Desolate Era (Book 19 - Book 21)

His sword-art suddenly transformed into the fastest attack of all, the Blood Drop stance.

However, the enemy’s sword-art was like an endless, bottomless web that completely trapped and tied down Ning’s two swords.

“Longing…” Ning was gaining more and more insights into this set of sword-arts. At the beginning, he had only been able to rely on what he had seen on the giant sword. Now, upon actually fighting against a person identical to himself in all respects who used this sword-art, his insights were different. Ning gained an even better understanding of how some of the killer blows of this sword-art truly worked.

“Compared to it, my [Brightmoon] sword-art isn’t fluid enough.” Ning’s sword-art began to change as well, becoming even more unpredictable and ephemeral.

Shadowless stance, Blood Drop stance. The two joined together into a more perfect whole, and fewer and fewer flaws appeared when he attacked and withdrew.

“Eh?” The golden-robed youth frowned. Instantly, his body blurred for a moment before he manifested three heads and six arms, beginning to assault Ning with six swords.

Ning immediately used [Three Heads, Six Arms] to engage as well.

Slash!

A streak of sword-light landed upon the golden-robed youth’s neck, knocking his sword aside and forcing him back five steps before he was able to stabilize himself.

The golden-robed youth stared at Ning, then said in a low voice, “Your sword is faster than mine, but the intrinsic essence of your sword-art…it’s a bit inferior to mine. You have passed my challenge, but the ninth guardian’s sword has also reached the limits of the Heavenly Daos, while the essence of his sword-art is also superior to yours.”

“Really? Being stronger than me is a good thing.” Ning grinned.

“Be careful.” The golden-robed youth disappeared into thin air.

Ning let out a sigh of relief. He had finally succeeded.

Not hesitating at all, Ning continued to advance. A short while later, he saw the ninth guardian. Upon seeing him, Ning could sense the essence of utter despair surging towards him.

“That invisible essence and aura is only growing more and more powerful.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself. “I hear that at the fifth stage of swordforce, ‘Sword God’, one doesn’t even have to attack; the invisible sword-intent radiating out from you will be more than enough to force enemies to feel utter despair. The Path of Blades…not only is it guiding me towards a path that surpasses the Heavenly Daos, it’s also guiding me towards the fifth stage of swordforce.”

The eight guardian’s ‘Longing Sword’ already had a hint of that quality to it.

The ninth guardian, just by standing there, was already radiating a strong aura of despair. Clearly, he was even more formidable.

However, compared to someone who had truly reached the fifth stage of swordforce, ‘Sword God’, the ninth guardian was still far, far inferior.

He was nothing more than a guidepost! His mission was to plant a seed in Ning’s heart, a seed which perhaps would eventually take root and grow in the future.

“Look at the sword-art.” The ninth guardian said these words very calmly.

Ning smiled, then looked at the sword-arts on display upon the giant sword nearby. As he watched, his face slowly began to change. Every single stance, every single stroke…it all caught Ning’s full attention, tugging on the deepest, innermost thoughts in his heart. The more he analyzed this sword-art, the more powerfully Ning was affected by it.

“Why?”

In his past life, Ning was tormented by illness. His heart had been filled with resentment. In this life, after being reborn, his father Ji Yichuan and his mother Yuchi Snow had filled Ning’s heart with love, warming it.

“Father. Mother.”

Serpentwingn Lake. Ning was lying atop that wooden boat, floating atop the lake.

“No…”

That instant when Yu Wei had died. He had felt such despair that he himself had nearly died as well. His parents were gone. Even Yu Wei was gone.

It was thanks to his experiences that this sword-art resonated so deeply with him.

This sword-art caused Ning’s heart to be filled with a dark, dreary feeling. Deep in his heart, he was filled with the utmost of despair!

“Senior apprentice-sister isn’t dead yet.”

“Once I leave this place, I’ll be able to save her. Our family can be reunited.” Ning mumbled these words to himself.

The sword-arts had already finished their display on the sword. As for the ninth guardian, he stared at Ning in astonishment, because he could sense the intent radiating from Ning.

“What is the name of this sword-art?” Ning asked.

This was the ninth guardian he had encountered, but this was the first time that Ning had asked for the proper name of a sword-art.

“Mourning,” the ninth guardian said.

“Mourning…mourning…” Ning suddenly let out a laugh. “How appropriate. I’ve mourned in the past…but here and now, I’m filled with hope.” After finishing his words, Ning turned and walked away.

“You aren’t going to fight?” The ninth guardian called out after him in surprise.

“I’m not a match for you right now. Next time I come, I’ll defeat you.” Ning’s figure quickly disappeared into the distant wooden bridge, causing the ninth guardian to gawk in amazement. Still, he didn’t chase after Ning, because the two of them had identical bodies and abilities; if Ning was intent on leaving, there was no way he could even catch up.

“He actually didn’t even fight.” The ninth guardian was completely puzzled. “And just by viewing the sword-art, he felt certain that he was no match for me. For him to make that claim means that he should’ve mastered more than half of that sword-art and discovered the truly formidable aspects to it. But despite all that, he shouldn’t have chosen to completely avoid fighting me…”

“Unless…there’s only one possibility! After viewing the sword-art, his heart was inspired and so he wanted to go back to calm himself down and meditate on his insights.” This was the ninth guardian’s guess.

He knew very well that given how formidable Ning’s protective divine ability was, even if Ning lost the fight he wouldn’t have been in danger of dying. This meant that the only reason Ning would refuse to fight would be if he simply didn’t want to! Why wouldn’t he want to fight? The only explanation was that he was worried that a battle would disrupt his insights!

The guardian’s guess was correct.

This set of sword-arts, the [Mourning] sword-art, had indeed resonated with Ning. In fact, after viewing it three times, Ning had learned most of it! His own heart had been filled with many new insights, and Ning was worried that if the battle became too frenzied, he would lose some of those insights. Thus, he instead decided to give up the fight.

While flying back, Ning continuously reflected on that sword-art.

This was the first set of sword-arts on the Path of Blades that had truly resonated with him. This was because the feelings and emotions the sword-art embodied were feelings that he himself had experienced. He knew those feelings very well, and so he almost instantly understood the nature and the truth of this sword-art! This was a set of sword-arts that was even more perfect than his own [Brightmoon] sword-art.

Kilostar Island. The end of the wooden bridge.

More than two hundred Empyrean Gods were standing there, craning their necks to stare at the bridge while waiting nervously.

“I wonder how many guardians Darknorth made it past.”

“If he’s able to go through nine of them in one try, or even all ten, that would be wonderful.”

“Please don’t let him be so impatient as to beat all ten. As soon as he beats nine, he needs to come back and take us all with him as he challenges the tenth. That’s the ideal.”