Ling Han could not help feeling moved and followed at the heels of the advancing crowd.
There were more and more people joining the crowd, and as they discussed the details about the battle between Zhu Wu Jiu and Nangong Ji, Ling Han very quickly came to understand the background of these two young men.
Zhu Wu Jiu and Nangong Ji were both Ordinary Disciples of Hu Yang Academy, but Nangong Ji was ranked in the top ten strongest Ordinary Disciples, and was an elite martial artist that was qualified enough to issue a challenge to the True Disciples in a bid to join their ranks. Zhu Wu Jiu was slightly inferior to him, but ability-wise, he was definitely ranked within the top twenty Ordinary Disciples, so he was really not that bad.
“Why is Zhu Wu Jiu still so dead-set on fighting with Nangong Ji?”
“There’s nothing to be done about it, who asked Elder Brother Disciple Nangong to sacrifice Elder Sister Disciple Han Juan to save his own life during their previous practical training trip. You’ve got to understand, Elder Sister Disciple Han Juan was Zhu Wu Jiu’s lover, so how could he not go crazy?”
“I heard that Elder Sister Disciple Han Juan actually died because of Elder Brother Disciple Nangong. She had been injured by his sword, and that was why she had fallen behind and was forced into a life-and-death battle with the Silvery Light Beast. That’s how Elder Brother Disciple Nangong managed to buy the time to flee with his life.”
“Shh, how could you so openly speak of such things? Be careful that Nangong Ji won’t make trouble for you later. He’s the Fifth Young Master of the Nangong Clan, and his Third Elder Brother, Nangong Xing, is even a True Disciple with the cultivation level of the third layer of Gushing Spring Tier!”
“But Zhu Wu Jiu is indeed faithful. He obviously knows that the Nangong Clan is not to be trifled with, yet he would still challenge Nangong Ji to a duel every year. Just last year, he was so heavily injured that he had almost lost his life. Never thought that he’d issue a challenge again this year.”
“It’s a pity that Zhu Wu Jiu is really not that talented. He only has an Earth Grade low level Spirit Base and he comes from a poor family, so he can’t obtain any additional resources for his development. The gap between him and Nangong Ji would only become wider and wider.”
When Ling Han heard the people around him discussing the history between Zhu Wu Jiu and Nangong Ji, he could not help but feel slightly curious about this Zhu Wu Jiu.
The crowd soon arrived at the Martial Training Court of the Academy, and they could see there was someone standing within, so the others very naturally did not step into the court. Sparring was an allowed practice of Hu Yang Academy, and as long as both sides of the battle agreed, they’d be able to carry out their battle in the Martial Training Court.
The doctrine was to be as merciful as possible, but even if the fighters did not manage to restrain themselves in time, they wouldn’t be punished too harshly. After all, weapons were blind. However, if anyone dared to deliberately injure their opponent, the Academy would hand out a very severe punishment.
For example, if one of the fighters had already admitted defeat or fallen unconscious—or had otherwise completely lost the ability to defend themselves—yet their opponent continued to attack them, this would be considered a breach of the rules that’d be met with a severe punishment.
Ling Han looked at the man that was standing in the Martial Training Court. He seemed to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. He was a tall man who bore a long sword on his back. He could not really be considered handsome, but his gaze was very intimidating. Usually, others probably dared not look him directly in the eye.
“Why isn’t Nangong Ji here yet?”
“He’s the one being challenged, so of course he has to put on some appropriate airs.”
“I say, how many times has Zhu Wu Jiu challenged Nangong Ji already?”
“This should be the fifth time, right?”
“That means that four years have passed!”
“This guy’s perseverance is really a scary thing. With each battle, he would be severely injured and close to death, yet he would still grit his teeth and survive regardless, making others can’t help but admire his determination.”
While waiting, the crowd continued to talk among themselves. They were all expressing sympathy and admiration for Zhu Wu Jiu.
“Yi?”
The corners of Ling Han’s lips turned up slightly into a grin as he thought, ‘I never thought that I’d be able to encounter someone with a special constitution! His body is surrounded by ripples of faint silvery light, plus the others said that he did not die even after receiving a critical injury four times. Instead, he very quickly recovered. This person must be a member of the Silver Moon Race!’
The Silver Moon Race was born with the Silver Moon constitution. This was a constitution that had powerful abilities of recovery, and their bodies themselves could be considered a divine healing pill. As a result, the numbers of this race were pitifully low.
…They had been hunted down and killed by others, concocted into alchemical pills.
‘I had originally thought that after ten thousand years had passed, this race would have gone extinct. I never thought that I’d be able to encounter one of its members today!
Fine, for the sake of the Silver Moon King, I’ll give him a helping hand.’
Ten thousand years ago, Ling Han entered the territory of the Silver Moon Race to collect some medicinal ingredients. He was very cordially received by the leader of the Silver Moon Race of the time, the Silver Moon King. Unfortunately, not long after that, the Silver Moon Race was wiped out. Ling Han’s cultivation level at that time was still too low, so there was nothing he could do to help. Later on, when he had joined the ranks of Heaven Tier cultivators, the culprits responsible for the obliteration of the Silver Moon Race had all died of old age.
This was one of Ling Han’s regrets.
“Hahaha, Zhu Wu Jiu, how many times must you fail before you understand that you will never be a match for me!” Meanwhile, a young man strode into the Martial Training Court, a powerful aura emanating from his person.
Ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier, and he was at the peak period!
If he did not have such ability, how else could he have managed to secure his place among the top ten strongest Ordinary Disciples?
Compared to him, Zhu Wu Jiu was very much inferior, with a cultivation level of only the seventh layer of Element Gathering Tier. Yet everyone knew that cultivation level did not represent one’s battle prowess. Since Zhu Wu Jiu was able to rank among the top twenty, it could be seen that his actual battle prowess far surpassed his own cultivation level.
“Speak less nonsense, make your move!” Zhu Wu Jiu immediately drew out his sword and made a gesture with it.
Nangong Ji’s face was filled with arrogance. He too made a gesture, and this signified that both fighters had agreed to begin this battle.
“Xiu,” Zhu Wu Jiu rushed forwards, and as his sword swept in an arch, cold light danced about.
Nangong Ji was completely indifferent to this. He was an elite in the top ten, and compared to him, what could a mere Zhu Wu Jiu count as?
“Ding, ding, ding, ding…”
The two fighters were quickly embroiled in a fierce exchange of blows. Nangong Ji was very obviously having the upper hand in this battle. He looked very relaxed, and even managed to mock and ridicule his opponent as the battle went on to attack Zhu Wu Jiu’s morale. However, in truth, in his heart concealed a deep dread towards Zhu Wu Jiu.
In the previous four battles, he had acted to kill Zhu Wu Jiu. Though the latter would not die immediately, if the injury dragged on for another two or three days, he’d definitely die. And, based on Zhu Wu Jiu’s family background, there was no way he’d be able to afford high grade healing pills to heal his injuries.
Yet this guy not only did not die, he recovered from his wounds without any kind of aftereffects. After such miraculous recovery occurred four times, of course Nangong Ji would feel dread.
He knew his own guilt, and Zhu Wu Jiu was the only person that had relations with Han Juan, so as long as Zhu Wu Jiu was still alive, he would continue to be uneasy. This may lead to the day of his breakthrough to Gushing Spring Tier coming so slowly it would seem like forever! [1]
As a result, he intended to be absolutely merciless today. He definitely had to kill Zhu Wu Jiu right on the spot today.
Defeating and killing were two completely different issues; the difficulty level was completely different. Thus, if he wanted to kill Zhu Wu Jiu, then he needed to create an opportunity wherein he could kill Zhu Wu Jiu in a single strike. After the battle, he’d be able to shift the blame away from himself by saying he had not managed to restrain himself in time.
The two fighters continued to battle for a while, and Nangong Ji, with his much more superior ability, finally found an excellent opportunity. He stabbed with his sword, creating three flashes of cold light which headed directly for Zhu Wu Jiu’s heart.
This was not Sword Qi. He had just stabbed so quickly that he had created two afterimages.
Earth Grade high level martial arts technique, Shadow Dance Sword Arts!
He spent all the academic points that he had saved up for this martial arts technique, just to prepare for today so that he could kill Zhu Wu Jiu.
‘Die!’ He spat out in his mind as he used the strongest move of the Shadow Dance Sword Arts to form a merciless attack.
“Xiu,” Zhu Wu Jiu brandished his sword as well, and actually formed two flashes of cold light!
Could it be that he was also using an extremely swift sword technique?
No!
“Sword Qi!” The spectators all gasped in shock. This was Sword Qi, proof of a ruler!
“Pu! Pu!”
Two spurts of blood appeared at the same time. Nangong Ji’s sword had pierced Zhu Wu Jiu’s stomach, while the Sword Qi that Zhu Wu Jiu had formed had drawn across Nangong Ji’s throat, leaving behind a bloody wound.
A cold light appeared in Nangong Ji’s eyes. He immediately drew back his sword and gave another stab. He wanted to kill his opponent!
“Shua,” another flash of cold light drew over in an arch. Ling Han acted, stepping forward with a wave of his sword.