All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 414 - 57 You Have Three Things to Say (1/3)

Chapter 414: Chapter 57 You Have Three Things to Say (1/3)

In the span of a quarter hour, An Jing had come across Nian Quan.

Under the dim light in front of the Spirit Vein seclusion room, the youth who had already started his Qi Refinement was cloaked in mysterious-colored clothing, edged with golden red cloud patterns.

A sword hung at his waist, but his right hand, which was originally used to wield the sword, was wrapped in layers of bandages inscribed with talisman, his pale and delicate arm spreading out root-like tendrils of black and blue Evil Qi, turning the soft skin into stiff, dead tree bark.

Nian Quan’s complexion looked rather bad, his lips pallid as he saw An Jing and Huo Qing. He forced a smile, trying to greet them, "It’s been a long..."

"Is your hand injured?"

An Jing had no intention of making small talk. He spotted the talisman-wrapped right hand of Nian Quan at a glance and bluntly asked, "What happened? Is it a remnant of the arena battle? Couldn’t the physicians in the Special City heal it?"

"It’s ’Solid Wood Muddled Evil Qi’," Huo Qing identified the evil that had afflicted Nian Quan: "It can decay the enemy’s body when attacking and protect one’s own flesh when defending. It’s an Evil Qi that those cultivating the Wood Attribute often harness; indeed, it’s hard to treat."

"By the looks of it, his right hand was struck by a mouthful of Lifebound Evil Qi from an enemy... But how is that possible?"

Seeing this, Huo Qing started to get puzzled, murmuring, "Although this Evil Qi is quite powerful, it’s better at defense than attack. Unless it’s a high-level Qi Refinement, it can hardly leave the body; even Martial Artists who practice Body Cultivation use this Evil Qi to enhance their bodies, not to blast it at enemies."

"Not to mention, this is Lifebound Evil Qi, which injures both the enemy and oneself. Nian Quan, what kind of madman did you encounter? Someone used such a suicidal tactic against you?"

"..." Nian Quan didn’t know what to say, he just stood there, stunned, until An Jing patted his shoulder: "Aren’t you going to invite us in?"

"Ah, come in," he sighed and opened the door.

An Jing and Huo Qing entered, inside it was a simple seclusion room; the layout was almost the same as the one An Jing had seen initially, with a glass lotus platform gathering spirit and wooden dummy for testing. It was evident that Nian Quan’s daily life was simple, just focused on cultivation and study, with no trace of personal life left behind.

"There are quite a few Martial Artists practicing the Wood Attribute in Xuanye City, but there are so few spiritual objects for the Wood Attribute," An Jing remarked as he entered. His observation was based on the fact that the Martial Artist in the initial cave, with Jade Marrow Bone and turned into a demon, Iron Hand, and Huo Qing were all of the Wood Attribute, and even the Fengdu Guards leaned towards the Wood Attribute.

Now, the cultivator who wounded Nian Quan was also of the Wood Attribute, making An Jing feel an illusion that it wasn’t the water and wood attributes Tianyuan Realm lacked, but rather metal and earth.

"It is exactly because there are deficiencies in the world that people use the Dao to compensate," Nian Quan spoke up, still somewhat embarrassed, he softly said, "Without the diligent efforts of many Martial Artists of the Wood Attribute, where would we get our food? Ultimately, in the Wilderness, Wood Attribute demons are the most abundant, so Wood Attribute cultivators can also reap the most benefits."

"Water and wood out of balance, the Yin and Yang hidden, with fire, earth, and metal vastly predominant... This is the layout nowadays."

"So it is," An Jing nodded slightly; he fetched a chair for Nian Quan to sit down: "But by that logic, you were ambushed by such a common and most prevalent type of Wood Attribute cultivator."

"How...how could this be considered an ambush!"

Nian Quan’s face flushed red, somewhat flustered, he stammered, "All Martial Artists of the Wood Attribute have this kind of Lifebound Wood Qi or Wood Fiend...I guessed as much! But how could I have known that the opponent, almost defeated and seeming ready to surrender, could still make a move?"

"Oh." Understanding this, Huo Qing, who had often seen clan fights, also got it. He commented, "Clearly defeated, but stubbornly refusing to surrender, even wanting to drag you down with him, right? Isn’t everyone at First Middle School descendants of the Immortal Clan or at least gifted prodigies from Poor Scholar Families? Why would they resort to such unsportsmanlike tactics?"

"Indeed, it’s a bit unsportsmanlike," An Jing also realized. It was a classic case of ’seeing no chance of winning, but, in order to eliminate the last hurdle for their school, they desperately launched a vicious attack’.

Although Nian Quan’s strength was superior to his peers, with a solid foundation after Qi Refinement and masterful Sword Intent, making him unbeatable among his equals.

Even if other geniuses could defeat him, it wouldn’t be possible for him to suffer such a blow.

Now it seemed that someone from First Middle School was playing tricks, clearly showing intentions to surrender, but as soon as Nian Quan let his guard down, they burst forth with a mouthful of Lifebound Wood Fiend, catching him off guard.

—He still lacked real battle experience; even in an arena fight, one should never hold back until the opponent truly surrenders and the referee declares the winner.

An Jing thought to himself, but considering that Nian Quan was not a reincarnated person with Innate Wisdom like himself and had very little past battle experience, he couldn’t really blame him for this.

"Truly immoral."

Huo Qing felt even angrier than An Jing—while An Jing despised such tricks, if it meant achieving a crucial victory, he wouldn’t mind using them, it just so happened that so far, no enemy had been important enough to make him resort to such schemes.

However, Huo Qing was different, he was the type who didn’t use tricks himself and normally was reluctant to think about how to deal with others’ tricks, so seeing someone being schemed against made him empathize as if he were the victim, and the more he thought about it, the more infuriated he became!

An Jing activated his True Spirit Eye and Pupil Fire, looked towards Nian Quan, shook his head, and said, "You are severely injured... the Solid Wood Muddled Evil Qi has solidified your flesh and blood, making it impossible for you to properly wield a sword."

"Even if the Wood Fiend is expelled, there will be a period of weakness. At the very least, it will take about a week before you can fully recover, and it will damage your body. To be perfectly healed, it would take a month, and though you’ve advanced to the top eight and earned the qualifications to enter the knockout stage, you won’t have recovered your combat strength before the first round of competitions the day after tomorrow."

"In short, it’s impossible for you to continue participating in this Special City Tournament."

Nian Quan didn’t speak; he lowered his head, holding his sword, looking dejected.

An Jing chuckled and said to the somewhat disheartened Nian Quan, "Nian Quan, you’ve fought seriously and made it all the way here undefeated. Now, having been schemed against and forced to drop out of the competition, I know you feel frustrated."

"Your willingness to see me instead of shutting yourself away in self-pity means you must have at least three things you want to say."

Nian Quan silently stared at his hand and said somberly, "This is a lesson. I need to learn from it; I won’t be careless next time."

An Jing shook his head, "That’s not it."

Taking a deep breath, Nian Quan held his sword tighter, veins popping up on his intact left hand as he struggled to calm himself, "First Middle School seems utterly determined this time, as if they’ll stop at nothing to win. Now that I’ve made it to the top eight, I’ve already outdone myself; pushing further might not be worth it."

An Jing responded indifferently, "That’s not it either."

Nian Quan abruptly looked up at An Jing, and An Jing met his gaze.

In the youth’s eyes, there was a sense of shame.

A feeling of frustration, ’despite having received so much help, only to be stopped here.’

And a stifling resentment, a fury arising from deep within, making his blood seem to surge violently.

"What are you holding back for?"

Seeing such a look, An Jing’s lips curved up, and he calmly said, "Nian Quan, what are you and your brothers hiding? I don’t believe you don’t even know how to swear."

"...A bunch of bastards!"

At that moment, Nian Quan could no longer hold back, and the young man stood up, his left fist smashing into a wooden dummy beside him, causing it to tremble incessantly, unleashing the anger hidden within his heart: "I kindly offered my hand to help him up, and he schemed against me!"

He spat venomously, "Playing sneaky tricks, scheming; I’ll knock all those sons of bitches from First Middle School to the ground, and show them the true power of my sword!"

At that moment, Nian Quan’s face was flushed, his ice-blue True Spirit Eyes deepened and became ominously turbulent, like the stormy sea, nothing like the serene young swordsman depicted in the promotional movies—but at that moment, both An Jing and Huo Qing nodded.

This was the real Nian Quan, his real thoughts, genuine anger, and spiritedness.

"Good, that’s the spirit!" Thus, An Jing also smiled and pulled out a green Glow Seed from the Great Void Magical Instrument. As soon as the essence of the Lifebound Wood Qi from the Snow Climbing Tooth appeared, it triggered a slight reaction in the Wood Fiend in Nian Quan’s right arm, giving it a burgeoning impulse.

As Nian Quan watched in astonishment, An Jing placed the green Glow Seed in front of him, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and said, "This Life-prolonging Bud can alleviate your injuries, but I have an idea... Next, I’ll teach you two skills."

"One is called ’Piercing Armor True Strength’; the other is called ’Wounding Sword Qi.’"