Humanity’s Great Sage

with pools of blood spreading from under them.

 

But Xie Jin did not stop and dismount.
Rather, he wheeled his mount around and led his squad into another charge to fully wipe out the Qin vanguard squad.

 

The raiding squad smashed through the ranks of the vanguard squad, eviscerating what resistance still left before Lu Ye and his squadmates finally dismounted to mop up what was left of the enemy. 

Wielding his saber, Lu Ye darted around the mess, looking for more targets.
With the Spiritual Pattern “Protection” shining brightly, he parried an attack that came his way before he reciprocated, killing an enemy Cultivator with one blow using his saber, smearing the grass meters away with his blood.

 

There were two Fifth-Order Cultivators in the Qin vanguard squad, but the rest were Second- or Third-Order Cultivators who could barely stand a chance against Lu Ye.
He could finish them off with just two or three blows while some were slaughtered with just one blow: one powerful stroke that could even snap their weapons in half, killing them instantly. 

 

Every once in a while, he would fire a spell, making him so deadly that despite just being a Fourth-Order Cultivator, no one could last more than three seconds against him.

 

Shrieks of agony and dying curses filled the field of death and slaughter.

 

It was a huge loss for the Qins.
Qin Wan Li could only watch with despair and disbelief as one after another, the red dots that denoted his men discorporated from the display of the Shadow Moon Disc.
Even Han Zhe Yue was hardly amused, for she had never witnessed such a one-sided beatdown before – not since the Conference was first held.

Most battles in the Dragon Spring Conference ended with manageable losses – even if it was for the losing side.
The victorious side would just take the win and refrain from pushing their luck and risk being ambushed or trapped instead.

 

But right here, right now, the Qin vanguard squad was being decimated right before their eyes and what remained of its members were swiftly being massacred.

 

Its surviving members labored to defend themselves as they retreated towards another nearby hill where it was occupied by Qin forces.
The defenders there needed time to mobilize before they could come to their fellow comrades’ aid. 

 

In the meantime, Lu Ye had found one of the Fifth-Order enemies of the Qin vanguard squad.
Killing an enemy one rank above his would yield the most rewards – an additional ten Spirit Stones to the original twenty.
That would mean killing a Fifth-Order enemy would yield a thirty-Spirit-Stone reward, allowing Lu Ye to purchase three flasks of Spirit Restoring Pills.

 

Right before Lu Ye now, he saw not a heavily-bloodied and wearied Fifth-Order enemy, but a glittering heap of Spirit Stones!

 

He had agreed to participate in this Conference not only because he wanted to repay Green Feather Mountain for helping him, but more importantly, he needed more resources.
Therefore, he would never let the chance of killing a Fifth-Order enemy slip away. 

 

Lu Ye’s saber came up before curving back down so viciously that the cold and keen flash of the weapon’s blade illuminated the Fifth-Order Cultivator’s stern and defiant countenance as he launched an attack of his own.
Yet barely a split-second later, he quickly regretted his belligerence.

 

His attack fell harmlessly against Lu Ye as if he was trying to hit a wall.
No amount of damage he dealt could get past the aegis of Spiritual Pattern “Protection”.
Yet in contrast, whatever Lu Ye was doing, it was working.

 

Scarcely ten seconds had passed since the moment they flung blows at each other and here he was with numerous slashes and lacerations that had belched so much blood that his tunic was heavy and sticky.
Verily, he could have long been dead if not for his timely activation of a Golden Body Talisman Paper which had saved his life.

 

He gawked at Lu Ye with frustration, incredulity, and shock fraught in his eyes.
[HOW?! WHAT WEAPON IS THAT HE’S WIELDING?! HOW ON EARTH COULD THIS BE POSSIBLE!]

 

But that was it.
Before another thought came to mind, Lu Ye’s hand shot up and a shiny red projectile the shape of a large and well-fed bird came darting straight at his chest.
With reflexes that he could rely on to keep himself alive a little longer, he evaded the attack.

 

The bird-like projectile brushed past him by mere inches but that was all the opening Lu Ye needed.
Lunging even before he knew his opponent would dodge the attack, Lu Ye’s saber came slashing down right at his head.
Having sampled its deadliness, the Fifth-Order Cultivator would be tremendously appreciative to forgo a repeat of what he just lived through.
He ducked and rolled on the ground to escape like some filthy animal – something that was obviously a humiliation for one with his strength and power. 

 

He sprang to his feet immediately once he reached safety.
Or so he thought.
The tail of a whip glowing with spiritual energy coursing up its length coiled around his throat before it jerked him backward.

 

The force pulled him off his feet.

 

Lu Ye pounced at the chance and attacked.
The first stroke weakened the protective aura maintained by the Golden Body Talisman Paper, the next shattered it into oblivion, and the third disemboweled him.

 

By the time he crashed to the ground, he was no more alive than a piece of oak with a pool of morbid red drenching the grass beneath him.

 

Lu Ye looked up to find Qiao Qiao Er flashing him a flirting wink.
But the bloodstain and swell on her face only made her too unsightly to behold!

 

“Watch out!” Qiao Qiao Er called suddenly. 

 

The tip of a spear thrust straight for the back of Lu Ye’s head. 

 

But that attack too struck the protection of his Spiritual Pattern that deflected the sharp tip away.
Lu Ye spun around and seized the pole of the spear and swung his weapon furiously down the spear’s length.

 

The blade of Lu Ye’s saber carved through his assailant’s hand, severing off his palm at the center, causing the assailant to stagger backward, clutching his maimed hand with blood still gushing out amid his screams of pain before a stroke by another passing by Green Feather Mountain acolyte with his sword ended the agony with a coup de grâce.

 

One’s reaction and mindfulness towards his or her surroundings were what would ensure one’s survival in a pandemonium such as this.

 

“GREEN FEATHER MOUNTAIN SCUM! WE’RE COMING FOR YOU!” a sonorous roar boomed from not far away.
The Qin reinforcements had finally arrived.

 

They had been spoiling to ride the moment they received their orders to support the vanguard squad’s retreat, and they thought that they could reach in time and form up with the vanguard for a renewed assault.
But now that they had arrived, they realized that they were too late.
The vanguard squad was all but decimated. 

 

In place of what should be the Qin vanguard squad were more than thirty Green Feather Mountain Cultivators, all of them seething with the blood of their enemies and their morale as high as the clouds, surrounded by the corpses and broken limbs of what should be formerly the members of the vanguard squad they should be meeting up with.
Even the ground was practically flooded with the blood from the dead.

 

The Green Feather Mountain Cultivators all panned their gazes at the origin of the voice with the same bloodlust glowing in their eyes. 

 

The Qin Cultivator who yelled earlier immediately regretted his outburst.
Even the rest of his men screeched to a halt immediately. 

“G-Get back! G-Get back quick!”