One instance of Dragonrise blocked the king soldier’s stroke and Lu Yun swiftly followed up with a second blow. It was a very ordinary gesture, one that lacked any hint of sword dao or combat art.
Just the regular swing of a sword.
In this crucial moment, it was also a fatal stroke. Cerulean blue sword light pierced through the king soldier’s throat.
Clang!
The soldier’s Purple Sunrise sword clattered to the ground and he nodded at his opponent before slowly fading away.
A profound power tried to enter Lu Yun’s body, but he declined it as before. When experts crossed paths, they needed only one move and a split second to determine the outcome. The king soldier hadn’t held anything back; neither had Lu Yun treated the exchange lightly. They’d both unleashed their strongest force in the exchange—whoever was defeated would die.
Lu Yun had followed up with a second move to finish off his opponent. But when he looked down, he saw a faint bloody trace slowly knitting together on his chest.
“If I hadn’t struck again, I would be the one dead! The king soldier found my second flaw on my chest!” He took a deep breath.
Though formula dao could theorize combat arts, it wasn’t an all-purpose tool. It needed clues to go off of and a starting point for its basis. If a combat art had never been deployed before, it wouldn’t be able to fully identify the art’s weaknesses.
“I lost, but I won because I can adapt. I snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when you noticed the opening at my chest and triumphed in that manner.” Lu Yun murmured.
“I see.” The king soldier materialized once more and nodded gently. “You have truly defeated me and are invincible on the first level. You can train through the manner of slaughter at any time.”
“Training through the manner of slaughter? That’s meaningless to me.” Lu Yun shook his head. “But I do need the sword, so I’ll take it.”
He picked up Purple Sunrise and put it away.
The king soldier nodded once more. “I used this sword in life, you must treat it well.”
“I will be sure to live up to its illustrious name,” Lu Yun promised. He could tell that the weapon’s former owner didn’t want Purple Sunrise to continue collecting dust in the Army Pagoda.
“Do not attempt the second floor before you become a titled king. Your death would be a foregone conclusion,” the king soldier warned. “There are true kings and false kings in this realm—many of the kings in the outside world travel down the wrong path. You must not become a ninth step king when you ascend, or you will not be able to turn back!”
He looked solemnly at Lu Yun—in his eyes, this young man absolutely had the ability to break through as a ninth step king.
Lu Yun frowned slightly and thought of the black entity that’d obstructed Qing Yu and the little fox. Judging from the king soldier’s words, that entity didn’t seem to be malicious.
“I understand.” Regardless, he nodded to show that he took the warning to heart.
“Since you are not willing to train through the manner of slaughter, the first level of the Army Pagoda is useless to you. You should depart the premises.” The king soldier waved a hand and sent Lu Yun out of the treasure, his final instructions echoing in the young man’s mind. “Since you have passed the test of the first level and perfected your half-step-king combat art, the soldiers of the first level can fight for you. I can as well, as long as you supply sufficient purple crystals. The more you provide, the stronger we will be.”
He spoke no more.
Lu Yun finally understood what Qing Yu had said to him before, how the Army Pagoda wasn’t just a cultivation treasure, but a terrifying treasure of war. He didn’t press for further explanation since it was obvious that the king soldier wouldn’t elaborate any further. Some things required his own exploration and experimentation.
As for purple crystals… he didn’t exactly lack for them at the moment. Though what he owned constantly streamed out to others in exchange for ghost crystals, the Immortal Pagoda continued to turn a profit. Haotian Tower might impact them to a certain degree, but the pagoda sold many items that the tower lacked.
The emotion formation, for instance.
It wasn’t a complicated formation and could be refined as long as one had a karmic fruit. The replica that Lu Yun had left behind in Multitude City could manage it with ease.
There were also many supplemental grandmasters and kings who applied to join the Immortal Pagoda, and while most of them came with ulterior motives, Lu Yun didn’t turn any away.
……
He finally exited seclusion on the fourth day. Qing Ting was beside herself with worry and immediately rushed in when she saw the formation shrouding the residence deactivate.
“You’re finally out, Champion Duke! Do you know that a lot of people think you got cold feet in the three days you’ve been in closed door cultivation?? They think you don’t want to go through with the challenge anymore!” she spoke rapidly.
The city lord had agreed to the challenge on the second day of Lu Yun’s seclusion. Given the Champion Duke’s background and demonstrated strength, there was no reason for the city lord to refuse. Additionally, there was only upside to be found in forming a relationship with the Immortal Pagoda through the Champion Duke.
“I observed Coiling Dragon City’s feng shui after I arrived and came to a few reflections. The moment seized me, so I had to shut myself away for three days.” Lu Yun smiled. Hongmeng cultivators entered closed door cultivation for tens of thousands of years, or hundreds of thousands at a time. Three days was nothing.
“Leng Che and the others have been waiting for you at the sparring grounds for the past two days. Do you need to prepare yourself first?” Qing Ting asked hesitantly when she looked at Lu Yun.
A few days’ wait was inconsequential to Hongmeng cultivators. Some experts waited several hundreds, or thousands of years for a match in which both sides were at their prime.
Of course, it was almost time for the Dragonling Assembly. If Lu Yun hadn’t appeared within three days of its commencement, that would indicate his forfeiture.
“Nope, we can go directly.” He rose into the air and flew toward the city lord manor’s sparring grounds.
Leng Che, You Cang, and Ghost Dragon meditated within the ring as they awaited their opponent’s arrival. Numerous cultivators under the city lord’s banner gathered around them; they were also waiting quietly for the Champion Duke.
Azureclad and Crimsonclad counted among their numbers.
“The Champion Duke has arrived!” Qing Ting yelled out behind Lu Yun.
A jerk of surprise rippled through the crowd as everyone lifted their heads.
“So you’ve really come. I thought you were just running your mouth.” Azureclad lifted a corner of his lips. He looked at his sister with some annoyance—though the Champion Duke was much more pleasing to the eye now, he still didn’t like Qing Ting being too close with the boy.
“Hey there, little brother Champion Duke. We meet again.” Crimsonclad smiled at Lu Yun.
Lu Yun raised a cupped fist salute to everyone when he landed. The sparring grounds didn’t look spacious, but they were far bigger than they appeared. There seemed to be a minor world inside them that could fully contain a match between high level kings.
“You are the Champion Duke?” Seated in the main seat, a sixth step king in blue robes looked at Lu Yun and inclined his head. “You are quite the talent indeed. Who might you be challenging for their spot?”
The sixth step looked very young, like he wasn’t much different from Lu Yun. However, his cultivation was already peak sixth step king, far beyond the likes of the Human King and almost on par with Jin Naluo.
He was the Coiling Dragon city lord’s younger brother, the Dragonfeather King.
“Greetings to Your Majesty Dragonfeather.” Lu Yun raised a cupped fist salute before turning to the three in the sparring grounds.
Leng Che, You Cang, and Ghost Dragon had opened their eyes and were sizing him up.
You Cang was an elder with white temples and a graying beard. He exuded uncanny black qi at all moments, plainly someone who walked the dao of darkness.
Ghost Dragon also appeared to be a young man. Clean cut and shaven, he wore pristine robes and appeared completely harmless. He didn’t share any resemblances with the Ghost Dragon that Lu Yun knew, but the latter acutely picked up a wisp of a very dangerous, yet familiar presence from Ghost Dragon.
“This little brother looks easy to bully. I choose him.” He pointed at Ghost Dragon with a smile.
