Sage of Humanity-Chapter 610 - 608: Battle of Level 9

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"Good, very good!" Huo Liaoyuan laughed in rage, Lu Ye's reaction was within his expectations. If Lu Ye had really resigned himself to fate, then Huo Liaoyuan would have truly looked down on him.

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As his words fell, Huo Liaoyuan raised his hand and slapped the air in front of him, causing spirit force to surge around him. At the center of his palm, a fiery red spirit force disc several zhang in diameter rapidly unfolded. Within the disc, intricate and interlocking patterns flashed with light.

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The spirit force disc seemed to be embedded in Huo Liaoyuan's palm, and as his spirit force stirred, large and small fireballs appeared out of nowhere, pulling bright trails of fire behind them, hurtling towards Lu Ye like a meteor shower.

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As a magic cultivator at the Cloud River Level 9, who had spent years studying magic and spells, Huo Liaoyuan's mastery was naturally extremely high. The meteor shower he unleashed immediately showcased his prowess. The dense fireballs, dragging their red tails under Huo Liaoyuan's control, turned into arcs as they crazily surged towards where Lu Ye stood, their passage distorting the very space around them with scorching heat.

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Lu Ye's figure dodged and weaved, avoiding the first few fireballs that reached him. In the midst of that meteor shower, he found gaps to dart through as he rapidly advanced forward.

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His movements were swift, his reactions quick, far surpassing the standard expected of a Level 5 cultivator.

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Booming sounds echoed...

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As fireballs hit nothing but air, they struck against the surface of the Deathmatch Arena, and against the restriction barriers around it, erupting in dazzling flames and unleashing shocking heatwaves.

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A calm and composed Huo Liaoyuan's face showed a look of surprise.

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For him, a Level 9 cultivator, to personally deal with a Level 5 cultivator, he hadn't really put much effort into it. He believed that with such a huge disparity in cultivation, he could easily claim the other's life with a casual spell. Using the energy-intensive meteor fire shower was already an exceedingly secure move. Yet, Lu Ye's performance astonished him.

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The opponent could actually weave through his meteor shower...

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Was such a reaction possible for a Level 5 cultivator?

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Huo Liaoyuan's expression immediately turned serious. He had witnessed the embarrassment of capsizing in a ditch, and he had warned himself to take heed. His mental power began to surge, and the number of fireballs emerging from the spirit force disc in front of him grew even larger, their trajectories increasingly unpredictable.

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Lu Ye, like a fish swimming upstream against the tide of fireballs, felt the pressure mount the moment Huo Liaoyuan's mindset shifted, slowing his advance.

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A magic cultivator possesses a certain degree of control over the spells they cast, a capability that becomes evident once a cultivator reaches the Level 7 realm.

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Take Lu Ye, for instance. When he first started practicing the Fire Phoenix Technique, his cultivation was only at Level 3. Once he executed the spell, it would follow whatever trajectory it was supposed to, with no control on his part, resulting in incredibly poor accuracy.

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But once his cultivation reached Level 7, a cultivator could manipulate spirit force that had left their body, which is precisely why cultivators could control weapons at this level of cultivation.

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Being able to control the spirit force within a Spiritual Artifact naturally meant they could also control spells.

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The level of a magic cultivator's skill doesn't solely depend on how many spells they know, or how powerful those spells are, but also on the subtle control they have over their own spells.

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Huo Liaoyuan was undoubtedly a qualified magic cultivator. The overwhelming barrage of fireballs he released, while not entirely within his control, could still be partially manipulated.

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And these fireballs, under his control, followed trajectories that were very hard to predict.

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At this moment, even though Lu Ye had managed to dodge some of the fireballs, they could return from behind, attacking from the rear.

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The hand that had been resting on the hilt of his saber moved, and a fiery red saber light flashed past. The Boulder Mountain Saber burst forth with a fierce light, splintering the incoming fireballs one after another, causing a series of explosive booms.

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The protective spirit force enveloped his body. As stray sparks fell, they accelerated the depletion of Lu Ye's spirit force.

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He did not stimulate the power of the Talent Tree. That was the confidence backing his battle with Huo Liaoyuan, something he didn't want to expose unless absolutely necessary.

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Moreover, to defeat a Cloud River Level 9 cultivator, relying solely on the Talent Tree's power was far from enough. He needed to get Huo Liaoyuan to exhaust as much of his own strength as possible. Only then, at his weakest, could Lu Ye deliver a killing blow.

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In terms of cultivation, he was indeed far behind Huo Liaoyuan.

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But aside from that, Huo Liaoyuan no longer held any advantage.

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"Die!" Suddenly, Huo Liaoyuan let out a furious roar, his face contorted with ferocity.

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The long saber swung by Lu Ye stopped abruptly, and with a turn of his gaze, he saw a huge fireball right in front of him. This fireball was clearly different from the others; it contained extremely violent spirit force within.

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As he noticed the fireball, a chaotic and ferocious fluctuation of power simultaneously reached him. The huge fireball suddenly expanded in his field of vision, accompanied by an intense humming sound and a blinding flash of firelight.

Boom…

The firelight burst forth, engulfing Lu Ye's figure. Huo Liaoyuan did not stop his assault but seized the opportunity to pursue his attack. Under his exquisite control, more fireballs surged into that blaze one after another, triggering the aura of death.

Suddenly the firelight churned, and Lu Ye's ragged figure tumbled out from within, slightly leaning forward with one hand spread out in front of him. A massive Defense Spirit Rune shielded him, making it seem as though he was holding a shield, while the other hand, though burned and blurred with flesh, still tightly gripped his Boulder Mountain Saber.

He stood on the Deathmatch Arena, skidding back more than thirty yards from the massive impact before he could barely stabilize his posture.

With a crashing noise, the shield of defense in front of him shattered, revealing Lu Ye's figure, his clothes torn and tattered, his body dotted with burns, even some of his hair curled and singed.

He had put in so much effort to gradually close the distance with Huo Liaoyuan, but the opponent had easily nullified all his previous efforts, sending everything back to square one.

Indeed... I hate magic cultivators, Lu Ye turned his head and spat out a mouthful of Blood Water, calming the churning blood Qi in his chest.

These guys, relying on their far reach, act as they please, leaving no room for him to apply what he had learned.

"Hmm?" Huo Liaoyuan was slightly startled, looking at Lu Ye who had escaped the trap, his expression suddenly becoming excited, "Impressive, very impressive!"

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He appeared as if he'd discovered some new and amusing thing, his eyes brimming with excitement and joy, "A mere Level 5 realm, and yet you can block my magic and spells, Lu Yiye, you truly are a monster. It's no wonder you cause such a headache for all the major forces of Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. I was thinking, it would be a waste to just kill you off like this, especially since I used an exotic treasure like the Deathmatch Arena! Since you're so powerful..." his expression suddenly turned cold, and the words that popped out of his mouth were like the icy breath from the Deepest Hell, "then struggle as much as you can, no matter what, having spent so much, you'd better give me a good show!"

The spirit light flashed again, and on that spirit force disc, densely packed fireballs reappeared. After a brief pause when they appeared, the fireballs one after another surged toward Lu Ye.

After the setback just now, how could Lu Ye not know that with his current strength, it was a foolish dream to think he could rush up to his opponent under these circumstances.

It's true that magic cultivators have weaker constitutions, and most would meet bad ends if combat cultivators got close, but their reach is so long, and that reach is the truth. In the face of absolute strength disparity, it's unrealistic for combat cultivators to get close to them.

Indeed, I must keep depleting his strength.

Such a dense barrage of magic and spells, even if Huo Liaoyuan were at Level 9, would surely cost him greatly!

Making up his mind, Lu Ye immediately swept to the side. Fireballs closely followed, narrowly missing his body and striking the Deathmatch Arena, hitting the restriction barrier with thunderous noises. The blasts from the exploding fireballs unleashed shockwaves in all directions, tossing Lu Ye about like a solitary boat adrift on the high seas amid surging waves and howling winds.

Huo Liaoyuan was indeed going a bit mad, his expression contorted—perhaps due to the heavy casualties among his men the day before where over sixty people had perished, the psychological pressure was too great. Now that he'd gotten the chance, he was unleashing it all.

While relentlessly driving his magic and spells to attack, he laughed maniacally, and every so often, he taunted, "Run, run, look at you running like a rat, such an ugly posture. Want to kill me? If you want to kill me, come here; you won't have the chance if you just run away!"

Despite the mockery, he didn't forget to provoke, showing how meticulous Huo Liaoyuan's nature was. Even in a situation he fully controlled, he instinctively used words to affect Lu Ye's mental state.

Lu Ye would not be swayed by him. Having decided to first deplete his power, the longer the delay, the better.

The continuous booming sounds were unending as Lu Ye darted around the Deathmatch Arena. Occasionally, he would feign attempts to charge at Huo Liaoyuan in order to confuse him. Unsurprisingly, every time he did this, Huo Liaoyuan's offense would intensify, keeping him at bay.

The Boulder Mountain Saber he was holding might as well have been for decoration—he had no opportunity to swing it. The Defense Spirit Runes were constantly activated, blocking some attacks he couldn't avoid.

Not a single fireball caused him direct harm, but the shock of each explosion still left his body pained and his blood Qi in turmoil.

This was also why he had not immediately activated his Talent Tree. Indeed, by activating it, he could block the fire type's power, but the accompanying shock and turbulence could not be avoided.

Moreover, doing so would greatly exhaust his mental power, and even though Lu Ye's mental power was much stronger than that of cultivators at the same level, he could not maintain it for a long time.

This trump card must be used at the right moment to achieve the element of surprise.

Time passed, the duration of a cup of tea, one incense stick's time…

Lu Ye became more and more bedraggled, and Huo Liaoyuan's expression was no longer as relaxed as before.

The meteor fire shower technique was extremely taxing; he had never sustained it for so long. In just the short time of one incense stick, nearly half of his spirit force had been used up. However, to his frustration, Lu Yiye was still bouncing around energetically!