The Battle of Fame

“Eh?!”

In the distance, Snowfeather Daoist’s face changed dramatically. Ji Ning’s displayed power had clearly far exceeded his expectations. But as one of the ancestral patriarchs of his sect, how could he give up so easily?

BOOM! BOOM!

The Mandarin Duck Split-Light Swords, which had been sent flying backward from the shock, suddenly flared with dazzling light. One sword transformed into a cyan-scaled flood dragon, while the other transformed into a golden-scaled flood dragon. Both dragon-formed sword-lights were a full hundred zhang in length, their scales clearly visible, their draconic eyes brimming with murderous intent, as if they were alive!

The two dragon-formed sword-lights, their power now explosively increased, let out earth-shaking dragon roars as they shot straight toward Ji Ning.

Ji Ning, now a full ten zhang tall in his Heavenly Transformation, felt the pressure. The Northsea Swords in his hands swept out once more, as if cutting through heaven and earth, leaving another blinding trail of sword-light in his wake.

BANG!

Ji Ning’s entire body shuddered, as if struck by two great mountains. He was knocked backward several steps.

“What a formidable technique.” Ji Ning was not afraid but delighted. The black wings behind him fluttered as he activated the divine ability, the Windwing Evasion. In an instant, he was like a phantom, rushing forward once again.

“Yin and Yang, divide!”

In the distance, Snowfeather Daoist’s expression turned grave as well. He now regarded Ji Ning as a true threat.

The cyan sword-dragon and the golden sword-dragon let out a series of ear-splitting roars in the high sky, madly encircling and assaulting Ji Ning. Ji Ning, wielding his twin swords, met them head-on time and again… Every collision caused the surrounding air to explode and warp. Even the waters of Winged Serpent Lake below were affected, with some areas caved in dozens of zhang deep, while others sent up waves hundreds of zhang high.

Even from over ten li away, those on Brightmoon Island—Ji Jiuhuo, Ji Liuzhen, Granny Shadow, Autumn Leaf, and the others—could all feel the fierce wind brushing their faces.

“Such tremendous power!”

“Ji Ning is actually this strong!”

Ji Jiuhuo and the others were all stunned, their eyes wide.

In the distance, the ten-zhang-tall Ji Ning was like a heavenly god, locked in a furious battle with the two flood dragons!

“Fighting to a standstill with a Primal perfection Daoist?”

“That’s one of the three ancestral patriarchs of Snowdragon Mountain!”

“Too strong.”

“It’s only been a little over ten years since the battle at Oxhorn Mountain, and Ji Ning’s improvement has been like this. If Yichuan were still alive, he would be immensely proud.” Ji Jiuhuo and the others were both shocked and excited. After all, the dazzling figure before them was the supreme genius of their Ji Clan!

The Ji Clan’s side was excited and overjoyed.

The Snowdragon Mountain side was alarmed and furious.

Amidst the struggle with the two dragon-formed sword-lights in midair, Ji Ning’s sword-art suddenly changed. The supreme Yang, supremely aggressive sword-style became inwardly restrained and gentle.

Chii!

The sword-light in the air became as soft as moonlight, gentle as a lover’s caress… the silent, invisible sword-light began to cause the two dragon-formed sword-lights to start collapsing!

“What?!” Snowfeather Daoist was shocked. His sword-art’s ‘Yin and Yang Division’ was one of his most powerful techniques, and yet it could not hold its ground. He had no other choice; he immediately executed his current strongest sword-move. “Mandarin Duck Entwined!”

The two collapsing dragon-formed sword-lights began to coil around each other, connecting together.

It was as if they were a single, dual-bodied entity.

These two entangled dragon-shaped sword-lights supported each other, yin giving birth to yang, and they completely blocked Ji Ning’s sword-art.

“In terms of sword-art subtlety, he is far inferior to me,” Ji Ning was well aware of this. “But this Snowfeather Daoist has a truly profound foundation, and these two Heaven-ranked magic treasures are exceptionally powerful.”

The Northsea Swords were Fiendgod Blood-Refined weapons; the more they killed, the more killing intent and baleful aura they absorbed, the greater their power. However, over the past nine years, Ji Ning had not done much slaughtering… The Northsea Swords were only at the peak of the Earth-ranked grade. They were quite inferior to the Mandarin Duck Split-Light Swords.

His advantage in sword-art was being nullified by his disadvantage in weaponry.

“I have to leverage my Fiendgod Body Refining’s superiority,” Ji Ning decided. The main purpose of this battle was to test his own strength. But now that his opponent’s twin flying swords, the Mandarin Duck Split-Light Swords, could withstand his strongest sword-art, Ji Ning stopped trying to match him in sword technique.

Swish!

A fierce wind howled around him as Ji Ning’s entire body turned into a gust of wind, as swift as a ghost, charging straight toward Snowfeather Daoist.

Over the past nine years, not only had his Heavenly Transformation divine ability progressed immensely, but his Windwing Evasion divine ability had also made astonishing strides. Under a full-power burst…

Snowfeather Daoist was greatly alarmed. He quickly controlled the Mandarin Duck Split-Light Swords to intercept Ji Ning.

Clang! Clang!

Ji Ning’s sword technique became even more supple, only parrying, not attacking.

In the blink of an eye, he had already charged to Snowfeather Daoist’s front.

“Not good.” Snowfeather Daoist was terrified. How would he dare to engage in close combat with Ji Ning? If Ji Ning suffered a blow from him, he could instantly recover thanks to his Fiendgod Body Refining. But if he himself was hit… at best, it would be a severe injury; at worst, he would fall on the spot.

Whoosh!

Snowfeather Daoist immediately executed an escape technique. A flash of white light passed, and he had already retreated directly aboard the war vessel.

“Master.” Adept Xuke and the grey-robed man both stared in shock at Snowfeather Daoist, who had suddenly appeared beside them. The two streaks of sword-light in the distance also flew back, forming the Mandarin Duck Split-Light Swords.

A gloomy look was on Snowfeather Daoist’s face. He spoke aloud, “A fine display, Ji Ning! Worthy of the title of Sword Immortal. Admirable, admirable!”

His voice was sonorous, booming across the horizon.

“Let’s go.”

After saying this, Snowfeather Daoist gave the order. The great war vessel immediately tore through the air, rapidly disappearing into the distant horizon.

Ji Ning stood in midair, watching Snowfeather Daoist leave. “This Snowfeather Daoist is decisive and straightforward. He hasn’t even lost yet, but as soon as he saw that the situation was hopeless, he immediately withdrew.”

This battle was for Ji Ning to test his own strength.

Over the past nine years, his Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens had reached the eleventh level, putting him on par with a Wanxiang Perfection Fiendgod Body Refiner. The main reason was that after crossing a major threshold, the Crimsonbright Diagram’s cultivation had become increasingly difficult. In the past, he had advanced one level every two or three years. But going from the tenth to the eleventh level had taken him six full years!

It had clearly taken much longer.

Still, his Fiendgod Body Refining was now a match for Senior Apprentice-Brother Bloodshadow and others. If he also used his Starseizing Hand divine ability, he would not be inferior to a Primal perfection cultivator! And this was just with his Starseizing Hand at the first cycle. If he could cultivate it to the second cycle, its power would be even greater.

The cultivation method for Starseizing Hand was known as the ‘Six Cycles of Starseizing’.

At the Zifu Disciple stage, one could train to the first cycle.

At the Wanxiang Adept stage, one could train to the second cycle.

And so on.

However, cultivating Starseizing Hand required treasures containing the quintessence of the Five Elements, which required a great deal of external assistance. He had only been able to train to the first cycle back in the aquatic palace thanks to the Five Elements quintessence left behind by Daoist Threelives. Now, to cultivate the second cycle, Ji Ning had to find treasures filled with the Five Elements quintessence on his own. Although he had gathered some treasures over the past nine years, he was still far from having enough.

“My divine body and my divine abilities, combined, put me on par with a Primal perfection Ki Refiner,” Ji Ning mused. “My sword-art has even reached the fifth stance of the ‘Three-Foot Sword,’ which surpasses his! It’s just that my magic treasures are at a disadvantage… the Northsea Swords are far inferior to his Mandarin Duck Split-Light Swords.”

Those Mandarin Duck Split-Light Swords even contained a hint of nascent intelligence.

The eyes of the flood dragons they transformed into were vaguely alive… That made sense. They were, after all, top-grade Heaven-ranked magic treasures. If they reached the next level, Immortal-ranked, they would be able to generate an artifact spirit! Just like the black ox in the aquatic palace, which was the artifact spirit of the Immortal-ranked treasure left behind by Celestial Immortal Juhua.

“Master!”

“Ji Ning!”

“Young master…”

From the distance, a group of people was flying over aboard a leaf-shaped magic treasure. Ji Jiuhuo and the others aboard were all in a state of joyful shock.

Heavens!

A Primal perfection Daoist! And Ji Ning had actually driven him back! They could see… that Ji Ning had not been at a disadvantage at all in his battle with Snowfeather Daoist.

“My Ji Clan is truly about to rise! A great rise!” Ji Jiuhuo laughed heartily. “Haha, even if I were to die of old age right now, I would have no regrets! How many years has it been, how many years? The Ji Clan has finally produced a figure of this caliber! Ji Ning, I believe it won’t be long before your name spreads across the entire Anchan Commandery!”

“Your fame will spread throughout the Anchan Commandery. All the major powers will know you and speak your name.” Ji Liuzhen was also excited.

The Ji Clan was just a small power in the Yan Mountains.

Yet it had produced a figure like Ji Ning.

Being able to force a Primal Daoist like Snowfeather Daoist to take the initiative to retreat… This battle could rightfully be called his battle of fame! The reputation of this battle would surely spread. After all, Ji Ning’s opponent was no mere early-stage or middle-stage Primal, nor was he some ordinary wandering immortal. Snowfeather Daoist was a truly formidable figure.

“I didn’t actually win, though,” Ji Ning said. “This Snowfeather Daoist is indeed powerful. If we were to fight to the death, the outcome would still be uncertain.”

This was the truth.

Snowfeather Daoist had indeed not engaged in a life-or-death struggle… As soon as he discovered that his ultimate technique, the ‘Mandarin Duck Entwined’ of his Mandarin Duck Split-Light Swords, could not do anything to Ji Ning, he immediately retreated. If it had been a battle to the death, Snowfeather Daoist would not have been stingy with his Heavenly Water, frantically using it to attack Ji Ning while simultaneously controlling his flying swords in a pincer attack.

Ji Ning, in turn, would have ignored his own injuries and fought wildly.

As a Fiendgod Body Refining expert, even if Ji Ning was wounded, it was a trivial matter. So if they were truly to fight to the death to determine a victor, Ji Ning had the greater chance of winning! Snowfeather Daoist’s chances were somewhat lower. But this was just speculation; after all, no one knew what life-saving treasures Snowfeather Daoist possessed.

“Master, don’t be so modest. You already forced him to flee. You’re a Fiendgod Body Refiner… I don’t believe he would dare to fight you to the death. When two opponents of roughly equal strength fight, and one is a Fiendgod Body Refiner while the other is a Ki Refiner, the one who dies is usually the Ki Refiner.” Little Qing spoke excitedly from the side.

On the war vessel flying away in the distant sky.

Snowfeather Daoist still felt a lingering fear in his heart. When a Fiendgod Body Refining expert of roughly equal strength suddenly rushed to within arm’s reach, it was like the Grim Reaper closing in. He had been so frightened that he had immediately used his escape technique.

Adept Xuke and the grey-robed man beside him did not dare to make a sound.

“Disciple.” Snowfeather Daoist looked at Adept Xuke. “Go tell your Xu clan to quickly move out of the Yan Mountains. It’s best to have nothing more to do with this Ji Clan. Although our Snowdragon Mountain is not afraid of him, he no longer needs to fear our Snowdragon Mountain.”

“Yes.” Adept Xuke quickly acknowledged.

“It won’t be long before this battle spreads throughout the entire Anchan Commandery.” Snowfeather Daoist shook his head. “I never imagined… that I, Snowfeather, would one day become a stepping-stone for someone else’s rise to fame.”