Chapter 106 - 105: Why Don’t We Strike First

Chapter 106: Chapter 105: Why Don’t We Strike First

"You idiot! His Spatial Technique has a time lag! You had a perfect chance to take him out and then escape..."

"You damn baldy! If I’d killed him, I would have killed you too. And you have the gall to complain?"

"You two idiots! I never should have helped you undo the Eight Gates Locking Talisman. If it wasn’t to let you escape, I wouldn’t have gotten sneak-attacked by him."

"Shut up! If you had just acted then, we wouldn’t be in this mess!"

"Li Ye had already agreed to teach the Desire Power Ascension Method. You’re the ones who didn’t trust him and insisted on attacking him..."

"And you didn’t try to stop us, did you?"

...

The Nascent Souls of the Daoist, Buddhist, and Sword Sect Leaders chattered endlessly, each refusing to back down and trying to push the blame onto the others.

Li Ye sat cross-legged in his weakened state, quietly restoring his power.

Without the Team Emblem, "Teammate Sacrifice" was weakened. The speed of his power increase wasn’t as fast, and correspondingly, the subsequent weakness wasn’t as severe.

But after exiting the "Teammate Sacrifice" state, the Spiritual Power in his body was still completely drained.

Even the Demon Qi from his wristwatch was wrung dry.

The Demon Qi for the three Derived Skills left by the Team Emblem was even nearly depleted, with only about one-third of the original amount remaining.

This was not a good sign.

The Demon Qi from the Team Emblem that his three Derived Skills retained was non-renewable; its only purpose was to fuel the Derived Skills.

Normally, when using a Derived Skill, the amount of Demon Qi would not decrease.

"Teammate Sacrifice," this buggy Derived Skill, mobilized all of his reserve power. It had even extracted the Demon Qi from his other Derived Skills...

The last time he used "Teammate Sacrifice," he hadn’t noticed this problem because he was wearing the Team Emblem, and the Demon Qi was replenished in time.

’It’s a good thing my power level has increased, and it didn’t take me long to take down the three Sect Leaders. Otherwise, if I’d truly drained the Demon Qi and crippled the three Derived Skills, I wouldn’t even know where to begin crying!’

’Furthermore, the wristwatch’s Demon Qi is recovering, but it isn’t supplying the Team Emblem’s Derived Skills. The two are clearly incompatible.’

Li Ye sighed. ’"Teammate Sacrifice" is a last-resort skill; I really can’t use it regularly.’

’Looks like after I get back to Earth, I’ll have to extract some more Demon Qi from the Team Emblem to power these three Derived Skills.’

’Having only a third of the Demon Qi left just makes me uneasy.’

...

This time, "Teammate Sacrifice" didn’t last long, and besides, this world had Elixir Pills to replenish Spiritual Qi.

After taking a few pills and meditating through several Circulations, Li Ye’s depleted Spiritual Power was restored.

However, the wristwatch’s Demon Qi didn’t replenish nearly as quickly. After all, the watch’s influence was far less than the Team Emblem’s in the previous world.

In the last world, he had relied on the Team Emblem to create an entire series of football-related industries, almost changing the entire world.

In comparison, the wristwatch’s influence was limited to the upper echelons, which was still too weak.

’Next time I choose a demonic item, I should pick something with more widespread appeal...’

...

When Li Ye opened his eyes, he was met with many pairs of admiring gazes.

To single-handedly defeat the three Sect Leaders of the Upper Three Sects was an unprecedented feat. At this moment, Li Ye was a god to everyone in the Wenda Alliance.

The three Sect Leaders stopped their bickering and turned their gazes to Li Ye in unison.

Li Ye looked at them and shook his head. "Why did you have to do this? Wouldn’t it have been better for us all to peacefully rely on Wish Power Ascension? Did you really have to let it get to this point? Are you satisfied now?"

The three exchanged awkward glances.

"Now that it’s come to this, are the three of you still unwilling to call me Alliance Leader?" Li Ye asked with a smile.

"Alliance Leader." The Daoist Sect Leader sighed, cupped his fists as if accepting his fate, and addressed him as such.

"Alliance Leader," the Buddhist and Sword Sect Leaders reluctantly echoed.

"Since you’ve joined the Wenda Alliance, we’re all on the same side now," Li Ye said with a smile. "I don’t hold grudges, so let’s put all past grievances behind us. There will be no shortage of benefits for you in the future."

’You beat us into this state. What grudge is there left for you to hold?’

The Daoist Sect Leader grumbled inwardly before putting on a smile. "Alliance Leader, what is this Path of Loose Immortal?"

Mao Xiu’s and Zhai Bin’s Nascent Souls were still alive, and had even grown to over two feet tall. That must be the Path of Loose Immortal for Nascent Souls.

But when he asked Mao Xiu how to cultivate as a Loose Immortal, all he got in return was a disdainful look.

Thinking about what they had done, the three Sect Leaders were too ashamed to press the issue and could only turn to Li Ye.

"Mao Xiu, you explain it to them." Even while healing, Li Ye could perceive his surroundings and naturally knew what had happened. He pushed the question back to Mao Xiu. "No one has ever walked the Path of Loose Immortal before. You’ll all have to support each other to have a chance to grow.

And like I said, now that you’re in the Wenda Alliance, we’re all on the same team. Let the past be the past! We need to look forward. Always remember, Ascension is the only thing that matters."

"Yes," Mao Xiu replied, then sullenly began to explain the Path of Loose Immortal to the three Sect Leaders.

After they heard the explanation, the three Sect Leaders were stunned.

The Sword Sect Leader’s eyes widened. "A Loose Immortal has no Cultivation Technique? You have to create your own?"

The Daoist and Buddhist Sect Leaders just stood there, dazed, only coming back to their senses after a long moment.

The Daoist Sect Leader sighed, his face a mask of misery. "Alliance Leader, you have truly doomed us."

"Don’t be so ungrateful," Li Ye said, glancing at him irritably. "You came at me with killing intent from the start. The fact that this is all that happened to you is a testament to my good temper. If it were anyone else, they would have scattered your ashes to the wind by now."

"..." The Daoist Sect Leader looked sheepish, at a loss for words.

Li Ye glanced at them and picked up the nearby Eight Gates Locking Talisman. "Old Zhu, how do you use this?"

"Alliance Leader, that is the Daoist Sect’s ancestral treasure," the Daoist Sect Leader said reflexively.

"’Ancestral treasure’?" Li Ye snorted mockingly. "You’re not even the Sect Leader anymore. It won’t be long before the Three Evil Sects react. If I die fighting them, you won’t even be able to cultivate as a Loose Immortal."

"..." The Daoist Sect Leader froze for a second, then said, "I will teach the Alliance Leader the incantation and the Cultivation Method shortly."

"What about this?" Li Ye’s gaze shifted to the Sword Sect Leader’s Sword Box. After the Sword Sect Leader had fallen, all his flying swords had returned to the box.

"The Sword Box must be used with the Ten Thousand Swords Spell," the Sword Sect Leader said, his expression mournful as he looked at the box. "You need to be at least at the Harmonization Realm to activate it."

"Then teach me the Ten Thousand Swords Spell," Li Ye said.

"The Ten Thousand Swords Spell must be cultivated from a young age, nurturing the sword with one’s own body and converting Spiritual Power into Sword Qi." The Sword Sect Leader shook his head. "If the Alliance Leader wants to practice it, you would need to destroy your own cultivation and start over from the beginning..."

He stopped mid-sentence, suddenly freezing.

He remembered that Li Ye had only been cultivating for a little over three months.

It seemed that crippling his cultivation and starting over wouldn’t be a difficult thing for him at all.

"Can’t Spiritual Qi be directly converted into Sword Qi?" Li Ye asked, recalling the process of converting Inner Strength into Spiritual Qi.

"It’s possible, but the process is excruciating. During the conversion, your meridians will feel as if they’re being scraped by knives. It’s time-consuming, strenuous, and the slightest mistake can lead to cultivation deviation." The Sword Sect Leader looked at Li Ye, wanting to cry but having no tears. He found it truly hard to believe he had been defeated by such a cultivation newbie.

But it was the truth, after all. He sighed. "The Alliance Leader’s own combat power is already peerless, and your physique is unprecedented. There’s no need to chase the trivial and neglect the essential by switching to the Sword Dao."

Remembering the dazzling sight of a sky full of flying swords, Li Ye rolled his eyes at him and thought, ’Who would want to fight hand-to-hand when you can attack from a distance?’

"Alliance Leader, Sword Qi is focused on offense and killing; it cannot be used to control the Eight Gates Locking Talisman," the Daoist Sect Leader couldn’t help but remind him when he saw Li Ye seemed interested in switching to the Sword Dao.

He was afraid Li Ye would act impulsively and really try to cultivate the Sword Dao, ruining himself in the process. If the Demon Sect were to attack then, they would all be finished.

Ah!

Li Ye paused, then turned to look at the Buddhist Sect Leader. The Buddha Dharma Aspect was also quite appealing.

Besides, when he had fought the Buddhist Sect Leader, that guy’s hide had been the toughest. If his own power hadn’t increased by an unknown amount when he attacked him first, he might not have been able to break through his defense at all.

’That must be the Buddhist Sect’s Vajra Indestructible!’

’A life-saving ultimate skill!’

Sigh!

The Buddhist Sect Leader sighed. "Alliance Leader, the Buddhist Sect’s Mental Methods are also not compatible with Spiritual Power."

"Teach them all to me. I’ll figure out whether I can use them or not," Li Ye said after a moment of thought. "Besides, just because you can’t, doesn’t mean I can’t."

He thought back to the previous world, where he had used Demon Qi to forcefully activate many martial arts techniques.

’Demon Qi is of a higher grade than Inner Strength and Spiritual Qi. If it comes to it, I’ll just use Demon Qi to activate these Cultivation Techniques...’

...

Li Ye insisted.

Helpless, the three Sect Leaders had no choice but to teach him their respective signature Cultivation Techniques.

After teaching him, they still earnestly warned him not to rashly practice the Cultivation Techniques of other Sects—at least not before the Demon Sect was exterminated.

Then, during the attack on the next Sect, the three Sect Leaders witnessed what a true genius was.

While only at the peak of the Void Refinement Realm, Li Ye not only used the Ten Thousand Swords Spell but also condensed a Buddhist Dharma Body behind him.

He had forcibly merged the three completely incompatible Cultivation Techniques, and what’s more, there wasn’t the slightest sign of a backlash.

Of course, the Ten Thousand Swords Spell Li Ye used wasn’t as grand and powerful as the Sword Sect Leader’s, and the Buddhist Golden Body he condensed was several times smaller than the Buddhist Sect Leader’s...

But he had actually used them!

’I’ll be damned! Is this the power of Wish Power Ascension?’

At that moment, the three Sect Leaders were filled with immense regret.

’If we had known Wish Power was this powerful, we would never have made an enemy of Li Ye!’

’And now look at us. We gave up a ready-made path, and now we have to pathetically walk the Path of Loose Immortal, with no idea if it will even succeed.’

’On top of that, Li Ye is going to achieve Ascension soon.’

’By then, if we still haven’t found a way forward on our Path of Loose Immortal, there will be no one to help us maintain our Nascent Souls or help us grow!’

’If the Three Evil Sects come to attack us, who will be able to stop them?’

A deep sense of crisis welled up in the hearts of the three Sect Leaders. They couldn’t let things continue like this.

’At the very least, before the Alliance Leader achieves Ascension, we have to drag the Three Evil Sects down into this mess with us.’

’It would be best if the Nascent Souls of the Demon Sect Leader, the Ghost Sect Leader, and the Demon King—no, the Nascent Souls of all Harmonization Realm Elders—are all dragged out. It would be great if everyone had to cultivate as Loose Immortals together...’

...

"Alliance Leader, any information we can find, the Three Evil Sects can find as well," the Daoist Sect Leader said. "The Demon Sect hasn’t made a move yet, which probably means they’re preparing something big. Once they attack in full force, the Wenda Alliance’s current numbers won’t be enough to stop them. We should strike first and gain the upper hand!"

"Amitabha Buddha. Old Zhu is right," the Buddhist Sect Leader said. "Once news of our demise spreads, the Demon Sect will surely make even more thorough preparations. The longer we delay, the more disadvantageous it will be for us..."

"Indeed, Alliance Leader. At the Dragon Spine Sect, you used the Ten Thousand Swords Spell, the Buddhist Dharma Body, and the Eight Gates Locking the Void all at once. These are the hallmarks of the Upper Three Sects," the Sword Sect Leader said. "The Demon Sect will almost certainly think you’ve already allied with the Upper Three Sects. It’s highly likely they’ll come attacking..."