Humanity’s Great Sage

>Each and every point was a testament to how far he had come and how much blood, sweat, and tears he had put in, and a hundred points for the Bonding Pact was not a price that he would consider as cheap. 

 

However, he was comforted by the fact that he had not been alone; Yi Yi and Amber’s presence had been both reassuring and very crucial throughout their journey, especially during the short-lived war when he was hunted by virtually every enemy Cultivator in the Battlefield.
Therefore, the Bonding Pact was something that he felt obliged to procure for Amber and Yi Yi’s sake—whether it was a hundred points or even a thousand.

 

With his mind, he quietly agreed to the payment.
A cream-white vortex swirled just in front of the Divine Opportunity Column and Lu Ye noticed that a hundred Contribution Points had been deducted from his tally.

 

Curiously, he reached his hand into the vortex and felt his fingers wrapping around something stiff and wide.
He pulled it out.
It was an ancient-looking parchment made of animal hide.
The Bonding Pact.

 

Knowing how to use it now from the information supplied to him just moments ago, Lu Ye bit his thumb and left a mark on the parchment before injecting some of his Spiritual Powers into it and putting it between him and an incredulous Amber who obviously did not know what was going on. 

The animal skin parchment burst into flames.
The fire consumed the parchment and elongated into a ring that rose into the air and landed on the ground with Amber right at its center.
Then it shrunk and the ring of flames melded into the tiger.
Amber understood nothing of it, but he didn’t resist.
The fire was not scalding him at all.

When the ring of fire was completely gone, Lu Ye could feel a bond between him and Amber.
He could sense the tiger’s position within a small distance and Lu Ye could better guess his mind now.

 

[Interesting thing, this Bonding Pact,] he mused. 

 

Without further ado, Lu Ye brought Amber back to the Jiu Zhou Crimson Blood Sect stronghold with him.

 

It was only after he had left that several heads popped out of the sides of the Sanctum’s entrance to find that it was empty.
[That was Lu Yi Ye! Lu Yi Ye of the Crimson Blood Sect and he has come!]

 

News of Lu Ye’s appearance in the outpost began to sweep across the whole bazaar, leaving many independents apprehensive… 

 

Shui Yuan and Li Baxian were waiting in the main stronghold Sanctum of Providence when Lu Ye came back with Amber.
The first thing that Li Baxian asked when he saw Lu Ye was, “Have you met Beaky?”

 

“Beaky?!” Lu Ye was flabbergasted, although he was quick to realize that Li Baxian was referring to that monstrous eagle.
Cringing at the name, his eyes twitched.
“Wait, who gave it that name?”

 

That such a magnificent beast should be given a name as frivolous as “Beaky” was just…

 

“Beaky is the Spirit Pet that Brother Wujiang kept all those years ago,” Li Baxian explained, chuckling, “After he left the Battlefield, Beaky stayed around the outpost.
That’s why Sister Shuiyuan told you that there’s nothing to be worried about.
The outpost is nothing but a bare and empty fort and with Beaky around, the usual ragtag of outer-ring forces wouldn’t dare to invade.”

 

He tossed Lu Ye a jade slip.
“Inside is pretty much everything you’ll need to know about the outpost.
Just go through it when you’re free.
As legate, there will still be benefits in focusing much of your training in the outpost, especially since you’re still a long way behind.”

 

Lu Ye nodded as he fingered the jade slip.
Then he remembered something.
He patted Amber’s head and said, “Come out and say hi to Sister Shui Yuan and Brother Baxian.”

 

The latter two stared quizzically at the tiger, not knowing what was going on. 

 

Although their curious expressions turned into that of amazement. 

 

Yi Yi slowly materialized.
Coyly, she greeted them, “Um, hello, Sister Shui Yuan, Brother Baxian!” She did not know how she should be addressing them both, so she thought she might as well just follow Lu Ye. 

 

Yi Yi had not shown herself at all during the Battle of Goldentip, chiefly because she would not only be useless but also as an apparition, her appearance in public would have been inappropriate. 

But right now, with only Shui Yuan and Li Baxian present, everyone was family.

 

Li Baxian stared at her before he gave Lu Ye a grin that all men would understand, nudging him playfully, “Good job, Brother!”

 

Lu Ye hastily explained, “Yi Yi’s the Spirit that lives inside Amber.
Both she and Amber have been very crucial and helpful to me.”

 

“Spirit?” uttered Shui Yuan with interest.
She had never seen anything like Yi Yi before.
She strode nearer to Yi Yi and poked at her arm gently.
To her surprise, Yi Yi felt as corporeal as a living human being, although she could see how unique Yi Yi was, being a Spirit that could transition between having a corporeal and an incorporeal body. 

Being ogled by both Shui Yuan and Li Baxian made Yi Yi nervous and she cast anxious glances at Lu Ye, tacitly calling for help. 

 

Shui Yuan patted her head.
“You’re Lu Ye’s family, so that makes you our family too.
You are one of us and this is your home, all right?”

 

Those words had such weight and significance that Yi Yi stared at her for a few seconds, her eyes turning red and moist before she bobbed her head vigorously. 

 

[I have a home too! I have a home too finally!] she thought, reminiscing the time she encountered Lu Ye and how thankful she was to have chosen to come with him.

 

Meanwhile, Li Baxian gave Lu Ye a knowing look and signalled for them to talk outside. 

 

Lu Ye followed closely behind.

 

They walked out of the stronghold’s Sanctum and Li Baxian said, “Well, under normal circumstances, you would be assigned a tutor to supervise your learning, especially since you’re already in the Fifth-Order as it’s time for you to decide on your path. But as you can see, the Sect isn’t under normal circumstances, so to speak.
Old Man might be powerful but it’s been years since he actually took anyone under his wing.
Besides, just between you and me, he’s a real blockhead, so that rules him out of this job.”

 

A stone flew out of nowhere and smacked right into Li Baxian’s head. 

 

One could almost tell how fast the swell grew.
But Li Baxian ignored it.
He turned around to look at where it came from before spinning back to face Lu Ye, still rubbing the swell on his head, “Luckily enough, you seem to be doing well on your own.
But the matter still persists: have you thought about which path to pursue?”

“Combat Cultivator!” Lu Ye gave his answer at once, his eyes still on the lump that was growing out of Li Baxian’s head.