Sage of Humanity

In the Mirage Realm, Lu Ye, with a Boulder Mountain Saber in hand and drenched in blood, had finally slain the last monster. The ground was littered with emerald green blood and the severed limbs and innards of the creatures. After spending many days, he had at last killed all nine monsters that had appeared simultaneously!

Though his injuries were severe enough to leave him feeling dizzy, he did not let his guard down, for he didn't know whether ten monsters might suddenly leap out at him next. If that were the case, he would have no choice but to stretch out his neck in surrender.

The fog ahead roiled and surged, and from within it, a figure stepped forth.

Lu Ye focused his eyes and was startled; he had not expected to encounter not only strangely shaped insect monsters in the Mirage Realm but also a person!

It wasn't quite accurate to call it a person, since the newcomer was shrouded in fog, their features unclear, and their gender indiscernible.

This was clearly not a real person, but rather the mystical nature of the Mirage Realm itself.

As Lu Ye was still sizing up the figure, the shadow wrapped in fog had already lifted a hand and pointed. A Liu Guang shot toward him swiftly— it was the might of weapon control!

This fellow was undoubtedly a Level 7.

Shortly thereafter, in the training room, Lu Ye opened his eyes, pale-faced and with a headache as if his brain had been pricked with needles. Despite feeling utterly exhausted, his expression was one of exhilaration.

After passing the nine challenges set by the insect monsters, the appearance of a cultivator was unforeseen, but it was a welcome surprise to him.

While slaying those insect monsters could hone his combat skills, it ultimately didn't hold much significance. In the Spirit Stream battlefield, all his opponents were cultivators from Ten Thousand Demons Ridge. The change from insects to a cultivator was undoubtedly more in line with his needs.

He silently prayed he wouldn't need to kill more insects next time he entered, as that would be rather troublesome. It would be best if he didn't need to, he thought to himself.

Rather than killing insects, he was more willing to cross hands with that misty cultivator, because the strength that the latter displayed was indeed that of a Level 7 cultivator, and even one of the best among them.

He would have to wait until tomorrow to verify this.

He popped two elixir pills into his mouth and took out books he had obtained from Madam Yun to study.

After half a day, his exhaustion dissipated, and his spirit force was replenished.

He began to construct the thirty spirit runes.

Whether it was because he was in a good mood or had a skilled hand, he managed to form them successfully in one go today!

After dispersing the spirit runes and attempting to construct them again, he failed.

But with one successful attempt behind him, things became simpler, and he succeeded on his third try, failed on his fourth, succeeded on his fifth, succeeded on his sixth...

Lu Ye kept practicing, seeking the right touch in success and accumulating lessons and experience in failure. After dozens of attempts, his success rate was around seventy percent.

This success rate was quite high already, presumably meeting Madam Yun's expectations. In other words, he could proceed to the next phase of learning with her.

Although constructing spirit runes consumed some of his spirit force, the effect of the Spirit Energy Gathering Spirit Runes and the Bestial Gluttony Feast allowed the total amount of spirit force within him not only to maintain but also to keep increasing.

At this moment, he was at full saturation.

He inspected his own spiritual orifice and spurred his spirit force to strike at the spiritual orifice barrier.

In just about half an hour, the barrier of the spiritual orifice was breached, and he now had a total of one hundred and eight spiritual orifices within him.

And this number corresponded exactly to the Spirit Stream Level 7!

He stimulated his spirit force to link these disparate spiritual orifices into a circulation of the Minor Circumambulation; as the wave of energy swept through, he had reached the Spirit Stream Level 7!

Discovering the subsequent use of the Mirage Realm, succeeding in constructing the thirty spirit runes, and advancing to the Spirit Stream Level 7, his day was filled with three pieces of excellent news.

It had been a month since he returned from the Chess Sea, which showed the rapid pace of his orifice-opening progress.

Not continuing with his cultivation, he stepped out of the training room and, while his spirit force was abundant, went to construct a few Spirit Energy Gathering Spirit Runes for other training rooms.

Thanks to his continuous efforts over the past days, nearly all the training rooms now had at least one such spirit rune, a few had two, and for Disciple Hua Ci and others, their rooms even had three, complemented by the Spirit Gathering Arrays already present within the training rooms, greatly enhancing the efficiency of the disciples' cultivation.

Two hours later, Lu Ye appeared on Bright Heart Peak, sitting opposite Madam Yun.

After inspecting Lu Ye's achievements in constructing the thirty spirit runes, Madam Yun took out a handful of thin crystal plates. Each of these crystal plates represented a spirit rune named after a number. They had no practical use but played an indelible role in the transmission of knowledge between spirit runes masters and their disciples.

Before Madam Yun's eyes, Lu Ye flawlessly deconstructed each of the basic elements within these spirit runes.

Then, Madam Yun taught him several techniques for constructing spirit runes, including the methods of embedding Yin-Yang Dual Origins. Lu Ye asked about the doubts in his heart and received thorough answers.

As dusk approached, Madam Yun took out two of the crystal plates, "These are spirit runes eighty-three and one hundred sixty-five. Come back to me once you can successfully construct these two."

She handed over dozens of books to Lu Ye as well.

Lu Ye carefully stored these away and bade farewell to Madam Yun. Escorted by a maid, he left Bright Heart Peak.

He returned to Righteous Peak and found Senior Sister Shui Yuan.

"You've reached Level 7?" Shui Yuan looked at Lu Ye in surprise, astonished at the speed of his cultivation, "Indeed, now that you are at Level 7, you can start practicing the Weapon Control Path."

The purpose of Lu Ye's visit to Shui Yuan was straightforward. In the Chess Sea, he had encountered too many cultivators at Level 7, and he had long envied those who could command weapons to kill their enemies. Now that he had finally reached Level 7 himself, he naturally rushed over to seek her guidance.

"However, I'm not actually that skilled at the Weapon Control Path," said Shui Yuan as her eyes brightened, "You should send a message to your Fourth Senior Brother. His mastery on this path is profound, and he would be the most suitable to instruct you."

"Fourth Senior Brother, huh... I'll ask him then."

After getting a feast from Second Senior Sister to replenish his strength, and allowing Amber to absorb a bloodline from a piece of Scale Armor, Lu Ye hurried back to his assigned training room.

He practiced while sending a message to his Fourth Senior Brother.

Li Baxian was also a bit surprised that Lu Ye had reached Level 7 so quickly, but upon hearing that he was seeking teachings on the Weapon Control Path, he spared no effort in sharing his knowledge.

Although he couldn't teach in person, exchanging messages like this didn't make much difference actually.

Li Baxian explained all the key points of controlling weapons with great care. Finally, he said, "Little Junior Brother, you just practice for now. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me any time."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

He took out the Boulder Mountain Saber, placed it on his knees, and began channeling spirit force into it.

According to Li Baxian, Spirit Stream Realm cultivators primarily use spirit force to control weapons, so there were high demands on a cultivator's spirit force. The purer the spirit force, the greater the power and speed of the controlled weapon. Additionally, the distance one could control a weapon was also an issue.

Generally, a Level 7 cultivator could control a weapon within about 30 zhang, but with purer spirit force, the distance could be increased. This undeniably offered an advantage during confrontations with enemies.

Additionally, weapon control placed extreme demands on a cultivator's mastery over their own spirit force, which also affected the speed and distance of the controlled weapon.

Speed and distance were the two crucial elements of killing enemies with controlled weapons, while the purity and control of spirit force were the two significant requirements of weapon control.

When cultivators of the same cultivation level fought each other using controlled weapons, the one with an advantage in speed and distance was undoubtedly stronger—of course, there was also the weapon's inherent lethality to consider.

Lu Ye wasn't worried about the purity of his spirit force. His Talent Tree burned away all pill poison, keeping his spirit force always pure and flawless. And as for the control of spirit force—there was even less need to speak of that.

He could freely construct and transform even the tiniest Yin-Yang Dual Origins, not to mention anything else.

In this world, if it came down to controlling spirit force, there was no one better than a spirit runes master!

Cultivators only begin practicing the Weapon Control Path upon reaching Level 7 primarily because only cultivators at this level could control spirit force that had left their bodies to a certain extent.

Unlike those below Level 7, where the spirit force would become uncontrollable once it left the body.

This reminded Lu Ye of a problem that had always troubled him—his use of the Fire Phoenix Technique. Until now, unless in certain specific environments, Lu Ye hardly ever activated this technique against enemies because aiming it was a significant issue.

Exerting spirit force to cast a magic spell only for it to miss its target was not only a waste of spirit force but could also give the enemy an opportunity.

However, when Dong Shuye chased him, Dong Shuye cast a huge Fireball that could turn corners, relentlessly pursuing Lu Ye and Amber and leaving them in a very sorry state.

Looking back, this was the difference between a Level 7 cultivator and those below Level 7. Dong Shuye could control spirit force that had left his body; hence, his Fireball Technique could turn corners.

And now, Lu Ye had reached Level 7.

To verify this, Lu Ye stepped out of the training room and activated a Fire Phoenix Technique, shooting it upwards. In an instant, blazing spirit force surged, and a plump bird fluttered its wings, flying skyward.

Previously, once the plump bird was released, Lu Ye would have had no control, hitting the enemy was left to fate.

But now, he could clearly feel the spirit force that formed the Fire Phoenix Technique still under his control. With a mere thought, the plump bird flying towards the sky immediately changed direction, fluttering merrily in midair. However, as time passed, the spirit force making up the technique started to dissipate quickly, and it seemed it would vanish completely after a few moments.

"Pfft!" A laugh came from beside him.

Lu Ye turned around and saw a young girl using her hand as a shade, looking up at the sky, her gaze following the flight path of the plump bird.

The girl looked familiar...

Feeling Lu Ye's gaze, the girl quickly averted her eyes, looking around restlessly.

"What's your name?"

The girl stood up straight in an instant, swallowed awkwardly, and said loudly, "Answering to Fifth Senior Brother, my name is He Xiying!" Her eyes quickly shifted, giving Lu Ye a weak glance before adding, "And, I wasn't laughing at you just now."

"Then what were you laughing at?"
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Swallowing again, He Xiying said, "I don't really know what I was laughing at, I just felt like laughing... Fifth Senior Brother, I really wasn't laughing at you..." As if feeling her words lacked any persuasive power, she squatted down and held her head, "I was wrong, Fifth Senior Brother, please don't hit me!"

With her heart in her throat for quite a while, she finally looked up only to find that Lu Ye had already left. She patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.