Chapter 50 Never Learning From His Mistakes
“He improved that much in just two months time?”
A few miles away, Shui Qinghe lied on the ground. His body was covered in injuries and his clothes were torn. He was severely hurt by Zhong Yue’s attack. Additionally, he had received even more injuries when he fell from the sky. After a few moments of resting, he barely managed to get up.
“Zhong Shan Clan’s Zhong Yue! In terms of training, I may not be your opponent, but one’s strength is not purely based on training!”
Shui Qinghe looked at the top of the mountain from a distance and his clothes suddenly fluttered. The sounds of metal clanking could be heard and eight tiny swords the size of needles appeared!
These silver swords were only four inches long and had tiny blades and hilts. One could barely notice the little silver rays in the air if they did not pay attention.
These eight silver swords were Shui Qinghe’s soul weapons. Just now, he did not have the chance to cast out his soul weapons as everything had happened too fast and he was not prepared at all.
He had not obtained these eight soul weapons easily. They were a soul weapon set crafted in a few months by the elder of Shui Tu Clan, Shui Zian. There were also eight types of totems carved onto the swords as well, making it very valuable. This soul weapon set was named the Bazhen Sword Set.
A few years ago, Shui Zian had the Shui Tu Clan’s disciples fight each other to decide the ownership of these swords when they entered the Swords Gate. After defeating all of his opponents, Shui Qinghe had managed to claim the ownership of this soul weapon set.
The Bazhen Sword Set was very flexible. It could be stored on the skin beneath one’s clothes and in a person’s sleeves. It could also be hung at the sword hilt as the tiny swords looked like decorations.
However, these eight harmless-looking tiny swords could be very lethal. After being cast out, they would become extremely difficult to notice and could also form a water sword array. These eight swords would produce an even greater power when used in synchronization with the visualization art of Shui Tu Clan. With their tiny sizes, they would be even harder to notice with the cover of ice the crystal swords, the water sword energy and the river formed with the Shui Tu Clan’s visualization art.
Originally, Shui Qinghe had not taken Zhong Yue seriously and treated him like any other ordinary disciple. As such, he did not use this soul weapon set at all. However, he had never imagined that he would be sent flying far away by Zhong Yue with just one clean strike. He now felt anger consuming him and he wanted to use this soul weapon set to regain his ownership of the stage from Zhong Yue’s hands!
He looked at the stage located far away on the mountain and saw the calm atmosphere around the stage. While the other disciples fought intensely around the other stages, the stage where Zhong Yue stood remained silent because of that one strike he had delivered.
After that, one after another, the upper house disciple started to retreat off the mountain and head to the other paths. They acknowledged Zhong Yue’s strength and they knew that they stood no chance against him. As such, they headed to the other mountains.
Shui Qinghe hesitated and he turned to another mountain. He thought, Zhong Yue is incredibly strong. Even with the help of the Bazhen Sword Set, I’m afraid that I will need to pay a great price even if I win. If I suffer heavy injuries while fighting him, I may not be able to gain the upper hand in the top hundred disciples battle later. My aim is to get the qualification to enter the Ethereal Palace, not to win against Zhong Yue.
After another four hours, the stage beneath Zhong Yue’s feet trembled as there were no more challengers. It flew to the Five Pine Summit while carrying him.
In order to win the Lawless Battles, one would have to succeed in occupying the stage for two hours.
There’s actually some who are even faster than me in winning.
Zhong Yue looked around as the stage landed on the Five Pine Summit. He saw that there were already five stages that had flown back, each carrying one upper house disciple.
The five upper house disciples looked toward him and nodded with a smile. However, Zhong Yue could feel that they have raised their guards. They must have seen him defeating Shui Qinghe with only a single strike. In turn, they viewed him as a formidable foe.
Zhong Yue nodded with a smile in return. He thought, These guys are Yu Zhenlong from Yu Clan, Tao Yanran from Tao Lin Clan, Nanzhen from Nan Lu Clan, Tian Yanfeng from Tian Feng Clan, and Jun Qingyue from Jun Shan Clan. They’re the core disciples of the top ten clans and they have built up their reputations for a very long time. The reason they won so fast must be that the other upper house disciples did not even bother to challenge them. They knew they could not defeat these core disciples. If that is the case, why isn’t Senior Martial Sister Li here yet? She is the core disciple of the Li Shan Clan.
As this thought came to his mind, a stage could be seen flying toward the Five Pine Summit with Li Xiuniang standing atop. There were a few small holes in her clothes and her grooming appeared to be a little bit messy. Her hair was slightly untidy and there were even some blood stains on her face. All of these factors suggested that she must have met a strong opponent and had a tough fight before winning.
“That crazy Yu Feiyan! She just had to fight with me. Hmph, either way, she was still defeated by me. Junior Martial Brother Zhong, it seems like you and I will be facing each other in the top hundred disciples battle!”
Li Xiuniang did not show any surprise when she saw Zhong Yue. Instead, she felt that it was natural that he was here. She then laughed and said, “I was defeated by you last time. When we face each other again in the top hundred battle, I’ll make sure you won’t get away so easily again!”
Zhong Yue nodded with a smile and said, “I beg of your mercy at that time then, Senior Martial Sister Li.”
Yu Zhenlong, Tao Yanran, and the others were shocked and they looked at Zhong Yue again. Their awareness of him had grown even stronger. They thought in their minds, Li Xiuniang was defeated by this guy? This unnamed Zhong Shan Clan actually defeated two core disciples from the top ten clans in a row….
“Junior Martial Brother Zhong, I have a trump card waiting for you. I will definitely not hold back when we fight each other later!”
Li Xiuniang’s battle intent grew very strong and she said, “Going easy on you means I’ll embarrass myself by losing easily!”
Not long after, Yu Feiyan stood on another stage and flew toward the Five Pine Summit. Her grooming also appeared to be untidy and she had some injuries as well. It seemed like the fight with Li Xiuniang was not very easy for her either.
The two girls then stared angrily at each other from their own stages. It seemed like they wanted to fight again.
As time passed, more and more stages flew toward the Five Pine Summit. Aside from Zhong Yue and the core disciples from the top ten clans, the ordinary upper house disciples’ appeared to be similarly competent. This made their fights even tougher; the ownership of the stages had changed numerous times. It appeared that the winners barely won as they had injuries all over them.
Zhong Yue looked around and saw Shui Qingyan fly to the summit with a stage as well. He had barely any injuries.
The battle lasted for a day, from the morning to the afternoon and from the afternoon to the night. As the upper house disciples continued their fight, the remaining stages were reduced and the battles grew even more intense.
Finally, the battle ended on the second day.
Ting Lanyue had also managed to acquire the title of top hundred but Tao Daier eventually failed. This made her very disappointed and upset. There were quite a number of girls who gathered around and comforted her.
Shui Qinghe also managed to occupy another stage and prevented his disqualification.
An elder then stood up and said, “Shen Dragon, please disperse your psyche and cast another type of power.”
Shen Dragon yawned as the elder spoke. The mountains disappeared as water gushed out from his mouth. In a split second, an ocean appeared in mid-air and there was a city that floated above the ocean.
“Now go, have your rest, treat your wounds and get something to eat. The final battle royale will begin in two hours!”
The elder’s gaze then swept across Zhong Yue and the others before saying, “Don’t blame me for not giving you any more time to rest. Like in real battles, your enemies will not let you have the chance to rest. You may give up taking part in the battles as well and still be able to enter the Ethereal Palace. Burn the incense now and start the timer!”
Not long after the timer began, almost half of the hundred upper house disciples backed down. There were only a little more than thirty disciples remaining. Each and every person who gave up had injuries all over their bodies and some had even suffered extremely heavy injuries. With the severity of their injuries, two hours of resting time would not be enough at all.
“Alright! Your time is up!”
The elder stood up and shouted, “Open the Ethereal Palace!”
“Understood!”
The other Qi Practitioners shouted, “Open the Ethereal Palace!”
On top of Sword Gate Mountain, the air surged vigorously and four bronze human statues suddenly moved in front of one palace. Then, they grabbed onto the chains in the air. As they pulled the chains, the sounds of gears turning could be heard coming from the air.
After a while, a magnificent door hidden in thin air was opened. The door looked like a sword gate and it was also an important place in the Swords Gate. The Ethereal Palace was located right behind this door!
“Those who gave up may now enter the Ethereal Palace.”
The elder looked around and said, “In the palace, the ten strongest spirits have been sealed. You may freely feel free to sense the other spirits. If you manage to sense them, then you will become a Qi Practitioner. If you fail, you may try again next time unless you are already sixteen years old. If you are sixteen years old and fail, you shall pack your things and leave the Swords Gate for good. For those who did not give up on the battle, you will have to compete for the titles of the top ten disciples now.”
“Remember, your battle starts as soon as you enter the ocean.”
“Now, the battle begins!”
On the stages, the upper house disciples immediately moved and jumped onto the air above the ocean created by Shen Dragon’s psyche. They either ran on the water or flew in the air as they all headed toward the city on top of the ocean.
When some of them encountered other disciples and immediately fought each other. As they fought, they used all sorts of ways to battle. In an instant, totem pillars could be seen thrusting everywhere on the ocean, soul weapons flew in the air at incredible speeds and there were even some disciples who created huge waves on the sea.
Zhong Yue also moved as soon as the signal was given by the elder. He visualized a Jiao Dragon under his feet. With the help of the dragon, he headed toward the city at high speed.
At the same time, one after another, the Qi Practitioners traveled in the air. There were more than thirty of them, each following behind an upper house disciples in order to protect them. Although Shen Dragon was also protecting them, they were there as a double insurance to ensure the safety of each and everyone disciple. The Qi Practitioners also prevented them from killing each other accidentally.
At this rate, it will be impossible to kill Tian Myriad Mother!
Zhong Yue stared at ‘Shui Qingyan’ as she rode the waves. She moved quickly and he thought, Unless my attack is so fast that the Shen Dragon and the Qi Practitioners can’t react in time! Oh?
Wala!
The water under him suddenly surged and Shui Qinghe, who had transformed into a Hebo with fish scales all over his body, appeared in front of Zhong Yue. Then, Shui Qinghe said, “Junior Martial Brother Zhong, shall we?”
As he finished talking, he charged at Zhong Yue while riding the tides. The Bazhen Sword Set merged into the water around him, forming thousands and thousands of ice crystal swords, water swords, and water dragons, hiding the traces of the Bazhen Sword Set completely!
Zhong Yue retaliated and his psyche gushed out like monstrous waves in the ocean. At the same time, the Jiao Dragon twisted around his hands. He raised his hand and shattered the water curtains formed by Shui Qinghe. The shattered water curtains had contained thousands of ice crystal swords, water swords, and water dragons.
The Bazhen Sword Set then flew out from the water and shot straight at Zhong Yue. Simultaneously, Zhong Yue formed thousands of little Jiao Dragon Sword Qi and clashed with the tiny swords, covering the air with clouds of Sword Qi.
Zhong Yue used the Sword Qi formed by his psyche to intercept the tiny swords and he got dangerously close to Shui Qinghe in just one step.
He then landed a fist on Shui Qinghe, shattering Shui Qinghe’s body of Hebo with the impact. Shui Qinghe was shocked and he looked up, only to see a huge hand that grabbed toward his head. Then, he was heavily pressed onto the ground!
Boom!
The water splashed up as if an explosion had taken place. Waves billowed everywhere. As for Shui Qinghe, he crashed into the water like a meteor and fainted due to the shockwaves created by Zhong Yue’s attack.
“Senior Martial Brother Shui, why would you not learn from your mistakes?”
Zhong Yue continued his advance on top of the Jiao Dragon that he formed with his psyche. He rode on the tides and headed straight toward Shui Qingyan while Shui Qinghe lied on the water behind him.