palms were sweating with nervousness, and she couldn't help asking, "Master, who's stronger?"
The woman beside her watched intently at the confrontation in the combat field, her expression extremely severe: "Lu Ye is at a disadvantage, seems like it's not looking good!"
"Ah..." Walnut's voice trembled, her whole body was numb.
"I'm just teasing you. Look at you, can't stand even this small storm? How can I take you out to see the world in the future?" The woman glanced at her disciple, knowing she couldn't really tell who was stronger. In an outside confrontation like this, she could have made a clear judgment by using Mental Consciousness to sense, but the barrier of the combat field isolated her perception, and she couldn't tell much just by looking.
"Master, you're hurting me." Walnut looked down at her hand, which was being grasped tightly by her master.
Her master was clearly not as calm as she appeared...
Indeed, it was her master's biggest bet in a combat ever, it was false to say she wasn't nervous, but she knew that more than nervousness, her master actually enjoyed the process of waiting for the result.
Right at that moment in the combat field, the gradually expanding Saber Lotus suddenly collapsed, revealing the figures of one man and one tiger. Another chorus of exclamations arose from the spectators, as Arbuluo, in his tiger form, had his claws blocked by Lu Ye's long knife and sword sheath, with his blood-red maw about to bite down on Lu Ye's head.
If this bite landed, the outcome would probably be decided.
However, at that moment, the blood Qi around Lu Ye suddenly surged and boiled, his hands exerting force, and under the turbulence of mana, he directly pushed the tiger away.
The eyes of Arbuluo, now a tiger, were visibly astonished...
In the initial clash, he had already sensed that Lu Ye's physical strength wasn't inferior to his own, which was quite incredible because Lu Ye was obviously a combat cultivator.
For a combat cultivator to possess such strength was abnormal.
He originally thought that was the limit of what Lu Ye could exert!
But that wasn't his limit; having performed the Savage Beast Transformation, transforming into the Ferocious Tiger had already increased his physical strength by at least twenty percent.
Who would have thought Lu Ye could still withstand it!
He could confirm that Lu Ye hadn't used any secret technique, this was undoubtedly the strength he burst forth himself.
Could anyone in this world have such a solid physique? While Arbuluo's heart was shaken, he felt more excitement, as he realized he had underestimated Lu Ye, who indeed was a worthy opponent to contend with him.
As he flew a long way off and just landed, Arbuluo sensed a highly oppressive aura bearing down on him. Looking up, he saw Lu Ye, saber in hand, already charging at him, reaching him in an instant.
"Roar!" At the moment another tiger's howl rang out, the tiger's figure transformed again, with lines lighting up on its body. The huge tiger swiftly slimmed down, but its overall contour became undeniably more sleek.
Witnessing this scene, Lu Ye, although he had already heard from Gui Yi and Walnut that Arbuluo practiced the Savage Beast Transformation secret technique, was still slightly surprised to see it firsthand.
Transforming into a tiger was Arbuluo's 1st Transformation, clearly at this moment, he had already performed a second transformation.
In a flash, the tiger transformed into a pitch-black leopard, and Lu Ye's rapidly descending strike merely sliced through the air, grazing the leopard's form, whereas the leopard took the opportunity to attack from the side, moving noticeably faster than before!
Lu Ye raised his saber to block, massive forces slammed him sideways, involuntarily sliding away, and as he struggled to steady himself, the leopard was already pouncing at him again.
Lu Ye roughly understood, each Savage Beast Transformation had its characteristics; compared to the Ferocious Tiger Transformation, this second transformation of Arbuluo possessed significantly higher speed.
He lightly exhaled, and the flesh on his saber-holding right arm began to wriggle, and in an instant, saber lights filled the air!
The cultivators watching in the stands were already dumbfounded, because at the moment, the speed of one man and one beast fighting in the combat field was so fast they could hardly see; apart from the sky full of blade lights, it seemed as if countless Lu Yes and Arbululos appeared, each Lu Ye contending with Arbuluo. Even Sun Blaze like Walnut's master couldn't distinguish which were real bodies and which were illusions under the premise of not being able to probe with Mental Consciousness.
Arbuluo was extremely excited yet deeply shocked, because he hadn't expected there to be someone in the world like this; in Ferocious Tiger Transformation his power was inferior to the opponent, even in leopard form the opponent could keep up with his speed. If he hadn't experienced it himself, he wouldn't believe there existed such balanced cultivation in the world.
Suddenly, the endless saber lights retracted, along with countless afterimages disappearing, at the center of the field, Lu Ye maintained his saber-swinging posture, but where he stood was now coiled by a giant python, raising its head in a spiral, flicking its tongue.
The giant python's body abruptly contracted, turning the surrounding space into a cage, clearly intending to bind Lu Ye.
In that instant, Lu Ye's hair stood on end. If he got trapped like this, with the strength Arbuluo had displayed earlier, he'd find it difficult to act, even if he had more techniques.
He activated the Brazen Plundering Technique, slashing through the invisible imprisoning force around him and jumped out almost at the very moment the python's form tightened around him.
In this situation, unless he had previously carved the Void Spirit Runes with weapon control, only the Brazen Plundering Technique could get him out.
Jumping high into the air, just as he was about to swoop down, his eyes narrowed because the giant python had disappeared, replaced by a towering minotaur. It looked as if an ox demon had taken human form, with two curved sharp horns glistening coldly, covered in thick bristly hair, and was over a dozen zhang tall, creating a terrifying visual impact.
"The fourth transformation!" A cultivator in the stands exclaimed, "When Arbuluo fought Gu Sheng, he used up to the Savage Beast 5th Transformation. I didn't expect him to use the fourth transformation against this Lu Ye. I wonder if this Lu Ye can push him to his limit."
Arbuluo, in his minotaur form, watched Lu Ye with scarlet eyes and suddenly lifted a foot, stomping fiercely on the ground.
Silently, at the spot he trod, pitch-black fissures spread in all directions, as if his stomp had cracked the entire space.
Lu Ye suddenly experienced a sensation of visual reversal and immediately realized he had been affected by that move.
Taking advantage of the moment, Arbuluo extended a massive hand, sweeping down towards Lu Ye like trying to swat a pesky mosquito.
Despite the combat field's size, Arbuluo's swipe made Lu Ye feel as if there was no escape.
He decided quickly, closing his eyes. Upon reopening them, fearsome mana surged into the Boulder Mountain Saber. He raised the long saber high, making its blade glow brightly.
In an instant, a huge saber shadow emerged, so massive it was awe-inspiring.
The minotaur's palm swept over, and the saber shadow descended simultaneously.
A single slash to open the heavens!
The mana clash created countless vortex shapes throughout the combat field, blurring the view of both combatants, leaving only a resonant avian call echoing.
When the battle scene returned to the spectators' view, everyone was astonished to find that Arbuluo had executed the Savage Beast 5th Transformation, transforming into a Golden-Winged Roc. Beside the roc, a seemingly insignificant figure wielded a saber, fiercely engaging it.
Golden lights flashed from the roc's wings, but they couldn't harm Lu Ye at all. Instead, his execution of the Brazen Plundering Technique left the Golden-Winged Roc flustered.
Lu Ye discovered Arbuluo's Savage Beast Transformations grew stronger with each form, regardless of sequence. In other words, if the Ferocious Tiger Transformation were Arbuluo's fifth transformation, it would be his strongest. Since he's now in the Golden-Winged Roc form for his fifth transformation, this form is the strongest.
At this moment, Arbuluo's strength was considerably more overwhelming for Lu Ye compared to the beginning.
But it was still within manageable bounds.
Lu Ye was actually looking forward to the sixth transformation, knowing that the true name of the Savage Beast Transformation technique was the Savage Beast 9th Transformation. This meant a total of nine forms, and Lu Ye wanted to know how powerful Arbuluo would be in the ninth transformation.
As he pondered, Arbuluo suddenly retreated of his own accord.
Lu Ye frowned slightly but did not pursue.
The Golden-Winged Roc quickly shrank back into Arbuluo's form. His skin was now a deep blood-red, as if soaked in blood, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit, visibly exhaling streams of air and saying, "Impressive! You're the second opponent, aside from Gu Sheng, to withstand my Savage Beast 5th Transformation."
"I want to see the sixth transformation!" Lu Ye stared at him.
Arbuluo laughed heartily, "I can't do that. My foundation is insufficient; using the sixth transformation would indeed be life-threatening. That's for desperate times."
Lu Ye was taken aback.
He had been wondering why, despite the Savage Beast Transformations having nine forms, Gu Sheng and Arbuluo's battle only saw the latter using up to the fifth form; now he understood why.
Even someone as strong as Arbuluo could only manage the fifth transformation. Forcing into the sixth could mean a bad end, even if he defeated the enemy.
The combat field indeed has rules to protect cultivators in a duel, ensuring they don't lose their lives, but such protection doesn't cover Arbuluo in his sixth transformation, where the injuries sustained are very real.
If Arbuluo used the sixth transformation, the massive foundational damage could endanger his life afterwards.
"That's really a pity." Lu Ye expressed slight disappointment.
Lu Ye roughly gauged Arbuluo's power, stronger than Lion Heart, which suggested Gu Sheng was around this level too.
This was a bit disappointing to him. Is this the level of the top two on the Moon Jade Ranking?