Book 5: Chapter 74: I have been beaten by the Demon Lord, and I am proud |
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On the other side, Yao Yuangang was secretly alarmed. He never expected that today's seemingly sure thing would encounter such unexpected changes.
The situation was becoming increasingly complicated.
He squinted his eyes slightly, observing Wang Anye and Ji Yue'er in the field, especially Ji Yue'er's striking red hair and snake-like eyes, pondering silently.
"Thank you, Ji, for your assistance," Wang Anye cupped his hands in gratitude.
"No need to be polite, Young Master. It's my duty," Ji Yue'er replied with a slight bow, retreating behind Wang Anye while still vigilantly and coldly watching Wei Dongyu. She said indifferently, "Besides, even if I hadn't intervened, that old man's move likely wouldn't have harmed the Young Master."
"Hmph!"
Wei Dongyu flicked his sleeve, seemingly disdainful.
He admitted that the sudden appearance of a Lingxu Realm supporter had startled him. But to say that this mere Purple Mansion Realm kid couldn't be dealt with by his casual strike was laughable.
If he were still alive, how could he allow this old man to humiliate his disciple like this?!
"Master, please calm down. After all, we are in the Ji's Clan territory. If things get too big, it wouldn't be good to drag the Ji's Clan into the mess," Wang Anye comforted his master, Ji Wuchen.
Then, he looked at Wei Dongyu with cold eyes and said, "True Lord of Blazing Fire, you are a well-known senior in the Immortal Dynasty. In this situation, don't you have anything to say?"
"Say what?" Wei Dongyu glanced at Ji Yue'er with some apprehension, then sneered, "You, young one, disrespect your elders. I, as a True Lord, am merely teaching you a lesson on behalf of your elders, to make you understand the order of respect. What, do you expect me to apologize because of a Lingxu Realm supporter who appeared out of nowhere?"
The Jing'an Wei Clan, after all, was a powerful family with two Lingxu Realm experts, deeply rooted in the Immortal Dynasty. No matter what background Wang Anye had, he was just someone from the Eastern Qian Kingdom. How capable could he be?
To make him, the first Ancestor of the prestigious Jing'an Wei Clan, bow and apologize, was a pure joke!
"In that case, the feud between your Jing'an Wei Clan and our Eastern Qian Changning Wang's Clan is settled today," Wang Anye said without backing down, also cupping his hands toward Yao Yuangang, "Senior Yao, since you are present, if a conflict arises between our Wang's Clan and the Wei Clan, we would need you to be a witness."
Yao Yuangang's expression was somewhat complicated.
He couldn't figure out the background of this Eastern Qian Changning Wang's Clan.
He knew there was a Wang's Clan in Guilong City, a branch of the Han Yue Wang's Clan, but that was the Eastern Qian Wang's Clan, clearly not the same as this Changning Wang's Clan.
Moreover, even the Eastern Qian Wang's Clan couldn't afford a Lingxu Realm supporter, right?
However, since the other party had a Lingxu Realm supporter and spoke so boldly, the Changning Wang's Clan might not be simple. While it might not guarantee the Wei Clan would suffer, it could certainly stir up some trouble.
Immediately, Yao Yuangang said solemnly, "The disputes between your family and the Wei Clan are not something the Chaoyang King's residence will participate in. But if things escalate and I need to testify, I will report today's events truthfully, without embellishment or concealment."
"Thank you, Senior Yao, for your fairness and objectivity," Wang Anye gracefully bowed again, then glanced at Wei Dongyu without saying more.
As a direct descendant of the Wang's Clan, Wang Anye represented the Changning Wang's Clan wherever he went.
Wei Dongyu's disregard for his status in "attacking" the junior Wang Anye meant that even if Wang Anye had a good temper, he couldn't just back down.
As for how to deal with the Wei Clan after this feud, that was a matter for later.
"Fine!" Wei Dongyu's eyes narrowed slightly, responding with a cold smile, "This True Lord will wait for your Wang's Clan to make a move. I want to see how capable your so-called Changning Wang's Clan really is."
For a moment, the scene fell into a slight silence.
Ji Yue'er's golden snake-like eyes narrowed slightly, scanning the crowd, and she said calmly, "We'll talk about the future later, but regarding today's competition for the Sword and Formation Manual, since our Young Master happened to be present, naturally, we must get involved. Who agrees, who opposes?"
Agreeing, no one would agree. Who would want an additional competitor?
But would opposing be useful? After all, they had a Lingxu Realm supporter backing them.
"Hahaha, Ji Daoist, don't joke," Yao Yuangang was the first to laugh, "As mentioned before, the Sword and Formation Manual is a treasure for all humanity, to be claimed by those with ability and fate. Since Young Master Anye happened to be here, if his bloodline and aptitude are suitable, he can naturally give it a try."
"However, we should hurry. If the news leaks and attracts more competitors, it will be troublesome."
Wei Dongyu wanted to oppose.
But with three Lingxu Realm experts present, what use was his sole opposition? As Yao Yuangang said, if things got out of hand, it would be a big problem.
"Let's go," Wei Dongyu said with a dark face, "Now."
The poor third-grade Ji's Clan of Chaoyang had no say in this matter and had to send Ji Yanxiu to lead everyone to the trial site for the manual.
It was a rare mountain range on the Chaoyang Plain, not very high but stretching endlessly, covered in lush greenery and shrouded in mist.
The flying carriage hovered briefly in the air before slowly descending, finally landing in an old, dilapidated Ji's Clan courtyard.
Ji Yanxiu explained, "This barren mountain is ancestral land of our Ji's Clan. Ancestor Wuchen set up many formations here, including fog and illusion formations. We have an elder and a team of family guards stationed here year-round to prevent outsiders from entering."
Building formations is costly, and maintaining them over the years is an even greater expense. Since Ji Wuchen's departure, the resources spent on maintaining the formations over the past seven to eight thousand years have far exceeded the initial cost of setting them up.
The continuous investment in these protective formations, without any return, may have accelerated the decline of the Ji's Clan.
After a brief rest in the Ji's Clan courtyard, the group passed through numerous formations to reach a hidden valley.
At the deepest part of the valley was a sword tomb.
It was a massive stone structure resembling an altar, shrouded in restrictions.
Long chains wrapped around pale stone pillars, and heavy stone steps stretched up to a great height. Through the mist, one could see the mottled ancient swords on the stone steps above.
These were left by predecessors.
Perhaps due to the passage of time or lack of maintenance, the chains on the stone pillars showed signs of rust, and even the ancient swords seemed to have lost their spirit, completely silent.
Yet, the pervasive sword intent hovering over the entire structure still commanded respect.
"Yanxiu, where is the Sword Formation Manual?" Wei Qingyun scanned with his divine sense but found no trace of the manual.
"Young Master, please look here."
Ji Yanxiu flew to the base of the sword tomb's steps and set upright a fallen sign.
It was a sign made of spiritual wood, weathered but enduring.
The sign bore crooked characters formed by sword marks: "Self-service trial, fools stay away. Come back after passing the second trial. The rules for the first trial are as follows..."
"Isn't this too casual?"
Wei Qingyun couldn't believe his eyes. Where in the world was there such a casual trial for a manual?
"Young Master, this is quite embarrassing," Ji Yanxiu said awkwardly, "Initially, the spirit artifact of the Sword Formation Manual would appear to oversee the trial. But... cough, every generation of our Ji's Clan would come to try, annoying the spirit artifact to the point it stopped appearing and turned the trial into a self-service one."
"Does it matter if it's self-service?" Yuntai An, holding an ancient sword and dressed in white, wasn't concerned with these details. He said directly, "Let's hurry with the trial. I can't wait to reunite with my destined manual."
This person hadn't spoken a word from the beginning, but when he did, it was so direct.
Even Wang Anye couldn't help but glance at him.
"Young Master Anye, Yuntai An is a well-known sword fanatic in Chaoyang Prefecture, showing exceptional talent in swordsmanship from a young age," Ji Qianqian transmitted to Wang Anye, "Though he seems blunt and out of place, his swordsmanship is formidable, and he could be a formidable opponent."
"Thank you for the reminder, Miss Ji," Wang Anye replied, "But, Miss Qianqian, do you lack confidence in yourself?"
"I lack confidence," Ji Qianqian replied with a helpless smile, "In terms of bloodline aptitude, I'm just a great prodigy D-grade. In terms of swordsmanship and formation knowledge, I'm not as good as them. As far as I know, both Wei Qingyun and Yuntai An are famous geniuses, with bloodline aptitudes reaching great prodigy B-grade! I brought Young Master Anye along out of unwillingness, not wanting the manual to fall into their hands."
To be honest, when she first spoke, it was out of unwillingness, holding onto a faint hope that Young Master Anye might compete with them.
But she never expected that Young Master Anye's identity would be so extraordinary, with a Lingxu Realm supporter by his side, giving her more hope.
While they were talking, Ji Yanxiu had already activated the "self-service" trial for the first stage.
Next to the wooden sign was an ancient and worn trial device. With some operation, it made a series of clanking sounds and spat out several sheets of paper.
"Gentlemen, the first trial is relatively simple, testing basic theories of formations and swordsmanship," Ji Yanxiu, prepared in advance, took out some tables and chairs from his storage ring, "Come, come, let's do the questions."
Too casual!
Even the well-informed Yuntai An and Wei Qingyun were a bit dumbfounded.
Every manual has stringent requirements for its inheritors, and the trials are usually solemn.
In various states, there are competitions for the title of Saint or Saintess, nations have Imperial Heir Struggles, and royal residences have heir competitions.
Where is it ever this casual?
Even Wei Qingyun, who had heard about the first two stages from Ji Yanxiu, hadn't expected such a trial method. After all, Ji Yanxiu had only mentioned the scope and difficulty of the exam, not the specific process, due to embarrassment.
However, the simpler it seemed, the less anyone dared to be careless or cheat. Perhaps the manual's spirit artifact was watching from the shadows, testing not only their knowledge but also their character.
Thus, the four participants were particularly earnest, completing the first trial diligently.
After the test, there was no teacher to grade the papers; they had to put the papers back into the trial device. In no time, the results for all four were out, and although there were differences in scores, they all passed the first trial smoothly.
The first trial wasn't very difficult because these were old questions from seven to eight thousand years ago. As times have progressed, basic education has continuously improved, and the difficulty has increased. Nowadays, most who have long practiced swordsmanship and formations should be able to pass.
After the first trial ended, the sword intent enveloping the sword tomb noticeably weakened.
Ji Yanxiu led the four up the steps.
These steps were made of huge stones, each nearly three meters high, exuding a sense of age and history.
If ordinary people were here, they might struggle to climb, but those present were Basalt cultivators, and even the weakest, Ji Qianqian, was in the later stages of the Celestial Realm. These steps posed no challenge to them.
With a flicker of their figures, they flew to the top of the altar.
Amid countless ancient swords, a massive stone tablet slowly rose.
It was a sword tablet.
The bluish-green rectangular tablet was covered with sword marks of varying depths, numbering over a dozen, each exuding an aura of sword intent.
The most prominent sword mark slashed diagonally across the tablet, nearly half a meter deep and almost three meters long, nearly piercing the entire stone tablet.
A surging sword intent emanated from it, majestic and overwhelming, like a hanging river or a roaring sea, imposing and chilling to the bone.
Even just standing before the sword tablet, the group felt their legs weaken, compelled to bow in reverence.
For a moment, all but Ji Yanxiu couldn't help but gasp.
Those present were all sword cultivators, well-acquainted with sword tablets.
Sword tablets themselves aren't particularly rare. Essentially, they are a type of stone tablet, but their material is unique, allowing sword intent to linger for a long time after processing, typically used by seniors to imprint their sword intent for juniors to comprehend.
Sword tablets can be as large as mountains or as small as a palm, depending on their purpose.
But even though they had seen and studied many sword tablets, they had never encountered such terrifying sword intent.
"Such terrifying sword intent... I feel like even the sword tablet at our Purple Void Holy Land isn't this..." Ji Qianqian murmured, her eyes flickering with disbelief.
An astonishing hypothesis formed in her mind, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it.
After a long while, the group's attention finally shifted from the sword tablet.
Beside the sword tablet, another sign made of spiritual wood stood, detailing the rules for the sword tablet trial, which was also a self-service trial.
"Anye, this sword tablet is the ancestral relic of our Sword and Formation lineage. When Ancestor Chen Jianming stumbled upon this sword tablet from the Shenwu Royal Dynasty era, he was captivated by this sword mark. Ancestor originally practiced formations, but after encountering this, he became obsessed with sword comprehension, eventually developing his own swordsmanship, combining formations and swordsmanship, founding our Sword and Formation lineage."
"This sword tablet has since been known as the 'Sword Comprehension Tablet.'"
"Those who leave sword marks on the tablet are the past or prospective inheritors of our Sword and Formation lineage. Do you see that five-inch-deep sword mark?" Ji Wuchen said with emotion.
"Is that the one you left, Master?" Wang Anye's eyes lit up with admiration, "Truly worthy of being my master, the sword mark you left is quite impressive."
"Uh... cough~ That was left by Ancestor Jianming," Ji Wuchen coughed awkwardly, "If I had such swordsmanship, I might not have perished back then, perhaps even escaping from that monstrous fellow."
Recalling that incident, Ji Wuchen felt regretful, "When I went to the Demon Dynasty to seek revenge on Chao Qianbo, I was well-prepared, even disguising and infiltrating the Demon Dynasty for a long time, leaving many contingencies. After killing him, I used those contingencies to evade the pursuit of two Lingxu Realm experts from the Chao Clan. But I never expected to be intercepted by a Chao Clan junior with similar cultivation to mine just as I was about to escape."
"That Chao Clan junior was exceptionally powerful. I was almost defenseless against him, and in the end, I had to use a forbidden technique with severe consequences to barely escape, but I couldn't withstand the backlash afterward. Sigh~"
"Master," Wang Anye, rarely hearing Ji Wuchen talk about that incident, comforted him, "It's been seven to eight thousand years. That Chao Clan junior is probably long dead."
"True, I remember that Chao Clan junior was named 'Chao Qianchuo.' He looked decent but had a particularly annoying way of speaking. If I could have beaten him, I would have... Unfortunately, even Lingxu Realm experts have a lifespan of only four thousand years. How could he still be alive?" Ji Wuchen said indignantly, "Hmph~ It's a pity I took on a disciple so late; otherwise, my disciple Anye would have avenged me."
"Wait? Chao Qianchuo?" A flash of insight crossed Wang Anye's mind, and his brow furrowed, "I remember seeing that name in a report from our Demon Dynasty spies."
"Impossible, if Chao Qianchuo were alive, he'd be eight or nine thousand years old by now. Who could live...?" Ji Wuchen's words abruptly stopped.
Because he thought of a possibility.
"Uh... Master, I also remember. The Demon Dynasty's True Demon Hall's Demon Sovereign seems to have that name," Wang Anye's expression turned complex, unsure whether to be surprised or resigned, "I didn't expect the person you encountered back then to be the Demon Sovereign. This is truly..."
The fact that his master's demise could be connected to someone still alive was something he never anticipated.
"No wonder, no wonder... I always felt he was excessively powerful. After all, I inherited the Sword and Formation Manual and had the aptitude of a Peerless Prodigy. It didn't make sense to be suppressed at the same level," Ji Wuchen, after a moment of surprise, felt relieved rather than angry, "All these years, I've felt quite aggrieved, thinking I died unjustly. Now it seems I wasn't wronged; I was killed by the Demon Sovereign."
His tone was unexpectedly proud, as if saying, "I was beaten by the Demon Sovereign, and I'm proud of it."
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