Desolate Era

by RWX

  Divine abilities and divine sense techniques were equally attractive to Ning. He wanted both. “If only I could choose whatever I wanted…” Ning gritted his teeth.

  He gave one last, regretful glance to those five abridged books, then turned and left, moving directly towards the other table filled with divine sense techniques. Atop the table, there were a total of three golden books.

  Not hesitating at all, Ning picked up one of the golden books, then straightforwardly departed the Dao Repository Vault.

  …….

  Upon Ning leaving the Vault, the tall, muscular, armored Dao-Protector looked at him. “You’ve made your choice?”

  “Yes. Take it.” Ning handed it over, and when he did, he couldn’t help but turn to look back at the Dao Repository Vault. His divine abilities! He really, really wanted to acquire a few divine abilities.

  For example, that [Eye of the Luminous Heart] also had a side-effect pertaining to divine sense, and was extremely mysterious and profound. But the cost of the first scroll alone was five thousand black-white pellets. For the [Divine Thunderbolt Eye], one could immediately open a third, divine eye which was able to draw in and store the lightning and thunder of the world. With but a thought, one could release thunderbolts from that divine eye! Its power was truly terrifying.

  “For now…I can’t have my cake and eat it as well,” Ning sighed to himself. “I already have a divine ability, the [Starseizing Hand], which is vastly superior to these divine abilities. These divine abilities, as far as I’m concerned, are just supporting arts that can make up for some of my weaknesses. They will not, however, noticeably increase my real power.”

  “This [Soulshaker Art], however, will allow me to be able to gain yet another killer technique in a short period of time,” Ning mused to himself.

  The [Soulshaker Art]’s power was not related to one’s divine power or elemental ki; it relied on the strength of one’s divine will! The stronger the divine will, the more powerful the [Soulshaker Art] would be. His divine will was at the level of a Primal Daoist’s by now, and with the [Nuwa Painting], his divine soul would only continue to grow in strength. Naturally, he had to learn a divine sense technique.

  “You didn’t choose a divine ability?” The Dao-Protector, after looking at Ning’s choices, was rather amazed. “Apprentice-Nephew Ji Ning, this [Soulshaker Art] only requires a divine will to be used, but only other Wanxiang Adepts will have a divine will as well. At most, you’ll be able to slightly impact other Wanxiang Adepts. You train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]; it’s best if you choose a divine ability.”

  Ning laughed. This Dao-Protector had no idea that his divine soul was already at the ‘divine sense’ level. “This is my choice,” Ning said.

  “Your decision.” The Dao-Protector had only chosen to say a few extra words for Ning’s benefit. Since Ning insisted, he naturally wouldn’t say anything else.

  “The [Soulshaker Art] requires 2000 black-white pellets, while the others need exactly 600.” The Dao-Protector looked at Ning. “I’ll destroy the restrictive spells around these sword arts manuals, and I’ll also go acquire the actual copies of the [Soulshaker Art] and the Heaven-ranked sword techniques for you.”

  …….

  Soon, Ning paid the 2600 black-white pellets, then departed with the thirty-six sword arts manuals as well as the [Soulshaker Art] and returned to his Darknorth Peak.

  Upon returning to Darknorth Peak, Ning felt quite the itchy feeling in his heart. He gave a few instructions, ordering that he was not to be disturbed unless there was something important. And then, he went directly into his private training room.

  “Back to the training room again.” Cloudjade stared at Ning, chewing on her lips. There was a hint of sadness in her eyes. “He won’t talk to me at all.”

  The nearby Roch cast Cloudjade a glance, laughing inwardly. How could he not tell that Cloudjade had been hoping to seduce Ning? “What a pity. Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning’s Dao-heart is incomparably firm. How could a vixen like you possibly move him?”

  Within the private room. Ning sat down in the lotus position, immediately beginning to flip through the [Soulshaker Art]’s complete manual. The complete manual to the [Soulshaker Art] wasn’t too thick. After beginning to carefully read through it, Ning started to understand…the so-called [Soulshaker Art] was just an extremely unique way of applying the divine will. This was a technical manual, but its value was comparable to a divine ability.

  “The [Soulshaker Art]?” Ning closed his eyes, beginning to ponder on what he had read. Rumble…Ning’s powerful divine will began to spread out, filling the entire private room, and he began to test it over and over.

  Failure. Failure. Failure. Ning’s repeated failures didn’t cause him to feel the slightest bit dispirited. Each time, he would realize what his mistake was, and each time, he would perform better than the last.

  ……

  In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed with Ning staying within the training room. Because Ning had ordered his servants long ago that he was not to be disturbed unless there was something critically important, for this period of time, things were quite calm and quiet.

  Within Ning’s sea of consciousness, there was a miniature Ji Ning, seated in the lotus position. This was Ning’s ‘divine soul’. The divine soul sat there in the lotus position, a runic seal repeatedly appearing and disappearing over his chest.

  “Whoosh!” The azure seal managed to remain alive for a few instants, but then was extinguished once more.

  Ning calmly absorbed the lessons of this failure, then tried again. “Whoosh!” Instantly, a queer azure seal once more appeared in front of the chest of Ning’s divine soul. This seal, at first glance, appeared to be some sort of script, but it was neither a Fiendgod character, nor a character from any language he was aware of. When seeing this azure rune, one felt as though a violent wave was slamming against the shore.

  “Go.” Ning willed his divine soul to release his tremendously powerful divine will, which came out through that azure runic seal. The divine will which was released wasn’t as dispersed as it was before; rather, it was a wave that was folded together in layers. His divine sense spread out like waves in every direction, constantly rolling forth without end. One could imagine how, if Ning encountered a living creature with a soul, these turbid waves of divine will would instantly smash down against the enemy’s soul, just like a wave smashing down upon a shore.

  “At last, I’ve finally managed to just barely manifest the ‘Soulshaker Rune’.” Ning opened his eyes, revealing a hint of a smile. “However, I’m still quite far off from the true, perfect Soulshaker Rune as mentioned in the book.”

  Relaxed, Ning left the private room. By the time he arrived in the outer courtyard, he saw that it was late at night. Outside was a sea of sparkling stars in the night sky. Ning raised his head, staring at the sea of stars, then laughed. “In the upcoming period of time, what I’ll need to do is spend quite some time meditating on the Dao and on sword arts here at the Black-White College. Only when Master nods in approval shall I go out and temper myself through adventuring.”

  ……….

  Time flowed on like water. Ji Ning and Mu Northson, the two new disciples of the Black-White College, lived lives that were peaceful and yet meaningful. They focused on comprehending the Dao, on analyzing sword arts and the Dao of Constructs, and unconsciously, their power grew greater and greater. The two of them had been like two pieces of unpolished jade, but the Black-White College slowly carved and shaped them, letting them reveal their true luster.

  In the blink of an eye, more than three years passed. It was the height of summer now. This year, Ning turned twenty years old.

  * * *

  Book 8, Chapter 6 - Three Years Later

  This midsummer dawn was uncommonly cool. Ji Ning, still clad in his black furs, walked out from the estate atop Darknorth Peak.

  “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Nin
g.” Meng Roch, who had grown only more muscular and tanned, immediately greeted him with respect.

  “Rocky, prepare some food for me. Same as what we’ve done in the past.” Ning laughed as he gave some instructions. In the past three years, Northmont Baiwei had delivered two more retainers, and so he now had a total of six under his control. He was now quite familiar with all six of them, but he still trusted Roch the most.

  Because Roch had damaged his ki foundation in the past, upon entering the Black-White College, he began to train as a Fiendgod as well, and his skin had darkened as a result. “Yes, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning,” Roch said, immediately departing.

  “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you came out.” A beautiful figure walked over from afar. It was Cloudjade. Behind her was a black-robed youth; this was one of the six retainers under Ning’s command, Weifang.

  Cloudjade’s eyes were as bright as jewels. After having been in the Black-White College for so long, her aura had improved as well, and she now had an additional hint of otherworldliness about her. “You were in closed-door meditation for so long this time, senior apprentice-brother. It was almost a month.”

  She stared at Ning with a gaze that was quite scorching. Although her horizons had been expanded during her time at the Black-White College…in her eyes, Ji Ning was still the most brilliant star of them all. Three years had passed, and compared to three years ago, Ning’s aura had only grown more simple and pure; he was like a youth who lived a rustic life in the mountain wilderness.

  But Cloudjade understood that her senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning was now far more powerful than he had been three years ago. There were now extremely few people who were willing to engage in a discourse on the Dao with Ning at the Dao Debate Palace, and quite a few secretly claimed that Ning must surely be a reincarnated Immortal. From this, one could tell how monstrous Ning’s performance had been.

  “Each time I come out of seclusion, I’ll see you,” Ning laughed. “Cloudjade, you need to calm your heart and focus on training as well. Look at Weifang..he arrived after you did, but he’s the most powerful of the six of you.”

  “Senior apprentice-brother, you praise me over-much,” the black-robed youth, Weifang, immediately said with respect. “Compared to you, senior apprentice-brother, I am countless tens of thousands of kilometers beneath you.”

  “I’ve already worked quite hard,” Cloudjade said. But Ning only shook his head. “Your talent is excellent, but your Dao-heart is somewhat lacking.” Cloudjade just rolled her eyes.

  Ning secretly shook his head. When Cloudjade had first joined the school, she had wanted to seduce him. After realizing that there was no hope…although she was still very respectful to Ning, she started to begin to work on seducing the other senior apprentice-brothers of the College.

  “She walks the path of Immortal cultivation, but instead of calming her mind and focusing on training, the only thing on her mind is becoming Dao-companions with powerful Immortal practitioners. Jeeze!” Ning felt quite resigned about this as well.

  He understood everything quite clearly. Cloudjade, by nature, wasn’t a bad person. Of his six main retainers, the person Ning trusted the most was Roch, and the person he trusted the second most was Cloudjade. As for the other four, although they were extremely respectful towards him, Ning could sense that all four of them were hugely ambitious, and so he had to be careful in the amount of trust he showed them.

  …….

  Ning sat there, sipping some stewed rice porridge that contained natural elemental energies within it while eating some delicacies. His mood was quite good to begin with, and it was improving further and further. Next to him was the Whitewater Hound who just lay there, looking at Ning. He sent mentally to Ning, “Ning, son; you seem to be in quite a good mood.”

  “Right. I was in closed-door training for nearly a month, but I’ve finally comprehended the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]!” Ning looked at his Uncle White, his face covered in smiles.

  “You’ve comprehended it?” The Whitewater Hound instantly revealed a look of surprise and delight as well. Over the past three years…Ning had an Immortal guiding him, the sword arts manuals of the Dao Repository Vault to peruse over, and the complete [Three-Foot Sword] in his mind, as well as the sword-intent which senior Northwalker had transmitted to him.

  Ning’s rate of improvement had naturally been astonishingly fast. In the past, he had never had a truly formidable teacher. Even his father and the others, when faced with Ning’s monstrous talent, felt that they were not quite good enough to teach him.

  With Immortal Diancai guiding Ning, Ning felt incomparable joy, and his rate of improvement had reached an astonishing level. However, he had never been able to completely comprehend the second stance of the [Three-Foot Sword].

  “Three years. You’ve finally mastered it.” The Whitewater Hound rose to his feet, feeling excited for Ning.

  “With this sword art mastered, I now have the confidence to go spar with Master once again,” Ning said with a laugh. “Perhaps this time, Master will acknowledge my growth and permit me to go out wandering.” Without his master’s permission, Ning was not to leave the school.

  Logically speaking, given his current level of power, Ning should’ve been able to go out wandering long ago. However, given how incredible Ning’s talent was, Immortal Diancai’s requirements for Ning were similarly incredible! By now…Ning had sparred against his master numerous times, and although he had improved greatly each time, he had never received his master’s permission.

  “Go,” the Whitewater Hound mentally sent to him with a laugh. “If you go, I’ll be able to accompany you in wandering. In the past, I went out adventuring with your father as well. When I think about it, my blood starts to pump.”

  By borrowing from Ning’s liquefied elemental essence, the Whitewater Hound had naturally reached the peak Zifu stage long ago. Ning had wanted to trade for some powerful secret arts on behalf of the Whitewater Hound, but the Whitewater Hound didn’t need it. All he accepted was some formation techniques to analyze, which Ning had spent 200 black-white pellets on. Because it took quite a long period of time to analyze formation techniques, the price of such techniques was actually quite low. Ning had spent 600 black-white pellets for his thirty-six sword arts manuals, but as for the formation manuals…he had spent merely 200 black-white pellets for 91 books.

  The [Nine Scrolls on Formations] which that Loose Immortal had left behind was incomparably broad and profound. This was the complete legacy of a Loose Immortal. As a Godbeast, the Whitewater Hound had focused on analyzing formations, even when he had been accompanying Ning’s father. Acquiring the Nine Scrolls was already a case of him being akin to a tiger who had gained wings. Now that he also gained so many formations manuals from the Black-White College, he naturally had made enormous improvements. And, every so often, the Whitewater Hound would even go to the Black-White College to listen to some Primal Daoists or even to some of the Immortals expound on the Dao.

  “I’ll go, then.” Ning rose to his feet. “Go.” The Whitewater Hound watched as Ning left. Ning boarded his flying boat, then quickly disappeared into the distant horizons.

  ………

  Ning stood there atop his boat in midair, staring downwards. Soon, he arrived at the residence of his master, Immortal Diancai.

  Whoosh. Ning landed in front of the estate, and the gate guards smiled towards Ning. Ning strode directly inwards without waiting. Immortal Diancai had given the order long ago that Ning was to be permitted to enter directly, without any need to report his arrival.

  Within the hall. The black-haired, black-robed Immortal Diancai was seated in the lotus position on his jade bed. It seemed as though the passage of three years had not affected Ning’s master at all.

  “Today is not the first of the month. Have you come here to spar with me once more?” Immortal Diancai looked at his beloved disciple. Over the course of the past three years, he had come to love his sole
disciple even more, to the point where his affection for Ning was even greater than his affection for the descendants of his clan.

  “Yes.” Ning looked at his master. A sword-light that seemed almost physical had appeared within Ning’s eyes, and his entire person slowly began to radiate a terrifying sword-intent. His sword-intent surged through the heavens!

  “It does seem that you’ve improved a bit.” Immortal Diancai nodded. “Come, then. Attack me.”

  “Be careful, Master.” A Darknorth sword appeared out of nowhere, and he gripped it with two hands. Swish! Ning transformed into a blurry, rapidly moving figure, and the sharp sword in his hand seemed to have turned into a ghostly image. His speed had reached an extremely high level, and he instantly pierced the sword towards Immortal Diancai, seated on the jade bed.

  Immortal Diancai, seated on the jade bed, leisurely stretched out his fingers, forming a sword-finger. With a light tap, a streak of sword-light instantly arced out. “Clash.” This solitary streak of sword-light repeatedly clashed in mid-air multiple times with Ning’s sword-shadow. Ning’s sword moved about like a ghost, but although this solitary streak of sword-light was in an arc, it’s position also fluctuated unpredictably.

  “Hmph.” Ning’s sword-light changed, becoming domineering and tyrannical. Bang! Instantly, the surrounding area was submerged into a sea of fire, and Ning’s sword became one of the flames within it, incomparably valiant as it chopped directly towards Immortal Diancai. This sword attack of Ji Ning’s…had already vastly surpassed the [Thunderflame Sword]’s level, and most likely even the person who had originally developed the [Thunderflame Sword] was no match for the current Ning in terms of the Dao of the Sword.