Volume 7 - Chapter 31 (1/2)

“Win . Win . Win . ” Mu Northson stood outside the grand sealing formation, staring towards Ji Ning, who was seated on that distant stone pillar . His eyes were blazing with hope . “You have to win . ” Prior to this, he had lost two rounds in a row . In his heart, he viewed himself and Ning as standing on the same side; they were both new disciples .

As for those old disciples, they were simply teaching the new disciples a lesson in accordance with that ‘tradition’ . He lost; naturally, he now hoped that Ning would win a round and gain a bit of face for them, the two new students . In addition, this Bloodrinker Bladask had gone too far in making the wagers so large .

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning is in for it now . ”

“Senior apprentice-brother Bladask really did set a high wager . He showed no mercy at all . ”

The old disciples were all chatting amongst themselves . But as for Ninelotus, she stood there, staring carefully at Ning, who was within the grand sealing formation . She said softly, “My fellow disciples, it’s too early to say such things . It’s hard to say who will win; junior apprentice-brother Bladask or junior apprentice-brother Darknorth . ”

“Junior apprentice-brother Bladask entered the school many years ago . Can it be that he is inferior to Ji Ning?”

“Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, it isn’t very likely that Ji Ning will be able to win . ”

All of the disciples present, Northson included, felt surprised at the words of Ninelotus . After all, Ninelotus, logically speaking, should be on the side of the old disciples .

“Just watch . ” Ninelotus still had that calm smile on her face .

……… .

Bladask sat there atop his stone pillar in the lotus position . He noticed that Ninelotus, standing outside the sealing formation, was paying more attention to Ning . This caused his gaze to grow ever-colder .

“Once the protective surface armor of the golems you two are controlling has been broken, that means that you have lost . ” The white-haired elder watched from afar while speaking out . Ning nodded lightly .

The golems were representations of themselves . Breaking through the golem’s armor, in a real battle, was something comparable to truly killing the enemy! Naturally, that represented defeat .

“Since you know the rules, then…begin!” The white-haired elder called out . Within the vast, empty space inside the sealing formation, the two golems simultaneously began to move . Ning controlled the Thousandsword Golem, while Bladask controlled the Polaris Golem .

“Swish!” “Swish!” The two golems retreated at the same time, pulling away from each other . Neither of them wished for their golems to be too close, because once their protective armor was breached, that would mean they had lost .

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning! Watch out for this!” Bladask, seated on that distant stone pillar, let out a loud shout . Immediately afterwards, he began to control his Polaris Golem, which had seven flying swords on its back . A savage, baleful aura filled one of the flying swords which instantly shot out, filling the entire area nearby with a dense, bloody light .

“Ursae Majoris Warbreaker!”

“As soon as junior apprentice-brother Bladask attacked, he immediately used the Ursae Majoris Warbreaker . He really is filled with a killing intent right now . ” The spectating disciples in the distance were all stunned .

The flying sword slashed through the skies, and as they did so, it was like an iron-blooded army was marching forth . A series of bloody lights flashed, and even the vague sounds of slaughter and warcries could be heard . They struck directly towards Ning’s Thousandswords Golem .

“He really does have quite a bit of a killing intent . ” Ning sat there in the lotus position on his stone pillar . Seeing this, he just let out a soft laugh . “Let me extinguish that killing intent of his . Go . ”

Clang!

One of the countless tiny swords on the back of the Thousandswords Golem instantly flew out . When it flew out, it was only the size of a sewing needle, but soon it expanded to the size of a palm . The flashing sword flew out…and as it did, the entire area became filled with flowing water, with the flashing sword light submerged within the water .

“Break!” Bladask’s face sank . That flying sword of his, filled with a boundless killing intent, didn’t give way in the slightest . It struck directly towards the flowing water . This Ursae Majoris sword…what it needed was its imposing manner! It couldn’t lose that!

The flying sword struck directly towards the flood of water . Splash! The flowing water was blasted apart, but the water then swirled and reformed around the flying sword, once more entrapping it . As the saying goes, one can swing a blade at water, but the water will still flow; even a blade that had been tempered a hundred times, when faced with this sword light that flowed with endless water, would become as weak as a finger .

The first blow was filled with energy . The second was weaker . By the third, there was nothing left . “Not good . ” Bladask’s face changed slightly . He knew that Ning had blocked him with but a single flying sword .

“Formidable . ”

“He used just a single flying sword to block junior apprentice-brother Bladask’s Ursae Majoris Warbreaker sword attack . I imagine that junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning isn’t much weaker than junior apprentice-brother Bladask . ”

The azure-robed man, Bu Ying, said with a frown, “This is the ‘Flowing Water Sword’ of the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] . ”

“[Lesser Five Elements Sword]? Are you sure about that, senior apprentice-brother Ying?” The others all looked towards Bu Ying, puzzlement on their faces . They had all heard of the famous [Lesser Five Elements Sword], but they didn’t focus on swordplay…naturally, they didn’t understand the sword stances of the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] very well .

Bu Ying nodded . “I’m sure . I’ve meditated on the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] before . This technique is the ‘Flowing Water Sword’ technique within it . I didn’t expect that although junior apprentice-brother Darknorth has just entered our school, he has already begin to gain insights into the [Lesser Five Elements Sword] . ”

Ninelotus just listened, smiling gently as she watched the battle .

……… .

Bladask couldn’t hear the conversation going on outside, but he could guess at it . Both sides had used just a single flying sword, but Ning had actually blocked him . How could he not feel humiliated? After all, he had joined the school many years ago .

“Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, receive my Polaris Direwolf Skyripper!” Bladask let out an angry roar . Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The other six flying swords on the back of the Polaris Golem all flew out at the same time . The first flying sword flew back as well, and the seven flying swords instantly formed into a Polaris Sword Formation . Rumble…in midair, one enormous star after another began to appear . The seven giant stars formed into the shape of the Big Dipper, and then a flashing sword light began to expand rapidly .

“Howwwwwwwwwl!” At the core of this sword light, an enormous black wolf phantom actually appeared out of nowhere . The Direwolf raised its head, letting out an angry howl . And then, still howling, it charged straight towards Ning . It looked as though the Direwolf was bounding towards Ning, but in reality, those seven flying swords were launching a simultaneous attack .

“Go!” Ning’s cold voice rang out . Eight more flying swords flew out from the back of the Thousandswords Golem . Along with the first flying sword, they instantly joined together into a simple ‘Nine Palaces Sword Formation’ . Ning had acquired the ‘Nine Yang Sword Formation’ in the underwater estate, and this formation contained quite a few profound mysteries as well . Although it wasn’t as complicated as the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], it was still extraordinary .

Ning had quite a bit of ability with regards to formations, and this ‘Nine Palaces Sword Formation’ was quite an excellent one as well .

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Nine rays of sword light howled through the air, leaping forward to greet the giant, advancing Direwolf . As they flew over, the light of the nine swords suddenly flashed, then transformed into more than a hundred densely clustered sword shadows . These hundred-plus sword shadows then quickly transformed into drops of rain, and it was as though a hundred-plus meteors of rain were pummeling into the Direwolf .

Smash! Smash! Smash! Smash! Smash! Smash! The hundred-plus meteors of rain smashed downwards, every single drop containing awe-inspiring power .

“Not good . ” Outside the formation, the azure-robed Bu Ying leapt to his feet, his eyes filled with astonishment . “How could he have…”

Every single drop of rainwater contained awesome power . Rumble…the unceasingly destructive strikes actually completely smashed apart that baleful, heaven-menacing Direwolf, and it also blasted apart those seven flying swords .

“How can this be?” Bladask, who was seated on the stone pillar, controlling everything, had a completely different look on his face now .

“Swish!” Immediately after disintegrating the Direwolf phantom, several flying swords continued to charge forward, not weakening in the slightest . Howling through the air, they instantly struck against the body of that Polaris Golem . BANG! They slashed straight through it, and the black, rocky exterior of the Polaris Golem was instantly split open, revealing the fiery red body of the golem within .

“Ji Ning wins!” The distant, white-robe elder immediately called out in a high voice .

As for Bladask, his face instantly turned completely ashen .

Book 7, Stillwater City, Chapter 31, Shock and Awe (part 1).