Chapter 6 - Little White-Eyed Wolf
"This, this person..."
That young senior brother from a small sect murmured.
Under his numb gaze, another cultivator on the Jade Ni Chart rolled off the stage.
Starting from Chen Ping, nine cultivators from the bottom fifty names on the ranking had already been successfully defeated at Luo He's hands; every one of them had come to challenge Luo Hongyu.
In this kind of situation, anyone could see that someone, intending to replace Luo Hongyu's position, had found a way to gather that group of people to engage in a wheel battle, to deplete Luo Hongyu's spiritual energy, and finally, for that person to pick the peach.
But Luo Hongyu seemed to have guessed it in advance; these nine cultivators from the ranking, treated as cannon fodder, were all stopped by Luo He alone.
Many people looked towards Lan Yu in the sky, but as the host of this Immortal Ascension Trial, he did not express any opinion on this and still watched quietly.
Watching the black-robed person still standing on the stage.
He, of course, could not possibly retreat unscathed; now he also looked like a spent arrow.
The black robe was torn with several gashes, from which dried bloodstains seeped, but his skin still couldn't be seen.
The spiritual pressure around his body was also not as stable as before; instead, it gave off a strange sense of exhaustion, like a dry well.
An ordinary cultivator, with their spiritual energy depleted to this extent, would probably be unable to even stand steadily, but he alone flicked the blood off his sword, standing on the stage like an unyielding ancient pine.
He was too strange.
From facing the fourth person, ranked sixty-eighth on the Jade Ní Ranking, he had always been in this half-dead, on-the-verge-of-shattering state.
Yet for every person he faced next, he was always able, at the most perilous moments, to trade injury for injury, using his remaining spiritual energy to deliver the most crucial sword strike.
Frankly speaking, this surpassed the understanding of these ones, of him, and of all the young cultivators below the stage.
This was simply not the way normal cultivators competed.
Who would save mere spiritual energy at the cost of being injured? Even those demonic cultivators who refine blood and body wouldn't go that far, surely.
Yet he could do so impassively.
He was not like a person; he simply did not treat his own body as a body. When he was injured, he didn't even tremble, as if it wasn't his body being struck.
His impression of Luo He transformed from 'another young, strong sword cultivator of Tianchen Sword Sect' to 'an existence that exuded strangeness... and a hint of evilness.'
Such a person, yet he was by that Young Master Luo's side...
"!"
Suddenly, this senior brother's hair stood on end; it turned out that Luo He on the stage had noticed his fixed gaze and looked back at him.
"Ha..."
He hurriedly lowered his head, unconsciously gasping for breath.
"Senior brother, senior brother, you... what's wrong with you?"
"...Nothing."
Stabilizing his mind, the senior brother, his expression unsightly, continued to speak:
"That Luo He... Junior brother, you remember this, have little contact with him, and also inquire less about his affairs.”
"I always feel that he's not an innocent character..."
And of the people present, the vast majority thought this way.
Consequently, the gazes they cast towards Luo Hongyu also...
Swish.
On the Immortal Ascension Platform, a new figure appeared.
"That's... Su Huanhuan of the Remnant Moon Sect?"
Someone below the stage recognized the red-clothed young woman and said softly.
As one of the few demonic sect disciples ranked at the forefront of the Jade Ní Ranking, even among righteous path cultivators, many remembered her appearance.
It is said that in her early years, she had friction with the then-unknown Luo Hongyu; now it seemed the one who wanted to snatch Luo Hongyu's position was her.
As if to confirm the guesses of those below the stage, after Su Huanhuan went on stage, she did not immediately initiate a challenge, but instead walked in front of Luo He and transmitted her voice to him, saying:
“—Hey, little mute, you should get down now."
"....."
Luo He did not give any response, just held his sword, quietly looked at her, pondering secretly in his heart.
Su Huanhuan was standing here... Could it be that she was also involved in this?
Today's actions could absolutely not be merely for Luo Hongyu's tenth place position; which one of the top nine wouldn't be easier to deal with?
Nor could it be to gain fame through Luo Hongyu... Fame obtained by such means, in the eyes of this large group of young, impetuous cultivators, would only be a bad reputation.
Then what was plotted and schemed for could only be Luo Hongyu herself. Moreover, to be able to incite such a large group of people, it was likely an existence of considerable weight within the righteous path.
What exactly did they want from Luo Hongyu, or could it be that they even factored in that Luo Hongyu would have me go on stage first?
This time, weakening Luo Hongyu and the strength around her... And, there's also Su Huanhuan's participation.
In Luo He's calm eyes, the vibrant figure of the red-clothed young woman was reflected.
If demonic gate forces were also involved in this, could it be that they want Luo Hongyu's sword to be broken here?
If it's really like this, at least before Luo Hongyu steps onto the Immortal Ascension Platform half a month later... he could not allow it.
Seeing Luo He unmoved, a cold glint flashed in Su Huanhuan's eyes, and she continued to speak:
"—Why are you fighting so desperately? Don't you understand your own condition? To Luo Hongyu, it doesn't matter how many of these small fries come, but it's different for the current you!"
"—I know that you and Luo Hongyu share weal and woe, but have you ever thought that by fighting to the death like this without retreating, you are precisely falling into someone's trap?!"
"—...?"
This time, it was Luo He's turn to have a strange look in his eyes.
Hearing Su Huanhuan's words, she seemed... not quite what he had thought?
Although he didn't know the specifics, Luo He knew clearly that she definitely had her own arrangements in this Immortal Ascension Assembly; now suddenly jumping onto the stage, was it just to remind him?
Was raising a ghost that important to her...
"....."
But after thinking about it, Luo He did not intend to accept this goodwill that had some suspicious points.
He indeed shared weal and woe with Luo Hongyu, but that was only temporary.
Right now, he needed to hold all the information in his hands and make his own judgment.
So he had to continue going along with the intentions of the people behind the scenes until the moment they surfaced, to see what exactly they wanted to do.
Shing.
The iron sword in Luo He's hand turned, and an intangible aura enveloped Su Huanhuan.
"—Good, good, good... I kindly came up to remind you, only to be pointed at with a sword by you, little mute, you actually turn out to be a white-eyed wolf... Watch how your granny here teaches you a lesson!"
Su Huanhuan was made to laugh in anger by Luo He's stubborn attitude; the apricot blossom blood mark on her forehead turned red, one by one, blood spears shot out from under her sleeves, her red clothes danced wildly, and she actually attacked without even a word of warning.
Luo He remained unmoved. Su Huanhuan's moves... he had seen them before.
…
"Even Su Huanhuan, ranked twenty-seventh on the Jade Ní Ranking, was defeated..."
Su Huanhuan walked off the stage with a depressed expression; Luo He sheathed his sword.
He had several more wounds on his body; they were pierced by Su Huanhuan's blood spears.
But when her demonic blood-refined spears entered his body, they instead nourished this body created by evil arts; Su Huanhuan definitely knew this point.
Luo He truly did not wish for her to be involved in this.
Below the stage, there was complete silence. Luo He scanned his surroundings once; it seemed no one else was going to come up on stage.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, another gentle voice came.
"Brother Luo He, wait a moment for now."
A black-clothed swordsman with an effeminate and beautiful face walked up and said to Luo He with a smile.
"I am Ghost Sword Shen Huai, ranked thirty-fifth on the Jade Ní Ranking. Please give me your guidance."
"....."
The look in Luo He's eyes changed somewhat.
In his eyes, which had cultivated soul techniques for many years, within the body of this long-famous righteous path apostate before him, Young Master Ghost Sword, a body decayed like driftwood...
There actually was a woman's soul?