The Battle That Made a Name

“Excellent!” Beishan Baiwei, in his private room, was so excited his face had turned red. His companion, Hun Wuqi, also had a look of pleasant surprise in his eyes.

“I truly didn’t expect Brother Ji Ning to be able to kill that Rhinoceros Demon so effortlessly,” Hun Wuqi said. “That footwork, that sword art… it’s simply inconceivable.”

Beishan Baiwei nodded repeatedly.

“Incredible.” Beishan Baiwei’s grin stretched from ear to ear. He immediately shouted loudly, “Beishan Hu, I told you that what you said before was bullshit. Now you have to swallow every last bit of it!”

…

Beishan Hu’s face was ashen. Both the seemingly ordinary youth below and the words of Beishan Baiwei at this moment felt like a lump stuck in his chest. It was unbearable!

…

“Truly formidable, such a powerful sword art.” Lord Qu gazed down from his lofty chamber.

…

“To be able to effortlessly kill the Rhinoceros Demon… was that a divine ability, or his sword technique?” A youth dressed in black frowned as he looked down at the main hall below.

…

The child-sized Huoqian Boy, who wore a golden necklace and looked around six or seven years old, had a contemplative expression on his face as he stared at Ji Ning in the hall below. “That sword strike… had incredible power. It shouldn’t be a divine ability! The profundity of the sword art… could it have already reached the ‘Dao Domain’ level? That seems impossible. He’s merely a Zifu Disciple; it’s highly unlikely his level of insight could be that high. But that strike… could I have seen wrong?”

Although there were many powerful figures present, Ji Ning’s sword had been too fast. Only the Huoqian Boy had vaguely judged that this sword strike had reached the ‘Dao Domain’ level, and even he wasn’t entirely certain.

The grand sealing formation was lifted.

“The cultivator sent by Beishan Baiwei is victorious!” The woman in purple, Zi Yi, announced loudly. She then looked at Beishan Baiwei. “Do you wish to continue the gambling battle?”

“Bet.” Ji Ning, who was standing below, spoke up instead.

Beishan Baiwei, in his private room above, was startled. He immediately sent a mental transmission to Ji Ning. “Brother Ji Ning, you still want to bet?”

“As long as this Beishan Hu can send someone, I’ll bet with him,” Ji Ning transmitted back. “Don’t worry. It was already impressive for him to send a Rhinoceros Demon. It will be very difficult for him to produce anyone stronger. Even if he does have someone stronger… I am still confident I can kill them. As for the stakes, I’ll just wager the nine hundred taels of Primordial Liquid I just won.”

Ji Ning’s transmission contained absolute confidence.

He had been the one to voluntarily challenge Beishan Hu to send a second combatant; how could he back down now?

“Good.” Beishan Baiwei’s eyes lit up.

“Beishan Hu, my brother Ji Ning is waiting for you down below. Weren’t you just shouting at the top of your lungs? As for the stakes, nine hundred taels of Primordial Liquid, even one thousand eight hundred… I can accept all of it! I’m just afraid you won’t dare!” Beishan Baiwei snorted contemptuously, a look of utter disdain in his eyes. His simple words, combined with his tone and expression, instantly made Beishan Hu, who was far away, fly into a rage. His face flushed bright red.

…

Beishan Hu’s face was pale. He turned to look at a few of his friends nearby and said in a low voice, “After suffering such a great humiliation, I must kill this bastard named Ji Ning.”

“Killing Ji Ning is difficult,” Zhou Li shook his head. “This man’s body movement is astonishing, and his sword art is extremely formidable. Even the Rhinoceros Demon, who used a divine ability, was killed by him…”

“He’s not without weaknesses,” a middle-aged man in blue robes said. “His divine power is merely at the late Zifu stage. His ki energy is only at the early Zifu stage. His methods in Ki Refining are almost negligible. He’s only capable in close combat. So, as long as you don’t let him get close, you’ll have a much better chance of winning.”

Beishan Hu’s eyes lit up immediately.

Right.

This Ji Ning was only strong in close combat. If he couldn’t get close, he would be close to losing.

“Send for the White Witch,” Beishan Hu immediately called out to his attendants.

He then said to his friends beside him, “This White Witch was given to me by the White Witch Cult. I intended to enjoy her company myself. But since I’ve suffered such a great humiliation here… I can’t afford to indulge. Although this White Witch is somewhat weaker than the Rhinoceros Demon, she’s just the right person to counter this Ji Ning.”

“The White Witch Cult?” The few people beside him, including Zhou Li, were taken aback.

The White Witch Cult…

It wasn’t a sect located within the borders of the Anchan Commandery. It was currently trying to infiltrate the Commandery, and gifting a witch to Beishan Hu was just one of its methods. Zhou Li and the others wouldn’t dare to comment on this matter.

Soon, a barefoot woman dressed in a white robe with delicate floral patterns on its edges walked in. She had long black hair that reached her hips and a pair of enchanting, seductive eyes. Her entire body exuded an endless charm… her gaze was fixed on Beishan Hu, who felt a heat rising in his lower abdomen.

“What a temptress.” Beishan Hu grit his teeth and said, “White Witch, the White Witch Cult gave you to me. Your life, your everything, belongs to me now.”

“This slave understands. Everything I have is yours, young master.” The White Witch’s voice was soft, as if it was scratching at one’s heart.

Beishan Hu nodded. “Right now, there’s a kid named Ji Ning in the main hall below. He killed my Rhinoceros Demon, and I’m having a hard time swallowing this anger. I command you… to go down and kill this Ji Ning.”

“Your slave is supposed to kill Ji Ning?” The previously calm White Witch was stunned.

She and the other servants had been in a nearby private room. She had seen everything below through the window and knew exactly how powerful this Ji Ning was! She knew she was far inferior to the Rhinoceros Demon. As for comparing herself to Ji Ning… she had even less confidence.

Furthermore, the White Witch Cult had sent her here to captivate Beishan Hu in the first place!

“Hmph?” Beishan Hu’s brow furrowed. “You won’t go? Then what use are you?”

“No.” The White Witch cursed the heartlessness of this direct descendant of the Beishan clan of Anchan in her heart, but she hurriedly said, “Young master, it’s not that this slave is unwilling, but that I have absolutely no confidence in killing this Ji Ning. I saw clearly how he killed the Rhinoceros Demon just now.”

Beishan Hu shook his head. “You don’t need to worry about that. This Ji Ning is very weak in Ki Refining; he’s only good in close combat. As long as you don’t let him get close, you’ve basically won. I remember you have a secret art for restraining people that is quite formidable.”

The White Witch gritted her teeth.

That art was nothing more than a technique for bedroom pleasure. When she and Beishan Hu had been intimate, her hair had grown long and bound him. Beishan Hu had asked about it during their lovemaking, and she had boasted about it. Now, that boast had put her in a life-or-death situation.

“You are skilled at trapping enemies, and what the White Witch Cult is most famous for is its poisonous insects. The ‘Life-Feeding Gu Art’ is particularly renowned,” Beishan Hu said.

The White Witch’s face turned pale.

Life-Feeding Gu?

It was indeed the technique that made the White Witch Cult a terror to all who heard of it. But executing the Life-Feeding Gu Art required great luck to merely suffer severe damage to one’s vitality. If one was slightly unlucky, it would mean death.

The White Witch looked at the Beishan Hu before her… she understood. This Beishan Hu was forcing her to fight to the death against Ji Ning.

“You can choose to go, or you can choose to die,” Beishan Hu said coldly.

The White Witch gritted her teeth. “Your slave will go down.”

“Mm.” Beishan Hu nodded. “With your White Witch Cult’s techniques, which just so happen to counter his, you still have a sliver of a chance.”

“Go to the main hall. Kill Ji Ning,” Beishan Hu commanded.

“Yes.” The White Witch turned and walked out, her figure swaying seductively. Beishan Hu watched her go, a lecherous light in his eyes. He sighed softly to himself. “What a waste of a beauty. But there are plenty of beauties. This Ji Ning, however, must die. I must vent this anger.” He turned his head and looked down through the window at Ji Ning below, his eyes filled with a murderous glare.

“Beishan Baiwei, you just won nine hundred taels of Primordial Liquid, and now you want to give it back to me? Fine, I’ll gamble with you one more time and let you return those nine hundred taels!”

…

In the main hall.

Ji Ning stood alone, a faint smile on his face. He was calm and at ease.

Since he had decided to reveal his sharp edges, how could a single battle be enough?

“Hm?” Ji Ning looked forward. A barefoot woman in a white robe was walking down the spiral staircase in the distance. Her long, hip-length black hair and her swaying figure were both full of allure.

“She’s my opponent?” Ji Ning frowned in confusion. “This woman seems better suited for seduction.”

The White Witch also walked over to the crystal in the corner and poured her ki energy into it.

Zi Yi announced loudly in a clear voice, “The cultivator sent by Lord Hu is a Ki Refiner at the peak Zifu stage.”

“Just a Ki Refiner? Against a Fiendgod Body Refiner, Ki Refiners are at a natural disadvantage. And yet she dares to come.” Ji Ning pondered this. “She must have some tricks up her sleeve.” Although his own Fiendgod Body Refining was only at the seventh stage of the Crimsonbright Diagram, the crystal tested the purity of a cultivator’s divine power and determined their cultivation level based on that purity.

The Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens was the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique of all time. Although the seventh stage was still the Zifu stage, the purity of its divine power was comparable to a Fiendgod Body Refiner at the late Zifu stage.

“Boom!”

The grand sealing formation lit up once more.

Within the massive barrier of light, there was only Ji Ning and the White Witch.

One was a seductive witch from a cult, the other was a clean-faced youth dressed in animal skins.

“I am forced to be here. I ask for your mercy in the battle,” the White Witch said, bowing slightly.

Ji Ning just smiled and said nothing.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, every strand of the White Witch’s hip-length black hair began to glow with an eerie red light. The black hair rapidly grew longer… in an instant, it was everywhere, an endless sea of black hair that came surging toward Ji Ning, trying to envelop him.

“Not good.” Beishan Baiwei in the private room above was greatly shocked. “If he gets tied up, Ji Ning will be in trouble.”

“Ji Ning is good at close combat. His ki energy is only at the early Zifu stage, so his ability to control magic treasures to attack is far too weak.” Hun Wuqi was also panicked.

When Ji Ning saw the sky-filling, earth-enveloping mass of hair approaching, he broke into a smile. He understood his opponent’s plan now. “So she wants to bind me.”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

Rain appeared out of thin air around them. The rain drizzled down, feeling cool and comfortable on the skin. In an instant, the rain filled the entire space enclosed by the sealing formation.

“Layered Water Walls.” Ji Ning’s gaze was fixed on the approaching black hair.

Instantly, layer after layer of water walls condensed out of the air. Each layer was incredibly tough and resilient. Over the past six months, Ji Ning had created his ‘Rainwater Sutra’, and his level of insight had indeed improved significantly. He had also increased the power of the ‘rainwater’ within his Rainwater Sword Domain, especially the use of this water wall technique. He had spent a long time researching and studying it.

He had even created a specific technique called ‘Layered Water Walls’. In terms of profundity, it was almost comparable to his ‘Silk Rain Forms Threads’ technique. He had created it specifically to trap enemies.

“Zzzz…” Countless strands of black hair strained with all their might to get close to Ji Ning. But the layers of water walls were tough and binding. The White Witch’s technique was nothing more than a pleasure art for the bedchamber. Although it was extremely effective for binding, the penetrating power of the hair itself was far too weak. It was completely unable to pierce through the multiple layers of water walls.

The endless black hair was hovering in mid-air, easily blocked by the layers of water walls.

…

“The Rainwater Sword Domain!” The Huoqian Boy suddenly stood up. The bone he had been chewing on fell onto his table as he stared at the Ji Ning below.

…

“A Dao Domain, it’s a rainwater domain… a Dao Domain… a Zifu Disciple… with a Dao Domain?”

The many powerful figures who had been calmly watching the battle were all stunned. A disciple who had only reached the Zifu stage had already perceived a Dao Domain? This… this was practically a legend! Even among them, none had been so powerful when they were at the Zifu stage.

“A Zifu Disciple who has perceived a Dao Domain? Damn, damn. So many people have seen this today. News will definitely spread. If the sect finds out I turned away such a monstrous genius, I’ll be in big trouble.” Zhou Li, who was standing next to Beishan Hu, had a terrible look on his face.

…

The emergence of the Rainwater Sword Domain startled everyone.

Ji Ning, standing in the hall, was still calm and at ease.

“Concede. I will give you a way to live.” Ji Ning stood there, surrounded by the falling rain. He looked at the distant White Witch…