Chapter 131: Challenging the Seventh
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Liu Ning grabbed the golden sword handle from her waist and drew the three-meter-long Fish Scale Soft Sword out.
The sword radiance flashed and knocked all the silver needles from the ground.
“Ding! Ding!”
Zi Qian displayed a martial technique emphasizing speed. Her steps were as light as wind and she kept changing directions. She propelled needles at her constantly, turning them into wave after wave of needle rain.
Liu Ning frowned her eyebrows. She wanted to attack Zi Qian but was forced to retreat from the shower of needles. She had to keep swinging her sword in order to defend herself, which quickly consumed the Genuine Qi in her body.
There appeared to be a deadlock in the Coliseum.
“Is she a hedgehog? How can she hide so many needles in her sleeves?” Duanmu Xingling asked with a lopsided grin, looking at Zhang Ruochen.
He said, “How should I know?”
“Don’t you even know how she does it?” Duanmu Xingling was shocked. She thought that Zhang Ruochen was familiar with Zi Qian. He must know her secret.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head slightly and focused back on the Coliseum. He could tell by Zi Qian’s sword technique that she was not strong enough to defeat Liu Ning. She decided to use her Genuine Qi to release the needles instead.
If Liu Ning couldn’t break Zi Qian’s rain of silver needles, she would no doubt lose the fight.
As Zhang Ruochen expected, Liu Ning’s Genuine Qi after a short while had been greatly consumed. Zi Qian seized the opportunity to attack sneakily from behind.
By the time Liu Ning reacted, Zi Qian had already placed her sword on Liu Ning’s throat.
Challenge succeeded!
“Her speed of releasing the sword is absolutely spectacular! Without practicing a hundred thousand times, no one would be able to release a sword at such speed. Why does she seem like a killer who’s received professional training?” Duanmu Xingling squinted her eyes. She thought that the way Zi Qian released her sword was similar to the Hades Department.
Although Zi Qian had tried her best to hide it, she left a trace and Duanmu Xingling was keen enough to recognize it.
Zhang Ruochen shifted and said with a smile, “If she was an assassin, she would have killed me long ago!”
“That’s true.” Duanmu Xingling nodded.
Zi Qian’s last sword movement had indeed been magnificent; no shadow or figure of the sword could be noticed. Only Warriors of Division Profound would perceive the track of her sword.
By defeating Liu Ning, Zi Qian naturally became the ninth master of the Western Campus.
Since Liu Ning had lost the fight, her ranking dropped one place and became 10th on the board.
Mo Qinglong dropped out of the top 10 and ranked 11th.
There were a number of warriors who went and challenged those who ranked top 10 on the board. Most of them wanted to challenge Zi Qian as people thought that she was the weakest among the top 10.
Yet, no one succeeded.
In fact, many people were stronger than Zi Qian but lost the fight without any clue why. By the time they could finally react, Zi Qian had already placed her sword on their throats and they didn’t dare move an inch.
One of the senior sister apprentices of the Western Campus who ranked 17th had been defeated under Zi Qian’s sword. As she left the Coliseum she was extremely irritated. She groaned and said, “How is this possible? My ability is no doubt stronger than her. Why did I still lose the fight?”
Only warriors of the Division Profound were able to tell how ferocious Zi Qian was.
First of all, speed was her biggest advantage. Her mysterious way of releasing swords always made it impossible for her opponents to defend against her.
Secondly, her vision and hearing abilities were far better than ordinary warriors. She could identify danger and hear the sound of her opponents’ attack in advance. Therefore, she could pinpoint the most suitable tactic to display in the shortest period of time.
Thirdly, she had obtained substantially more fighting experience compared to most of the other students.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. Zi Qian also had a weakness. Her physical quality was considerably weaker than the top geniuses.
She had refined five drops of Half-Saint’s Essence in these three months which completely covered her weakness. Her ability had also improved to a large extent.
Under the attention of the crowd, Zi Qian walked towards the Coliseum, standing on Zhang Ruochen’s right. She crossed her arms over her chest like Duanmu Xingling and Zhang Ruochen, and asked, “Why don’t you go challenge other warriors?”
“It’s about time!”
Zhang Ruochen entered the Coliseum and exclaimed, “I want to challenge the warrior who ranked the seventh.”
The student who ranked seventh in the Western Campus was called Sikong Shu.
He had been a freshman eight years ago and had reached the peak of the Completion of the Black Realm four years ago. He wanted to enter the Middle-Level Heritage and thus he hadn’t broken through any realms since then.
Even if Zhang Ruochen challenged Ju Hailan who ranked fifth, with his current cultivation, there was a high chance he would win.
However, he wanted to keep a low-profile. He would be satisfied if he obtained the qualification to enter the middle-level heritage. There was no need for him to push himself into the spotlight.
Zhang Ruochen was playing safe by challenging the warrior who ranked the seventh.
Despite the fact that he wanted to be low-profile, it still caused a sensation among the crowd. He was a freshman and he had challenged Sikong Shu. Lots of people were eager to watch the fight and rushed towards the Coliseum.
“Do you think Zhang Ruochen will pass the challenge?” A student who had enrolled in the Western Campus last year and ranked top 50 asked.
Another student who had reached the Completion of the Black Realm said, “I didn’t think he could succeed until Zi Qian fought. Zi Qian defeated Liu Ning who ranked eighth. And Zhang Ruochen’s ability is above Zi Qian’s. There’s a chance that he’ll defeat Sikong Shu!”
“That’s right! The freshmen are gifted with fabulous talent. We can’t distinguish their abilities just from their martial cultivations.”
“The freshmen this year are indeed very powerful. They’ve only been at the School for three months and are now capable of defeating the top 10 masters of the Western Campus. As mature students who have practiced in the School for years, how can we endure?”
…
…
More students had arrived at the Coliseum. Even the Deputy Headmaster of the other three Campuses and the Lord of the Western Campus had made their way here to watch the fight. They stood not far away and were able to overlook the entire Coliseum. Apparently, they were as excited as the crowd.
The more outstanding Zhang Ruochen’s performance, the better for the School of the Martial Market.
Geniuses were always their most important resources.
Sikong Shu was born with a strong back and waist and his body was all muscle. Although he was only 25, he had a full beard.
He was holding a black metal stick in his hand. He stepped up and stood 10 steps away from Zhang Ruochen.
Boom!
He put the metal stick on the ground and let out a loud noise. The ground shook slightly.
Sikong Shu smiled and said, “Zhang Ruochen, I know your cultivation is strong and you are gifted with high talent. You’ve earned my respect by winning the No.1 freshman title for the Western Campus. However, you’ve over-estimated yourself challenging me, your elder brother! How certain are you that you can win over me?”
“100%,” said Zhang Ruochen.
“100%? You are surely looking down on your elder brother, aren’t you?” Sikong Shu looked annoyed.
Zhang Ruochen was neither conceited nor rash. He said, “Once a warrior has picked his opponent, he should be 100% confident in winning the fight. If you don’t have enough confidence, you are already halfway to losing before the fight even begins.”
“Well said. You either choose to fight with full confidence or decide not to fight.”
Sikong Shu smiled mysteriously and said, “Yet, you’ve picked the wrong person, my brother. You will lose to your elder brother. Come on! Let me see how powerful the No.1 genius freshman of our Western Campus is.”
Zhang Ruochen could feel that there was a strong force of power flowing from Sikong Shu’s body. He didn’t dare to underestimate him and acted more carefully.
Warriors capable of entering the top 10 of the Western Campus had all obtained certain outstanding power. Any carelessness could lead to a failure in the Coliseum.
Zhang Ruochen grasped the Flash Shinning Sword tightly. He transferred Pure Jade Genuine Qi into the sword and activated all 14 inscriptions.
There were four Inscriptions of Power Series, four Inscriptions of Ice Series, four Inscriptions of Electricity Series and two Inscriptions of Light Series.
This was the first time Zhang Ruochen had ever activated all the inscriptions on the Flash Shinning Sword. He reached the most powerful condition.
The Flash Shinning Sword had weighed 26.5 kilograms before. After activating the four Inscriptions of Power Series, the weight of the sword reached 226.5 kilograms.
Icing air, sword radiance and electric current were shooting up, down and around the sword. Strands of Sword Breath flowed around Zhang Ruochen’s body as if he had integrated with it.
“Is this the Advanced Stage of the Sword Following the Heart Realm?”
When Sikong Shu realized that Zhang Ruochen had reached the Advanced Stage of Sword Following the Heart Realm, his countenance fell. He quickly activated his Genuine Qi and transferred it into the Dark Star Cold Iron Stick in his hand.
The Dark Star Cold Iron Stick was a Level Five Genuine Martial Arm. It was one class higher than Zhang Ruochen’s Flash Shinning Sword.
There were altogether 21 inscriptions carved on the stick. 15 were the Inscription of Power Series and six were the Inscription of Ice Series.
The purer the inscription was, the more powerful the Genuine Martial Arms were.
There were only two types of inscriptions carved on the Dark Star Cold Iron Stick, which was classified as relatively pure. This Level Five Genuine Martial Arm was categorized as one of the top weapons.
If a warrior activated all 21 inscriptions, the weight of the Dark Star Cold Iron Stick could reach 804 kilograms. It was absolutely substantial. It seemed like it could crack the ground if it was placed on the floor.
Frosty icing air struck when Sikong Shu swung the Dark Star Cold Iron Stick with both hands. Snowflakes appeared in the Coliseum and a layer of white frost emerged on the ground. The temperature in the air started to drop.
It seemed like a random stick, yet it contained exquisite Martial Arts technique.
“That’s not a good sign! Sikong Shu has also been hiding his actual ability!” Duanmu Xingling started to worry about Zhang Ruochen. “Not only could he confront with Ju Hailan, he could even defeat him with the strength he has just shown.”
The Lord of the Western Campus shrank his eyes slightly, smiled pleasantly and said, “I didn’t expect that Sikong Shu practiced the ‘The Tai-e Ice Arts’ to the eighth-level! With his strength, he can surely confront with warriors who rank relatively low on the Profound Board.”
The Deputy Headmaster of the Southern Campus also laughed and said, “Congratulations on having another talented student who will become a warrior of Division Profound!”
“Ah! It is unfortunate for Zhang Ruochen. If Sikong Shu hasn’t broken through to the eighth-level of the ‘Tai-e Ice Arts’, he will still have a chance to win the fight. As for now, I guess the result has already been set.” The Deputy Headmaster of the Eastern Campus expressed his sympathy for Zhang Ruochen.
It seemed that he felt sorry for Zhang Ruochen but in fact, he was laughing grimly in his heart.
The appearance of Zhang Ruochen had lowered the ranking of the Eastern Campus to the third place this year. The Deputy Headmaster of the Eastern Campus hated him. When he saw that Zhang Ruochen was about to lose the challenge, he couldn’t cover his happiness.
The Lord of the Western campus put up a faint smile and said, “Well, it’s alright if he loses this challenge. He still gets one more chance to challenge other warriors.”