Bright Heart Peak, inside Yun Xuechu's bedchamber, Lu Ye walked around the maid without stopping, clicking his tongue in wonder.
No matter how he looked, this maid appeared no different from a living person, with hardly any flaws at all.
But it didn't take long for Lu Ye to notice sothing amiss.
Because on Yun Xuechu's body, there wasn't any surge of spirit force or ntal consciousness!
In other words, this maid was not being manipulated by her!
Confused, Lu Ye wasn't sure what to make of it. It was clear that the maid before him was indeed a creation of a cover armorer, but... if no one was controlling her, how could she move? How could she speak?
"Master, what is going on here?" asked Lu Ye, looking towards Yun Xuechu.
Yun Xuechu gave a slight smile and waved her hand, and the maid retreated.
"The Clone Technique," Yun Xuechu explained, "Strictly speaking, Little Butterfly can be considered my doppelganger."
"A doppelganger!" Lu Ye gasped in shock.
Although he was only at the Cloud River Realm, far from the Divine Sea by leaps and bounds, and didn't understand the intricacies of cloning or ntal splitting, he could still sense so of its profound mysteries and knew it must be an extrely remarkable secret technique.
"I didn't tell you these things before because I was afraid you would bite off more than you could chew," began Yun Xuechu. "You must have also noticed that, aside from the orthodox paths of cultivation practiced by the major factions in the Nine Provinces, there are many other subsidiary paths, such as the Array Path, Alchemy Dao, Path of Artifact Refining, or even the Cover Armorer Path. Each of these is closely related to spirit runes, and even the magic cultivators who cast magic and spells do so in relation to spirit runes. All of these could be considered branches of the Path of Spirit Runes."
Lu Ye nodded.
As a spirit runes master, how could he not have noticed this?
"For all subsidiary paths, the Path of Spirit Runes is the foundation; if the Path of Spirit Runes is powerful, then any other path you cultivate will yield twice the result with half the effort."
Just as Lu Ye made rapid progress in the Array Path.
Of course, his advancent was attributed to the rewards of challenging the Hundred Arrays Pagoda twice, but it also had much to do with his solid foundation, a benefit brought by the Path of Spirit Runes.
Since Lu Ye had already delved into the Array Path, Yun Xuechu had refrained from discussing other subsidiary paths with him.
If Lu Ye hadn't asked about it this ti, she wouldn't have planned to tell him.
On the outside, the Cover Armorer Path might appear mysterious and skillful, but truly mastering it to gain renown requires a trendous amount of energy and resources. For a cultivator like Lu Ye, whose cultivation wasn't high and whose primary task was to advance his cultivation level, it wasn't appropriate to delve too much into it.
Especially given that Lu Ye was already cultivating in the Array Path.
"How did you realize it?" asked Yun Xuechu.
When she settled in Bright Heart Peak years ago, Shui Yuan had visited a few tis but never spotted any flaw. It should be noted that Shui Yuan was already at the True Lake Realm then.
She didn't think Shui Yuan's eyesight back then would be less sharp than that of the current Lu Ye.
"Master, please look at this object," Lu Ye said as he took out the broken Dragon Throne from his storage space.
"This is..." Yun Xuechu's expression imdiately turned grave. Taking the Dragon Throne, she gently caressed it, her eyes filled with flickering light as she scrutinized it closely.
After a long while, she showed a shocked expression and looked up at Lu Ye, "Where did you get this from?"
Even though this piece of cover armor was so damaged it barely retained its original shape, she could still glimpse the terrifying power it boasted when it was intact.
This object, she thought, was beyond her own ability to make, and indeed beyond anyone's in the entire Nine Provinces!
Lu Ye briefly shared his experience in the Soaring Dragon World and explained the origin of the Dragon Throne.
The reason he had inquired about the Cover Armorer Path with Yun Xuechu was to ask for her help in repairing the cover armor.
Originally, he had planned to wait until his own cultivation was more profound and then personally visit the Thousand Contraptions Pavilion to seek out the strong cultivator at the Divine Sea Realm there.
Although they were strangers with no previous acquaintanceship, as a cover armorer, the sight of such a divine object would surely be irresistible. If the cover armor could be repaired, it would benefit the repairer greatly.
But if his own master was also an excellent cover armorer, why turn to others for help?
Learning that the Dragon Throne had experienced such a spectacularly tumultuous war, Yun Xuechu's eyes revealed an unmistakable pang of distress.
If the object was intact, she would certainly be able to deduce much from it; even in its current broken state, the value was beyond asure.
This was, indeed, an extrely precious gift for her!
"I'll keep this object here and find a way to repair it," Yun Xuechu declared. "However, the person who crafted this object has far greater expertise in the Cover Armorer Path than I do. I can't guarantee absolute success, and even if I manage to repair it, it might not compare to the original armor's might."
"Disciple understands," Lu Ye nodded. "Please do as you see fit, Master. Even if it can't be properly repaired, it's alright."
As he spoke, he took out the colossal Dragon Spine Saber and laid it horizontally in the chamber.
"This item goes as a set with it."
The Dragon Spine Saber was also damaged, its luster dim and surface mottled. Even so, Yun Xuechu could still feel the overwhelming ferocity hidden within.
Suddenly in possession of such divine items, Yun Xuechu wished nothing more than to imdiately begin a closed-door ditation to comprehend their secrets. Seeing this, Lu Ye knew better than to disturb his master and respectfully made his leave.
He went to Yun Xuechu's Bibliotheca to return the books he had borrowed last ti and picked out so others he had not read yet.
While the library held an extensive collection, Lu Ye had already read nearly half of it, and he believed it wouldn't be long before he had read all the books there.
It was Little Butterfly who saw him off again, this ti making sure not to show any disrespect.
No matter whether she was a clone, she was indeed his master.
He bowed respectfully and departed.
Having gained two more figures he called Master, Lu Ye's feelings were inevitably a bit complicated.
Having left Bright Heart Peak, Lu Ye didn't return to Righteous Peak but headed straight for Erald Bamboo Peak.
This was his spirit mountaintop within the Righteous Blood Sect. Strictly speaking, he was still the Peak Master of Erald Bamboo Peak. In other big sects, the master of a single peak would be qualified to take disciples and teach them.
However, the Righteous Blood Sect's headquarters had a sparse population now, and on Erald Bamboo Peak only Lu Ye resided alone. Moreover, his cultivation was still low, so naturally, he wouldn't undertake the task of accepting disciples and teaching. His own understanding of the Dao had only just begun; how could he qualify to teach others anything?
He didn't see Yiyi, who was apparently still with the sect master receiving teachings, but Amber, who had been fed until her belly swelled by the Second Senior Sister, was sprawled on the peak napping.
Several days remained until the second round of the Cloud River competition, so Lu Ye spent his ti cultivating while taking dicinal pills and imrsing his mind, perceiving the Soaring Dragon Origin.
Ti passed.
Feeling that it was almost ti, Lu Ye finally got up and made his way to Righteous Peak.
The Heaven's Augury Pillar of the Righteous Blood Sect was located there, and participating in the Cloud River competition required using the Heaven's Augury Pillar, so he needed to go to the Heaven's Augury Hall.
He had just set off when he saw a streak of light swiftly crossing from Bright Heart Peak straight to Righteous Peak.
"Master?"
Lu Ye was surprised. The figure flying out from Bright Heart Peak was none other than Yun Xuechu.
The other party also saw him, but just gave him a slight nod before accelerating away with an impressive montum.
On Righteous Peak, the sect master seed to realize sothing and imdiately ca out to greet him, just in ti to see Yun Xuechu's figure descending from the sky.
Sensing that the visitor had ill intentions, the sect master asked in alarm, "What's wrong?"
"Co with !" Yun Xuechu seed too impatient to speak with him, extending her delicate hand, which instantly transford into a giant hand of spirit force, reaching out to grab the sect master.
This grab appeared to envelop the entire world within her palm.
The sect master's spirit force and blood Qi burst forth at the sa ti, creating an invisible tidal wave of force that shattered the incoming spirit force hand.
The sect master froze for a mont, his expression awkward, "I didn't do it on purpose... "
After all, faced with such a situation, anyone would instinctively want to resist, let alone the fact that he hadn't actually fought back.
"Enough talk!" Yun Xuechu's expression was completely different from the warmth she showed to Lu Ye, instead showing a cold severity, as she once again reached out to grab the sect master.
A long sigh ca forth, and this ti the sect master did not resist. He realized this woman was looking for him for a reason and wasn't there to fight.
But...
After all, he was the formidable sect master. Being taken away like a chicken in the presence of the few sect mbers and disciples...
How undignified was that?
And... what on earth did this woman want?
With a full face of worry and not daring to say more or resist, he was quickly taken away by the spirit force hand and brought into Bright Heart Peak.
Lu Ye arrived at Righteous Peak leisurely, only to hear Yiyi exclaim in panic before Shui Yuan, "Second Senior Sister, sothing terrible has happened, the sect master has been taken away!"
Shui Yuan sighed deeply, "No need to bother with it; go about your business."
What a misfortune for the sect!
Good thing there aren't many people in the sect right now, or else the old man would lose all face.
Yiyi looked at Lu Ye sowhat worriedly, to which Lu Ye reassured, "It's nothing."
His master had taken away Yiyi's master, and it was indeed not a good situation to get involved in, so he might as well act as if he hadn't seen anything.
After sending Yiyi back into Amber, Lu Ye stuffed Amber into the spirit beast sack and then made his way to the Heaven's Augury Pillar.
There had been no news from Feathered Master, and the upgrading of the Boulder Mountain Saber was evidently not finished.
But this was within Lu Ye's expectations.
It made no big difference to him.
He checked the battlefield marking on himself, and under the count of victories in the Cloud River competition, a new piece of information appeared.
Ranking: Top 3000.
The initial seven days of the Cloud River competition had ended, and the strongest 3000 cultivators had been selected from nurous Cloud River Realm cultivators to continue the next round of the struggle.
This new piece of information undoubtedly ant that Lu Ye had qualified for the next round.
He believed his Fourth Junior Brother and the others must also have qualified by now.
Even for Hua Ci, Lu Ye was actually not worried. This woman might look like a healing cultivator, but her use of poison was undetectable, and her cultivation was not low. Even those Level 9 cultivators, if they t her, would have to end the fight quickly, or else if she found an opportunity, they might not even understand how they lost.
With the 3000 chosen, the second round of struggle was about to begin.
After so thought, Lu Ye took out a mask from his storage space and put it on his face.
On many occasions, people had recognized his identity and, intimidated by his reputation, conceded defeat voluntarily.
Now that the three thousand had been selected, all of them would undoubtedly be powerful, far from as mixed as before.
It can be said that these individuals would surely give their all in battle, seeking to secure a higher ranking.
They are the best among this generation in the Cloud River Realm.
Lu Ye also wanted to test their techniques, and hiding his face might reduce the psychological pressure on so of them.
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