Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Seventh Swordsman challenged the Sword Mountain.
Countless cultivators of the Nine Counties of Dali and many from holy lands gazed forward.
His sword proved that none in the Nine Counties were able to take him on.
Not even the three strongest from the battles of the Nine Counties had actually been able to make him go all out, be it Li Hanxing, Zuo Zhengdao or Qin Cang. In truth, none of them had been truly able to take that one sword attack he threw.
Who the hell is this Seventh Swordsman?
The people of the Nine Counties were not the only ones being impressed, as even the County King of Yan became astonished by Ye Futian’s power. That young man that the Sword Saint of Fierce Wind introduced to him, had indeed made it seem like there were no swordsmen below Saint Plane but him.
None had been able to take even one sword attack from him.
Even someone as powerful as Li Hanxing proved utterly incapable of taking even a single attack from him.
“Spectacular.” King Li, who was sitting on his throne on top of the steps, praised. He had truly dared to break the rules with his swords, ignoring the rules of the event and went straight to the Sword Mountain, as if there were no swordsmen in all of the Nine Counties to begin with.
He was arrogant and unique.
King Li did not mind at all, as he deemed that truly extraordinary people needed to possess the courage of breaking rules, and only truly extraordinary people had the right to do so.
There had been quite a number of people from the battles fought between the Nine Counties had been selected by the cultivators of the Upper Worlds. Qin Cang of Shangqin, Zuo Zhengdao of Dongyang and Li Hanxing of Yan were all fine candidates.
However, as the king who reigned all over the Lower Worlds of Dali, he nonetheless felt something was lacking.
There was a lack of a figure who was truly able to stand above all, a lack of an absolutely exceptional genius who was able to shake the top forces of the Upper Worlds. While Qin Cang had beaten Zuo Zhengdao and came to be number one in the battles, there was still something lacking about him.
The emergence of Ye Futian made up for that lacking. King Li saw a supreme youth who was truly unbridled, and one who possessed the combat prowess that truly stood above all.
As King Li, he naturally knew that there was no lack for talent or geniuses in Dali Dynasty. What the dynasty lack was people like Lu Chuan—geniuses who were capable of steering the direction of the Battle of Empty Realm single-handedly. They lacked someone like Ye Futian, who had been able to single-handedly decide the outcome of the Battle of Empty Realm last year, through his efforts alone.
While it would have been nice to have some geniuses enter the Upper Worlds to train, but it was probably someone like that that would have truly caught the imperial advisor’s attention.
He did not know if the Seventh Swordsman had what it would have taken to live up to such expectations, but at the very least, he stood a chance of doing so.
Lu Chuan gazed at Ye Futian, but he did not speak and did nothing. He simply watched the events unfolding silently.
It was the Shadow Bearing Sword Saint that led the ones from the Sword Mountain in that event. His eyes were pointed like swords as he gazed at Ye Futian.
The Sword Mountain was the number one holy land of the sword in the Upper Worlds and they had many students. Anyone of them had made it through trials after trials and all had superior talents. But then again, there were still stronger and weaker ones among them.
In actual fact, Ye Futian had already proven the power of his way of the sword when he had defeated those swordsmen from the County of Yan.
However, as the number one holy land of the sword, they were unable to simply allow anyone to ignore the rules and challenge them. Anyone who wanted to challenge the Sword Mountain, needed to prove the strength of their way of the sword first.
It was apparent that Ye Futian performed with flying colors in that department.
“You’re from the County of Yan?” The Shadow Bearing Sword Saint asked.
“I am,” Ye Futian replied.
“Who was your teacher?” The sword saint continued to ask.
“I have learned and trained under many wandering swordsmen and rangers. I’ve been guided by them and walked the path of the sword, but I’ve never truly studied under any teacher in my journey,” Ye Futian answered.
“So you’re self-taught then?” The Shadow Bearing Sword Saint continued to ask, “How many ways of the sword have you developed? I assume that you have developed the general principles of the sword, the Blazing Sun, the Freezing Ice, the Raging Storms and so on, all on your own, no?”
“I’ve picked up quite a number of incomplete manuscripts about sword arts. If I were to be said to have a teacher, then one could say that I’ve picked up my arts learning from the sun, moon, stars, storm, and rain. The nature itself is my master,” Ye Futian continued to answer. He then asked the sword saint, “Are you done with your questions, senior?”
“Would you like to come with me and train in the Sword Mountain of the Upper Worlds then?” The sword saint did not ask any further, extending his invitation to Ye Futian instead.
An invitation to ask him to train in the Sword Mountain.
It was not a turn of events that would have surprised anyone. Despite his unbridled personality, but Ye Futian’s talents in the way of the sword proved superior and peerless among those of the Lower Worlds of Dali. Furthermore, there was simply no way the Sword Mountain would have simply let someone who was so pure in their seeking of the way of the sword. They would have even gladly overlooked his unbridled nature.
“I have spent 30 years studying the way of the sword. After venturing outside of the Mountain of Hidden Swords and into the County of Yan, I quickly found none of the swordsmen of the County of Yan worthy of having me draw my sword. I then heart that King Li was gathering cultivators throughout the Nine Counties, so I came here intending to find a worthy opponent. However, the cultivators of the Nine Counties of Dali continued to be devoid of one such person.” Ye Futian’s voice was as sharp as the sword, as he turned around to look at Shadow Bearing Sword Saint and said, “I heart that the Sword Mountain was the number one holy land of the sword in the Upper Worlds. If anyone from the Sword Mountain prove capable of defeating me, then I shall come with you, senior, to studying the way of the sword in Sword Mountain.”
“So you’re saying that if none of us are able to defeat you, then you wouldn’t join us then?” The Shadow Bearing Sword Saint asked.
“If none of the students who emerged from the Sword Mountain is able to defeat me, then what is there in the Sword Mountain that would be worth seeking for me?” Ye Futian said proudly, and those words made all who heard them speechless.
None from the sword being able to defeat him?
What is there in that would be worth seeking for him?
It was clear that he remained as arrogant and unbridled as he had been. However, none of them saw Ye Futian with the same eyes they did before. That unbridled swordsman would have been able to join the Sword Mountain, if he were to just simply nod.
However, he sought only the way of the sword.
“Good point,” the Shadow Bearing Sword Saint smiled and said, not minding Ye Futian’s attitude one bit.
Truly extraordinary people seemed to be stubborn to a fault in furthering their way of the sword. That was a manifestation of their obsession with the sword, and their yearning for it.
He seemed to be able to see all of that from Ye Futian.
“Yuan Gang,” the Shadow Bearing Sword Saint called. A figure emerged from the crowd behind him.
There were few from the Sword Mountain who came to the Lower Worlds, and there was coincidentally one who had just touched the great path recently. It would have been very difficult for anyone to defeat the Seventh Swordsman otherwise.
In the previous battles, it was shown that Ye Futian was versed in many arts of the sword, and it was also seen that he possess immense strength, being able to cleave Zuo Zhengdao from above with just one swing of the sword from above, serving as testament to the might of his heavy sword.
Yuan Gang was also versed in peculiar, uncommon ways of the sword.
Yuan Gang stepped forward. His silhouette was clear and it seemed that he was oozing with explosive power. Every step he took seemed to emanate a sense heaviness, instead of sharpness common with swordsman.
One was unable to even sense any sharpness from him.
“Draw your sword,” Yuan Gang said to Ye Futian, with a heavy sword appearing right in front of him as soon as he finished. Furthermore, the was a sword without an edge, which was how he was like as a person—heavy, clumsy without any hint of sharpness.
Many sported funny looks when they saw him in action. The blunt sword in Yuan Gang’s hand seemed to be utterly incapable of piercing into the body of anyone.
However, given that he was nonetheless a student from the Sword Mountain, there was still no one who dared to underestimate him.
Ye Futian stepped out. The light of the sun bright and scorching as it shone from above. He held the Sword of Blazing Sun. Its heat burning the sky as it was brought down from above. One swing with the sword and the air looked as if a fire dragon had manifested.
Yuan Gang seemed to be cradling the blunt sword at first. His body then coursed with silver light, transforming into a suit of armor.
Boom. He stepped out and his movements looked clumsy and heavy. He held the blunt sword and swung it, clapping Ye Futian’s sword aside.
Yuan Gang did not pierce with his sword; he bashed with it instead.
The Sword of Blazing Sun was brought down and banged onto the blunt sword. Sparks sprayed all over and Yuan Gang leapt into the air with his sword. Ye Futian’s Sword of Blazing Sun cut all the way through the air onto Yuan Gang’s blunt sword. The terrifying flames actually reeled back and causing the Sword of Blazing Sun to be shaved off bit by bit.
Boom. The blunt sword continued to clap and Ye Futian took to the air, heading straight into the clouds and gazed below.
Boom. Yuan Gang shot to the air while cradling his sword. Multiple blunt swords appeared in the sky and they grew in numbers as they stacked on top of each other. It seemed as if their surroundings were filled with nothing else but that edgeless blunt sword.
“All ways of the world could be made into swords,” the Shadow Bearing Sword Saint said as he pointed the fact out. Many came to realize that they were thousands of ways of the sword, instead of being confined to one single path.
That sword saint from the Sword Mountain was actually letting Yuan Gang teach everyone else a lesson.
“You are correct, senior. All ways of the world could be made into swords.” Ye Futian replied with a brimming voice high above in the sky. He extended his hand and multiple heavy swords appeared around him, carrying the weight of stars. Every single sword seemed to be emanating terrifying powers.
A humongous heavy sword materialized between his hands.
Rumbling noises were heard as Yuan Gang shot upwards with his layers of shadows of the blunt sword, heading straight for Ye Futian.
“Go.” Ye Futian took one step in the air and dived, which seemed to be melding with his way of the sword. The swords around him dived as well, bombarding the first blunt sword his opponent was wielding.
Intense explosions continued to be heard afterwards. The rumbling shook the world around them.
The stacks of blunt swords clashed with Ye Futian’s swords. Yuan Gang finally reached his target with the sword in his hands. He yelled and the shadow of blunt swords swept above.
However, Ye Futian arrived at that moment, bringing down that heavy sword that was imbued with limitless power down. Countless swords of the stars around him fell, clashing with the heavy swords.
Two massive forces clashed with each other, whipping up a devastating storm in an instant.
“Down.” Ye Futian uttered a word. Extremely furious power burst with the will of great path. The heavy sword he wielded bombarded the blunt sword, pummeling it down.
Boom, boom, boom…Tremendously terrifying explosions continued to be heard. The crowd was shocked to find two silhouettes dropping at extreme speeds. The stacks of heavy swords before Yuan Gang continued to explode and shatter as they went.
He roared and yet, remained incapable of stopping that overwhelming tide.
The Seventh Swordsman pointed at the sky with one hand, summoning more heavy swords to rain downwards. Rumbling noises continued to be heard.
Boom! A massive rumble was heard all over the place. Yuan Gang’s body became pinned on the platform. His hands continued to resist with that huge, blunt sword of his, but Ye Futian came down with the sword of the great path, bringing down one attack after another on him, causing Yuan Gang to grunt. He then spit blood and the armor on him shattered.
Ye Futian took one furious step and finally, the blunt sword was shattered. Yuan Gang remained all sprawled on the ground. Ye Futian got up to the sky again using the recoil. He stood tall in the air and turned to look at Shadow Bearing Sword Saint, asking, “Who else?”
His booming voice was heard throughout the venue. Everyone from the Nine States of Dali felt their hearts racing.
The Seventh Swordsman did not only make it as if there was no formidable fighters in all of the Nine Counties, his power was such that even a swordsman from the number one holy land of the sword in the Upper Worlds, lost by his hands.
It did not matter that his opponent was someone from the Upper Worlds. He took them down all the same.
The Shadow Bearing Sword Saint looked at Yuan Gang, who was being pinned flat on the ground, and was unable to say anything at that moment to reply Ye Futian’s question.
