Chapter 544: Central Pine Valley
Translator: Irene Editor: X, TYZ
Central Pine Valley.
[Viridescent Flower], type 4800.
Duanmu Huanghun stood motionlessly like a statue. Ai Hui and Lou Lan visited him regularly, but he was still engrossed in his own moment of enlightenment. No one dared to disturb him, but they were somewhat worried. They had never seen such a prolonged moment of enlightenment.
Two months had passed, but he had yet to waken. It was as if he had fallen into a deep sleep and lost consciousness.
He remained spotless, but the aura surrounding him fluctuated.
Sometimes it was tranquil, other times it surged. Occasionally, the wind circled around his body, but periodically, the whole bamboo forest was completely still, like an impenetrable steel jungle.
The bamboo forest grew lusher as the withering drifting jadesword bamboo leaves created a magnificent sight. Not only the bamboo forest, but the Central Pine Valley’s vegetation was also growing wildly, perhaps due to Duanmu Huanghun’s influence.
A sword ray flashed across the sky.
As if out of nowhere, an enormous Pinwheel Sword appeared in the sky above the Central Pine Valley.
The children who were training raised their head and looks of anticipation appeared on their faces. They had seen for themselves how the Pinwheel Sword came and went like the wind, mighty and unpredictable. Three kids clung onto Ai Hui, wanting to sneak into the Sword of Lightning. Ai Hui had promised them that they could join the combat division if they were capable enough.
As such, the children in the Central Pine Valley trained passionately and diligently.
The Pinwheel Sword gradually descended and a group of sweaty men jumped off of it.
"How satisfying. How are we going to use azure wings when we have gotten used to the Pinwheel Sword?"
"Yeah. Azure wings are as slow as tortoises."
Everyone talked about azure wings with a look of resentment. The Pinwheel Sword’s speed exceeded that of any kind of azure wings. Even those known for speed weren’t comparable to the Pinwheel Sword. Needless to say, slower flight options, like the Fiery Floating Cloud, lagged far behind.
Once they had gotten used to the Pinwheel Sword’s lightning speed, no one was able to endure the exasperatingly slow speed of azure wings.
"I just don’t know when we’ll be able to go to the front line! Big Sister claimed victory once again!"
"Boss said we’re not at actual combat standard yet."
"Boss demands too much from us. Five swords in one breath… how’s that possible?"
The so-called "five swords in a breath" meant that the Pinwheel Sword had to complete five entire attacks in one breath. If it was just one person, with their current sword mastery, they could easily execute five strikes. However, using the Pinwheel Sword to execute five strikes was extremely challenging. So far, they had yet to succeed.
"Yeah, five perfect resonances in one breath. How unrealistic."
"Three are enough. I don’t believe anyone can block our triple strike!"
"Not even a Grandmaster!"
People were discussing fervently when someone suddenly shouted, "Zhiguang, how about you talk to Boss?"
Shi Zhiguang had become one of Boss’s favorites. Everyone knew that Boss thought highly of him and regarded him as the future top candidate of sword operator.
Shi Zhiguang remained unmoved. He spread his hands out and said, "Forget it. However he wants us to train, let’s just do it. I still have to practice embroidery later on. Seeing embroidery needles make my fingertips numb."
"Hahaha, Shi Zhiguang is going to be the Central Pine Valley’s first seamstress!"
"Not many of us are as virtuous as Zhiguang!"
After being ridiculed, Shi Zhiguang did not get angry. Instead, he said, "You guys better treat me well. If I can’t master embroidery, none of us will be going to the battlefield!"
"Aye, I really want to fight as soon as possible. I heard that the Spear of Heavy Cloud was severely depleted and practically ruined. How worrying."
"Boss is definitely feeling even more anxious!"
"Yeah."
Everybody subconsciously looked up at Ai Hui, who was absorbing lightning on Blackfish Mouth Mountain’s peak. A ring of faint clouds were fastened to the mountain like a hat.
Every now and then, silvery light would streak across the ground. Rumbling booms could be heard in the air as well.
"Everybody worked hard! Elemental soup is here!"
Lou Lan’s enthusiastic voice rang, immediately producing cheers.
Seeing everyone greedily gulping down the soup, Lou Lan’s eyes narrowed into two crescent moons.
Shortly after, Lou Lan turned around and looked toward the mountain top. The conical bamboo hat was becoming fainter and gradually dispersing. A figure completely wrapped in bandage was revealed.
On the mountain peak, Ai Hui exhaled a long breath.
Hu. Whoosh.
A white swordlike aura appeared with an indistinct lightning flickering inside it.
Behind the red crystal sheet, a light ray flashed past.
He hadn’t been training for nothing. His body was still becoming thinner day by day, but the sword cloud within his body had been growing consistently. He carefully controlled the volume of the lightning intake in order to prevent over-absorption, which would damage his body.
The sword cloud was now like an orb solid cloud . It rotated slowly, churning indeterminately. At times lightning would flash inside of the cloud orb. Beneath it, there were three tender young sprouts that emitted faint green light.
Although the green light was thin, it protected the sprouts firmly.
The three young sprouts were transformed from the Vitality Branches!
The green light continuously seeped into Ai Hui’s flesh to nourish his terrible body. It was precisely the three Vitality Branches that prevented his body from worsening. The green light released by the branches was the source of life.
Ai Hui looked to the horizon.
The mountains previously accumulated with snow had regained their verdant colors. The sky remained boundless, and the figure that flew by was silent, leaving no trace. It only flitted across the mountain range, producing a gust and faint bell-like laughter.
Ai Hui was slightly out of it.
The good news was that Iron Lady had won. The bad news was that it was a bitter victory.
He had to be quick.
He took a deep breath and suppressed his worry. Reason told him that being anxious wasn’t going to be of any help at this point. Be it the Sword of Lightning or himself, they were further away than anticipated.
Until now, the Pinwheel Sword could only execute one sword move in a breath. Such inefficiency was preventing it from unleashing its advantage in speed. They only had one Pinwheel Sword, and if it could only release one strike per breath, its contribution in battle would be seen as pathetic. It would then be practically useless in the war.
Shi Zhiguang’s piloting standard was very lacking. Only by maintaining its speed combined with directional changes could the Pinwheel Sword survive in battle. Its defensive power was far behind that of a God-subduing Peak.
His current state had become a problem as well. He was worried about the sword cloud and not his body. Could a sword cloud in this state handle a battle? If it couldn’t even persevere through a battle, he would only become everybody’s burden.
These problems were actually very easy to solve, but they required sufficient time.
If they had an adequate amount of time, executing five strikes in a breath wouldn’t be a problem. If they had enough time, Shi Zhiguang’s standard would rise significantly because of his potential. If they weren’t short on time, Ai Hui’s sword cloud would grow strong enough to assist him in a major battle.
Yet, what they lacked most now was time.
Upon being informed of the severity of Iron Lady and her combat division’s injuries, Ai Hui had been looking ghastly for the past couple of days.
Not only him, but the members of the Sword of Lightning were training much more intensely since they were all feeling very anxious
Yet, Ai Hui knew that this was precisely the time that they needed to maintain their composure.
He grabbed the sword hilt, the anxiety in his heart vanishing. His whole person had "cooled" down instantly. The sword was like an extension of his body as his thoughts and perception spread along the body of the blade.
With a tremble of the sword tip, it ripped across the sky, taking in and spitting out sword light.
A gush of power channeled outward from the sword hilt, carrying his body up into the air and transforming into a sword ray that descended toward the valley from the mountain peak.
The cloud layer dispersed. Sunlight sprinkled over the land, illuminating the mellow and smooth sword ray, producing a dazzling sight.
Members who had just finished their elemental soup were just in time to witness this scene. It wasn’t the first time they had seen Boss’s swordplay, but not once had it failed to take their breaths away.
Everyone held their breaths and looked toward the sky admiringly as the sword ray formed a beautiful, painting-like scene.
Gu Xuan was especially bewitched by it all.
Boss’s swordsmanship was becoming increasingly unimaginable and mysterious.
Gu Xuan’s swordsmanship wasn’t at a low standard to begin with, yet he couldn’t understand Boss’s swordsmanship at all. Whenever he saw Boss’s sword ray, he would repeatedly simulate it in his mind and wonder if he would be able to execute such a beautiful sword move as well.
Beautiful was the first impression people had of Boss’s sword ray.
Breathtakingly stunning!
Everyone knew what kind of person Boss was. He was mean, petty, stingy, cold, ruthless, and even his battle style was blunt and efficient. Basically, there was nothing beautiful about his personality or style.
In comparison, Duanmu Huanghun’s temperament was more fitting.
Yet, it was just beautiful. Even a sword reed that Boss casually swiped with was so beautiful that Gu Xuan simply couldn’t move his eyes off of it.
However, no matter how much he racked his brain, Gu Xuan was unable to comprehend and imitate Boss’s amazing sword ray.
It seemed as though Boss could accomplish anything with a sword. It was unbelievable.
The sword ray was like a rainbow after the rain, gradually dimming and vanishing. Gu Xuan’s face was still filled with surprise and admiration.
Ai Hui, who had descended and found Blind He, shouted, "This sword is about to be destroyed!"
Blind He took Ai Hui’s sword, gently stroking the sword body. The eye in the center of his palm opened up, shooting out a light ray that swept across the sword body and instantly exposing dense cracks.
Blind He explained, "Your sword ray contains lightning, which is very damaging to a sword. Even if it’s a Heaven-grade weapon, it would be unable to endure the impact. I’ve yet to find suitable ingredients."
"Just a Unity Sword will do, or else I won’t be able to train." Frustration was evident in Ai Hui’s tone. "Or do I really have to hang swords all over my body in future?"
Blind He responded, "Lightning is an primordial power, the nemesis of all living things. It’s a force even stronger than elemental energy, and no one has studied it before. I’ll need time to figure things out. Furthermore, the Unity Sword isn’t just any sword."
Ai Hui burst into laughter, feeling as though Blind He had just cracked a cold joke. "It’s a heaven-grade weapon. Aye, I know. Give me a few more to carry with me."
Blind He replied expressionlessly, "There’s only one."
Stunned, Ai Hui asked, "How come?"
"Haven’t got time to make more." Blind He groaned, "Been creating fire reservoirs."
Ai Hui now remembered.
Since the volume of training had increased, the amount of snow lava the Pinwheel Sword consumed had spiked as well. Plus, their original snow lava stores were depleting as well. Ai Hui had also considered the fact that the Spear of Heavy Cloud’s victory was largely due to the Hellfire Pagoda Cannon’s performance. He’d reckoned that the rise in price of the snow lava also contributed to Blind He’s forging of more fire reservoirs in order to produce more snow lava.
However, he had still underestimated the influence of this victory.