N to 59
Chapter 42: The Mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In an absentminded manner, Feng Wu started snorting softly as she pouted slightly.
Without warning, Lu Ming was whispering by her ear, “You’ve so much to say. Do you care for me that much?”
Feng Wu was caught off-guard and started in fright, nearly crying out loud. Her small face blushed furiously as she shot Lu Ming a vicious glare. “What nonsense is that? Who cares for you? If it weren’t for Bis Sis Mu Lan’s order, if it weren’t for you rescuing me, I wouldn’t have given two sh*ts about you!”
“Oh! So, that’s how it is!” Lu Ming clicked his tongue and looked away.
Phew!
Feng Wu let out a gentle sigh. Even so, for some reason, her heart would not stop racing.
In a short while, another group arrived. These were the apprentices of the Onyx Tortoise Hall.
The four halls were all here.
Lu Ming and Feng Wu held their breaths as they stared ahead.
After a moment, the apprentices of the four halls placed one Silver-eyed Rabbit after another at the cave’s entrance. Then, they all scattered and took up hiding spots nearby.
There were over fifty Silver-eyed Rabbits at east. The Silver-eyed Rabbits were all filled up with Drowsy Powder. The smell of the rabbits charged the air.
Rustle...
In a while, a monitor lizard, which was half a meter tall and four meters long, came clambering out. It was covered in black scales.
This was a Black-scaled Monitor Lizard. Nevertheless, it was evidently just an ordinary Black-scaled Monitor Lizard, which was equivalent to a Second Grade Second Level demonic beast. It was not a mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard that was on the Ninth Grade Second Level.
The Black-scaled Monitor Lizard spotted the Silver-eyed Rabbits the moment it crawled out. It hurriedly scampered forwards and swallowed a Silver-eyed Rabbit in a single gulp with great relish.
Rustle...
At this point, another Black-scaled Monitor Lizard came out as well. It was not a mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard either.
Soon, a few Black-scaled Monitor Lizards clambered out one after another. In a few moments, they had swallowed ten or so Silver-eyed Rabbits.
The apprentices of the four halls were rather anxious. They had spent several days just to capture these Silver-eyed Rabbits. If these ordinary Black-scaled Monitor Lizards ate them all, the apprentices would not have a second chance.
Currently, there were only two days left until the end of the test. They had no time to capture that many Silver-eyed Rabbits again.
Furthermore, they did not have enough Drowsy Powder with them.
Just then...
Roar!
A thunderous cry echoed from the cave. Following that, there was continuous thumping as a colossal creature emerged.
This was a Black-scaled Monitor Lizard as well, but its size was ten times that of the others. Moreover, its eyes were red.
A metal piece that hung around this Black-scaled Monitor Lizard’s neck proclaimed two words: “Five Hundred”.
The 500-point metal piece!
Everyone’s gazes shone fervently.
Roar!
Upon noticing the Silver-eyed Rabbits, the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard unleashed a loud howl.
Rustle...
The other Black-scaled Monitor Lizards seemed frightened and they all retreated.
The mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard forged ahead by itself and opened its grisly jaws. In one gulp, it devoured five or six Silver-eyed Rabbits.
After a few minutes, almost 40 Silver-eyed Rabbits were swallowed by the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard.
It roared once more, then turned around, slowly slinking back into the cave.
Rustle...
At this point, the regular Black-scaled Monitor Lizards, which had eaten the Silver-eyed Rabbits first, swayed slightly before falling to the ground and snoring in deep slumber.
The Drowsy Powder in the Silver-eyed Rabbits within their stomachs was taking effect.
The apprentices of the four halls did not rush into the cave as they waited for the medicine to work.
The mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard would not be knocked out as easily as the ordinary Black-scaled Monitor Lizards.
Only after ten minutes had passed did the apprentices all race into the cave.
After a few more minutes, Feng Wu asked Lu Ming, “Are we going in too?”
“I’m going in. Wait here for me.” Lu Ming nodded before explaining further, “Things might get messy in there. If I’m alone, it’ll be easier to escape.”
She bit her lip, aware that he was right.
“Alright. You must be careful then,” she said.
Lu Ming nodded, then his figure darted off as he went into the cave.
Outside the cave, there were still apprentices from the four halls whose cultivation levels were not that high. Even so, no one dared to stop Lu Ming.
Since the other apprentices were inside as well, who would bother stopping him?
Lu Ming made his way into the cave without any trouble.
It was pitch-dark in the cave. Although Lu Ming was a Master Realm martial artist, with much better eyesight than ordinary people, the cave was dim and gloomy to him as well.
Lu Ming held his breath and cautiously made his way forward.
However, after 100 meters, there were a few forks in the path. He even noticed a Black-scaled Monitor Lizard’s body there.
This was merely a First Level Black-scaled Monitor Lizard, so Lu Ming had no interest in absorbing its blood essence. Thus, he simply chose a path and continued onward.
In this lair of the Black-scaled Monitor Lizards, the paths weaved in all directions, intersecting in complicated ways.
Lu Ming traveled a few hundred meters before encountering another crossroads. Once again, he picked a path at random and went in deeper.
On the way, he saw quite a few Black-scaled Monitor Lizard bodies.
There were two First Grade and one Second Grade Second Level Black-scaled Monitor Lizards. Lu Ming did not pass them up and devoured all of their blood essences.
As he walked, he cultivated the blood essence. His cultivation was rapidly improving.
It was clear that apprentices of the four halls had numbers on their side. Throughout his journey, he did not see any corpses of the apprentices.
In this manner, Lu Ming went forth for around 20 minutes, devouring three First Grade and one Second Grade Second Level Black-scaled Monitor Lizards on his way. His cultivation successfully reached mid-Second Grade Master Realm.
Just then, Lu Ming noticed a faint source of light up ahead.
He trodded lightly as he headed towards the light. Upon approaching it, he discovered it was another cave entrance that was lower than an average person’s height. He walked forward and looked out of the entrance, and was taken aback.
Outside this entrance, there was an enormous underground cavern. It was over a hundred meters wide and dozens of meters tall.
Everywhere on the stone walls of the cavern were rocks that glowed with a faint light. These were the Luminous Stone ores. If one extracted the glowing components of these ores, it could be used to manufacture Luminous Stones which could be used for illumination.
With the light of the Luminous Stone ores, Lu Ming saw many entrances throughout the cavern as well. Through the entrances, he could vaguely make out human figures.
Quite a few men from the four halls were lying in wait outside these entrances.
As for the entrance that Lu Ming was next to, it was more than ten meters above the cavern’s ground surface.
In the center of the cavern, a colossal creature lay sprawled. It was that mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard.
At present, the Black-scaled Monitor Lizard had not fallen into a deep sleep yet. It growled softly and opened its bloody mouth from time to time.
No wonder the apprentices of the four halls had not made their move. They were waiting for the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard to sink into slumber.
The mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard was a Ninth Grade Second Level demonic beast which was equivalent to a Ninth Grade Master Realm powerhouse. Any martial artist below the Fourth Grade Master Realm would definitely die if they were struck by it even once.
Time trickled by slowly. After ten or so minutes, the eyelids of the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard grew heavier. It was dropping off but was not fully asleep yet.
The mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard’s resistance was fearsome. Even after eating so many Silver-eyed Rabbits, it could still hold on until now.
Swoosh!
Just then, a figure bolted out from one of the cave entrances like lightning, lunging towards the Black-scaled Monitor Lizard’s neck.
“Yin Kai!”
Lu Ming’s eyes sparkled. That figure was actually Yin Kai.
Chapter 43: Making His Move
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Swoosh!
Yin Kai was very swift. His blood meridian was a Fifth Level blood meridian, also known as the Green-winged Nighthawk, which excelled in speed. He had made his blood meridian explode and was quick as lightning.
No wonder he dared to make a move even before the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard had fully fallen asleep.
Yin Kai’s figure flashed a few times, and he was already beneath the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard’s neck. He reached out, seized the point-worthy metal piece, and tugged at it forcefully. The metal chain that bound the metal piece soon broke.
Roar!
The jerking motion seemed to aggravate the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard. It growled and swiped a massive claw towards Yin Kai.
Yin Kai’s body glowed suddenly and he evaded its attack.
After its blow missed its target, the Black-scaled Monitor Lizard seemed dizzy. With a low snarl, it did not give chase.
“Haha, the 500 points are mine. This year, I’ll definitely be the Apprentice Champion.”
Seeing that the Black-scaled Monitor Lizard did not pursue him, Yin Kai was filled with glee. He was on the verge of bursting out in joyful laughter.
“Yin Kai, let go of the metal piece!”
At this moment, from the entrances around the cavern, one figure after another lunged forward. They were the experts of the four halls. Amongst them were the number one experts of the other three halls, Duanmu Jue, Huang Yu, and Xie Hong.
“Now that I’ve gotten it, you guys plan to snatch it from me? Dream on.” Yin Kai laughed coldly. As he waved his arms, there was a vague impression of green wings flashing by.
Whoosh!
A fierce gale was stirred up. Yin Kai rose over ten meters into the air and flew towards an entrance that was high above him.
Yin Kai had planned it all out. With the advantage of his blood meridian, he would snatch the point-worthy metal piece, lure out the experts from the three other halls, then leap up into an entrance ten meters above their heads to escape.
Those tunnels were tangled and complicated. If he fled into one of them, the others could forget about tracking him down.
His plan was good. Nonetheless, Lu Ming just so happened to be waiting in that direction.
Therefore, without a second thought, Lu Ming leaped down and slashed his sword towards Yin Kai.
At Lu Ming’s sudden appearance, Yin Kai yelped in shock and quickly drew his sword up. “Lu Ming? Scram!”
Clang!
The two swords clashed, sending out a burst of energy.
Yin Kai’s cultivation was on the Fourth Grade Master Realm, so he had significant strength. Lu Ming was swept upwards by a large impact, but since he was attacking from the high ground and was not that weak either, Yin Kai immediately dropped down from the attack.
At this point, Duanmu Jue, Huang Yu, and the rest hurried over.
“Yin Kai, hand over the metal piece, or you won’t get out alive.” Duanmu Jue coldly huffed, his eyes burning lethally. Formidable attacks instantly rained down upon Yin Kai.
“Lu Ming, I won’t rest until you’re dead!” Yin Kai bellowed in fury.
“Save your own skin first!” Lu Ming landed by one side and smiled breezily.
“Hand over the 500-point metal piece!”
Duanmu Jue, Huang Yu, Xie Hong were all Fourth Grade Masters. There were also other experts at Third Grade Master Realm. Yin Kai could not hold on to the metal piece at all.
All of the attacks were directed at the 500-point metal piece he was holding. If he did not let go, his hand would be crushed.
Helplessly he released his grip.
“The metal piece is mine. Get away!”
“Huang Yu, you dare to act against the Duanmu Family!”
Duanmu Jue yelled a few times.
“Duanmu Jue, you can stop using the Duanmu Family to scare me. Other people might be afraid, but I’m not.”
Huang Yu grinned coldly.
The place was instantly caught up in a chaotic battle. Everyone wanted the metal piece and was struggling for it with their full strength. Essential Qi erupted, and the metal piece bounced and danced amongst the midst of all this. For a moment, no one could seem to grab it.
Zing!
Just then, Lu Ming suddenly perceived a subtle slicing sound behind him. A mighty blow was directed towards his back.
Someone was attacking him in stealth!
Swoosh! At the crucial moment, Lu Ming twisted his body to one side, evading the attack by a hair’s breadth.
Lu Ming whipped his head around, and his eyes glinted coldly. “Yuan Lang, you’re begging to die!”
The one who had sneaked up on him was Yuan Lang.
“The dead one will be you. Yesterday, I didn’t explode my blood meridian. Let’s see if you’re still a match for me this time?”
Yuan Lang’s murderous aura surged out as he spoke. Following that, there was a bloody flash as his blood meridian exploded. He barreled towards Lu Ming mercilessly.
Slash slash!
The icy metal claws stirred up a vigorous gale as he swiped at Lu Ming.
His power was even greater than yesterday.
Lu Ming did not waste time with words and wielded the Lustrous Sword Technique.
Instantly, he had created more than ten arcs of sword light.
Clang! Clang!
The exchange of blows rang out in succession.
As soon as they fought, Yuan Lang’s expression changed, because he found out that the strength of Lu Ming’s strikes was greater than yesterday.
Could it be that Lu Ming’s cultivation had broken through in less than a day?
That was impossible. Yuan Lang dismissed that thought. Lu Ming must have hidden his capabilities yesterday.
He started to consider giving up.
However, the light trembled on Lu Ming’s blade. One of Yuan Lang’s arms turned numb and he took two steps back.
Swish!
There was a burst of sword light, more dazzling than usual, piercing straight into Yuan Lang’s abdomen.
“Lu Ming, don’t kill me...”
Yuan Lang shrieked in alarm.
“I told you yesterday that there won’t be a second chance!” Lu Ming spoke coldly. Then, he cut Yuan Lang’s throat in one move and threw him backward.
The direction where Yuan Lang fell was the battlefield where Duanmu Jue and the rest were fighting for the 500-point metal piece.
With blades flashing all over the place, one was sure to end up as a severed corpse after being thrown out like that.
“Argh!” Yuan Lang screamed in terror. After Lu Ming stabbed his abdomen, he still had not died. To survive, he had to unleash his full strength. His body burst out in blinding red light as his hands kept on clawing the air.
“Scram!”
“Die!”
Duanmu Jue and the rest yelled angrily, delivering their attacks without hesitation.
Pfff-hiss!
In the blink of an eye, Yuan Lang was sliced apart. His blood and flesh splattered everywhere. Even in his struggle against death, he blocked all of them for an instant.
This was the instant that Lu Ming was waiting for. Without any hesitation, he dashed out. His Dragon Serpent Steps unleashed his greatest might. In one step, he covered 20 meters.
Swoosh!
Lu Ming was like a streak of lightning as he leaped over the fight between Yin Kai and the rest. In one smooth grab, he captured the 500-point metal piece.
“Lu Ming, it’s you! Hand over the metal piece to me and I’ll spare your life!” Yin Kai snarled in rage.
“Lu Ming, I know you. You dared to kill an apprentice from the Duanmu Family. Give me the metal piece, and I’ll plead with the adults on your behalf to reduce your punishment,” Duanmu Jue hollered as well.
All at once, the attacks were aimed at Lu Ming.
With so many experts, he could not possibly resist them stubbornly. He took another step and raced forward by another 20 meters.
The mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard was lying in that direction. Presently, Lu Ming was only about 30 meters away from it.
Behind him, Duanmu Jue, Yin Kai, and the rest joined forces and closed in around Lu Ming.
“Lu Ming, you can’t run. Someone like you wants to seize the point-worthy metal piece? How hilarious! You’ll die today.” Yin Kai’s eyes glimmered with a bloodthirsty expression. If it were not for Lu Ming, he would have obtained the point-worthy metal piece and left this place, essentially becoming this year’s Apprentice Champion.
However, all his dreams had turned to dust, thanks to Lu Ming. His hatred towards Lu Ming ran deep in his bones.
“Lu Ming, hand the metal piece to me. I can safeguard your life!” Huang Yu cried out.
At the same time, they kept on cornering Lu Ming while he withdrew further backward. Soon, he was only a few meters away from the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard.Chapter 44: Acquiring The Metal Piece
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Currently, the eyes of the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard were narrowed into slits. It was almost asleep. Otherwise, it would not just have sat there indifferently throughout their intense battle.
Moreover, there was no entrance on the wall next to the Black-scaled Monitor Lizard. There was nowhere to run.
“Lu Ming, you have no escape route.”
Duanmu Jue and the rest closed in slowly. If they were not being apprehensive of the Black-scaled Monitor Lizard, they would have already attacked him.
“Is that so? Are you guys that confident?”
At this stage, Lu Ming actually beamed. How could he still smile?
However, soon enough, Duanmu Jue, Yin Kai, and the rest understood why.
Lu Ming turned around abruptly and dashed towards the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard. The sword light whistled through the air, ruthlessly piercing towards the Black-scaled Monitor Lizard.
“Lu Ming, what are you doing?”
“Stop!”
“Stop right now. You’re asking for it!”
Duanmu Jue and the rest changed their tones quickly, each of them yelling in fury.
Even so, Lu Ming’s sword light did not stop.
Pffft!
The longsword viciously stabbed the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard’s body.
Roar!
As the longsword penetrated its body, the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard gave an incensed howl and its eyes flew open.
“One more slash!” Lu Ming pulled out the longsword, drawing a gush of blood. Then he stabbed once more.
This time, the Black-scaled Monitor Lizard was fully awake. It roared in rage and swiped its massive claw at him.
Lu Ming used the Dragon Serpent Steps to dodge the Black-scaled Monitor Lizard’s attack. After that, he ran towards Duanmu Jue, Yin Kai, and the rest.
Roar!
The mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard bellowed deafeningly as it scampered madly towards Lu Ming.
“Lu Ming!” Duanmu Jue, Yin Kai, and the rest all cried out in anger, but they could only turn around and flee helplessly.
The strongest of them was only on the Fourth Grade Master Realm. Even with all their strength combined, it was not enough to kill the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard.
“Why are you guys running? Weren’t you about to kill me?” Lu Ming’s taunting voice rang out. Duanmu Jue and the rest nearly coughed up blood in rage. They silently vowed to never forgive Lu Ming.
Like birds startled by an arrow, they dared not linger in this cavern. Each of them rushed towards a cave entrance.
“Hahaha, bye-bye!” Lu Ming stepped off the ground firmly and sprang into the air. He immediately landed at an entrance ten meters above the ground and hurriedly raced away.
After running helter-skelter, he covered over a kilometer of the tunnel in a single sprint. Only then did Lu Ming sit down to rest.
He thought of something and took out the point-worthy metal piece. This metal piece was made of a different material compared to the other point-worthy metal pieces. It was dark golden and very solid.
On its surface were two large golden words: “Five Hundred”.
With these 500 points, in addition to his previous 124 points, Lu Ming had 624 points in total.
‘624 points...is that enough or not?’ Lu Ming started to ponder silently.
It was hard to say. For instance, Duanmu Jue, Yin Kai, and the rest had gathered so many people. Some of them had only kept ten points and gave the remaining point-worthy metal pieces to Duanmu Jue and the rest. In that case, it was hard to estimate how many points they had, so collecting five or six hundred points was a possibility.
‘There are still two more days. Perhaps I can rustle up some points from the Duanmu Family or Yin Kai’s group.’ A smirk tugged at Lu Ming’s lips.
Just then, frenzied footsteps sounded behind him. They were very agile. In the blink of an eye, a few figures appeared before Lu Ming.
“Duanmu Jue!”
Lu Ming sized them up. The center one amongst the trio was Duanmu Jue. The other two beside him were genius apprentices of the White Tiger Hall with their cultivation levels at the Third Grade Master Realm.
Upon seeing Lu Ming, Duanmu Jue did not seem surprised as he broke out into a humorless smile. “Lu Ming, you’re here indeed. How are you going to run now?”
“How did you find me?” Lu Ming asked in astonishment.
“Hehe, I might as well tell you. My blood meridian is the Keen Spirit Hound. With me around, you can’t escape,” a short youth beside Duanmu Jue spoke up.
“So, you’ve got a dog’s nose!” Lu Ming realized the truth.
“Lu Ming, I didn’t hunt you down, yet you dared to seize my point-worthy metal piece. You’ve got some guts. Now, hand over the metal piece and I’ll go easy on you,” Duanmu Jue said.
Lu Ming smirked. “Does everyone from the Duanmu Family have such blind confidence? I truly wonder how you guys became the number one family in the White Tiger Hall.”
“Are you saying you won’t hand it over? I’ll show you how my Duanmu Family became the number one family. Flying Tiger Sword! Kill!”
With that, Duanmu Jue pounced at Lu Ming. Sword Qi surged out, and there was a faint tiger’s roar.
Clang!
Lu Ming drew his sword to return the strike.
Clang! Clang!
Both their longswords clashed furiously.
The space in the cave tunnel was narrow, so there was not much room for fighting poses. They could only fight directly face to face with brute force.
Their swords collided a few times. Lu Ming felt his arm getting tired, and he involuntarily took three steps back. Meanwhile, Duanmu Jue’s body was only heaving slightly.
‘A Fourth Grade Master has such powerful strength. My current strength can’t match his at all!’ Lu Ming thought to himself.
“Your sword technique isn’t bad, but it’s a shame you’re too weak. Die then! Flying Tiger Pounce!” Duanmu Jue grinned coldly and sent his blade slicing towards Lu Ming.
Lu Ming had the impression that a ferocious tiger was lunging at him.
The Flying Tiger Sword Technique was a Superior Yellow Level technique. Duanmu Jue had already cultivated it to the Third Stage, and his moves were quick and ruthless.
‘Since I’m no match in terms of strength, I’ll use speed then!’ Lu Ming focused his concentration, fully immersed in the Lustrous Sword Technique.
Swoosh swoosh!
One sword light after another lashed out, striking towards Duanmu Jue’s vital points. Its speed was definitely much faster than Duanmu Jue’s.
Duanmu Jue could only give up attacking and use his strength to block Lu Ming’s sword light.
“So what if your sword technique is fast? If force won’t work, I’ll attack until you can’t hold your sword!” Duanmu Jue weaved his longsword in an impenetrable pattern, clashing incessantly against Lu Ming’s longsword.
Waves of powerful Essential Qi kept flowing out, battering against Lu Ming.
“Is that so? What if I speed up?”
Now, a faint smirk appeared on Lu Ming’s mouth. His blade flashed and his technique became even swifter. Like the flow of a river, the sword light cascaded unendingly towards Duanmu Jue.
His Lustrous Sword Technique had just broken through.
Before this, his Lustrous Sword Technique had been stuck at the Fourth Stage and he had been unable to break through.
Nevertheless, in this fight against Duanmu Jue, the Lustrous Sword Technique broke through to the Fifth Stage to achieve Perfect Divine-like Usage in one move.
Duanmu Jue’s expression changed. Just now, he could barely maintain his defense. Currently, he discovered that he could not withstand this barrage of assaults at all.
Swoosh!
Lu Ming’s glinting sword light instantly penetrated his defense, slashing towards his chest.
“Retreat, retreat, retreat!” Duanmu Jue was startled and withdrew frantically. Even so, he was a little too late.
Slash!
Lu Ming’s sword light immediately left a deep bloody gash across his chest.
Duanmu Jue was drenched in cold sweat. If he had not retreated quickly enough, he would have been dead already.
“Attack! Attack together and kill him!” Duanmu Jue roared in anger.
“Kill!”
As the other two youths and Duanmu Jue charged at Lu Ming together, their three spiritual weapons erupted with formidable Sword Qi.Chapter 45: Slaying Duanmu Jue
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Come on then!” Facing the joint attack from those three, Lu Ming grinned and did not back down. Instead, he rushed forward like the wind.
“You’re asking for it!”
“Die!”
The three of them huffed maliciously, each wielding their best technique. Their longswords surged with Sword Qi, carving through the air and emitting an ear splitting whistle.
The Sword Qi converged upon Lu Ming.
Just then, Lu Ming’s body glimmered bloodily and his blood meridian exploded. Immediately, he twisted his body to evade the sharp tips of their swords, ignoring their Sword Qi.
“Die then!”
Duanmu Jue and the other two had icy, murderous expressions in their eyes. Duanmu Jue, in particular, broke out into a satisfied smirk, as if the 500-point metal piece was already in his hands.
Still, in the next moment, his expression transformed because he sensed that when his Sword Qi landed on Lu Ming’s body, it was like cutting through a bottomless abyss.
Instantly, his hair stood on end, and a frosty, savage aura enveloped him.
‘Retreat, retreat now!’ he howled in his heart.
However, it was too late. A beam of sword light appeared like a celestial angel, impaling his throat.
A fountain of blood spurted out while Duanmu Jue choked out an animalistic howl with both hands grasping at his throat as he fell back.
Nonetheless, after a few steps backward, he collapsed to the ground.
In one slash, Lu Ming pierced through Duanmu Jue. He drew out his sword smoothly and cut the throat of the other youth.
Swiftly, Lu Ming had exploited the uniqueness of his blood meridian to quickly slay two experts.
There was only one person left.
The final youth felt stifled in a cloud of death. He was scared witless and recoiled in wild panic. Still, how could he be as fast as Lu Ming? Lu Ming caught up with him in a few steps. After a few moves, the guy was biting Duanmu Jue’s dust.
Lu Ming slayed Duanmu Jue’s group of three.
‘This time, I’m really unscathed. That’s much better than the last time,’ Lu Ming checked himself all over and thought to himself.
His blood meridian had devoured 50% of the Sword Qi from Duanmu Jue and the rest. The remaining half was mostly blocked by his protective Essential Qi, so Lu Ming was not harmed much.
Of course, this was also thanks to the cultivation level of Duanmu Jue and the other two.
Duanmu Jue’s cultivation was on the Fourth Grade Master Realm, only two stages above Lu Ming. If he was three stages, four or even five stages above Lu Ming, the end result would be different. Although Lu Ming could also devour 50% of the attack impact, the remaining 50% would be enough to grievously injure or even kill him.
‘Let me see how many point-worthy metal pieces Duanmu Jue has gathered.’
Lu Ming frisked Duanmu Jue’s body but did not even find a single metal piece.
‘How could this be? How could Duanmu Jue not even have a single point-worthy metal piece? No, he must have a storage ring!’ Lu Ming’s eyes lit up as he examined Duanmu Jue’s fingers. As expected, he spotted a ring.
After he took the ring off, Lu Ming sent his consciousness into the ring.
In the next moment, a space popped up in his mind. It was not large with a volume of around one cubic meter. It was lacking by leaps and bounds compared to the Supreme Shrine.
This was the space within the storage ring.
In this space, there was a pile of point-worthy metal pieces, a stack of silver notes, and some clothes.
Lu Ming did not take inventory. After that, he gathered a pile of point-worthy metal pieces from the other two bodies. Along with the storage ring, these were all kept within the Supreme Shrine. Following that, he devoured their blood essences before his figure darted off and left.
In a short while, he could see the first entrance of the cave. There was still a large crowd standing guard, but Yin Kai, Huang Yu, and the rest had not come out yet. Lu Ming promptly charged out and scaled a large tree nearby.
He did not look for Feng Wu at once. Instead, he decided to cultivate the blood essence of Duanmu Jue’s group first and take stock of his harvest before joining her.
Lu Ming sat cross-legged between the branches of the tree and began to cultivate.
The vital energy contained within the blood essence of a Fourth Grade and two Third Grade Masters was refined and abundant. This was something First Grade or Second Grade Masters could not compare to. Lu Ming’s cultivation swiftly advanced.
From peak mid-Second Grade Master Realm to top Second Grade Master Realm until finally, after processing all of their blood essences, Lu Ming broke through in one step, reaching the Third Grade Master Realm.
Even so, the level of his blood meridian still did not progress.
Upon the Spirit-devouring Worm blood meridian, the three blood-red meridian focal points were incomparably deep. Evidently, they were reaching their limit, but they just had not leveled up to become a Fourth Level blood meridian.
‘Can my blood meridian only reach the Third Level at most?’ Lu Ming thought, frowning. ‘Forget it. I’ll just continue to consume blood essence. I don’t believe it can’t advance any further.’
Following that, Lu Ming took out Duanmu Jue’s storage ring and started to take stock. The combined points from the two Third Grade Master Realm youths were 130 points.
Still, Duanmu Jue had the most with an incredible 520 points. Indeed, he had assembled so many people by his side, so his points were impressive, exceeding 500 points.
Right then, Lu Ming had collected an awesome 1,224 points. With points like these, surely first place was in the bag. Lu Ming did not believe anyone else could surpass his score.
Moreover, there were over 80,000 silver notes in Duanmu Jue’s storage ring. That was an unexpected loot.
Duanmu Jue was truly a prodigy from the Duanmu Family. His background was astounding.
Putting the rest aside, even the storage ring itself would cost at least 100,000 taels of silver. Even then, its demand exceeded its supply, and that was a conservative estimate.
After taking inventory, Lu Ming’s figure flashed and he arrived at the meeting place that he and Feng Wu had agreed upon.
When Feng Wu saw him, she asked hurriedly, “Lu Ming, you’re already out! How’s the situation?”
“Splendid!” Lu Ming smiled gently.
Feng Wu’s pretty eyes shone. “Lu Ming, is the 500-point metal piece in your possession?”
“Of course. Otherwise, wouldn’t I have wasted a trip?” He grinned, brimming with confidence.
“Oh, you devil! You’ve actually obtained the 500-point metal piece. It looks like you’ve made a fool of Yin Kai, Duanmu Jue, and the rest!” Feng Wu exclaimed and stared at him, her eyes wide with matchless surprise.
“Let’s go!”
Both of them turned to leave, disappearing in the woods.
Soon enough, two days passed. The 20 days of the test were up.
A lot of people had gathered outside the Midnight Hills, including Xie Kuang and the other guidance elders of the four halls, as well as a few Silver-robed Elders. In addition to that, there were attendants from various halls who were tasked with tallying the points.
Other than these people, there were also many youths who were the senior apprentices of the four halls.
Every year, the new apprentices who just joined would receive extra attention because new blood represented the future as well as endless possibilities.
The guidance elders of the four halls stood in front. At the moment, the elder from the White Tiger Hall was asking the other three, “In your opinion, how many will qualify this year?”
The guidance elder from the White Tiger Hall was a short, stout middle-aged man named Duanmu Jin. He was from the Duanmu Family.
Chapter 46: Who’s The Apprentice Champion?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“There are a total of 13,000 points. Technically, 1,300 people should pass, but in reality, it’s impossible to have so many people passing.”
The Azure Dragon Hall guidance elder added, “I’m sure that some point-worthy metal pieces will remain unfound, and while some people get higher points, some might not even have ten points. So, I’ll consider five hundred passes a decent amount.”
“I estimate around 500 people passing too.” Xie Kuang nodded.
“It’s always been around this number according to my experience. I’m curious though. Who’ll be the Apprentice Champion this year?” the Onyx Tortoise Hall guidance elder asked.
“Heh heh! Duanmu Jue, our Duanmu genius, of course!” Duanmu Jin replied smugly.
“You’re in over your head, Duanmu Jin. Our Huang Yu’s exceptionally talented with an awakened Fifth Level blood meridian and Fourth Grade Master Realm cultivation level! He’s just as good as Duanmu Jue, so I think he’s gonna be the Apprentice Champion,” the Azure Dragon Hall guidance elder rebutted.
“Our Xie Hong may be a girl, but she’s on par with your geniuses in terms of blood meridians and cultivation too, so she just might win this!” the Onyx Tortoise Hall guidance elder boasted.
“That might not be the case since our Yin Kai’s one of the very best too. The Vermillion Bird Hall will emerge as champion this year!” Xie Kuang chirped.
Duanmu Jin patted his pot belly as he scorned, “Huang Yu and the rest of them might be kinda good, but Duanmu Jue’s still better. Besides, Xie Kuang, the Vermillion Bird Hall hasn’t won the past eight years, so this year is just as impossible for you. Stop daydreaming.”
Xie Kuang’s face sank as he barked, “What’s the meaning of this, Fatty Duanmu? Are you looking down on us Vermillion Bird Hall?”
“Yes, so what if I’m looking down on you? You actually expect your bunch of trash to be the Apprentice Champion? Impossible! If you remain unconvinced, let’s bet on it!” Duanmu Jin scoffed.
“Damn it, I’m not afraid of you. Let’s bet on it, Fatty Duanmu! Name your wager,” Xie Kuang replied.
Duanmu Jin’s eyes flashed with excitement as he stated, “I bet 30 spiritual crystals on the White Tiger Hall winning. How’s that for a bet?”
“What?! 30 spiritual crystals?” Xie Kuang yelled in surprise.
Spiritual crystals were formed by the condensation of highly concentrated spiritual energy. It was extremely precious and only martial artists beyond the Grandmaster Realm could use it to cultivate.
The market price for a single spiritual crystal was 10,000 taels of silver, so 30 spiritual crystals were equivalent to 300,000 taels of silver.
It was an extremely expensive bet.
“What’s wrong, Xie Kuang? Chickened out? Too expensive for you?” Duanmu Jin jeered.
‘Damn it!’ Xie Kuang gritted his teeth and snapped, “Bet’s on, Duanmu Jin! Don’t act dumb and forget about our bet later.”
“I should be more afraid of you bailing out on me!” Duanmu Jin smiled coldly.
“The apprentices are coming out now,” the Azure Dragon Hall guidance elder interrupted.
A few youths exited the Midnight Hills.
“They’re from the Vermillion Bird Hall. They came out so quickly, huh? I wonder how many points they have,” Duanmu Jin mocked.
Xie Kuang’s face darkened as he asked the apprentices, “How many points do you have? Bring them all out and have them counted.”
“N-not much!” Flustered, a young man took out two one-point metal pieces while the others had none. That was all they had.
“Hahaha, only two points for the entire bunch. What a huge harvest!” Duanmu Jin guffawed.
The other two guidance elders had mocking smiles on their faces.
The competition was fierce among the four halls, so the worse the other hall was, the better it was for them.
Xie Kuang’s face darkened venomously.
More apprentices exited the Midnight Hills, but the passing rate was at a low of ten to one.
Those that failed hung their head in disappointment while those who passed skipped with delight.
Naturally, the White Tiger Hall had the most number of passes out of the four halls for now. The Azure Dragon Hall came in second whereas the Onyx Tortoise Hall came in third. The Vermillion Bird Hall came in last like how it had been for the past years.
While Duanmu Jin beamed, Xie Kuang fumed.
A voice rang out clearly. “Xie Hong’s out!”
Xie Hong, the Onyx Tortoise Hall’s number one expert exited the Midnight Hills with a gloomy expression.
“Heh heh, looks like Xie Hong’s results aren’t as good as expected, huh?” Duanmu Jin gloated as the face of the Onyx Tortoise Hall guidance elder darkened by a shade.
Xie Hong accumulated up to 509 points.
“It’s not too bad, but without the 500-point metal piece, it’s hard to win with this amount,” the Azure Dragon Hall guidance elder commented.
“Well, if the 500-point metal piece remains untouched, Hong’er could win with 509 points,” the Onyx Tortoise Hall guidance elder added forcefully.
“Someone has taken the 500-point metal piece,” Xie Hong said abruptly.
“What?! Who has it?” all four guidance elders blurted out. Whoever had the 500-point metal piece could win, hence their concern.
Xie Hong shook her head quietly.
Initially, Lu Ming had it, but Duanmu Jue, Yin Kai, Huang Yu, and the rest of them hunted and chased after him. A few days had passed and Xie Hong really had no idea who held the 500-point metal piece now.
The eyes of all four guidance elders flickered as they debated on who the possible Apprentice Champion was.
“Yin Kai’s out.”
“Huang Yu too.”
Xie Kuang’s heart skipped a beat as he hurried towards the apprentices. Both Yin Kai and Huang Yu exited Midnight Hills with their troops.
“Go ahead, Yin Kai, have your points counted first,” Huang Yu said to Yin Kai.
Yin Kai waved his hands with a stormy expression as a pile of point-worthy metal pieces appeared out of thin air. As expensive as storage rings were, geniuses like the likes of him could still afford them.
496 points.
Yin Kai had a total of 496 points which was lesser than Xie Hong.
“Haha, it looks like I’ll be 30 spiritual crystals richer now, Xie Kuang! Yin Kai has less points than Xie Hong, so it’s impossible for him to get first place now!” Duanmu Jin chuckled.
“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Duanmu Jin! Even if Yin Kai has lost, Duanmu Jue still might not win,” Xie Kuang refuted.
“Oh really? It doesn’t matter anyway since I’m still unbeatable as of now. Even if Duanmu Jue doesn’t win, I’m not the one losing,” Duanmu Jin jeered.
At the same time, Yin Kai’s face twisted in rage as he roared in his heart, ‘Lu Ming, I hope Duanmu Jue took the 500-point metal piece away from you.’
He would rather lose to Duanmu Jue than have Lu Ming win first prize.
At that moment, Lu Ming and Feng Wu exited the Midnight Hills.
Chapter 47: Counting Points
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
When Lu Ming and Feng Wu walked out, no one paid them any attention. All they got was a glance from the guidance elders and senior apprentices.
Three out of four number one geniuses were out from the Midnight Hills, and everyone else was mostly waiting for Duanmu Jue.
Only a small number of people kept their attention locked on Lu Ming, and they were those who participated in the 500-point metal piece fight.
Yin Kai’s eyes blazed.
“You survived, Lu Ming? How did you manage to evade Duanmu Jue?” Yin Kai’s eyes bore into Lu Ming as he asked.
Huh?
What Yin Kai said caught everyone by surprise. According to his tone, was Lu Ming actually somebody?
“Why? Are you disappointed that I’m still alive?” Lu Ming sneered.
From the side, Huang Yu asked with a stern voice, “Since you evaded Duanmu Jue, does it mean that the 500-point metal piece is still with you?”
“What?!”
Huang Yu’s words dropped like a bombshell.
All eyes were on Lu Ming and they were filled with questions and confusion, especially the four guidance elders.
‘Who’s this Lu Ming? I’ve never heard that name before. How did the 500-point metal piece end up with him? How’s this possible?’
Many of them were in disbelief.
“Of course, didn’t you see it the last time?” With a faint smile, Lu Ming waved his hand and a violet-gold metal piece appeared in his hand.
That was precisely the 500-point metal piece, and it was the only thing everyone was focused on at that instant.
‘Is that really the 500-point metal piece? Who exactly is this Lu Ming? He actually has the 500-point metal piece! Is he the new Apprentice Champion?’
Chaos erupted as shock set in.
“Hahaha, this is awesome! Good one, Lu Ming!” Xie Kuang howled in laughter as he recovered from the shock. He was ecstatic.
When Yin Kai came back with only 400 points, Xie Kuang thought that the Vermillion Bird Hall was about to wave the Apprentice Champion title goodbye yet again. Besides losing 30 spiritual crystals to Duanmu Jin, he would also have to endure the latter’s relentless taunting.
Now that Lu Ming had the 500-point metal piece, it reignited hope within Xie Kuang.
“Lu Ming! It’s Lu Ming again! Could none of our Duanmu experts kill this Lu Ming?” Duanmu Jin was shocked to the core as he stared incredulously at Lu Ming. When he finally came back to his senses, he scoffed, “What’re you so gleeful about, Xie Kuang? Maybe Lu Ming’s just lucky enough to get the 500-point metal piece by chance. That’s probably all he has. Do you think he could win with just the 500-point metal piece alone?”
“We’ll find out after we count his points,” Xie Kuang replied.
“Did you think you could beat me with a mere 500-point metal piece? Look carefully,” Huang Yu said coldly as a pile of point-worthy metal pieces appeared on the counter with a wave.
‘That much?!’
Everyone’s gazes froze when they realized that Huang Yu’s pile was a lot bigger than Xie Hong’s.
706 points.
Huang Yu had a whopping 706 points.
Gasp!
Sharp inhales spread across the area.
“Huang Yu’s gotten 706 points! That’s crazy!”
“He managed to get points like that even without the 500-point metal piece! Who’s to say he won’t be the Apprentice Champion?”
“Not bad! No one has heard of this Lu Ming previously, so I don’t think he’s from an aristocratic family. With no one to collect points for him, it’s impossible for him to get more than 200 points!”
Everyone was talking about it.
“Great!” The guidance elder of the Azure Dragon Hall laughed gleefully.
“Heh heh!” Duanmu Jin snickered and said, “Xie Kuang, so what if Lu Ming’s gotten the 500-point metal piece? I told you you celebrated too early. If a piece of trash was fortunate enough to get only the 500-point metal piece, he still can’t win anyway.”
“Huff, let’s see then.” Xie Kuang huffed coldly, but deep down, he was very uncertain.
Xie Kuang knew about most of Vermillion Bird Hall’s new apprentices, but he has never heard of Lu Ming’s name.
Lu Ming casually looked at all that was happening with a faint smile on his face. He was oddly calm as he made his way to the counter. Lu Ming looked at Huang Yu and said nonchalantly, “observe carefully then, if that’s what you wanna do.”
In a wave, a big pile of point-worthy metal pieces came tumbling down onto the counter.
From the looks of the pile, it seemed a lot bigger than Huang Yu’s pile.
‘S-so much?’
Eyes popped out of their sockets and some people nearly bit their tongues as they gawked at the pile of point-worthy metal pieces on the counter.
Feng Wu, who was with Lu Ming most of the time gaped soundlessly. She certainly did not expect Lu Ming to have that many point-worthy metal pieces.
When did that happen?
“Martial Uncle, could you help me out with the counting please?” Lu Ming prompted the person in charge of the point-counting since he was still in shock.
The person-in-charge came back to his senses and started to count.
With 724 points, in addition to the 500-point metal piece, Lu Ming had 1,224 points in total! Lu Ming had not scavenged for more point-worthy metal pieces in the last two days. Instead, he spent most of his time cultivating so that his cultivation had a firmer base.
His jaw-dropping 1,224 points stunned everyone with their mouths agape.
This was mindblowing. Even without the 500-point metal piece, Lu Ming still had more points than Huang Yu.
With points like this, Lu Ming was undoubtedly the Apprentice Champion.
‘How’s that possible? How can it be? I had the whole Azure Dragon Hall collecting points for me, and I spent quite a fortune getting points from some others as well. How did Lu Ming get so many points?’ Huang Yu roared in anguish in his head.
“Damn it!” Yin Kai clenched his fists tightly in frustration.
“Hahaha, I told you to wait for the official count, Duanmu Jin! It’s crystal clear now, isn’t it?” Xie Kuang was on cloud nine as he guffawed and his hand stroked his beard continuously. As he fixed his gaze on Lu Ming, he suddenly felt that the latter was such an adorable person.
“Xie Kuang, Lu Ming!” Duanmu Jin clenched his jaws so tightly that his teeth started grinding against each other noisily.
“Oh, also, 30 spiritual crystals please, Duanmu Jin!” Xie Kuang added.
“Hold your horses. Not everyone’s out yet. Our Duanmu Jue’s still making his way out. How sure are you that Lu Ming’s won?” Duanmu Jin selfishly hoped for Duanmu Jue to create a miracle.
“Elder...Elder Jin, something bad’s happened! A loud voice rang out from within the Midnight Woods as a dozen figures rushed out. They were the young experts of the Duanmu Family.
“What’s going on? What’s the rush? As a member of the Duanmu Family and the Mystical Sword Sect, you’ve gotta keep calm no matter what happened, understand?” Duanmu Jin’s face darkened as he reprimanded the young Duanmu experts.
“Where’s Duanmu Jue? Why didn’t he come out with you?”
Chapter 48: The Desperate Duanmu Family
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Something’s happened, Elder Jin! Duanmu Jue is dead!” one of the Duanmu youths reported fearfully.
“W-what?!” Duanmu Jin froze. His eyes widened as he let out a small cry. How could he have remained calm?
Everyone who heard the news was startled.
The other three guidance elders had a slight change in expression. A look of joy flitted across Xie Kuang’s face.
Duanmu Jue was actually dead? How did he die?
Yin Kai, Huang Yu, and some others could not help but look pointedly at Lu Ming.
Where did Lu Ming’s points come from? Judging by the amount, it was impossible for him to have killed all those demonic beasts alone. Could it be from Duanmu Jue?
“Speak. How did Duanmu Jue die?” Duanmu Jin ordered maliciously.
“A slit across the throat with a sword,” said a young man.
“A slit across the throat with a sword?! Who did it?” Cold killing intent erupted from Duanmu Jin.
“We don’t know. When we found Duanmu Jin’s trail and followed it, he was already dead. We also found two other bodies with him. They were the White Tiger Hall’s Third Grade Master Realm apprentices.”
“What?! Don’t you know who did it?” Killing intent flickered in Duanmu Jin’s eyes. He abruptly turned to face Lu Ming as he barked, “Speak, Lu Ming! Did you kill Duanmu Jue?”
Before Lu Ming could answer, Xie Kuang retorted with a roar, “Duanmu Jin! What’s the meaning of this?”
“Elder Duanmu, did you even see me kill Duanmu Jue? Also, you heard him. There were two other Third Grade Master Realm experts with him. Did you really think I could kill him?” Lu Ming answered with a faint smile.
Many pondered upon Lu Ming’s words.
‘That’s true. Does Lu Ming even have the skills to kill Duanmu Jue and the two other Third Grade Master Realm experts?’
Impossible!
Duanmu Jin scoffed, “How do you explain the amount of point-worthy metal pieces in your possession? You must’ve killed Duanmu Jue with some kind of despicable trick. I’ll destroy you right now, you shameless, filthy prick!”
Boom!
As he took a stride, a formidable aura erupted from Duanmu Jin, pressing against Lu Ming like a lofty mountain.
The crushing weight was too strong for Lu Ming to handle. He felt like a mountain had slammed into him and his body shook as he was forced backward. Blood threatened to spew out from his mouth.
“What are you doing, Duanmu Jin!?” Xie Kuang raged as he hid Lu Ming behind him. An equally formidable aura exploded from him, shielding Lu Ming from Duanmu Jin’s aura.
“Piss off, Xie Kuang!” Duanmu Jin bellowed.
“Fatty Duanmu, do you have fats for a f*cking brain? In the Mystical Sword Sect, winners have always taken it all. Which rule calls for an explanation of the source of the point-worthy metal pieces? Did you live all these f*cking years as a dog?” Fury rose from within Lu Ming as he berated. He refused to be bullied.
“Wha-”
It was once again a jaw-dropping moment for everyone present.
How reckless of Lu Ming to dare yell at Duanmu Jin in public like that!
Sure enough, Duanmu Jin was so mad that he shook uncontrollably. He raised his arm and pointed at Lu Ming. “You little b*stard, w-what did you just say?”
“Great, you’re deaf too. Guess you really did live a f*cking dog life.” Lu Ming pursed his lips.
“I’ll kill you, you little b*stard!” Duanmu Jin’s eyes glowed a frenzy red as he threw a punch at Lu Ming.
“Stay where you are!” Xie Kuang’s fist collided with Duanmu Jin’s.
Boom!
Both Xie Kuang and Duanmu Jin staggered backward from the blast.
“Piss off, Xie Kuang, or I’ll kill you as well!” Duanmu Jin yelled.
“I was afraid that you can’t.” Xie Kuang refused to budge.
Boom!
Just then, immense pressure came from the skies. The pressure was so great that it felt as if it had unfathomable depths like the ocean, paralyzing both Xie Kuang and Duanmu Jin.
“Silver-robed Elder!” Both of them gasped.
In the skies, a displeased elderly man hovered over them and rebuked, “Absurd, both of you! Shamelessly fighting to the death in front of all the apprentices as guidance elders. For what? To be ridiculed by the younger generation?”
“Elder Wang, Lu Ming used despicable methods to kill Duanmu Jue and the rest. He cannot go unpunished! I suggest stripping him of his Apprentice Champion title,” Duanmu Jin cupped his fists towards the Silver-robed Elder as he spoke.
“Hehe, I’m gonna say the same to you, Duanmu Jin. Did you see me kill Duanmu Jue and the rest in despicable ways? And you tell me that you haven’t f*cking lived as a dog.”
Since Lu Ming was already an arch-nemesis with the Duanmu Family, he said whatever he wanted and insulted Duanmu Jin without any restraint. He was sure that Xie Kuang and the Silver-robed Elder would not let anything happen to him.
“How dare you, insolent fool!? You have no respect for the elders!” Duanmu Jin howled, his prosperous body trembling with unconstrained fury.
He was outraged! All he wanted was to pound Lu Ming into a meatloaf.
“You and your yelling, Duanmu Jin! Just spit it out. You’re weaseling out! All it took was 30 spiritual crystals for you to accuse and trample over a new genius apprentice. That’s certainly a first for me!” Xie Kuang took the chance to mock him.
“You..” Furious and flustered, Duanmu Jin nearly vomited blood as his chest rose up and down rapidly.
Everyone else stared with their mouths wide open nearby.
Geniuses like Huang Yu and Xie Hong saw Lu Ming in a different light.
While they had remarkable backgrounds, even they had no courage to yell at a Duanmu elder in public like that.
Lu Ming was flaunting such lawlessness!
Duanmu Jin took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm down as he cupped his fist towards the Silver-robed Elder once more and said, “Elder Wang, I’m sure Lu Ming used despicable methods to gather such an amount of point-worthy metal pieces. If he’s allowed to win the first prize like that, I’m afraid it’ll be hard to convince the other new apprentices. I suggest that we test his abilities. If he passes, I’ll acknowledge him as the Apprentice Champion.”
“No way, Elder Wang! The new apprentice test has always used points to determine placings, and there have never been any restrictions on how the points are obtained,” Xie Kuang objected hurriedly.
Duanmu Jin scoffed, “Don’t you forget, Xie Kuang. All the previous Apprentice Champions were publicly recognized for their abilities. Even those who were fortunate were proven to be capable. But this Lu Ming...where’s he from? What’s he capable of?”
His words were laced thick with disdain.
“Oh?”
“How would you like to test him, Duanmu Jin?” The Silver-robed Elder pondered.
“Very simple. Come on out, Duanmu Tao,” Duanmu Jin ordered with a wave.
Immediately, a young man stepped out from where the old apprentices were.
Duanmu Jin pointed at that young man and said, “This time, the strongest cultivation level among the new apprentices is the Fourth Grade Master Realm, which is exactly Duanmu Tao’s cultivation level. If Lu Ming beats Duanmu Tao, I’ll acknowledge his Apprentice Champion title. If not, I suggest that Lu Ming be stripped of his first placing.”
Xie Kuang’s expression changed. “I object. Duanmu Tao is a third-year apprentice. Even if his cultivation’s on the Fourth Grade Master Realm, it’s not fair for a new apprentice to fight someone who’s trained for three years.”
“If you don’t have what it takes, just say it out loud. The Apprentice Champion title isn’t as attainable as you think it is,” Duanmu Jin replied coldly.
“Alright, I’ll do it,” Lu Ming agreed all of a sudden.
Chapter 49: Watch Out Or You’re Gonna Get Hurt
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lu Ming stepped out with a faint smile on his face.
Xie Kuang’s expression changed again as he urged, “Don’t be rash, Lu Ming.”
The Vermillion Bird Hall finally won the Apprentice Champion this year round, so Xie Kuang was expecting a tremendous boost in popularity and better allocation of resources from the Mystical Sword Sect’s management. He simply could not allow Lu Ming to throw the first place away so rashly.
Lu Ming smiled and told Xie Kuang, “Don’t worry, Elder Xie, just a mere Duanmu Disciple with slightly longer cultivation time, that’s all. So what?”
He then turned to Duanmu Jin and confirmed, “I accept the challenge, Duanmu Jin.”
“Good!” Duanmu Jin was flooded with euphoria when he saw how Lu Ming accepted his challenge. He cupped his fists towards the Silver-robed Elder once more and said, “Elder Wang, Lu Ming himself said he’ll do it. Please allow it.”
Elder Wang nodded and replied, “Alright, it’ll be done according to your request then.”
“Thank you, Elder Wang!” Duanmu Jin could barely contain his delight. He turned to Duanmu Tao and stated, “Listen carefully now, Duanmu Tao. Lu Ming’s the Apprentice Champion nominee. He’s highly talented, so you’ve gotta just try your best later, understand?”
“Got it. Don’t worry, Elder Jin.” A sinister smile hung on Duanmu Tao’s face as he turned to Lu Ming. “You still have time to just surrender now, Lu Ming. Otherwise, when the match starts, watch out, or you’re gonna get hurt later. Don’t blame me for not giving you a heads-up.”
Duanmu Jin retreated for a good ten meters and told Duanmu Tao, “Don’t hold back. The Mystical Sword Sect’s Apprentice Champion should be capable and know his stuff well. He shouldn’t be a piece of trash that only relies on luck.”
“Your time is up.” With a menacing smile on his face, Duanmu Tao moved unexpectedly. He unsheathed his sword and hacked it towards Lu Ming.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
In a flick, nine beams of sword light that resembled plum blossoms bloomed from the body of his sword, engulfing Lu Ming completely.
“This is the Heavenly Plum-Blossom Sword Technique, a Superior Yellow Level martial arts technique. After years of painstaking training and cultivation, Duanmu Tao’s finally reached the Fourth Stage,” the Azure Dragon Hall guidance elder commented with a sparkle in his eyes.
“Not bad, even though Duanmu Tao’s cultivation is merely average, he has pretty good perception towards martial arts technique. He’s considerably talented to be able to cultivate a Superior Yellow Level martial arts technique to the stage he’s at in just a few years. What a clever plan it is for Duanmu Jin to send Duanmu Tao out to fight Lu Ming! I’m afraid no one in this batch of new apprentices is a match for Duanmu Tao,” the Onyx Tortoise Hall guidance elder added.
“Wretch!” Xie Kuang clamped his fists tightly as worry shone in his eyes.
“Heh heh!” Duanmu Jin smirked.
At the same time, a similar smirk was seen hanging on Lu Ming’s face as well. He held his ground.
Clang!
A sword light as fast as lightning burst forth.
It all happened too fast! In an instant, the lightning-like sword light reached its target first even though it was released later. As the cold sword tip neared Duanmu Tao’s face, a feeling of dread crept up from deep within his heart.
Retreat!
Without hesitation, Duanmu Tao retreated in a frenzy. Whatever patterned sword light he had going disappeared immediately without a trace.
The smile froze on Duanmu Jin’s face.
“What a swift sword! This is also a Superior Yellow Level sword technique,” the Azure Dragon Hall guidance elder blurted out as his expression changed.
“That’s right. This is the Lustrous Sword Technique, a Superior Yellow Level sword technique. Lu Ming’s at least at the Fourth or Fifth stage, I reckon,” the Onyx Tortoise Hall guidance elder said as an odd gleam flitted through his eyes.
1
Xie Kuang was ecstatic. He did not expect Lu Ming to have such amazing martial arts attainment since he was just a new apprentice.
“Is this the martial arts technique you’ve trained painstakingly for a few years, Duanmu Tao? Is this all you’ve got? What a disgrace.” Lu Ming smiled faintly.
“Damn it! Here’s one more move!” Duanmu Tao roared. His figure dazzled into several phantom images that attacked Lu Ming simultaneously while a tempest of Sword Qi exploded from his body of his sword.
Duanmu Tao continuously slashed about seven or eight Sword Qis out, all of it aimed at Lu Ming. ‘So what if your sword’s swift?’ He would suppress Lu Ming with formidable Essential Qi.
“I’m done playing games with you,” Lu Ming muttered. His long sword then slashed abruptly.
Zing!
A beam of Sword Qi swept across the area. It was a lot sharper than Duanmu Tao’s Sword Qi.
After Lu Ming broke through to the Third Grade Master Realm, the mass of his Essential Qi was already above Duanmu Tao’s.
Duanmu Tao’s Sword Qi was severed in several puffs. Immediately after that, Lu Ming threw a punch out with his left hand.
The Flame Dragon Fist.
The blow landed right on Duanmu Tao’s dantian.
Duanmu Tao cried out in pain as his body flew backward from impact and landed heavily on the ground. His face paled as he vomited copious amounts of blood.
Silence.
Pin-drop silence swept across the entire area.
Two moves. All Lu Ming took to defeat Duanmu Tao were two moves. It was a complete victory. Was this even a new apprentice’s fighting ability?
“My Qi cyclone, my cultivation! Lu Ming, did you just destroy my cultivation?” Duanmu Tao let out a shrill cry.
The punch that Lu Ming delivered was so powerful that it completely destroyed the Qi cyclone in Duanmu Tao’s dantian.
Boom!
“Lu Ming!” The cold, murderous intent that exploded from Duanmu Jin was directed straight at Lu Ming.
In a stride, Xie Kuang stepped in and blocked Duanmu Jin in his path.
“Piss off, Xie Kuang! I’ll destroy that little b*stard. How could he land such a heavy blow in a friendly match? He has such a bad character and should be killed!” Duanmu Jin yelled.
“Duanmu Jin, Duanmu Tao’s words were ‘when the match starts, watch out, or you’re gonna get hurt later’. I thought I did pretty well by restraining myself and sparing his life, but rather than thanking me, you accuse me of having a bad character. Instead of me, I think the person with a bad character is you!” Lu Ming said in a loud voice.
“Go to hell, little b*stard!” Duanmu Jin had enough. His face was a bright red as he failed to stifle his rage.
“That’s enough.” The Silver-robed Elder waved and a gust of energy poured out, forcing Xie Kuang and Duanmu Jin to stagger backward.
“You’ve gotta give Duanmu Tao justice, please, Elder Wang!” Duanmu Jin shrieked.
Elder Wang frowned, “Enough, Duanmu Jin. Nothing is guaranteed when a duel happens. Injuries are inevitable. Stop making a big fuss.”
To ensure fairness, the Silver-robed Elders had been sent directly by the sect leader to oversee the test. They did not belong to any hall, so they would not take sides.
Elder Wang was joyful when he witnessed Lu Ming’s capabilities and potential. After all, it meant that there was another genius in the Mystical Sword Sect. He was also annoyed at Duanmu Jin for trying to kill Lu Ming for his personal agenda.
“The match has proven Lu Ming’s capabilities, and since most people are out from the Midnight Hills, I declare that first place belongs to Lu Ming,” Elder Wang wasted no time as he announced.
“Damn it!” Duanmu Jin was boiling with rage. He knew he could not make Lu Ming pay that day.
‘I’ll see how cocky you can continue to be, Lu Ming! People who go against the Duanmu Family never end up in a good place,’ he cursed in his heart.
Not very far away, Xie Hong, Huang Yu, and the rest looked at Lu Ming, perplexed.
Lu Ming’s capabilities were beyond their expectation. They were so sure that Duanmu Jue had died by his hand.
They were secretly glad that they did not go after Lu Ming in the Midnight Hills, or else, they would have been dead.
“30 spiritual crystals. Pay up, Duanmu Jin,” Xie Kuang snickered coldly as he marched towards Duanmu Jin.
Clack, clack, clack...
Duanmu Jin gritted his teeth so tightly that they rubbed against each other noisily. He could not weasel out, not with everyone watching, so he painfully passed 30 spiritual crystals to Xie Kuang.
Xie Kuang laughed in satisfaction.
The time was up for Elder Wang to announce the placings.
“Huang Yu is in second place, and Xie Hong in third.”
The names and placings were announced individually.
With 131 points, Feng Wu was placed in 22nd place.
Once the announcement was done, Elder Wang continued with a wave, “Now, this marks the end of the new apprentice test. Once you get back to the sect, those with rewards can claim them when you get your identity jade pieces done. You are dismissed.”Chapter 50: Awarding Rewards
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the Vermillion Bird Hall, all newly accepted apprentices gathered on the training field.
Other than Xie Kuang, the guidance elder, there were a few other Vermillion Bird Hall elders and a Silver-robed Elder on stage.
Huge smiles were etched on each elder’s face.
“We won’t award you with your identity jade pieces. Your personal information and your sect contribution points will be in your identity jade pieces. You can use the jade pieces for your transactions should you need to use your sect contribution points.”
1
There was a jade piece in the Silver-robed Elder’s hand. He continued, “Even though our overall results weren’t great, Lu Ming managed to emerge as the Apprentice Champion for the first time after eight long years. He brought glory to the Vermillion Bird Hall, so this time around, we at the Vermillion Bird Hall will award him with another 2,000 sect contribution points in addition to his original rewards of 5,000 sect contribution points and a Spirit-condensing Fruit. Come claim your prize, Lu Ming.”
As soon as the elder was done, all eyes were on Lu Ming. Some gazes were envious, some were jealous, some full of admiration.
Amongst them, Yin Kai’s eyes dripped with malice. Only he knew what he was up to as his eyes continuously looked around.
Lu Ming walked up to accept his identity jade piece and another jade box.
As his consciousness sank into the jade piece, a row of words appeared before him.
Lu Ming: 15, citizen of the Fiery Wind City. Bronze apprentice of the Vermillion Bird Hall, the Mystical Sword Sect.
Residence: Room 1, Courtyard 29.
Sect Contribution Points: 7,000
The information was extremely comprehensive with their residence clearly marked out for them. Inside the jade box was the Spirit-condensing Fruit.
“Thank you, Elder!” Lu Ming cupped his fists as he saluted, then he walked down from the stage.
The other apprentices collected their identity jade pieces.
Once everyone was done, they parted ways and Lu Ming made his way to the Vermillion Bird Peak.
The majestic Vermillion Bird Peak stood tall beyond the clouds.
Forests and jungles covered the peak. With all the beautiful flora and fauna found in these woods, it was like heaven on earth.
Mid-peak, there was a space filled with countless exquisite courtyards. These were dorms for the Vermillion Bird Hall apprentices.
‘The spiritual energy here’s so rich and dense! It’s at least a few times thicker than the general apprentices’ area. No wonder everyone was fighting to become a bronze apprentice.
‘I heard that silver apprentices, some elders and hall masters live closer to the tip of the mountain and that the spiritual energy there’s even thicker than what it’s like now.’
Lu Ming pondered as he made his way to his residence.
The courtyards were numbered on the door, so he found courtyard 29 very quickly. It had quite a huge yard with a patio for cultivating martial arts in the middle. There were also three rooms.
The middle one was numbered “1” while the other rooms were rooms 2 and 3 respectively.
Lu Ming made his way to room 1 where the sight of a simple bed and a table greeted him. It was an extremely modest setup. There was a booklet on the table explaining the basic guidelines and happenings of the Mystical Sword Sect and the Blazing Sun Empire.
After flipping through it, Lu Ming kept the booklet aside. He walked out of the door as he heard footsteps approaching.
A beefy young man of about fifteen to sixteen years old walked in. He had big eyes and bushy eyebrows and he carried a sword wider than a palm on his back.
He gawked at Lu Ming and was quickly overjoyed. “Senior Brother Lu Ming, you’re assigned to courtyard 29 too. Haha, that’s great. We’ll be housemates now!” The beefy young man chuckled.
Lu Ming smiled faintly and said, “You’re too kind, brother. How do I address you?”
“My name’s Pang Shi. I’m a hunter from SeaFront City, ” the beefy youth introduced himself enthusiastically.
From his brief introduction, Lu Ming understood that Pang Shi was the son of a hunter’s family in SeaFront City and that he was supernaturally strong. Since he awakened his blood meridians when he was 14, his family sent him to the Mystical Sword Sect to be tested and enrolled. Pang Shi was successfully accepted, and he had passed the test to become a bronze apprentice.
Looking at this hunter’s lad, Lu Ming thought that Pang Shi was more than what met the eyes since it was not as easy for a normal hunter’s lad to be enrolled and pass the new apprentice test in one go.
“I’m a little dumb, so please show me around, Senior Brother Lu Ming,” Pang Shi said as he scratched the back of his head.
“Are you asking him to show you around? I think it’s better if you mingle with me.”
A green-robed, handsome looking youth walked in from the patio. This lanky young man was fair-skinned with long and narrow eyes. He had an air of untamed wildness that surrounded him.
The green-robed youth walked in and scoffed at Lu Ming without warning, “Remember this, Lu Ming. My name’s Hua Chi. You being the Apprentice Champion doesn’t mean anything here. Since we’re both new to the Mystical Sword Sect, I’ll surpass you in a year.”
“Starry-eyed fool? What an odd name,” Pang Shi replied in surprise, conveniently ignoring everything else Hua Chi said.
The green-robed youth stiffened. “What are you talking about, you big dumb buffoon? My name’s Hua Chi, Hua Chi! Not a starry-eyed fool.”
“It’s still starry-eyed fool, isn’t it, Senior Brother Lu Ming?” Puzzled, Pang Shi scratched the back of his head in confusion.
Lu Ming could not help but laugh, “You’re right, Pang Shi. I heard a starry-eyed fool too.”
“You... You hillbillies! Just you wait and see! My name, Hua Chi, will shake the entire Mystical Sword Sect and even the entire Blazing Sun Empire in no time!”
Confidence shone in Hua Chi’s eyes as he walked into room 2 with a huff, ignoring Lu Ming and Pang Shi.
Lu Ming smiled and excused himself from Pang Shi to go back to his room as well.
Since reaching the Master Realm, Lu Ming’s cultivation had risen as he devoured essences constantly. However, that caused his foundation to be a little shaky and his Essential Qi was tainted and unrefined.
He had to stop and spend time to set his base and cultivate his Essential Qi.
A shaky foundation was a huge problem that would affect his cultivation progress in the future. It would hinder Lu Ming from breaking through to the next level, and his cultivation journey would cease.
Even having a Spirit-devouring Word Blood Meridian to devour more essence would have been in vain.
Lu Ming exercised the True War Dragon Technique and the Qi cyclone in his dantian spun steadily, creating little streams of dragon-shaped Essential Qi, which flowed through his meridians, repeatedly refining the impurities in his Essential Qi.
After six hours, Lu Ming opened his eyes.
‘My cultivation will be firmer and more consolidated in ten days if this continues. Then, I’ll move on to the Second Stage of the True War Dragon Technique. My advantage in the Master Realm is decreasing. I can only obtain higher combat power if I reach the Second Stage in my True War Dragon Technique cultivation.
‘Other than Blood Mist Rocks, I’ve got two out of three essential ingredients required in the Second Stage True War Dragon Technique. I’ll go to the Contribution Hall in two days and see if they have any Blood Mist Rocks,’ Lu Ming reflected.
He pondered upon what had happened in the test. Then, he came to a conclusion about what he lacked and determined the direction of his cultivation going forward.Chapter 51: Ning Feng Pays A Visit
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
While Lu Ming was cultivating, a loud yell suddenly boomed from outside, “Lu Ming, get your butt out here!”
“Ning Feng?”
Lu Ming remembered the voice very well. It was that senior apprentice who had caused him trouble back when he had just joined the sect.
‘Ning Feng, you sent someone to kill me during the test. Before I could hunt you down, you’ve come here yourself!’ There was a cold glint in Lu Ming’s eyes as he got up, opened the door, and walked out.
After exiting his room, he saw that Pang Shi and Hua Chi had gone out as well. Evidently, they were startled as well.
“Senior Brother Lu, what’s going on?” Pang Shi wore a worried expression.
“Everything’s fine!” Lu Ming grinned.
“Lu Ming, you’d better hurry up and show yourself,” Ning Feng’s voice rose again, rumbling across a vast distance.
Creak!
Lu Ming opened the gates of the courtyard and walked out.
Standing outside the courtyard were seven or eight youths. Ning Feng was heading the group with Yin Kai actually beside him. As for the others, they had overbearing auras as well. Clearly, they were senior apprentices of the Vermillion Bird Hall.
“Lu Ming, you’re finally out. I’d thought you were cowering like a tortoise in its shell!” Ning Feng glared at Lu Ming icily as he spoke. In the depths of his gaze, there was a flash of deadly intent.
Lu Ming had far surpassed his expectations.
During the newbies’ test, along with the Duanmu family’s cooperation, Ning Feng had sent a Master Realm expert to kill Lu Ming. Despite all that, he did not manage to kill him.
To their outrage, Lu Ming had even become the Apprentice Champion. The moment Ning Feng heard about this, he had practically leaped up in shock.
Lu Ming’s talent exceeded his imagination. He must kill Lu Ming before the latter grew even stronger.
“Cower like a tortoise? Ning Feng, why would I do that just because of someone like you?” Lu Ming said breezily as he stared at Ning Feng.
“Heh heh! Lu Ming, don’t think that you can act so impudently just because you’ve achieved the hollow title as the Apprentice Champion. In my eyes, you’re nothing.
“Furthermore, your Apprentice Champion position was merely seized through underhanded methods. Lu Ming, do you know that you’ve committed a great crime? You should be kneeling down in confession!” Ning Feng bellowed.
By this point, the whole area had been disturbed. People started popping out of their courtyards. It was not just the new apprentices. Most of them were senior apprentices.
All of them observed the situation, discussing animatedly.
“Why is Ning Feng looking for Lu Ming? Is there bad blood between them?”
“I don’t know. Still, Ning Feng’s father is the Chief Elder of the Vermillion Bird Hall. Thanks to his father’s authority, he’s always been arrogant and tyrannical, and he’s used to pushing others around. Ha, to think that Lu Ming is the target this time!”
“I heard that on the day Lu Ming joined the sect, he disrespected Ning Feng, causing Ning Feng to be publicly humiliated.”
“No wonder!”
Ning Feng’s energy was aggressive, but Lu Ming was not afraid in the slightest. “Ning Feng, there’s no need for malicious slander. What have I done wrong?”
“What wrong? Let me ask you. During the test, Junior Brother Yin Kai obtained that 500-point metal piece initially. However, out of your own selfish desires, you colluded with the apprentices of other halls to intercept him, causing him to lose the 500-point metal piece. The position of Apprentice Champion originally belonged to Junior Brother Yin Kai!
“Not only that, in order to snatch the 500-point metal piece, you brutally murdered the genius apprentice of my Vermillion Bird Hall, Yuan Lang. Such behavior makes one’s blood boil. You should die ten thousand deaths for your sins. Now, shouldn’t you be kneeling down to accept your punishment?” Ning Feng roared furiously with a domineering aura.
Not far away, some of the senior apprentices were conversing.
“Ning Feng really knows how to pin the blame on someone.”
“Isn’t that so?”
In the Mystical Sword Sect, there were rules, and one of them included the fact that those from the same sect must not kill one another.
However, at certain times and in certain places, there were exceptions such as in a life-or-death fight or during the newbies’ test.
The newbies’ test was a long tradition in the Mystical Sword Sect. In truth, everyone was well aware that the test would verify one’s full capabilities. During the test, any method was fair game, including killing.
Nonetheless, this was an unspoken rule that must not be proclaimed aloud. Otherwise, it was indeed a crime to kill someone from the same sect.
However, which year’s Apprentice Champion did not kill anyone during the test?
It was impossible. This was clearly a trumped-up charge.
“Ning Feng, did you come here to say this? With this idiotic excuse? I don’t have time to entertain your nonsense.”
With that, Lu Ming turned around to go in. He could not be bothered with Ning Feng’s bullsh*t.
“Damn you!” Lu Ming’s attitude set Ning Feng’s teeth on edge before he howled, “Brazen Lu Ming, do you even respect the sect’s rules? Kneel down at once.”
Swoosh!
Ning Feng’s palm slammed toward Lu Ming. The force from his palm created a whistle in the air. If this strike hit its target, Lu Ming would be gravely injured, if not killed.
“Senior Brother Lu Ming, be careful!” Pang Shi warned.
Boom!
At the crucial point, Lu Ming promptly twisted around and struck with the Flame Dragon Fist.
Bam!
Lu Ming’s fist and Ning Feng’s palm collided.
There was a deafening rumble.
Thud, thud, thud!
Lu Ming took five steps back. He shuddered and coughed up a mouthful of blood.
“You’re the so-called Apprentice Champion! Hmph, you’re more like a piece of trash. Today, I’ll cripple you, then take my time interrogating you,” Ning Feng’s expression was cruel as he spoke disdainfully. Following that, he stepped out and slammed his palm down on Lu Ming.
“Trying to cripple me? I’ll make you pay a painful price too!” Lu Ming gripped his sword hilt as his eyes blazed viciously. He decided to explode his blood meridian. Even if he had to suffer Ning Feng’s palm strike, he would make him pay.
“Stop right there!”
However, just then, a delicate voice rang out as a figure dashed over like lightning. A burst of powerful palm force shot toward Ning Feng.
The palm force was fierce and intense and was no weaker than Ning Feng’s.
Ning Feng had no choice but to turn back and counter the blow.
Bam!
Two palms clashed, and Ning Feng’s figure trembled slightly.
“Yuan Hui, it’s you! Why did you stop me?” When Ning Feng saw who it was, his expression shifted.
Lu Ming was flabbergasted as well. The one who had attacked was a young lady who was around eighteen years old and was extremely pretty.
Still, Lu Ming did not know her. Why would she step in to help him?
However, he understood in the next instant.
Another figure came flying over. It was Feng Wu.
“Lu Ming, are you alright? Don’t worry. Senior Sister Yuan is with Big Sis Mu Lan. She won’t let Ning Feng do as he pleases.” Feng Wu looked at Lu Ming with a glimmer of concern in her eyes.
“I’m fine!” Lu Ming beamed.
Yuan Hui said, “Ning Feng, I might as well tell you that Lu Ming got in through a recommendation from Elder Mu Lan. Surely now you know why I stopped you!”
“What? Elder Mu Lan?” When Ning Feng heard Mu Lan’s name, he turned solemn all of a sudden.
On the side, Yin Kai’s face had sunk as well.
‘How could Lu Ming be so lucky? Dammit!’ Yin Kai clenched his jaw. Initially, he had rejoiced inwardly when he saw Lu Ming being injured by Ning Feng. However, Yuan Hui had popped up unexpectedly.
“Now that you know this, you’d better leave at once.” Yuan Hui glared at Ning Feng.
Ning Feng’s eyes gleamed, then flared up with resentment. “Yuan Hui, so what if Lu Ming was recommended by Elder Mu Lan? He killed someone from the same sect. Such a despicable act must be severely punished. Otherwise, everyone will disregard the rules in the future. Won’t that cause utter chaos?”
Chapter 52: A Fight After A Month
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Ning Feng, do you have to come up with such crude excuses just to target me? Why don’t we go to the magistrate elder and determine whether I’m guilty?” Lu Ming cast a scornful glance at Ning Feng.
“Why do we have to go to the magistrate elder for such a small matter?” Ning Feng laughed coldly.
At this point, Pang Shi came forward, scratching his head with a guileless expression. “Senior Brother Ning, this is where you’re wrong. I’m a new apprentice who has just participated in the test as well. During the test, killing each other is very common. I saw a senior brother being murdered by someone from the Duanmu family. Senior Brother Ning, why didn’t you lead your crew to capture that apprentice from the Duanmu family?”
“That’s right, Ning Feng. If you’re so devoted to being righteous, go and seize that guy from the Duanmu family. All you can do is whine and complain here. Aren’t you embarrassed?” Feng Wu stood beside Lu Ming and scoffed with her pretty face.
Ning Feng’s face darkened all at once. He had just been asked to seize an apprentice from the Duanmu family. How could he possibly do that?
Instantly, he shot an unfriendly look at Pang Shi and berated, “And who are you again? How dare you speak in this manner to me? F*ck off.”
After that, he looked towards Yuan Hui and shouted, “Yuan Hui, step aside at once.”
“Ning Feng, defeat me if you can. Otherwise, you can forget about harming a single hair on Lu Ming’s head!” Yuan Hui was unyielding.
Seeing that Yuan Hui was being so steadfast, Ning Feng’s gaze flitted around uncertainly before landing on Lu Ming once more. “Lu Ming, what kind of Apprentice Champion are you? Is hiding behind women all you can do?”
“Ning Feng, you’ve been enrolled for four, five years, haven’t you? And you have the nerve to say that. How about this? You and Lu Ming shall fight after a year. How does that sound?” Yuan Hui suggested.
“Senior Sister Yuan, why wait for a year? A month is enough!” Lu Ming stepped out and faced Ning Feng directly. “Ning Feng, I hereby challenge you. After one month, we shall meet on the Vermillion Bird Stage for a battle to the death. Are you brave enough?”
His clear voice carried over a long distance, arousing a loud clamor.
“What? Is Lu Ming challenging Ning Feng? And the fight will be in a month. Does he have a death wish?”
“Ning Feng has already reached the top of the Sixth Grade Master Realm. Apparently, he’s only a step away from the Seventh Grade Master Realm. Moreover, he’s been working hard to hone a Superior Yellow Level martial arts technique for nearly five years. He’s already reached the Fifth Stage, which is Perfect Divine-like Usage. Yet, Lu Ming dares to challenge him within a month?”
“That’s right. Lu Ming’s cultivation is only at Fourth Grade Master Realm at most. It’s impossible for him to defeat Ning Feng in a month. He’s too arrogant. I think that after he became the Apprentice Champion, he’s acquired this blind confidence.”
“He doesn’t know his own strength!”
Those who were commenting were mostly senior apprentices who all felt that Lu Ming was being too arrogant.
Ning Feng’s eyes flashed with a gleeful light. “Lu Ming, are you challenging me in a month’s time?”
“That’s right. Do you have the guts?” Lu Ming said.
“Hahaha, what’s there to be afraid of? I accept your challenge!” Ning Feng guffawed.
Based on Lu Ming’s talent, surpassing Ning Feng in a year might not be a problem, but doing so a month from now was impossible.
Lu Ming was asking for it. Since Yuan Hui stopped Ning Feng today, he might as well accept the challenge. He would slay Lu Ming in front of everyone in a month.
At the thought of killing an Apprentice Champion, he was endlessly invigorated.
“Lu Ming, I hope that in a month, you won’t be cowering like a tortoise in its shell,” Ning Feng taunted.
“I was just about to say that to you,” Lu Ming retorted.
“Hmph! Big talk doesn’t mean anything. Let’s go!” Ning Feng waved his hand and swaggered off with the other senior apprentices.
After Ning Feng and the rest had left, Feng Wu spoke rather anxiously, “Lu Ming, you’re too rash. How can you challenge Ning Feng, and within one month at that?”
“That’s right. You could have promised to fight him in a year or even six months. With me around, Ning Feng can’t do anything against you,” Yuan Hui frowned as she chimed in. She felt that Lu Ming was too cocky and she did not quite like this sort of pride. One would suffer sooner or later.
Lu Ming smiled. “It’s fine. Still, I must thank you for your help today, Senior Sister Yuan.”
“There’s no need for that. I did so in consideration of Elder Mu Lan. I hope that you’ll do well for yourself.”
After saying that, Yuan Hui turned to leave.
“Lu Ming, train diligently during this time. If you need help with anything, feel free to look for me,” Feng Wu said.
Lu Ming nodded. “For sure!”
“I’ll be leaving then.” She shot him a look, then went off as well.
“Senior Brother Lu Ming, I believe that you’ll certainly win,” Pang Shi came over and assured her.
“How could it be that easy to beat Ning Feng? Let me tell you. Ning Feng’s cultivation has apparently reached the top of the Sixth Grade Master Realm. Plus, his father is a Chief Elder of the Vermillion Bird Hall,” Hua Chi said coldly from the side.
Lu Ming smiled faintly. Although Hua Chi appeared aloof, he was actually concerned, hence he was warning Lu Ming.
“I believe in Senior Brother Lu Ming, the Apprentice Champion!” Pang Shi cracked a wide grin.
“Ha, how na?ve!” Hua Chi shook his head and returned to the courtyard.
“The top of the Sixth Grade Master Realm, is that it?” Lu Ming muttered with a determined look.
After exchanging a few words with Pang Shi, he went down from Vermillion Bird Peak and headed towards the Mystical Sword Sect’s Contribution Hall.
The Mystical Sword Sect’s Contribution Hall was near the center of the four halls and was the busiest place in the Mystical Sword Sect.
As the center of the four halls, Qilin Hall was in this area, along with the Contribution Hall, the Mission Hall, and so on.
Lu Ming decided to go to the Contribution Hall and see if there were any Blood Mist Rocks he could exchange.
After half an hour, he arrived at the Contribution Hall which spanned dozens of hectares. It was very spacious with throngs of crowds that livened up the place.
Small rooms were built in the four corners of the hall. Lu Ming noticed that a person would come out before someone else could go in.
Each time someone entered, a sign saying “Occupied” would be hung on the door of the small room.
This was to safeguard the privacy of the apprentices in the halls. After all, some apprentices might be exchanging precious items. If those with ill intentions learned of this, it might be detrimental to those apprentices.
Lu Ming looked around and noticed a room from which someone was coming out. He then hurriedly entered that room.
The space inside was not very large. There was a table, along with some chairs.
At one side was the counter, by which sat an old man with silvery hair. When the old man saw Lu Ming, he beamed and asked, “Young one, are you exchanging items for contribution points? Or contribution points for items?”
“Senior, I want to ask if there are Blood Mist Rocks here that I can exchange for?” Lu Ming asked and stared at the old man expectantly.
“Blood Mist Rocks? You want to exchange items for Blood Mist Rocks?” the old man raised an eyebrow and asked in astonishment.
Were they unavailable?
Lu Ming’s heart leaped as he asked, “Senior, are there no Blood Mist Rocks here?”
“There are, of course, but the price of Blood Mist Rocks isn’t low. One catty of Blood Mist Rocks costs 3,000 sect contribution points!” the old man said.
Despite being mentally prepared, this price still made Lu Ming gasp in shock. “What? 3,000 sect contribution points?”
Chapter 53: Spending Money Like Water
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
3,000 sect contribution points were equivalent to three hundred thousand taels of silver.
Furthermore, Lu Ming needed one and a half catties of Blood Mist Rock, which meant that he needed four thousand and five hundred contribution points.
He only had 7,000 contribution points. In one go, two thirds would be gone.
“Young buddy, are you still going to make the exchange?”
The old man asked with a smile.
“I’ll do it, of course. I’ll exchange for it!” Lu Ming said through gritted teeth.
No matter how many contribution points it required, he would make the exchange. Regardless of how many contribution points he had, their true value would only manifest if he converted them into power.
If he simply hoarded them, they were just a bunch of numbers.
The old man was slightly taken aback. He noticed that Lu Ming was not very old, so he thought he could not afford it. He was surprised to think that Lu Ming could actually hand over so many contribution points.
Lu Ming took out his identity jade piece and passed it to the old man. “Senior, here’s my identity jade piece.”
“Mm!”
The old man took Lu Ming’s identity jade piece and placed it on a disk-like metal platform. The metal platform flickered brightly. Then, a row of words appeared. This was Lu Ming’s personal information.
When the old man read his personal information, he was slightly startled before breaking out into a grin. “So, you’re this year’s Apprentice Champion, Lu Ming. Haha, honored to meet you!”
“You’re too kind, Senior. Apprentice Champion is merely an empty title.” Lu Ming shook his head.
The old man nodded. Despite obtaining the Apprentice Champion position, Lu Ming was still modest. His impression of Lu Ming improved tremendously.
Following that, he swiped a few times across the metal platform. Lu Ming noticed that the words were changing. His 7,000 contribution points became 2,500 in an instant.
After the contribution points were deducted, the old man returned the identity jade piece to Lu Ming. Following that, he turned and disappeared into a door behind him. After a while, he returned with a metal box in his hand.
“The Blood Mist Rock is inside. There’s precisely one and a half catties. Have a look!” the old man said with a smile.
Lu Ming took it and opened the metal box in anticipation.
A fist-sized blood-red rock was inside, cut into a neat square. The strange thing was that above the rock, there was a floating layer of pale red mist.
‘The Blood Mist Rock! I’ve finally gathered the three most important treasures. I can cultivate the True War Dragon Technique to the Second Stage now.’ Lu Ming was filled with delight.
After keeping the Blood Mist Rock away, he added, “Senior, I need a few other things.”
Following that, Lu Ming listed out the other materials needed to cultivate the Second Stage of the True War Dragon Technique. These other materials were much cheaper. In total, they cost only 200 contribution points.
After some thought, Lu Ming asked, “Senior, do you have demonic beast blood essence?”
“Demonic beast blood essence? That’s a material needed by alchemists in refining pills and equipment. Are you actually an alchemist?” the old man asked, stunned.
Lu Ming shook his head. “No, I have other uses for it.”
“Mm!” The old man nodded and did not question further. He merely said, “What level of demonic beast blood essence do you need?”
“Fourth and Fifth Grade Second Level,” Lu Ming replied.
The old man said, “A portion of Fourth Grade Second Level demonic beast blood essence costs 50 contribution points while a portion of Fifth Grade Second Level demonic beast blood essence costs 100 contribution points,” the old man responded.
“It’s that expensive?” Lu Ming gasped in shock once again.
Fourth Grade Second Level demonic beast blood essence cost 50 contribution points per portion, which was equivalent to 5,000 taels of silver.
One should know that a single Superior First Level spiritual weapon was less than 5,000 taels of silver. This was truly outrageously overpriced.
The old man smiled and explained, “Young buddy, it’s actually not that expensive. You should know that once a demonic beast dies, the vitality of its blood essence will dissipate after an hour and lose its effect.”
“That’s right!” Lu Ming nodded. He was well aware of this. When his Spirit-devouring Worm blood meridian consumed the blood essence of demonic beasts or humans, it must be done within an hour of their death. Otherwise, the Blood Qi would evaporate and it would have no effect.
“Therefore, in order to preserve the demonic beast blood essence, a Spirit-sealing Crystal must be used. This crystal is a single-use item. Moreover, the higher the level of the demonic beast blood essence, the higher the quality of the Spirit-sealing Crystal must be. Thus, the price of the demonic beast’s blood essence is so expensive,” the old man continued his explanation.
Lu Ming nodded. He knew that this was the reason.
“Senior, give me ten portions each of Fourth and Fifth Grade Second Level demonic beast blood essence,” Lu Ming said with a clenched jaw.
In order to rapidly improve his cultivation in one month, he could only devour demonic beast blood essence.
As for going out into the wild to hunt down demonic beasts, it was too inefficient.
Previously, in their test venue, other than the mutated Black-scaled Monitor Lizard, the highest level of the demonic beasts was only at Fourth Grade Second Level.
To hunt demonic beasts above Fourth Grade Second Level, he would have to head into further, more dangerous territory.
Even putting aside the level of risk, looking for a suitable demonic beast might take a long time and was not worth it at all.
Purchasing demonic beast blood essence directly was the most convenient method.
“Alright, I’ll prepare your demonic beast blood essence,” the old man said.
After a moment, he came back with the demonic beast blood essence, and 1,500 contribution points were deducted from Lu Ming’s account.
All at once, he was left only with 700 contribution points. His rate of spending was terribly fast, and Lu Ming felt a pang in his heart.
Still, being able to convert all this into more strength was worth it. Only by increasing his capability could he obtain more treasures and contribution points.
After putting the demonic beast blood essence and the Blood Mist Rock away, Lu Ming left the Contribution Hall and returned to his residence.
Upon his return, he did not immediately tackle the Second Stage of the True War Dragon Technique because his cultivation was not fully fortified. His Essential Qi was not pure enough.
Under such circumstances, it was difficult to cultivate the Second Stage of the True War Dragon Technique successfully. If he cultivated it recklessly, he might waste the precious materials that he had obtained through immense effort.
Therefore, if he cultivated it, he must ensure success within a single attempt.
Lu Ming continued to hone his True War Dragon Technique diligently.
After eight days, Lu Ming’s cultivation was fully stable at last. Even so, he spent two more days assimilating the Essential Qi in his body until it was incomparably refined.
Only then was he prepared to begin tackling the Second Stage of the True War Dragon Technique.
“Now I must prepare the materials!”
Lu Ming took out the Spirit-condensing Fruit, the blood of the Lightning Leopard, the Blood Mist Rock, and other materials. He measured them out and mixed these according to the steps listed out in the True War Dragon Technique.
Although he was not an alchemist, this was not a process of refining pills. It was a simple mixture that he could achieve easily.
After these materials were mixed together, they formed a blood-red liquid that gave off a wisp of fragrance.
“Begin!”
After the materials were prepared, Lu Ming sat cross-legged on his head, then swallowed the resulting blood-red liquid all in one gulp.
After swallowing it, this blood-red liquid seemed to erupt like a volcano, flaring up with waves of scorching energy that surged towards his meridian. Once it entered his meridian, it combined with his Essential Qi, and finally entered the Qi cyclone in his Dantian.
Buzz buzz...
This burst of energy was crackling with intense lightning as it started to refine Lu Ming’s Essential Qi.
Lu Ming mobilized the True War Dragon Technique at full force, working with this energy to charge towards the Second Stage of the True War Dragon Technique.
Chapter 54: Elder Mu Lan
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After half a day, a rumble rose within Lu Ming’s body like the faint roar of a dragon. The Qi cyclone in his Dantian started to revolve furiously as the spiritual energy of the world converged wildly upon his body.
Lu Ming’s body was like a bottomless pit that frantically consumed spiritual energy.
Even Hua Chi and Pang Shi in the other two rooms were startled.
“This is Lu Ming’s cultivation level. Has he broken through? Why is there such a massive reaction? The speed at which spiritual energy is being devoured is even scarier than a Fifth Level blood meridian. Did Lu Ming’s blood meridian actually surpass the Fifth Level?” Hua Chi’s eyes widened in awe.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The commotion only died after a while.
In the room, Lu Ming opened his eyes.
“The Second Stage of the True War Dragon Technique is finally cultivated. What rich and condensed Essential Qi!” Lu Ming examined the surging compact Essential Qi in his body with an expression of ecstasy.
Currently, his Essential Qi was three times that of most people. Of course, “most people” in this context meant those who cultivated the Yellow Level techniques.
This was because the higher the level of a cultivated technique was, the more sorts of mystical abilities one would have. Then, the resulting Essential Qi cultivated from certain high-level techniques would be richer and denser.
Of course, that could not possibly reach an extent as fearsome as the True War Dragon Technique.
After that, Lu Ming got up and exited the room.
Having cultivated for ten days or so, he wanted to take a stroll outside and relax.
The moment he was out of his room, he saw that Hua Chi and Pang Shi were walking out too.
When Pang Shi noticed Lu Ming, he smiled and asked, “Senior Brother Lu, are you going for the lecture as well?”
“Lecture?” Lu Ming appeared blank.
“Yup, today an elder from the Vermillion Bird Hall is giving us a lecture, covering some information on cultivation as well as things to take note of. Senior Brother Lu, didn’t you know?” Pang Shi patted his own head.
“Cough cough!” Lu Ming gave a few awkward coughs. He truly did not know. These days, he had been busy cultivating and practically did not step out at all.
“Then, let’s go together!” Lu Ming said with a grin.
He had just finished his period of seclusion, so he could go and listen. Lu Ming had only begun properly cultivating for a few months. During this time, his cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds. On the other hand, he had neglected certain basics, so attending the lecture would surely benefit him.
Lu Ming and Pang Shi walked side by side while Hua Chi trailed behind with a stony expression.
The elder’s lecture was on the other side of Vermillion Bird Peak. There was a gigantic square in which cattail hassocks were arranged.
At that moment, there were already a few hundred people sitting on the hassocks in the square. They were all newly enrolled apprentices.
“Look, Lu Ming is here.”
“I’ve heard that after Lu Ming challenged Senior Brother Ning Feng, he went into seclusion. Now, he’s finally shown up.”
When the apprentices saw Lu Ming, they could not refrain from exchanging whispers.
Lu Ming could not be bothered about them and found a hassock to sit down on.
As time passed, the audience grew. In the end, there were around five hundred people.
Initially, the Vermillion Bird Hall had a thousand newly enrolled apprentices or so. However, during the test, about 200 of them were killed, leaving only 800 behind.
There were also some who were in seclusion or otherwise occupied. This was common enough.
Just then, a figure came flitting elegantly over the square.
When Lu Ming noticed this figure, his eyes widened. “Mu Lan?”
The figure was Mu Lan whom he had not seen for a few months. She was wearing a tight, black dress in a unique style.
“So...so beautiful!”
As expected, there was a male apprentice beside Lu Ming who stared at Mu Lan with his mouth agape. He was practically drooling.
He was not the only one. The other male apprentices in the square acted similarly. They wore dazed, lewd expressions as they stared at Mu Lan above them.
Most of these apprentices were fifteen to sixteen-year-old youths, bursting with hormones. How could they resist Mu Lan’s charm?
“Hmph, you’re all depraved! Perverts!” All the female apprentices were annoyed as they snorted coldly.
“Alright, please be seated. Let me introduce myself. I’m Mu Lan, the elder who will be giving you a lecture today!” Mu Lan’s gaze circled around and paused upon Lu Ming.
By Lu Ming’s side, Pang Shi was astounded. “What? She’s the elder? How could she be so young?”
“Don’t you know anything? Let me tell you. Elder Mu Lan has outstanding talent and unparalleled beauty. She’s only 20 years old, yet her cultivation is immeasurably profound. She’s very likely to become the next Gold-robed apprentice.”
Behind them, Hua Chi curled his lips. Still, his eyes fixed upon Mu Lan in an incomparably fervent manner.
“Is she that incredible? Then, how did she become an elder?” Pang Shi asked curiously.
In the Mystical Sword Sect, true prodigies would not become elders. The roles of elders and attendants usually fell upon those who were older, or in other words, those whose potential had been exhausted.
Mu Lan’s current age was the prime of her cultivation. Furthermore, she had such exceptional talent. It was rare for someone like her to become an elder.
“I don’t know either. There aren’t many who would know why Elder Mu Lan suddenly chose to become an elder. Elder Mu Lan is my goddess. My goal is to become a preeminent expert and succeed wooing her.” Hua Chi wore the expression of a love-struck fool.
Above them, Mu Lan sat crossed-legged on a cattail hassock and said, “Alright, let’s begin the lecture. First of all, let’s talk about the Novice Realm...”
She started to discuss some details regarding the Novice Realm, explaining the aspects to pay attention to, as well as the purpose of this realm. Her lecture was very detailed and covered all areas.
After she finished speaking about the Novice Realm, she moved on to the Warrior Realm, then the Master Realm.
Lu Ming listened very closely. There were actually many things he had not noticed before, or simply had not understood.
After the lecture, he felt that he had learned a lot. Moreover, he was secretly stunned by the depths of Mu Lan’s learning and the keenness of her understanding.
The lecture lasted for two hours before Mu Lan stopped.
“Alright, that’s all for today. You may leave!” She waved her hand, then directed her gaze at Lu Ming and called out, “Lu Ming, stay behind!”
“Very well!” Lu Ming was slightly taken aback and quickly nodded.
Even so, Mu Lan’s words had caused another stir of whispers.
“Why did Elder Mu Lan ask Lu Ming to stay? Do they know each other?”
“Surely Elder Mu Lan hasn’t taken a fancy to Lu Ming?”
“Bah, how’s that possible? Elder Mu Lan is my goddess, so it’s definitely impossible!”
“Oh, how I envy Lu Ming! He gets to be alone with Elder Mu Lan. Ah, Elder Mu Lan is really drop-dead gorgeous. If I can marry her, I’ll be willing to give up ten years of my life.”
“Stop daydreaming!”
The apprentices all around stared at Lu Ming with envy, admiration, and resentment.
Lu Ming smiled bitterly. Mu Lan’s charm was truly too powerful.
“How could this be? Why would Elder Mu Lan ask Lu Ming alone to stay back? Lu Ming, you’d better behave honorably. Otherwise, I’ll have to deal with you!” Hua Chi glowered at Lu Ming in anguish, wishing desperately that it was he who got to stay behind.
Lu Ming scratched his nose somewhat speechlessly and went towards Mu Lan.
After a moment, everyone dispersed from the square, leaving only Mu Lan and Lu Ming behind.
Both of them sat facing each other.Chapter 55: Fourth Grade Master Realm
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Lu Ming, after a few months apart, you haven’t disappointed me indeed.” Mu Lan wore a pondering smile, her large eyes shining as she gazed at Lu Ming. There was none of the solemnity from her lecture just now.
Lu Ming’s heart was pounding erratically from being at such a close distance to her. “Elder Mu Lan, why did you ask me to stay behind?”
Mu Lan grinned. “There’s no need to be so formal. Treat me as your senior sister!”
“Senior Sister Mu!” Lu Ming performed a fist salute.
“Lu Ming, you’ve caused quite an uproar indeed. You’ve become the Apprentice Champion just after enrolling. To be honest, it’s beyond my expectations!” Mu Lan scrutinized him carefully for a moment, then asked in a curious manner, “During the test, you’re the one who killed Duanmu Jue, weren’t you?”
“That’s right!”
Lu Ming did not hide the truth. In fact, something like this would be easily surmised, so there was no need to cover it up.
“I knew it. Still, you must be careful. Duanmu Jue was a rare genius of the Duanmu family. They won’t let you get away with it so easily. Plus, you’ve challenged Ning Feng. Are you sure about victory?” Mu Lan asked rather worriedly.
“I’m about 60, 70% sure!” Lu Ming declared.
“60 to 70%? Looks like you’re very confident!” Mu Lan stared at Lu Ming, flabbergasted.
He just smiled faintly.
“You should know a little about Ning Feng’s strength, but did you know that his father is the Chief Elder of the Vermillion Bird Hall?” Mu Lan asked.
“I do.” Lu Ming nodded. He had learned about this from Hua Chi.
The elders of Mystical Sword Sect were divided into Ordinary Elders, Silver-robed Elders, and Gold-robed Elders.
Silver-robed Elders and Gold-robed Elders had substantial authority as their position held great weight.
As for Ordinary Elders, most of them held hollow titles and they did not have much power.
Even so, amongst the Ordinary Elders, there was a type of elder who had immense authority, and that was the Chief Elder.
The Chief Elder was the highest rank among the Ordinary Elders, second only to Silver-robed Elders. Of course, his cultivation was formidable as well.
Lu Ming had once heard Feng Wu mention that Mu Lan was a Chief Elder in the Vermillion Bird Hall.
“However, there’s one thing you’re definitely unaware of. Ning Feng’s father has pledged allegiance to the Duanmu family. Therefore, this time around, the Duanmu family will surely support Ning Feng with all they have. Ning Feng is already a top Sixth Grade Master in the first place. What I’m most afraid of is that he’ll achieve a breakthrough in this period.” Mu Lan’s expression was serious.
“Hmph, the Duanmu family again.” Lu Ming’s eyes flashed icily.
“Therefore, Lu Ming, if you need any help from me, please ask,” Mu Lan said.
“Really? In that case, Senior Sister Mu Lan, can you lend me 3,000 contribution points?” Lu Ming stared at Mu Lan anxiously. He only had 700 contribution points now. It was hardly empowering, so it would be better to borrow some as a reserve.
“3,000 contribution points? Why do you need so many contribution points? Your newbies’ test awarded you with 7,000 contribution points, didn’t it?”
“I’ve used them up!”
“Used...used up?” Mu Lan was rather speechless. He used 7,000 contribution points up in such a short time. Did Lu Ming eat his contribution points or something?
“That’s right, they’re used up. Senior Sister Mu Lan, could you lend me some?” He pouted at Mu Lan pitifully.
“Alright, give me your identity jade piece,” she said.
Lu Ming took out his identity jade piece and handed it to her.
After she took it and then took out her own identity jade piece. She placed the two identity jade pieces together, then channeled her Essential Qi. The light of the jade pieces started to twinkle.
Mu Lan’s soft, smooth finger swiped over her identity jade piece a few times, following which the glow of the identity jade pieces slowly dimmed.
When Lu Ming took back his identity jade piece and looked, he had an additional 3,000 contribution points.
“Lu Ming, when you’ve earned some contribution points, you must pay me back. You know very well that women have huge expenses.” Mu Lan fixed Lu Ming with her unwavering stare with distress plain on her face.
“How petty of you when you were just proudly announcing that I should ask you if I need any help!” Lu Ming muttered to himself darkly.
“What did you say?” Mu Lan gave him a sudden glare that pinned him down viciously.
“Nothing, I didn’t say anything. Senior Sister Mu Lan, I’m going back to cultivate!”
Lu Ming tore off in a hurry.
As she stared into the direction where Lu Ming had left, Mu Lan’s face broke into a smile again, and she said softly, “How interesting. Lu Ming, I hope you don’t disappoint me. Although it’s still a long way from now, one day you just might have a chance to enter that place!”
1
With that, she got up and left as well.
...
Upon returning to his residence, Lu Ming went into the Supreme Shrine, then sat down cross-legged. He took out a jade box and opened it. Ten crystal pieces were nestled inside.
Each of these crystals was sealed in nine blood-red drops of blood essence. These ten crystals contained Fourth Grade Second Level demonic beast blood essence.
Lu Ming picked up a piece and pinched it forcefully. Inscriptions flickered upon the surface of the Spirit-sealing Crystal.
Snap!
Following that, the Spirit-sealing Crystal shattered into a pile of fragments. Nine drops of demonic beast blood essence floated up.
“Devour!”
Lu Ming immediately controlled his blood meridian to create a powerful suction, consuming the nine drops of blood essence. In a short while, they were transformed into energy that surged throughout his body.
Lu Ming activated the True War Dragon Technique, starting to absorb and cultivate this energy.
His cultivation level swiftly advanced.
Soon enough, the blood essence of a single demonic beast was fully processed.
“The vital energy contained within the blood essence is less potent than that from a fresh kill,” Lu Ming was carefully evaluating the situation.
This was to be expected. Although the Spirit-sealing Crystal could seal off energy loss, it was not 100% effective. Some of it would still be lost regardless.
“Let’s go on!”
Lu Ming shattered a second Spirit-sealing Crystal and began cultivating.
In a flash, a whole day passed. The ten portions of Fourth Grade Second Level demonic beast blood essence had been completely cultivated.
Even so, Lu Ming’s cultivation did not progress to the Fourth Grade Master Realm. He was still at the top of the Third Grade Master Realm.
‘As expected, after honing the Second Stage of the True War Dragon Technique, it takes up even more energy.’ Lu Ming pondered hopelessly.
Before this, at the First Stage of the True War Dragon Technique, the density of his Essential Qi was two times greater than ordinary Essential Qi.
At that time, the energy required to advance his cultivation was three times more than other Essential Qi.
Now that the density of his Essential Qi was three times greater than usual, the required energy was nine times more than other Essential Qi.
It was a terrifying nine-fold increase.
Another aspect was that his blood meridian still had not leveled up. It was still a Third Level blood meridian.
He had consumed the blood essence of ten Fourth Grade Second Level demonic beasts, yet he still had not leveled up. Logically, his blood meridian should have increased in level.
Was a Third Level blood meridian really his limit?
Lu Ming would not accept that.
“I don’t care. You reap what you sow, after all. I’ll go on cultivating.”
He took out another jade box. This one contained ten portions of Fifth Grade Second Level demonic beast blood essence.
Following that, he began to devour and refine the Fifth Grade Second Level demonic beast blood essence.
As expected of a Fifth Grade Second Level demonic beast blood essence, the vital energy it contained was many times more than that of a Fourth Grade Second Level.
After Lu Ming had processed the blood essence of six Fifth Grade Second Level demonic beasts, his cultivation finally experienced a breakthrough, reaching the Fourth Grade Master Realm.
Chapter 56: Evolved Blood Meridian
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lu Ming opened his eyes and a radiant gleam flashed in his eyes.
‘Fourth Grade Master Realm! The devouring speed of the blood essence is terrifying indeed. It only took a day for me to go from the beginner stage of the Third Grade Master Realm to the Fourth Grade Master Realm!
‘However, this isn’t enough. Ning Feng’s a top Sixth Grade Master, and no one knows if he’ll break through this time. I’ve gotta improve further.’
Lu Ming made his way to the Contribution Hall once again.
This time, he exchanged the 80,000 taels of silver he got from Duanmu Jue into sect contribution points.
80,000 taels of silver were equivalent to 800 sect contribution points.
With his own 700 points, and the 3,000 points Lu Ming borrowed from Mu Lan, he had a total of 4,500 points, and he exchanged everything with demonic beasts’ blood essence.
Lu Ming got fifteen portions of Fifth Grade Second Level demonic beasts’ blood essence (100 sect contribution points each) and another fifteen portions of Sixth Grade Second Level demonic beasts’ blood essence (200 sect contribution points each).
In the blink of an eye, he finished all his sect contribution points.
“Poor, I’m simply too poor!” Lu Ming sighed.
He continued with his cultivation when he got back to his room.
Two days later, Lu Ming had devoured a total of 19 Fifth Grade Second Level demonic beast’ blood essence, including the four portions he previously purchased.
His cultivation reached the top of the Fourth Grade Master Realm, so he was just a sliver more to the peak of the top of the Fourth Grade Master Realm.
After the Fifth Grade Second Level demonic beasts’ blood essences, Lu Ming continued devouring Sixth Grade Second Level demonic beasts’ blood essences.
With merely three portions, Lu Ming’s cultivation reached peak top Fourth Grade Master Realm.
As he continued devouring three more Sixth Grade Second Level demonic beasts’ blood essence, there were no signs of improvement in his cultivation, which meant that he had no hope of reaching the Fifth Grade Master Realm any time soon.
“My cultivation was raised too quickly. My Essential Qi’s tainted and my foundation’s shaky. I’ve gotta stop to consolidate and reinforce my cultivation!” Lu Ming laughed bitterly.
Lu Ming focused fully on reinforcing his cultivation, temporarily putting devouring blood essence aside.
He also practiced his martial arts techniques in his spare time.
Ten days had passed, and it was barely two days away from the agreement with Ning Feng a month ago.
In the span of these ten days, Lu Ming’s Flame Dragon Fist had reached the Sixth Stage – One with the Martial Arts.
However, no matter how much Lu Ming practiced, his Lustrous Sword Technique remained stagnant at the Fifth Stage.
Besides that, he was almost done reinforcing his cultivation.
‘I’ll start breaking through now!’
Lu Ming started attempting cultivation breakthroughs after devouring more Sixth Grade Second Level demonic beasts’ blood essences.
Roar! Roar!
The demonic beasts’ blood essence transformed into streams of dragon-like Essential Qi that grew larger as they soared in Lu Ming’s meridians. Eventually, all the dragon-like Essential Qi gathered at the Qi Cyclone in the Dantian.
Whoosh, whoosh...
After one and a half days, Lu Ming’s Qi Cyclone spun quickly, and with a shudder, it expanded to two times its original size.
‘I’ve finally broken through to Fifth Grade Master Realm!’
Lu Ming opened his eyes happily.
Buzz!
He felt a numbing sensation on his spine and in a burst of red light, a finger-sized Spirit-devouring Worm appeared, tumbling about in the air.
The Spirit-devouring Worm began to lengthen and thicken. In two hours, it became like a small snake that was as thick as a thumb and about 50 centimeters long.
Yes, it did look like a little black, scaly snake hovering in the air.
There were four bright red meridian focal points on that little snake.
In terms of advancement, Lu Ming’s blood meridians had finally advanced, but they needed more blood essence than expected.
This advancement also came with a change in appearance for Lu Ming’s blood meridian.
‘I don’t think I can call this a worm anymore, right? Should I change its name to ‘snake’?’
Lu Ming was confused.
This was unheard of – a blood meridian that could advance in levels and evolve.
‘I’m not sure if it’ll continue evolving in the future. You know what? I’ll just call it the Spirit Devourer then!’ Lu Ming thought enthusiastically.
....
In one of the more spacious courtyards in the Vermillion Bird Hall stood two figures. It was Ning Feng, and the other one was Ning Kong, his father.
“Feng’er, how confident are you in defeating Lu Ming?” Ning Kong asked.
“Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll surely kill Lu Ming on the Vermillion Bird Stage,” Ning Feng replied confidently.
“Don’t undervalue your enemy, Feng’er. This Lu Ming’s the Apprentice Champion, and he initiated the challenge, so he must have something up his sleeve. Don’t underestimate him,” Ning Kong advised.
Ning Feng laughed and said, “I wouldn’t be so sure before this, Dad, but my cultivation broke through to another level yesterday.”
“You broke through? Feng’er, did you just say you broke through?” Ning Kong was overjoyed.
“Yes, Dad!” Ning Feng chuckled, an aura stronger than a top Sixth Grade Master radiated from within him.
“Hahaha, good, I’m more at ease now. The Duanmu family has placed a lot of emphasis on this matter, so as long as you kill Lu Ming, our position in the Duanmu family will rise to greater heights.”
“The Duanmu family is gradually growing in power and influence, which means we’ll be in a better place if we continue serving them faithfully.”
Ning Kong laughed as he passed a jade bottle to Ning Feng. “Feng’er, here’s a Spirit-exploding Pill I’ve requested from the Duanmu family. It was meant for you to kill Lu Ming, but since you have broken through in your cultivation, you probably won’t need it. Still, bring it with you, just in case.”
“Thanks, Dad!” Ning Feng took the jade bottle.
“Alright, time’s almost up. Let’s head over to the Vermillion Bird Stage” said Ning Kong.
.....
On the other side, Lu Ming packed up and walked out of his room only to see Hua Chi and Pang Shi waiting for him.
“Senior Brother Lu, we’ll go with you,” Pang Shi said.
“Don’t you dare lose, Lu Ming. You can only lose to me, Apprentice Champion,” Hua Chi said coldly.
“Let’s go!” Lu Ming smiled and walked out of the doorway.
The Vermillion Bird Stage was located on the east side of the foot of the Vermillion Bird Peak. It was very spacious since it was specially designed for hall apprentices to duel against each other.
At that moment, there were already thousands of people crowding around the Vermillion Bird Hall. Some were new apprentices, but there were mostly senior apprentices and elders were present.
It was unheard of to have the newly emerged Apprentice Champion challenging a senior apprentice who was four to five years older to a duel.
Many were there because they were intrigued. Where did Lu Ming get that confidence and courage from?
Suddenly, a voice rang out. “Chief Elder Ning Kong’s here.”
“Ning Feng’s here too!”
Ning Feng and Ning Kong walked in together with a troop of people by their side.
The same bunch walked toward the upper area and headed towards one of the viewing platforms.
“Elder Mu Lan’s here too!”
“Really?! Where?”
An even larger commotion erupted.
Mu Lan walked in daintily with her group which included Feng Wu and Yuan Hui.
They too made their way to the viewing platform in the upper area.
Chapter 57: Fighting Ning Feng
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Mu Lan, I heard you’re the one who recommended Lu Ming to the Mystical Sword Sect. Looks like your foresight isn’t any good. Lu Ming may have some potential, but he will die prematurely due to his arrogance,” Ning Kong mocked.
Mu Lan pursed her lips and said icily, “Your son’s the one that will die a premature death.”
“Hmph, really? I hope you’ll still be able to say the same later.” Ning Kong waved his hand exasperatedly and sat down.
Swoosh!
Ning Feng leaped down from the viewing platform, his figure as swift as a swallow.
In a few strides, he had covered at least 50 meters, appearing on the Vermillion Bird Stage in no time.
“What a handsome technique! All the years Ning Feng has spent practicing martial arts truly cannot be overlooked. He’s reached the Fifth Stage with this Inferior Yellow Level technique-the Swallow’s Three Dips.”
“It’s only normal for Ning Feng to reach such a level since his father’s guided him every step of the way all these years, but Lu Ming’s just a newly enrolled apprentice. At the very least, his martial arts technique is definitely no match for Ning Feng.”
“You’re right!”
Apprentices around discussed fervently.
“Lu Ming’s here!” one of the apprentices yelled.
From a mountain path, Lu Ming walked out with Pang Shi and Hua Chi by his side.
“I never thought Lu Ming would still dare to show up!”
“Hmph, he’s here to die. I reckon he won’t even survive ten hits from Senior Brother Ning.”
“Ten hits? I’d say even three hits are a miracle.”
Apprentices who sat by Ning Kong mocked as the crowd naturally parted ways for Lu Ming’s entourage.
Lu Ming then walked up calmly onto the Vermillion Bird Stage until he stood face to face with Ning Feng.
“Haha, Lu Ming, you’re actually here. I thought you’d hide away in your dorm like a scaredy-cat!” Ning Feng taunted.
“Did you think you’re that powerful, Ning Feng?” Lu Ming smiled nonchalantly.
“You’ll soon find out. It’s a fight to the death up here on the Vermillion Bird Stage, Lu Ming. Hehe, it’s too late for you to have regrets now.” Ning Feng smirked.
“Cut the bullsh*t and get on with it. I just hope that you don’t disappoint me,” Lu Ming said.
“Haha, disappoint you?” Ning Feng roared in laughter as if he had just heard an extremely funny joke.
He had been enrolled as a Vermillion Bird Hall apprentice for five years now. Although his talents were not exceptionally mindblowing, he was not a weakling.
Now, a month-old newbie was telling him straight to his face not to be a disappointment.
What a joke, an absolute joke.
Right then, Ning Feng’s face darkened as he said, “Since you can’t wait to die, I’ll grant your death wish. Today, I’ll be the one to trample on your confidence and destroy your dignity.”
He chuckled humorlessly as he moved quickly, striking his palm at Lu Ming.
A black light shrouded his palms as Ning Feng’s Essential Qi burst forth, cutting through the air with a shrill sound.
It was the Black Lava Palm, Inferior Yellow Level martial arts technique.
“That’s all? Was that meant to crush me?” Lu Ming threw a punch with a faint smile on his face.
The Flame Dragon Fist!
Scalding hot gas filled the air as Lu Ming’s fist flew out, and a faint dragon’s cry slowly followed after.
The punch was mighty and its force was unstoppable as it collide heavily with Ning Feng’s palm.
Bam!
A resounding boom was heard as Lu Ming’s fist and Ning Feng’s palm slammed against each other. Gusts of hot air spewed outwards, spreading everywhere.
Both Lu Ming and Ning Feng parted as soon as they collided. One figure staggered backward with three consecutive thumps.
It was Ning Feng.
Everyone was shocked. Was Ning Feng defeated with just one move? How was that possible?
From the aura Ning Feng exerted, it was clear that he had a top Sixth Grade Master Realm cultivation.
It was unbelievable for a top Sixth Grade Master to be defeated by Lu Ming with just one punch! How was Lu Ming so strong?
Ning Feng was stunned. He did not expect Lu Ming to really be this strong.
In the crowd, Pang Shi cheered enthusiastically, “Wow, nice one! All hail Senior Brother Lu Ming!”
At the viewing platform, Mu Lan’s eyes flashed. A smile appeared on her face as she turned to Ning Kong and said, “It looks like Lu Ming’s better.”
“Hmph, it’s too early to tell!” Ming Kong scoffed.
On the Vermillion Bird Stage, Ning Feng roared in his heart, ‘This Lu Ming’s crazy talented! Destroy him! I must kill him today, or else, there’ll no longer be a place for me in the Vermillion Bird Hall!’
Clang!
His sword was unsheathed.
“Demonic Wind Sword Technique-Tumbling Clouds in the Wind!”
At that same moment, Ning Feng unleashed his powers and Sword Qi exploded. He swung his sword and attacked Lu Ming with all his might, intending to kill.
Lu Ming smirked coldly and unsheathed his own sword. His Sword Qi beamed like shooting stars, slicing the air with ear-piercing whistles.
This was not the Onyx Blade Sword, but the Celestial Star Sword, the sword his father had left behind. The Onyx Blade Sword was only a Superior First Level spiritual weapon and was not strong enough for the duel with Ning Feng.
On the other hand, the sword that Lu Ming’s father left him was a Superior Second Level spiritual weapon. That was sufficient enough to exhibit his strength at full power.
Clang!
Both swords collided with a roaring clang. Both Lu Ming and Ning Feng shuddered. They continued fighting.
Clang! Clang!...
As the swords collided, Sword Qi spewed everywhere. The two fighting figures were visually drowned by the constant beams of sword light.
“Strong, so strong! Lu Ming can actually duel with Ning Feng.”
“Even with the Demonic Wind Sword Technique, Ning Feng’s Fifth Stage Superior Yellow Level sword technique, Lu Ming seems to be of equal fighting strength with his sword technique! Unbelievable.”
“This duel’s definitely worth watching.”
Senior apprentices could barely remain calm as they witnessed what was happening on stage.
“Demonic Wind Sword Technique-World Execution Through Wind!”
“Demonic Wind Sword Technique-Mad Hurricane Wipe Out!”
.......
Ning Feng fought constantly with powerful moves from the Demonic Wind Sword Technique.
In a flash, 50 moves were exchanged between both of them.
Clang!
Lu Ming and Ning Feng separated abruptly after a loud clang.
“I’ll admit that you have pretty good skills to be able to duel with me like this, Lu Ming. But today, you shall die. Now, let me show you what I’m capable of.”
Boom!
There was a sudden blast that came from within Ning Feng, and his aura increased at an alarming speed as a mountain-like aura erupted from him.
“Seventh Grade Master Realm! Ning Feng’s a Seventh Grade Master.”
“Lu Ming is done for. A Seventh Grade Master Realm is incomparable with a Sixth Grade Master. Lu Ming’s gonna die now that Ning Feng’s broken through.”
“What a waste of a super genius.”
“So what if he’s a genius? There are plenty of geniuses under the sun, and only God knows how many geniuses have died every year. Geniuses who don’t live long are worth nothing.”
As soon as Ning Feng displayed his Seventh Grade Master Realm cultivation, almost everyone thought that Lu Ming was done for.
On the viewing platform, Mu Lan, Feng Wu, and the rest looked shocked and worried.
“Haha!” Ning Kong roared with laughter and said, “You didn’t expect it, didn’t you, Mu Lan?! This time, Lu Ming MUST die!”
There was a glint in Mu Lan’s eyes, but she did not respond. Deep down, she was unsure too.
Could Lu Ming withstand Ning Feng’s blows?
“I’ll show you my full strength now, Lu Ming! The only price you have to pay for witnessing this is death!” Ning Feng boasted proudly as a blood-red light flashed above him.
Blood meridian explosion!
He had a Fourth Level blood meridian, so he had a 40% increase in power after his blood meridian explosion.
“Demonic Wind Sword Technique-Tumbling Clouds in the Wind!”
Ning Feng’s sword hacked towards Lu Ming accompanied by a howling gale that turned into beams of sword light. Although it was the same move, it was much stronger when compared to the one before that.
“That’s more like it!”
On the Vermillion Bird Stage, Lu Ming squinted and stomped heavily on stage. His body shot out like lightning.
At the same time, his aura drastically increased as he shot out.
Chapter 58: Spirit-exploding Pill
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Boom!
A formidable aura erupted from within Lu Ming. His Essential Qi flowed freely around him as his hair fluttered.
At that moment, Lu Ming’s aura did not seem weaker than Ning Feng’s.
In the duel with Ning Feng just now, Lu Ming had only exerted 50% of his power.
Now, he was giving it 100%.
Clang!
As Lu Ming and Ning Feng’s swords violently collided, sparks flew everywhere. Beams of razor-sharp Sword Qi pierced through the air and shot everywhere.
Boom! Boom!
Both Lu Ming and Ning Feng stumbled a few steps backward after a hit.
“Damn it! Die!” Ning Feng roared as he attacked Lu Ming once more.
“Fight!”
Lu Ming’s gaze hardened. His hair was blowing frantically in the wind as a strong fighting intent erupted from his body. He stomped hard and charged towards Ning Feng.
Clang! Clang!
As Lu Ming and Ning Feng’s attacks continue to collide, there was formidable Sword Qi everywhere as a result of that show.
It was a few dozen moves in just the blink of an eye. There was no clear winner at that point.
‘How could this be? Impossible! How is Lu Ming so strong?’ Ning Feng was shocked beyond words.
He was a Seventh Grade Master Realm, and with his Fifth Stage Superior Yellow Level sword technique that emphasized speed, he could say that his sword was as fast as lightning and as swift as the wind.
Lu Ming could not only counter his attacks with a similar speed since his Essential Qi was no weaker than Ning Feng’s.
Little did he know that Lu Ming had cultivated a Divine Level martial arts technique, so his Essential Qi was three times the viscosity of normal Essential Qi.
At the First Stage of the True War Dragon Technique, Lu Ming could already kill an opponent a Grade higher than he was.
Now that Lu Ming was on the Second Stage of the True War Dragon Technique, even if Ning Feng was two Grades higher than Lu Ming, he would have still lost to Lu Ming.
Besides Ning Feng, all the people watching the duel were stupefied.
Lu Ming could actually come to a tie with a Seventh Grade Master Realm Ning Feng. It was unimaginable.
Everyone held their breath as they watched the stage intently so as not to disturb the duo fighting on stage.
Clang! Clang!
On the Vermillion Bird Stage, Ning Feng and Lu Ming continued to fight.
‘Seventh Grade Master Realm isn’t weak indeed. I can beat him as soon as I explode my blood meridians, but it’s not the time for that yet. Besides, the blood meridian explosion time limit for the Master Realm is two minutes. After two minutes, Ning Feng will be no match for me,’ Lu Ming thought to himself.
The two figures on stage intertwined constantly with Sword Qi shooting in all directions. They had exchanged about a hundred attacks by that time.
Suddenly, the blood-red light on Ning Feng dissipated rapidly. The time limit for his blood meridian explosion was up.
“Oh no!”
On the viewing platform, Ning Kong’s expression changed.
Clang!
On the Vermillion Bird Stage, Lu Ming and Ning Feng collided once more.
Boom!
This time, Ning Feng flew back upon impact. His face paled as blood trickled down the side of his mouth.
“Ning Feng’s injured!”
The crowd rose to a clamor as they gawked at the stage.
“Ning Feng’s blood meridian explosion time is up. It looks like he’s gonna lose.”
“Unexpectedly, Ning Feng isn’t a match for Lu Ming! How incredible!”
“Did you realize that Lu Ming’s blood meridian has still not exploded?”
“What?! I didn’t realize this! It seems like it’s true! How shocking!”
“Genius! Absolute genius! How is Lu Ming arrogant and conceited? He’s clear and proud of his abilities!”
All around the Vermillion Bird Stage, fellow elders, seniors, and new apprentices alike were all discussing what had happened chaotically.
“You can do it, Senior Brother Lu Ming! You’re the best!” Pang Shi waved his arms in the air excitedly while his face was bright red.
“Mighty Senior Brother Lu Ming!”
Shortly after, other apprentices started shouting at the top of their lungs.
These were newly enrolled apprentices. They could not help but feel proud when they saw how strong Lu Ming, their fellow new apprentice, was.
‘So what if you’re a senior apprentice? We, the new apprentices, can still defeat you!’
Instantly, Lu Ming gained many fans.
“This fella..” Hua Chi muttered as a sliver of respect crept deep within his eyes. He was usually proud, so when he first met Lu Ming, he had vowed to defeat him.
However, he realized at that moment that Lu Ming’s talents and potential were not what he could fathom.
On the viewing platform, Yuan Hui and Feng Wu gaped and gawked.
Yuan Hui was especially astonished. She had not been pleased when Lu Ming challenged Ning Feng to a duel a month ago. She thought he was being too vain. She understood now that Lu Ming was not arrogant. He was confident and clearly had boasting privileges.
“Hoho, Ning Kong, it looks like your precious son’s gonna lose.” Mu Lan had a full grin on her face while she giggled.
“Are you sure? Who’s to determine the outcome of the battle now?” Ning Kong said coldly as he clenched his fists tightly as the intent to kill flashed through his eyes.
“What...?” A bad feeling rose in Mu Lan’s heart.
On the Vermillion Bird Stage, Lu Ming spoke calmly as he looked at Ning Feng, “Ning Feng, your blood meridian explosion time is up. Now, to send you on your way.”
“Hahaha, you wanna defeat me? Dream on, Lu Ming! You force me to do this!” Ning Feng let out a sinister laugh and popped a pill into his mouth.
Boom!
A powerful, brutal wave of aura exploded out of Ning Feng as he swallowed the pill. He was two times more formidable than before.
“Go to hell, Lu Ming!” Ning Feng roared, his eyes turning bloodshot. He stomped so hard that the stage vibrated. Then, he transformed into a gale and attacked Lu Ming.
‘I shouldn’t tackle him head-on!’ Seriousness glinted in Lu Ming’s eyes as he moved out of the way with Dragon Serpent Steps. Unfortunately, he was still too late as Ning Feng’s Sword Qi sliced towards him.
Boom!
Lu Ming blocked him forcefully with his sword as a gust of brutally sharp force threatened to overwhelm him, causing him to slide backward for ten meters.
On the viewing platform, Mu Lan shot up from her seat and bellowed furiously, “Spirit-exploding Pill! You’re despicable, Ning Kong! How could you use Spirit-exploding Pills? This duel is no longer just. It ends right now.”
“What do you think you’re doing, Mu Lan? It’s a battle to the death upon the Vermillion Bird Stage. No one said anything about not allowing pills!” Ning Kong stood up as well, smiling coldly.
“What battle to the death? It’s no longer fair game if pills are involved,” Mu Lan barked as she attempted to rush onto the Vermillion Bird Stage.
A great aura erupted from Ning Kong and locked onto Mu Lan. He snickered, “Mu Lan, duels on the Vermillion Bird Stage are battles to the death with no external interruption allowed. Are you gonna go against the sect rules?”
“Damn it! Despicable!” Mu Lan gritted her teeth while her eyes bulged out. Her movements were locked down by Ning Kong’s aura.
On the Vermillion Bird Stage, Ning Feng attacked crazily.
“Die, Lu Ming! Demonic Wind Sword Technique-World Execution Through Wind!”
“Demonic Wind Sword Technique-Mad Hurricane Wipe Out!”
Violent winds of Sword Qi tore through all obstacles and pierced through the air, aiming to hack Lu Ming’s head off.
‘He’s twice as strong now, so all I can do is just to avoid its cutting edge and look for opportunities to kill him.’ Lu Ming moved quickly with Dragon Serpent Steps as he blocked the Sword Qi attack aimed at him.
Boom! Boom!
Lu Ming could not stop taking steps backward after Ning Feng’s seven to eight moves. Totally oppressed by Ning Feng, blood trickled down his mouth.
Chapter 59: Killing Ning Feng
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Ning Feng actually took the Spirit-exploding Pill. How despicable! Looks like Lu Ming’s gonna lose.”
Amongst those who were watching, some shook their heads and sighed while some smirked icily.
Lu Ming was forced to a corner after a few moves. It was getting more and more dangerous for him.
At the viewing platform, Mu Lan barked as she threw a punch at Ning Kong, “Scram, Ning Kong!”
“Mu Lan, are you gonna break the sect rules as a chief elder?” Ning Kong matched Mu Lan’s palm technique as he snapped.
Fortunately, both Mu Lan and Ning Kong were extremely careful with their strength. If not, the viewing platform would have crumbled to pieces.
“Disgusting!”
Feng Wu, Yuan Hui, and their group shrieked, but they were blocked by the troop that Ning Kong brought with him.
On the Vermillion Bird Stage, Ning Feng’s attacks swept through like a tornado. They were vicious and brutal.
Lu Ming retreated as he fought, but his gleaming eyes were clear as day as he stared intently at Ning Feng. He was looking for an opportunity.
“Die! Haha, die!” Ning Feng cackled. He was oppressing Lu Ming, and he had never felt better.
“How dare you go against me, you filthy imbecile? How dare you embarrass me by challenging me to a duel? Now, tremble before me and regret!” he laughed hysterically.
“Now!” Lu Ming’s eyes shone like the sun. He stopped retreating and leaped towards Ning Feng.
As he leaped, a blood-red light flashed on Lu Ming as he exploded his blood meridians. This would be his strongest moment.
Now that his blood meridians had risen to the Fourth Level, he could shield him from the attacks he received and increase his strength by 40%.
Lu Ming’s actions shocked everyone to the edge of their seats.
What was Lu Ming doing? Was he that eager to die?
Ning Feng was slightly taken aback. He laughed nastily and said, “No matter what you’re planning, you’re dead meat.”
Screeching Sword Qi merged to form a Sword Qi storm that quickly approached Lu Ming.
Boom!
However, when the Sword Qi landed on Lu Ming, he all but shuddered slightly, and continued to bulldoze towards Ning Feng. Lu Ming raised his right hand and blocked Ning Feng’s long sword with his battle sword. Meanwhile, his left hand threw a heavy punch.
It all happened so quickly that Ning Feng had no time to react.
Boom!
As Lu Ming’s punch landed sturdily on Ning Feng’s Dantian, the force of the punch violently tore through Ning Feng’s Dantian.
Instantly, Ning Feng’s Qi cyclone vibrated vigorously and was on the verge of exploding. Ning Feng’s aura dropped drastically like a punctured balloon and returned to the Seventh Grade Master Realm in a heartbeat.
It did not stop there as it continued dropping to stop at the top of Sixth Grade Master Realm.
Ning Feng’s cultivation was far from stable since he had just broken through to the Seventh Grade Master Realm. Lu Ming’s punch severely destroyed the berserk Essential Qi from his consumption of the Spirit-exploding Pill and he returned to his Sixth Grade Master Realm cultivation level.
If it were not for the berserk Essential Qi from consuming the Spirit-exploding Pill, Lu Ming’s punch would have destroyed Ning Feng’s cultivation.
“Ah!” Ning Feng flew backward upon impact as he cried out in despair, landing heavily ten meters away. Blood spewed out from his mouth.
Mu Lan, Feng Wu, Yuan Hui, and Ning Kong were flabbergasted.
Everyone present was confounded.
What just happened?
All they saw was Lu Ming advancing towards Ning Feng instead of retreating. They were just thinking to themselves if Lu Ming had a strong death wish when they saw Ning Feng flying backward with a cry of despair and was now vomiting blood on stage.
“Feng’er!” Ning Kong was first to react as he bellowed.
Astonished, Ning Feng struggled to pick himself up as he yelled, “How...how are you still alive?”
He knew his attacks had landed on Lu Ming, but the latter seemed fine like nothing had happened to him.
“Now, it’s my turn.” Lu Ming stepped out. His eyes were steely cold as his sword swung toward Ning Feng.
Ning Feng was paralyzed with fear as he robotically raised his sword in the attempt to shield himself from the attack. He was injured, and he only had a Sixth Grade Master Realm cultivation, thus he was no match for Lu Ming at all.
All it took was one attack for Ning Feng to retreat quickly and fearfully while vomiting blood.
“All you had was a few more years of cultivation, Ning Feng, and you thought that was enough to make me regret my decision and shake me to the core? You are so far off. Now, let’s send you on your way.”
While Lu Ming slowly sauntered towards Ning Feng, a cold smile hung on his lips as ice-cold killing intent shimmered in his eyes.
On the viewing platform, Ning Kong bellowed, “How dare you? Stop right there, Lu Ming!”
“Stop?” Lu Ming threw a glance at Ning Kong as he replied unemotionally, “When Ning Feng had the upper hand, why didn’t you ask him to stop? What’s wrong with your brain for you to be ordering me to stop now?”
When Lu Ming was done, he hacked his sword towards Ning Feng again, ignoring Ning Kong in the process.
Clang! Clang!
Ning Feng could hardly block Lu Ming’s attacks. When his body gave way, he violently shuddered as his sword fell out of his hands.
“Dad, Dad! Save me!” Ning Feng shrieked as he scrambled to save himself from the impending doom.
“Lu Ming, how dare you continue attacking? Die!” Ning Kong roared with rage as he swooped in like an eagle, making his way to the Vermillion Bird Stage.
Mu Lan moved and followed closely behind him. She threw a palm attack towards Ning Kong.
However, Ning Kong turned behind and retaliated with a thrust-out palm.
Both palms collided while they fought in the air.
Boom!
A resounding boom followed by a strong gust of force that came from both Mu Lan and Ning Kong’s attacks broke out. Both of them landed on the ground in a swing.
Right after landing, Mu Lan stood in Ning Kong’s way.
“Piss off, Mu Lan!” Ning Kong roared.
Mu Lan smiled coyly and said, ” Ning Kong, duels on the Vermillion Bird Stage are battles to the death with no external interruption allowed. Are you gonna go against sect rules?”
Ning Kong’s face twisted and contorted with rage. He was so angry that he nearly vomited blood. That was exactly what he told Mu Lan a while ago, and she just dished it all back to him word for word.
“I don’t care. Piss off!” yelled Ning Kong.
“What thick skin you have on this old, wrinkly face of yours, Ning Kong. Do you wanna go there? No way!” Mu Lan’s aura locked him firmly in place.
Mu Lan was so pleased when she saw how contorted Ning Kong’s face was.
Ah!
Ning Feng let out an anguished cry yet again on the Vermillion Bird Stage.
Lu Ming punched him squarely on his stomach and broke a few ribs. Ning Feng lay limply on the ground, heaving blood.
With one foot firmly on Ning Feng’s torso, Lu Ming leered coldly at Ning Feng.
“Don’t kill me, Lu Ming. I beg you. Don’t kill me please!” Ning Feng cowered in fear as he begged loudly for his life.
“Lu Ming, if you dare kill my son, I will destroy you!” Ning Kong burned with anger. He wanted so badly to rush up to the stage, but Mu Lan would not leave him alone.
“I’m waiting, old man!” Lu Ming smiled mirthlessly and swung his sword without hesitation.
“No!”
“No!”
Ning Feng and Ning Kong shouted in unison.
Slash!
Blood spattered all over the Vermillion Bird Stage.
Ning Feng held his severed neck tightly with regret, fear, and anger in his eyes, and plopped on stage with the life draining out of him.
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS
Riise
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