Chapter 55: The True Essence of a Time Traveler

Chapter 55: Chapter 55: The True Essence of a Time Traveler

Everyone on the team had been secretly watching Li Ye.

After all.

Lord Li was the one who guided them in their cultivation, and the dragon’s flesh and blood were key to whether they could qualify for Ascension to the Immortal Realm.

Lord Li was being overpowered by the black dragon.

They were all incredibly anxious, but no one stepped forward to help...

Just as Li Ye had thought, they had grown accustomed to his sacrifices and took it for granted that he should be the one to handle the hardest problems.

If even he couldn’t solve it, they would just be throwing their lives away.

The black dragon was stronger than Lord Li. For them to act tough would be suicide. The goal of cultivation was long life, not a quick death...

So, they all pretended to be busy fighting, pretending they had no time to spare for Lord Li.

When Lord Li asked Liu Guangsheng for help, Yu Hai and the others thought this "help" was similar to the beatings on the field before—some kind of unorthodox cultivation method that came with benefits.

A few of them were even a little envious of Liu Guangsheng for being the closest to Lord Li...

But Liu Guangsheng had actually died. It seemed Lord Li really couldn’t beat the black dragon!

In an instant, everyone’s understanding of the situation shattered.

Every man for himself when disaster strikes.

SWOOSH!

Xiang Ying decisively turned, abandoned the pig-headed dragon he had been fighting, and bolted toward the valley exit.

’As long as the green mountains are there, one need not worry about firewood.’

’The Western Regions coexisted peacefully with the Divine Dragon Sect for a long time. If Lord Li dies, I’ll just go and join the Divine Dragon Sect...’

With someone taking the lead, the rest no longer dared to stay on the terrifying battlefield. They turned without hesitation and fled.

"Anyone who runs, dies."

Having used Liu Guangsheng as a human shield to activate his skill, Li Ye had initially felt a pang of guilt. He had even kindly struck him as he pushed him out, helping him increase his combat power.

But seeing these people abandon him without a second thought at the first sign of danger, his guilt vanished in an instant.

’So they can share the wealth, but not the hardship, huh!’

’It turned out he had been the only one carrying the weight all along...’

After Liu Guangsheng’s death, Li Ye’s power began to climb, and his speed increased significantly.

In a flash, Li Ye appeared in front of the fastest runner, Xiang Ying. Before Xiang Ying could react, Li Ye’s hand had already pierced through his chest, tearing out his heart as he stared in astonishment.

’Sacrifice a teammate, gain infinite power.’

Right now, Li Ye wasn’t entirely sure how the skill worked, so he couldn’t let these teammates escape.

’If the skill’s effect ends and the black dragon isn’t dead, these teammates can be used for a refill...’

"Get back there."

Li Ye forcefully flung Xiang Ying’s corpse at the Giant Dragon and barked the cold command.

A person’s heart is soft at first. It’s the slow grind of harsh reality that wears away their kindness, hardening that soft heart bit by bit.

At this moment, Li Ye felt he had finally woken up.

He understood the true key to a Time Traveler’s survival: in an unfamiliar world, no one was worthy of trust. From beginning to end, the only person he could rely on was himself.

The black dragon casually swatted Xiang Ying’s body to pieces.

Li Ye’s sudden burst of speed startled it, but only for a moment. It had long considered Li Ye prey already in its grasp; all his struggles were futile in its eyes.

Liu Guangsheng had died as a human shield, but Xiang Ying had been killed by Li Ye himself.

Staring into Li Ye’s cold eyes, Yu Hai and the others froze, suddenly remembering his true identity—a Star Thief.

At this moment, no one doubted him any longer.

No one fears a good man, but everyone is wary of a villain, especially a villain who holds the power of life and death.

A bitter taste filled the mouths of Yu Hai and the others, but no one dared to run anymore. Steeling themselves, they charged toward the black dragon, trying to win back some favor with Li Ye.

They just had to survive until the black dragon killed Li Ye.

The black dragon only had eyes for Li Ye, so their chances of survival were very high...

...

Li Ye’s power continued to climb, seemingly without end, just as the skill description suggested.

But in Li Ye’s view, this wasn’t a good thing.

The last line of the skill’s description mentioned that he would be incredibly weak afterward.

"Incredibly weak" wasn’t defined by any precise parameters, but it was most likely related to how high his power climbed.

He feared that the higher his power climbed, the more severe the weakness would be.

Li Ye had lost all trust in Shi Xiang, Yu Hai, and the others. In this unfamiliar world, he wasn’t willing to take that gamble.

Therefore, he had to end this fight quickly.

Li Ye turned, flashed in front of the black dragon, and threw a punch at its face.

At this point, his speed had already surpassed the black dragon’s.

The black dragon raised a claw, blocking Li Ye’s fist just in time.

BANG!

Both sides took a step back.

A trace of surprise flashed in the black dragon’s eyes, but it quickly charged back in...

The man and the dragon fought, flashing back and forth across the valley, moving faster and faster until they looked like two blurs.

Yu Hai and the others couldn’t even see their movements clearly anymore. They could only see two shadows clashing wildly, smashing one deep crater after another into the mountainsides. Falling rocks tumbled down, creating sporadic, deafening roars.

The dragonspawn the black dragon had brought with it had long since stopped paying attention to Yu Hai and the others. With a howl, they rushed forward to help the black dragon besiege Li Ye.

But soon, they were sent flying one by one, smashing against the mountainsides and being crushed into a pulp.

Yu Hai and the other Grandmasters found themselves idle. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to help; they simply couldn’t interfere in a battle of this level.

Everyone wore a grim expression.

"Lord Li’s Skill Level is recovering too quickly!" Yu Hai murmured.

"He must have used some kind of Forbidden Technique to boost his Skill Level!" said Huaiyi.

"Back when Lord Li fought Murong Kaixin, he also claimed to have used a Forbidden Technique, but he was perfectly fine afterward. Not long after that, he annihilated Xiangli, the man who slaughtered hundreds of thousands..."

Wenren Chuan said ominously.

After he said this, no one spoke.

Everyone knew the implication behind Huaiyi’s words. After all, they had truly deserted him. If Li Ye won, their fate was easy to imagine...

But just as Wenren Chuan had implied, even if Li Ye had used a Forbidden Technique, did they really dare to move against him?

...

Li Ye’s power grew greater and greater.

The black dragon was gradually put on the defensive. The number of times it managed to hit Li Ye dwindled, while the number of times Li Ye hit it increased.

It couldn’t help but grow anxious.

Finally, after Li Ye tore off one of its claws, panic flooded its heart. With a sorrowful howl, it leaped into the air.

As it rose, its body expanded rapidly, returning to its true black dragon form.

The moment it returned to its true form, dark clouds reconverged, and the torrential rain began to fall once more.

After transforming back, it didn’t continue the fight. It plunged headfirst into the clouds and used them as cover to make a swift escape.

With victory in sight, Li Ye wasn’t about to let it get away. He stomped heavily on the ground, and a blast of Inner Strength mixed with Demon Qi erupted from the soles of his feet.

He shot into the clouds like a black arrow.

Taking a few steps on the empty air, Li Ye vaulted onto the black dragon’s back.

Using its back as a springboard, Li Ye flashed forward to land on the dragon’s head. He grabbed its horns and, with a fist wreathed in Demon Qi, smashed it down hard on the crown of its skull.

The black dragon cried out in pain.

It rolled and writhed in the clouds but couldn’t shake Li Ye from its head.

Left with no choice, it shrank its body again, using all its might to force Li Ye back. With a shriek, it wove through the clouds and fled at top speed.

Li Ye infused his Inner Strength with Demon Qi and gave chase, walking on the air, relentlessly pursuing it.

In the blink of an eye, the man and the dragon were gone from Sirius Valley.

Yu Hai and the others looked at each other in dismay.

"What do we do?" Huaiyi asked. "Run?"

"And run where?" Yu Hai gave a bitter smile. "If Lord Li wins, with his methods, finding us would be as easy as flipping his hand. If he loses, we won’t need to run at all..."

"..." Huaiyi wanted to say more.

Shi Xiang faced the entrance of Sirius Valley and, with a THUD, dropped to his knees without a word.

Fan Jie hesitated for a moment before kneeling beside him.

Yu Hai and Huaiyi exchanged a glance, a bitter look crossing their faces. They followed suit and knelt.

Li Ye was too powerful. So powerful that any scheme or plot was futile.

All they could do now was pray that Lord Li would show mercy—that upon his return, he would see they still had some use and forgive them.