The Wrath of a Sword Immortal

The two of them hung in the air.

Firemoon and Nine Lotos stood atop the water's surface, looking up. Nine Lotos sent an urgent mental transmission: “Brother Firemoon, won't you stop Chen Jin?”

Firemoon continued to gaze upward and replied calmly, “Chen Jin has pursued you for years. The fury that comes from having his long-cherished hopes shattered in an instant is extraordinarily intense. Let him vent it. If he lets some of that rage burn off, the inner demons he faces in the future will be that much smaller. If he were to bottle it all up inside, it would become a genuine tribulation for him down the line.”

“So you let him vent by letting him make things hard on Junior Brother Ji Ning?” Nine Lotos said angrily.

“Relax. The Black-White College forbids disciples from harming one another,” Firemoon said.

“The Black-White College does indeed forbid disciples from harming one another, but I can see Chen Jin's eyes have gone completely red. He's capable of anything. Even if the College punishes him afterward…what good will that do if he actually injures Ji Ning?” Nine Lotos said, seething. “Brother Firemoon, your strength is great. You can stop him.”

Firemoon glanced at her. “If I see real danger, I’ll act.”

“If you see real danger, it might be too late. Both of you are Wanxiang Adepts. Life and death can be decided in an instant…you might not get there in time to save him,” Nine Lotos said, her transmission filled with urgency. She was trying her best to pressure Firemoon into intervening.

Firemoon simply continued to look up.

In the air above, Ji Ning and Chen Jin faced each other from a distance.

“You really have the guts to actually show up, you little backwoods tribesman,” Chen Jin sneered via telepathy. “But it only proves how stupid you are.”

Ji Ning’s eyes seemed to burn with flame.

It was the fire of anger.

“I’m going to show you just how fragile you are, how weak, how utterly pathetic,” Chen Jin said, his eyes wild with madness. “My clan, the Chen of the Upperwaters Commandery, is a thousand times stronger than your little barbarian tribe! My parents? Both of yours are dead—my father is a Primal Daoist! And me? I rank in the top ten among the third-generation disciples of the Black-White College. And you? You’ve barely just joined. Let your big brother here wake you up and show you that, compared to me…you’re nothing but a piece of shit!”

The words echoed in Ji Ning’s ears.

He could hardly believe it…that these words came from the mouth of a Black-White College disciple.

“It’s true. Even cultivators, who usually seem so transcendent and otherworldly, can become a thousand times more ugly and vicious than the worst mortal criminals when they truly lose their minds,” Ji Ning thought, his own rage kindling.

Comparing tribes?

Comparing parents?

Comparing personal power?

When Chen Jin mentioned his parents in particular, it struck a nerve.

“Chen Jin, you’re upset because Nine Lotos never gave you the time of day, aren’t you?” Ji Ning shot back via telepathy, his tone dripping with scorn. “You’ve pursued her for so many years, and she’s never once acknowledged you. You have no self-awareness at all. I'm almost embarrassed for you. Take a good look at yourself…the way you’re throwing this tantrum right now. It’s truly ugly. Honestly, you’re even worse than a piece of shit.”

Ji Ning’s words struck directly at Chen Jin’s most vulnerable point.

The fact that Nine Lotos had never responded to his advances was something he couldn’t deny.

At least when it came to his feelings for Nine Lotos, she had chosen Ji Ning. Ji Ning was the victor.

“You really deserve to die!” Chen Jin’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.

“Wind!”

Chen Jin let out a sudden roar.

The massive clouds surrounding the sky immediately gathered into streams of light, condensing in front of Chen Jin to form an enormous azure wind-bird. The colossal bird held its head high with pride, every feather on its crest clearly visible, its gaze filled with arrogance.

“Compared to me, you’re nothing!” Chen Jin roared into Ji Ning’s ears via telepathy, and the giant azure wind-bird in the sky dove rapidly, charging straight at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning stood in midair.

“Hmph.”

Ji Ning let out a cold snort. The area around him immediately became filled with a dense, floating swarm of flying swords. The nine black Coldvein Flying Swords at the core of the formation elevated the power of the entire Lesser Thousand Sword Formation by a full level. Light flickered across the surface of all the swords, and soon a jade-sword-shaped blade of light coalesced before Ji Ning.

The ninth level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation!

“Cut!” Ji Ning roared angrily.

The jade sword-light instantly shot across the sky, leaving behind faint, lingering afterimages of a three-colored lotus. By now, Ji Ning had already reached the ‘Domain of the Dao’ level in the Rainwater Dao, the Blazing Fire Dao, and the Gusting Wind Dao. The power of his Three Talents Lotus Sword had naturally reached an astonishing level, and this particular strike also contained some of the profound mysteries of the Grand Dao of the Sword.

As the sword-light flew out, it was like a roaming dragon appearing in the sky.

“Boom~~”

The azure wind-bird, diving at full speed, collided with the dragon-like sword-light that surged to meet it.

Like a butcher dissecting an ox.

The roaming dragon of sword-light sliced straight through the azure wind-bird, cleaving it cleanly apart.

“What?!” Firemoon revealed a look of shock.

He was very familiar with Chen Jin’s strength. Chen Jin ranked in the top ten of the Black-White College’s third-generation disciples. “Although that attack wasn’t Chen Jin’s full power, it was still one of his formidable techniques. How was it suppressed by Ji Ning? And Ji Ning is using flying swords, not even fighting at close range.”

Standing beside Firemoon, Nine Lotos was equally stunned. She had never known Ji Ning’s true combat power. During their year at Winged Serpent Lake, Ji Ning had never unleashed his full strength in a real battle.

“He…he can actually…” Nine Lotos couldn’t believe it. “Can Ji Ning actually defeat Chen Jin?”

On Brightheart Island, Ji Jiuhuo, Granny Shadow, and the others all watched with bated breath. The clash between two Wanxiang Adepts was enough to change the colors of heaven and earth, its might far surpassing the battle at Oxhorn Mountain they had witnessed before. Qiuye, Qingshi, Uncle White, and Qingqing were all extremely nervous and worried as well.

But when they saw Ji Ning’s sword-light cut the azure wind-bird apart, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

“Looks like he can win,” Uncle White said, nodding slightly.

Chen Jin, hovering in midair, had a face ashen with rage. He had wanted to ruthlessly humiliate Ji Ning in front of Nine Lotos, to let her see how utterly fragile and pathetic this Ji Ning was. He wanted her to understand that he, Chen Jin, was the truly powerful one.

Chen Jin understood clearly that in the world of cultivation, everything else was illusory. Power was the only true determinant of a person’s status.

He would use his strength to prove that he was superior to this kid, this ‘Ji Ning’ that Nine Lotos had set her sights on.

“How can this be?” Chen Jin couldn’t accept it.

“Wind! Clouds!” Chen Jin let out another furious roar.

The surrounding energies of heaven and earth gathered once more, and a giant azure wind-bird and a pure golden divine dragon appeared simultaneously.

The wind-bird and the divine dragon intertwined, their combined might truly astonishing.

They shot straight toward Ji Ning.

“Cut!” Ji Ning, from a distance, once again spoke coldly.

The power of the ninth level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation erupted once more. This time, the jade sword-light traced an arc through the air like a painter’s brushstroke, a trajectory so beautiful it made the heart tremble…and as this stroke was drawn across the canvas of the sky, a shocking sword-light abruptly flashed into existence!

The third stance of the Three-Foot Sword: Sword Light Flashes!

“What?!” Firemoon, who had been watching from below, saw this technique and his eyes flew wide open. “The Three-Foot Sword! Sword Light Flashes!”

“This is…” Nine Lotos was also startled.

Both of them were Black-White College disciples. The first six stances of the Three-Foot Sword had been passed down through the generations; of course they recognized it.

Whoosh!

The suddenly appearing sword-light possessed an absolutely unstoppable momentum. Although the wind-bird and divine dragon complemented each other, possessing immense resilience and overwhelming power, before this sword-light that pierced the very heavens with its intent…they were still cleanly sliced in two, completely dispersing.

“The third stance of the Three-Foot Sword?” Chen Jin’s eyes were filled with disbelief. “Impossible! This is absolutely impossible! There’s no way his sword arts can be this powerful! How long has he been a disciple? How could he have already comprehended the third stance of the Three-Foot Sword?”

“Even if he has the third stance, he shouldn’t be a match for me!”

“I’ve long ago reached Wanxiang perfection, and I control the Windcloud Grand Formation! The treasures that make up this formation were personally gathered by my father…one hundred and eight Earth-ranked top-grade treasures! Its power is in no way inferior to a Divine Ability.” Chen Jin shook his head, his eyes filled with disbelief. “His sword arts are formidable, but the third stance of the Three-Foot Sword…it’s only slightly stronger than me.”

He was, after all, ranked in the top ten among the third-generation disciples. He was very aware of the power of the Three-Foot Sword.

The fourth stance of the Three-Foot Sword was roughly equivalent to the power of mastering a complete ‘Dao’.

The third stance was a notch below.

Among the Black-White College, only Brother Firemoon, the Tattered Realperson, and a few others surpassed Ji Ning in their level of insight. This single sword-stance of his was already on par with Chen Jin, Blaze Rainbow Immortal Yu Wei, and the others who ranked in the top ten.

“Hmph.” Ji Ning let out a cold laugh.

Seems hard to believe?

Chen Jin’s ‘Windcloud Grand Formation’ was famous, but his own ‘Lesser Thousand Sword Formation’ was even more powerful. By relying on the nine ‘Coldvein Flying Swords’ at its core, it could unleash an exponentially greater amount of power. Only this had allowed him to overpower his opponent.

“Impossible! How could a barbarian from a backwater tribe like you compare to me?” Chen Jin’s face was twisted with savagery. “I will definitely beat you to your knees! I will make you admit defeat!”

Chen Jin only had one thought.

He had to defeat Ji Ning! Absolutely had to!

“Windcloud, Seal Heaven and Earth!” Chen Jin roared.

But at that moment, a pair of black wings suddenly appeared behind Ji Ning in the distance. The wings vibrated once, and Ji Ning shot forward like a streak of light.

Azure chains and golden chains appeared throughout the heavens and earth, wrapping themselves around Ji Ning.

“Riiip!”

The Northsea Sword in Ji Ning’s hand flashed with sword-light.

Ji Ning’s Fiendgod Body Refining had now reached the tenth stage, making him comparable to a late-stage Wanxiang Fiendgod Body Refiner. He was also using the Divine Ability, the Starseizing Hand! Even against Brother Firemoon, Ji Ning wouldn’t hesitate to fight back.

“Boom~~~” The azure chains and golden chains all shattered.

“No—” Chen Jin was horrified and tried to dodge.

But how could he possibly escape?

Ji Ning’s left hand reached out, like the hand of a god or a fiend, and directly clamped around Chen Jin’s throat. A gurgling, ‘heh-heh’ sound came from Chen Jin’s throat, but no words. Panic appeared in his eyes.

“Who is a piece of shit?” Ji Ning squeezed Chen Jin’s throat, his voice cold as ice. “Tell me. Who is a piece of shit?”