The Desolate Era

Chapter 25 – Ji Ning Battles Chen Jin

The two stood there in midair. As for Holyfire and Ninelotus, they stood atop the water, heads raised, watching them. Ninelotus sent frantically, “Senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, aren’t you going to stop Chen Jin?”

Holyfire, head raised, continued to watch. He sent back calmly, “Chen Jin wooed you for many years. The rage generated from the instant eradication of a dream held for many years is quite astonishingly great; it’s best to let him give vent to it. After doing so, in the future, it will cast less of a shadow on his heart. If he has to completely suppress his feelings, in the future, it will prove to be a disaster for him.”

“For the sake of letting him give vent, you are going to make junior apprentice-brother Ning suffer,” Ninelotus said angrily.

“Don’t worry. The Black-White College forbids its disciples from fratricide,” Holyfire said.

“Although the Black-White College does indeed forbid fratricide, as far as I can tell, Chen Jin has gone completely mad. He’s capable of anything right now. Although the College might punish him later, if he truly does wound Ji Ning…what good would punishment do?” Ninelotus said furiously, “Senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, you are very powerful; you can stop him.”

Holyfire gave Ninelotus a glance. “If something dangerous truly happens, I’ll intervene.”

“I’m afraid that by that time, it would be too late. They are Wanxiang Adepts, after all, and you, senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, are a Wanxiang Adept as well. Life and death can be determined in an instant…senior apprentice-brother Holyfire, you won’t necessarily be able to make it in time,” Ninelotus shouted back mentally. She wanted to give Holyfire more pressure, hoping that he might intervene.

Holyfire just raised his head, continuing to watch.

……..

Ji Ning and Chen Jin were in midair, staring at each other.

“Kid of a puny clan, so you actually have the courage to battle me.” Chen Jin let out a cold laugh, then sent mentally, “But this will make you all the more aware of your foolishness!”

Faint flames could be seen burning in Ning’s eyes as well now. The flames of rage!

“I’ll let you know how weak you are, how puny you are, how worthless you are!” Chen Jin’s eyes were filled with savagery. “In terms of clans, the Chen clan of Highwater Commandery is unfathomably more powerful than your puny little backwater clan. In terms of parentage, both your parents are dead, while my father is a Primal Daoist! In terms of personal power, I’m one of the top ten third generation disciples of the Black-White College, but you? You are merely a junior disciple who just entered a few years ago. Now, let me, your senior apprentice-brother, help you wake up and understand…that compared to me, you are a pile of shit!”

His voice rang out by Ning’s ear. Ning’s face became extremely ugly to behold…these were the words of a disciple of the Black-White College?!

“Indeed, even Immortal cultivators who are normally calm, reserved, and aloof, upon going berserk, can become thousands of times uglier and more unsightly than evil commoners.” Rage was now truly burning in Ning’s heart.

Comparing clans?

Comparing parents?

Comparing personal power?

The reference to his parents had particularly enraged Ning.

“Chen Jin, you’ve always chased after Ninelotus, but she never paid any attention to you, right?” Ning sent back, his voice mocking, “You chased her for so many years, but she never paid you any attention, and yet you still weren’t wise enough to just give up. I feel embarrassed on your behalf! Just look at yourself. Take a good look at yourself…look at how ugly you look right now, with that angry look on your face. Honestly…you are worse than a pile of shit.”

Ning’s words struck straight at Chen Jin’s weakness. Ninelotus had never shown him any interest…there was no way he could refuse this. As far as relationships went, Ninelotus had already chosen Ning; this meant that Ning was the victor.

“You really deserve to die!” Chen Jin’s eyes flashed with savage light. “Wind!” Chen Jin suddenly let out a great howl. The giant clouds that had filled the skies instantly began to glow with streaks of light which condensed around Chen Jin’s body, forming into a gigantic azure bird-of-paradise. The massive azure bird-of-paradise proudly raised its head, the plumage atop its head clearly visible, as well as the arrogance in its eyes.

“Compared to me, you are nothing!” Chen Jin sent a furious mental roar to Ning, while at the same time, the gigantic azure bird-of-paradise charged at high speed towards Ning.

Ning stood there in midair. “Hmph.” Ning let out a cold snort. The area around him instantly became filled with a large number of flying swords. In the center of the mass of flying swords were those nine black Nethercold swords, which had caused the power of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to rise by a full level. Light began to glow from the flying swords, and soon, a jade sword of light appeared before Ning. This was the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]!

“CHOP!” Ning let out an explosive roar. The jade sword of light instantly slashed through the skies, and as it did, the vague outlines of a tri-colored lotus could be seen. Ning had already reached the ‘Dao Domain’ level in the Dao of Rainwater, the Dao of the Inferno, and the Dao of the Gale. The power of his Tripartite Lotus Sword had also reached an astonishing level, and the attack of this sword was filled with some of the mysteries of the Grand Dao of the Sword.

The sword-light flashed, and as it did, it was as though a dragon had appeared in the skies.

Rumble…the azure bird-of-paradise charging down at high speed instantly collided with the dragon of sword-light. It was just like Chef Ding carving the ox 1; the sword-light sliced seamlessly through the azure bird-of-paradise, causing it to be instantly chopped apart.

…….

“What?!” A look of shock appeared on Holyfire’s face. He knew exactly how strong Chen Jin was; Chen Jin could be said to be one of the top ten figures of the third generation disciples of the Black-White College. “Although that attack wasn’t his strongest, it was one of his more formidable techniques; how could it have been suppressed by Ji Ning? In addition, Ji Ning used flying swords, not close-quarters combat.”

Ninelotus, by Holyfire’s side, was similarly shocked. She had no idea as to exactly how strong Ning was in real combat, because during this year at Serpentwing Lake, Ning had never truly exploded forth with his full power in battle.

“He actually…actually…” Ninelotus couldn’t believe it. “Can it be that Ji Ning is going to defeat Chen Jin?”

…….

Ninefire, Granny Shadow, and the others on Brightheart Island all felt extremely nervous. This combat between two Wanxiang Adepts was a world-shaking battle to them, and the power of these blows vastly outstripped the might that had been on display during their previous battle at Oxhorn Mountain. Everyone, including Autumn Leaf, Bluestone, Uncle White, and Qingqing, felt extremely nervous. However, upon seeing Ning’s sword-light chop through the azure bird-of-paradise, they all felt relieved. “It seems he’s going to win.” The Whitewater Hound nodded slightly.

As for the midair Chen Jin, his face was completely ashen. He had wanted to teach Ning a vicious lesson in front of Ninelotus and trample over him, so as to let Ninelotus know how worthless this Ji Ning was, and that he, Chen Jin, was the truly powerful one.

Chen Jin knew very well that in the world of Immortal cultivators, strength determined a person’s true status; everything else was meaningless. He wanted to use his own strength to show that he was more powerful than this kid, Ji Ning, which Ninelotus had taken a fancy to.

“How could…” Chen Jin couldn’t accept this outcome.

“Come, winds! Come, clouds!” Chen Jin suddenly let out a savage roar. Instantly, the skies once more began to gather power, and two creatures simultaneously appeared; an enormous azure bird-of-paradise, and a pure, golden divine dragon.

The bird-of-paradise and the divine dragon coiled about each other, a shocking aura of power radiating from them. They charged directly towards Ning.

“Chop!” The distant Ning once more let out a cold, angry bark. The power of the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] once more exploded forth. This time, the jade sword of light seemed to be like a painter’s brush, swiping outwards in an arc that was so beautiful as to cause the heart to tremble…and as it painted a streak of light through the skies, an astonishingly sharp sword-flash appeared as well.

The third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Sudden Sword Light!

“What?!” Holyfire was watching this from down below, and upon seeing this technique, his eyes instantly turned completely round. “The [Three-Foot Sword] – Sudden Sword Light!”

“This…!” Ninelotus was shocked as well. They were both disciples of the Black-White College, and the first six stances of the [Three-Foot Sword] had been passed down for many years; they naturally all recognized this technique.

Swish!

The sword-light suddenly appeared, carrying an invincible aura of majesty and power. Although the bird-of-paradise and the divine dragon mutually reinforced each other, filling each other with power and flexibility, in the face of this sword attack, which seemed to fill the world with its aura…they were still chopped into two halves, completely destroyed.

“The third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]?” Chen Jin’s eyes were filled with disbelief as well. “Impossible. This is completely impossible. There’s no way his swordplay can be this powerful. He’s just joined recently; how could he have already comprehended the third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]? And even if he did master it, he still shouldn’t be a match for me.”

“I reached the peak of the Wanxiang level long ago, and have the support of the Cloudwind Formation. The treasures used to form this formation, my father personally gathered for me…this formation is formed from 108 high-grade Earth-ranked magic treasures. Their power is definitely no weaker than a divine ability’s.” Chen Jin shook his head, his eyes filled with disbelief. “Although his swordplay is powerful, the third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]…it should only be slightly more powerful than my attacks.”

He was, after all, one of the top ten figures of the third generation disciples. He knew exactly how strong the [Three-Foot Sword] was. The fourth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] was comparable in power to complete mastery over a Dao Path. The third stance, however, was a level lower in might.

In the Black-White College, only Holyfire, the Sloppy Daoist, and a very few others were at a higher level of comprehension than Ning. The power of this sword attack alone was already enough for Ning to rank alongside Chen Jin and the Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei, as one of the top ten disciples of the third generation.

“Hmph.” Ning let out a cold laugh. It seemed as though Chen Jin found this to be unfathomable?

Chen Jin’s ‘Cloudwind Formation’ had been famous for many years, but Ning’s own [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] was also extremely powerful. By relying on the nine Nethercold swords, Ning was capable of unleashing tremendous power as well, and thus had been able to suppress his foe.

“Impossible. You, a brat from a backwater clan…how can you compare to me?” Chen Jin’s face was filled with savagery. “I’m definitely going to beat you to your knees. Beat you until you submit!”

This was the only thought in Chen Jin’s mind. He had to defeat Ji Ning; he had to!

“Cloudwind Worldchains!” Chen Jin let out a furious howl. But right at this moment, a pair of black wings suddenly appeared on Ning’s back. The black wings trembled, and Ning instantly charged forward like a streak of light.

At this moment, many chains of azure light and golden light were sweeping forward, seeking to wrap around Ning.

Slash! Ning’s Darknorth sword flashed out. Ning’s Fiendgod body had already reached the tenth stage; he was comparable to a normal late-stage Wanxiang Adept Fiendgod, and he was using his divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand]! Ning would even dare give Holyfire a battle, much less this Chen Jin!

“Rumble…” The azure chains and golden chains were completely shattered.

“No…” Chen Jin, shocked, wanted to dodge. But how could he possibly do so?! Ning’s left hand suddenly stretched out like the hand of a Fiendgod, grabbing Chen Jin around his throat, clenching around it. Chen Jin gurgled but was unable to speak. His eyes were filled with shock and horror.

“Who is the pile of shit?” Ning, his hand around Chen Jin’s throat, barked coldly, “Tell me…who is the pile of shit?”

1. Mentioned before, but this is an idiom