Sage of Humanity
Chapter 937 - 935: 3rd Senior Brother!

This gave rise to such a unique method of obtaining battle merit, which is also the tacitly agreed result by the strong cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm on both sides.

The victor is rewarded with a certain share of battle merit; the strong cultivators of the Divine Sea Realm still have this authority.

Back when Lu Ye first arrived and was constantly being troubled by Nian Yuexian, every time he completed a task, Nian Yuexian would reward him with battle merit. Since Nian Yuexian could act in that manner, it's only natural for the Divine Sea Realm cultivators here to do so as well, and even more legitimately.

For this, there would be no punishment from Heaven's Augury.

Moreover, cultivators have never been a lawful and obedient group; they are most eager for competition and combat. With such an occasion, it is a great opportunity for cultivators to release their energy, and it further allows them to improve their combat skills. It can be said to serve multiple purposes.

"It seems I haven't seen any cultivators above True Lake Level 8!" Lu Ye spoke.

Tong Shuyao smiled and said, "Junior Brother's observational skills are sharp; indeed, there aren't any cultivators above True Lake Level 8 involved in this matter, and even those at Level 7 are few. Firstly, their military rank is high enough, and their monthly salary is considerable, so they don't care for such petty gains. Secondly, they are considered quasi-Divine Sea cultivators, and it's unwise to incur any casualties over such a duel. Neither side wants to see such occurrences at the mountain pass."

Lu Ye nodded slightly and then seemingly asked inadvertently, "Between the two combatants, which one is from our side?"

"That combat cultivator using a spear, I believe his name is Mu Tianxing, and his strength is quite decent."

Mu Tianxing is at True Lake Level 4, and his strength is indeed impressive.

"What's the name of that Haotian Alliance person? I see this person is only at Level 3, a level lower than Mu Tianxing, yet able to fight on equal terms. It's evident his foundation is stronger."

"Indeed," Tong Shuyao nodded in agreement, "He probably hails from some big sect."

Suddenly, someone nearby spoke, "Senior Sister Tong has keen eyes; this person hails from Green Emperor City, and Green Emperor City is a 2nd grade sect on the Haotian Alliance side, indeed a big sect."

Typically, both parties in a duel introduce themselves before fighting, so the person speaking knows the background of the saber-wielding combat cultivator since he arrived earlier.

Lu Ye's expression slightly changed, and he asked, "What is his name?"

The cultivator didn't bother to respond to Lu Ye, acting as if he didn't hear him.

Tong Shuyao was instantly displeased, "Junior Brother Taibai asked you a question; are your ears deaf?"

With her speaking, the cultivator could only reluctantly reply, "Seems like he's called Xiao Xinghe!"

Xiao Xinghe!

Lu Ye's expression slightly shifted.

He finally understood why he felt a sense of familiarity upon seeing this person and why the path of his saber skills seemed so eerily familiar.

Because Xiao Xinghe from Green Emperor City is the third senior brother!

Back when the Righteous Blood Sect was in decline, many sect members perished, and those who survived were dispersed, leaving only the sect master with a few young children.

At that time, Shui Yuan was the oldest and most understanding, so she remained in the Righteous Blood Sect, living with the sect master, the old and the young holding a desolate fort on Mount Ao.

The third senior brother, Xiao Xinghe, was sent to the Alliance Sect, Green Emperor City.

The fourth senior brother, Li Baxian, was taken in by the widow of their eldest senior brother for upbringing.

Among this generation of Righteous Blood Sect disciples, Lu Ye interacted most with Shui Yuan, followed by Li Baxian, because back then, Li Baxian's spiritual orifice was broken, and he lingered in the Spirit Stream battlefield for over a decade, giving Lu Ye the chance to interact with him.

But Lu Ye had never met the third senior brother, Xiao Xinghe, until now.

Instead, he had seen the third senior brother's son, Xiao Changhe.

The feeling of familiarity arose because father and son bore some resemblance to each other, and the saber techniques seemed familiar because the third senior brother had compiled his insights on saber skills into a jade slip and had Xiao Changhe pass it on to Lu Ye.

One could say that the foundation of Lu Ye's early saber skills bears traces of the third senior brother.

When Lu Ye was on the Cloud River battlefield, he did consider searching for the third senior brother, but sadly, there was no way to contact him, leaving him feeling helpless.

He did not expect that today he would actually meet this previously unmet third senior brother here.

And he's already at True Lake Level 3 cultivation!

This generation of Righteous Blood Sect disciples all have exceptionally high talent; Shui Yuan need not be mentioned, as she is already in the Divine Sea Realm.

Li Baxian, though he lingered in the Spirit Stream battlefield for over a decade, has made rapid progress, laying a solid foundation.

At first, Lu Ye thought that his third senior brother's talent wasn't great. After all, back when Lu Ye went to Green Emperor City's sect location from the Spirit Stream battlefield, the third senior brother seemed to have just entered the Cloud River battlefield.

His son, Xiao Changhe, already had some cultivation back then.

It wasn't until a casual chat with Shui Yuan later that he learned that the third senior brother's aptitude was no weaker than Li Baxian's, despite his rugged appearance, he was meticulous and emotionally rich, and in his youth, he fell in love with an ordinary woman, promising to be with her for life, which delayed his own cultivation, even leading to his expulsion from Green Emperor City.

Unfortunately, that third sister-in-law had innate deficiencies, and after giving birth to Xiao Changhe, she was plagued by illness. Despite years of careful care from the third senior brother, she eventually passed away.

Only after settling the affairs of the third sister-in-law did the third senior brother return to Green Emperor City with Xiao Changhe, kneeling in front of his sect for seven days and nights until he was readmitted.

At that time, Lu Ye felt a deep sense of regret when he heard about these matters.

Shui Yuan had also personally gone to treat Third Sister-in-law, but her illness was not acquired later, but due to innate deficiency. If she hadn't given birth, she might have lived a few more years. However, giving birth to Xiao Changhe drained her vital energy too much, even Shui Yuan was somewhat helpless.

Hearing about it is one thing, seeing it with your own eyes is another.

Not until this moment did Lu Ye finally confirm that his Third Senior Brother's talent, compared to his Fourth Senior Brother, was indeed not weaker at all. This could be seen from the speed of his cultivation progress.

With emotions surging inside, Lu Ye remained expressionless on the surface.

Even though he was meeting this Third Senior Brother for the first time, Lu Ye still felt an inexplicable sense of intimacy.

Not to mention, when he initially learned that he used a saber, Third Senior Brother immediately organized his many years of saber skills insights and entrusted them to his son to pass on.

Lu Ye's Repeated Slashing and Single Flash both fundamentally came from Third Senior Brother's saber skills insights.

At this moment, the two were locked in fierce combat, spirit force surging, with saber lights and spear shadows interweaving.

Lu Ye observed for a moment and noticed something, which was that Third Senior Brother had definitely fought more than just this battle because he had injuries that were not caused by the spear.

Evidently, he had fought one or even several battles before, but judging from the results, he was able to continue standing here, suggesting he must have won.

Yet, even so, he was still able to fight an opponent higher than himself by one minor realm to a standstill, even gaining a slight upper hand.

If things continued like this, it likely wouldn't be difficult to win this match.

The cultivators on the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge's side also noticed this and appeared solemn.

Losing the battle and letting the enemy gain battle merit was secondary, but losing face in front of so many spectators was real. Since no large-scale battles were occurring here, the soldiers cared greatly about the outcomes of such duels.

Mu Tianxing also realized the situation was unfavorable and suddenly adopted a fighting style as if staking it all with life and death, with the spear movements wild like a dragon or serpent.

Seeing this, Xiao Xinghe changed his previously unstoppable saber momentum to a more steady and strategic approach, making Lu Ye nod silently in approval, realizing it was the correct way to respond.

Mu Tianxing became more impatient, his spirit force surging around him, as he thrust his spear fiercely.

Xiao Xinghe contingently retreated, avoiding the spear but nearly bumped into the Haotian Alliance cultivators watching behind him.

Under normal circumstances, in such a scenario, the spectators would naturally dodge early to allow the combatants to engage freely.

However, for some reason, those Haotian Alliance cultivators remained unmoved, with one even intentionally or unintentionally stepping aside, allowing Xiao Xinghe to bump into him.

Instantly, he raised his hand and slapped Xiao Xinghe on the shoulder, reprimanding, "Be careful!"

Xiao Xinghe hadn't expected his own people to trip him up at such a critical moment. Though the slap seemed light, it caused a sudden ripple in his spirit force.

Seeing this, Mu Tianxing's eyes gleamed, and he thrust his spear out, aiming directly at Xiao Xinghe's heart.

This thrust would determine life or death!

Lu Ye raised his hand to his waist to steady his long sword, but before he could act, he saw Xiao Xinghe shift, the spear piercing through his shoulder as he swung out a saber in return.

Blood spurted out, and a head flew off.

The headless body fell from mid-air.

Gasping heavily, Xiao Xinghe slowly turned around, his eyes cold, staring at the Haotian Alliance cultivator who had just slapped him, saying nothing, but with killing intent in his eyes.

The Haotian Alliance cultivator had a face like a jade crown; he was handsome and dressed in luxurious attire, obviously of uncommon origin. Despite Xiao Xinghe's glare, his expression remained indifferent, slightly activating spirit force to shield himself, "What do you want to do? You better think clearly!"

The cultivation emanating from him was of True Lake Level 7. Among those present, only Tong Shuyao could compare.

"What's the situation over there?" Lu Ye slightly narrowed his eyes and asked.

What had just happened was not easily noticed, but everyone present was a True Lake Realm cultivator, so who hadn't seen it clearly? Many Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivators watched with confusion, not understanding why it seemed like some internal strife on the Haotian Alliance side, yet they were happy to see it.

However, the fact that their combatant was killed by Xiao Xinghe in one strike was somewhat embarrassing.

Under normal circumstances, these duels wouldn't result in deaths because the strengths of both sides were not vastly different. Once they realized they couldn't win, they would concede.

Mu Tianxing had been too careless earlier, thinking he had succeeded and letting down his guard, consequently being killed by Xiao Xinghe.

As a result, not only could Xiao Xinghe harvest more battle merit, but he could also take Mu Tianxing's storage sack.

"I don't know, I don't come here often," Tong Shuyao shook her head, then turned to the Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivator who had just spoken, "What's going on with them?"

The Ten Thousand Demons Ridge cultivator replied, "That Xiao Xinghe doesn't seem to be well-received there, maybe he offended someone."

"Who did he offend?" Lu Ye asked.

"That I don't know. But lately, Xiao Xinghe often shows up to fight, seeming very desperate for battle merit."

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