by <unknown>
"How can he bear to lose such a primeval sword?"
Before everyone's exclamation died down, an unprecedented blast burst out from the black smoke, crushing the entire field like a tornado and a tsunami. The sun seemed to have crashed on the Bronze Censer Peak!
The Cultivators who responded slower than Li Yao were swallowed by the blast instantly. They were like canoes in a surging ocean before they were blown away brutally!
The ten protective barriers around the sword test field exploded, twisted, and faded one after another, leaving only trails of smoke.
Everyone's eyes were blinded by the dazzling light triggered in the huge collision of the primeval treasures. It did not help at all even if they closed their eyes as fast as possible.
Their ears were stuffed by the deafening explosions. Hundreds of ear-splitting sounds overlapped, and the echoes were still bashing their eardrums repetitively. They all felt their heads aching, and they were about to be smothered!
After more than ten breaths, the Cultivators who had been knocked to the periphery of the sword test field finally calmed themselves down and scanned the field with their senses.
What was in front of them was an unbelievable picture.
At the center of confrontation of the two superb experts, the previously flat sword test field was filled with concentric creases. The earth seemed to have turned into tides, and the tides had been frozen into icebergs more than ten meters high!
Qi Zhongdao and Yan Liren were standing on two icebergs respectively, facing the opposite direction. Their faces were emotionless, and their eyes were deep.
Some of the careful Cultivators, however, noticed that they had swapped positions.
The Heaven Flipping Seal was still rotating slowly above Qi Zhongdao's head, except that it no longer released colorful mystic rays. The previously immaculate, errorless silver sphere now had a shallow dent!
Although it was narrow, short, and shallow, it could hardly escape anyone's attention, just like the scar on a beauty's face.
Above Yan Liren's head, the two primeval swords, other than the black one, were floating in midair next to each other. The auras of the swords were also shivering, making them look like two heavily wounded serpents.
"This battle…"
All the Cultivators were shocked. Judging from the appearances of the two people, it was hard to say who the final winner would be!
Suddenly, a Cultivator exclaimed at the sky, "Look!"
Everybody looked where the guy was pointing at, only to discover that the few clouds above Yan Liren's head had been compressed into balls, which seemed unable to bear their own weight and were about to collapse from the sky!
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Before everyone had the time to be amazed, a few rocks that were piercing into the clouds at the edge of the Bronze Censer Peak also let out deafening explosions before they slid down on a slant, revealing a fracture that was as smooth as a mirror. They had obviously been cut off by Yan Liren's sword auras!
Boom!
The monolithic rocks weighing almost ten thousand tons crashed at the edge of the Bronze Censer Peak. The earth shook violently, as if the entire Bronze Censer Peak could not stand the devastation of the two experts and was about to crumble!
Hundreds of disciples of the Purple Pole Sword Sect hurried up. The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators of the sect also wasted no time restoring and building up the rune arrays around, in case the unexpected event of the entire mountain falling down did happen.
Pu!
A Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator who had been watching the battle at the innermost circle vomited a mouthful of black blood before he staggered backward a few steps and fell to the ground. His face was as colorless as that of a dead person, and his breathing was unsteady!
"Not good. Senior Qing Leizi of the Roaring Thunder Sect has been heavily wounded because of the sword auras and the power of the Heaven Flipping Seal. Somebody, help him!"
Qing Leizi was a well-known senior in the world of Cultivators. It had never occurred to them that he had been wounded to such an extent just because he stood a bit too close to the center and ran away a bit too slowly.
Whispers were echoing again.
Everybody was amazed. The battle was truly spectacular. It was almost on par with the shocking battle of the two Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivators a hundred years earlier!
But the question remained, who was the winner?
The air was so intense that the field looked like a glacier where the ice blocks were cracking and falling apart. All the Cultivators, be they on the Grand Mystery Sect's side or the Purple Pole Sword Sect's, held their breath and stared at the two experts who were standing on the top of the icebergs like statues.
"Hu…"
Li Yao took a deep breath in relief and shook his clothes, which had been soaked in his sweat. The trip to the world of ancient Cultivators was certainly rewarding. The chance to watch the confrontation of two unparalleled experts at such a close distance alone was already worth the ticket price!
Appreciating such a gratifying battle is greatly beneficial for my own training. I can vaguely feel the breakthrough that I'm going to make in the near future!
It's a shame that I cannot stop the great battle of the two elite ancient Cultivators. Neither of them deserves to die in such a way!
Qin Zhongdao is truly worthy of being the leading person of the Great Qian Cultivators. However… However…
Li Yao sighed. Noticing that a few Core Formation Stage Cultivators in the robes of the Grand Mystery Sect were standing next to him, he waved his hands at them and said, not without regret, "Now, hurry up and make sure that Master Righteous One's body is preserved properly. He has… perished!"
"What?"
When everybody was waiting for the final result in silence, Li Yao's whisper was as loud and shocking as thunder on a sunny day!
"Master Righteous One has lost and died? How is it possible?"
"How did he know? How can he tell it?"
"The rude guy is still spreading fallacies to deceive people!"
"Don't talk like that. This Master Spiritual Vulture is something. He was watching in the innermost circle just now and walking amid the attacks without using his spiritual energy, but he remained uninjured!
"Besides, before Master Righteous One and the Sword Maniac launched their ultimate move, he was the first to respond and retreat!
"Before the battle, he predicted that Master Righteous One would fail. He spoke so confidently right now because he truly knows what has happened and is not just blabbering!"
"This is—this is—"
Everybody looked at Li Yao with both fear and fury.
The disciples of the Grand Mystery Sect were looking at Qi Zhongdao and Li Yao in turns with most devastation.
Xie Xinghuo, who provoked Li Yao and demanded a 'sword test' in the beginning, and his Senior Uncle Liao were so scared that they covered their heads and squeezed into the crowd, fearing that Li Yao might catch them!
In everyone's eyes, the unaffiliated Cultivator from the borderlands who had predicted the outcome of the battle before it began was becoming more and more mysterious if not creepy!
At this moment, things were finally changing on the mountain.
"Cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough, cough!"
Qi Zhongdao's body suddenly shook. He began to vomit blood and simply could not stop it. He seemed like he was about to fall from the peak!
"Ah!"
The words of Master Spiritual Vulture were true. As if hit by lightning, the Cultivators did not know how to respond!
Cracks were echoing again. On the other iceberg, the two primeval swords flying above Yan Liren's head suddenly became riddled with hundreds of interconnecting cracks. Their edges were full of dents, too. They were too damaged to be repaired!
The two swords fell down from the sky helplessly, one jabbing into the ground and the other lying on the ground like a dead fish. They did not ca
rry the glamor of primeval treasures at all but were essentially two stove pokers!
Pu!
Yan Liren vomited a mouthful of blood, too, and rolled down the hill like a meatball into the broken folds of the ground, vanishing from everyone's eyes.
Dumbfounded, everyone stood on the tips of their feet and waited for a long time, only to hear a dull noise from the folds. "I have… lost!"
Qi Zhongdao vomited blood for quite a long while and shook in midair, but he was not showing any sign that he was dying. With exactly the same dark, bitter face as before, he clasped his fist toward Yan Liren, who was at the center of a crevice, and said drily, "… Thank you!"
Stowing the Heaven Flipping Seal away, the leader of the Great Qian Cultivators glanced at Li Yao with a pair of complicated eyes. He then bowed toward the Purple Pole Sword Sect's banner before he stepped back on the nonexistent stairs to the Grand Mystery Sect's side.
"We've won!"
All the high-level Cultivators on the Grand Mystery Sect's side whose hearts had hit rock bottom just now were almost bursting into tears of joy!
"The Sword Maniac is indeed no match for Master Righteous One!"
"Of the three primeval swords that he had polished for decades, after the encounter with Master Righteous One's Heaven Flipping Seal, one broke apart, and the other two were heavily damaged!"
"The victory is truly neat and gratifying!"
"The Grand Mystery Sect deserves to be the strongest sect in the world! Master Righteous One deserves to be the leader of all Cultivators!"
"It's hilarious that the guy just said—"
Immediately, countless pairs of sharp eyes were darting toward Li Yao!
Chapter 1397: Sophisticated Dialogue! |
"Damn it. I was almost fooled by the pretentious guy and really thought that Master Righteous One unfortunately failed and perished!"
"The guy was talking as if it were real. Even I bought it just now. I thought that he had his reasons, but he turned out to be talking out his behind!"
"Is—is this guy trying to earn reputation in such a way? He actually knows nothing and was simply taking a wild gamble. If Master Righteous One had unfortunately failed, he would've been given a chance to brag about himself!"
"Shameless! This is as shameless as anyone can imagine! Can the grand leader of the Grand Mystery Sect and the role model of all Great Qian Dynasty be insulted by such a scoundrel?"
"Where are the disciples of the Grand Mystery Sect? Where are the Great Qian Cultivators? Can you allow such uncivilized barbarians to disregard the rules of the Dragon Spring Meeting?"
The high-level Cultivators on the Grand Mystery Sect's side and the unaffiliated Cultivators that the Purple Pole Sword Sect had invited for help were all simmering.
It was because Li Yao had been too convincing a moment ago. He had easily struck everyone as an unworldly expert who had trained himself for a hundred years and was about to reap the fruits!
They had never expected that he was such a dumbass. The actions that he had taken while he was watching the battle in the innermost cycle were probably based on luck, too.
Immediately, the high-level Cultivators associated with the Grand Mystery Sect were all staring at Li Yao aggressively with intense killing intent!
The Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators on the Purple Pole Sword Sect's side were at a loss, too.
Honestly speaking, they did mean to recruit Li Yao and believed that he had his expertise.
However, the two statements that Li Yao had made so far were highly inopportune. They did not know where to begin even if they wanted to help.
Li Yao, however, was utterly stunned. He was still dwelling in his own world in confusion and did not catch what anyone around him was saying at all.
That's unreasonable. My judgement can't be wrong. How did it end up like this?
Qi Zhongdao should've been killed. Yan Liren's sword… His sword…
Li Yao suddenly shuddered. As if waking up from a feverish dream, he strode toward the center of the sword test field, his eyes turning sharper abruptly.
"What's he up to?"
"Still acting?"
The Cultivators around were both shocked and enraged, especially those on the Grand Mystery Sect's side. They were all rubbing their fists and glaring, as they almost could not wait to kill the guy who had been babbling all the time!
Soon, two Cultivators walked out of the crowd and stood in Li Yao's way. Maliciously, they said, "Fellow Cultivator Spiritual Vulture…"
They were Xie Xinghuo, the elder of the Spiritual Mountain Sect who had confronted Li Yao earlier, and his Senior Uncle Liao, who belonged to the Divergent Mountain Sect, a branch of the Grand Mystery Sect.
One on the left and one on the right, they sneered and gripped Li Yao brutally like a pair of heated tongs.
"This is none of your business. Get lost!"
Staring at the folds at the center of the sword test field, Li Yao did not even bother to look at the two of them. He opened his hands as if they were the claws of a falcon and snatched their shoulders as fast as lightning. The two of them were unable to move at all. Then, after a shake, all the joints in their body were dislocated before they were thrown hundreds of meters away.
"Not good!"
Quite a few Cultivators dashed out from the crowd, trying to pick up the two guys. However, the two of them seemed to be covered in a mysterious, electric shell. All the helping hands were shocked stiff.
After a huge collision, the two of them hit the ground in the loudest screams!
"How did he—"
Everybody on the spot was shocked. They found it difficult to believe their eyes!
Right when they thought that 'Master Spiritual Vulture' was merely a shameless, conceited scoundrel, Li Yao had snatched and tossed away two experts in the Core Formation Stage like an eagle snatching chickens, not even giving them an opportunity to be helped by others!
Under the Grand Mystery Sect's banner, the leaders and elders of the five major sects were all staring at Li Yao in astonishment for a long time before they slowly turned around and looked Qi Zhongdao, their eyes blinking.
Qi Zhongdao was still expressionless, but his dark face was gradually filled with paleness. His lips shivered for a long time, but he did not say anything in the end, simply poured out fragrant pills from a bright green calabash and swallowed all of them. Thunderous sounds were echoing inside his stomach!
Throwing away the two Core Formation Stage Cultivators, Li Yao jumped and dashed forward, landing at the center of the sword test field like a weird giant made of lightning!
'Sword Maniac' Yan Liren, who had failed just now, was climbing one of the hills again clumsily, preparing to return to the Cultivators of his side.
Li Yao happened to stop in his path.
Li Yao and Yan Liren, two guys who were equally bloodstained and bedraggled, confronted each other in silence.
Another battle seemed to be looming when the aftershock of the first still had not died down. The auras unleashed in their confrontation seemed to be even sharper and more aggressive than those during the confrontation between Yan Liren and Qi Zhongdao a moment earlier!
All the Cultivators, both those on the Grand Mystery Sect's side and those on the Purple Pole Sword Sect's side, were greatly shocked. None of them knew what the mysterious and unpredictable 'Master Spiritual Vulture' was up to.
Silently, Li Yao stared at Yan Liren for a long time, especially the overly flamboyant short sword that had been dangling from his waist all the time.
Yan Liren did not seem surprised at the stranger who had jumped out of nowhere. At this moment, the Sword Maniac finally observed Li Yao carefully for the first time.
He was eyeing Li Yao in the same way that he eyed an interesting sword target.
The two of them observed each other for such a long time that whispers were echoing again around. Suddenly, Li Yao opened his mouth. "Why did you lose?"
It was indeed an unreasonable
question.
Faced with 'Iron Saint' Qi Zhongdao, the leader of the Great Qian Cultivators, and under the suppression of the Heaven Flipping Seal, the ultimate treasure in the world, was it not normal for him to lose?
Returning in one piece was something worth smiling about!
The Cultivators around finally could not help it any longer. They were all shouting and yelling.
Yan Liren, however, tilted his head and was really considering the question carefully. While wiping the blood off his face with his sleeve, he said, "Qi Zhongdao's Cultivation is slightly higher than mine. If I wanted to win, I would have had to kill him!"
Green fire was seething inside Li Yao's pure black eyes. The green spot between his eyebrows was already releasing thorn-like stripes toward his eyes. "You didn't want to kill him?"
"My senior brother asked me not to kill him," Yan Liren replied dutifully, like a kid answering the question of a teacher in class. "My senior brother said that, although Qi Zhongdao is on the other side, he is a man who respects rules. Only if he supervises everything will the Dragon Spring Meeting be completed as planned!
"If I executed Qi Zhongdao with my sword, there would be some immediate gains, but as a result, chances are that some guys who disrespected rules would take his place.
"My senior brother said that the world of Cultivators is in chaos and that the current peace is sustained by Qi Zhongdao. Without a pillar like Qi Zhongdao, everything would only be even messier. Nobody would benefit from a complete fallout!
"Therefore, my senior brother told me in advance that I must not kill Qi Zhongdao if I had a choice, even if it meant that I might lose a little bit."
Everybody was shocked by what he said!
What was the meaning of that? Yan Liren was too unbelievable! He talked as if the well-respected leader of the Great Qian Dynasty was someone whom he could easily kill if he wanted to!
Did he keep something to himself in the battle just now?
How could it be?
Many high-level Cultivators were mumbling to themselves, and they could not help looking at Qi Zhongdao suspiciously.
Qi Zhongdao was still expressionless, as if his face were covered in an iron shell. There was no telling whether or not his mood was affected by Yan Liren's words at all.
