All Heavenly destiny reduced to ashes
Chapter 426 - 69: Five Elements Wounding Sword Qi (2/3)

Chapter 426: Chapter 69: Five Elements Wounding Sword Qi (2/3)

With that said, as the starting gong sounded, the fight began.

The moment the gong echoed, Nian Quan unsheathed his sword, unleashing a surging barrage of Sword Qi that was ceaseless, like waves of the sea.

The reason why sword cultivators are praised as ’the foremost in magical combat’ is precisely because under the blessing of Sword Intent, even the simple release of Spiritual Power can be enhanced into Sword Qi that rivals high-damage Art of Magic and even possesses some ability to break magic, not only that, but it can be released extremely fast. Ordinary cultivators, if unprepared, can be suppressed by sword cultivators at the very start of battle.

Nian Quan’s Sword Qi adhered to the endless flowing concept of the Heavenly River. As long as his opponent cannot completely eliminate his Sword Qi, then the subsequent waves would draw strength from the dissipating Sword Qi before it.

Faced with Nian Quan’s onslaught, Yan Chengju lost the initiative and could only summon the ’Azure Water Talisman’, using blue water swirls to redirect the Sword Qi—meanwhile, he started to control his other three Magic Artifacts. The cauldron suspended above, erecting a brownish-yellow phantom ’Solid Rock Wall’, while the Red Ruyi and the White Floating Dust began to fire off Art of Magic like a machine gun, low-grade Golden Flame Art of Magic such as ’Scorching Wind’, ’Edgeless Thorn’, ’Five Metals Poisonous Fiend’, ’Separating Water Flame’ rained down on Nian Quan like a monsoon.

But all of this was within Nian Quan’s expectations. During his last confrontation with Yan Chengju’s magical suppression, he had chosen to attack aggressively with his Sword Qi to carve out a path, but ultimately lacked sufficient Spiritual Power and couldn’t penetrate Yan Chengju’s final defense of the ’Brown Earth Cauldron’, leading to a regrettable defeat.

This time, Nian Quan was more severely injured and had even less Spiritual Power. He no longer had the ability to go toe-to-toe, so he activated his Piercing Armor True Strength with all his Spiritual Power converging as if ready to fight to the death.

Yan Chengju noticed that a vast store of Water Element Spiritual Power was amassing in Nian Quan’s direction. It was the very move he had anticipated Nian Quan might use to break his defenses—his ’Five Directions Five Tools’ were not perfect, hence unable to divert attacks exceeding the carrying capacity of his Magic Artifacts. But since he had anticipated it, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to let Nian Quan attack unhindered.

’Illusion Technique,’ Yan Chengju silently executed the spell. A mist of Spiritual Power enveloped his four Magic Artifacts, and a moment later, five figures of Yan Chengju appeared on the stage, moving quickly. Nian Quan’s forceful outburst of Piercing Armor True Strength immediately pierced through all the lower Art of Magic, swallowing one of Yan Chengju’s figures, but it was merely an illusion created by the White Floating Dust.

Simultaneously, Yan Chengju deployed a complex Art of Magic with utmost proficiency—a scorching Golden Magma Fireball took form, reminiscent of a self-destructing drone, and hurtled toward Nian Quan.

It must be said, Yan Chengju might not be much of a person, but the power in his hands is formidable, capable of simultaneously controlling four different Magic Artifacts with diverse attributes, and as a single Spirit Root user, managing complex multi-element Art of Magic, all proving his talent in artifact cultivation and his understanding of the Five Elements.

The Golden Magma Fire struck the ground, and Nian Quan’s figure was engulfed. Below the stage, Huo Qing stood up and loudly questioned the referee as to why the match hadn’t been stopped—the might of the Art of Magic was now nearly that of high-level Qi Cultivation, enough to instantly incinerate a house. Even if Nian Quan had Sword Qi Protective Body, he wouldn’t survive.

"Don’t panic, Nian Quan hasn’t lost yet."

But An Jing was very calm. He pulled Huo Qing back, and just as Huo Qing looked towards the stage in confusion, he realized that Nian Quan had somehow appeared at the other corner of the stage and had not been hit by Yan Chengju.

[It’s an Illusion Technique!]

The commentator on the stage also exclaimed excitedly: [It’s an Illusion Technique never before shown by competitor Nian Quan! Yes, everyone look, competitor Nian Quan’s pupils are not ordinary blue, they are Spiritual Pupils!]

[Competitor Yan Chengju doesn’t know when but he fell for an Illusion Technique. His Skills did not hit competitor Nian Quan!]

At this moment, the light of the Cang Bo Morning Pupil shone in Nian Quan’s eyes. The real ability of these Spiritual Pupils wasn’t Illusion Technique, but as an evolved True Spirit Eye, it could also cast some very basic Illusion Techniques.

However, the power of the Golden Magma Fire was truly immense. Though he dodged the direct hit by hiding to the side, the exposed parts of his skin were scorched, and bursts of Golden Flame Qi assaulted Nian Quan’s internals. He temporarily lacked the strength to counter-attack.

"He actually managed to dodge it?"

Yan Chengju was extremely surprised at this moment. He had not held back, and if not for the interference of the referee, that strike would have been deadly enough to kill any non-Body Refining Qi Cultivator. However, it didn’t matter. Nian Quan had used Piercing Armor True Strength and was also injured by the aftershock, truly losing the power to resist. Yan Chengju, somewhat drained of Spiritual Power, raised his hand as a [Rock Pillar] suddenly condensed with the intention of knocking Nian Quan out of the ring before he could admit defeat.

But in that instant, Nian Quan smiled.

"So that’s what it is; this is the Wounding Sword Qi, the rotation of the Five Elements..."

At this moment, within Nian Quan’s body, there was the initial Wood Fiend Qi, as well as the injuries from Golden Flame and Water that he had sustained in subsequent battles. And just now, the thermal Qi of the earth from the Golden Magma Fire had filled the last piece of Earth Qi needed.

Lifting his sword, at the instant the Rock Pillar came crashing towards him, Nian Quan moved. His complexion became deathly pale, devoid of any hint of color, as if it were ice, and suddenly a sliver of Heavenly River Sword Qi, which should not have been in such a spirit-power-depleted body, took the lead, sweeping through the meridians and forcing out the accumulated Wounding Sword Qi of the Five Elements.

Suddenly, five murky colors coiled around his sword into a spiral, concentrating into a point, and then burst forth, smashing the Rock Pillar and hurtling towards Yan Chengju who showed a stunned expression!

"There’s still such a method!"

Even An Jing, who was watching from below, widened his eyes—although he was the creator of the Wounding Sword Qi, how could he be like Nian Quan, who, despite being a carrier of the Heavenly Water Spiritual Root, could use the Wounding Sword Qi to execute the Five Elements Mutual Generation technique when he rarely got injured and had hardly fought against an Art of Magic expert like Yan Chengju? He had never had multiple types of Wounding Sword Qi within his body due to injuries.

In his expectation, Nian Quan indeed would rely on the Wounding Sword Qi to turn the tables, but the method Nian Quan used to do so was truly spectacular—especially since his opponent, Yan Chengju, had not achieved Perfection in the Five Elements!

"What!"

Yan Chengju’s expression also changed drastically. He had not expected that his opponent, who had seemed completely incapable of counterattacking, would suddenly unleash a sword qi attack as powerful as his own, and this sword qi subtly embodied the rotation of the Five Elements!

In a hurry, he quickly operated his Magic Artifact, raising a Protective Body, but the Wounding Sword Qi was too fast and too unexpected. The moment the Spirit Shield was raised, it was shattered by the superior Five Elements Sword Qi, as easily as a hot knife slices through butter. Yan Chengju, struck by the Wounding Sword Qi that contained the power of his own attacks, spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying out of the arena in an instant.

"We’ve won!"

Huo Qing stood up with great delight, shouting joyfully, while An Jing, on the other hand, clenched his fists in excitement, "Even though he is a pure Heavenly Water Body, by using his body to feel the Spirit Qi of other attributes, and then wielding the Wounding Sword Qi to control it..."

"This way, he could borrow the power of others, with a body of pure Water, to execute the Five Elements Skills!"

At this moment, An Jing truly received inspiration, "Although I might not be able to withstand such injuries, what if I reversed it? If I were to refine my body to be strong enough, and then have other friends seal their power within me—could I, at a critical moment, employ a joint attack technique all by myself?"

"Truly worthy of Nian Quan, what a genius, what a brilliant idea! Indeed, there’s something to learn from everyone!"

By now, An Jing had also come to understand why the ancient Great Sect Grandmasters spread their legacy far and wide—was it because they lacked talent or extraordinary abilities? Of course not, the thoughts of millions of ordinary people couldn’t surpass theirs, but sometimes, moving too fast and too straight might also mean missing some critical tributaries that would allow them to go further.

They needed the seemingly absurd ideas of others, the spur-of-the-moment creations based on personal circumstances, to complement their own. Just like when reading storybooks, where there is the author’s original intent, yet a thousand readers would have a thousand interpretations. To truly enlarge a sect’s tradition, making it flourish and complex with many tributaries, this was the way to create a solid foundation and to help the sect as a whole go further.

Even if it’s just gathering a group of like-minded individuals within the Sects to discuss and research together, it’s better than going it alone.

"Those who truly blaze new trails have absolute confidence in themselves, or they have an unwavering belief in their path—they either don’t think anyone can surpass them, and thus are willing to draw from the insights of those who follow to become stronger, or for the sake of their path, it doesn’t matter if they are not the strongest, they welcome and even encourage others to continually surpass their predecessors."

Reflecting back, An Jing felt quite emotional: "The pathfinders gathered wisdom broadly, at first seeking companions among their own bloodline, which marked the origin of the noble families. The reason for the existence of Sects is that one family was no longer enough; they needed more people to join in the same Great Dao and together push forward into the future!"

"And now, the school system has completely abandoned the family, opening up to the entire society." An Jing looked towards the schools like First Middle School and Third Middle School—although there were some problems in the competition within the schools, the system itself was good: "This is also an evolution of legacy."