Chapter 84: Chapter 82: The Strong Trample on Rules
SHIIING.
Zhou Wenhao swept his blade horizontally. The Blood-Drinking Blade sliced through the air like a bolt of blood-red silk, fierce and unstoppable.
He was originally over a hundred feet away from Ning Jiang, but with a push of his foot on the lake’s surface, his body followed his blade. He shot forward like an arrow released from its bowstring.
Where the man went, the blade followed.
He showed no mercy with his first move. Aiming for Ning Jiang’s waist, his blade struck like a clap of thunder, intent on slicing him in two.
CLANG!
As if it had predicted the attack, Ning Jiang’s Wind Chasing Sword was already there to block it. Sparks flew as the blade and sword met, parrying the powerful, heavy strike.
Zhou Wenhao’s expression remained unchanged. If Ning Jiang couldn’t even take one of his strikes, he wouldn’t be worthy of the title Young Sword Sect.
"The saber, the soul of all weapons, is unparalleled in its ferocity and unstoppable in its courage."
Zhou Wenhao gripped his saber, drew back his arm, expanded his chest, and took a deep breath. His blade’s momentum enveloped Ning Jiang’s head as he delivered a series of ferocious, savage slashes.
In an instant, the very air around them seemed to explode.
His attacks were relentless, like a great wave crashing down, suffocating his opponent.
"The sword, king of all weapons, is perfect in both offense and defense. With it, I am invincible."
With his sword in hand, Ning Jiang’s mind was as calm as the lake. Faced with Zhou Wenhao’s tempestuous assault, he was like a reef on the ocean floor—no matter how fierce the storm, he remained unmoved.
He struck.
The air filled with Sword Qi, appearing as countless light, shimmering motes that danced endlessly.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Blade and sword clashed in a fierce struggle.
With them at the center, the once-calm surface of the lake rippled as if a giant boulder had been thrown in, sending out waves over a foot and a half high in every direction.
"The saber and the sword... I wonder which is stronger."
The hearts of the countless Martial Artists watching were shaken.
Among the world’s Martial Artists, the saber versus the sword has always been a hotly debated topic.
Some said the saber was stronger, its power immense and capable of felling a hundred foes. Others argued the sword was superior, its sharp edge unmatched and all-conquering.
In this world, the number of Martial Artists who trained with the sword and the saber had always been high.
The question of their relative strength was an eternal one.
Zhou Wenhao and Ning Jiang, one with a saber, one with a sword, seemed like fated enemies.
"Miss, who do you think is stronger, the saber or the sword?"
In the pavilion, Qiu Yue couldn’t help but ask after hearing the surrounding discussions.
Yue Lianxi, whose beauty was captivating but not demonic, a face that could topple nations, replied in a voice that could melt one’s bones, "Don’t look at the weapon. Look at the wielder. A weapon is controlled by its user. Who is strong and who is weak ultimately depends on the person."
The logic was simple enough for Qiu Yue to understand.
She said no more, her eyes wide as she watched the battle on Star Moon Lake.
Everyone was watching.
The Blood-Drinking Blade transformed into bolts of blood-red silk, chopping down violently.
Generally speaking, the sword follows the swift, and the saber follows the brutal.
This means the sword emphasizes lightness, agility, and flexibility, while the saber relies on ferocity and brute force to win.
A Saber Technique must be ruthless and fierce.
The saber itself has a wide face and a thick spine. In a fight, it can be used for wide cleaves and heavy chops, for hard blocks and rigid parries. Wherever its edge passes, it cuts through foes like melons, utterly unstoppable.
Zhou Wenhao’s current Saber Technique perfectly showcased these characteristics. Each of his strikes was as fierce as a thunderclap, but no matter how he attacked, he couldn’t break through.
Seeing this, Zhou Wenhao changed his attack pattern, executing a series of sweeps, chops, deflections, parries, slashes, presses, hacks, and thrusts.
These were the Eight Knife Techniques.
Among Sword Cultivators, there is the Realm of Body Sword Control. Zhou Wenhao, however, had achieved Body-Controlled Blade and was a master of the Way of the Saber.
But Ning Jiang was a Grandmaster.
The Young Sword Sect who had achieved Heart Sword Control!
His feet remained rooted to the spot. The sword in his hand rang out, each strike executed with divine skill, turning the mundane into the miraculous. Though Zhou Wenhao launched several attacks, Ning Jiang could force him back with a single stroke.
After dozens of exchanges,
Zhou Wenhao retreated, his expression grim.
A lock of his hair drifted down. There was a cut on his left cheek, a tear in the clothes on his chest, and wounds on his left leg, right shoulder, and other places. In total, he had sustained nine injuries.
"The Young Sword Sect truly lives up to his name!"
Luo Haisheng’s eyes gleamed as he spoke, filled with amazement.
Around Star Moon Lake, a dead silence had fallen.
Previously, many had been unwilling to believe in the title of Young Sword Sect, thinking it was just an exaggerated rumor about Ning Jiang.
But at this moment, everyone knew with absolute clarity that Ning Jiang was a Sword Sect—a true and worthy Sword Sect!
"As expected of Heart Sword Control. In a contest of pure weapon skill, I am indeed no match for you." Zhou Wenhao gripped his long saber, his fighting spirit undiminished.
A man like him had a will as firm as a bedrock. If a minor victory or defeat could dishearten him, he never would have achieved what he had today.
"There is no higher or lower between the saber and the sword, only between their wielders."
Ning Jiang’s tone was cool. From start to finish, he had not moved his feet.
With a single sentence, he had exposed the meaninglessness of debating which weapon was stronger.
It is not the weapon that is strong, but the person.
"In weapon skill, I am indeed inferior to you. But for a Martial Artist, there is something else that is very important—Cultivation!"
Zhou Wenhao stomped his foot, and the lake’s surface trembled. An immense aura erupted from his body without reservation.
"Innate Middle Stage!"
The surrounding crowd was stunned.
Last year, Zhou Wenhao was still in the Innate Early Stage, but now he was already at the Middle Stage. With such a level of Cultivation, his strength had increased several times over.
A Martial Artist at the Innate Middle Stage could easily defeat one at the Early Stage.
"For an ordinary Martial Artist, advancing from the Innate Early Stage to the Middle Stage takes several years at least. It seems Zhou Wenhao must have had some kind of fortuitous encounter."
"With his current strength, I’m afraid Zhou Wenhao could even threaten Xue Wuhen," voices from the crowd exclaimed in amazement.
Most of the Ten Great wore grave expressions. Even Xue Wuhen himself looked solemn.
"Xue Wuhen, if you were to face the current Zhou Wenhao, what would you say your chances of winning are?"
Xue Wuhen was silent for a moment before replying confidently, "I’d have a sixty percent chance; he, forty."
As he spoke, a trace of his aura leaked out.
The expressions of the other members of the Ten Great darkened.
Xue Wuhen had also stepped into the Innate Middle Stage!
"Then, what do you think about Zhou Wenhao and this Ning Jiang?"
"If Zhou Wenhao were still at the Innate Early Stage, perhaps this kid might have had a chance. But now, his defeat is certain," Xue Wuhen declared.
"Liu Xianyu, do you still believe this kid can win?" Wang Ziming asked coldly.
Liu Xianyu’s expression was cold and disdainful. "For someone at the Postnatal Realm to defeat someone at the Innate Realm is an unrealistic notion in your eyes. That is why you are mere mortals, common folk. But Mr. Ning is a god, a celestial being. How could you possibly understand him?"
"Heh, let’s see what you have to say when he loses," Wang Ziming snorted.
On Star Moon Lake.
After revealing his Innate Middle Stage Cultivation, Zhou Wenhao’s eyes filled with confidence. A colossal aura erupted from his body, soaring to the heavens with a pressure that made it hard to breathe.
"I sensed it just now. Your Cultivation is still at the Postnatal Realm; you haven’t broken through to the Innate. You are no match for me," Zhou Wenhao said, full of confidence.
"Correct, I am currently at the Postnatal Peak. But who says someone at the Postnatal Realm can’t kill someone at the Innate Realm?" Ning Jiang said nonchalantly.
He was originally at the Postnatal Middle Stage, but in the Demon Mist Mountain Range, after consuming a Lotus Seed from the Heaven-Devouring Demon Lotus and five days of Cultivation, he had already reached the Peak.
Unfortunately, he had not broken through to the Innate Realm.
The Innate Realm involved transforming the three whirlpools inside the body into a Primordial Mansion. But because the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill he cultivated required such an immense amount of Energy, the Lotus Seeds were not enough.
"Is that so? Then try and take this!"
Zhou Wenhao, standing over a hundred feet from Ning Jiang, suddenly chopped down. In an instant, a blade aura burst forth, crossing the distance between them.
The reason Innate Realm experts were so formidable lay in the power of their Innate Gang Qi.
Innate Gang Qi could be projected a thousand feet, allowing one to kill from a great distance.
The earlier clash between Zhou Wenhao and Ning Jiang had been a pure contest of Saber Technique and Sword Technique, without using any Cultivation at all.
Now that he was using his Cultivation, the power was on a completely different level.
The blade aura, over a hundred feet long, was terrifyingly sharp. If a strike like that were to land in a crowd, it would instantly cause dozens of casualties.
SHIIING.
Ning Jiang did not retreat. He slashed out with his sword, and a Sword Aura shot forth, as fast as lightning and as loud as thunder.
BANG!
The blade aura and Sword Aura collided in midair, neutralizing each other.
"How is that possible?"
Zhou Wenhao’s expression changed drastically, the sneer on his face instantly freezing.
The surrounding crowd erupted in an uproar.
The quality of Innate Gang Qi was more than ten times greater than Postnatal Gang Qi.
If Innate Gang Qi was steel, then Postnatal Gang Qi was mere wood. The two were simply not on the same level.
An Innate Realm Early Stage Martial Artist could easily crush ten Postnatal Peak Martial Artists. What’s more, Zhou Wenhao was at the Innate Middle Stage, making his Gang Qi even more superior.
"I don’t believe it."
Zhou Wenhao tapped his feet on the lake’s surface, putting several hundred feet between them. Then, his saber moved like a gale as he unleashed dozens of slashes in an instant.
Dozens of blade auras rained down like a great net, sealing off the space before him. An attack from this range was enough to make any Postnatal Realm Martial Artist despair.
A Postnatal Realm Martial Artist’s Postnatal Gang Qi could only be projected about a hundred feet. When an Innate Realm opponent could strike you from hundreds of feet away, you couldn’t even touch them. How could you possibly fight back?
Ning Jiang gave a cold smile. He unleashed a flurry of Swift Sword strikes, his Sword Aura shooting out with unparalleled sharpness.
Once again, all of Zhou Wenhao’s attacks were blocked.
This was the power of the Heaven-Devouring Demon Skill.
After he stepped into the Postnatal Peak, the Postnatal Gang Qi within his body was strong enough to rival Innate Gang Qi.
"Take another move from me—Go with the Flow!"
Zhou Wenhao roared, recklessly pouring all his Innate Gang Qi into the Blood-Drinking Blade. He gripped the saber with both hands, raising it high. When the strike had gathered its ultimate power, he swung his arms down like a great axe splitting a mountain.
SWOOSH!
A blade aura ten times larger than before shot out. It was blood-red from end to end, and as it grazed the water’s surface, it carved a long trench.
This strike was like a small boat going with the flow, riding the wind and waves to annihilate everything in its path.
This was the most powerful strike Zhou Wenhao had ever delivered in his life!
"Instant Sword Technique."
Ning Jiang used only a single strike. His Sword Aura condensed until it was as thick as a finger, a stark contrast to the massive blade aura.
But when the two collided, the massive blade aura proved fragile, pierced through in an instant.
The Sword Aura’s momentum didn’t slow as it shot toward Zhou Wenhao’s heart.
In the nick of time, Zhou Wenhao shifted his body, and the Sword Aura only pierced his shoulder.
As Ning Jiang’s Cultivation had increased, the power of his Instant Sword Technique had begun to reveal itself. If he were at the Innate Realm, a single strike like this could have pierced straight through a mountain.
Zhou Wenhao had just taken a trip to death’s door and was still shaken.
CLANG.
At that moment, with a ringing of his sword, Ning Jiang appeared before him.
And with him came his sword.
"No, you can’t kill me! It’s against the rules of the annual gathering!" Zhou Wenhao shrieked.
"Stop!"
Xue Wuhen and the others roared in fury.
"Rules are for the weak to follow."
Ning Jiang’s sword didn’t pause for a second as it flashed past.
A single sentence entered Zhou Wenhao’s ears: "The strong trample the rules!"
He sheathed his sword.
The lake’s surface returned to calm.
Zhou Wenhao stood motionless. After four or five breaths, his head rolled off his shoulders, and a fountain of blood erupted from his neck.
The fifteenth day of the first month. The annual gathering.
The night of the full moon.
Ning Jiang killed Zhou Wenhao with his sword.
Postnatal Peak, slaying Innate Middle Stage!
