Free Web NovelChapter 2100: Chapter 2098: Unusual Feelings
For a month, Team A-3 killed enemies in this efficient manner. Because every battle was resolved quickly, their losses were minimal, and with Dao Bones as spoils to supplement them, everyone’s Dao force was accumulating.
After another rest and distribution of loot, Du Qingsha spoke: "Tomorrow, we enter the central zone!"
Xu Rong was taken aback, then nodded: "Understood!"
Du Qingsha turned to Lu Ye: "This is your first entry. The situation in the central zone is different from outside. There are more and stronger enemies. Remember one principle: prioritize your safety above all else."
"Alright," Lu Ye agreed.
He knew the so-called central zone was the area where the Star Abyss Insect Path was located. Because the Insect Path leads to the Star Abyss, Star Abyss outsiders there were endless to kill.
In the past, Team A-3 was mainly active in the central zone, but this month they hadn’t gone in for two reasons: First, they had absorbed Lu Ye as a new member and needed time to get familiar. Second, they aimed to increase their Dao force reserves as much as possible.
Now that they were familiar with each other, it was naturally time to enter their battlefield.
Lu Ye checked the leaves of his Talent Tree. His Dao force was at 162, already breaking the initial record. Although he didn’t know how much Dao force Du Qingsha and the others had accumulated, he reckoned that within the entire team, his Dao force should be the highest.
Although he received the smallest share from each round of loot distribution, he compensated with his high refining efficiency. Du Qingsha and the others were different; they wasted a lot when refining Dao Bones and often could only refine a small portion of the residual Dao force in them.
This time during the rest, the four of them each meditated quietly. Even Xu Rong and Snake Girl lost the will to relax.
Once the rest ended, the team set out.
The hunt mode continued as before, with Lu Ye acting as bait. Half a day later, the first battle broke out. The first enemy they encountered turned out to be a 4th Dao powerful expert.
It’s worth noting that in the past month, they had only encountered such enemies three times in total. But after entering the central zone, they faced one immediately, and Lu Ye personally experienced the danger of this area.
Even so, the squad didn’t spend much effort slaying him.
In the second battle, they encountered three Star Abyss outsiders traveling together...
This was something they rarely saw in other regions, and it was Lu Ye’s first time experiencing such a situation.
While Star Abyss outsiders were indeed bloodthirsty and violent, they weren’t stupid. With strong cultivators from this stellar space active here in team formations, some among them naturally chose to join forces in response.
Fortunately, these three Star Abyss outsiders only had the Power of the Path, with each at 3rd Dao. Du Qingsha and Lu Ye each took on one, while Xu Rong and Snake Girl together handled the third, without too much trouble.
After spending so much time together, everyone more or less understood Lu Ye’s strength, which was obviously beyond the 3rd Dao.
This led Du Qingsha to repeatedly sigh in relief; recruiting Lu Ye was like striking gold. He was a unique presence in the entire stellar space, being so powerful despite his low Cultivation Realm.
Killing enemies, cleaning up loot, retreating—similar scenes kept replaying.
Lu Ye’s Dao force accumulation grew, and this way of cultivation, nurturing war through war, was undoubtedly more efficient than mere meditation and not as monotonous, though it did require taking some risks.
In one rest period, after refining his share of the loot, Lu Ye suddenly felt something strange in his heart.
This unusual feeling came from the Talent Tree.
He immediately immersed his mind to check and found that the Dao force had filled six leaves, and the adjacent seventh leaf started to glow with golden light, with golden threads swimming within it.
Two hundred crossed!
It seemed that this different change occurred because the Dao force had surpassed the two hundred mark.
Though Lu Ye couldn’t immediately understand what these changes entailed, he quietly investigated but found nothing.
Even when they set off again to kill enemies, he still hadn’t figured out the source of this sudden oddity, leaving him no choice but to let it go.
In a vast area of gathered meteorites, Lu Ye wandered through them as if taking a leisurely stroll. Suddenly, a sense of malice emerged from a nearby meteorite, followed by a figure rapidly attacking from that direction.
Lu Ye looked up and saw, to his surprise, that the attacker was a human. It shocked him because although he’d encountered many Star Abyss outsiders during this period, it was rare to see a human.
Feeling the opponent’s powerful Dao force, Lu Ye felt a chill and immediately became cautious. Through all these battles, he had developed a knack for gauging an enemy’s strength—not perfectly accurate, but within a reasonable range.
This human suddenly attacking must at least have the force of 4th Dao.
Not daring to neglect, he immediately integrated five strands of Dao force into his Mana...
Against the Star Abyss outsider, there was no room for concealment. Knowing the opponent’s strength, he’d naturally give it his all.
Yet at this moment, Lu Ye suddenly paused. Despite quickly recovering and summoning the Boulder Mountain Saber to slash horizontally, he was still a beat late.
As the saber light shattered, Lu Ye’s body was knocked back, his blood Qi surging, and his attacker halted momentarily.
Though he had sent Lu Ye flying, the attacker had also suffered a recoil.
"5th Dao, be careful, everyone!" Lu Ye promptly transmitted this audio warning in all directions.
The collision in that brief moment allowed him to gain insight into the opponent’s background; unexpectedly, it was a 5th Dao powerful expert, precisely on the same level as him and Du Qingsha.
This was also the first Star Abyss outsider with 5th Dao power he had encountered so far.
Almost simultaneously with his audio transmission, Du Qingsha and Xsu Rong Snake Girl, who were concealed on all sides, appeared. Du Qingsha was also driving a human-shaped cover armor, but compared to Xsu Rong’s heavy one, her armor clearly took a nimble route, appearing agile just at first sight.
She was the first to rush to the enemy, mana surging as she tangled with the foe, while Xsu Rong Snake Girl quickly attacked from both sides, striking and retreating instantly.
The gap between the 5th Dao and the 3rd Dao is immense, almost to the point where mere contact inflicts injury or death, so they never dared give the opponent a chance to counterattack. All their offensive efforts now had only one goal — to break the enemy’s protective magic!
But their offensive was not very effective, only serving to wear down the enemy.
In an instant, Du Qingsha collided fiercely with the enemy several times, the surrounding meteors shattering simultaneously, the two powerful experts showing an equal status; this was normal, as both were 5th Dao powerful experts, fighting solo meant competing in their individual Dao force accumulation.
However, as the enemy suddenly exerted force, Du Qingsha seemed overwhelmed, her figure stumbled and flew to the side.
The human race was about to pursue, but caught sight of a figure charging forward from the corner of his eye.
Unexpectedly, it was Lu Ye, who initially was knocked away due to a small mishap, rushing back.
Without cover armor, his target wasn’t as large, and using Du Qingsha’s concealment, he returned silently, precisely when all the enemy’s focus was on Du Qingsha.
This was a surprise attack, as Lu Ye’s long saber swung down, forcing the human race to defend with full strength.
Yet at this moment, Du Qingsha, seemingly flying awkwardly, adjusted her stance and attacked from the side; her earlier distress was merely a facade!
Not only this, but Xsu Rong and Snake Girl displayed extreme coordination, launching attacks from the enemy’s rear.
In an instant, this human race was surrounded by Team A-3’s four members.
The stubborn protective magic shattered loudly.
Lu Ye’s eyes brightened — now!
The shattered protective magic can be regrouped, as long as the opponent’s mana is not exhausted, yet this regrouping requires a bit of time.
And this bit of time is often the crucial moment deciding life or death.
His right arm trembled intensely, and the edge of the Boulder Mountain Saber vibrated back and forth within a very small range.
Vibrating Saber!
As if slicing through something exceedingly resilient, Lu Ye swept past the enemy, his long saber bringing forth a blood bloom, rushing out tens of meters before stabilizing his stance, slowly sheathing his saber.
Looking back, Du Qingsha had already begun collecting loot, dismantling a Dao Bone from the enemy whose head was severed by him and called out to the team before quickly retreating.
This time fighting the 5th Dao powerful expert took no more time than dealing with those 3rd and 4th Dao before, yet the peril within could only be understood by the squad’s four members.
Without pause, they continued to lure and slay enemies.
The subsequent enemy waves encountered did not include any 5th Dao powerful experts, all resolved smoothly.
After several days of warfare, they routinely sought a spot to rest and divide the spoils.
Du Qingsha picked up one Dao Bone from over ten others and tossed it to Lu Ye: "This is for you, the rest are not for you."
This Dao Bone, left from the deceased 5th Dao powerful expert, clearly retained substantial Dao force with evident golden light.
Lu Ye naturally had no objection.
After quickly dividing, Xsu Rong looked at Lu Ye with a different gaze: "Brother, you’re 5th Dao?"
It wasn’t until today that he realized Lu Ye was exceptionally strong, otherwise, it would be impossible for him to compete against that 5th Dao human race; he previously thought Lu Ye was 4th Dao.
Beside Xsu Rong, Snake Girl also looked with watery eyes, her snake tongue flickering.
Lu Ye nodded.
Du Qingsha looked at him with a complex expression: "Monster!"
She was also a 5th Dao powerful expert, and naturally understood that harnessing 5th Dao power required a profound foundation that only cultivators who reached the Peak Divine Realm could hope to achieve, but Lu Ye was clearly only at the Divine Realm Early Stage.
This undoubtedly indicated that his foundation was still accumulating, and once cultivated to the Peak Divine Realm in the future, how much Dao force could he control?
Having a strong expert on par with herself in the team was undoubtedly beneficial; the stronger the team, the greater the margin for error in crises, and the higher the efficiency in killing enemies.
Yet... as such 5th Dao powerful experts, they have the qualification to form their own team. Du Qingsha had thoughts of keeping him somehow.
Turning her head, she looked at Snake Girl with spring on her face, unable to help but scoff; she’s useless, clearly he’s not interested, yet still flirting.
