Desolate Era (Book 6 - Book 10)

“Senior.” Ning hurriedly paid his respects.

The giant yellow bear nodded slightly. His formerly uncaring expression seemed to have softened significantly, and his attitude had become much nicer as well. “For you to have reached the level of ‘Dao Domain’ at the age of five is fairly rare, even amongst Fiendgods. Tell me, which level of the Wargod Hall do you intend to challenge?”

“I can choose?” Ning was amazed.

“Of course you can choose! For example, when the Aquatic Manor’s owner is outside adventuring, if he returns at the Primordial Daoist level, and he only has two options to challenge the tower, he naturally won’t choose the first level.” The giant yellow bear said. “You can, if you choose, go directly to the highest level of the Wargod Hall, level ten. But of course, even though the Wargod Hall’s tests aren’t meant to kill the testers, even the slightest energy ripple at that level will cause you to instantly disintegrate, leaving not even your soul.”

Ning rubbed his eyes.

Fine, then.

Level ten?

Even Immortal Juhua only passed level seven after becoming a Loose Immortal! He couldn’t even imagine how difficult the tenth level was. Ning only felt as though the original, ancient Fiendgod who had created this Aquatic Manor was simply too powerful.

“I choose the first level.” Ning said honestly. Based on what the old black bull had said, before he had mastered his Rainwater Sword Domain, his chances of succeeding on the first level were less than 10%. One could imagine how difficult the first level was.

“Fine.” The giant yellow bear nodded. “At least you are doing things step-by-step. This is you first challenge, and this test will be the easiest of tests.”

“Easiest?” Ning was stunned.

The giant yellow bear’s furry paws suddenly grabbed Ning by the arm. Whoosh! Instantly, Ning and the giant yellow bear arrived at the majestic tower. The tower gate glowed with blurry white light as Ning and the giant yellow bear stepped inside with a single step.

This was a blurry white space that was three thousand meters high and with a circumference of many thousands of meters. The only thing present was that floating door behind them.

“This is the first level of the Wargod Hall.” The giant yellow bear said. Ning immediately looked carefully at his surroundings. The first level of the Wargod Hall? Then where was the dangerous test?

“Look.” The giant yellow bear stood there, pointing into the distance.

Ning followed the giant yellow bear’s finger with his gaze. He saw that out of nowhere, a black wooden stake had suddenly appeared. The wooden stake was as thick as Ning’s legs, and was three meters tall. It just stood there.

“A wooden stake?” Ning was stunned.

“The test that I’ll give you is significantly easier than the test which I originally gave Immortal Juhua or Rampart.” The giant yellow bear said. “The first test of the Wargod Hall is…in the time it takes for a single incense stick to burn up, split that wooden stake apart!” The giant yellow bear’s palm suddenly had an incense stick within it, only roughly one foot long.

“Shatter the wooden stake before the incense stick burns up?” Ning looked at the wooden stake.

No wonder the spirit of the manor said that this was the easiest test. It was even easier than the one which Juhua and Rampart had to undergo! Indeed, it was just a matter of splitting a wooden stake. There wasn’t any danger at all. In addition, the wooden stake just stood there, not resisting at all.

“Begin.” The giant yellow bear said. That incense stick appeared on the floor not too far away, already lit.

“A single incense stick…”

Ning didn’t dare to waste any time.

Ning, with a ‘swoosh’, scurried before the wooden stake. Although it was only a wooden stake, blindly striking it was just foolishness. It was better to spend some time to first analyze it…and see where the wooden stake would more easily break apart. Only by knowing one’s self and one’s enemies would one have hope for victory. This wooden stake was completely black, and it had circles of characters covering it.

“Would it be easier to follow the pattern of the runes in striking it?” Ning said to himself.

“Haaargh!”

The Darknorth swords appeared in Ning’s hands, and the divine power in his Zifu completely exploded forth. Whooooooooosh. Drizzling rain appeared in the surrounding area. The drizzling rain merged into lines of rain which swirled about the area, making it quite comfortable and cool. This also clearly caused Ning’s control over the surrounding ‘Dao’ to become much more powerful.

“Rain Line!” Ning used his most powerful attack at the very start!

Whoosh!

Ning’s swords flashed like lightning, disappearing into thin air as they completely merged into the surrounding, billowing lines of rain. Ning’s sword light transformed into one of the strands of rain, as thin as silk, incomparably sharp, instantly chopping towards the wooden stake.

“Bang!” The only thing which occurred was a white smudge appeared on the wooden stake. As the rainwater fell down, the white smudge disappeared, as though nothing had happened.

Ning himself, because of the powerful counterforce, knocked backwards, and the palm of his hands split open. He took three step backwards, but instantly the wound to his palm was healed.

“Just a white smudge. This wooden stake is indeed incomparably tough. To break it in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn is very hard.” Ning instantly charged forward and gave it another blow.

It, too, was ‘Rain Line’.

The sword merged into the lines of rain…

Bang!

As soon as it touched the wooden stake, a powerful concussive sound once more rang out, but this time, Ning chopped in accordance with the magical runes. Although he was still knocked backwards by the collisive force, Ning found to his surprised delight…that there was a hint of a very small wound on the wooden stake. The wound was very small, almost neglible, but it was still there.

“I imagine that by using this sword strike with my Rainwater Sword Domain…the power is comparable to the ninth level of the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation. But this is all I can accomplish?” Ning was stunned. “Without the Rainwater Sword Domain, I really wouldn’t be able to do anything to it.”

Ning knew very well that within the Rainwater Sword Domain, he was like a tiger who had been given wings; the power of his sword technique had risen by several levels.”





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Book 6, Chapter 6 - A Bewildering Selection of Magic Treasures


The distant giant yellow bear nodded slightly and mused to himself, “This Ji Ning’s talent for swordplay is indeed high. That sword blow alone has already just barely reached the Wanxiang Adept level. But if that’s all he has, there is no way he will be able to overcome this first trial. His blows needs to reach the power of a full-force blow from an early Wanxiang Adept…only then will he be able to break the wooden stake before a single incense stick burns down!”

The first level of the Wargod Hall required that a person have the attack power of an early Wanxiang Adept in order to be overcome!

This was already the easiest testing method which the spirit of the manor could select. A true test would also test a person’s battle experience, mentality, movement abilities, and many other aspects. After all, in a true battle against a real enemy, would the enemy just stand there like a block of wood, waiting for someone to split it apart?

…….

“Even by using my Rainwater Sword Domain, my Darknorth swords aren’t able to split this wooden stake.” Ning immediately retracted his Darknorth swords.