Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Only three left. The [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords], [Raindrop Sutra], and [Thunderflame Sword].”

  “The [Raindrop Sutra] is a must!” Ning thought to himself.

  The Raindrop Sutra was like a curtain of endless raindrops. It was the most defensive technique amongst the five major sword techniques.

  In a battle, defensive abilities were even more important than attacking abilities!

  In his past life, Ning had seen many martial arts competitions. All of the champions were experts at dodging and defense. Even in soccer and basketball, there was the saying that ‘defense is king’. Although attacks were pretty to look at… it was defense which truly gave the best chances at victory.

  The venue was different, but the logic was the same!

  In life and death battles, defense was also important. When encountering an expert more powerful than one’s self, one might reach the point of only being able to defend and not attack. If one’s defense was strong, then perhaps one might still live. But once those attack-focused people encountered those who were even stronger than them, once their attacks were not able to harm the opponent, they were finished.

  “Defense is the same thing as preserving my life. First, I have to preserve my life; only then can I take the lives of others. In addition, this is the technique which my father used to become famous. With him personally instructing me, I will improve quickly. The [Raindrop Sutra] is a must.” Ning carefully continued to consider. “As for the [Thunderflame Sword] and the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords]…”

  “Alright, [Thunderflame Sword] it is!” Ning quickly made his decision.

  If he was like an ordinary person who could only use a single sword technique, Ning probably would’ve made a choice between the [Raindrop Sutra] and the [Melody of Ten Thousand Swords].

  However, since he used twin swords, he already had the [Raindrop Sutra] for defense. Thus, for the second one, he chose the most offensively powerful [Thunderflame Sword]. The [Thunderflame Sword] had, as its flaw, no defensive techniques, but as a twin-sword wielder, that wasn’t a flaw at all. He had already chosen the [Raindrop Sutra] for his defense, and thus what he now truly needed was a powerful killing technique.

  “The [Raindrop Sutra] and the [Thunderflame Sword].” Ning made up his mind. “The [Raindrop Sutra] is excellent at defense, while the [Thunderflame Sword], despite only having three strokes, has three incomparably powerful killer moves.”

  “In addition, once my [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] reaches the Xiantian level, my Divine Sun Tattoo and Divine Moon Tattoo will allow me to control fire and water. Water is very suited to the [Raindrop Sutra] while fire is very suited to the [Thunderflame Sword]. I trust they will be of great help to my swordplay.”

  “In defending, my defense must be so tight that not even a drop of water can get through!”

  “In attacking, my attacks must be as explosively powerful as a fiery volcano!”

  “I have twin swords. One for defense, one for offense. Or perhaps I can use both for defense. Or both for attack. I’ll do as I please!” Ning rapidly began to evaluate his future possibilities in battle, and he saw the path with crystal clarity. He knew… only once one had a full understanding as to how one would develop and progress would one be able to avoid taking a wrong path. This would help one develop faster!

  In warfare, strategies were of greater importance than tactics.

  In a person’s growth, there was a saying that planning counted for more than effort.

  If one knew the right way one needed to advance fowards, even if one didn’t make huge advances every day, after ten or twenty years, one would still reach a high level. But if one didn’t have a clear objective, and just blindly worked hard, a person might just be running in-place without improving, or perhaps even going backwards!

  ……

  His careful examination of the books had taken two hours. That huge candle was already half used up. Yichuan and Snow just waited there quietly, occasionally exchanging a few words.

  “Father, Mother,” Ning suddenly spoke.

  “Hrm?” Yichuan and Snow both turned to look at him. Yichuan spoke. “You’ve chosen?”

  Ning nodded.

  “Ning, son, what have you chosen? One or two?” Snow asked.

  “I’ve chosen two.” Ning held out the two books. “One is the [Raindrop Sutra]. The other is the [Thunderflame Sword].”

  “[Raindrop Sutra]? [Thunderflame Sword]?” Yichuan nodded slightly. As the number one expert of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, despite not having gained any merits in battle after his son had been born, his reputation had only grown. This was because no one knew how powerful Yichuan had become… but no one could dispute that in even ten years, Yichuan had already become the number one expert of the West Prefecture.

  His judgement was therefore exceptional.

  “Fine.” Yichuan nodded.

  “I’d like to hear your advice, Father,” Ning hurriedly said.

  “No rush.” Yichuan shook his head. “I have some thoughts on the [Raindrop Sutra], but you’ve never trained in it before. Thus, even if I explained my thoughts to you, you wouldn’t be able to comprehend them. You have to first train hard, and even engage in life-and-death battles, before I can successfully guide you.”

  “Tomorrow at dawn, I will give you the full copies of the [Raindrop Sutra] and the [Thunderflame Sword]. At that time, you will perform them in front of me once. As long as you can get the postures and movements right, that will be enough.” Yichuan nodded. “Three days later, you will begin to engage in real battles. Those sparring matches you usually do are too simple and soft. You need to fight in real life-and-death battles.”

  Ning was puzzled.

  “Father, haven’t I already engaged in life-and-death battles?” Ning couldn’t help but ask. “In the past, when you acknowledged that my skill had reached the first level in sword training, the basic level, didn’t you have me fight against and kill some prisoners who had been sentenced to death?”

  He still remembered the first time he had killed someone. At that time, his entire body had been trembling, uncontrollably so. Although he rationally knew that he shouldn’t be afraid, he still couldn’t help but shake. According to what his father had said… aside from a very few people who lived for slaughter, this was the normal reaction of most people the first time they killed someone.

  After having killed dozens of people sentenced to death row, he had grown calmer.

  “That wasn’t a battle. That was just training your courage.” Yichuan shook his head. “Fighting against convicts? All of them were weaker than you. How can that be called a life-and-death battle? Three days from now… I will arrange for you to engage in a true battle with monstrous beasts, powerful ones that have already reached mastery in the Houtian level.”

  “Monsters?” Ning’s face changed.

  “Those captured monsters will turn insane and ferocious for food and for the chance to live. In addition, they won’t show you any mercy at all.” Yichuan looked at his son. “In front of a massive cage, you will fight against the monstrous beasts, one on one. This is the battle which all important descendants of the Ji clan must go through; the ‘Cage Battle’. Over half of these important descendants will die in that cage.

  Half?

  Ning was briefly shocked, but then grew calm again. This was because he knew that the women and the slaves in the various tribes were highly fertile, but the total population here had never changed. Why? Because the savage environment had caused the tribes to need to struggle against the heavens, against the earth, against the Diremonsters hidden within the mountains and valleys, and even against other tribes. Only a few would be able to survive! Even though he was born into the Ji clan, he still needed to face tough, relentless training. Only the elite would survive.

  It was precisely because all the clan members of the Ji clan were so strong that the Ji clan was famous and had become a local hegemon!

  * *
*

  Book 1, Chapter 15 - Cage Battle

  Three days later, at dawn, Ning and his father came to Dragon Castle.

  Dragon Castle was three hundred meters wide, a thousand meters long, and was divided into two parts; the Cage, and the tunnels for the monstrous beasts. The Cage was where the life-and-death battles would be carried out, while the beast tunnels were where the monstrous beasts were imprisoned. Because Dragon Castle held many monstrous beasts inside, it was extremely dangerous, which is why it had been built outside of the city.

  …..

  Dragon Castle. Within the Cage.

  Ning entered the Cage and looked around. This was an empty area that was two or three hundred meters in diameter. The four walls were all made from some sort of black metal, and up above him was black metallic chains that formed a metal web, preventing anyone from fleeing.

  “This place is completely sealed.” Yichuan, who faintly emanated a cold aura, said, “The walls are formed with blackwater iron. Although blackwater iron isn’t a particularly precious material, most early stage Xiantian will find it very difficult to damage such a thick blackwater iron wall. As for the thick chains above, those are also made from blackwater iron. Given your strength… if you are to use the power within the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] and use your full strength, you should be able to break apart the chains. But a web like this formed from many chains… you will probably need the span of ten breaths before you are able to break enough chains to escape.”

  Ning nodded.

  “Look.” Yichuan pointed towards the air above the net of chains. There was a viewing platform beyond it.

  “Your mother and I, as well as your Uncle White, will be there watching you,” Yichuan said coldly.

  “Be careful,” Snow encouraged her son.

  “Roar!” The snow white dog also looked at Ning, his eyes filled with encouragement and anticipation. This snow white dog was his father Yichuan’s lifelong friend, and was also his own Uncle White. In total, his father had tamed two Diremonsters; one was that massive black python, the so-called Uncle Black! The other was a snow white dog, his Uncle White.

  Beasts, upon gaining a level of intelligence, could begin to absorb natural energy and transform into monstrous beasts!

  Monstrous beasts, after managing the difficult art of transformation, would enter the Xiantian level and become Xiantian lifeforms. Only then would they be considered Diremonsters. Generally speaking, Diremonsters were capable of transforming into humans, such as Uncle Black. But amongst monstrous beasts, there was a very unique type of creature: the Godbeasts.

  Godbeasts were magical beasts that contained some of the bloodline of those ancient Fiendgods of the past. They were born with intelligence, and possessed powerful natural gifts. Their strength was far greater than that of ordinary monstrous beasts. They also found it extremely hard to transform into human forms, and for different Godbeasts, the level of difficulty was different as well.

  Some needed to reach the ‘Zifu’ level before they could take human form. Some needed to reach the ‘Wanxiang’ level. Some, even higher…

  Uncle White was a Godbeast of the ‘Whitewater Hound’ type, and he had to reach the Zifu level before he could take human form and speak in the human tongue.

  However, Ning and the Whitewater Hound were extremely close to each other, because after having been taught archery by his teacher, Blindfish, Ning would spend every morning with the Whitewater Hound at the forests outside the West Prefecture training in archery. Yichuan hadn’t been able to rest easy with his son going out by himself, which is why he asked the Xiantian lifeform, the ‘Whitewater Hound’, to help protect him.

  The power of a Xiantian level Godbeast was terrifying indeed! The Whitewater Hound was one of the reasons why Yichuan had such a high position and reputation in the Ji clan of the Western Prefecture.

  “Just watch.” Ning’s lips twisted into a smile.

  “Growl.” The Whitewater Hound let out a growl as well, then followed Yichuan and Snow to the narrow walkway. Soon, they arrived at the viewing platform.

  Ning let out a soft breath, calming himself down as he looked around him.

  “Why do I feel like I’m in the Coliseum?” Ning secretly murmured. “There’s a place for battle, and there’s a viewing platform.” He knew that generally speaking, only the important disciples of the clan would be permitted to engage in battle against monstrous beasts here, which is why the elders and family members of the clan would often come watch.

  “Hua…” “Hua…”

  “Hua…”

  The sound of chains clanking against each other could be heard from a distant tunnel. Ning couldn’t help but turn to look, and within that pitch black tunnel… he could faintly make out a low, angry growling sound, a sound which actually shook the entire cage. Even the massive chain net above the cage was quivering with the noise.

  A massive, silver furred head slowly appeared from within the distant tunnel.

  “What is that?” Ning looked carefully.

  “Ning.” Yichuan said coldly from the viewing platform above the cage, “You train in the number one Fiendgod Body Refining, so I specially selected an extremely powerful monstrous beast for you, one with the lineage of the Fiendgods: A Howling Moonwolf.”

  Ning’s eyes widened as he stared above at his father, a look of shock on his face.

  A beast that possessed the lineage of the Fiendgods?

  Then that would be a Godbeast, right? But it made sense; Godbeasts were a type of monstrous beast. In the vast world, there were still a good number of Houtian level Godbeasts that roamed about, such as the Armored Wurm, the Earthquake Rhino, the Howling Moonwolf, the Redclawed Goldenraven, the Thundersea Owl, or the Whitewater Hound. Generally speaking, out of every thousand Houtian level Godbeast, only one would be able to break through to the Xiantian lifeform level.

  “Hua…” The metal clanking sound continued.

  Ning didn’t lose his focus. He stared at the giant tunnel in the wall. He knew that they were probably removing the chains on the other side. Once the chains were removed, the Howling Moonwolf would be released.

  “Pengcheng!” The sound of metal chains hitting the floor.

  “Hoooooowl!” Instantly, a carefree wolf’s howl rang out. In the air above, Yichuan, his wife, and the Whitewater Hound stared carefully down below.

  Ning held his breath.

  From the distant tunnel, a massive creature slowly made its way out. Its entire body was covered with beautiful silver fur. It was over two meters tall, and its steps were graceful. It stared at the tiny little pipsqueak standing in the distance; a human male. As one of the special types of monstrous beasts, a Godbeast, the creature’s intelligence wasn’t lower than that of humans.

  It knew that there were only two possible outcomes after entering this cage. The first was to kill this human and continue to live. The other was to be killed by this human youth.

  “He picked a Godbeast for me the first time here.” Ning stretched out his right hand, and a sword appeared in it out of nowhere, gleaming with cold light. “Then let’s kill it.”

  The Howling Moonwolf’s massive body weighed nearly ten thousand pounds, but its four legs moved with great agility as it closed the distance. Its long, narrow eyes inspected this human youth.

  Ning walked forward, one step at a time, with longsword in hand.

  The distance between the two quickly drew near.

  “Shua!” The Howling Moonwolf’s movements suddenly changed from being graceful to being savage, and it suddenly transformed into a blur as it pounced at Ning, and its previously soft paws suddenly had sharp claws emerge from it as well.

  Swoosh!

  At the critical moment, Ning suddenly moved, as graceful as the wind as he dodged the Howling Moonwolf’s pounce, and then stabbed out with the sharp sword in his hand! The stab was extremely forceful and straight, and it was also fast as lightning. If it managed to land on the Howling Moonwo
lf’s body, it would be able to borrow the charging force of the Moonwolf and tear its body open!

  “Huh?” As he stabbed, Ning’s face suddenly changed. The sword tip had met with a powerful blocking force. The Howling Moonwolf’s fur had blocked the tip of the sword, preventing it from penetrating through.

  At the same time, the Howling Moonwolf suddenly sent its tail whisking towards Ning. Unable to dodge in time, Ning quickly used his sword to block.

  Bang!

  The Moonwolf’s tail landed against the blade like a heavy iron whip, and the powerful force knocked Ning flying away, his body slamming against the distant blackwater iron wall with a boom. Bang! The thick wall trembled violently.

  “Roar!” The Howling Moonwolf immediately followed up with another pounce as it slashed at Ning with its claws.

  Ning quickly dodged with a flying leap.

  Chi! Chi! Chi! Several deep claw marks appeared on the blackwater iron wall. The Moonwolf landed on the ground, then stared at the distant human youth. Its tail attack was its killing weapon. Its tail had sent the human youth slamming into the wall, but the human youth had actually been able to quickly dodge far away. It understood that this human youth truly was very powerful, powerful enough to give him a good fight.

  “An ordinary Ninefang Warrior, upon meeting with that tail, would probably have their organs split open.” Ning frowned as he stared at the Howling Moonwolf. “It seems I’ll have to rely on the power of the Fiendgod Body Refining.”

  These years, he had also engaged in Ki Refining and had reached mastery of the Houtian level.

  But his attacks with Houtian level Ki Refining techniques couldn’t even break through the fur. How could he use it to fight?

  “Hrmph!”

  Ning let out a deep growl, and from his nostrils came forth two streams of energy that were visible to the naked eye. The streams of energy were causing the air itself to shake. At that moment, the hidden, terrifying potential strength that was lying dormant in his body suddenly exploded forth, and the hidden Solar Strength and Lunar Strength exploded as well, and his entire body began to turn faintly red.