Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
This time, everyone seemed to be more steady. Nobody was eager to walk out first. Suddenly, a lazy-looking figure walked out slowly. Realizing his appearance, everyone only glanced at him lightly, not feeling stressed.
The person was Zui Qianchou. Apart from Ye Futian and his friends, nobody knew where he was from or anything about him apart from his name. Nevertheless, his level was not too low and he was a grade seven swordsman. However, his performance in the previous battles was not very bright as he only won his opponents marginally. Therefore, nobody paid too much attention to him.
Many people wondered who Zui Qianchou would choose as his opponent.
“I challenge Yan Jiu.” Zui Qianchou sounded very lazy and his face was filled with a calm smile, but his look suddenly turned extremely solemn.
Yan Jiu was a disciple of Sword Saint Villa and the son of Yan Wuji. During that time, Yan Wuji was ranked second among the Four Great Swordsmen. At the moment, although his position on the Barren Sky Ranking was not as high as the leader of Tingxue House, many people claimed that his sword skills were no weaker than Tingxue Swordsman. It was only that Tingxue Swordsman was expert in killing others. If they were to fight each other with all they had, most people would expect Tingxue Swordsman to win.
In the arena now, Yan Jiu and Xu Que should be the two cultivators who had the best sword skills. Many people were very surprised that Zui Qianchou challenged Yan Jiu, but perhaps this was a swordsman’s pride. He challenged the strongest swordsman to prove himself, which was quite respectable.
Yan Jiu stepped out and looked emotionlessly at Zui Qianchou. Zui Qianchou was not the opponent he wanted to fight, but since he was chosen, he could only agree to fight.
Sword Will flew in the air. Just like before, countless Sword Qi turned into sword rain which filled the sky, charging towards Zui Qianchou. Zui Qianchou drew his sword, which was his Life Spirit. His sword was as thin as the wings of a cicada and was almost transparent. As he drew his sword, a sword veil appeared around him and many gusts of Sword Qi whizzed out from his body, cutting the incoming rain of swords. In the sky, a great sword appeared in the rain, falling down and crushing everything in its path. It was as if the enormous sword was going to smash Zui Qianchou’s body into pieces.
Sizzle… A sharp whistle was heard from Zui Qianchou’s sword. He suddenly moved, escaping the force from the huge sword above him. The wing-like sharp sword in his hand cut through the sword rain and his body danced with the sword, creating a strange arc in the air. Then, he actually escaped from the range of the great sword and continued towards Yan Jiu.
In the Holy Zhi Palace, the eyes of Sword Demon sparkled. Zui Qianchou’s movement looked somewhat familiar.
Yan Jiu still looked calm. The sharp sword behind him started buzzing and countless Sword Will converged towards him, eventually turning into nine swords. As he pointed his finger forward, the nine swords penetrated across space and charged towards Zui Qianchou. Instead of moving forward together, the nine swords had different speeds, as if they were deliberately trying to attack their opponent at different times and from different angles. Vaguely, they actually sealed off all the possible paths that Zui Qianchou could dodge.
It was the Sword Sealing Technique in the Nine Swords of the Celestials.
The nine swords reached in an instant. Zui Qianchou glanced at them briefly, after which his body turned into a beam of light. His sword continued to cut the Sword Qi around him, but his body did not slow down at all. He seemed to have turned into a ghost, or maybe a drunk person, as he moved forward. The beam of light that he had turned into jumped rapidly in the air and formed a perfect arc, passing through the gap between the last of the nine swords.
“Why is Zui Qianchou so strong?” Qin Yin and the others from Mount Jiuxian were all astonished. Was Zui Qianchou not a clanless cultivator from White Sovereign City? That time, he had even rejected the invitations from Li Xun several times. They only knew that he valued drinking as much as his own life. However, at the moment, he could actually fight Yan Jiu.
Zui Qianchou’s series of actions were smooth and looked easy, but in reality, his situation was extremely dangerous. Given how powerful Yan Jiu was, he would have been killed if he was slightly careless.
Many bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, charging towards the incoming Zui Qianchou. The Swords of Light approached Zui Qianchou, but a brilliant sword aurora erupted from Zui Qianchou’s body suddenly. His speed also increased further, as if he was no longer a person, but rather a sword which was tracing out many incredible curves in the sky.
Many terrifying swords collided into the air, producing a violent bang. The Swords of Light and Swords of Darkness both missed.
“Is this Drunken Sword?” Someone from the Holy Zhi Palace looked at Sword Demon. Zui Qianchou had also been drinking in the arena and he looked drunk at the moment.
“This is not Drunken Sword.” With a serious expression, Sword Demon answered, “It’s Ghost Sword.”
The eyes of the people around Sword Demon sparkled and they were slightly surprised. Was it the Ghost Sword that had vanished for very long?
In the arena, many afterimages of Zui Qianchou appeared which looked like phantoms. They flew in different directions and gathered around Yan Jiu like many ghosts. Suddenly, Yan Jiu closed his eyes. His Sword Spirit bloomed and resonated with the sky. Thousands of swords vibrated in the air, producing a loud clank.
“Endless Celestial Swords. Strike!” Just as Yan Jiu finished shouting, his willpower and body seemed to have merged with the endless Sword Will in the vast sky. Then, many brilliant strikes were released from his body, and there were no blind spots. Everything around him was crushed into nothingness.
Everyone saw Zui Qianchou’s multiple afterimages converge into one. There, a dazzling blade of light erupted. The two people collided with each other and separated instantly. When the light dimmed, everyone actually saw a blood mark on Yan Jiu’s face. Some people had noticed that Yan Jiu had dodged the blade of light. Otherwise, the blood mark would be on his throat instead of his face.
As for Zui Qianchou, his condition was even worse. His body was covered in blood, producing a shocking sight. However, his face was still filled with a calm smile. He had still lost. Sometimes, one’s talents would determine one’s future. Even though Zui Qianchou had been working extremely hard, his talent would still form a bottleneck. Therefore, he had lost to Yan Jiu.
“What’s your relationship to Gui Jianchou?” Yan Jiu asked, staring at Zui Qianchou. Only then did many people realize that these two names were quite similar.
That time, there was some resentment between Wuji Sword and Ghost Sword, two of the Four Great Swordsmen. In the end, the once famous Ghost Sword was disabled, and there were many rumors claiming that he was actually dead. There were also some who claimed that he secluded somewhere and lived an ordinary life.
“Make a guess,” Zui Qianchou said, smiling. Then, he turned around and left.
Suddenly, in the Holy Zhi Palace, Sword Demon asked, “Are you willing to cultivate under me?” Zui Qianchou raised his head to look at Sword Demon and replied, “Since I already have a good master, I can’t allow someone just as famous to become my master. Senior, please forgive me.”
“You don’t have to worship me as your master. You can just cultivate under me,” Sword Demon said again. It was indeed unfortunate that Ghost Sword, one of the Four Great Swordsmen that time, had been disabled.
Zui Qianchou glanced at Sword Demon. Then, he knelt down on both knees and said, “My master said that he drank alcohol and had friendly fights with you in the past, and he indeed admires you. If I can cultivate under you, he will be very happy.”
“Stand up.” Sword Demon nodded. “If it’s possible, I also want to see your master.”
“My master has already died.” Zui Qianchou kowtowed on the ground and stood up. Sword Demon was momentarily stunned, after which he saluted at the distance and sighed, “There is one fewer swordsman in the Barren State.”
Zui Qianchou left the arena. Looking at his back, many people were somewhat emotional. His master had already died, but he was still unwilling to call Sword Demon his master. His character was indeed strong. Qin Yin and the rest were even more astonished. Clearly, they did not expect a clanless cultivator from Mount Jiuxian to actually be a disciple of Ghost Sword. From this, they could deduce that the disabled Ghost Sword had been secluding in White Sovereign City in the Mount Jiuxian Region.
Staring at Zui Qianchou’s back, Ye Futian could tell that Zui Qianchou was somewhat sad and not happy at all. He had chosen Yan Jiu in this round to reclaim that glory that his master once had so that the people in the world could remember his master. However, he had lost, so he was certainly unhappy.
Yan Jiu was also somewhat anxious. Zui Qianchou had lost but he was accepted by Sword Demon. Everyone knew the resentment between Sword Saint Villa and Ghost Sword, which clearly included Sword Demon. Therefore, would Sword Demon still accept Yan Jiu?
Apart from meeting the other geniuses of the Barren State, Yan Jiu had come here for another reason. He wanted to join Sword Demon to learn sword skills. Only by learning various techniques from the best swordsmen could he become stronger.
He came from Sword Saint Villa, but he did not have a master yet. If he could become a disciple of Sword Demon, he would learn the techniques from the two best swordsmen of the Barren State.
At the moment, he was unsure of Sword Demon’s thoughts. However, he was also not too much bothered, as his sword would prove everything. Even if Sword Demon would not accept him as a disciple, he could still go back.
After Yan Jiu returned to his original position, the elder on the sky stairwell continued, “Next.”
The first battle of the second round had already left a deep impression in everyone’s mind. The mind-blowing battle between Yan Jiu and Zui Qianchou also seemed to be indicating the start of an intense competition.
Realizing that nobody was walking out, Bing Yi glanced at Chu Shang, who was somewhat hesitant. Then, Bing Yi walked out herself.
Bing Yi, the Virgin of Mortal World, had an outstanding appearance and looked proud and noble. Seeing her appearance, everyone exclaimed in their minds. At the moment, most people left in the arena were geniuses from top forces in the Barren State. However, who would the Virgin of Mortal World choose as her opponent?
Bing Yi walked to the center of the arena. Looking at Ye Futian, she said, “You have gotten this far. It’s time for you to go.”
Many people stared at Ye Futian. Was it going to be him again?
Ye Futian walked out as well. Staring at Bing Yi, he said emotionlessly, “Why do I feel that you have always targeted me?”
Bing Yi looked very calm. She had some opinions about Ye Futian perhaps because he had been unscrupulously judging her in the Holy Road. Furthermore, he had opened three major relics one after another. His level was low, but he was able to do what others could not. Now in the arena, he had also reached this round. Nobody knew whether it was a coincidence or if he was just lucky.
“I don’t have any opinions about you. However, you do not belong to the arena anymore.” Bing Yi’s expression was very calm. Those who did not belong to the arena should clearly be eliminated. She wanted to see a more powerful arena, one that could compete with her.
Ye Futian looked at Bing Yi. When was it Bing Yi’s turn to decide who should belong to the arena? Perhaps, she was too arrogant and opinionated to think that she was wrong. She clearly did not care about the feelings of others.
“Ugly people always bring more trouble.” Ye Futian smiled. Previously, Bing Yi had gone to Flaming Prison City to snatch his holy badge. Now, Ye Futian could finally get his revenge.
