Desolate Era (Book 11 - Book 15)

Just a single exchange of blows…but his sword had actually been knocked flying. This difference in power was simply too enormous.

“Uh…”

“Um…”

“But…”

The many disciples of Mount Innerheart who were watching outside the trial grounds, be they human, monster, or Fiendgod, all were completely flabbergasted at what they had just seen. They blinked.

As they saw it, Ning was the chosen of Patriarch Subhuti, and so he surely must be extraordinary! Even when these other disciples had first arrived on the mountain, they were generally able to defeat the second or third golem. Some of the more powerful ones were able to defeat the fourth or even the fifth golem. None of the ones present had been able to defeat the sixth golem right away, but over the course of Mount Innerheart’s many years of history there had been some who had defeated the sixth golem upon arriving.

The statuses of these disciples were far lower than Ning’s. Ning was the Patriarch’s disciple! All of the other disciples believed that Ning was going to make a miracle happen.

But unfortunately…this ‘exceptionally extraordinary’ Ji Ning was actually defeated in one blow. He wasn’t even able to fight back!

“Master!” Little Qing looked towards Ning, tight feelings appearing in her chest. Her master was the number one figure in his Conclave, and she had thought for certain that her master was going to dazzle everyone with his power upon arriving at Mount Innerheart. But he had actually been defeated so miserably. “Master must be feeling horrible right now! And there were so many Mount Innerheart disciples watching! That despicable old bastard, Silvermoon…he’s the one who told Master to fight against the sixth golem!”

“Ning, child…” The Whitewater Hound had not expected this either.

“Uh.” The fan-wielding Silvermoon hastily waved his arm, collecting up the sixth golem. He hurriedly ran over. “Junior apprentice-brother, this, uh, I didn’t, I…I didn’t know exactly how strong you were, but since Master took you on as a new disciple, I…”

Silvermoon hadn’t done this on purpose. He knew exactly how stringent and exacting Patriarch Subhuti’s requirements for accepting new disciples were. Those who were accepted as disciples before becoming Celestial Immortals or Empyrean Gods were all incredible talented, so monstrously skilled as to cause utter terror! Thus, he had guessed that this new junior apprentice-brother of his, Ji Ning, should be able to give the sixth golem a good fight. Even if he were to be defeated, he should have been able to fight for quite a long time before losing. He hadn’t expected at all that Ning would be defeated with a single blow and that he wouldn’t be able to fight back at all.

“It isn’t your fault, senior apprentice-brother.” Ning shook his head. He could tell that the spectating humans, monsters, and Fiendgods all had a look of surprise, puzzlement, and even hidden disdain in their eyes. Clearly, these Immortal cultivators cared about strength the most; even though his status was high, if he wasn’t strong enough, others would still look down on him in their hearts.

“It was simply that I was not strong enough,” Ning said. “The sixth golem truly does vastly surpass my current limits.”

“It was my fault,” Silvermoon said hurriedly. This junior apprentice-brother had suffered such a huge defeat in his first trial upon coming up the mountain…and he had been the one who had chosen the opponent. He naturally felt extremely ashamed. He hurriedly said, “Given the sword techniques you displayed, you definitely would have no problems defeating the third golem, and as for the fourth golem…you have a chance as well. Which one would you like to choose?”

“The fourth golem,” Ning said.

“How about you take a break, then fight?” Silvermoon asked.

Ning shook his head and chuckled. “I was instantly defeated in that earlier battle. I used up almost no divine power at all, as a result. There’s no need to rest.”

Silvermoon, seeing the smile on Ning’s face, couldn’t help but nod mentally to himself. This junior apprentice-brother had an impressive mentality; he had been defeated in front of so many watchers during his very first trial, but he remained quite calm.

“Alright.” Silvermoon nodded, then waved his arm. Yet another golem, a fiery red golem, appeared within the battlefield. This golem had four circlets around its arm.

……

“This uncle-master, Ji Ning, seems to be ordinary in power. He was actually completely unable to fight back against the sixth golem.”

“Right. He’s quite puny.”

“Puny my ass. When you came up the mountain, you probably would’ve been defeated by the sixth golem in one blow as well.”

“I’m just my Master’s spirit-beast, while Ji Ning is the Old Patriarch’s disciple. I even have to address him as Patriarch! How can you compare the two of us? When I first arrived, I was also able to defeat the fourth golem.”

“Look, it is starting.”

“The Patriarch is starting to fight against the fourth golem.”

The disciples of Mount Innerheart had all originally been filled with admiration towards Ning, but now they found out…that this Ji Ning was rather so-so! In fact, compared to the rest of them when they had first arrived in the mountain, Ning’s performance was average at best. He was completely unremarkable!

Actually…many of these other disciples were the personal disciples that had been accepted by True Immortals or Empyrean Gods! They, too, were truly first-rate geniuses which the True Immortals and Empyrean Gods had chosen from throughout the Three Realms. Not even the likes of Adept Blackstone or Adept Ninedeaths would necessarily be chosen by True Immortals or Empyrean Gods; from this, one could imagine how much talent and comprehension ability these disciples possessed.

Some disciples were disciples of Celestial Immortals!

Some were spirit-beasts!

Others were Fiendgod servants!

Some of them had merely been at the Wanxiang level when arriving at the mountain. Some had already reached the Primal level. Some had even reached the Void level!

Some Void-level Fiendgods had lived for an incredibly long time, and were born with a very high level of insight into the Dao. It was normal for them to be able to defeat the fifth golem or sixth golem. As for the disciples of Celestial Immortals, they were also quite extraordinarily talented, and could absolutely compare to the likes of Cangwu Jiu or Adept Blackstone.

Thus…the vast majority of these disciples who had to refer to Ning as ‘uncle-master’ or ‘Patriarch’ were, in reality, the peerless geniuses of the major worlds they came from! Some were even more monstrously formidable than that!

“But this Patriarch’s sword-arts aren’t bad. It seems he should be able to defeat the fourth golem.”

“Right. He should be able to beat the fourth golem…but just barely.”

“Right. Just barely.”

The disciples of Mount Innerheart all gave their evaluation. Towards this Ji Ning, the disciple of the Old Patriarch who had an incredibly high status…they no longer felt too much reverence for him.

……

Slash!

A streak of sword-light plunged into the golem’s chest. It didn’t even sink in a single inch before it became unable to go in any deeper.

The golem came to a complete halt. It stared at Ning unmovingly, then said in a low voice, “You won.”

These golems were non-living creatures; even Void-level Fiendgods that fought against them would be unable to destroy them. Thus…being able to break through their outer layer of protection was enough to symbolize victory.