The Desolate Era (Web Novel)

Ji Ning, Yu Wei, the Sloppy Daoist, and Yuchi Xiyue were quietly whispering amongst each other, discussing each of the remaining twenty-four competitors.

“Adept Woodpass always defends passively, reacting to whatever the enemy throws at him…but he ended up winning, just like that.” Yuchi Xiyue sighed. “I have the feeling that he hasn’t shown his full power yet.”

“Adept Ninedeaths, her body is like a magic treasure. Enemies aren’t able to do anything to her at all.”

“Adept Goldcrow is bizarre and savage.”

“That Adept Saberslave is also quite terrifying.”

“Ji Ning, the Xia Emperor isn’t going to arrange for you to fight against the Sloppy Daoist, is he?”

“The Xia Emperor wouldn’t, unless senior apprentice-brother and I both make it into the top three.”

They continued to chat amongst themselves. Not a single remaining expert was easy to fight; after all, all of the twenty four were favored by the Xia Emperor. Although it seemed as though Ji Ning, Adept Ninedeaths, Adept Blackstone, Xiamang Zishan and the others were the most outstanding, the others weren’t much weaker. Perhaps they were hiding supreme techniques, or perhaps they might make a sudden breakthrough.

At a time like this, anything could happen.

“The twenty-four of you!” The Xia Emperor suddenly spoke out.

The entire main hall of the Skylight Palace fell silent. All of them listened carefully. The closer they were to the finale, the more cautious the Celestial Immortals present were; after all, a disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu had appeared in this Conclave, and one of the final three would definitely become the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright.

“In the third round of duels, the twelve winners shall each receive five million kilograms as a reward,” the Xia Emperor said calmly. “I hope that you will all use your full power. Don’t let it all be for nothing.”

Ning and the rest of the twenty-four held their breaths as they waited eagerly.

“In the first battle of the third round…Ji Ning of the Black-White College shall fight against the unaffiliated Adept Saberslave,” the Xia Emperor said.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Countless gazes turned towards Ji Ning and Adept Saberslave.

The faces of Yuchi Xiyue Yu Wei both changed. They were both looking towards Ning as well. To both of them, Ji Ning was the most important person in their world. Although they had great faith in him…Adept Saberslave’s earlier performance had been simply too shocking. In addition, they had the feeling that they hadn’t seen the full extent of his power.

Ning and Adept Saberslave both began to walk towards the grand sealing formation outside the palace.

……

“It is the two of them?”

The delegates from the 3600 commanderies and four seas who were watching from the imperial citadel plaza were all completely focused. During this past year, they had been relaxing, chatting, eating, and drinking…but these were the final battles between the ninety-six. This was going to be the most dazzling spectacle in this entire Conclave.

This was especially true now that only twenty-four remained! Each of them were incomparably amazing, supreme geniuses. In addition, this Conclave itself was far more dazzling than previous ones; the top twenty-four were each capable of being ranked in the top three of ordinary Conclaves.

The Sloppy Daoist, Saberslave, Adept Goldcrow, Adept Ninedeaths, and most of the others had originally not planned to come. It was only because their subconscious called them to come that so many peerless monsters had gathered in this place!

“This Adept Saberslave, when fighting against Adept Bloodfiend earlier, chopped through him as easily as chopping through vegetables. He’s terrifyingly strong.”

“Ji Ning was also one of the most dazzling figures in the world of the Brightmoon Diagram of the Mountains and Rivers. He is tremendously strong as well. For these two to fight…it’s truly going to be hard to say who shall win.”

Everyone present couldn’t help but hold their breaths.

As for the disciples and Loose Immortals of the Black-White College, which had skyrocketed in fame during this Conclave, all of them were extremely nervous. This was because the person who was going to enter battle was Ji Ning, of their own school!

“Master.” Little Qing watched without blinking.

“Ji Ning.” Northmont Baiwei looked towards his good friend as well. When he had first met Ning, Ning was nothing more than a youth of Swallow Mountain…but now, he had become the focal point of attention for the entire Grand Xia Dynasty.

……

Within the grand sealing formation.

Ji Ning and Saberslave stood there atop the cloud, staring at each other from afar.

Ning carefully inspected Saberslave. The black-robed man who carried a warcleaver appeared to be extremely calm. He was as still as water, and his aura was completely withdrawn; it was indeed easy for others to pay no attention to him.

“For him to be able to remain so calm at a time like this…for his heart to have reached such a level…when he explodes forth with full power, it will be extremely terrifying. Even I didn’t pay any attention to him before he unleashed his full power.” Ning was quite cautious.

……

Adept Saberslave was inspecting Ji Ning as well. This delicate-looking fur-clad youth before him seemed to be like a young bumpkin from the vast wilderness, quite ordinary-looking without appearing to be the slightest bit threatening. But Adept Saberslave had watched the two previous rounds of duels; he naturally knew how terrifying this seemingly-delicate youth could be when he exploded with power.

And his eyes…they were as deep as a bottomless pool of water, but within them one could faintly make out a spirit that was as sharp and fierce as the blade of a sword!

This was quite a terrifying youth.

Based on the intelligence reports he had seen earlier, this youth had trained for only thirty years or so. He truly was an incredible monster.

“I have to attack with full power,” Adept Saberslave mused to himself. He had often fought those at a higher level of power, and had even killed quite a few Primal Daoists. However, he had never encountered such a terrifying foe who was also at the Wanxiang Adept level, just like he was.

……

“I have to fight with full power.” This was Ning’s private conclusion as well.

Bang! Bang!

Their bodies simultaneously flickered as they both transformed, one into a 54-meter tall giant and the other into a 60-meter tall giant. Clearly, Ji Ning had spent comparatively less time training in the [Heavenly Transformations], and so was slightly lacking in this regard.

Next, the two of them simultaneously executed [Three Heads, Six Arms]!

[Heavenly Transformations] and [Three Heads, Six Arms]…these were two extremely widespread divine abilities in the Three Realms, and were viewed as absolutely necessary for all true experts who trained as Fiendgod Body Refiners.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The two charged towards each other like a pair of true Fiendgods. Ning wielded six Immortal swords in his hands, while Adept Saberslave wielded six warcleavers.

As they moved next to each other…both of them released their most powerful divine abilities as well! Ning held nothing back, immediately executing his [Starseizing Hand].

Clang! Clang! Clang! ……

A consecutive, frantic flurry of sounds could be heard as the swords and sabers collided. The sounds were actually incomparably clear as they spread far away.

In total, they exchanged a total of twelve blows. The six Immortal swords and the six warcleavers clashed against each other twice.

Whoosh. Adept Saberslave suddenly retreated at high speed, transforming into a streak of black light. He retreated all the way to the edge of the grand sealing formation. His entire body seemed to be brimming with dim flames, and he stared coldly towards Ning with a dark gaze. His six hands had already split open at the juncture between his thumb and forefinger, and blood was dripping out.

…….

Adept Saberslave stared at Ning, his pupils contracting. “What a terrifying strength this Ji Ning possesses, and what terrifying sword arts! Sabers are single-edged weapons that are thicker at the back, allowing them chop out with even greater force. In terms of weapons…if two opponents with equal strength fight against each other, the side wielding a saber will have a greater advantage. But I was actually at a disadvantage!”

Practitioners of the Dao of the Sword were referred to as Sword Immortals; they were agile, relaxed, refined, and free-spirited.

Practitioners of the Dao of the Saber were referred to as Saber Devils; they were savage, brutal, vicious, and ferocious.

These were two diametrically opposed styles!

But in a frontal clash…Adept Saberslave had actually been at a disadvantage.

……

“I’ve reached the twelfth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], and my Fiendgod-like body is incomparably mighty. I also have the [Starseizing Hand]; in terms of pure strength, I am definitely number one in this Conclave of Immortal Destiny! My sword arts are comparable to his saber arts; in a frontal clash, how can he compare to me?” Ning felt complete self-confidence.

Although he looked like a delicate youth, his physical strength was definitely number one in this Conclave! His [Starseizing Hand] allowed his hands to explode forth with truly tremendous power; after all, it was ranked as one of the top ten divine abilities to be invented ever since the universe had been created!

Ning refused to believe that in this Conclave, there would appear another divine ability that ranked in the top ten divine abilities of the Three Realms. That was simply too unlikely.

“You are the most powerful Wanxiang Adept I have ever met. However…a battle isn’t just about fighting head-on against your foes,” Adept Saberslave growled.

“In terms of agility, the Dao of the Sword has always been superior to the Dao of the Saber,” Ning replied tranquilly.

As soon as Ning’s words came out…

Swish!

Adept Saberslave, moving like a ghost, suddenly appeared in front of Ning. His six arms simultaneously chopped down with his warcleavers, all moving in an extremely strange pattern. It was as though a series of illusions had appeared, each of which was completely silent, either stabbing or hacking towards Ning.

Ning immediately used his own Windwing Evasion, and his six arms also executed his own sword arts. His sword-light was like silk, dancing and fluttering about in the surrounding area with absolute beauty.

It was quite bizarre. There were no sounds of weapons colliding at all.

Their sword-light and saber-light howled past each other repeatedly, seeming to almost clash but then separate before actually doing so.

Adept Saberslave’s warcleavers were truly unfathomably strange.

Ning’s swords were moved about in a profound, agile manner.

Ning still held the upper hand! After all, in terms of agility, the Dao of the Sword was indeed slightly superior to the Dao of the Saber.

“The saber…is my life!” Suddenly, a hoarse voice rang out.

Adept Saberslave’s eyes suddenly brimmed with a fiery light. His six hacking warcleavers suddenly began to move with incomparable speed! One chop after another…they all chopped down towards Ning. The six warcleavers seemed to have transformed into the spokes of a wheel. A limitless amount of saber-light was constantly descending towards Ning, and Adept Saberslave’s eyes, glowing with fiery light, appeared to burn with insanity.

In this moment, he had forgotten himself. Only the saber remained!

In this world of the saber…

Fast! Faster! Fastest! One blow after another!

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!!!

Ning fought back against his foe, and their two figures began to appear in multiple places throughout the grand sealing formation. The saber-light flashed at a simply incomparably fast rate; after all, sabers were single-edged weapons that were used to hack and chop. In terms of raw speed…their attacks had an advantage over the attacks of a sword.

“Break! Break! BREAK!”

Ning, assaulted and pressured by countless saber-assaults that flashed as fast as fire, instantly exploded with power. Previously, he had been planning to use this as a chance to temper himself, but he now had no other choices. His six Immortal swords instantly became unfathomable in their movements; some were invincibly savage and ferocious, some were as nimble and dextrous as an Immortal maiden sewing clothes, while others solely focused on support.

“YOU CANNOT WITHSTAND ME!” Adept Saberslave had gone completely berserk. In the area around him, a fiery dragon suddenly appeared. The fiery dragon wrapped itself around him as it launched sneak attacks against Ning, disturbing Ning’s rhythm.

Around Ning’s own body, an enormous Waterflame Lotus suddenly appeared. The Waterflame Lotus bloomed open, the petals of the lotus swiveling against each other.

Slash! Slash!

Blood flew everywhere as the two battled with utter madness.

Adept Saberslave could only be described in a single word – fast!

Ji Ning, in turn, brought out all of the magnificent splendor of the Dao of the Sword.

CLANG! A warcleaver was suddenly knocked aside…and attached to it was a severed hand.

“I admit defeat.” A hoarse voice rang out.

The two separated with a swoosh.

Adept Saberslave’s entire body was covered in wounds. The wound on his chest was particularly bad; it had torn apart almost his entire chest. His face was covered with many savage wounds, and one of his hands had been severed, causing his warcleaver to fly away.

Ji Ning, by comparison, was a bit better off. He only had a single vicious wound on his chest, as well as several wounds that were about to completely finish healing.

“You weren’t completely defeated yet.” Ning looked at Adept Saberslave.

“With six sabers, I still lost a hand. With only five sabers…you probably would’ve taken my life.” Adept Saberslave gently shook his head. He picked up his discarded warcleaver, then walked out of the grand sealing formation. Ji Ning walked out as well.

All of the Wanxiang Adepts within the main hall had extremely solemn looks on their faces.

The battle between Ji Ning and Adept Saberslave had been too berserk, too violent. The two had pulled out almost all the stops in their battle, releasing the full power of the Grand Dao of the Sword and the Grand Dao of the Saber, the two Grand Daos that were most suited for attacking. This caused all of the spectators to feel nervousness in their hearts. Many of them would most likely have been defeated had they been the one to encounter Adept Saberslave.

Fortunately, it was Ji Ning, a Sword Immortal, who had been the one to fight. He had managed to suppress this Saber Devil!

And now…Adept Saberslave had admitted defeat, leaving behind the even more terrifying Ji Ning!