Chapter 37: The Embattled Su Youji

"Haha." The man in golden armor laughed. "I misspoke."

"Sometimes I really envy you cultivators. There are so many of you, practically everywhere, in every territory." The burly man with disheveled black hair sighed and shook his head.

"That little brat, is he asking for death?" The burly man suddenly glared, and twin beams of golden light shot from his eyes, traversing spacetime to reach a distant place almost instantly.

…

Star Island.

"What's going on?" Ji Ning's body had frozen, as if some terrifying existence had locked onto him. But soon that dreadful sense of threat vanished.

"Who was it?" Ji Ning guessed that some terrifying being had been observing him, not even bothering to conceal its aura. If it had, he wouldn't have sensed it at all.

"This sense of threat is second only to that terrifying beast I encountered before." Ji Ning thought to himself.

That terrifying beast, which had swallowed and teleported them here, was the most fearsome existence Ji Ning had ever faced, far surpassing any other powerful being he had met.

And the being that had just observed him ranked second in terms of threat. Ji Ning felt that even the Heavenly One Dao Lord might not match this existence.

"The Mangya Kingdom is too powerful. One great sovereign is bad enough, but there seem to be other formidable beings as well." Ji Ning muttered to himself.

The Mangya Kingdom was a force on the same level as the entire Dao Alliance. The Dao Alliance was unfathomably deep, and the Mangya Kingdom was equally mysterious and powerful.

"Well, either way, they can crush me with ease." Ji Ning stopped worrying. The great sovereign had abducted them to train strong warriors.

After all, no matter how powerful a force, it needs a steady stream of successors.

No matter how mighty the top experts, only Eternal Emperors can live forever. Life-Daoists, unless they merge with the Dao, will eventually die. So there is always a need for new blood.

Ji Ning and the others were that new blood, the future powerhouses.

"Mm."

"At least Youji is still alive." Ji Ning checked the golden scroll and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hm?"

"A challenge?" Ji Ning frowned. A prodigy from the fifth layer had challenged him. The other twelve on the fifth layer had been there long-term, and their strength was far beyond that of Shabafuyi.

To deal with Shabafuyi, Ji Ning had already used the Primordial Water-Fire Gourd.

"I'm under the protection of Star Island now. Even if I lose, I'll only lose the inheritance treasures. But I need to send them to Youji first. If I delay too long, she might not make it." Ji Ning dared not be careless.

Ji Ning waved his hand.

Whoosh.

Three hundred and twenty inheritance treasures floated before Ji Ning, all in the form of fiery red leaves. The three hundred and twenty leaves gathered together, and Ji Ning sensed the vast information and powerful flame aura within them.

This was a fire-line inheritance. Shabafuyi, whom Ji Ning had faced, also specialized in the fire line. He had kept this set of inheritance treasures to constantly sense the artistic conception within, but now they were in Ji Ning's hands.

By making an oath, one could learn this inheritance.

Ji Ning studied it briefly and memorized it all. The inheritance was indeed profound. After going through it from start to finish, Ji Ning found his insights into the fire line had greatly improved, nearly matching his water line and lightning line.

"Having an inheritance really makes a difference." Ji Ning thought.

"But I walk the path of the sword."

"I won't waste my energy on the fire line." Ji Ning quickly pushed the memory of the inheritance aside. He had memorized it only to draw some experience, as all Daos are interconnected. Many of the profound techniques in the inheritance had benefited his sword Dao.

…

"Challenge."

Ji Ning glanced through the inheritance and nodded. Su Youji had great talent in the fire line. Giving this to her would likely boost her strength significantly and allow her to improve rapidly.

Ji Ning issued a challenge to Su Youji.

"She must accept."

"She has to accept." Ji Ning was anxious and worried.

He had learned from Liuyan Dao Lord which island Su Youji was on, but Su Youji didn't know he had reached the fifth layer. Would she accept a challenge from the fifth layer?

If she didn't, Ji Ning would have to fight that 'Qian Xingzi' from the fifth layer. If he won, fine; if he lost, all these inheritance treasures would be gone.

It wasn't hard to gather another set of inheritance treasures, but finding a fire-line set suitable for Su Youji would be very difficult.

And if he delayed too long, Su Youji might die.

…

Among the lowest layer's three hundred thousand Star Islands, one was covered in flowers and grass, beautiful to behold.

Su Youji, dressed in fiery red robes, lay on the grass, staring up at the sky. Her face was full of exhaustion.

"If this goes on, I won't last much longer."

"Master..."

"I'm afraid I can't stay with you anymore."

Su Youji lay on the grass, utterly weary.

She was so tired.

When Ji Ning had given her a swarm of insect beasts and a set of Wind-Sand Puppets, she had won several matches easily. On the first layer, she rarely met a challenge.

But soon trouble came.

Word spread that she used insect beasts and Wind-Sand Puppets. Too many World-level cultivators wanted those powerful insect beasts and puppets.

The gap between the third and fourth layers wasn't huge. With a set of Wind-Sand Puppets, one might break into the fourth layer and have a chance to gather a full inheritance.

For those skilled in close combat, a set of Wind-Sand Puppets and a swarm of insect beasts could greatly enhance their strength.

The World-level cultivators who had been on Star Island for a long time often formed connections, using challenges to avoid fights at critical moments. So news of the Wind-Sand Puppets and insect beasts reached three powerful World-level cultivators.

These three were two from the third layer and one from the fourth.

They challenged Su Youji relentlessly.

Su Youji tried her best to avoid battles, and when she couldn't, she chose to fight those from the third layer.

"I've held out once, twice, three times, ten times, twenty times... Can I keep going?" Su Youji muttered to herself. The past half year, especially the last six months, had been a nightmare.

"Rumble~~~"

Suddenly, a Star Island from the fourth layer rose to the fifth layer.

"The fifth layer?" Su Youji's eyes lit up. "A World-level cultivator has reached the fifth layer? Could it be Master?" She hoped it was Ji Ning, but she knew there were countless World-level cultivators here, many of them prodigies.

"I hope it's Master. As long as he's alive and well, that's enough." Su Youji silently prayed. She didn't dare hope Ji Ning could save her, because logically, he had no way of knowing which Star Island she was on.

As her thoughts wandered,

Suddenly—

"A challenge?"

Su Youji sensed another challenge on her golden scroll. She remained calm, as she received challenges every day. Her insect beasts and puppets were far too tempting.

"A challenge from the fifth layer?" Su Youji was startled.

Her insect beasts and puppets were attractive, but not enough to draw the attention of the protected prodigies on the fifth layer. Previously, the highest challenge she received was from the fourth layer, and only one.

"Eh?"

"It seems to be someone who just entered the fifth layer?" Su Youji quickly noticed. She checked the golden scroll daily, and the markers for the fifth layer had previously been only twelve. With her memory, she remembered them after one look.

This challenger was clearly not one of the previous twelve.

"Someone who just entered the fifth layer is challenging me?"

"Since they're already under protection, they probably aren't after my insect beasts or puppets."

"Could it... really be Master?" Many thoughts crossed Su Youji's mind.

She didn't dare believe it.

She thought it was wishful thinking.

But deep down, she felt it really might be Master. Why would someone who had just broken into the fifth layer seek her out for no reason?

"Could Master have found a way to know which Star Island I'm on?" Su Youji hesitated.

"Forget it."

"I'm already at my limit. Even if it's an enemy, losing to someone from the fifth layer is acceptable." Su Youji gritted her teeth and accepted the challenge.

Soon she entered her house, and the divine rune array activated. With a hum, space twisted, and Su Youji was teleported off Star Island.

…

It was still an island, with a volcano. Past eruptions had left the island gray and dirty.

Su Youji appeared out of thin air and immediately saw a figure in the distance.

The figure in white.

The figure with a sword on his back.

"Master..." Su Youji's body trembled as she murmured.

"Youji." The figure turned to look at her.

…