Chapter 0296: The Eight Secret Words
Seeing Ning Cheng jump towards the battle ring, it immediately attracted many comments, even some of the Soul Essence Cultivators who did not care much about the tournament of the Profound Core Division, focused their attention on him.
“You’re Ning Cheng?” Shen Buqun shot a glance at Ning Cheng, as he asked in a very bland tone.
Shen Buqun’s body gave off an elusive aura, if one had to put it in words then it was a kind of fair and above-board aura from afar, but if one carefully observed him again, it would seem as if he had an outwardly submissive but inwardly evil-hearted aura, causing Ning Cheng to feel not very happy about it.
“Yes I am, let’s begin.” Ning Cheng did not bother to ask the other party’s name.
Shen Buqun showed a faint smile and spoke, “You are wrong about it, I have already gone through seven rounds so I need a bit of a break. I hope that you can hold on for a few rounds before I can come up again. You must not disappoint me and allow others to kick you out.”
Saying that, Shen Buqun took the initiative to walk off the battle ring.
The words of Shen Buqun were frank and above-board, although there were many people looking over; none of them ridiculed his courage to be small. Ning Cheng had a sort of fierce name on the outside, moreover was someone who was said to have easily killed Ding Liang, as such for Shen Buqun choosing to look at Ning Cheng’s fighting prowess by taking the initiative to step down was something that was considered normal. However, Shen Buqun’s tone was also very contemptuous, as if he did not put Ning Cheng in his eyes. Although he said that he wanted to take a break, but it was only something for him to be discrete about. From this, they speculated that he was gunning for at least 30 victories.
Ning Cheng just gave a smile, “Your name and your noble temperament reminds me of a person. Now that I look at you, you do resemble a lot like him. That man was nevertheless a master of a sect, and had mastered a very powerful sword technique. Alas, it was a pity that the sword technique that he learned had some flaws; otherwise, he might have become a supreme expert……”
“Oh, who is it?” Shen Buqun, who was still walking down the battle ring, could not help but turn around and ask with curiosity.
Ning Cheng spoke out in a calm yet loud manner, “As to who was it, I won’t be able to tell you, but I can at least tell you about the eight secret words that could be said to be the basis of the peerless sword technique that the man cultivated. Of course, if you have not heard it before already, then let’s make it clear that I am not at fault for it.”
“Then I’ll look forward to your advice.” Shen Buqun’s expression turned dignified, no matter what these eight secret words were, listening to it was a lot better when compared to not listening at all.
Not to mention Shen Buqun, even the countless cultivators watching the tournament, were paying a lot of attention to Ning Cheng’s reveal of the eight secret words.
“Desiring to cultivate skills to the pinnacle, it is necessary to first castrate yourself.” Ning Cheng spoke out in a completely serious tone.
[TL Note – The eight words actually are ‘欲练神功。必先自宫。’ Taken from Jin Yong’s novel ‘葵花宝典’. I could not find any eight-word combinations in English for these characters, so I decided to put it into a sentence as short as possible, while trying to retain the original meaning.]
“Hahaha……” The countless cultivators all around the battle ring burst into laughs, all the people could not help but think that Ning Cheng must have fabricated this myth, all in order to ridicule Shen Buqun.
Even the Floating Snow Palace’s and the Severing Emotions Dao Sect’s female disciples who usually had a reserved expression, had to cover their mouths to laugh in secret. This Ning Cheng was simply too sarcastic to a fault, to use a sentence to catch Shen Buqun’s attention, only to specifically speak such derogatory words.
Hearing the snickers of the female disciples seated below, a middle-aged female cultivator from the Severing Emotions Dao Sect suddenly spoke up with a frown, “Junior Apprentice Sister Qionghua, you are used to dealing and reading people. But this Ning Cheng seems to be a bit thick skinned, for Yingdei to choose him for severing her emotions, is it really the right choice?”
The female cultivator addressed as Qionghua was wearing a full-bodied white robe, giving her a delicate appearance of someone who had already risen above the worldly affairs, while at the same time if one looked from a distance, she would look like an exquisite jade wrapped by immortal clouds. This kind of beautiful appearance was not even half a bit worse than Xu Yingdei’s, however when comparing temperaments, hers’ was even more stunning than Xu Yingdei. This person was none other than Xu Yingdei’s master Shi Qionghua. Moreover, she was the one who had come to the Rainbow Fall Sword Sect to act as a matchmaker on behalf of Xu Yingdei.
Shi Qionghua replied in a tranquil manner, “This Ning Cheng’s disposition is sincere and forthright, moreover he also possess an innately good nature, making him a lot different from the rest of the hypocrites of the Tian Continent. He also holds kindness in his heart; moreover, this kind of kindness is something that the cultivators of the Tian Continent lack. Yingdei’s choice is good. Ning Cheng is definitely the most suitable man for her to fall in love with… But, sigh…..”
That middle-aged cultivator on hearing Shi Qionghua sigh, once again asked her, “Qionghua, since Ning Cheng is the right choice, then why are you sighing?”
Shi Qionghua was silent for a good long while before speaking, “Senior apprentice Sister, although that Ning Cheng definitely is suitable for allowing her to fall in love; however he is actually not suitable for her in severing her emotions. Although he is ostentatious and pompous on the surface, but deep down in his heart, this person is actually someone very emotional and is someone with exceedingly rich feelings towards the people close to him. Once he falls in love, and once Yingdei successfully severs her emotions, he would then turn into a very pitiful person. So much so that it would end up ruining his entire life……”
Although the middle-aged female cultivator gave a nod, however she did not care about Shi Qionghua’s words. Whether or not Ning Cheng was suitable for severing emotions was already irrelevant, as long as Xu Yingdei was able to sever her emotions towards Ning Cheng, it would be more than enough. Whether Ning Cheng died or lived, it was not something that concerned the Severing Emotions Dao Sect. Xu Yingdei was the premier disciple of the Severing Emotions Dao Sect; as such, she was also the disciple on whom the sect has placed the most importance.
“I hope that Yingdei is heartless enough to be able to sever her emotions, she must not get herself sucked up into it.” The middle-aged cultivator subconsciously replied.
Shi Qionghua spoke in a quiet voice, “Yingdei is my disciple. I know her pretty well. She’ll successfully be able to sever her emotions; she is different from the others, as there is nothing in this world that would shake her Dao Heart.”
………
Compared to the laughing audience, after Shen Buqun heard Ning Cheng’s words, he showed a faint smile before he spoke, “Quite an interesting lesson.” Then, he simply turned around and walked away, not saying anything else to Ning Cheng.
So he knows how to be patient, Ning Cheng thought; however, he did not care about it.
After Shen Buqun got down, Ning Cheng stood atop the battle ring for a long time, however unexpectedly nobody came up, causing him to be a bit disappointed in his heart; it seems that having a fierce name on the outside might just prove to be a hindrance in here.
“Why isn’t anyone coming up, is this still a tournament……”
As no one else stepped onto the stage to fight Ning Cheng, the spectators who had come to watch something interesting, could not help feel a bit irritated by the lack of action. Some of them immediately started shouting, to send people onto the stage.
“Let me be the one to seek for an advice.” A clear voice emerged, followed by a female cultivator wearing a lilac coloured robe as she landed on the battle ring.
“Senior Apprentice Brother Ning, I’m Star Gathering Mansion’s Lu Ruman, please enlighten me.” The female cultivator first cupped her fists towards Ning Cheng and spoke, before she brought out a pair of red swords.
Ning Cheng also nodded and spoke, “Star Gathering Mansion, aah I do know about it.”
He already was acquainted with the Star Gathering Mansion’s Kong Cheng and Xin Hai; moreover, he was also the one who had saved them.
“Although you are a friend of Senior Apprentice Brother Kong and Senior Apprentice Brother Xin, however I will not be showing you any mercy, take that…” Lu Ruman spoke as the pair of red swords in her hands turned into a sea of red smoke, as it completely surrounded and bound Ning Cheng in the middle of the sea of red smoke.
A pair of red swords condensed from the red smoke, which then moved to form a pair of giant red scissors. As this scissor opened up, it brought forth a burst of cold aura filled with killing intent, allowing Ning Cheng to feel that his flow of true essence was somewhat impeded.
This woman really attacks without a shred of consideration or hesitation, Ning Cheng thought in his heart. If it were an ordinary Profound Core Cultivator in his place, then in that case they would have found it to be extremely difficult to escape from this predicament.
However, her cultivation was not even comparable to Ding Liang; as such, it was definitely not good enough to go against Ning Cheng. Ning Cheng brought out his Profound Break Spear, only to send out two spear lights, pointing towards the open mouth of the giant red scissors.
“Dong dong” Two sounds emerged, followed by Ning Cheng backing up as he seemed to have been pushed a few feet back towards one side of the battle ring because of the attack, while breathing somewhat rapidly, giving others the impression that he had to struggle to escape the clutches of the giant red scissors.
“You are better than I expected to be able to escape from my Sword Crocodile Jaws… Then again let me show you what a real sword skill is……” Lu Ruman originally thought that the masses had blown the details out of proportion regarding Ning Cheng killing Ding Liang; however, Ning Cheng at this moment seemed as if he barely was able to resist a single move from her, causing her previous suspicions to solidify in her heart. It seems that the rumours are not credible at all, only if one personally witnessed it, would they be able to realize the depth.
However, Ning Cheng was feeling quite funny in his heart because of this; it seems that this woman had a formidable self-confidence. However, he was also aware that if he had truly made a move on her, then nobody would dare to come up again to challenge him. If Ning Cheng ran out of patience then would she even be able to pester him?
A pair of red swords once again appeared in Lu Ruman’s hand, which then transformed into a pair of huge swords, crossing each other like a pair of scissors, covering half the battle ring with its open mouth pointed towards Ning Cheng. A ‘snip’ sound emerged, as the two swords closed in towards Ning Cheng.
The giant sword mouth almost was on the verge of cutting Ning Cheng into two halves, when Ning Cheng seemed to have started burning his essence blood, allowing him to escape the open jaws created by the swords.
The cultivators who were sitting in the sidelines gave out a dark sigh, if Lu Ruman’s cultivation was just a little higher, then once she tied down Ning Cheng, even for just a single moment, it would have resulted in Ning Cheng’s death.
From the perspective of the crowd, it seemed as if Ning Cheng also was having similar thoughts, as he lifted his hand to throw out a clump of talismans; these were only minor Rank 2 and Rank 3 talismans.
Countless Wind Edge Talismans, Fireball Talismans, Thunder and Lighting Talismans, Condensing Rain Talismans, Returning Spring Talismans and so on immediately exploded out, causing furious rumblings to engulf the entire battle ring. Obscuring what was happening on the inside from the eyes of the others.
Lu Ruman suddenly thought that it was a bit funny; this person truly was one of a kind all right to unexpectedly use some Rank 2 and Rank 3 Talismans against her. Such talismans against her were not even comparable to a mosquito bite. Moreover, this person even brought out Condensing Rain Talismans and Returning Spring Talismans. Was this not showing just how desperate the situation he was in?
Just as Lu Ruman was about to break free from the interference of these talismans, and then move on to grab Ning Cheng by his neck, she suddenly felt a sharp pain from her buttocks, followed by a strong force spreading out throughout her body. The next moment, she was as if a bullet shot through a gun as she shot out of the ring. At this moment, she could not even circulate her true essence.
“Bang…..” Lu Ruman landed outside the battle ring, with her face flushed red.
Kicked in the butt only to end up losing the fight. This kind of failure made her both depressed and ignominious, in her view; Ning Cheng’s fighting method was completely foul without any consideration to face. Using those countless talismans to interfere with her spiritual consciousness, and then sneak attacking with a kick to her butt.
“This guy has a lot of talismans; however all of them are just low level talismans…”
“I think that it was quite a good idea, unfortunately, this kind of approach wastes a lot of talismans.”
“People always have spirit stones; you might just not know how many spirit stones one could earn from it in the Exchange Hall……”
A variety of discussions erupted, allowing Lu Ruman to feel a little relieved in her heart, as these discussions did not speak about her. This allowed the bright red flush, on Lu Ruman’s face, to fade out gradually.
Just as Lu Ruman wanted to rush into the battle ring once again to get her revenge, someone had already rushed up before her. It was a red haired Profound Core 9th Level Cultivator.
“Burning Sun Weapon Sect’s Xi Yong asks for guidance…..” As Xi Yong spoke, a set of silver helmet and armour appeared over his body. While simultaneously, a huge umbrella shaped magical weapon appeared above his head with a round shield type magical weapon in front of him complementing it.
“You do not have to take out those low levelled talismans, I am completely covered in defensive magical weapons, even if you use your lower levelled talismans to smash onto them for a full day, you would not even be able to create a scratch on them let alone breaking them open.” Xi Yong spoke, as he saw Ning Cheng staring at his defensive magical weapons in a daze, causing a proud smile to appear on his face.
“Really powerful…..” Ning Cheng spoke in a voice filled with lament; he really felt that this sentence was quite fitting. One should be aware that one needed to have a strong spiritual consciousness just for simultaneously bringing out three or four defensive type magical weapons, let alone being able to use them all at once. It looks like this Burning Sun Weapon Sect truly has some skills, after all, only by coming out and experiencing things first hand would one be able to learn and grow.
Xi Yong no longer spoke, as he shot out just like a giant seal in the shape of a huge mountain, as he came smashing towards Ning Cheng’s head.
