The Serpent King’s Wrath and the Sword’s Awakening

A pale, thin man in white robes surfaced silently from the water in the distance, peering at the savage battle between the Skygreen Serpent King and the human youth.

“This human youth is truly formidable,” the pale, thin man couldn’t help murmuring in admiration. “He’s actually forced the king to shrink its body and fight him head-on. In terms of sheer combat prowess, I’m not even his match… Looks like I’ll have to be careful if I ever encounter a human youth like this again. Hmph, but judging by the look of things, this human youth is about to die soon!”

“Once he’s dead, I’ll go ask for a piece of his flesh to taste. A human youth this powerful—in my three hundred-plus years of cultivation, I’ve never seen one.”

“Mmm.”

“What a pity.” The pale, thin man shook his head as he watched.

Ji Ning’s beast-hide clothes were now badly torn, blood staining his chest. The band that bound his hair had snapped, leaving his locks in complete disarray. Yet his hands gripping the Northsea swords remained as steady as ever, and his eyes still shone with a light as bright as burning flames.

Longing!

A longing for victory. Even though he was at a crushing disadvantage, even though he was wounded again and again, Ji Ning never gave up.

…

“So what if he’s a Fiendgod Body Refiner?” The pale, thin man sighed softly. “After all, he’s only at the Houtian level. He gets injured over and over, heals himself over and over. Every time his body recovers, it consumes a massive amount of divine power. Once he runs out of that power… once he’s completely exhausted, he’ll have no strength left to resist.”

He could already see it: this astonishing youth collapsing, then being torn apart and devoured by the great demons.

“Pity—a heroic figure who might have become famous across the endless lands will die here.” The pale, thin man stared intently, unwilling to miss a single moment.

“Hm?”

The pale, thin man’s expression changed slightly. “What’s with his swordsmanship…”

…

The Skygreen Serpent King was far too powerful. After shrinking its body, it became like a steel whip—tougher, faster, and more explosive. In strength, defense, speed, and agility, it surpassed Ji Ning on every front. Ji Ning’s only advantages were his swordsmanship and the Northsea swords in his hands.

The pressure from the Skygreen Serpent King forced Ji Ning into an utterly empty, tranquil state—empty of everything except the battle itself. He had no other thoughts. Only the fight.

Kill!

The Skygreen Serpent King before him was a living nightmare. Its pouncing attacks were faster than his swiftest ‘Lightning Flash’. Its coils were more resilient than his ‘Silk Rain Forms Threads’. The whipping strikes of its tail left him breathless. Fortunately, he could use both Northsea swords to assist each other.

If one sword couldn’t block, he’d use two!

Clang! Clang! Clang!…

At first, he still took wounds occasionally.

But thanks to his Fiendgod-like physique and the detoxifying pills he had taken, the Skygreen Serpent King’s venom—though making him feel slightly numb—didn’t reduce his combat effectiveness. As for bleeding and injuries… Ji Ning didn’t even care.

Gradually…

The Skygreen Serpent King seemed unable to break through the blockade of his twin swords anymore. It could no longer leave fresh cuts on his body.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~ His sword-light flowed like a silken ribbon, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth.

The Skygreen Serpent King, now a blur of cyan light, circled Ji Ning and pounced madly again and again. But his perfect, seamless swordsmanship channeled the power of heaven and earth in an unending stream… A streak of sword-light would rise, like molten mercury, leaving not a single gap. Time after time, the Serpent King’s attacks were deflected without result.

“Oh?” Ji Ning finally managed to collect his thoughts.

Earlier, the pressure from the Skygreen Serpent King had been overwhelming, forcing him to focus completely on the fight without distraction. Now that the pressure had lessened, he could spare some mental attention. Once he did, he realized that under that immense pressure, his swordsmanship had become perfectly complete. The transitions between stances, the building of momentum… there were no flaws at all.

“My swordsmanship…” A smile gradually spread across Ji Ning’s face.

“Hahaha!!!”

Ji Ning burst into laughter, delighted and carefree. “I’ve broken through! Hahaha, Skygreen Serpent King, thank you for helping me make the breakthrough! I’ve finally reached the stage of Unity of Man and Heaven in my swordsmanship!”

Unity of Man and Heaven!

After two intensely satisfying battles, especially the immense pressure of the Skygreen Serpent King, Ji Ning finally took that step. His sword arts had reached the realm of Unity of Man and Heaven. In truth, Ji Ning had already achieved ‘Entering the Realm’ for every move in both sword manuals, so he had been very close to the breakthrough. All he needed was an opportunity.

If he had simply trained slowly back in the Western Prefecture City, honing his skills through sheer time, it might have taken several more years to break through.

…

Hssss~ The Skygreen Serpent King let out a low, furious hiss. It was angered—proud as it was, it had never imagined that hunting a mere youth would lead to such an outcome.

“What can you do, even if you’re angry?” Ji Ning’s spirit soared. He stepped on the water’s surface. “I’m not afraid of you now!”

Hssss!

The Skygreen Serpent King let out a shrill cry and hurled itself at Ji Ning with even greater madness, this time disregarding its own safety. Earlier, because its advantage was absolute, it had been unwilling to take injuries. Now, it was willing to be hurt if it meant killing this insolent human.

“Come on, little snake!” Ji Ning wielded both swords, executing his technique. In this moment, he felt that using his swordsmanship was pure pleasure—a natural, graceful rhythm.

Move after move, the transitions between them were flawless.

A simple horizontal slash, a simple thrust—each was perfect, without a single opening.

“Let’s call it a day. Skygreen Serpent King, my thanks for helping me break through.” Ji Ning laughed loudly and began to sprint away.

With both hands holding his Northsea swords, he unleashed the ‘Not a Single Leak’ technique from the Dripping Sutra, clearly intending to avoid any mistakes rather than seek offensive success. The Skygreen Serpent King found itself utterly unable to stop him… In the blink of an eye, Ji Ning was far in the distance.

A long moment later—

Roar!!!

The returning Skygreen Serpent King could only raise its head and let out a deep, guttural cry to vent its frustration. In its long life, it had even encountered Xiantian humans who had achieved Unity of Man and Heaven, and it had beaten them into retreat. But that youth had used twin swords—like two people attacking at once, perfectly coordinated through a shared mind. The increase in combat power was truly tenfold.

Even before, when Ji Ning had only ‘Entered the Realm’, if one sword was temporarily transitioning away from Unity of Man and Heaven, the other would remain in that state. His combat effectiveness was no less than that of a one-sword Unity of Man and Heaven master.

And now…

With Ji Ning having achieved full Unity of Man and Heaven, his power had spiked yet again. In front of this ancient, divine beast of the Xiantian realm, he could walk away unharmed.

Whoosh!

He ran at full speed, fast as a gale.

“Hahaha…” Ji Ning laughed joyously, sprinting wildly. He splashed out of the Eastmarsh Swamp and charged into the forest, running for a long time before leaping onto a large tree, stepping on its canopy, and drifting dozens of zhang through the air to land on a rocky outcrop. With a few more agile bounds, he reached the peak of a small hill.

He sat down on the summit, leisurely pulled a bamboo tube of fruit wine from his Nascent Crystal, and took a long drink. “What a thrill! What a truly thrilling day today.” Ji Ning sighed contentedly.

He had fought two great demons in succession. The first, the Water Rhinoceros King, he had slain outright. The second, the even more powerful Skygreen Serpent King, had indeed brought him tremendous pressure—but under that pressure, his sword arts had finally broken through to Unity of Man and Heaven.

“Unity of Man and Heaven!”

Ji Ning couldn’t help feeling a swell of pride. “Although those Xiantian cultivators back in the West Prefecture can use magic treasures, in terms of pure realm… probably most of them aren’t even at my level.”

“But I wonder what realm my father has reached. Before he set out to travel, he was already the strongest in the Western Prefecture, and he had already achieved Unity of Man and Heaven back then. After leaving for nearly ten years, meeting my mother… and then returning to settle in the Prefecture City ever since. No one knows his true strength!” Ji Ning pondered. “But back when the Winged Serpent attacked, the sword strike my father unleashed from afar…”

That sword strike had been truly terrifying.

“My father’s realm is probably still above mine.” Ji Ning shook his head. “No need to think about that. I’m not even a Xiantian yet.”

Xiantian lifeforms were extraordinary.

Even a Ki Refiner could use a variety of magic treasures, Dao talismans, and formations. And a Fiendgod Body Refiner… would undergo a heaven-shaking transformation, becoming a true Fiendgod. After all, in the ancient era of Fiendgods, the first Fiendgods born were Xiantian from the moment of their birth.

“I’m training in the finest Fiendgod Body Refining method, which is also the most difficult. In the history of the Ji Clan, no one who trained in it has ever reached Xiantian.” Ji Ning felt troubled. “So how am I supposed to make the breakthrough?”

The Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens was too hard!

In truth, with Ji Ning’s talent—a body as pure as a Xiantian Dao Body, plus the visualization technique of the Nuwa Diagram that daily strengthened his soul—his advantage in Body Refining was enormous. His training speed should have been extremely fast. If he had been practicing an ordinary Fiendgod Body Refining method, he would have reached Xiantian long ago.

In Ki Refining, Ji Ning’s talent was somewhat lacking.

Because he had been injured in the womb, his meridians were damaged. When his father, Ji Yichuan, and the Prefectural Lord, Ji Youyang, checked him as a baby, they found that some of his internal meridians were compromised, making his aptitude quite ordinary. Most living beings relied on Ki Refining to set foot on the path of immortality, while Fiendgod Body Refining was even harder. They never imagined that, though Ji Ning was weak at Ki Refining, his talent in Body Refining would be so monstrously strong.

“The Crimsonbright Diagram also records it,”

“One must cause ‘Yin and Yang to meet, water and fire to merge,’ fusing the power of Taiyin and the Sunstar into one Crimsonbright Divine Power.” Ji Ning thought deeply. “But how exactly do you merge water and fire? How do you fuse Taiyin and the Sunstar into one?”

Ji Ning only knew that water and fire were incompatible. How could water and fire ever merge?

This step was extremely difficult.

“I must achieve Xiantian!” Ji Ning rose abruptly, standing on the mountain peak, his eyes filled with boundless longing. “Xiantian lifeform—in the distant Heavenly Realm, it’s just the starting point. To the ancient Fiendgods, they were born Xiantian. If I can’t even break through to Xiantian, then what hope do I have of taking control of my own destiny?”