Chapter 81: Choice

Why could Lu Ye claim the top rank?

In his previous life, he was merely a Heavenly Venerable who had never ascended to the Saint realm. Now, he had simply been reborn—on what grounds did he have the ability to surpass Saints?

Especially with the top three being unspeakable taboos.

Among the top ten on the Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking, which one wasn't a dazzling, peerless genius?

Lu Ye believed there were three main reasons.

First, the great tribulation he faced as a Heavenly Venerable was called the Eternal Calamity.

Among all tribulations recorded throughout history, the Eternal Calamity was rightfully ranked as the number one catastrophe. Across the endless ages, it had only ever appeared once.

That was back in the distant beginning of the Primeval Era, when a divinely blessed being, born of the heavens and nurtured by the earth, with the physique of a Chaotic Dao Embryo, stood undefeated in battles against Saints even while still in the Heavenly Venerable realm. The day that being became a Saint was the day the Eternal Calamity descended.

And yet even such a sacred being failed to survive the tribulation.

He fell beneath the Eternal Calamity.

It could be said that any Heavenly Venerable capable of triggering the Eternal Calamity already had combat power no less than an ordinary Saint.

Lu Ye had also failed. But why did he fail?

A Nine-Life Heavenly Venerable, down to his last life, cursed with eight Yin-Yang Devour-Dao Gu parasites, and on top of that, betrayed—disheartened and despairing, he voluntarily gave up on overcoming the tribulation and chose instead to drag the Source of Darkness down with him.

At that time, Lu Ye no longer wished to cross the tribulation.

He was exhausted.

That kind of mental fatigue, that weariness of the soul, had left him completely unable to understand what value his life even held.

Second, he had the system.

Reborn along with him, the system had now become a laid-back "Melon-Eating Bro."

It appeared useless, nothing more than a slacker.

But in truth?

When cultivating, Lu Ye cranked his cultivation speed to the maximum.

During the early stages of cultivation, whether a Saint or Heavenly Venerable was reborn, or even a Great Emperor restarted their path, the early-stage cultivation speed generally wouldn’t differ too much.

The differences only began to show in the mid-to-late stages.

Among the nine who were reborn along with him—Lu Ye didn’t know all of them, but he was clear about Yue Hongling and Chu Ling.

He reached Qi Condensation—they also reached Qi Condensation.

He formed a Core—they followed, forming their Cores one after another.

He broke through to Nascent Soul—they were still at Core Formation.

He perfected the Nascent Soul stage—they had only just stepped into it.

He reached the Void Refining stage—they were still stuck in Nascent Soul, barely mid-stage at that.

Through the single [Cultivation] function alone, the system forcibly elevated Lu Ye’s cultivation speed to an unimaginable level.

What was a tiny difference in the beginning became a yawning chasm later on.

The second function was [Comprehension].

In truth, Comprehension no longer had much use for Lu Ye at this point. But the key was understanding why it didn’t.

Because in his past life, thanks to the system’s Comprehension option, Lu Ye had already grasped the Dao of Heaven and Earth with astonishing clarity.

When it came to discussing Dao, Lu Ye was immensely confident—he could go head-to-head with anyone, including and especially Saints.

The third function was [Deduction].

This was Lu Ye’s creative tool—whether for inventing cultivation techniques or deducing entirely new systems, it served as a tremendously powerful aid.

That said, in this life, it hadn’t been of much use just yet. Currently, the last two functions had been merged together by Lu Ye, used to deduce the Nine-Life Unification technique.

Although only the [Cultivation] function was actively useful, it alone allowed Lu Ye to break through limit after limit, reaching a level that even the Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking had never witnessed before.

Because the Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking had seen too many geniuses—divine physiques, ancient bloodlines—yet never once had it seen a living being capable of shattering the shackles of cultivation speed.

Fast—could only be so fast.

You might possess a divine body, born in perfect harmony with the Dao—but you were still gestating in the womb for a long time!

If a mighty figure wanted to give birth to a child, even ten or eight years of pregnancy, or even a hundred years, wasn’t unusual.

The Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking accounted for that time, too.

Take Bai Qiulan, for example—possessor of the Chaotic Lunar Divine Physique. A physique that could bear the term “chaotic” was terrifying enough, right?

Yet even she couldn’t reach Lu Ye’s level at his age—she was far from it.

For a practitioner starting out young, cultivation must begin with body tempering.

Postnatal, prenatal—each threshold waited.

Only after reaching adulthood, when the bones, meridians, and divine soul had fully matured, could one truly embark on the path of cultivation.

Third—this lifetime, he no longer had those eight.

How to put this...

Let’s set aside everything else for now. But when it came to cultivation—honestly, it felt fucking amazing!!!

What Clear Water Beads, what junior sister’s budding feelings, what Vermilion Bird’s escape, what Shangguan Mirage Spirit's peril.

What did any of that have to do with him?

In his past life, just these four things alone—how many times did Lu Ye get injured because of them? How much time did they delay him?

There wasn’t even a number for it.

Now, none of it remained.

爽!!!

(爽 = that untranslatable surge of total satisfaction, of being finally free. And Lu Ye felt it in full.)

Thirty-third—that was the rank of a man burdened by countless entanglements, staggering forward in his pursuit of the Dao.

First—was the rank of a man who had torn free of all shackles and poured everything into the Dao.

Even if ten thousand people believed he didn’t deserve it, that he wasn’t worthy—he held no fear, no regrets.

......

"What do we do?"

Qin Youzhi was thoroughly at a loss.

He had truly made up his mind earlier: he would protect Lu Ye.

Even if it meant mobilizing the entire sect.

But now? It wasn’t just the other sects that were on par with the Grand Dao Sect. Youming had shown up. The Myriad Ancients Sect was here for the spectacle.

Even Heaven’s Pavilion had arrived!

The Grand Dao Sect couldn’t even handle a one-on-one with the Myriad Ancients, let alone Youming and Heaven’s Pavilion together.

For Lu Ye’s sake, should the whole sect march to its death? Was it worth it?

Qin Youzhi couldn’t make the call. So he contacted the sect.

The Sect Master.

Though not the strongest in the Grand Dao Sect, the Sect Master was its highest authority.

And his wisdom was anything but ordinary.

He would be able to give a reasoned and proper answer.

Qin Youzhi took out a sound-transmission stone and relayed the entire situation.

Liu Changfeng fell silent.

His body—at that moment—began to tremble slightly.

Bai Qiulan and Yue Hongling stood there, both visibly tense. Yue Hongling had initially wanted to plead on Lu Ye’s behalf, but Bai Qiulan stopped her.

This was not the time for any personal emotion to sway the sect’s judgment. Pleading now might very well backfire.

Liu Changfeng stood at a crossroads of fate.

Top rank on the Eternal Heaven’s Chosen Ranking...

The sect master’s decree in his hand creaked from how tightly he gripped it.

If they failed, there was a 40% chance the Grand Dao Sect would be destroyed—and a 100% chance the sect would fall into decline.

But if they succeeded... what were the odds of the Grand Dao Sect soaring to unprecedented heights?

"Where is Bai Qiulan?" Liu Changfeng finally spoke.

Qin Youzhi quickly handed the transmission stone to Bai Qiulan.

"Junior sister—you are Lu Ye’s master. What kind of person is he?" Liu Changfeng asked.

Bai Qiulan let out a soft breath.

"He is loyal and righteous."

"Then why, when the Sword Sect Elder asked if he was willing to leave Bailan Peak and enter another sword cultivator’s tutelage, did he say he was naturally willing?"

"I’m not in a position to explain the details," Bai Qiulan replied. "But I can assure the sect—Lu Ye’s loyalty and righteousness are rare through the ages!"

Liu Changfeng’s internal calculation began to rise.

Two percent? Three percent? Four? Five? The odds of Grand Dao Sect ascending on Lu Ye’s back?

His fist clenched tight.

"Transmit my sect master decree—summon all ancestral elders out of seclusion! They are to aid our disciple!"

"Sect Master—which elder?"

In that moment, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Liu Changfeng donned his battle armor, black hair whipping wildly.

He swept a hand through the void.

The Grand Dao Sect’s rise or destruction—would be decided today!

"All of them!"