Desolate Era (Book 19 - Book 21)

Ning reached out with his two hands, and a pair of longswords suddenly manifested in front of him. These longswords had been formed by Ning out of natural energy; at his level, any swords he casually created would be far tougher than Mortal-ranked swords.

Upon seeing this, Bu Feng felt even more stunned and terrified. “What the hell is this senior playing at?” But he didn’t dare to hesitate at all. He immediately activated his Zifu-level ki, sending his heavy sword howling forward like a streak of light as he stabbed towards Ning.

Clang!

Ning’s twin swords instantly seemed to transform into flowing water as the heavy sword came stabbing towards him. He blocked multiple times in succession, but was still knocked flying backwards. In fact, after he landed on the ground, he actually staggered back a few steps.

“Father seems to be very afraid of this white-robed man, but why is it that he seems so weak?” The mud-splattered youth was puzzled.

“How can this be?!” Bu Feng, however, couldn’t even believed it.

As for Ning, he softly mused to himself, “It seems as though when using Houtian-level strength to execute my sword-arts…even I will find it very difficult to resist the magic treasures of a Zifu Disciple.” He hadn’t used any spells of silence, and so Zifu Disciple Bu Feng was able to hear what he said. Bu Feng couldn’t help but feel speechless; the man had merely used Houtian-level strength to resist the treasures of a Zifu Disciple?

Houtian, Xiantian, Zifu.

The gap between each level was enormous.

“Continue,” Ning instructed.

Bu Feng didn’t dare to disobey. He immediately launched yet another attack. His heavy sword, controlled by his Zifu-level ki, attacked with absolutely savagery. However, although Ning’s sword-arts seemed simple, they went straight to the essence of the sword. In truth, Ning would be able to manifest swordforce from his longswords with but a thought, but if he did that, there was no way this fight could continue. Thus, Ning forcibly kept all of his power suppressed, ensuring that his strength would be no more than that of a Houtian-level expert. This naturally meant that his even the speed of his sword had dropped drastically.

His sword was slow and weak; he had to completely rely on his sword-arts in order to block.

Fortunately, his foe was merely a Zifu Disciple, and Ning’s own understanding of the sword was far greater than his foe’s.

“I didn’t expect that this sudden whim of mine would have actually…” Ning had never experienced something like this before. He kept himself at a Houtian’s strength, with his foe’s heavy sword completely eclipsing Ning’s swords in both speed and power. The end result was that Ning was forced to use every single scrap of skill and talent he had in order to defend.

He had a feeling…that he was improving.

He had found the right path! Through this path, he might be able to break through this bottleneck and reach an even higher level of sword-arts.

“How powerful. How can sword-arts be this marvelous, this miraculous? T-this…this is impossible.” Bu Feng frantically unleashed all the most powerful sword-arts he had, and in fact he even began to use some of the rare, unique flying sword techniques he had learned. That way, the mysterious white-robed youth in front of him would reveal even more sword-arts for him to see.

The sword-arts of this white-robed youth had completely broadened his horizons. It was as though an entire new universe had appeared before him. He discovered, for the first time…that the sword could be used in manners like this!

It was precisely because Ning continued to use a mere Houtian’s speed and strength that a Zifu Disciple like Bu Feng was able to see all these things clearly. However, although he was able to see it clearly, he still felt that it was all unspeakably arcane. Even the simplest of sword-stances caused Bu Feng to feel befuddled, no matter how hard he worked to comprehend it as he continued to unleash more attacks.

And yet, despite that…he could sense that his own insights into the sword were rising nonstop.

“Karmic luck. A tremendous stroke of karmic luck.”

“I, Bu Feng, was forced to flee with my son…but I actually ended up stumbling into such a tremendous stroke of karmic luck. The Dao of the Sword…I can embark upon the Dao of the Sword. I can reach a higher level of understanding, and I’ll be able to quickly become a Wanxiang Adept or even a Primal Daoist. By then, I’ll be able to go back. I’ll rescue my woman. I’ll…” Bu Feng’s heart was filled with wild joy…but he then immediately suppressed all other thoughts.

He focused all of his efforts on attacking Ning, while also doing his very best to memorize some of Ning’s sword-stances. Although these were all techniques which Ning casually came up with and displayed on the spot, to Bu Feng these stances were like a pegasus soaring through the skies in a bold, unconstrained manner. Every single technique was incomparably exquisite.

Ning was a peerless genius of the Dao of the Sword who had long ago mastered it. Right now, his foundation was the [Five Treasures] sword-art, a sword-art which surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos themselves. For someone who was studying the art of the sword, even the tiniest part of Ning’s insight was enough to give that person limitless benefits.

“Perhaps…perhaps this is the true essence of the sword. Forget about heartforce…forget about swordforce…forget about all outside sources of power and strength…only then can you truly find what the essence of the sword truly is. The [Five Treasures] sword-art is something which truly guides one towards the very essence of the sword itself. Yes…from today onwards, I shall roam the Three Realms, competing against countless people with the sword.” As a ray of clarity suddenly shone down upon Ning, Ning immediately came to his decision.





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Book 19, Chapter 38 - Sword-Training Throughout the Realms


Bu Feng and Ji Ning battled for a full day and night. Empyrean God Ninefangs used a technique to completely separate this area from the outside world, ensuring that the commoners in the village wouldn’t be able to see the battle. The only ones that could see were Ninefangs and the mud-splattered youth.

Huff. Huff. Huff. Bu Feng’s face was turning pale as he panted.

He had been working hard to unleash as much power as he could. The ki in his Zifu region had long ago been used up, and so he had been using spirit-pills to replenish it. Finally, the last of his spirit-pills was gone, causing him to mentally panic. He knew very well that spirit-pills weren’t worth a damn, compared to this chance to spar against this mysterious figure. This was a tremendous opportunity for him, and he wanted to make use of it to fight for a bit longer.

“Alright. You can stop now,” Ning said. He could sense that his opponent’s attacks had grown quite weak; the man was clearly out of ki.

Bu Feng had no choice but to stop.

“Here are some spirit-pills for you to replenish your ki with.” Ning tossed a bottle of spirit-pills to him. Bu Feng hurriedly accepted the bottle, and as he took a look inside, he was instantly shocked and overjoyed.

Good heavens…not even Primal Daoists would be able to produce as many pills as this! What he didn’t realize was that this was something Ning had acquired when he had slaughtered countless Immortals and Fiendgods during the Realmwar. Back then, every single White-Faced Flood Dragon he had slain contained a hundred thousand Loose Immortals, each of who had been carrying a large amount of Immortal pills with them as they fought. Ning had simply pulled out a random bottle, one which belonged to a Loose Immortal. To a puny Zifu Disciple like Bu Feng, however, this was something that utterly shocked and overwhelmed him with joy.

“Senior, I can keep fighting,” Bu Feng said hurriedly.

“I’ve had enough,” Ning said with a laugh. “Ninefangs, let’s go.”

“Yes, Manorlord,” Ninefangs said respectfully.