Chapter 1278: Expectation
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As Ye Wuchen stood there not moving, he could feel Pei Min’s marvelous aura.
He had sought out Pei Min to fight for this battle. He was not thinking about victory or defeat. He just wanted to test the Divine Path swordsmanship of one of the lower-ranked members of the Regional King Ranking, thus improving his swordsmanship.
He may have reached the Saint plane, but that did not mean that he had reached the end of his path.
There was no end to becoming a better swordsman.
Now, as he stood before the famous swordsman of the Regional King Ranking, he would naturally not miss the chance to learn from him.
“Please teach me.” Ye Wuchen saluted with his sword.
“Very well,” replied Pei Min. In the instant that he said this, Ye Wuchen had the impression that the entire area was filled with swords.
The aura that flowed through the area seemed to have transformed into Pei Min’s swords. Anywhere his will moved would turn into a sword.
And he seemed like a mountain of swords, the source of all these thousands of swords.
Ye Wuchen’s sword will roared as sword seals appeared in front of him.
Each sword seal seemed to have been formed out of his will. An incredibly powerful stream of sword will flowed out of him. The endless sword will stretched out through the vast area. It flowed around Ye Wuchen, putting him at the center of it. Another flow of sword will appeared upon his body.
The sword seals continued to increase in number, which made the sword will all around Ye Wuchen even more terrifying. He seemed to have the power to smash through the Great Path itself.
Even as he watched Ye Wuchen’s forming sword seals, Pei Min still seemed unperturbed. With a single thought, countless sword seals appeared around him as well.
However, they seemed to be the most simple of sword seals. They had only been formed out of sword will.
They were nowhere near as powerful as the ones that Ye Wuchen was forming. Otherwise, he would not have been able to form so many in such a short time.
“I have two different perceptions of the Thousand Word Proverb. One is the same as what all of you had, the other is what you see now: I have combined it with my own cultivation,” said Pei Min as he looked at Ye Wuchen. “If your sword can break mine, I will count that as a victory for you.”
Ye Wuchen did not say anything. He suddenly stepped forward, and in a flash, the figure of a sword formed. He pointed forward, and all the sword seals melded into his finger.
Suddenly, the sword will began to roar as it rushed forward.
Heaven and earth seemed like they would be torn apart by the sword will. His terrifying sword slashed out as Ye Wuchen shot straight towards Pei Min. Sword will flowed wildly through the air, all of it melding with his body and turning into a shattering sword.
The creation of this sword would break the Great Path itself.
Everyone upon Divine Mountain was watching this scene with rapt attention. It seemed like Ye Wuchen would win the whole battle with a single stroke.
One sword stroke would separate victory and defeat.
He wanted to see Pei Min’s sword.
Pei Min was still standing there, his long robe flapping in the wind. There was an ear-piercing noise as sword will shot out of his eyes. His will covered the earth and the sky.
He had not moved, but his sword was now drawn.
When one was at the Saint level, their will was one with the Great Path.
Their every thought gave birth to Dao.
He could create a sword from his own self.
Pei Min stepped forward, and the thousands of sword seals around him transformed into a horrifying storm of sword will that swept out like a brilliant wave of light towards Ye Wuchen.
This seemed a bit like an attack using the power of the proverb on the Thousand Word stone stele.
However, there had to have been a difference. Pei Min could not have uncovered all the mysteries of the Thousand Word Proverb in so short a time.
But it still seemed like it.
His swords reached their destination, and they clashed with Ye Wuchen’s.
Ye Wuchen thrust his sword forward, cutting through the air. The oncoming swords were shattered as if they could not block Ye Wuchen’s.
But more and more swords were flowing towards him. They seemed to be endless.
An ear-piercing sound rang out without end as everything happened in an instant.
The shattering sword cut through the oncoming swords like a knife through butter. It seemed like it would pierce through the flow of swords in an instant.
But the wave of sword qi was affecting the momentum of Ye Wuchen’s sword. The flowing swords were not only not weak; in fact, their momentum was growing.
Piercing sword light shot out from Pei Min’s eyes. His spiritual will filled the area, and each sword seemed to have a will of its own as they continually smashed into Ye Wuchen’s sword. This left a clear impression in his mind.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The swords shattered one after another, but their momentum was growing. Ye Wuchen felt his sword slowing down.
It was a very subtle feeling. His sword was moving so fast that it should have been able to pierce through anything.
But at that moment, Ye Wuchen felt like he was in a sea of swords. Each sword had become very clear as they blocked his sword one by one.
He continued forward, but it was getting harder and harder.
Pei Min took another step forward. As he did, his flow of sword qi grew stronger. Each of the swords was more terrible than the one in front of him, and they shot towards Ye Wuchen.
Ye Wuchen’s forward momentum was stopped. It seemed that his sword would be blocked.
He stretched out his left hand and pointed forward. Endless sword will flowed wildly towards the sword in front of him. The Worldly Great Path returned to his sword.
Boom! The very air seemed like it would break in two.
But there was an even more powerful flow of sword qi ready to meet him.
Bang! A sword fell, smashing into the shattering sword.
Then a second one, then a third…they seemed to be endless.
But it seemed like Ye Wuchen had still not given up. He was only a few steps away. Pei Min took another step forward, piercing light shooting from his eyes.
Woosh! A sword swept down from above his head towards Ye Wuchen.
Crack!
There was an ear-splitting sound. Ye Wuchen had finally made it to one step away from Pei Min, but the air in front of Pei Min was filled with swords. The shattering sword was finally itself shattered, and all the sword seals that Ye Wuchen had formed dissipated.
Woosh!
Pei Min stepped right in front of Ye Wuchen, and a wild flow of sword will blew into Ye Wuchen. He groaned, but he bore it and did not retreat. He looked up at the swords and the figure that seemed to be insurmountable in front of him.
He knew that he had completely lost this battle.
Pei Min had not even really used his powerful will. He had only used his most simple swords to fight with him.
However, this in and of itself was his way.
“There’s no artistry to his swordsmanship,” whispered Ye Wuchen as he looked at Pei Min.
“There is no artistry. The strongest swordsmanship of Sword Palace is one sword overpowering another until you have destroyed your opponent, or they had destroyed you,” Pei Min said to Ye Wuchen.
“How can one sword overpowering another be considered swordsmanship?” Ye Wuchen did not understand.
“Because of your will, your conviction. Every time you draw your sword, your will and conviction are stronger than the last time you did so. Thus, your sword will naturally be stronger as well,” said Pei Min.
Ye Wuchen thought of the last sword that had burst forth from Pei Min. It had indeed been one sword overpowering another.
That was why his sword will grew stronger and stronger.
“Thank you for the lesson,” said Ye Wuchen with a bow, showing his respect.
The battle had been simple. Both of them had only made a single full attack.
But he had learned a lot from it.
The two of them walked away from each other. Many people on Divine Mountain watched Pei Min. He was indeed worthy of being on the Regional King Ranking. Both his power and his bearing were extraordinary.
He may have known that Ye Wuchen was no match for him, but he still took him seriously and had even taught him about swordsmanship.
He had done this to fulfill Ye Wuchen’s request to learn more about swordsmanship.
The people of Qianye City had fought many times in succession, and they had finally lost.
However, this was all very normal. If Ye Wuchen had been able to defeat Pei Min, then the Regional King Ranking would have to be dissolved.
After all, Ye Wuchen had not been the top figure at the Battle of the Crimson River. No matter what leaps of logic you did, he could never be stronger than a figure like Pei Min.
Ye Wuchen knew this, and thus he had no feelings of disappointment at his defeat.
He walked back to his original place. He was not thinking about his defeat. He was thinking about Pei Min’s swordsmanship.
Unfortunately, he was not powerful enough to make Pei Min display his full power. If they had fought an actual battle, he would have been able to learn a little more.
At that moment, there was the sound of footsteps.
As soon as Ye Wuchen and Pei Min had walked away, someone else stepped down and walked to the center of the banquet hall. The ground there was broken, and the traces of battle were everywhere.
The man turned around and looked in a certain direction.
Once again, it was someone looking in the direction of the people from Qianye City.
But everyone was already numb to this. They were no longer surprised.
Moreover, this person had a grudge against Qianye City. He had been at the Battle of the Crimson River and had probably come here specifically to oppose Qianye City.
He was Xiang Ze, the prince of Emperor Xiang Ze.
Before he had come, it was Xiang Nan who had been stationed here, with a Nirvana level cultivator by his side.
The Nirvana level cultivator had died in the battle at Qianye City. Ye Futian had killed him.
Xiang Ze had not been in the Crimson Dragon Realm and thus had not received a Peach Invitation. But he had fought his way up here.
“Several people have already sought to test Lord Ye’s power, and they have all been refused. Will you come out now?” asked Xiang Ze.
Yu Sheng, Xia Qingyuan, and everyone else was all staring at him. This time, Ye Futian did not have them fight for him. He stepped out himself.
The handsome white-haired figure walked to the center of the banquet hall. A fierce look of expectation came over everyone’s face.
Would they finally be able to witness the true power of this man who was famous throughout the Crimson Dragon Realm?
Ye Futian had fought several times and even had the blood of a Nirvana level cultivator on his hands, but that had not been done by his own power.
And at Emperor Kua’s ruins, he had been drawing upon the power of the Flames of the Way to fight.
Now, even if he were only using what he had just barely perceived from the Thousand Word Proverb to fight, they would still be able to see him fight for real. And his opponent was very strong. He would be a great test of his power!