Chapter 8: Ji Ning's Sword

Seven figures closed in from different directions, encircling Ji Ning in a pincer attack.

Although they had not prepared for a 'seven-against-one' scenario, each of them was the most talented youth on the lands ruled by the Ji clan's West Prefecture. Even if they harbored some resentment toward this young master of the Ji clan, none dared to slack off, and they all chose to go all out in the siege!

Ji Ning stood motionless, and only when the seven figures were upon him did he move!

Whoosh~~~

Like a gust of wind, he flashed through the rain of blades and shadows. His control over strength, body, and speed was refined to the utmost, and his exertion of force was exquisitely subtle... He easily darted along a path and burst out from the encirclement of the seven gifted youths.

"What!"

"He dodged?"

"How is that possible?"

The seven youths all stopped, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief. Just now, Ji Ning had not even used a weapon; relying solely on footwork, he had easily evaded their encirclement even after it had been formed. Such terrifying footwork meant that if Ji Ning so wished, the seven of them together could not even touch the hem of his robe.

"So fast."

"Like a gust of wind."

"No wonder he's the son of Drip Sword. Too formidable. He was so fast I couldn't even see him clearly—just a blurry shadow." The tens of thousands of spectators were stirred. The people of these lands had all trained since childhood and had some discernment. Even most of them could only see a blurry shadow, which showed how fast he was.

...

Ji Ning stopped, standing at one side of the arena.

"None of the seven opponents forced me to use my sword; their footwork is inferior to mine." Ji Ning swept his gaze over the seven distant opponents. From the brief evasion just now, he could already judge the level of their footwork. "Two have reached the Subtle level in footwork—one is the curved-saber youth, the other is the golden-furred beast. It seems the intelligence I gathered earlier was wrong."

Although his father was aloof, Ji Ning had still sent people to gather information on the seven opponents. He had only known that the curved-saber youth had reached the Subtle level in footwork; he hadn't expected the golden-furred beast to be at that level too.

"But both of their footwork is slightly inferior to mine." Ji Ning revealed a faint smile.

After all, he had reached the Unity of Heaven and Man level in footwork. Even if he only used footwork at the Subtle level on the arena, his execution was clearly more complete and effortless. Moreover, he practiced a supreme footwork technique like 'Windshadow Steps,' so he naturally held the advantage.

"Tie him down."

"Don't give him a chance to dodge."

"All together!"

The seven youths charged again.

Ji Ning, however, strolled forward.

In an instant, the seven youths and Ji Ning clashed once more. Sword light and blade shadows flickered. Ji Ning moved as if on a leisurely walk, while the longsword in his hand, like a whip, transmitted all his force to the tip and then lashed out fiercely. Because the Golden Sword Ceremony aimed to minimize deaths, the weapons were unsharpened, better suited for strikes like cleaving, sweeping, and lashing.

Fast!

Ji Ning's sword was so fast it made one's heart tremble.

Ji Ning drifted out from the siege of seven, simultaneously lashing out seven lightning-fast sword strikes.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five figures were sent flying backward, landing more than ten zhang away on the ground. Each got up disheveled and struggling, some unable to help covering their chests as they coughed up blood, others with faces scraped raw. Their expressions were ugly and incredulous. Just now, the five of them had clearly seen Ji Ning's sword and tried to block it, but none had managed to touch it.

They hadn't even touched it! Ji Ning had sent them flying with a single strike!

"Unity of Man and Sword!" The five gifted youths instantly confirmed the sword technique level of the young master of the Ji clan and understood the vast gap.

Only three youths remained on the arena.

Ji Ning held the black sword and looked at the curved-saber youth and the golden-furred beast not far away, nodding inwardly: "I struck each of them once, but these two touched my sword. The curved-saber youth's blade is very fast, but he hasn't reached the Subtle level. The golden-furred beast... has actually reached the Unity of Man and Blade at the Subtle level."

"Young master Ji Ning, remember... my name is Pi! Ji Pi!" The golden-furred beast-like youth stared at Ji Ning. "The one who defeats you is me, Pi!"

The curved-saber youth's expression changed slightly: "So among the many tribal youths, I am not the strongest. There are two stronger than me, and even this Pi has reached the Unity of Man and Blade level."

Having trained in the Martial Hall for several years, he had always practiced hard.

He knew his origins were lowly and he could not obtain supreme blade techniques, so he simply abandoned the complexity of blade arts and focused solely on the 'speed' of his blade! His blade had to be fast enough, as fast as possible. He pursued the extreme of speed, combined with Subtle footwork... He would not draw his blade unless necessary, but when he did, he was sure to defeat other youths.

But now he was shocked to find that not only was the son of Drip Sword Ji Yichuan stronger than him, but even this unknown golden-furred fellow beside him was stronger.

"Ji Ning." The curved-saber youth suddenly growled, "I know you are stronger than me, but I hope you will receive three strikes from me! Alone, three strikes... As for you, Pi, don't interfere."

Pi stood by, sneering disdainfully. This curved-saber youth was far weaker than him, and besides, Ji Ning's footwork was too formidable to form a siege. Let this curved-saber youth humiliate himself.

Ji Ning across from him glanced thoughtfully at the curved-saber youth. He could feel the conviction in the youth's words.

"Alright." Ji Ning nodded.

"Whoosh!"

The curved-saber youth charged forward like a phantom, his eyes as fierce as a wolf's. The moment he closed in on Ji Ning, his curved saber was drawn! The blade light was dazzling. The first strike was a slash aimed at Ji Ning's neck. Normally, an unsharpened curved saber was not suitable for such a slashing move.

But clearly, the curved-saber youth intended to display his best technique.

"Back." Ji Ning's figure moved like the wind, retreating as the curved saber swept past him.

"Sss!"

The curved-saber youth suddenly reversed his hand and struck again, the blade even faster, slashing from the opposite direction toward Ji Ning's neck. Ji Ning tapped his foot and barely dodged, but he felt some strain. If he continued using only Subtle-level footwork, as long as the opponent's blade was a bit faster, Ji Ning would have to draw his sword.

"Swish!" The blade light suddenly left his hand, becoming even faster, instantly closing in on Ji Ning.

Third strike—the thrown blade!

The thrown curved saber spun, accelerated by the previous two strikes, reaching an astonishing speed. Ji Ning did not hesitate and struck with his sword.

"Clang." The sword and blade collided. The curved saber flew back and landed in the youth's hand.

The curved-saber youth nodded: "I lose."

Then he leaped down from the arena. The curved-saber youth knew very well... that Ji Ning was on a completely different level. Not to mention that Ji Ning must have practiced the Ji clan's most supreme sword techniques, the mere realm of Unity of Man and Sword was enough to leave him helpless. He was satisfied to have displayed his strongest strength on this arena.

"Recruit that curved-saber youth into the Ji clan!" The distant Prefecture Lord Ji Youyang instructed a servant standing behind him. "He has the potential to become a Xiantian."

"Yes, master."

...

Only Ji Ning and Pi remained on the arena.

Pi's pupils gleamed gold as he stared at Ji Ning from afar. Meanwhile, a faint golden light began to appear on his skin, and a powerful aura naturally emanated. This made Ji Ning, far away, narrow his eyes: "This Pi has also trained in a divine body tempering technique? It seems he has cultivated it to a very high level."

"Ji Ning." Pi said in a low voice, "I admit, your movement technique is faster than mine! But today, the strongest must be decided. Simply by running, you cannot obtain the golden sword! You must face me in a frontal battle. Unfortunately, when it comes to frontal combat, you are no match for me. You will lose!"

Ji Ning held the black sword, calmly looking at his opponent.

From the fierce aura emanating from Pi, Ji Ning could deduce that Pi had undergone many life-and-death battles. Coupled with his blade technique at the Unity of Man and Blade level and the golden light on his skin indicating a powerful divine body tempering technique, if his guess was correct, he was probably practicing 'Xuanhuang Indestructibility.' After all, Ji Ning knew all nineteen divine body tempering techniques of the five Ji prefectures.

"This Pi has experienced a great deal of life-and-death combat, has a divine body tempering technique, and his blade technique is at Unity of Man and Blade. Yet he has no reputation at all." Ji Ning thought to himself. "He is definitely not from a tribe; he must be from within the Ji clan... Ten to one, he was cultivated by that viper Ji Lie and deliberately kept hidden."

"Scared?" Pi held his single blade, staring at Ji Ning like a tiger eyeing its prey. He did not take the initiative to approach but waited for Ji Ning to attack.

Ji Ning, holding the black sword, walked toward him step by step, very calm and at ease, as if strolling in his own home. If he had encountered Pi before the winged serpent attack, Ji Ning might have had some trouble. But several months had passed since the winged serpent attack, and the Unity of Heaven and Man in footwork had greatly improved his sword technique.

As the saying goes...

With Unity of Heaven and Man in footwork, with time and effort, Unity of Heaven and Man in sword technique was also a certainty. Although he had not yet achieved Unity of Heaven and Man in sword technique, his sword technique was no longer what it had been months ago. He could easily defeat this Pi without even using the 'Crimson Brightness Nine Heavens Diagram.'

Ji Ning's sword suddenly moved!

"Whoosh!" The sword shadow descended like drifting rain.

Beautiful, colorful.

When a killing sword technique becomes a beautiful enjoyment, it has clearly reached a very profound level.

"Break!" Pi roared and swung his single blade. The blade light was thick as blood, tracing huge arcs as it slashed at Ji Ning. In that instant, it was as if hell had descended... Those huge arcs of blade light were like the punishing blades of hell, making one feel despair, as if willing to die under them.

"Blood Hell Blade?" Ji Ning, however, freely splashed the rain of his sword.

The sword light, like raindrops, formed a flowing stream. The stream meandered, entangling Pi. No matter how explosive and fierce Pi's Blood Hell Blade was, under the meandering stream, it was entangled and lost its arrogance.

Pi felt as if he had fallen into a watery prison. Water was everywhere, madly entangling him. Though he had boundless strength, he could not exert it against the water.

"Break." Pi's blade was frenzied. Even though it was constantly entangled, he did not hesitate but became even more ferocious.

"The blade technique is indeed fierce." Ji Ning spoke softly.

An opponent of this level posed no threat at all. Only Pi's blade technique, honed in life-and-death battles, attracted Ji Ning's interest, so he was willing to spar with him for ten strikes to gain experience. Ji Ning knew very well... that compared to some older experts, what he lacked was sufficient experience.

"Whoosh."

Ji Ning's black longsword suddenly thrust forward. In an instant, heaven and earth seemed to fall silent. In a hazy blur, the sword light transformed into a raindrop. The raindrop pierced through the single blade, shattering it, and then struck Pi's chest. Like a drop of water falling on a stone, crack—the sound of bones breaking was faintly heard. Pi was sent flying backward dozens of zhang, crashing heavily onto the ground below the arena, creating a pit in the earth.

Drip Sword's technique—Dripping Water Pierces Stone!

"Pfft." Pi clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

He looked down at his chest. The Xiantian great demon beast hide he wore had split open, and his chest was completely sunken with broken bones. This was even though Ji Ning had used a very ordinary, unsharpened, blunt black longsword.

...

The tens of thousands of spectators gathered in the training ground fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a deafening uproar, completely stunned. Truly worthy of being the son of Drip Sword Ji Yichuan! No wonder Drip Sword was so arrogant as to let his son take on seven opponents alone... This seemingly delicate young master Ji Ning was too terrifying, effortlessly sweeping through seven opponents.

"Hahaha..." Prefecture Lord Ji Youyang let out a hearty laugh, immensely pleased.

He had won.

His branch had won. Ji Ning's capture of the golden sword meant he would be the next Prefecture Lord.

"Dripping Water Pierces Stone! A sword that has entered the realm!" Ji Lie, sitting beside him, suddenly clenched his right hand on the armrest, shattering the stone armrest.

"Second brother." Prefecture Lord Ji Youyang turned to look at his younger brother.

Ji Lie also looked at his elder brother, the Prefecture Lord. His expression shifted, and he said in a low voice, "A sword that has entered the realm... At just ten years old, his sword technique has already entered the realm. One of our Ji clan's five great sword techniques, the 'Drip Water Sutra,' has reached minor success! He is even more monstrous than his father. Elder brother, your branch first had Ji Yichuan, and now Ji Ning. Heaven does not favor me. I have lost and have nothing to say."