Chapter 287 – Blue and Black Twin Swords
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It was early morning. The sun had risen from the east, scattering the murky gray mist that shrouded the land. The entire Seven Profound Valleys was seething with utter excitement.
Because there were only a handful of matches left for today, there was plenty of time left. Therefore the first match was scheduled to start in the late morning.
Even so, at the dawn of day, the entire martial square was already densely packed to the point at which it was even difficult to walk through.
In these last three days, everything except for the last round of the tournament had been finished, including the second tier and the third tier. Ranks 100 to 200 had already been decided through points attained in the Ten Thousand Killing Array.
Qin Xingxuan had finally managed to attain rank 169, and Ling Sen attained rank 72. These two results were already considered excellent for martial artists from the 36 countries.
Sky Fortune Kingdom had three people who managed to reach the top 200. Qin Ziya was simply ecstatic with the euphoria of this success.
In particular Lin Ming; the pleasant surprise that this young boy had given him was too great. After defeating Mugu Buyu, Lin Ming had high hopes of becoming the champion! Once Lin Ming came in first, Qin Ziya would be able to obtain the Heaven Opening Pill that he had been longing for in his dreams!
Countless martial artists pursued the Xiantian realm for their entire lives. Even Qin Ziya, who had a simple personality and was often indifferent, was extremely excited at the prospect of officially stepping into the Xiantian realm!
However, Qin Ziya was clear that the Xiantian realm was most definitely the end of his martial arts road. Among the peak Houtian masters, he was among the top, and it was difficult for anyone in the Houtian realm to stand shoulder to shoulder with him in comparison. But after he reached the Xiantian realm, he would only be the most ordinary of Xiantian martial artists, the kind that were often surpassed by the most talented geniuses.
But even so, Qin Ziya was satisfied with that road. Who knew how many martial artists in the Sky Spill Continent had been stuck at that Xiantian bottleneck? They had been unable to break through their entire lives, and would finally die with their dreams unfulfilled.
When Lin Ming reached the square, he saw an elderly man in blue kindly smiling at him, a longsword on his back. As Lin Ming saw this elder, his was startled. This old man was just casually standing there, but it seemed as if there was an invisible sword aura floating around him, able to cut apart all.
Extreme Xiantian master?
Lin Ming’s heart jumped. An extreme Xiantian master was very rare, even in the Seven Profound Valleys. There were many faction Sovereigns that hadn’t been able to reach the extreme Xiantian realm.
“Lin Ming.” The blue-clothed elder smiled kindly at Lin Ming as if they shared a close rapport with each other. This was in sharp contrast against the sharp sword aura that surrounded him.
“Senior.” Lin Ming bowed in respect.
“After the tournament ends, make sure you come to the Absolute Sword Peak’s Sword Terrace to look for me. This old man’s name is Jiang Wuji.”
Jiang Wuji… Lin Ming sucked in a breath of cold air. This old man really was the Sword Faction Sovereign!
Although Lin Ming took pride in his status and abilities, with existences like Jiang Wuji, he still needed to look up to them in respect.
“Of course.” Lin Ming replied in deference. He was able to faintly guess what Jiang Wuji wanted from him. Since this was a personal invitation from the Sword Faction Sovereign, it was naturally impossible for him to reject.
At this time, a hearty laughter sounded out, “Jiang Wuji, you’re quite a crafty one.”
When this voice sounded out, it seemed as if it was far away. But right after, it had already entered into his ears. Lin Ming turned his head and saw a handsome man in a white robe walking over to him. He was several hundred feet away, but crossed this distance in only a few steps, as if the road underneath him was shortening.
This was also an extreme Xiantian master!
Lin Ming’s eyes jumped. He didn’t know how many extreme Xiantian masters there were in the Seven Profound Valleys, but he could tell that they were all characters at the Sovereign level. If such a figure were placed in the Sky Fortune Kingdom, even the emperor would have to be cautious around them. To be more precise, any emperor of the mortal world would not even have the qualifications to see them.
“The tournament hasn’t even ended, and yet your Sword Faction is already thinking of snatching away this young talent? Lin Ming is a spear master. If he enters your Sword Faction, there is nothing he can do. If it’s like that, it’s much better for him to join my Acacia Faction!” The white-clothed man smiled as he said this, then very casually patted Lin Ming’s shoulder as if he was showing a great deal of affection and fondness.
The white-clothed man’s lewd smile was completely out of character with his vaunted status.
“My Acacia Faction. Hehe, do you understand just what benefits you’ll have if you join my Acacia Faction? There are thousands of beauties for you to freely choose from. If you take a fancy towards anyone, you can just carry them away. My Acacia Faction can satisfy any taste that you have. Young girls that are 14, young girls that are 18, or even several dozen years. We have ripe, mature women that are rich in experience and techniques of all kinds. Although it sounds a bit old, you’ll never be able to tell them apart from a twenty year old. As long as you desire, you can obtain any type you wish for! We have mothers with daughters, twins, quadruplets, sisters, everything you can hope to find! Not only that, but Lin Ming, with your status, these girls will fall over each other to climb into your bed. They will rack their brains and do anything they can think of to please you. This is the ultimate life that a man can live!”
Hearing the Acacia Faction Sovereign’s bawdy laughter, Lin Ming was dumbfounded. If it wasn’t for this fellow’s cultivation, then it would have been hard for Lin Ming to think of this man as a Sovereign. But as Lin Ming remembered just what sort of place the Acacia Faction was, and that it was a faction that focused on carnal cultivation methods, he realized this made sense.
“Mm? Aren’t you interested?” Seeing Lin Ming have no reaction, the Acacia Faction Sovereign’s eyes were somewhat strange. He was likely suspecting that Lin Ming had a problem with his body, or maybe he had a different sexual orientation.
Lin Ming was speechless. He finally said, “Thank you Sovereigns for your kind thoughts, but joining a sect is very important, and many matters are at stake. I honestly haven’t given it much thought yet.”
According to the customs of Sky Fortune Kingdom, Lin Ming had finally reached the age where one would often discuss marriage. It was impossible for Lin Ming to not desire a woman, after all, he was a young boy with hormones. But to him, the Acacia Faction’s cultivation methods were simply too low-grade, and he could never use women to cultivate something like the ‘Divine Acacia Power’.
“Haha, of course, when discussing such things, naturally you need to further consider. After this tournament ends, come to my Acacia Faction if you have the spare time. I have a few gifts prepared for you.” The Acacia Faction Sovereign revealed a lascivious smile that was easy for any man to understand. Lin Ming could imagine just what these so-called ‘gifts’ were.
Lin Ming didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
With the appearance of the Acacia Faction Sovereign, Jiang Wuji kept a calm and placid expression. There wasn’t much harmony or good will between the largest factions of the Seven Profound Valleys, the Sword Faction and Acacia Faction. One was a self-proclaimed righteous sect that followed the orthodox ways, whilst the other was an evil sect that focused on fulfilling one’s earthly desires. Both of their ideals ran counter to each other; it was simply impossible for them to get along.
As the Sovereigns of the two largest factions within the Seven Profound Valleys coldly stared at each other, the tournament had already gotten underway. There were only six contestants for today’s matches; Lin Ming, Qin Wuxin, Jiang Lanjian, Jiang Baoyun, Mugu Buyu, and Ouyang Ming.
These six individuals were fated to be the top six of this year’s Total Faction Martial Meeting.
The first to go onstage was Mugu Buyu. He had already switched to a new puppet. Repairing a badly damaged puppet was a complicated and tedious matter that took a great deal of time. Thus Mugu Buyu could only take out a spare puppet. Of course, its power was clearly inferior to the precious combination.
However, even though he was at a disadvantage, his fighting strength was still surprisingly high. In his match against Qin Wuxin, Mugu Buyu was able to easily win because Qin Wuxin’s zither music was simply unable to break through his True Essence Force Field.
Afterwards, Ouyang Ming fought Jiang Lanjian. Jiang Lanjian’s attacks were swift and sharp, but in the end he was unable to overcome Ouyang Ming, and was defeated.
Like this, the fifth and sixth place ranks were decided. Qin Wuxin was fifth, and Jiang Lanjian was sixth.
Next was the struggle for the top four spots of this tournament.
Ouyang Ming against Jiang Baoyun.
This battle had aroused a great amount of interest amongst the audience. This was because they once thought that this battle would be the ultimate showdown of this year’s Total Faction Martial Meeting.
This was the first time that Jiang Baoyun had drawn his sword, causing everyone to be greatly surprised. Jiang Baoyun’s sword case on his back held two swords. One was blue, and the other was black. Both swords were slender and long. The blue sword was covered in teal scales, and it had a chilling luster to it, shining with a cold light.
As for that black sword, it was inserted into a scabbard. That scabbard seemed to be made of some black stone, it was incomparably strange.
These two swords grabbed everyone’s interest. Even Lin Ming was eyeing those swords with great concern. He had a gut feeling that those two swords weren’t as simple as they seemed.
As a swordsman, Jiang Baoyun had been able to reach this stage without having taken out his swords. This was enough to illustrate just how terrifying he truly was. Now, the first time he brought out his sword, there were actually two. This caused the audience to be exhilarated.
“Was Jiang Baoyun someone who practiced dual wielding?”
“That’s impossible. Our Seven Profound Valleys’ Sword Faction only cultivates the single sword. Not only that, but the dual wielding method is simply not the orthodox method. Jiang Baoyun would never do something so trifling and neglect the essential foundation of the sword path.
A dual swordsman had the advantages of using dual swords. However, a true orthodox swordsman held a single blade as their king. Those swordsmen that pursued the ultimate pinnacle of the sword almost all used a single blade. Of course, in ancient times there was also a legendary swordsman named Wang Chengsheng who had had used the rare dual sword method.
Once the match started, Jiang Baoyun actually didn’t take out his black sword. Instead, he only drew his blue sword. The sharp sword light that it released was like a verdant rainbow that fell from the sky. The purple flames that Ouyang Ming released were chopped into bits.
With his sword in hand, Jiang Baoyun’s aura had completely changed from before. As soon as the battle with Ouyang Ming started, it became a completely one-sided slaughter. In just ten breaths of time, the match had ended and Ouyang Ming admitted defeat.
Jiang Baoyun placed the blue sword back into his sword case. As for the black sword, he hadn’t even touched it.
He had two swords with him, and yet he only used one?
Nobody believed that the second sword in Jiang Baoyun’s sword case was there for some fancy decoration. It absolutely contained a terrifying amount of power. The reason that Jiang Baoyun hadn’t used it was likely because Ouyang Ming didn’t have the qualifications to force him to.
“Jiang Baoyun should be a dual wielder. Since he has two swords, the second sword should be tied to some special skill that he uses…”
Lin Ming mulled over this. When he looked at Jiang Baoyun, he found it difficult to estimate him. He just always had such a calm confident appearance. Naturally, he also had the ability to be so confident.
The audience was deeply curious as to what Jiang Baoyun’s second sword was. They were looking forward to it being drawn, and were hoping that he would use it against Mugu Buyu. However, they were left in disappointment.
As the referee announced the match between Jiang Baoyun and Mugu Buyu, Jiang Baoyun actually refused to participate.
“Jiang Baoyun, why won’t you fight me?” Mugu Buyu’s mummy face was twisted together, it looked hideously grotesque.
“I do not wish to win like this. Your Evil Fire God is ruined, and your Scarlet Gold Tortoise is in poor condition. As of now, you are not my match.” Jiang Baoyun embraced his sword case, his voice tranquil.
Mugu Buyu ground his bright white teeth together, and sneered as he laughed, “So you pity me. To think that I, Mugu Buyu, would one day fall from the skies and be reduced to this state, where I am actually pitied by others!”
Although Mugu Buyu loathed Jiang Baoyun, he couldn’t help but admit that with his current condition, it was impossible for him to be Jiang Baoyun’s match.
Jiang Baoyun said, “There’s no need to speak any further. Right now you don’t even have the qualifications for me to bring out my Black Crystal Sword. When you’ve restored yourself to your peak condition, then you can come look for me at the Sword Terrace. At that time, we shall decide who is the winner and who is the loser!”
Thus, Jiang Baoyun and Mugu Buyu’s match was put on hold, and Ouyang Ming’s position was settled as fourth. There was only one final match left in this tournament, it would decide who was the champion.
Lin Ming against Jiang Baoyun.