Sage of Humanity

With a single bout of cultivation, his strength leapt from the 9th Dao to the 15th Dao; such growth was downright terrifying.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Lu Ye turned his gaze to the Boulder Mountain Saber resting on his knees.

This time entering the Beginner Realm wasn't just a huge advancement for him alone; the barghest had benefited as well. It had even been startled awake, and judging from the result, this Combat Race fellow seemed to have broken through too.

He had been busy with his own matters before, and only now did Lu Ye have time to investigate.

Looking closely, the outward appearance of the Boulder Mountain Saber hadn't changed much. It was still a pitch‑black long saber, but when his Mental Consciousness probed inside, Lu Ye keenly sensed that the inner structure of the entire blade had undergone earth‑shaking changes.

It no longer felt like a saber, but more like a piece of Dao Bone.

Only, it was that kind of Dao Bone without any Dao force reserves.

"Dao soldier?" Lu Ye couldn't help raising his brows.

Dao soldier is a general term—above the magic treasure level, it is the implement Dao Realm cultivators use for slaughter or defense. Strictly speaking, affiliated treasures are already at the Dao soldier level.

He'd gotten this information while chatting idly with Uncle Duan in Qing Palace.

Dao soldiers can't be refined; they have to be raised, and they're implements that only cultivators at the Dao Fusion level are qualified to nurture.

That ragged cloth doll in Yin Luo's hand looked utterly inconspicuous, yet in truth, that was her Dao soldier. That cloth doll was akin to a doppelganger and could exert eighty percent of Yin Luo's strength.

The most natural Dao soldiers are the affiliated treasures of various supreme treasures. So an affiliated treasure isn't merely something that increases one's Power of the Path by a single Dao; in the Star Abyss, any affiliated treasure is an item that can make Dao Fusion experts covet it. They can use their own Dao force to nourish an affiliated treasure, continuously enhancing its power.

Uncle Duan knew that Lu Ye and the others had affiliated treasures. If not for the connection through Yin Luo, he'd likely have already had thoughts of killing them for their treasures, because even to a powerhouse like Uncle Duan, affiliated treasures are highly alluring.

The barghest actually became a Dao soldier!

This result was both expected and unexpected.

Though the Combat Race has no flesh and blood, it's actually still a race—just far too rare. Ordinary people don't even mention seeing one; they haven't so much as heard of it.

The growth of this race relies entirely on the advancement of its master.

Lu Ye used the power of the Three Blossoms to ignite his Dao Fire, turning his body into a furnace to refine himself. The barghest was refined along with him; thus, Lu Ye stepped into Dao Realm, and the barghest advanced into a Dao soldier.

Judging by the result, both man and saber had broken through their original shackles. For the barghest, the Dao soldier level was essentially equivalent to Dao Realm.

Verifying whether the barghest had become a Dao soldier was simple…

Lu Ye slightly urged a strand of Dao force and channeled it into the Boulder Mountain Saber. In the past, when he did this, the Dao force would only coil around the blade, used to strike the enemy. But now, the moment the Dao force touched the saber, it vanished without a trace, like a stone tossed into the sea.

It really had become a Dao soldier!

The ability to devour Dao force is the most obvious characteristic of a Dao soldier, and it is also the method of nurturing one. Continuously allowing the Dao soldier to swallow his own Dao force, the Dao soldier will gradually grow stronger. Through this method of nourishment, the link between master and Dao soldier will keep strengthening, ultimately achieving unity between man and weapon.

So even if you killed some Dao Fusion cultivators in the Star Abyss who possessed Dao soldiers and seized their Dao soldiers, you still wouldn't be able to refine them. In fact, if you weren't careful, you might even get hurt by the Dao soldier.

The Boulder Mountain Saber turning into a Dao soldier was, in itself, a good thing, yet Lu Ye felt no joy at all—instead, he was rather distressed.

If things went on like this, how was he supposed to fight in the future? The moment he urged his Dao force, it would be swallowed by the Boulder Mountain Saber; what would he use to chop people?

He couldn't be the only one facing this problem. How did those at the Dao Fusion level wield their Dao soldiers?

He tried a few more times and found that this was indeed the case. As long as he channeled Dao force into the Boulder Mountain Saber, it was immediately devoured cleanly. Even after swallowing dozens of Dao force, the saber showed no change at all.

With no other choice, Lu Ye used the edge of the blade to cut his fingertip and dripped three drops of fresh blood onto the saber's body.

The barghest's voice immediately rang out: "What's going on? Is there another good thing?" It had just awakened earlier and received huge benefits, and now it had acquired a taste for it.

Lu Ye let out a sigh and explained the current situation.

After listening, the barghest was a bit conflicted too. "Then what do we do? Most of the time, I'm in slumber. Devouring that so‑called Dao force is an instinct—I can't control it."

Lu Ye said, "Do you really have to stay asleep all the time, elder?"

"Heh‑heh." The barghest chuckled. "Getting me to wake up is easy. You die, and I'll stay awake forever. That's the nature of us in the Combat Race."

Lu Ye said faintly, "If we don't solve this problem, I can only switch to another saber." If he took a blade that would constantly devour his Dao force into battle, that would be no different from courting death. Much as he loathed to, before he found a solution, Lu Ye could only change weapons.

The barghest was instantly at a loss for words. It had finally picked a good master; it didn't want to be replaced. After thinking it over, it said, "When you fight, you don't just rely on Dao force, do you?"

Lu Ye said, "Of course. Dao force gets fused into Mana…"

As he spoke, Lu Ye's eyes lit up, and he immediately did as he'd said. This time, the Boulder Mountain Saber did not devour the Dao force fused into his Mana.

He understood at once and finally knew why those Dao Fusion cultivators in the Star Abyss weren't worried about their own Dao force being swallowed by their Dao soldiers in combat.

Mana was the key.

"Look how slow you are—actually needed your grandpa here to point it out. I'm going back to sleep. From now on, don't be calling me for every little thing. Just this one awakening, I already feel a lot more brittle."

After chattering on for a while, the barghest fell silent again.

Lu Ye tried several more times and finally confirmed that if he purely urged Dao force, it would indeed be swallowed by the Boulder Mountain Saber. But if he fused Dao force into his Mana, then the problem disappeared.

With the issue resolved, his heart was completely at ease.

If it weren't absolutely necessary, he wouldn't want to change sabers either.

The gains from this bout of cultivation were unimaginably great; not only had his own strength risen sharply, he had also obtained a Dao soldier.

However, Lu Ye had no intention of nurturing the Dao soldier for the time being, because as far as he knew, the consumption required to nurture a Dao soldier was far greater than the improvement from a cultivator's own cultivation. This was also why only those at the Dao Fusion level could nurture Dao soldiers: first, the cost was too great, and those at the Beginner level simply couldn't bear it.

If he wasn't going to raise a Dao soldier, then his current goal should be to polish his own Dao Bones. As long as he could temper more Dao Bones, Lu Ye would be able to harness more Dao force. Perhaps one day, he could surpass Dao Fusion while still at the Beginner level.

In the end, it still came down to obtaining more Dao force!

The stellar space was no longer viable. Even if he blocked the Star Abyss Gate here and killed every enemy that came through, the Dao force he could gain was limited, because the enemies currently invading the stellar space from the Star Abyss weren't strong.

Since that was the case, he had only one destination!

After bidding farewell to Jiu Yan, Lu Ye returned to Three Worlds Island and had Old Tang find an Artifact Refiner to forge a sword sheath suitable for the Boulder Mountain Saber.

With his current status, having someone make a sword sheath was naturally a trivial matter.

While he waited, Lu Ye ventured alone beneath the All Phenomena Ocean and found Hua Ci, who was in seclusion cultivating, within the Merfolk Territory.

Hua Ci looked at him in puzzlement. "Why did you come over here?"

She thought something must have happened on the All Phenomena Ocean.

Lu Ye strode forward, and amid her startled cry, wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her up, snorting coldly, "I'm here for revenge!"

Hua Ci was stunned for a moment, then reached out with both hands to loop around his neck, a gentle smile blooming on her lips. "You sure you're up to it?"

Lu Ye flew into a rage. "If this time you don't call me daddy, I'll take your surname!"

Half a month later.

In front of the bed, Hua Ci helped Lu Ye dress, tidied his hair, then patted his chest and brushed away a small crease. "All right, go."

Though Lu Ye hadn't said anything during this half month, Hua Ci had already faintly sensed something.

She didn't know where Lu Ye was heading, only that it would be a long journey. After today, they might not be able to see each other again for a very long time.

Lu Ye nodded, silently walking out with long, vigorous strides.

Some things didn't need to be said; words would only add to the sorrow of parting. Besides, this wasn't the first time they'd parted like this.

Suddenly, Hua Ci's soft, sticky voice came from behind him. "Daddy, come back early!"

Lu Ye's heart gave a jolt. His steps halted; he forced down the urge to turn back and wage another battle, merely lifting a hand to wave before quickly leaving.

From far away, he could faintly hear Hua Ci's triumphant, girlish laughter.

Ten days later, in the Destroyed Illusion Star Cluster, Lu Ye flew straight toward that massive battle city.

He didn't enter the city, but headed directly toward where the Star Abyss Gate was located, because at this time, the person he was looking for definitely wouldn't be in the city.

Very soon, he broke into the area shrouded in Star Abyss ambience.

Judging by the scope and density, the degree of expansion of the Star Abyss Gate here in the Destroyed Illusion Star Cluster wasn't much different from that of the gate under the All Phenomena Ocean. That wasn't surprising; the interval between the opening of these two Star Abyss Gates had only been a few months.

Along the way, he could occasionally sense clashes between cultivators of the native stellar space and invading Star Abyss cultivators.

Lu Ye paid them no mind.

Only when he approached the Star Abyss Gate did he see a familiar cover armor standing there like a towering mountain, just as Jiu Yan guarded the All Phenomena Ocean, steadfastly holding this line for over ten years.

It was Chen Wulei's cover armor.

Not far to the side, there was another familiar figure, sitting cross-legged and cultivating—it was Chang Yu.

These two Dao Realm cultivators from the Cover Armor stellar space bore the last wishes of billions of Cover Armor stellar space cultivators, guarding this place and cutting down powerful enemies for this stellar space.

As for Du Qingsha, she was currently over in the Mystic Frost Star System, overseeing and guarding together with the people of Animitta Palace.

Lu Ye landed directly not far from Chang Yu.

Chang Yu opened his eyes, slightly surprised, and rose to his feet. "Brother Lu, what brings you here?"

"There are some things I want to ask Senior Brother Chen about," Lu Ye said.

Chang Yu understood. "I'll go relieve Senior Brother then!"

With that, he flashed toward the Star Abyss Gate and, in short order, swapped places with Chen Wulei.

Upon meeting Lu Ye, Chen Wulei asked, "Did something happen at the All Phenomena Ocean? Do you need reinforcements?" He clearly thought Lu Ye had come seeking aid.

Lu Ye shook his head. "It's not about the All Phenomena Ocean. I just want to ask you some things."

Chen Wulei understood. "What is it?"

Lu Ye said, "I remember when I followed Sister Qingsha, she mentioned that your stellar space once had an 8th Dao powerhouse who charged into the Star Abyss, but then vanished without a trace. Is that true?"

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