Chapter One Hundred: The Melee on the Desolate Island

Ye Mo and the other four were felling spirit wood near the cliff, preparing to set up camp at that perilous stronghold.

On this wild island, a hundred miles across, fierce skirmishes were erupting everywhere.

Though more than a hundred academy teams had landed by boat from different parts of the coast, there were always some groups of cultivators who ran into one another not long after coming ashore.

On one hidden beach covered in reeds and coarse grass, five cadets landed, the leader scanning nervously in all directions.

This beach was well concealed. The reeds, taller than a man, made it easy to hide one’s tracks.

Once they came ashore here, the terrain itself would help mask the movements of their party.

With a sudden splash, a black shadow burst from the water. A sword of azure water-spirit force shot toward one of the men several yards away.

The man in front among the five cadets was stricken with terror. Before he could even defend himself, the sword pierced his abdomen. He cried out and was gravely wounded.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Behind the black-armored cultivator, four more figures in black spirit armor sprang from the water and surrounded the four cadets who had not yet been injured.

The four cadets were aghast. They had never imagined that the moment they entered the reeds, they would be ambushed.

What was more, all of the ambushers had donned black water-spirit armor. Hidden among the reeds and marsh grass, they had concealed themselves extremely well, giving off not a trace of aura.

"Brother Kou, hand over your token," the black-armored cultivator said coldly, lifting the water-spirit sword stained with blood. "You only have four men left. You are no match for me."

"Brother Tang! I never expected to meet you here!" The cadet surnamed Kou instantly recognized the black-armored cultivator, and his face turned ashen. "At the academy, I have always run errands for you, served you diligently, and never offended you. Could you spare me this once?"

This black-armored cultivator came from the Tang clan, one of the great cultivator families of Azure Cloud Immortal City. Among the city’s cadets, he ultimately ranked thirteenth, and was widely considered one of the most likely to seize one of the ten places in the academy assessment.

The cadet surnamed Kou, by contrast, was merely a child of a lesser family, ranked in the seventies or eighties. In status alone, he naturally could not compare.

"Hmph, enough nonsense. This graduation assessment recognizes neither kin nor friendship. Who has the leisure to talk about ties with you? Once I seize fifty tokens, I can leave this island of chaos.

Hand over five assessment tokens and your provisions, and you may leave. Otherwise, do not blame me, Tang, for being ruthless. I may not be allowed to kill you, but crippling you beyond recovery is certainly within my reach. Many of your family’s businesses still depend on my Tang clan to survive. Surely you are not thinking of testing whether your family can endure ruin?"

"Brother Tang! The graduation assessment has only just begun. There is no need to go so far! I am willing to follow you and seize the tokens of other cadets. That would give you more men as well."

"No need. Having five more useless burdens following me would only get in my way. Do you think I want to take you along and fight the likes of Lou Jiejun, Bai Xijun, and Ren Haiping?"

The black-armored cultivator’s expression darkened, and he spoke with impatient coldness.

Gathering a band of followers and using superior numbers to rob other cadets was indeed a sound strategy.

But it was clearly not suitable for this black-armored cultivator. Even if he could gather a dozen or two cadets, once he encountered the top three city cadets, Lou Jiejun, Bai Xijun, and Ren Haiping, he would be wiped out in an instant.

For those three had long since gathered large numbers of followers, and their power was formidable.

Setting aside everything else, just consider how they had landed. All three had come ashore in broad daylight on the open beach, escorted by groups of cadets and cultivators, openly and confidently. They were collecting all manner of spirit resources on the island, clearly preparing for a great battle in this graduation assessment.

The black-armored cultivator intended to move swiftly: rob ten cadet teams in short order, then leave the island by means of the assessment. That way, he could avoid running into the powerful city cadets and having his tokens taken from him.

"Brother Tang, why waste words with him? Let’s just use them as the first ones to cut our teeth on!" Several of the black-armored attendants around him were already baring ferocious, eager looks.

"No, no! I surrender! Brother Tang’s strength is beyond my reach. I am willing to admit defeat!" The cadet surnamed Kou hurriedly waved both hands. As though truly afraid of the black-armored cultivator, his face drained of all color at the threat. He hastily removed the assessment token from his waist with a look of despair.

He infused the token with spiritual power, summoning a Foundation Establishment cultivator patrolling overhead, who would take them back to the giant sea ship so they need not remain on the island.

Of course, once activated, the assessment token would still belong to that black-armored cultivator.

On the wild island, deep within a dense forest, two groups totaling ten cultivators were locked in combat.

In order to avoid drawing the attention of other teams, they did not unleash many dazzling spells, but fought directly at close quarters.

A young cadet in red had both palms flushed scarlet, his expression turning savage.

"Blazing Sun Palm!"

With a fierce shout, a blinding red radiance erupted from his palm, forming a massive illusory hand that pressed toward his opponent.

The young man in blue opposite him wore a cold smile. He madly poured spiritual power into his fist, a faint blue glow rising from it as he met the red palm strike head-on.

Bang!

The clash of water and fire spiritual force in fist and palm let out a thunderous boom.

The tremendous force sent both combatants reeling backward. The scarlet giant palm vanished completely, while the blue fist imprint remained intact.

Even the cultivators fighting nearby were affected by the shockwave.

"Haha! Your Red Clan’s Blazing Sun Palm meets my Blue Clan’s Heavenly Water Fist, and it becomes a tragedy. If you are sensible, hand over your token now, and I may spare you!"

Having gained the upper hand, the blue-clad youth looked extremely excited.

"Bah!"

Ignoring the pain in his split palm, the red-clad youth cursed, "Want me to surrender? Dream on. Our two clans are sworn enemies. How could I possibly yield? If you want the token, take it from my corpse. If you expect me to hand it over willingly, not a chance. Enough talk. Come on, then!"

The Red Clan and the Blue Clan were both cultivator families of Azure Cloud Immortal City.

Because their family businesses clashed, the two clans had been entangled for years, and their enmity ran deep.

"Refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. You’re courting death!"

The blue-clad youth had long expected this outcome, and instantly surged forward with a punch.

The two plunged into battle once more.

When water and fire spiritual power collided, the destructive force was immense. Within a radius of more than ten yards, the surrounding grass and trees were either scorched black or covered in a layer of frigid chill.

The attendant cadets beside them were not idle either. They fought among the surrounding thickets, the clashes fierce and intense.

High above the wild island, two Foundation Establishment cultivators flying on swords watched the movement in the distant forest.

"The descendants of the Red and Blue Clans have met. That can very easily end in a fight to the death. We must keep a close eye on them and not let anyone die."

One middle-aged cultivator stared intently below, his expression grave.

"I’ll go warn them. You watch the other areas."

The other cultivator nodded as well.

They were there not only to supervise the examination, but also to protect the cadets as much as possible.

Before long, the red-clad cultivator was outmatched and struck injured by a punch. Seeing that victory was hopeless, his subordinates finally surrendered one after another.

Even so, the Blue Clan cultivator had not won easily. He too was seriously wounded, and two of his attendants had been injured and lost all combat ability.

By nightfall, Ye Mo, Lin Zhi, and the others had cut down more than ten spirit trees. At the island’s only narrow pass by the cliff, they built a sturdy spirit-wood barricade, sealing the pass off completely. They left Yang You and the little fire crow on guard among the high rocks nearby.

The rest of them found a cave near the barricade and set up camp there for the time being.

The excess spirit wood was fashioned into throwing spears.

If other cultivators tried to storm the cliff, they could stand above them and hurl the spirit-wood spears downward. Those spears could easily cover a range of seventy or eighty yards. One must remember that the spells of Qi Refining cultivators generally reached only ten or twenty yards.

With the strength of a Qi Refining cultivator behind them, enough to drive a spear from above with one or two thousand pounds of force, the killing power would be formidable indeed, sufficient to pierce ordinary spirit armor and shield. Any attacking cultivators would certainly pay a price.

Even if more than ten Qi Refining cultivators attacked the cliff together, the narrow terrain was not suited for large numbers moving in unison. Under the blockade of the spirit-wood spears, even sheer numbers could not force their way in.

"This cliff is easy to defend, yes. But the terrain is too high, there is no water source, and no spirit wood. We only have food for three days. I’m afraid we cannot hold out for two or three days. How are we supposed to solve the problems of food, water, and spirit wood?"

Sitting beside a small campfire, Lin Zhi said with a grave expression.

The cave was not large, barely enough to shelter the few of them.

Originally, their plan had been to occupy this cliff, wait for the hundred-plus teams on the island to fight until a result emerged, and then, once everyone was exhausted, have Ye Mo’s group go down to pick up the spoils. It was the best strategy.

But there was no water source, no food, and no spirit wood on this cliff.

Food, water, and spirit-wood weapons were precisely the keys to holding this position.

For martial artists, the greater their strength, the more they ate at each meal. Qi Refining cultivators ate even more than martial artists and required food containing spiritual energy. Without grain-restoring pills, Qi Refining cultivators could not withstand hunger.

"Five li southwest of the cliff, there is a small spirit-wood grove where we can find fresh water and replenish the spirit-wood spears," Mo Ling said at once, blinking.

"That small grove does have water and spirit wood, but if we go there too often, it will be easy to fall into an ambush. If someone sets up an ambush there in advance, we’ll be walking right into a trap!

What worries me most is that if the cliff gets sealed off by our opponents, then after a few days, once our food and water are gone, we may have no choice but to surrender."

Lin Zhi frowned.

Among the four of them, only Lin Zhi could really discuss strategies with Ye Mo.

Mo Ling could occasionally offer a little insight.

As for Wang Hu and Yang You, they were not suited to strategy at all. They could only carry out concrete tasks, such as building defenses, making barricades, crafting spirit-wood spears, and standing watch through the night.

"Don’t worry too much. We have little food, but other teams don’t have much more than we do. Even if we run short, I can send my fire crow down to the beach below the cliff to catch sea fish for food. But spirit wood is indeed important. We should cut as much as possible and stockpile it on the cliff."

Ye Mo thought for a moment and said so.

"Then let’s cut spirit wood tonight and store up enough to last!" Lin Zhi said. "Even if other cadets seal off the cliff, we won’t have to worry about running out."

"Good. We’ve already built the barricade here and made dozens of spirit-wood spears. Only three people are needed to defend it, so safety should not be a problem. The sooner the better. If we can stockpile enough spirit wood and fresh water for half a month, we’ll all be able to sleep easy."

Ye Mo nodded.

"Mo Ling, Wang Hu, Yang You, you stay here and guard the cliff. Lin Zhi and I will go cut spirit wood and find water."

After giving his instructions, Ye Mo and Lin Zhi descended the cliff in the dark, taking the little fire crow with them, and headed for the small grove five li away.