Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Holding the Killing Token, Feng Qin stood in the center of the windstorm. Rings of black currents spun around him, radiating an icy and evil Qi.
He was now almost 20 feet tall and could look down on Zhang Ruochen. “Zhang Ruochen, it’s undeniably a pain for you to continue living on in this world,” he said. “Let me send you on the way to end your tragic life.”
Feng Qin raised the Killing Token once again. The token, dozens of feet long, was covered in dense runes. One could vaguely make out a man-shaped apparition become one with the Killing Token.
Zhang Ruochen stared at the figure with frigid eyes. “I’m afraid you’re not enough to kill me,” he uttered.
Clang!
The Abyss Ancient Sword produced a shrill sound. It flew toward Zhang Ruochen and hovered before him. It had already refined the four blood blades and had absorbed enough power to recover its status as a Thousand-pattern Saint Weapon.
Zhang Ruochen’s Holy Qi and Sword Intent streamed into the sword. A distant voice said, “Hundreds of years have passed. Zhang…Zhang Ruochen, how can you…only awaken me now?”
This was the sword spirit communicating with its master. Outsiders couldn’t hear it.
Hearing the familiar voice, Zhang Ruochen tried to control his excitement. “Abyss, fight this battle with me first and get past this obstacle. I have many things to ask you.”
“Fine. I’ve slept for too long and my thoughts have slowed down. I do need a good battle to return to my peak state.”
The next moment, the Abyss Ancient Sword shone with black light that flooded in all directions. At first, the black light only shrouded Zhang Ruochen. Gradually, the entire battle platform fell into darkness.
Looking up from the bottom, one could only see a huge black sphere like a black hole hovering in the sky. Even with the Half-Saint Eye, one could only vaguely see that the black sphere consisted of thousands upon thousands of Sword Qi.
“Zhang Ruochen is gravely injured and at the brink of death. How can he still fight?”
“Why does it feel like…Zhang Ruochen has gotten stronger?”
Jian Kongzi stood behind Wan Zhaoyi. The Sword Saint on his back shook violently.
Shock filled his eyes. “It’s not that Zhang Ruochen has gotten stronger. It’s that black sword. It has reached the Thousand-pattern Saint Weapon level and become one with Zhang Ruochen. He’s reached the Human Sword state.”
Of all the people present, only Jian Kongzi was a true swordsman. He’d already completed Sword Three and was naturally the most qualified to speak.
A Half-Saint from the Ministry of War asked, “How does one reach the Human Sword state?”
“In swordsmanship, that’s the most advanced method,” Jian Kongzi said. “Not only does the swordsman’s cultivation need to reach the Human Sword state, he also needs a saint sword that has both the highest level of material and sword spirit. The sword spirit and master must have a certain type of chemistry to become one with each other.”
Jian Kongzi stared at the Abyss Ancient Sword with envy. A swordsman’s lifetime goal was to find and develop a sword like that.
A sword was a swordsman’s best friend.
On the battle platform, Zhang Ruochen and the Abyss Ancient Sword became one. If was as if only the sword remained, but also as if only Zhang Ruochen remained.
The man was the sword. The sword was the man.
Whoosh.
The black sword flew out with a streak of dark light. Feng Qin had fought against swordsmen before, but he’d never faced a situation like this.
Controlling the Killing Token, he blocked before him.
Boom.
A strong shockwave surged from the sword. At the same time, Sword Qi gathered from all over. It crashed against the Killing Token, producing a mass of fiery-red sparks.
Feng Qin’s arms popped. He took three steps back before he dissolved the powerful force.
It was fortunate that he’d used special material to create the Killing Token. If it had been a Hundred-pattern Saint Weapon, this strike would have disabled it.
The Abyss Ancient Sword spun in the air and then struck again, attacking Feng Qin’s neck. He was forced to block the attack with the Killing Token again.
The tides had finally turned. Zhang Ruochen was suppressing Feng Qin.
Feng Qin was still a powerful figure. No matter how aggressive or mysterious Zhang Ruochen’s moves were, they couldn’t get past his defense. His cultivation and combat abilities were clearly at the peak of the sixth level Half-Saint Realm. No one in the same level could defeat him, even if they had the Saint Body.
However, Feng Qin was still feeling difficulty.
The Abyss Ancient Sword was too sharp. Every strike would leave a gash on the Killing Token. It wouldn’t be long before the Killing Token was destroyed too. How could he block Zhang Ruochen without it?
Pow!
Zhang Ruochen struck dozens of times at once. The Killing Token finally couldn’t take it anymore and a crack appeared.
Feng Qin couldn’t accept this. His cultivation was clearly higher than Zhang Ruochen. How could he lose?
Furthermore, losing meant death.
No matter what, he had to try again before the Killing Token was completely broken.
“Zhang Ruochen, you are indeed shockingly skilled. You’re actually forcing me to take out my last trump card. However, this will still come to an end,” he said. “Burning Wood God-connecting Technique.”
Feng Qin’s body was like a piece of burning wood. It crackled and popped. The muscular 20-foot-tall body quickly shrunk. A moment later, he was like a human-shaped pole.
The Burning Wood God-connecting Technique was a “God-connecting Technique” from the Ancient Wizard Way.
The Wizard Way was more ancient than the three current ways. It was the way that humans cultivated in the historic times. After the three Major Ways became established, the Wizard Way faded out of the spotlight.
Even if there were heirs or secret spells later on of the Wizard Way, there wasn’t any truly successful figure.
The God-connecting Technique burned a Monk’s Blood Qi, Spiritual Qi, and Holy Qi so he could produce ten times more power in a short time. Most of the secret spells that stimulated one’s fighting abilities came from the God-connecting Technique.
The Burning Wood God-connecting Technique was one of them.
Casting a spell like this had huge side effects. Not only did it harm one’s vitality, there was also the risk of falling into a lower cultivation realm. Thus, no one used it unless there was no other choice.
The power waves on Feng Qin kept rising. The force radiating from him swept across the entire platform.
Kaboom!
The Killing Token fell down. This was it.
At this moment, the Abyss Ancient Sword also radiated with destructive power. The thousands of runes emerged, forming the Destruction of the Thousand-patterns.
Zhang Ruochen couldn’t do anything else. Only the Destruction of the Thousand-patterns could resist this attack.
Feng Qin was gambling his life. So was Zhang Ruochen.
Swish! As the Abyss Ancient Sword came down, it sliced through the Killing Token and Feng Qin as if they were made out of tofu. Bright red blood flooded out of Feng Qin’s waist.
Even at his death, Feng Qin was still shocked. He reached out and pointed at Zhang Ruochen with difficulty. “You…you…dare to use the…Destruction of…Thousand…patterns…”
With a thud, the lower half of Feng Qin’s body dropped onto the ground.
Zhang Ruochen leaned heavily on the bloody Abyss Ancient Sword. He stared at the corpse and breathed heavily. “Why did you think that I wouldn’t use it?”
He’d been forced to choose between life and death. He couldn’t care about all that.
When Feng Qin fell, everyone present felt suffocated. Some people were shocked, some didn’t understand, and others were dazed.
Then the crowd started bubbling with discussions.
“Feng Qin could’ve defeated Zhang Ruochen, but he risked everything before dying to make Feng Qin die with him.”
“Two regional kings of the Ministry of War died in a row. They’re both sixth level Half-Saints too. This loss is too much. Who will fight next?”
“No matter who it is, they can defeat Zhang Ruochen easily. He’s used up all his Holy Qi with the Destruction of the Thousand-patterns. He doesn’t have the strength to keep fighting.”
Everyone knew that once Zhang Ruochen used the Destruction of the Thousand-patterns, it meant he would die on the platform. But even if he died, he would still have glory.
After all, he’d been in the Central Region for less a month, but he’d already killed countless Kings of the Ministry of War. Even the high-level Half-Saints of the Demonic Sect, Black Market, and Death Zen Sect didn’t have such outstanding track records.
The various Half-Saints could also see that Zhang Ruochen was like a fish on the butcher’s board now. Anyone could cut him up.
“I’ll go take Zhang Ruochen’s life now.”
“Zhao Luo, your cultivation is too low. Let me go.”
“You’re only a third level Half-Saint. How can you say my cultivation is low?”
…
After a round of fights, Tong Dong, King of Jinyue, rushed out first and got onto the platform.
Right now, Zhang Ruochen was very weak. He’d used up about 80% of his Holy Qi. The only reason why he hadn’t fallen was because the Abyss Ancient Sword was supporting him.
However, Zhang Ruochen wasn’t completely powerless.
Tong Dong’s cultivation wasn’t very high. He was only a third level Half-Saint. He was naturally overjoyed that he could rush out of the various Half-Saints and nab the chance to kill Zhang Ruochen.
This was why he’d underestimated his enemy.
Before he could even settle on the battle platform, Zhang Ruochen had already activated his Spiritual Power. He struck Tong Dong with a ten-foot-long lightning blade.
Crack!
Tong Dong grunted and flew back. Tiny bolts of lightning covered his entire body. A long bloody gash opened up on his abdomen.
