The Realm-Entering Sword

Seven figures closed in from different directions, surrounding Ji Ning in a pincer attack.

Though none of them had prepared for a "seven-on-one" fight, each was the most talented youth in the lands ruled by the Ji Clan's Western Prefecture. Despite their simmering resentment toward this young master Ji, not one dared to slack off. As if by unspoken agreement, they all chose to go all out at once.

Ji Ning stood motionless. Only when the seven silhouettes were upon him did he move.

Whoosh—

Like a gust of wind, he flickered through the rain of blades and sword-shadows. His control over strength, body, and speed was exquisite to the extreme, his footwork flawlessly precise… He easily threaded through the encirclement of seven genius youths and shot out.

"What!"

"He dodged it?"

"How is that possible?"

The seven youths all halted, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief. Ji Ning had just used pure footwork—without even drawing his weapon—to evade their fully-formed encirclement. Such terrifying movement meant that if he wished, all seven of them together couldn't even touch the hem of his robes.

"So fast."

"Like a gust of wind."

"No wonder he's the son of the Dripping Sword. Too powerful—I couldn't even see him clearly, just a blurry shadow." The tens of thousands of spectators erupted in excitement. The people of this land had all trained since childhood and had some eye for combat, yet most of them could only make out a blurred shadow—proof of just how fast Ji Ning was.

...

Ji Ning came to a halt at one side of the fight stage.

"Seven opponents, none of them could force me to use my sword. Their footwork is no match for mine." Ji Ning swept his gaze over the seven distant foes. From that brief evasion, he had already judged their footwork realms. "Two have reached the Subtlety level—one is the curved-blade youth, the other the golden-furred beast. It seems the intelligence I gathered was flawed."

Though his father was aloof, Ji Ning had still taken the trouble to collect intelligence on his seven opponents. He had only known that the curved-blade youth had reached Subtlety in footwork—he hadn't expected the golden-furred beast to be on the same level.

"But their footwork is still inferior to mine." A faint smile appeared on Ji Ning's face.

After all, his own footwork had reached the Unity of Man and Heaven realm. Even though he was only displaying Subtlety-level movement on the stage, his execution was far more fluid and perfect. Combined with the fact that he had trained in the Windshadow Steps, a supreme footwork technique, he naturally held the advantage.

"Tie him down."

"Don't give him room to dodge."

"All together!"

The seven youths surged forward again.

Ji Ning strolled toward them.

In the next instant, the seven youths and Ji Ning collided once more. Blades flashed and swords gleamed. Ji Ning walked as if on an idle stroll, his longsword whipping like a leather thong, transmitting all his power to the tip before lashing out fiercely. Because the Golden Sword Ceremony minimized casualties, all weapons were blunted—better suited for strikes, sweeps, and slaps.

Fast!

Ji Ning's sword was so fast it made hearts tremble.

In a flash, Ji Ning drifted out from the seven-man encirclement, at the same time striking out seven times like lightning.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Five figures were sent flying backward, crashing to the ground over ten zhang away. They scrambled up, dirty and bruised—some clutching their chests and coughing up blood, others with scraped faces. Their expressions were ugly and incredulous. Each of them had clearly seen Ji Ning's sword coming and tried to block it, but none of them had even touched his blade.

Not a single touch! And they were already sent flying!

"Unity of Man and Sword!" The five genius youths instantly recognized the sword realm of this young master Ji and understood the vast gap between them.

Only three youths remained on the stage.

Ji Ning held his black sword and looked at the curved-blade youth and the golden-furred beast not far away, inwardly nodding. "I struck each of them once. But these two managed to touch my sword. The curved-blade youth is very fast with his blade, but hasn't reached Subtlety. The golden-furred beast… he's actually reached Unity of Man and Sword with Subtlety."

"Young master Ji Ning, remember this name—I am Pi! Ji Pi!" The golden-furred beast-man stared at Ji Ning, his eyes blazing. "The one who defeats you will be me, Pi!"

The curved-blade youth's expression shifted. "So among all these tribal youths, I'm not the strongest. There are two stronger than me—even this Pi has reached Unity of Man and Sword realm."

For years he had trained at the Martial Hall, pushing himself relentlessly.

He knew he came from a humble background and would never obtain the most supreme blade techniques, so he had abandoned all complexity, pursuing only one thing with his blade: speed. His blade had to be fast enough—the faster, the better. He chased the extreme of speed, combined with his Subtlety-level footwork… when he struck, he would surely defeat any other youth.

But now, to his astonishment, not only was this legendary son of Dripping Sword Ji Yichuan stronger than him, but this unknown golden-furred bastard was also above him.

"Ji Ning." The curved-blade youth suddenly growled. "I know you're stronger than me. But I ask you: take three strikes from me alone! Three separate strikes! As for you, Pi—don't interfere."

Pi stood aside and sneered, dismissive. This curved-blade youth was far weaker than him anyway, and since Ji Ning's footwork was too formidable to surround, he'd let this fool humiliate himself.

Ji Ning glanced thoughtfully at the curved-blade youth. He could sense the conviction in the youth's words.

"Alright." Ji Ning nodded.

Swish!

The curved-blade youth shot forward like a phantom, his eyes as fierce as a wolf's. The moment he closed in on Ji Ning, his curved blade lashed out! The blade-glow was dazzling—his first strike was a slicing arc aimed at Ji Ning's neck. Of course, the blade was unsharpened, making such a cutting move unsuitable, but clearly the curved-blade youth wanted to display his best technique.

"Back." Ji Ning moved like the wind, retreating a step as the blade whooshed past his chest.

Chii!

The curved-blade youth reversed his grip and struck again, even faster, this time from the opposite direction toward Ji Ning's neck. Ji Ning tapped his foot and barely evaded, feeling a bit of pressure. If he continued using only Subtlety-level footwork, and if the blade were just a little faster, he would have to draw his sword.

Swoosh! The blade-glow suddenly left the youth's hand, accelerating even further, closing in on Ji Ning's face in an instant.

Third strike—Leaving-Hand Saber!

The airborne curved blade spun, its speed amplified by the two prior strikes, reaching an astonishing velocity. Ji Ning did not hesitate—he thrust his sword.

Clang!

Blade and sword clashed. The curved blade flew back and landed in the youth's hand.

The curved-blade youth nodded. "I lose."

He leaped down from the fight stage without another word. He understood perfectly: Ji Ning was simply on another level. Forget the supreme sword techniques young master Ji must have learned from the Ji Clan—just the realm of Unity of Man and Sword alone made him untouchable. Having unleashed his full power on this stage, he was satisfied.

"Recruit that curved-blade youth into the Ji Clan!" Prefectural Lord Ji Youyang, watching from afar, instructed a servant behind him. "He has the potential to become Xiantian."

"Yes, master."

...

Only Ji Ning and Pi remained on the stage.

Pi's pupils gleamed gold as he stared at Ji Ning from a distance. A faint golden light began to emanate from his skin, and a powerful aura radiated outward. Ji Ning's pupils contracted. "This Pi has also trained in a Fiendgod Body Refining method? And he seems to have reached a very high level."

"Ji Ning." Pi's voice was low. "I admit your movement is faster than mine. But today, the strongest must be decided. Simply running away won't earn you the Golden Sword! You have to fight me head-on. And when it comes to head-on combat, you're no match for me. You'll lose!"

Ji Ning held his black sword, watching his opponent calmly.

From the ferocious aura Pi exuded, Ji Ning could tell this youth had experienced a great deal of life-and-death slaughter. He was at Unity of Man and Sword realm with his blade technique, and the golden glow on his skin indicated he trained in a powerful Fiendgod Body Refining art. If his guess was right, it should be the Yellow Earth Indestructible method—after all, he knew all nineteen Fiendgod Body Refining methods of the Ji Clan's five prefectures.

"This Pi has been through countless life-and-death battles, has a Fiendgod Body Refining method, and has reached Unity of Man and Sword with his blade. Yet he's completely unknown." Ji Ning mused. "He's definitely not from a tribe. He must be from within the Ji Clan—most likely cultivated in secret by that viper Ji Lie."

"Scared?" Pi held his single saber, staring at Ji Ning like a predator. He didn't advance on his own, waiting for Ji Ning to make the first move.

Ji Ning held his black sword and walked forward step by step, calm and unhurried, as if taking a stroll in his own home. If he had encountered Pi before the Winged Serpent attack, Ji Ning might have had some trouble. But it had been months since then, and the breakthrough to Unity of Man and Heaven in footwork had greatly accelerated his sword arts.

It was a matter of common sense: once footwork reached Unity of Man and Heaven, with enough persistent grinding, Unity of Man and Heaven in swordsmanship would inevitably follow. Although he had not yet fully achieved it, his sword arts were far beyond what they had been months ago. He didn't even need to unleash the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens to effortlessly defeat this Pi.

Ji Ning's sword suddenly moved!

Whoosh! The shadow of his blade descended like a drizzling rain.

Beautiful. Colorful.

When a lethal sword technique becomes a beautiful spectacle, it has clearly reached a profound realm.

"Break!" Pi roared, swinging his single saber. The blade-glow was thick as blood, tracing enormous arcs that slashed toward Ji Ning. In that instant, it was as if hell itself had descended… those massive arcs were the punishing blades of the underworld, making one feel despair, almost willing to die beneath them.

"Bloodhell Saber?" Ji Ning freely poured out his rain of swords.

The sword-light coalesced into a flowing stream of water, winding around Pi. No matter how explosive and ferocious Pi's Bloodhell Saber was, it was drowned and entangled by the flowing water, losing all its arrogance.

Pi felt as if he had fallen into a watery cage. Water was everywhere, madly binding him. He had boundless strength, yet could not break free from this water.

"Break!" Pi's saber went wild with desperation, still charging ferociously despite the endless entanglement.

"A fierce and courageous saber technique." Ji Ning murmured softly.

An opponent of this level posed no threat at all. The only thing that interested Ji Ning was Pi's life-and-death-honed blade technique, which was worth a few exchanges to gain experience. Ji Ning knew very well that compared to older veterans, he still lacked sufficient combat experience.

Hua.

Ji Ning's black longsword suddenly stabbed forward. In that moment, heaven and earth seemed to fall silent. Hazily, the sword-light transformed into a single raindrop. The raindrop pierced through the single saber, and the saber shattered. The raindrop then slammed into Pi's chest—like a drop of water falling on a stone, pat—a faint sound of breaking bones rang out. Pi was sent flying backward for dozens of zhang, crashing heavily onto the ground beneath the fight stage, leaving a crater in the earth.

Dripping Sutra's final move: Dripping Water Pierces Stone.

"Pwah!" Pi clutched his chest and spat a mouthful of blood.

He looked down. The Xiantian-grade demon beast hide he wore was torn open, his chest completely caved in, bones shattered. And this was with Ji Ning using a very ordinary, blunt, unsharpened black sword.

...

The tens of thousands of spectators gathered in the martial grounds fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a roar of excitement. They were completely stunned. Truly, the son of Dripping Sword Ji Yichuan! No wonder Dripping Sword had been so arrogant as to have his son face seven opponents solo… this seemingly delicate young master Ji Ning was terrifying! He had effortlessly swept away all seven rivals.

"Hahaha…" Prefectural Lord Ji Youyang let out a hearty laugh, utterly delighted.

He had won.

His branch had won. With Ji Ning claiming the Golden Sword, he would be the next Prefectural Lord.

"Sword entering the realm! An 'Entrance of Realm' sword!" Seated beside him, Ji Lie's right hand, resting on the armrest, clenched violently, crushing the stone armrest to bits.

"Second brother." Prefectural Lord Ji Youyang turned to look at his younger brother.

Ji Lie met his elder brother's gaze, his face shifting through colors, before he said in a low voice: "Realm-Entering Sword… only ten years old, and already his sword has entered the realm. He has even achieved initial mastery of the Dripping Sutra, one of the Ji Clan's Five Supreme Sword Techniques! He's even more monstrous than his father. Your branch first had Ji Yichuan, and now Ji Ning. Heaven does not favor me. I have nothing to say in defeat."