Qin Yu saw how shocked Qing Yun was and he smiled in a cool manner. âIf I hadnât killed him, how could the Demonic Blood Devouring Sword be in my hands? However, itâs power may be much weaker than before.â
The demonic spirit of the Demonic Blood Devouring Sword was destroyed and it became a normal spirit weapon. Nonetheless, it was still ten times better than normal weapons.
âHuff.â Qing Yun took a deep breath to calm herself down and looked at Qin Yu strangelyâas if she was looking at a monster. âJust how strong are you?â
âErm, that is hard to say. Just know that I can deal with a couple of Hunters with ease.â Qin Yu said confidently.
âOkay, we will collaborate.â Qing Yun nodded and agreed. With the Demonic Blood Devouring Sword, they would have a chance against the Hunters.
âSmart choice.â Qin Yu grinned as he kept the Demonic Blood Devouring Sword into his ring. He turned towards Mu Rongyue. âXiao Yue, do you know how many competitors entered the Illusory Battlefield?â
Mu Rongyue kept silent and thought for a while. âIâm not sure about the exact figures but there should be an estimated four to five thousand people.â
Qing Yun was surprised by the number and could not help but interrupt. âSo many?â
âOf course. This is the most conservative estimate.â Mu Rongyue spoke firmly. âThere are more than a hundred cities within Qiongxi Country. Every city chooses about ten to a hundred elites. Small cities like Luosang City will choose about a dozen people while larger cities like the Capital will choose around three hundred competitors.â
âIf we were to calculate it like this, there are only about a thousand people left in the Illusory Battlefield. There may be even fewer.â Qin Yu sighed.
Mu Rongyueâs facial expression and tone changed immediately. âBrother, what did you just say? Only about a thousand left? How could it be? It hasnât even been a month, howâŠâ
She entered the Illusory Battlefield to stop the scheme of the Hunters. Now that thousands had died, there was nothing which she could do.
âHeâs speaking the truth.â A few days ago, three hundred of the strongest elites entered the Tower during the fight for a Spirit Weapon. Every one of them killed at least ten people. With this, before we entered the Tower, at least three thousand people died and only a few of us among the three hundred elites had managed to escape. The rest of them are all dead.
Qing Yunâs tone was rather solemn. In that battle, thousands of young heroes lost their lives within a single day. It was so cruel that their hairs stood on end.
âPlop.â Mu Rongyue staggered and fell on the floor, her face as white as a sheet.
âMiss!â Ruo Feng shouted as he rushed up to her. However, Qin Yu was a step early and was helping her up already.
âXiao Yue, are you fine?â Qin Yu asked worriedly.
Mu Rongyue looked very sick. She leaned on Qin Yuâs shoulder and spoke in a trembling voice. âDoes it mean that Qiongxi Country is doomed?â
Qing Yun saw how Mu Rongyue behaved and felt puzzled. This lady was too concerned with the fate of the nation. Why would she be so worried about whether Qiongxi Country was doomed or not? However, Qing Yun was still unaware of Mu Rongyueâs true identity.
As the Princess of the country, it was natural for her to be concerned with the nations affairs.
The death of thousands of elites was a huge loss to Qiongxi Country. This would cause a drop in strength between the generations of cultivators. Their world prioritizes cultivation and a lack of talented cultivators would deal a great blow to the countryâs capabilities. The strength of the country might decline. Qiongxi Country had been declining for many years and at this rate, the country would be doomed.
âXiao Yue, whatever happened is irreversible. Donât be too upsetâwhat we need to do now is to protect the remaining people.â Qin Yu comforted her.
In reality, he did not have much interest in protecting these people. If it was not for Mu Rongyue, he would never bother himself with it. The path of cultivation was always cruel. Since they had chosen this path, they would have to depend on their own abilities and their destiny. No one could protect them forever. Furthermore, many of them had a greedy nature. If it were not for their greed, how would thousands of them die in the battle at the Tower?
âBrother, what do we do now?â Mu Rongyue stabilized herself and asked Qin Yu. A firm and sharp glint shone from her eyes, displaying a trace of anger.
She agreed with Qin Yu. In this situation, moping around in sadness would be of no help. It was crucial for them to protect the remaining talented youths. She had a different stand from the othersâshe had to protect the last hope of Qiongxi.
âItâs simple. The four of us will fight the Hunters together. We could lure them to fight us and attract all of their attention. They would then be incapable of attacking the others. Furthermore, with every Hunter we kill, we decrease their threat to the others.â Qin Yuâs plan was indeed simple but dangerous.
Qing Yun had realised the danger in this immediately. âIf we do this, our enemies will spot us once we take action. Once all of them surround us and focus on attacking us, we wonât be able to hold out for long.â
A smile surfaced on Qin Yuâs face as he looked at Qing Yun. âAre you scared?â
Qing Yun was stunnedâobviously she couldnât say that she was scared. âWhatâsâŠwhatâs there to be afraid of?â
âThatâs great. Itâs only fun when thereâs more people. Hehe.â Qin Yu laughed sinisterly.
âFun? What a madman.â Qing Yun was speechless.
âŠâŠ
At this point in time, two Hunters arrived outside the mountain cave where Qin Yu and his companions were located in.
âHey brother, where do you think the fellow called Qin Yu is hiding at? Why canât we find him? Has he fled the Illusory Battlefield already?â One of them spoke in a depressed manner.
âThatâs impossible, the Illusory Battlefield is already closed. If we canât leave, how could he, unless he died and left as a corpse.â The other replied.
âSigh, letâs hope that heâs still in the battlefield. However, weâve searched everywhere else, and thereâs only this little corner left. If we still canât find them here, I donât know what to do.â
âStop complaining and hurry with the search. Hey, thereâs a cave below. Letâs check it out. âć°ćèżäșçąéȘäșïŒè”¶çާæć§ăćŠïŒäžéąæäžȘć±±æŽïŒæä»Źäžć»ççăâ
âThereâs really a cave there! Letâs go! Even if thereâs no one in it, there may be some good stuff inside.â The old man had placed some good things on this battlefield when he set it up. I wonder what he was thinking about when he decided to do so.
The both of them reached the front of the cave soon and they sense danger after staring at the pitch black opening. They hesitated and didnât dare to enter.
âHey brother, youâre older and stronger than me. Why donât you enter first?â The younger one spoke.
âBullshit. Youâre younger and you should get in first.â The elder Hunter hollered angrily. âHavenât you heard the idiom âthe elder opens his mouth and the younger runs until his legs breakâ? Youâre younger, so you run the errands.â
âHehe, brother, donât get angry. Why donât the both of us enter at the same time? If thereâs something good in it, we can split it. HeheâŠâ The younger one suggested.
The elder Hunter thought about it for a while. âFine, letâs go.â He was also lured by the potential treasures that they might find.
As they spoke, the both of them stepped into the cave and drew their swords. They were stiff and cautious, and were constantly in an alert and battle-ready mode.
The two of them slowly made their way into the cave. Although the lighting was bad, they were both cultivators with better vision than the average man. They could see their surroundings within the cave. It was empty and there was nothing inside.
âSigh, what a waste of my caution. Thereâs nothing.â The younger Hunter saw that nothing was inside and was obviously disappointed. His tense nerves relaxed and he slipped out of his combat-ready mode.
âWait. Look, thereâs pieces of torn cloth and a trail of blood.â The older one suddenly spoke.
âHm?â The younger Hunter tensed his muscles again as he looked towards the floor. Indeed, he saw the pieces of cloth and blood.
âBrother, is it possible for that dude to have recuperated here?âThe younger Hunterâs voice contained excitement. They had finally found some clues.
âThatâs very possible. Leave now, weâll report this.â The elder Hunter was excited as well. By being the first to find the clues, they would be greatly rewarded.
âSince the both of you are already here, why donât you stay then.â A cold piercing voice rang out from within the cave suddenly.
âWho are you?â Both of them shouted at the same time. Before they finished yelling, numerous flashes of blood-red blade light flew towards them, in such a great density that they could blot out the sky and the earth.
âRetreat.â The both of them were elites and could take down opponents in the same realm as themselves. Hence they could still react timely to this sudden attack as they whipped out their swords and blocked the attacks.
However, all of their defence were in vain. They were not facing a normal weapon but the Demonic Blood Devouring Sword, a Spirit Weapon. Their weapons could only count as above-average normal weapons and were greatly inferior to a Spirit Weapon.
Their swords were broken into pieces and their bodies were slashed into pieces ruthlessly.
Two corpses fell onto the floor and Qin Yu rushed in from outside the cave. His palm struck the Dantian of the two men and he sucked out their fireflies.
It seems like the two had mediocre reapings from their previous battle, as the fireflies they had added up to merely twenty over fireflies.
At the back, Mu Rongyue and the rest had rushed in as well.
They had long discovered the two men and thus had left the cave secretly to let them in. One of them will then enter to beat them up.
Looking at the two bodies that were so badly slashed by the dense blades that they were beyond recognition, Qing Yun and the rest were extremely appalled.
Killing two men with one attack. A Spirit Weapon was indeed terrifying.
Qin Yu, on the other hand, remained calm. Itâs merely the damage done by a Spirit Weapon, thereâs nothing to be surprised about. Of course, compared to the cultivators of his realm, the strength of the Spirit Weapon was indeed shocking.
Although a Spirit Weapon was powerful by itself, the capability of a cultivator still originated from his or her own cultivation. To be heavily reliant on a powerful weapon would do more harm than good to oneâs cultivation and growth in abilities. As oneâs realm increases, the usefulness of a weapon would be reduced and one would have to rely on oneâs own abilities. If one was too weak, they would not be able to unleash the potential of a strong weapon and could be defeated in a single strike.
Qin Yu knew about this and thus he would not use a Spirit Weapon unless he was in crucial moments. He much preferred the Blood Saber that he had refined himself.
âQin Yu, what were those flickering, glowing things youâve just collected?â Qing Yunâs gaze swept over the bodies and asked Qin Yu with a puzzled look.
âEnergy fireflies. Iâll explain them later.â Qin Yu spoke in a deep voice. âSomeoneâs here, letâs leave before we discuss this further.â
âOkay.â The few of them spoke no more and left swiftly.