Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Yun Yang shifted back into his original form, the clouds and fog slowly dissipating. The saber glinted in the light as it plowed down with incredible force. “What a bunch of nonsense! Do you think all the secret techniques you don’t know about are moves to distract you? I’m telling you, this is the way I fight — if I hadn’t employed this method, how would I even fight against someone like you, whose cultivation base far exceeds my own? Do you really think I’m stupid?”
Shi Wuchen choked on his breath upon hearing that, feeling too embarrassed to utter anything else. After all, his true cultivation base was levels above Yun Yang’s, and his deific consciousness itself was already a few times more powerful than that of Yun Yang. The wide disparity of strength between the two was as clear as day — to stop his opponent from using arcane techniques unique to himself was an argument he could never win!
Shi Wuchen was brimming with confidence in this fight. Any arcane techniques would likely be strange, unexpected, or packed with queer powers, but they would eventually have their limits, or perhaps sustained by certain levels of mystical Qi or a combination of other forms of spiritual energy. It was impossible to keep activating them without having to rest in between.
With a cultivation base levels above him and plenty of combat experience under my belt, I will definitely be the final victor of this fight!
I’ll have him spent to the point of death!
However, to Shi Wuchen’s dismay, his efforts were futile, even when he had consecutively tried eighteen sword techniques and seven to eight combat styles that specifically targeted arcane techniques. Yun Yang, on the other hand, only used a single technique to thwart his attacks; I don’t care — I’ll keep transforming into cloud and fog. After your strike, I’ll simply morph back into my original form, then blend into the winds again and counter it quickly.
Even if you have the power to wreak havoc on heaven and earth, can you do any harm to a simple mass of cloud and fog?
The most you can probably do is just dispel it.
However, I can regather my form anytime, anywhere, and raise hell again!
The two men contended for almost four hours. As time passed, Shi Wuchen attacked with reducing vigor.
I’m literally fighting against a ghost!
No matter how swift and quick his stroke, no matter how it was packed with an unrivaled force, the only thing it struck was air. This feeling was mortally unbearable, yet his opponent was as lively as he had been during the beginning of the fight.
He did not even unleash any special tricks, they were just basic jabs and strikes…
In other words, he wondered if his opponent had even unleashed any of his true skills.
The more he fought, the more helpless he felt, and the more he thought, the weaker he seemed to be.
Suddenly, with one big stride, he leaped forward. “Alright, alright, I yield! I admit defeat!” He cried, feeling greatly disturbed.
The mental state of the Great Swordsman Shi was now upon the verge of breaking down — he was resentful beyond belief!
Throughout this fight — this wind-grabbing and shadow-clutching exchange that had lasted for nearly four hours – he had managed to come up with an irrefutable conclusion. Although his opponent’s arcane technique was extremely bizarre, the energy consumed to sustain it was suspiciously, disproportionately meager. Even until now, his opponent was still in tip-top condition. His own energy, on the other hand, was another matter altogether. The deep, exhausting focus he had spent in these four hours was secondary compared to his concerns at the fact that his spiritual Qi was already reaching its limits. If he forced himself to continue, he would not be able to suppress his injuries — should his wounds relapse, that would truly be the greatest loss to him!
“If I wasn’t wounded, where will you run to when I unleash Heaven and Earth Cage, regardless of how bizarre your techniques are? I wonder where will you dissipate to! What a shame, sigh…”
A long sigh stretched into the air before silence returned.
Yun Yang stopped, returning to his original form, looking mildly entertained. “Yield?”
“Yield, I yield!” Shi Wuchen shook his head helplessly. “There’s no point in fighting when you’re in that form.”
Yun Yang burst into a hearty laugh and sat on the ground. “Can’t go on anymore, can you? Same here, I was unable to persevere further already. This is really tiring me out.”
He looked as though he was exhausted to the point where he could no longer stand, and his face was ash-white as if plagued with death.
To Shi Wuchen, this fight was an extremely irritating one, but what Yun Yang felt was only fatigue — extreme levels of pure fatigue!
His opponent’s sword was coated with an appetite for destruction and massacre. His cultivation base was one whole level above Yun Yang’s current standing, and he was enveloped by a deific consciousness of an unknown level that far exceeded his own. Facing an enemy like that in one-to-one combat, there was no fight. If he pressed on forcefully, he would be simply asking for it — he would be the sole victim of this entire farce.
Yun Yang was also reluctant to use other slaughtering methods, for if he employed them, life and death would be evident!
Yun Yang did not want to kill this man, but he was not very keen about making this place his own grave either. Facing this chap whose cultivation base was already at the Saint Level, how would one know what sort of power he could unleash when he was pushed to the edge?
Although Yun Yang was rather confident about himself, he rather not tempt fate.
If that was the case, a fighting style which employed his wind cloud form had become the only choice!
Still, a continuous loop of dissipating and condensing his form still required him to use up spiritual Qi and the essential energy of wind and cloud. Even to Yun Yang, the energy spent was unusually high — it was not like what Shi Wuchen had assumed, that he had plenty left from where it came from. Although it was not to the extent where he could go a single step further, he was also close to reaching his limit even as the fight had progressed to this point.
However, even when he had come close to reaching his limit, he was not exactly completely sapped out. He opted to appear weak and frail, but that was only Yun Yang’s final probe on the man’s character.
If Shi Wuchen took this opening as a chance to attack, Yun Yang would not allow this man to join the Residence of Nine Supremes, regardless of how much he took a liking to him. When it came to recruiting, Yun Yang had his own standards.
He had a bottom line, one that would not be easily broken!
Shi Wuchen’s eyes twinkled, a sense of peace slowly seeping into his heart. “So, even you can’t carry on any longer? This mystique method of yours has its limits as well?”
Yun Yang nodded. “Naturally, any secret or ultimate technique would have its limits. Of course, I’m not made out of steel either. I would tire out eventually.”
Shi Wuchen tipped his head upwards and guffawed. “Then I am relieved. Although I couldn’t defeat you, I almost tired you out. It’s not too big of a defeat, I suppose — at least it’s not a crushing defeat!”
Yun Yang remained unperturbed upon hearing that. “So what if it wasn’t a crushing defeat? You have admitted defeat, have you not? Now, get on with this business and join my sect this instant, Great Swordsman Shi.” His retort was calm and collected.
Shi Wuchen slowly retracted his smile and gave some serious thought to his words. “I, Shi Wuchen, duly meant what I said, and I will never go against my own word! Today is the first day your sect is established… what is it called? How many people are there? These are the things I need to know!”
“Cough— This sect is called the Residence of Nine Supremes, and it’s shared between two for now. I am the sect leader. There is a majordomo as well — oh, that’s not right, there are three people now — we have one more, which is Shi Wuchen, Great Swordsman Shi, the elder of the school.”
“I’m rather impressed by you… you have just joined us and you’ve been promoted to the position of an elder. This luck of yours is truly amazing.”
Shi Wuchen gaped even wider at that. “Hold on for a bit, we need to make this clear! There are only two people in this Residence of Nine Supremes of yours? A sect leader and a majordomo? Only three, if I count myself in. You… you mean to solicit me… with such a minute scale?”
A rare blush surfaced across Yun Yang’s face, seeming a little awkward as he let out a cough. “You said it yourself, this sect has only just been established. It will slowly grow stronger with time, and the path to its future is brightly lit. Being the sect’s elder will be the wisest choice you’ll ever make in your entire life.”
These words were uttered with such brazen confidence as if they were uttered simply to boost their own morale through a one-sided declaration of how luxurious, noble and magnificent this offer was. It seemed horribly similar to a sales pitch — in fact, there was no difference at all!
Shi Wuchen was completely speechless. He directed his gaze towards the sky, and for a long time, he did not utter a single word.
One could say that it was a solid hit to the gut, for there was nothing unreal about this.
I am Shi Wuchen of the Three Autumn Swordsmen; although I can’t say that this reputation of mine has shaken the world, or caused a stir in the Bound of Universe, I am still one of its well-known heroes. Many sects had extended their invites to me, yet I did not join them; but here, now, under totally unexpected circumstances, a sect with only two people solicited me, putting me in a difficult position where I can’t simply shimmy out from. It’s just like riding on a tiger’s back…
Have I, Shi Wuchen, truly fallen so far?
