Chapter 334: Karakorum Sword League (1/2)

Chapter 334: Karakorum Sword League

Translator: YHEditor: TYZ/KLKL

Silver City was also known as Pagoda City. As the most elite city in the entire Silver Mist Sea, every inch of land was filled with wealth. The tall pagodas blended well with the other buildings and had gradually become a large part of Silver City’s unique style.

Looking down from a bird’s eye view, one could see large numbers of pagodas everywhere, each and every one them standing tall like swords that were pointing towards the sky. Bamboo carts, Fiery Floating Clouds and elementalists with their azure wings spread opened shuttled amongst these majestic pagodas. In the distance, the sparkling Silver Mist River loomed. The towering dams in the upper reaches and the mountains appeared to cover half of the horizon. This view was simply breathtaking.

Being the largest city in Silver Mist Sea, Silver City consisted of 13 towns of varying sizes. The furthest town was 220 kilometers away from Silver City and the nearest was 26 kilometers away. Every town was relatively busy and buzzed with enough activity to rival that of a small city.

The headquarters of Karakorum Sword League were located in a small, obscure town.

Ai Hui initially thought that Karakorum Sword League would be well-known throughout Silver City. However, upon reaching Silver City, he realised that the locals had limited knowledge of Karakorum Sword League.

Rather, the Dragonrise Training Hall was the most influential place in Silver City.

The location of headquarters of Dragonrise Training Hall was proof of this. Situated within Silver City itself, the training hall covered quite a bit of land area. Its buildings were lofty and grand, giving the area an extraordinary presence.

Money alone wasn’t sufficient to create such a spectacular training hall in Silver City. Solid backing was definitely needed as well.

In comparison, Karakorum Sword League was much more low-profile. Ai Hui’s curiosity towards Karakorum Sword League didn’t change because of this.

Karakorum Sword League was directly responsible for the recent rise of swordsmanship’s popularity.

It was rumoured that the chief of Karakorum Sword League was a highly skilled young lady with a mysterious background. She had also created numerous swordsmanship inheritances and therefore had the power to nurture a new generation. But as with all rumours, it was difficult to determine their reliability.

The further away one got from Silver City, the less pagodas could be seen. In their place stood low courtyards and shorter buildings.

The headquarters of Karakorum Sword League were relatively old and must have been around for many years. Collapsed and shabby structures were everywhere, but the owners did not seem to be interested in repairing them.

Countless broken swords were strewn about the place, many of which were stabbed firmly into the surrounding walls and green ceramic tiles. Some were coated with layers of rust, while others shone brightly.

Racks made from bamboo poles lined both sides of the stone road that led up to the main gate. The racks were filled with grass swords placed out to dry.

A gust of wind blew past, causing the grass swords to ring out in harmony. The crisp, ringing sound was rather pleasing to Ai Hui’s ear.

After walking two steps, Ai Hui saw the craftsmen who were handling the grass swords dip them into vats of black starch before swiftly taking them out. These shining black grass swords were then hung onto the bamboo pole.

Rows of bamboo racks were stretched across a few hundred feet in a spectacular display.

Although Karakorum Sword League’s location was a little remote, it was not deserted at all. Groups of young ladies with long swords hanging from their waists would brush past Ai Hui from time to time. They would talk about their gains and losses and discuss the day’s competitions.

Ai Hui was already enjoying the atmosphere - it reminded him of Central Pine Academy.

There was no trace of the hustle and bustle found in the rest of the Avalon of Five Elements.

The word ”Karakorum” was written on the top portion of the main gates. Ai Hui found the handwriting rather familiar but couldn’t figure out where he had seen it before.

Stepping through the gates, he found his field of vision widened. Every single training ground was filled with people practicing their swordplay.

There was a teacher allocated to each one, lending their expertise and guidance to the students practicing within.

Upon seeing Ai Hui scanning the area, one of the youths in charge of attending to guests walked up to him. ”Honored Guest, is there anything I can help you with?”

The youth looked no older than sixteen. A sword hung limply at his waist, and he looked pretty nimble.

Ai Hui took a small sword about three inches long and said, ”I’m here to experience the sword formations.”

The youth took a quick glance at the small sword and repeatedly nodded, ”Those who hold the small sword token are Karakorum’s distinguished guests. Please, come this way. We have six types of sword formations, which type would our honored guest wish to experience?”

”Six types?” asked Ai Hui, slightly taken aback. He never imagined that there would be several types of sword formations.

Upon hearing the surprise in Ai Hui’s words, the youth suddenly displayed a strong sense of pride. ”The swordsmanship of our leader is unrivalled. All six types of sword formations were invented by her and we’ll probably have even more in the future.”

”Truly impressive,” replied Ai Hui sincerely. Come to think about it, he couldn’t even create a complete sword formation, yet here they had already invented six types. He couldn’t help but feel impressed.

No wonder they dared to use Karakorum’s name, their leader must be pretty powerful.

The youth had a favourable impression of Ai Hui. He continued, ”The sword formations are good for the training of swordsmanship. However, it is extremely pricey and ordinary people probably cannot afford it. Since you have the small sword token, you’ll be able to experience three types of sword formations.”

Ai Hui asked curiously, ”Don’t you usually use the sword formations?”

”How can I possibly afford it?” the youth uttered as he shook his head. ”Activating a sword formation requires blood crystals and essence elemental beans. Hang on, not just any essence elemental beans, they must be of the highest grade.”