Chapter 92 - 91: Li Ye’s Ambition

Chapter 92: Chapter 91: Li Ye’s Ambition

The Path of Divine Abilities?

Everyone was stunned.

"Qu Hao, Meng Mingzhe, the others may not understand, but you’ve both enjoyed tangible benefits. Are you still unwilling to give this a try?" Li Ye said with a smile as he looked at Qu Hao. "Your Skill Level shot up by twenty percent in an instant. Are you really content to go back to cultivating step-by-step?"

"How did you know it was twenty percent?" Qu Hao asked in astonishment.

’Duh, it’s my own skill. How could I not know?’ Li Ye thought wryly. ’If I were wearing the Team Emblem, one strike from my sword could have doubled your Skill Level. Twenty percent is already a massive discount.’

"Fellow Daoist Qu, it was twenty percent for me too," Meng Mingzhe stammered, corroborating for Lord Li. When he looked at Li Ye again, the expression in his eyes was completely different.

The reason he hadn’t wanted to get involved with the Wenda Alliance was that his lifespan was nearing its end, and he wanted to spend his remaining days on achieving a breakthrough.

Now, Li Ye had brought him this sudden, pleasant surprise, making cultivation seem like a very easy thing. He was willing to brave a mountain of blades or a sea of fire for it.

Li Ye had already backed the Cyan Sun Sect into a corner. Since they stood to gain nothing no matter what, they might as well go all in and give it a shot.

"Why do we have to find people to fight?" Qu Hao asked.

Deep down, he didn’t want to believe Li Ye; after all, what he was saying was too absurd.

But what had happened to him was a fact. No one could resist the temptation of a twenty-percent surge in Skill Level, not even members of the Renowned and Righteous Sects.

"Everything has a cause and an effect. You didn’t think that boost in Skill Level came from nowhere, did you?" Li Ye said with a chuckle. "This Divine Ability of mine is called Star Shifting. It’s connected to the very principles of causality—a true Immortal Technique."

"I’m willing to give it a try." Before Qu Hao could speak, Lei Wenjie spoke up. He looked at Li Ye with great interest. "Go on, who are we going to fight?"

"Someone of equal strength," Li Ye said.

"Fine. You pick them, I’ll fight them," Lei Wenjie said.

"Junior Brother," Qiu Ming said with a frown.

"Senior Brother, you can provide backup from the sidelines. I want to see what kind of tricks he’s pulling," Lei Wenjie said with a laugh. "Besides, we can’t take him with us as things stand. If something goes wrong, we can just get out of there."

"Mm," Qiu Ming, a man of few words, just nodded silently.

"Let’s go with the Celestial Pine Sect," Li Ye said with a smile. "I sent Zou Kun off to the Dao Sect, so the Celestial Pine Sect is leaderless right now—perfect for a sneak attack."

"You sent Zou Kun to the Dao Sect on purpose?" Qu Hao asked.

Thinking back on everything Li Ye had done, he suddenly realized he had walked right into his trap from the very beginning. At this thought, he shot Meng Mingzhe a fierce glare. ’So I was the only fool back at the Cyan Sun Sect.’

Meng Mingzhe put on an innocent expression and cupped his fist. "Fellow Daoist Qu, I had no choice either. Li Hao is too malevolent; he put the entire Cyan Sun Sect in an impossible position..."

"Hmph!" Qu Hao snorted coldly.

"Qu Hao, are you in or out?" Li Ye asked.

"..." Qu Hao looked at Li Ye, then at the eager Lei Wenjie and Qiu Ming in the sky. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I’m in."

"Let’s be clear beforehand, I’m not setting foot inside the Celestial Pine Sect," Lei Wenjie said.

He could see that a rift had formed between Qu Hao and Li Ye, but he still maintained the necessary wariness.

Fighting them out in the open meant he could advance or retreat freely. But if he ran inside their Mountain Gate, he would have no escape route. Otherwise, he and Qiu Ming would have barged into the Cyan Sun Sect to grab him long ago. Why would they have bothered luring Li Ye out with a letter?

"Don’t worry, I’m not going in either," Li Ye said. "We’ll use the old method: lure them out and kill them."

’What a joke. Lei Wenjie might not be afraid of death, but I sure am! Every Sect has a Mountain Defense Array, not to mention a suicide squad of old-timers with nothing left to lose. I might be able to sweet-talk one or two people, but could I really persuade an entire Sect with just a few sentences? It’s like the old saying goes: a gentleman doesn’t stand beneath a crumbling wall.’

Qu Hao was speechless.

Lei Wenjie, on the other hand, was all smiles. The more he looked at Li Ye, the more he liked him. This kid was lawless, which suited his temperament perfectly.

...

Zou Kun had left with Qu Hao.

Qu Hao’s status as a Dao Sect member proved highly effective. The Peak Masters of Celestial Pine Mountain’s Little Yang Peak and Great Yang Peak were easily lured out.

Not long after they left Celestial Pine Mountain, Lei Wenjie and Meng Mingzhe, who were lying in ambush, launched a surprise attack. Qu Hao and Qiu Ming provided cover from the side.

They weren’t from the same faction to begin with; it was impossible for a few words from Li Ye to make them truly united.

STAB! STAB!

In the middle of the fight, Li Ye stabbed both Lei Wenjie and Meng Mingzhe in the kidney, one strike each, to help them raise their Skill Level.

"Senior Brother, it’s real! Your turn!" Feeling his Skill Level skyrocket, Lei Wenjie grew ecstatic. He quickly retreated from the battlefield, whooping in excitement.

The two Peak Masters from Celestial Pine Mountain were startled by the sudden turn of events, but trapped by four experts, they couldn’t run even if they wanted to.

Qiu Ming and a skeptical Qu Hao entered the fight. After each of them took a sword strike, they no longer had any doubts about Li Ye.

At that moment, their entire understanding of cultivation was completely upended. A mix of complex emotions washed over them. ’So the path of cultivation, passed down for tens of thousands of years, was actually wrong. No wonder none of us could achieve Ascension.’

In this moment, Li Ye was a god in their hearts, a tangible hope for Ascension.

All thoughts of righteousness versus evil, of sectarian prejudice, were instantly cast aside...

Just as Li Ye had said, once they tasted the euphoria of a soaring Skill Level, there was no going back. For millennia, everyone in their world had been subsisting on scraps!

...

"Meng Mingzhe, Qu Hao, for colluding with the Demon Sect, you will surely die a horrible death!"

The Peak Masters of Celestial Pine Mountain’s Little and Great Yang Peaks couldn’t understand their bizarre actions, but that didn’t stop them from cursing them out.

In fact, the moment they saw Qu Hao of the Dao Sect colluding with Lei Wenjie of the Demon Sect, they knew something disastrous was about to happen.

But now, Qu Hao’s group of four was united, and their Skill Levels had soared. The Peak Masters couldn’t even escape to send a warning.

"Convinced?"

Aboard Qiu Ming’s chessboard artifact, Li Ye asked the group with a grin.

’The Wenda Alliance may be a sham, but the "Strike my teammates" part is very real. They had no choice but to take the bait.’

"I’m convinced," Qu Hao said, his expression complex.

"Convinced!" Lei Wenjie said, his face beaming with excitement.

"Convinced." After two consecutive boosts, Meng Mingzhe, who had vaguely touched upon the Void Refinement Realm, nodded repeatedly. The thought that the Cyan Sun Sect was doomed was long gone.

’A scourge? Far from it! Li Ye was clearly the Cyan Sun Sect’s greatest opportunity—the guide who would lead them to dominate the world and become number one under heaven!’

"Who are we fighting next?" Qiu Ming asked, eager to go.

"Secure those two Peak Masters first, then we’ll decide," Li Ye said, pointing at the two men trapped within the chessboard artifact.

Qiu Ming, Lei Wenjie, and Meng Mingzhe attacked as one. In a flash, they sealed the men’s cultivation and brought them before Li Ye.

The two Peak Masters glared furiously at Li Ye.

"Aren’t we going to kill them?" Lei Wenjie asked.

"What’s the point of killing them?" Li Ye glanced at Lei Wenjie. "The Wenda Alliance needs more people. Just the few of us is far from enough. We will strive to unify the entire cultivation world within half a year."

"Unify the cultivation world?" Qu Hao was stunned.

"Of course. Are you unwilling?" Li Ye looked at Qu Hao and chuckled. "You’re in the Divinity Transformation Realm right now. In a few days, you could be a Harmonization Realm big shot. Are you telling me you’d rather go back to the Dao Sect than follow me?"

"I..." Qu Hao was conflicted.

"Coward. The Dao Sect is worthless! The Wenda Alliance is what’s truly number one!" Lei Wenjie shot Qu Hao a contemptuous look before turning to Li Ye with a fawning smile. "Alliance Leader, we’ll do whatever you say. We’re all listening to you. I just wanted to ask you one thing."

"Ask," Li Ye said.

"This Star Shifting ability... are there any limits to it?" Lei Wenjie asked.

"It’s one of the Immortal Divine Abilities; of course there are no limits," Li Ye glanced at him and said. "But other than me, no one else can use it."

"Alliance Leader, how can you say that? We’re all counting on you to lead us to Ascension. Why would any of us harm you?" Lei Wenjie chuckled. "If anyone dares to make a move against you, they’ll have to get through me first."

"Anyone who wants to harm the Alliance Leader will have to get through my dead body first," Meng Mingzhe declared, thumping his chest. His mindset had shifted with surprising speed; he’d gone from being a Sect Leader’s Martial Uncle to one of Li Ye’s underlings.

"I... I am too," Qu Hao sighed heavily, making a decision that betrayed his ancestors. He couldn’t help it. What Li Ye offered was just too good to refuse.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Wenda Alliance." Li Ye took out several watches from his Storage Pouch and gave one to each of them. "From this moment on, you are the founding elders of the Wenda Alliance. The Wenda Alliance’s oath is just for show, something to restrain ordinary people, so we’ll skip it. Right now, we have only one goal: work together and unify the world as soon as possible."

"Alright."

Lei Wenjie readily took the watch and put it on his wrist.

The other three also took the watches and silently put them on.

Four hours ago, if Li Ye had said he was going to unify the cultivation world, they would have dismissed it as a madman’s ravings. Now, they felt it was practically a foregone conclusion.

A Divine Ability that could raise people’s Skill Levels in batches was just too overpowered. No Sect could possibly resist that rate of expansion. If someone like him couldn’t rule the cultivation world, then who could?

"Alliance Leader, if you made your Divine Ability public, even my master wouldn’t oppose you!" Qu Hao said sullenly.

"Star Shifting requires enemies," Li Ye said. "If the Harmonization Realm masters from the Dao Sect were to join us, when would it ever be your turn?"

Qu Hao froze and fell silent.

’Strike my teammates. If there are teammates, there must be enemies. Otherwise, how could I grow? How could I awaken Derived Skills?’

Li Ye shot Qu Hao a sideways glance and shook his head.

’Recruiting Divinity Transformation Realm cultivators is the best choice. The Nascent Soul Realm is too low a level, like my Eldest Senior Brother. If I relied on them to conquer the world, they wouldn’t even be able to protect themselves if we ran into a true master, let alone me. They’d be killed in an instant. It seems safer to start small, but it’s actually far more dangerous.

Fortune is found in peril. There’s no such thing as a safe and steady climb from the bottom to the top.

Most Divinity Transformation Realm cultivators are already high-ranking members of their Sects. They have connections and power. They can control a situation, and they can protect me in a fight. They’re the perfect pawns to use to conquer the world.

Besides, the rate at which these "struck" teammates improve is far slower than my own.

The higher their cultivation, the more Spiritual Qi they need to advance.

The rate of improvement below the Divinity Transformation Realm is extremely fast. Take me, for example. After just two fights, I’ve already leveled up again. Sooner or later, I’ll catch up to my teammates in both skill and realm.

But having me, a mere Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, try to control Harmonization Realm masters... that would be difficult. Those people are ambitious and powerful. There’s no telling what they might try to pull.

Previously, my goal was to reach the Golden Core Realm.

Now, I feel like I might just be able to push my cultivation all the way to the Harmonization Realm within a year.’