Chapter 158: Chapter 115: Hot-handed_1
Translator: 549690339
“Swordsmanship?”
“Sword Skill?”
Zhou Mingyu’s expression was cold as he cast his gaze downward.
Wang Tianling’s eyes narrowed, unease in his heart, but there was no other choice at this point. Gritting his teeth, he stepped forward.
“I will go!”
After speaking, he descended into the battlefield, his gaze coldly fixed on Xu Yang, taking a stance as he declared, “Even if I die today, I will seek justice for the Wang Family’s children and for all the innocent people who died tragically!”
Without waiting for Xu Yang’s reaction, he summoned his magical artifact.
It was a set of the Four-sided Black Tortoise Shield!
With the Mystical Tortoise Shield deployed, it rotated on all sides, protecting him within.
Then he raised a bright pearl, summoning the power of rivers, sending out raging waves in a torrent.
It was the Supreme Grade Magical Artifact—the Torrent Pearl!
In a cultivator’s battle, the key factors boil down to a few points:
Cultivation Realm, cultivating skills divine magic, and external items like magical treasures, spiritual artifacts, spirit pills, and talismans.
Although Wang Tianling was not a sword cultivator, he still had mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation and was the ancestor of the Wang Family.
The Wang Family, a Foundation Establishment power, had generations of Foundation Establishment Cultivators and a long lineage with profound potentiality.
Wang Tianling himself was skilled in the Path of Artifact Refining, a second-tier Artifact Refiner, with many magical artifacts at hand. In a battle of magic, he might not be weaker than Yan Changfeng, perhaps even stronger.
After all, Yan Changfeng was a hard-luck Qi Cultivator from a family without means, whose entire worth was in that Flying Sword—unwilling to risk it, and naturally, could only admit defeat.
But he was different.
“Go!”
Wang Tianling activated the Torrent Pearl, and more than ten water dragons emerged within the torrents, charging towards Xu Yang with the force of a collapsing mountain and rushing seas.
Xu Yang remained silent, his sword moved with his body, drawing from the sheath and plunging into the raging torrents, fighting against the dozen water dragons.
“Hmph!”
With a cold snort, Wang Tianling took out another top-tier magical artifact, a quaint and ancient-looking mat.
Wang Tianling sat upon the mat, and immediately, Buddha’s light shone brilliantly, fortifying his body, stabilizing his defense, and replenishing his mana.
The Mysterious Turtle Shield, the Torrent Pearl, along with this mat—three artifacts, all of supreme grade, providing a comprehensive offense and defense.
This showed the depth of his resources.
Not satisfied still, he took out a jade bottle and poured out a Spirit Pill, swallowing it to refine and assimilate its power.
The audience was silent at this sight.
Such actions were indeed extravagant for the arena.
But with a bitter feud at stake, they couldn’t well comment.
Even the referee Bai Yunzi stayed silent, almost as if he was pleased to see it.
“Ao!!!”
Amidst the thundering waves, the water dragons roared ferociously.
Wang Tianling assimilated the spirit pill, boosted his mana, and pushed the power of the Torrent Pearl to the limit. Dragon after dragon, relentless in their pursuit, sought to grind the opponent to death within the fury of the waves.
Xu Yang, wielding his sword, turned the rivers upside down. For a moment, though not defeated, he struggled to break through the adversary’s position.
“Hmph!”
“What kind of sword cultivator is this, no more than this!”
Seeing this, Wang Tianling’s sneer grew even colder, but he didn’t let his guard down, taking out yet another top-tier magical artifact—a pearl brimming with chilling coldness, complete with the phantom of a Jiao Dragon within it.
“Go!”
Wang Tianling hurled the pearl, which entered the roaring waves and instantly turned the water to ice, locking the surroundings and trapping Xu Yang within a crystalline world of ice.
“This Wang Tianling…”
“Is so well-endowed?”
“Four top-tier magical artifacts!”
“No wonder he’s a second-tier Artifact Refiner.”
“It’s no surprise that Old Ghost Zhou would want him for a son-in-law!”
Witnessing this scene, the onlookers were astounded, their lips twitching, even Bai Yunzi exclaimed in amazement.
While the audience’s chatter couldn’t affect the battle, Wang Tianling sat atop his mat, focusing his efforts on controlling the two spiritual pearls. The water dragons transformed into ice dragons, unleashing a howling blizzard as they repeatedly assaulted their foe, determined to let their opponent perish in this ice-encased prison.
He had once used this technique to slay an enemy in the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment; its power was self-evident, and no further explanation was needed.
However, it was an immense drain on his resources.
Fortunately, these four artifacts complemented one another and formed a system, greatly reducing the mana consumption.
Otherwise, even with his mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, it would be difficult to operate four top-tier artifacts at the same time…
“Tianling, be careful!!!”
Just as Wang Tianling was straining his mana in an attempt to exhaust his enemy to death, Zhou Mingyu, who was watching from the sidelines, suddenly exclaimed with alarm.
“What?”
Wang Tianling’s expression changed, and before he could react, a sonorous sword chime erupted from within the ice crystal prison, roaring like a dragon!
“Ao!!!”
The sword chime was sonorous, the sword light dragon-like, as Xu Yang burst forth, transforming into a dazzling silhouette, boldly breaking through the prison.
“This is…”
“To unify man and sword!”
“Using the body to guide the sword!”
Seeing this, let alone the bystanders, even Yan Changfeng, a fellow sword cultivator, showed a face full of shock.
“Bang!!!”
In the midst of shock, a loud noise erupted, and ice shards scattered all around.
The sword light as a dragon, with a long cry emerged, instantly shattering the ice prison, and charged directly at Wang Tianling.
Seeing this, Wang Tianling’s face went pale, hurriedly spurring the Four-sided Mystical Tortoise Shield to protect himself.
The shield of the Mystical Tortoise, the acme of defense, purely in terms of protective ability, was even comparable to a lower-grade spiritual artifact.
However…
The sword light like a dragon, came roaring through, slashing across the heavens in a single stroke.
Though it was just one sword attack, its might far surpassed Yan Changfeng’s previous Sword Light Differentiation.
It was the critical juncture in the cultivation of Sword Artifacts—the unification of man and sword!
This sword strike didn’t just embody the raw power of the Sword Artifact itself, nor merely the cultivator’s own strength, but a combination of the two. Their powers multiplied many-fold, even tens, hundreds, or thousands of times over.
It was like the differentiation of sword light, conjuring thousands upon thousands of swords.
Under this sword strike, even the Mystical Tortoise was powerless.
“Boom!!!”
A clangorous boom reverberated, and blinding sparks erupted, shattering the Mystical Tortoise Spirit Shield to pieces upon impact.
“Tianling!!!”
Seeing this, Zhou Mingyu’s complexion from outside the arena completely changed. Ignoring the rules of the platform, he leaped up and rushed into the battlefield.
But…
It was too late!
The sword light, like a dragon, furiously swept down, shattered one side of the Four-sided Black Tortoise Shield, revealing the utterly terrified Wang Tianling inside.
“No, I surren…!”
A panicked shout, trying to beg for mercy and concede to save his life.
But the sword light did not pause for an instant, a life-ending slash fell, and in a moment, swallowed the cry of alarm.
“Tianling!”
A streak of white light, swift as lightning, rushed into the battlefield with tremendous force, too fast for the eyes to follow.
However, he was still a step too late.
A streak of sword light slashed out, colliding with him.
“Bang!”
With the collision, the sword light rebounded, landing dozens of feet away, revealing Xu Yang’s figure stepping on the void, staggering back before finally stabilizing.
On the other side, the white light also dissolved, revealing the furious face of the Zhou Family patriarch, Zhou Mingyu, fierce as a raging lion.
Zhou Mingyu paid no attention to him, and instead rushed straight to Wang Tianling.
Wang Tianling was seen sitting on the Buddha’s Light Mat while three Black Tortoise Shields continued to orbit around him. The golden Buddha light that emanated from within the mat was still intact, seemingly protecting his body without any significant damage.
However…
As Zhou Mingyu came closer, he saw a line of crimson blood slowly emerge from Wang Tianling’s neck.
Followed by…
“Pfft!!!”
A muffled sound, blood sprayed, and the head upon the neck was sent flying by the force.
“Tianling!!!”
Zhou Mingyu cried out in alarm, lunging forward.
But unexpectedly, a streak of sword light, furious as a dragon’s roar, collided with him again.
“Bang bang bang!”
Clanging sounds erupted violently, and caught off guard by the fierce sword energy, even Zhou Mingyu, a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert, was forced back.
Seizing this opportunity, the sword light swiveled, sweeping the Buddha’s Light Mat, Mystical Tortoise Spirit Shield, the two Spiritual Pearls that appeared in the void, and even Wang Tianling’s headless corpse body into a bag.
“You…!!!”
Zhou Mingyu, forced back by the sword light and witnessing such an act, was beyond furious, his rage boiling over as he prepared to engage in combat.
However…
“Zhou Mingyu, do you dare to defy the rules of the Green Jade Sect?”
A roar of anger thundered, pressuring him, causing Zhou Mingyu to freeze in his tracks.
The crowd turned their heads, following the voice, and saw Bai Yunzi standing atop the Green Jade Sect, equally enraged.
How could he not be furious?
The dispute over the Spirit Land, the battle on the platform, was a rule established by his Green Jade Sect.
Now, someone had brazenly burst onto the platform, openly slapping the face of the Green Jade Sect. As the Green Jade Sect’s Searching Immortal Envoy, how could he not make a statement?
Seeing Bai Yunzi’s rage, Zhou Mingyu also came to his senses and quickly bowed his head, “It was impetuosity on my part due to the urgency of the moment; I did not intend any disrespect. I implore the Immortal Envoy to forgive my lapse!”
“Hmph!”
Seeing this, Bai Yunzi finally let out a cold snort and retracted his anger, “Since you’ve put it that way, I will let you off this time. But if there’s a next time, don’t blame me for reporting to the Sect and charging you with the crime of disobedience!”
“Yes, thank you, Immortal Envoy!”
Zhou Mingyu quickly nodded and heaved a sigh of relief.
But quickly, he remembered something and angrily looked up at Xu Yang, “Scoundrel, how dare you act so ruthlessly!”
This remark once again drew everyone’s attention to Xu Yang.
Xu Yang raised his hand, silently wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth, then finally responded back to him, “On the platform, life and death are fated. What, he can kill others, but others can’t kill him? After so many years, still so shamelessly unaware?”
“You…!!!”
Zhou Mingyu was enraged by his words, yet had no way to refute them.
Bai Yunzi also spoke up, “Indeed, on the platform, life and death are fated. Wang Tianling stepped onto it, fully aware of the risk of death.”
After speaking, he gave Xu Yang another look, inwardly taken aback.
He had not expected Xu Yang to be so ruthless, decapitating Wang Tianling on the platform.
Now the situation was a bit difficult to manage.
But things being as they were, difficult to manage or not, it had to be resolved.
Bai Yunzi looked at Zhou Mingyu, then at the crowd around, “The second round still goes to Taoist Friend Li. Who will take the stage for the third round?”
Hearing this, everyone fell silent, their gaze collectively shifting to Zhou Mingyu.
At this point, who else but his Zhou Family would take the stage, who would dare to step up?
This Li Jianchen was truly a Sword Cultivator, decisive in killing, ruthless in action, completely indifferent to the power and influence of both the Zhou and Wang Families.
Such a character was best not provoked unless one was confident of victory in a single strike.
Meanwhile…
“Ancestor!”
“My husband!”
“Father!”
The members of the Wang Family cried out, their gaze turning to Zhou Mingyu.
At this point, their last hope was this late-stage Foundation Establishment ancestor of the Zhou Family.
Zhou Mingyu paid them no attention, his eyes fixed on Xu Yang. After a long while, he finally spoke up.
“For the third round, I shall take the stage!”