Desolate Era

by RWX

“Eh?” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning, then nodded. “Very well. Strike with your full power. I want to see how strong you are.”

  Whoosh. Ning suddenly disappeared into thin air. Daolord Solesky had been quite calm, but now his face turned pale.

  Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Sword-shadows formed from finger-strikes suddenly appeared everywhere and stabbed towards Daolord Solesky, every single one of them moving with incomprehensible speed.

  “Fast. Too fast! H-how…” Daolord Solesky’s hands instantly transformed into two streams of water that swirled around each other, completely covering the area around him as they strove to defend against Ning’s sword-shadows. Despite that, Daolord Solesky was rendered completely off-balance and forced to take on the attacks head-on, causing waves and splashes of water to explode around him. This caused the nearby Daolord Battlemaster and Daolord Brightfish to both feel tremendous shock.

  Whoosh.

  Ning’s form appeared once more standing off in the distance.

  “How was it, big brother?” Ning looked at Daolord Solesky.

  “Well done, my brother!” Daolord Solesky revealed a look of delight, his eyes radiating excitement as he stared at Ning. He roared with laughter, “Well done, my brother! With this stance alone, you have the power to roam the Endless Territories unimpeded. How could you be this fast? In fact, you seem to be even faster in battle!”

  “It is due to the Dao which I comprehended,” Ning said.

  Ning was able to move at ten times the speed of light. Other Daolords who used flying treasures or rode on lightning or light would also be able to move at ten times the speed of light, but there was a critical difference; for them, that speed could only be obtained when they were fleeing at high speed! The speed at which they could move and dodge in confined spaces in close quarters combat was much slower. Ning, however, had launched more than sixty thousand frenzied attacks within this region in that brief moment… and he was actually able to move and dodge at the incredible speed of ten times the speed of light in battle!

  This wasn’t a speed one could reach thanks to treasures or external resources. It depended on the Dao you had comprehended.

  Some who trained in the Dao of Lightning, the Dao of Wind, or the Dao of Light would be able to move dozens of times faster than the speed of light once they became Daolords of the Fourth Step! This was what made them so incredibly formidable in battle. But of course, people like them were incredibly rare; less than one in a hundred Daolords of the Fourth Step would have such skills. But of course, the other Daolords might be skilled in other areas.

  “Formidable.” Daolord Solesky was extremely impressed.

  “Our big brother is right. By relying on this Sword Dao, Darknorth, you do indeed have the power to roam the Endless Territories.” Daolord Battlemaster nodded in praise as well.

  “Incredible.” Daolord Brightfish sighed in amazement.

  Solesky immediately asked, “Right, Ji Ning. When you were in the Sword Palace of the Brightshore Kingdom, you should’ve been given the title of ‘Swordlord’, right?”

  “Yes.” Ning nodded.

  “My master became a Swordlord shortly after he entered the Sword Palace. He was one of the top-ranking ones in the Twelve Palaces, at that.” Pillsaint immediately spoke up proudly.

  “Hah! The Brightshore Kingdom is one of the six major powers. You’ve only been training for a short period of time, yet you managed to rank amongst the top World-level cultivators of the Brightshore Kingdom? No wonder you are such a monster despite having just reached the second step.” Daolord Solesky nodded. “You might be a bit weaker than Patriarch Clearwind, but your speed alone guarantees that he won’t be able to take you down.”

  As he spoke, he produced a jade slip and immediately sent it towards Ning. “Clearwind and I have battling for ages, and I know the ins and outs of virtually all his techniques. I’ve recorded them all down within this jade slip. Take a look!”

  Ning accepted it, then immediately began to read through it carefully.

  Right. This information was indeed more detailed than the information included within the Brightshore Kingdom’s star map. Patriarch Clearwind truly was formidable.

  “What do you think?” Daolord Solesky looked at Ning. “Still want to fight him?”

  “Of course I’m going to fight him.” Ning nodded. “We can’t just let him continue to blockade the entrance of our Vastheaven Palace, right?”

  “Good!” Daolord Solesky smiled. “Now that you are a Daolord, you are the fourth Palace Lord of Vastheaven Palace. This here is one of the central control mechanisms for our barriers and restrictive spells. If you aren’t able to overcome your foe, you can retreat within the palace.”

  As he spoke, he handed over a black-gold sawtoothed disc which was covered in complicated divine runes. This thing was part of the core controls of the entire Vastheaven Palace!”

  “These core controls can only be bound a single time,” Daolord Solesky said. “After you bind them, they can never be bound by others again.” This was for security reasons. If one of the Palace Lords of Vastheaven Palace died and their opponent managed to take over and bind the core controls… unacceptable! This place had been the headquarters for Vastheaven Palace for countless ages, after all.

  After binding the disc, Ning could sense the many complicated and powerful formations covering all of Vastheaven Palace. Their power was indeed astonishing.

  “Then I’ll head off.” Ning glanced at the others, then transformed into a streak of light that flew away.

  “Be careful!” Solesky called out from behind.

  Daolords Brightfish, Battlemaster, Pillsaint, and Su Youji all watched nervously.

  “Big brother Battlemaster, Darknorth won’t be in any danger, will he?” Daolord Brightfish asked nervously.

  “Overall, he probably isn’t a match for Clearwind. But he’s a sword cultivator! They are very skilled in battle…” Battlemaster paused.

  “He might not be able to beat Clearwind, but he’ll definitely be able to keep himself safe. Let him have his fight,” Solesky said with a smile.

  “Will he be able to win?” Su Youji couldn’t help but ask this question.

  “It’ll be hard. Actually, there’s almost no chance of him winning.” Solesky shook his head.

  ……

  The fierce gray tempest continued to blot out the skies and the sun, causing the entire Vastheaven Palace to be cast in stifling darkness. A streak of light, however, rose up from within Vastheaven Palace. It flew out of the barrier spells, then came to a halt in midair. It was a white-robed youth who was carrying a black sheath on his back.

  “Clearwind!” Ning barked out, his voice echoing and reverberating in the air, causing innumerable sword-shadows to appear.

  The trillions of sword-shadows all simultaneously shot out towards the distant shrine. When the sword-shadows collided against the blurry gray storm, a series of eruptions could be heard. The blurry gray wind began to splinter and break apart, as did many of the sword-shadows. However, more and more of the sword-shadows were born as they continued to press the attack.

  As for the blurry gray wind, it also continued to be remade and surge out as well. The wind was an external manifestation of Patriarch Clearwind’s Dao, while Ning’s sword-shadows were external manifestations of his own Omega Sword Dao.

  The two Daos began to clash against each other, harder and harder.

  “Eh?” This entire time, the man dressed in handsome black robes had been seated within the shrine, his eyes closed. He suddenly rose to his feet and then walked to the entrance of the shrine, where he stared downwards at the white-robed figure in midair, ensconced by those countless sword-shadows.

  “So you are Darknorth?” Patriarch Clearwind immediately recognized the man.

  “I am,” Ning replied.

  Patriarch Clearwind said, “A Daolord of the Second Step already? Or were you just pretending to be at the World level earlier? Hmph. I will admi
t that your Sword Dao is extraordinary, and it’s impressive that a weak Daolord of the Second Step like you could have such an incredible Sword Dao. If you choose to pit yourself against me, however… then you truly are overestimating your capabilities.”

  “Let’s cut the crap. Eat my sword!” The distant Ning let out a furious bellow. Clang! A Northbow sword immediately flew out from the black scabbard on his back.

  * * *

  Book 29, Chapter 19 - Battling Patriarch Clearwind

  Ensconced by trillions of sword-shadows, the mid-air Ji Ning manifested three heads and six arms, with each of his six hands gripping that single Northbow sword.

  “Kill!” Ning raised his Northbow sword up high, the swords emanating auras of incomparable dominance and power. He then unleashed a single furious chop directly towards his opponent.

  It was like the Northbow sword was cutting an utterly massive yet extremely neat chasm through space. Sword-light immediately filled those chasm, almost instantly chopping directly towards Patriarch Clearwind. The power of this strike suddenly exploded, as though it a volcano that had been building towards an eruption suddenly erupted in an instant.

  Ning was using his Omega Sword Dao – Heavenbreaker! The Omega Sword Dao could be gentle or savage, insidious or dominating. It was all up to his personal decision. Once the many mysteries of the Dao of the Sword were truly merged together, they instantly exploded in power.

  Ning had chosen to fight head on with his first strike, which was why he had merely used a single sword. For such a wild, furious strike, a single sword was actually better. The deceased Hegemon himself had used that single dark blue greatsword! This was because when the power of six arms were completely focused upon a single sword, it would give that sword even more dominating power.

  “Hmph.” Patriarch Clearwind remained as calm and unflappable as the winds. He simply narrowed his eyes and snorted, then produced a seemingly slender yet incredibly sharp longsword in his hands. He didn’t understand much regarding the Dao of the Sword, but to him using swords or sabers really didn’t make much of a difference. The slenderness and incredible sharpness of this sword was just highly suited to his own Dao.

  “Scram!” Patriarch Clearwind struck out with the longsword in his hands. If one strictly viewed this from the standpoint of the Dao of the Sword, this truly was a rather unsightly stance. But when the longsword in his hands struck out, it instantly began to roar like an endless tempest howling angrily through the lands.

  The volcanic eruption from the Northbow sword clashed against the howling, gale-like slender sword. Two surges of terrifying, earth-rending power collided together.

  “What?!” Patriarch Clearwind revealed a shocked look. He had actually been knocked backwards by that attack!

  An utterly terrifying shockwave spread out in every direction, and space itself rippled as though a black wave had spread across its watery surface. Mountain ranges were instantly reduced to dust, while Vastheaven Palace’s barriers managed to withstand this shockwave. As for Patriarch Clearwind’s shrine, it was actually sent tumbling through the air, and the seven World-level cultivators within it were all filled with horror.

  “Master!”

  “Patriarch!”

  They all stared nervously towards the outside world.

  Ning had taken just a single step backwards, while Patriarch Clearwind had been knocked flying. However, the latter quickly found his footing, then turned to stare icily towards Ning. This was the first time he truly viewed Ning as a worthy opponent. “What a dominating Sword Dao. I never would’ve imagined that a Daolord of the Second Step would be able to threaten me.”

  Patriarch Clearwind was truly stunned. Although he had delivered just a casual blow, it was still a blow from a Daolord of the Fourth Step. How was it that he had actually lost that exchange?

  “You aren’t bad either,” Ning snorted coldly.

  “Excellent. Receive another blow from my sword, then.” Patriarch Clearwind’s body transformed, becoming as blurry as the wind as the slender sword in his hand struck out again, once more bringing that terrifying, enraged stormy howl.

  As for Ning, he once more valiant and confidently gripped his sword with all six hands, moving forward to welcome the blow head on.

  BOOM!

  This frontal collision caused a shockwave that was even more terrifying than the previous one, but this time the one knocked backwards was Ji Ning.

  “As expected, he’s stronger than me in a frontal clash.” Ning’s face tightened slightly as he was sent flying backwards, and he was only able to come to a halt just before crashing into the barriers around Vastheaven Palace. “However… this strike is roughly on the same technical level as the one that came before it; it was just several times stronger. He probably used some sort of a divine ability.”

  Ning’s azureflower mist energy gave him the energy level of a Daolord of the Fourth Step, but he wasn’t able to use any divine abilities. Now that his opponent was, he was at an immediate disadvantage! This was one of the problems of fighting those who were at a higher level than you. Fortunately, Ning was using a lifeblood weapon; otherwise, he would’ve lost even more disastrously. Ever since he had used his Omega Sword Dao to reform the quintessence cores inside his lifeblood weapons, they had grown significantly more powerful.

  “You actually managed to block. Hmph.” Patriarch Clearwind’s face tightened slightly as he narrowed his eyes, then leapt forwards to charge towards Ning once more.

  “Haha, is this really all you have?” Ning laughed loudly as five more swords came flying out from the scabbard on his back, landing in his other five hands.

  Six hands, six swords. All six were lifeblood weapons!

  “Let’s fight.” Ning stood there in the air, instantly charging to appear in front of Patriarch Clearwind.

  “Die.” Patriarch Clearwind chopped out with the slender sword in his hands, his stances sometimes soft but sometimes ferocious. At all times, it embodied the essence of the wind itself, and it possessed truly incredible power.

  Ning, however, had six swords and many different stances available. Some were extremely inscrutable and mysterious, while others seemed to form terrifying black holes that had folded layers of terrifying spatial power. Previously, Ning had to use all six swords together to achieve this effect with his Soleheart stance, but now that he had his Omega Sword Dao he was able to infuse all of those mysteries with but a single sword. It looked like a black hole, but it also seemed to contain some of the mysteries of the Shadowless stance, the Heavenbreaker stance, and other stances.

  It was a battle of six swords against one, and Ning’s sword-arts truly were frightening. For now, Patriarch Clearwind was unable to do anything to Ning.

  “You are quite impressive. For you to be able to force me to show my divine abilities… you should feel proud of yourself.” Patriarch Clearwind let out a cold snort, then instantly manifested a total of six arms as well as five slender swords.

  Six arms, six swords. Once more, he charged straight towards Ning.

  “Not good.” Ning’s defenses were breached in a single exchange. The enemy’s attack was simply too overwhelming. This man was clearly quite a bit stronger than him.

  “It seems I really can’t just fight against him head-on.” Ning now understand the difference in power between the two of them. Earlier, he used all six arms to wield a single sword while using his most physically powerful strike, but he had still been overcome. With this foe now using six swords as well… there was no way he could win in a head-on fight.

  Swoosh.

  Ning suddenly vanished into thin air.

  “Eh?!” Patriarch Clearwind was momentarily stunned. His white eyebrows shot up in surprise as he swept the area with both his gaze and his godsense, only to discover that someone was circling him at absolutely terrifying speeds.

  Sword-light shone once more. Clang! Patriarch Clearwind immediately moved to dodge.

  Moments later, hundreds and tho
usands of streaks of sword-light began to light up. Ning struck simply far too fast, and his dodging speed was incredibly fast as well, so fast that there was nothing Patriarch Clearwind could do. If your advantage in combat speed and agility reached a point where you were dramatically superior to your opponent, you could attack your opponent freely without your opponent being able to fight back.

  “How can he be this fast? How can he be this fast in actual combat?!” Patriarch Clearwind was completely stunned.

  To be able to move at ten times the speed of light in combat was extremely rare. He never would’ve imagined meeting someone capable of it who was merely a Daolord of the Second Step.

  “Where the hell did this freak come from? He must be one of those freaks who has mastered and joined together multiple Supreme Daos… and his Daos must be as freakishly strong as he himself is!” For the first time, Patriarch Clearwind was beginning to view Ning as a true equal, not just as a worthy opponent.

  “Darknorth!” Surrounded by Ning’s attacks, Patriarch Clearwind used his six arms to defend in an almost whirlwind-like manner. He called out in a cold and deep voice, “You are indeed a worthy opponent for me. Unfortunately… in the end, you are just a Daolord of the Second Step. Have a taste of my [Six Winds] secret art!”

  As his voice echoed in the skies…

  Rumble…

  Patriarch Clearwind’s long, handsome black robes began to flutter as a series of gales sprang up. There were six types of wind; azure wind, red wind, blue wind, violet wind, white wind, and black wind. The six furious gales immediately began to erupt after appearing, filling the skies as they swept towards Ning. As Patriarch Clearwind saw it, even if he was unable to kill Ning, he’d still be able to shut him down and make it so that he wouldn’t be able to move so quickly.

  Seeing this, Ning came to a halt in midair. “Clearwind, parlor tricks like this really won’t cut it.” Ning’s body instantly began to emit streaks of electric light. The lightning was dark-gold in color, so dark as to be almost black with just a few flickers of gold within. At the same time, he also unleash a turgid stream of water that was completely icy-white in color. As soon as it appeared, it emanated an aura of coldness that caused even space itself to freeze.