The tiger crouched low in the forest with a majestic and imposing air. In comparison, the two figures standing in front of the tiger could not be any stiffer.
Just as the fair-skinned man was at a loss for what to do, he heard Lu Ye saying, "Tiger King, please calm down. I know the rules. Please don't hurt me if I follow your rules!"
While saying so, Lu Ye unfastened the Storage Bag around his waist, pretended to activate his Spiritual Power, and tossed the Storage Bag to the ground. Not only that, but he also tossed the longsword in his hand to the ground.
The tiger glanced at him and snorted lightly. "Since you're so obedient, I guess I can spare your life."
"Thank you, Great King!"
Then, the tiger turned to look at the fair-skinned man. "What about you, brat? Do you choose to die? Or, to live?"
"I choose to live!" The fair-skinned man blurted out with a pained expression. Imitating Lu Ye's actions, he unfastened the Storage Bag around his waist, unlocked the Restraining Lock, and tossed it to the ground in front of him.
He had heard some rumours floating around in the city. The rumours claimed that a Spirit Beast that could speak the Human language was living in Green Cloud Mountain. Many cultivators had encountered the Spirit Beast, but it generally did not harm anybody. It was only interested in Spirit Pills and Spirit Stones. As long as a cultivator was willing to pay a price, they would safely escape the jaws of death.
[I can't believe I encountered the Spirit Beast while chasing Lu Ye into the mountains. How unfortunate!]
The tiger seemed quite satisfied with the performance of the two Humans. After that, it spoke again. "You better not play any tricks on me. If I learn that you did not unlock the Restraining Lock… Hmph!"
The threat in those words was self-evident.
"It's open!" Both Lu Ye and the fair-skinned man said in unison. That wasn't all. Lu Ye even stretched out a hand to point at the fair-skinned man. "Great King, he did not get rid of the weapon in his hand. I'm afraid he wants to harm you!"
The fair-skinned man was stunned by those words. At the same time, he rained curses down on Lu Ye in his heart.
Likewise, the tiger was obviously taken aback. Nevertheless, it soon turned to look at the fair-skinned man. A low threatening growl came out of its throat.
*Clang.* The fair-skinned man swiftly and decisively threw the knife in his hand down. He was so heartbroken that his heart was practically bleeding! The long knife in his hand was a Spirit Artefact. Even if it was a low-ranked item, it was still a Spirit Artefact. A low-level cultivator with a Spirit Artefact and a low-level cultivator without a Spirit Artefact were completely different concepts altogether. It could be said that a Spirit Artefact would increase the cultivator's strength by 10%!
Be that as it may, survival was more important. He would not get away unscathed if he offended the Spirit Beast. Compared to his life, he could give up everything else aside from his body.
"Great King, we will take our leave now if there is nothing else," Lu Ye said.
"Get lost!" The tiger roared carelessly.
Both Lu Ye and the fair-skinned man slowly withdrew without turning their backs to the tiger. That was the normal response. Anybody would react warily when faced with a danger after all.
After they retreated by several metres, the fair-skinned man was stunned to see Lu Ye rush forward without warning, grab the long sword that had been thrown to the ground, and charge at him like lightning.
He turned pale in shock. He never imagined that Lu Ye would do something so outrageous at a time like this. [Shouldn't it be more important to prioritise our survival in front of the tiger!? How can he be so daring!?]
In any case, there was no time for him to consider anything else. He lunged forward almost at the same time that Lu Ye made his move and arrived in front of his weapon in a few steps. Grabbing his weapon, he poured his Spiritual Power into the long knife and light flowed through the knife.
Just then, a strong wind blew in his face. He didn't even have the time to think as he raised the long knife in his hand to counter. Following a loud clanging sound, his body that had yet to fully straighten into a standing position was overwhelmed in an instant and he fell to his knees on the ground.
One was premeditated while the other had responded in desperation. This time, Lu Ye had the upper hand in the fight.
The fair-skinned man raised his head abruptly and saw the calm and indifferent look in Lu Ye's eyes. At that moment, he vaguely noticed something. Before his thoughts could go any further, Lu Ye raised his sword and stabbed forward.
The fair-skinned man hurriedly activated his Spiritual Power to protect his body and concurrently slashed at Lu Ye with his knife. To his complete surprise, his defensive Spiritual Power did not have the slightest effect. The longsword penetrated his heart directly and pierced straight through his back.
Afterward, Lu Ye kicked out again and sent the fair-skinned man flying with his kick. A fountain of blood gushed out of the hole in the fair-skinned man's chest that was caused by the longsword.
The winner was decided in the blink of an eye. Not knowing whether the other party was dead or not, Lu Ye did not rush forward rashly. Instead, he took out an offensive Spirit Talisman Paper from his Storage Bag and held it at the ready in case of emergency. If the other party so much as dared to stand up, he would immediately activate the offensive Spirit Talisman Paper.
However, the body of the fair-skinned man lying on the ground twitched violently a few times before it stopped moving completely. It would seem that his attack had hit a vital spot. The battles between cultivators were extremely dangerous because life and death was often decided in a matter of moments.
The ground was stained red with fresh blood and the pungent smell of blood filled the air. Lu Ye took a few deep breaths to calm his pounding heart. A small red light suddenly flew out from the fair-skinned man's corpse and sank into the back of his hand.
"Why…" Yi Yi's figure appeared above the tiger's head. She was staring at him in confusion.
Lu Ye had suddenly barged into this place and hurriedly said, "Help me with the robbery."
The fair-skinned man had come charging into this place immediately after that. Thus, she instantly understood that Lu Ye had encountered some sort of trouble and wanted the tiger's cooperation to put on a show. Seeing as this was something they excelled at anyway, there was no reason not to cooperate if they could also steal something good in the process.
[But… wasn't it supposed to be a robbery? Why was a person's life involved?] Yi Yi slowly came to understand something. She and the tiger were the ones who wanted to carry out the robbery. Lu Ye had planned to murder that person from the start. It was just that he had borrowed their strength to do so.
"You deceived me!" She glared at him furiously.
He glanced at her and criticised, "Your acting is too exaggerated!"
"What?" She was confused.
Lu Ye was just about to say something when a soft sound came from not too far away. He only hesitated for a second before he rushed out with all his strength. At the same time, his voice rang out. "Your secret has been exposed. There are still people nearby. Hurry up and follow if you don't want to die!"
Yi Yi wanted to cry but had no tears. She felt as though she had hopped onto a pirate's boat with no way to get off now. Exchanging a glance with the tiger, she gritted her teeth. "Chase!"
The tiger roared and ran out on all fours.
Inside the forest, an enchanting female cultivator fled desperately with a panic-stricken expression on her face. She felt that she had made a big mistake. [But, is it my fault!? I only wanted to live a better life. I didn't want to have to flatter those disgusting customers again. They are all rogue cultivators anyway. Why should I have to deal with their attitudes all day long!? If this had gone smoothly, I would have had a much better life in the future!]
Unfortunately, she never imagined that the person she recruited would fail at the task. She had followed that person's secret signals from the Divine Trade Association to this point. She initially believed that she could sit down and share the spoils between them, but what greeted her instead was the sight of Lu Ye, that rogue cultivator, killing the person she recruited. In her panic, she had accidentally revealed her whereabouts. She was even being hunted right now.
[I don't want to die! I'm still so young! I still have a great life waiting for me in the future! How can I die in this place!?] Nevertheless, the pursuit behind her was getting closer and closer. She knew that she was doomed at this rate.