Surpassing the Thirtieth Layer of the Life Mark was the qualification for becoming an Elder. Distraction was the greatest taboo, especially at the outset of combat. Ning Zhiquan never dread that Wang ng would still be able to speak.
"Brother ng, finish him while he’s down! Take him out!"
Zhang Xiaojiang didn’t care if this was the Holy Hall or anywhere else. Once his fighting spirit was roused, he’d dare to shout anything.
Wang ng was completely rciless. Broken Heaven Edge seized the opportunity to press its assault.
For Ning Zhiquan to show off his Spiritual Power in front of Wang ng was simply courting death. The source of Wang ng’s Heart Spirit was his Godhood; he couldn’t have been happier to have soone attack it.
BOOM...
Broken Heaven Edge’s fierce barrage of slashes finally beat back the Sacrificial Sword. Ning Zhiquan lost his footing. With a long cry, he rged with his retreating Sacrificial Sword—the Unity of Man and Sword—and chopped violently at the oncoming Broken Heaven Edge.
BOOM...
Verse of the Five-Colored Splendor Sword!
A brilliant barrier of Sword Qi blood, as resplendent as a peacock displaying its feathers. This was a Defensive Sword Skill practiced by Elders.
Ning Zhiquan’s body trembled violently as he was blasted back several yards, his face a mask of utter humiliation.
Wang ng stood tall and proud, exuding that sa fearless, domineering aura from the mortal world. For the disciples of the Lower Three Halls, the sight was incredibly satisfying. From Ning Zhiquan on down, everyone in Dao Guang Hall was used to ordering others around like they were feudal lords. The systems established when the Holy Hall was first founded had indeed served a positive purpose, but over ti, they had beco far too rigid and rule-bound, while other Sects were facing brutal competition.
Even a branch from a Small Sect with a weak foundation like the Blood Soul Hall possessed formidable combat strength and dared to fight the Holy Hall’s elites.
Wang ng had brought a wind with him—a storm to blow away the rotten, ancient rules.
Ning Zhiquan stabilized his stance. His clothes had been torn by Broken Heaven Edge after it shattered his Defensive Sword Screen. Anger flared in the eyes of Ning Zhiquan, a man who had always cared more about his image than even the Elders did.
"Sword like a great rainbow, sword like the wind—Flying Rainbow Sword Array!"
Ning Zhiquan held back no longer. The Sacrificial Sword took the initiative, its biting Sword Qi slashing toward Wang ng. With Ning Zhiquan’s Elental Power and Control Power, the Sword Array enveloped Wang ng as if it were a force of nature.
The Flying Rainbow Sword Array was an Elder-level Sword Technique of the Sword Sect. Its Sword Qi was as illusory as a rainbow, an Integration of Reality and Illusion.
Wang ng didn’t dodge. He blasted forward with Broken Heaven Edge—Nine Heavens Separation Fire Sword!
BOOM...
The Sword Qi exploded. Ning Zhiquan retreated again in a sorry state. In terms of sheer power, the Flying Rainbow Sword Array was indeed no match for the Nine Heavens Separation Fire Sword. He just never expected Wang ng to wield it so masterfully, so devastatingly!
On the Dueling Platform, Li Xiuwen nodded slightly. ’The kid’s got so real skill,’ he thought, ’but his personality is too arrogant. It doesn’t suit the style of the Holy Hall.’
Lei Ting and Wu Fatian, however, were shouting their unrestrained approval. Zhao Tianlong and Ma Hezi exchanged a glance, their mutual dislike for Wang ng obvious. ’This kid is a wildfire. Look at the disciples roaring below. How is this the Holy Hall? It’s more like so wild Demon Sect!’
Zhou Luodan smiled and nodded. ’Young people are always impulsive,’ she thought. ’Once he’s a bit older and his cultivation is deeper, he’ll naturally beco more composed.’
Wang ng showed Ning Zhiquan no such courtesy, imdiately following up with the Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens and the Green Fall Yellow Springs Sword Technique. This was a Sword Technique that Ning Zhiquan would have previously scorned, but when Wang ng executed the sa Sword Technique, it was far more masterfully done. Moreover, it was powered by the synergy of the Water and Earth elents of the Five Elents.
If Ning Zhiquan had watched Wang ng’s earlier performances, he would have been on guard. Unfortunately, why would the great Senior Brother Ning deign to watch the disciples below him?
BOOM...
The Green Fall Yellow Springs blast sent Ning Zhiquan flying, leaving him battered and torn. Even his Elental Power, at the Twenty-Fifth Layer, was scattered into disarray.
Ning Zhiquan was injured.
No one, not even Zhang Xiaojiang and his friends, had expected the match to start this way. Against Ning Zhiquan, their only strategy could be sumd up in one word—fight. And yet, Wang ng had seized the upper hand.
Seeing him use the Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens and the Green Fall Yellow Springs Sword Technique filled Yang Ying’s heart with infinite warmth.
"Damn, Wang ng’s strength is advancing by leaps and bounds. It’s like he gets stronger every day." Qiao Qian found this a little hard to accept; he himself had fought a grueling battle against the guy.
"Those eight consecutive tournant battles were like breaking through eight bottlenecks. Anyone would have been transford by that. What a pity."
Of course, what Jia Shidao found a pity was that he hadn’t been the one to go through it.
Frankly, none of them, Senior Brothers of the various Sub-Halls, would even dare challenge Ning Zhiquan now, let alone dominate him as thoroughly as Wang ng was doing.
Ning Zhiquan smiled, then began to laugh out loud. "The younger generation is truly formidable. Wang ng, you are very lucky, but also very unlucky. Now, let show you my true power!"
The Sacrificial Sword pointed diagonally at the ground as his surging Elental Power began to climb. Twenty-Sixth Layer... Twenty-Seventh Layer...
With every layer it rose, the pressure intensified, and the noise from the crowd below grew fainter.
’Ning Zhiquan isn’t giving anyone else a chance at all.’
Twenty-Eighth Layer...
By now, his Elental Power far surpassed Wang ng’s. A gap of eight layers was like the difference between an adult and a child.
Ning Zhiquan’s aura dominated the entire arena. Today had been utterly humiliating; he had never been in such a sorry state since taking charge of Dao Guang Hall.
BOOM...
Twenty-Ninth Layer of the Life Mark!
The Dao Guang Hall disciples instantly fell silent. The Ancestral Masters, however, remained impassive. This was clearly within their expectations; they had approved this match and never doubted its outco.
Ning Zhiquan looked at Wang ng with an expression that said, "You may rest in peace now; it has been an honor." Wang ng had seen that look many tis during his street-fighting days. Every ti, the person giving it ended up getting their head bashed in with a rock, followed by a few good stomps for asure.
The Sacrificial Sword rely pointed at Wang ng, but its Sword Montum pressed down on him like a great mountain. Even the disciples standing far behind Wang ng could feel the pressure and scrambled to get out of the way.
Ning Zhiquan intended to crush Wang ng with pressure alone. But... Wang ng was still smiling. Ning Zhiquan’s Sword Montum had indeed surpassed his own, but no matter how it crashed down on him like a torrential river, his Five Elents Body remained as solid as a rock, a perfectly integrated whole. The pressure could not breach this defense. After all, Ning Zhiquan had not yet reached the Thirtieth Layer.
Wang ng’s figure blurred. With a thunderous roar, his body shot toward Ning Zhiquan like a loosed arrow.
Against an opponent like this, there was only one word for it—Charge!
Ning Zhiquan had no obvious openings in his Elental Power or Skill Techniques. Although Wang ng had previously gained a significant advantage, he hadn’t managed to inflict any substantial damage. This was the first ti in the Holy Hall that he had faced such a flawless opponent.
Broken Heaven Edge chopped violently toward Ning Zhiquan, but the Sacrificial Sword defended with calm composure. Ning Zhiquan was enjoying Wang ng’s current state. This was the desperate struggle of a cornered beast. The more desperately Wang ng fought, the more it highlighted his own composure and elegance.
And those were the exact qualities the Ancestral Masters of the Holy Hall loved to see.
Wang ng couldn’t care less about any of that. Broken Heaven Edge struck faster and faster. This was the first ti he had encountered such an opponent since initially mastering his Five Elents Technique.
Five Elents Sword—Five Elents Deficiency!
In the midst of his assault, Wang ng once again unleashed the sa finishing blow that had defeated Mingren.
A brilliant light flared in Ning Zhiquan’s eyes. Sword Cultivators at his level all possessed a keen sense of danger. This one sword, hidden within Wang ng’s frenzied assault, was different!
Ning Zhiquan dodged!
Wang ng’s Five Elents Sword hit nothing but air. This was sothing Wang ng hadn’t expected; he couldn’t believe Ning Zhiquan would disregard his own dignity just to dodge a single sword strike.
(To be continued.)
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