Free Web NovelChapter 2098: Chapter 2096: Du Qingsha’s Summons
This slash, however, couldn’t really cut down, because just as the Boulder Mountain Saber was about to fall, the woman reached out with two fingers, precisely pinching the blade, her strength so formidable that it abruptly halted the saber that charged like a thunderbolt.
Her bright eyes gazed at Lu Ye, showing a satisfied expression as she nodded continuously, "Very good, you are indeed qualified; I didn’t come here in vain."
Lu Ye frowned, shaking the long saber in his hand to break free from her grip and retreated gracefully, "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean?" The woman chuckled, then immediately her smile faded, taking out a token which she waved toward Lu Ye from a distance, shouting, "I am Du Qingsha, the captain of Team A-3 of the hunting camp at Thunderbolt Battle Fortress. I hereby recruit you to join our squad and slaughter the enemy together!"
Upon hearing these words, Lu Ye couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his eye.
In fact, he had vaguely anticipated this.
The hunting camp at Thunderbolt Battle Fortress is a special entity and a major force against the Star Abyss outsiders. The minimum requirement to join the hunting camp is to establish a Dao foundation and enter the Dao Realm. Cultivators without a Dao foundation are not qualified at all.
The entire hunting camp is almost composed of 80% of Thunderbolt Battle Fortress’s elite forces, divided into squads on the frontline battlefield, hunting enemies everywhere.
And for Du Qingsha to serve as a squad leader, she is evidently not an ordinary Dao Realm cultivator. Just judging by her previous exhibition of power, it’s clear she’s at least a 4th Dao expert. Such character naturally qualifies to serve as a squad leader.
And the two who were previously fighting intensely yet are now standing not far, watching the show, are undoubtedly her team members. She obviously came here after hearing some rumors, to test Lu Ye’s strength and developed the intention to recruit him.
What a hassle!
In recent times, Lu Ye acted several times, saving the lives of some cultivators from Thunderbolt Battle Fortress, but he never interacted with them since he had to protect Jiu Yan.
Yet he never expected Du Qingsha to come seeking him anyway.
As the captain of a hunting camp, she has the authority to recruit, and according to the rules of Thunderbolt Battle Fortress, such a recruitment by her cannot be refused by Lu Ye.
If he were to refuse, it would be deemed as evasion of battle, a conscious evasion of battle being something all cultivators can’t tolerate in the current stellar space environment. At that time, Du Qingsha only needs to report back to Thunderbolt Battle Fortress, and Lu Ye would become a wanted target across the entire stellar space cultivators.
If he was truly alone, perhaps being wanted would not matter, as he could hide in some desolate corner where no one could touch him.
But Jiu Yan still needs to cultivate on the battlefield. If Lu Ye takes her to hide in some remote place, the matter of Jiu Yan establishing a Dao foundation would become indefinitely delayed.
Should he kill these three? This thought rose and then was discarded; he indeed had confidence to handle the two cover armor cultivators watching the show from not far, but this Du Qingsha... is somewhat beyond his perception.
"Interesting, you actually harbored a killing intent toward me?" Du Qingsha suddenly raised her eyebrows, looking at Lu Ye with keen interest.
"It’s a misunderstanding, Senior Sister Du," Lu Ye responded calmly.
This woman... Her perception is exceptionally strong. His killing intent flashed momentarily, and was not even strong, yet she sensed it.
"Never mind any misunderstanding, now you have two paths to choose!" Du Qingsha raised a finger, "One, join my squad and fight under my lead. Two, refuse my recruitment, and then I’ll kill you, you can try and see if you can escape."
When she said this, Du Qingsha appeared eager, as if hoping Lu Ye would spout the word no.
Lu Ye folded his hands in salute from afar, "To be noticed by Senior Sister Du and recruited, it’s an extreme honor, I am willing to join Senior Sister’s team, and live and die with you all." Since he couldn’t refuse, joining became the only option.
"At least you’re sensible!" Du Qingsha nodded in satisfaction.
"But..."
"You can put forth conditions, being my team member, I can give you whatever you want, as long as you behave!"
Lu Ye originally intended to propose a different condition, but since she said so, then...
"I want an opportunity to enter the Enlightenment Pool once!"
Du Qingsha blinked, then cursed, "You must be delusional, you know how big a price it costs to enter the Enlightenment Pool once? To enter it, fight with me and after killing plenty, naturally, you’ll have enough battle merit!"
Lu Ye merely mentioned it casually, fully aware that Du Qingsha would likely not agree to such a condition.
Then, opting for something more achievable, "In that case, I hope to get a recommendation slot from Senior Sister!"
As someone like Du Qingsha, taking the rank of a hunting camp captain, her strength is formidable, and her status isn’t lacking either. She has recommendation slots, having her recommendation allows not only precedence in entering the Enlightenment Pool but also requires much less battle merit.
Du Qingsha frowned, giving him an up-and-down glance, "You’ve already Entered the Path, you don’t need the Enlightenment Pool. Is this for someone else?"
"Yes!" Lu Ye nodded.
Du Qingsha pondered for a moment, suddenly raising her hand to summon, "All of you, get over here!"
At her command, the two cover armor cultivators who had been watching from afar hurriedly flew over.
The three gathered together, exchanging through mental consciousness for a while, Lu Ye didn’t know what they were discussing, so he waited quietly on the side.
A moment later, Du Qingsha said, "I can give you the recommendation slot, and I just calculated that with the combined battle merits of the three of us, it’s almost enough for one entry into the Enlightenment Pool. If you need it, take it! But let me be clear, the battle merits are lent to you, and you’ll have to return them afterward."
Lu Ye couldn’t help but be taken aback. He originally didn’t have a good impression of Du Qingsha because she had just depleted some of his Dao force right away; at this stage, Dao force is crucial and not easy to cultivate.
Moreover, Du Qingsha’s manner of doing things was domineering, which he wasn’t fond of.
But for someone to make such an offer, what more could Lu Ye say?
"Why me?" he couldn’t help but ask.
Du Qingsha snorted: "Don’t think too highly of yourself. It mainly is because there are too few 3rd Dao cultivators on the battlefield now, and you happen to meet my standards for recruitment. My Team A-3 is the most elite unit, and I’d rather have none than someone unqualified, you understand?"
"Alright." Lu Ye touched his nose and respectfully made a salutation. "Regardless, many thanks to Senior Sister and the two Senior Brothers!"
With their combined battle merits and Du Qingsha’s recommendation, Jiu Yan could have a chance to enter the Enlightenment Pool, solving his urgent crisis.
After a while, Lu Ye led his team of three to find Jiu Yan and explained the situation to her.
Jiu Yan naturally understood that being summoned by the captain of the hunting camp wasn’t something she could refuse, and she also wasn’t suited to act with Lu Ye at the moment. She was merely surprised that the hunting camp even approached Lu Ye because she had always thought his strength was inferior to hers. During this time, she had been focused on cultivation, completely unaware that Lu Ye’s strength had undergone a dramatic transformation.
It wasn’t until Lu Ye displayed his Dao force that Jiu Yan realized that in the path of cultivation, Lu Ye had already taken a significant lead ahead of her, leaving her feeling both happy for Lu Ye and ashamed of her inadequacy.
Jiu Yan wasn’t one to dwell on things, and now that the situation had developed like this, all she could do was accept Lu Ye’s kindness and strive to forge her Dao foundation as soon as possible.
The group, numbering several individuals, embarked on the journey back to the Thunderbolt Battle Fortress without interruption.
After just a few days, they arrived at the Thunderbolt Battle Fortress and leisurely entered.
The ensuing matters didn’t require Lu Ye’s involvement as Du Qingsha had things well arranged. Her standing and position here were far superior to Lu Ye’s.
Half a day later, Du Qingsha found Lu Ye waiting somewhere: "Everything’s set, but your woman will have to wait two months before she can enter the Enlightenment Pool."
Too many people wanted to enter the Enlightenment Pool, so even with Du Qingsha’s recommendation, there was some waiting involved; it wasn’t immediate access.
Lu Ye naturally understood and thanked her again.
"Anything you need to prepare, do it quickly!" Du Qingsha glanced at the other two.
These two were the ones who previously staged the scene to force Lu Ye into the open. One was a man, Xsu Rong, the owner of the human-shaped cover armor, and the other was a woman called Snake Girl, who piloted the snake-shaped cover armor. True to her name, she had a seductive physique, supple and boneless, with an enchanting face, though her tongue was forked like a snake’s; she was born of the Demon Race’s snake demons.
Over the days, Lu Ye didn’t become fully acquainted with them, but at least they had some understanding of each other.
Including Lu Ye, the four constitute all of Team A-3.
There was originally one more, but they died deep within the battlefield not long ago, so Du Qingsha wanted to recruit new people and had heard of Lu Ye’s presence, deciding to take a chance. As it turns out, Lu Ye’s performance met her requirements precisely.
Both Xsu Rong and Snake Girl were 3rd Dao cultivators, whereas Du Qingsha was a 5th Dao cultivator, making her significantly stronger than Xsu Rong and Snake Girl.
Facing Du Qingsha’s inquiry, Xsu Rong smiled, "Nothing to prepare, just keep my head attached; I have nothing but my life!"
"Then, let’s go!" Du Qingsha waved her hand and flew out first.
Xsu Rong and Snake Girl followed closely, and Lu Ye took one last look back before promptly catching up.
He hoped the next time they returned, Jiu Yan would enter the Dao Realm.
The group of four quickly distanced themselves from the Thunderbolt Battle Fortress, heading into the battlefield.
Lu Ye keenly noticed that compared to when he entered six months ago, the battlefield’s edge had significantly expanded due to the encroachment of the Star Abyss ambience.
And there were many such battlefields across this stellar space.
Continuing like this, one day, the entire stellar space would be submerged by the Star Abyss ambience, and there would be no place of peace.
Suddenly, an object flew towards him, and Lu Ye reached out to catch it.
Du Qingsha’s voice sounded by his ear: "I previously depleted your Dao force; this should make up for it. Refine it on the way."
Lu Ye looked down to find a bone the length of a chopstick in his hand, shaped like the upper arm bone.
"Dao foundation?" Lu Ye raised an eyebrow.
Whether a stellar space cultivator or a Star Abyss outsider, upon entering the Dao Realm, they choose a part of their body as their Dao foundation. It could be internal organs, bones, or even a piece of flesh. It becomes the most important body part because it carries the Dao force garnered through cultivation. Once lost, the Dao foundation is destroyed.
Generally, people choose a bone because bones are the hardest. This one in Lu Ye’s hand should be the Dao Bone of a Star Abyss outsider’s Dao Foundation.
