Chapter 464: Competition of States
Everyone here were potential opponents in the arena battles. If they could understand their opponent’s strengths before them, they would be able to save a lot of effort.
“Dang! Dang!”
Sword Qi flew everywhere inside in the courtyard. When the two of them fought with each other they kept using all sorts of Sword Techniques.
The two were about equally matched—neither could triumph over the other. Liu Yong felt somewhat surprised as he said, “I did you expect that you would comprehend sword intent in the past one year. What more, you managed to comprehend it to thirty percent; that is not a simple feat!”
Zhou Wei executed his sword intent to its peak. He felt somewhat pleased as he said, “One year is sufficient for many things to change. If that is all the ability you have, then if you meet me in the arena battle, you would better forfeit.”
“Boom!”
The sword in Zhou Wei’s hand trembled and an even stronger sword intent poured out. The sword Qi that came out became sharper as well.
“Dang! Dang! Dang!”
As Zhou Wei swung his sword, Liu Yong was forced to retreat by several steps. The scales started to tip in Zhou Wei’s favor.
“This is the sword intent that I have comprehended to fifty percent!”
The cultivators who were watching whispered, “Fifty percent comprehended sword intent is a peak Small Perfection sword intent. Once one crosses this hurdle, it would become a Great Perfection sword intent.”
For a regular swordsman to comprehend sword intent to fifty percent at this age, they had to be extremely strong. No wonder this Zhou Wei dared to challenge Liu Yong.
This trump card of his explained everything.
Liu Yong’s expression changed slightly, but it reverted back to normal very quickly. He said indifferently, “Fifty percent comprehended sword intent? I have already achieved that half a year ago, but you have probably only just achieved this recently.”
“Boom!”
Liu Yong’s sword intent surged as well and his aura rose. His handling of sword intent was even better than Zhou Wei’s.
Furthermore, Liu Yong’s sword intent was stronger. He immediately gained the advantage, and Zhou Wei could only bitterly defend.
After a hundred moves, Liu Yong found a weak point. He thrusted his sword towards his opponent’s face. This attack was very fierce and gleamed with a cold light.
Zhou Wei was startled. He quickly withdrew his sword to defend. Who knew that Liu Yong was only feinting. The instant Zhou Wei withdrew his sword, Liu Yong swung his sword downward.
He struck Zhou Wei on the wrist and wounded him. Zhou Wei lost grip of his sword. Liu Yong immediately took advantage of that moment to step forward and place his sword against Zhou Wei’s neck.
“Brother Zhou, it seems that you have practiced for nothing. It will be best if you don’t get me as your opponent in the arena battles.”
Liu Young laughed loudly and sheathed his sword. Everything that Zhou Wei had said to him earlier, he had returned it all.
Zhou Wei returned to his seat dispirited. His friends beside him immediately consoled him, “Don’t be sad. You have comprehended your sword intent to fifty percent, and your state of wind has reached peak Small Perfection already. There is still hope for you to obtained one of the twenty spots.”
Zhou Wei smiled bitterly and said, “Never mind, this only allowed me to see where I stand more clearly. Originally, I believed that, although I am not amongst the few people at the peak like Ding Fengchou, Jiang Zimo, Chu Mu, and the others, I am still strong enough to be part of the top twenty.
“I have never expected such a result. Although I have improved, so did the others!”
Following that, a few other people started to exchange moves. The three geniuses of the Myriad Fiend Palace, Jiang Zimo, Chu Mu, and Mu Xinya, also fought each other.
The battle between Pei Shaoxuan and Xia Xiyan, as well as the battle between Ding Fengchou and his old enemy, Zuo Mo, attracted the most attention.
These people were the ones who the crowd believed to be the strongest. After watching the fights, their belief was further consolidated.
When Liu Yong saw Ding Fengchou and Zuo Mo’s fight, even he shook his head slightly and sighed, “I am still not as strong as him. If I get him as my opponent, I will immediately surrender and save my strength for the next fight.”
The group from the Great Qin Nation all had unsightly expressions. They originally thought that they were not much weaker than the people from the other Great Nations.
They thought that they at least stood a chance. After seeing the few fights in front of them, they shook their heads and sighed, thinking to themselves that they were truly frogs in a well.
[TL note: Frog in a well: This means having a narrow view of the world; being someone who is not aware that there are better things outside of what they know.]
“Bang!”
A cultivator from the Great Qin Nation’s Imperial Capital got kicked flying by a swordsman from the Great Tang Nation. Blood trickled out from his mouth as he showed a pained expression.
The swordsman shook his head and said, “The cultivators of the Great Qin Nation are still very weak. Sorry, I should not have challenged you.”
Although these words sounded very nice, in the ears of Hua Yunfei and the others, they were the worst form of humiliation.
“Don’t go, I, Hua Yunfei, challenge you!”
Hua Yunfei’s expression was sullen as he stood up. He held a scarlet sword and slowly walked to that swordsman.
That swordsman glanced at Hua Yunfei and said solemnly, “You are stronger than him, I accept your challenge!”
“Boom!”
The two started fighting. Hua Yunfei knew that his opponent was hard to deal with. Thus, he executed the Bloody Death Sword Technique to its peak. The air filled with red flashes amidst a churning scarlet sea, and a baleful aura surged.
The swordsman’s expression did not change though. He stepped back over and over again, blocking Hua Yunfei’s continuous stream of attacks.
When the swordsman ran out of space to step back, he suddenly stopped. He shook his head and said, “What a strong Martial Technique. Unfortunately, you have not even comprehended sword intent. What a waste of Martial Technique. It is time for you to lose!”
A sword intent surged up and the swordsman’s aura suddenly rose. His Sword Techniques became very overwhelming and he managed to deflect all of Hua Yunfei’s attacks in one move. Then, he left a faint wound on the latter’s face.
After all that, the swordsman quickly withdrew his sword and moved back. If he had not shown mercy, Hua Yunfei would have died immediately.
Ji Changkong immediately got up and said to that person, “I am Ji Changkong. Are you willing to guide me with your expert moves?!”
Before the swordsman could reply, his friend beside him, a bladesman, got up and smiled, “You have fought two rounds continuously already. Should I deal with this for you?”
“Sure, it’s all yours then, Shi Yong!” The swordsman nodded to indicate that he was fine with this arrangement. Then he returned to his seat and closed his eyes. He did not care much for the two victories that he had obtained.
In his eyes, defeating someone from the Great Qin Nation was nothing worth being proud over.
Ji Changkong softly said, “Very well, fight with all your strength. In that way, when you lose, you will be fully convinced in your loss.”
Shi Yong laughed and said, “What a joke, say that after you win!”
“Xiu!”
Ji Changkong took the initiative to attack. He used the Astral Swordplay and a starry sky appeared around him.
However, that bladesman did not care about his opponent’s mysterious phenomenon at all. He shouted a warcry and hacked forward with all his strength.
Shi Yong’s cultivation was higher than Ji Changkong’s. Using his tyrannical Saber Technique was sufficient to suppress his opponent.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
After exchanging a few moves, Ji Changkong’s arm became numb. He also felt a faint pain in his chest. He knew that his Essence was inferior to his opponent’s.
So, he did not hide his true strength and merged his twenty-percent-comprehended sword intent with his Sword Technique to gain some footing.
The bladesman smiled and said, “Interesting. However, a twenty-percent-comprehended sword intent is nothing here. I will still defeat you!”
Suddenly, a strong wind blew from his saber. This bladesman finally used his full strength as well.
“Dang! Dang! Dang!”
Ji Changkong blocked three strikes in a row, but after that he could no longer block. The sword in his hand was knocked away and sent flying towards the outside of the courtyard.
Originally, Mu Chengxue thought that he would be able to do better, as he had a Holy Weapon. However, when he saw Ji Changkong’s sword being knocked away, his expression changed.
Mu Chengxue simply lowered his head and pretended he had not seen anything. He completely lost all intention of challenging him.
“Accept your fate. The spiritual Energy in the Great Qin Nation is very sparse and there is very little competition there. Even with the same amount of talent and resources, you will all be weaker than the geniuses of the other Great Nations.
“You are only destined to play a supporting role in his budding era of geniuses,” Shi Yong said expressionlessly.
Ji Changkong’s face filled with dissatisfaction. However, he had to admit that what his opponent said was correct.
“Weng! Weng!”
Just at this moment, a drawn out, melodious hum of a sword resounded outside the courtyard.
Everyone quickly looked over. They only saw a bladesman wearing white robes standing outside and grasping the tip of a sword with two fingers.
The force behind the sword was very strong, but that bladesman only used two fingers and casually caught it. The sword could not advance forward at all, it could only vibrate violently in the air.
Shi Yong’s expression changed slightly. He had used his full strength during his final three strikes as well as his strongest killing move. He was very clear on how strong they were.
The sword that he had knocked flying had at least half the might of his full power attack.
It was not strange if someone dodged it. After all, it had already slowed down. However, this person casually caught it with two fingers.This was somewhat unbelievable.
That day happened to be the day Zuo Mo had set—five days after Xiao Chen had received the letter. He had been completely engrossed in practicing the Dragon Claw Fist’s fourth move—the Berserk Dragon.
Originally, Xiao Chen intended to practice it once and make his way over. However, who knew that he would suddenly gain some insights and sink deep within it.
By the time Xiao Chen came to his wits, it was already noon. So, he quickly rushed over.
The moment Xiao Chen stepped into the courtyard, he saw a sword flying at him. At first, he thought that someone was trying to assassinate him.
After Xiao Chen noticed Ji Changkong and Shi Yong, he understood what had happened. It was merely the aftershocks of their duel. Clearly, Ji Changkong had lost.
When Ji Changkong saw Xiao Chen holding his sword, he said in an unfriendly manner, “Return my sword to me!”
Xiao Chen smiled faintly and he flicked his finger. The sword turned around and flew at Ji Changkong.
After Ji Chankong caught the sword, he returned to his seat with an extremely unsightly expression on his face.
Ji Changkong had not expected that after he left the Great Qin Nation, he would not even be able to deal with a minor character.
Xiao Chen walked over to Shi Yong slowly and said calmly, “The people of the Great Qin Nation can only be side characters? Could it be that you think yourself to be the main character? Do you dare to say what you had said earlier again?”
Xiao Chen had heard everything that the other party said earlier. He felt that it was incredibly funny.
Although there were very few Spirit Veins in the Great Qin Nation and there was not much competition, there were still peak experts like Ying Yue, Chu Chaoyun, and Leng Liusu.
If any one of them came here, this person would not be a match for them. He did not understand where this person got his confidence from.
Shi Yong mocked, “You are someone from the Great Qin Nation as well? So what if I said that. I will say it twice, thrice, or even four more times. What can you do about that? Don’t think you can scare me with just a simple trick.”
“If you are really not convinced, feel free to make a move against me. I will show you what a true bladesman is.”
Xiao Chen did not say anything else. He stepped forward and executed the Dragon Claw Fist. He held his saber with his left hand and punched with his right.
A fist wind howled and his aura grew exponentially. When Shi Yong saw that his opponent did not even draw his saber, he could not help but smile coldly, Since you are seeking death, I will grant it to you.
Shi Fong tilted himself back and grasped his saber with both hands. A saber light that continuously switched between large and small hacked down on Xiao Chen’s fist.