Chapter 102 - 101: Rebirth from a Deadly Predicament

Chapter 102: Chapter 101: Rebirth from a Deadly Predicament

Flee?

With a thirty-second cooldown, where could I possibly flee?

’I’m still waiting to activate my Derived Skills.’

"Quiet! Follow me and slay our enemies." Li Ye’s voice was a low growl, silencing the clamor of the Nascent Souls. He held up his watch. "We’ll target the Sword Sect first."

The Sword Array was far too deadly. Although he wasn’t close with most members of the Wenda Alliance, he couldn’t just let them be slaughtered.

He had worked hard to build this foundation. Li Ye was counting on this group to help him advance to the Harmonization Realm!

At his words, the Nascent Soul Tree was instantly on high alert. The Nascent Souls took out various Stabilizing Treasures. Compared to the other cultivators of the Wenda Alliance, they were far more dependent on Li Ye. Without their Alliance Leader, they wouldn’t even be able to survive.

’He’s targeting me first?’

The Sword Sect Leader’s heart skipped a beat. He instinctively gauged the distance between himself and Li Ye, and his nerves settled slightly.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t worried.

When Li Ye was only at the Divinity Transformation Realm, he could already slay those at the Harmonization Realm.

Now, the man was at the peak of the Void Refinement Realm—and had advanced right under his nose. There were too many strange things about him...

The Daoist Sect Leader chuckled. "Fellow Daoist Yang, rest assured. I used an Eight Gates Locking Talisman. No one below the Harmonization Realm can break it..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the three of them had already lost track of Li Ye.

The Sword Sect Leader’s expression changed drastically.

Immediately after, he felt his own Spiritual Power circulation slow to a crawl as a fierce gust of wind stabbed toward his back.

The Sealing Talismans and Dharma Artifacts used by the Nascent Souls had a negligible effect on him; he broke free with a simple struggle. But when he tried to dodge the sword strike aimed at his back, it was already too late.

Li Ye’s speed was far beyond his imagination, even faster than the activation time of his Protective Dharma Artifact.

Left with no choice, he could only channel all his Spiritual Qi to block the Thrust from behind.

CRACK!

A soft sound echoed.

The Sword Sect Leader felt his Protective Spiritual Qi shatter in an instant, and a massive force sent him sliding thirty or forty meters forward.

’Damn it, how does he have so much strength?’

An excruciating pain shot from his heart.

The Sword Sect Leader’s vision went black. He rapidly mobilized the vast Spiritual Power within him to suppress the burst of Spiritual Qi from Li Ye’s sword. At the same time, he lunged forward, trying to use the momentum to pull his body off the blade.

The Sword Sect Leader’s reaction was undeniably fast.

But the "Smite a Teammate" skill had boosted all of Li Ye’s Attributes.

Li Ye himself didn’t even know how high his agility was now. The moment the Sword Sect Leader moved, he knew his opponent’s intentions.

One hand clamped around the Sword Sect Leader’s neck while the other brutally shoved the sword deeper.

In this situation, it was no longer realistic to pull the sword out and stab him again.

All he could do was channel his Spiritual Power to fight against the Sword Sect Leader’s, while simultaneously using all his strength to drag the sword downward, attempting to slice the Sect Leader in two.

The blade moved barely half an inch before meeting immense resistance, as if a hand had forcefully clamped down on his wrist.

’Damn!’

’As expected of a Sect Leader. He’s a tough one!’

Li Ye mused to himself, then put more force into his grip. The veins on the hand around the man’s neck bulged as he tried to snap it.

The Sword Sect Leader’s face was beet-red, his heart filled with horror.

Li Ye’s Spiritual Power was consistent with the peak of the Void Refinement Realm. In their clash of Spiritual Power, he had the complete upper hand. But what was with this guy’s physical strength?

’How does his strength feel comparable to the Harmonization Realm?’

’Could he be a legendary Body Cultivator?’

The flying swords that had been slaughtering the Wenda Alliance members all turned around. They formed a gigantic sword in mid-air, which then curved and stabbed toward Li Ye’s back.

The sword had yet to arrive, but its sharp Sword Qi had already pierced Li Ye’s skin.

The Nascent Soul Tree on Li Ye’s back disintegrated in an instant.

Aside from Mao Xiu and Zhai Bin, the two largest Nascent Souls, the rest were pulverized the moment they encountered the Sword Qi, dissipating into the world.

At this life-or-death moment, the Sword Sect Leader couldn’t care less about capturing Li Ye alive. The priority was to kill him and survive...

His thirty-second cooldown wasn’t over yet. Sensing the massive sword at his back, Li Ye simply released his hold on Mao Xiu and Zhai Bin, letting them flee for their lives. He, however, held onto the Sword Sect Leader, forcibly spun around, and used him as a shield.

SWOOSH!

The giant sword was sentient. The instant before it struck the Sword Sect Leader, it swerved, shot into the sky, turned around, and plunged toward Li Ye again.

「At the same time.」

Several beams of Sword Light erupted from the Sword Sect Leader’s back, piercing through Li Ye, who was pressed against him.

At such close range, Li Ye’s Protective Dharma Artifact also failed to activate in time.

The Sword Qi passed through his body, and streams of blood shot out from the holes.

Li Ye was riddled with holes like a sieve. He had no choice but to let go of the Immortal-Slaying Sword and was thrown off by the Sword Sect Leader.

Having finally thrown Li Ye off, the Sword Sect Leader immediately forced the Immortal-Slaying Sword out of his body and sealed the wounds on his chest and back with Sword Qi.

He quickly shoved an Elixir Pill into his mouth and squeezed a single word through his teeth: "Die!"

As he spoke, the giant sword abruptly accelerated, lunging at Li Ye.

The giant sword was composed of countless smaller flying swords and was over a hundred meters long. If it hit, Li Ye would likely be blown to smithereens in moments.

Li Ye’s surprise attack on the Sword Sect Leader had drawn most of the firepower, making things much easier for the rest of the Wenda Alliance...

But in the blink of an eye, Li Ye himself was about to suffer a devastating blow.

Seeing this, the people of the Wenda Alliance were filled with despair, feeling as if their world was collapsing.

’Did I overdo it?’

Li Ye raised his wrist, aiming the face of his watch at the tip of the giant sword. ’Cuz, are you still going to slack off at a time like this?’

That’s right.

Li Ye was using himself to force the watch’s hand.

The amount of Demon Qi the watch had been feeding back to him lately was clearly abnormal. He seriously suspected this thing was secretly holding some back.

Moreover, the watch had been slacking off during the fight. He had to squeeze out its full potential.

In the last world, whenever he was in danger, the Team Emblem would desperately supply him with Demon Qi. That was a true symbiotic relationship. But this watch had barely done anything for months, not even bothering to provide Demon Qi to heal him!

’Why should I do all the work while you just reap the benefits?’

’If I’m going down, you’re going down with me.’

"Li Ye, what are you doing?!" The watch’s anxious voice rang in Li Ye’s mind. Simultaneously, an endless torrent of Demon Qi flooded into his body.

This Demon Qi rapidly began to heal his injuries.

The remaining dozen or so seconds of his cooldown also passed in an instant.

Hah!

’I won the bet!’

Li Ye snorted coldly and lowered his wrist. He was just about to use Time Acceleration to hit the Sword Sect Leader again.

Suddenly,

"Fellow Daoist, you must not!"

Following the booming shout, a talisman shimmering with golden light appeared in front of him.

The tip of the sword collided with the talisman.

With a deafening BOOM, it exploded into countless smaller swords.

A smile touched the corner of Li Ye’s lips.

’Too many cooks spoil the broth. I knew these people wouldn’t let me die...’

"Zhu Yu, what are you doing?!" the Sword Sect Leader demanded, his eyes bloodshot.

"Yang, you can’t kill him. Don’t forget why we’re here," the Daoist Sect Leader said. "He’s an arrow at the end of its flight. We just need to capture him..."

’He almost killed me just now, and you didn’t lift a finger to help. But you’re quick to save him. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting!’

The Sword Sect Leader glared coldly at the Daoist Sect Leader as the flying swords in the sky reassembled, vaguely aiming at the Daoist Sect Leader.

"Amitabha Buddha." The Buddhist Sect Leader recited a Buddha’s Name and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Daoist Sect Leader. "Fellow Daoist Yang, think of the bigger picture."

"Master, the Alliance Leader holds the Path of Ascension! You can’t kill him," Qu Hao seized the opportunity to say quickly. "My advancement to the Void Refinement Realm is all thanks to the Alliance Leader."

"Yes, Sect Leader! The Alliance Leader is solely focused on Ascension and never kills needlessly. He is not an evil man," a Wenda Alliance cultivator pleaded on Li Ye’s behalf. "Otherwise, we would not have followed him."

"Silence."

The Daoist Sect Leader swept a cold gaze over the people of the Wenda Alliance.

The Wenda Alliance fell silent in an instant, looking worriedly at the Sword Sect Leader in the sky.

In the face of absolute power, they didn’t even have the right to speak. Fortunately, they had already conveyed the message they needed to.

As long as the Daoist Sect Leader wasn’t a fool, he would naturally keep Li Ye alive.

The only variable was the Sword Sect Leader. After all, their Alliance Leader had nearly killed him.

The Sword Sect Leader, one of the strongest fighters of the current age who had cultivated for thousands of years, was almost killed by an Alliance Leader who had only been cultivating for a few months. The path of Wish Power was just too ferocious.

Although Li Ye had lost this exchange, Qu Hao and the others became even more resolute in their belief in cultivating with Wish Power.

Only cultivating with Wish Power could create such miracles.

...

’Without Derived Skills, the watch’s cooldown must have shortened even further.’

’Should I keep fighting?’

Li Ye looked at the equally seriously injured Sword Sect Leader, wondering if he should press his advantage, finish him off completely, and gamble on getting a Derived Skill!

He still had the "Sacrifice a Teammate" skill he hadn’t used. With the burst of power from that, killing the Sword Sect Leader shouldn’t be difficult!

But after some thought, he decided against it.

’I don’t know what’s going on with the Demon Sect. What if it’s Demon Qi running rampant?’

’I need to at least gather a few top-tier experts to my side...’

Besides, the Upper Three Sects had attacked first. He was acting in self-defense.

If he were to attack now, he would lose the moral high ground.

Even if he killed the Sword Sect Leader, the two old masters from the Daoist and Buddhist Sects would likely become wary of him...

What’s more, he wasn’t even certain he could kill the Sword Sect Leader. That guy’s offensive techniques were too powerful!

Looking at the three Sect Leaders who were still in a standoff, Li Ye took the initiative to speak. "I came to this world only for Ascension; I have no desire to make enemies with anyone. Moreover, in eight or nine months at most, I will shatter the void and leave this world.

"In truth, even if you three hadn’t come, once I reached the Harmonization Realm, I would have visited the Upper Three Sects to sit down and discuss the Ascension Method with you. I just didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly.

"My previous actions were born of necessity, but I did end up taking advantage of the Upper Three Sects. It is understandable that you would attack me. But now that everything is out in the open, there is no need for us to fight to the death.

"The Path of Ascension in this world has been severed. You three must have sought me out after hearing of my origins, searching for a way to ascend, correct?"

"You’re going to ascend in just eight or nine months?" The Daoist Sect Leader looked at Li Ye in astonishment, his voice filled with disbelief.

"That’s right. All preparations are complete; only Ascension remains." Li Ye smiled. "My path to Ascension is through Wish Power. You three are dragons among men, masters of the Upper Three Sects, and you naturally command immense prestige. For you, ascending via the path of Wish Power would be as easy as flipping your hand."