Chapter 213: Delighted Grin
'This is definitely not basic swordsmanship! Or this is a kind of basic swordsmanship that has never existed before!' Zen thought furiously. He was so shocked that he could only ascertain a vague idea of how the swordsmanship worked. He knew it was a great opportunity for him to study how unique it was. He needed to make every second count here to observe it closely.
At the moment, the steward of the Seven Star Sword Light Platform left the scene in a hurry to register a new group of disciples and then rushed back. He had to get back to Zen.
Initially, he thought it would not pose a problem with Zen practicing on the platform if no other disciple chose the eighth difficulty level. However, a few of the inner disciples had chosen the same difficulty level just now, and two of them were from the noble clans. So, the steward had no choice left but to bring it to Zen's attention.
If he left Zen on the platform and started the magic array without informing him, Zen, who was still sitting on the ground, was likely to get injured by the Magnetic Aurora flying from any direction. That wasn't what he wanted to see, so he had to alert Zen about it.
After stepping on the platform, the steward walked straight to Zen, but suddenly, when he was just about five meters away from Zen, he saw several sharp variations of energy flying in front of him as if threatening him.
Poof! The sharp bursts of power suddenly flew at the steward.
Fortunately, the steward had reached the nature level and reacted quickly, without hesitation. He moved a few steps back on instinct, but the clothes on his chest were slashed by the powerful strikes.
“It's the sword intent of protection...” the steward murmured, an unpleasant look taking over his face. The attack was undeserved.
Zachary too was astounded by what he just saw. He didn't realize that there was a sword intent of protection guarding Zen while he was in the state of epiphany. “Impossible! How could he get the sword intent of protection in such a short time? He only just started to use the sword, didn't he?” Zachary thought out loud.
“Only just started using the sword? What do you mean?” the steward turned to Zachary, asking him in reply. He didn't dare go up to Zen and shake him out his epiphany now, knowing he was guarded by the sword intent of protection. Standing rooted to the spot, the steward watched Zen from afar.
Zachary pointed at Zen casually and explained, “It seems that Zen is a novice with the sword! He used basic swordsmanship alone to resist the attack of one hundred Magnetic Aurora waves!”
“Basic swordsmanship?” the steward repeated the words in astonishment. He couldn't believe his ears. As the steward of the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, he was a swordsman himself. He knew what basic swordsmanship entailed, and he also knew it was the knowledge granted to practitioners of swordsmanship even before they were six or seven years old.
Zachary's words resounded in the steward's ears as he mulled over them. There was no doubt that Zen was a rookie when it came to the sword, if he truly used basic swordsmanship to defend himself from the Magnetic Aurora. But how could he get the sword intent of protection with the mere practice of basic swordsmanship? Was Zen truly that talented? It felt quite unfair to the other swordsmen in the arena.
Soon, he heard noise coming from the bridge. A few of the disciples walked toward them, and one of them let out a shout as soon as he saw the steward. “Steward Song, don't keep me waiting for too long!”
These were the disciples wanting to start the magic array.
“Alas, I have no choice but to begin the magic array even though Zen can't wake up in time,” the steward whispered to himself anxiously, assuming that the Magnetic Aurora wouldn't hurt Zen because of the sword intent of protection.
The disciples were dressed in black robes. When they saw the man sitting on the platform in contemplation, their faces twisted into confusion. “Hey? Why is he sitting and meditating here?”
“He just had an epiphany,” Zachary told them patiently. “So, he needs to sit and meditate here for a while.”
“Epiphany! Hahaha...” someone said, chuckling dismissively. The expressions on their faces were envious. “The epiphany is none of our business!” one of the disciples retorted. “He's delaying our practice!”
Zen's eyes flew open instantaneously.
Countless small fluctuations of energy emanated from him as he looked ahead. Each fluctuation consisted of a number of slender sword intents, and anyone standing next to him would have been cut into pieces in the fraction of a second.
“Slender sword intent? That's quite interesting! An outer disciple, just at grade two of the nature level, receiving the slender sword intent! Unbelievable!” a black-robed disciple cried out in surprise. He too was a disciple of the Cloud Sect, as well as a swordsman, so he was interested in others of the sect who practiced it.
“Slender sword intent?” repeated Zen as he heard what the disciple said. A series of fine silk threads stretched out from his hand as he reached out. The power the threads held was not necessarily more than those of the other methods of attack in Zen's arsenal, but the threads were large in number. That was an advantage.
“Excuse me, may I ask which peak you belong to?” the black-robed disciple asked, walking toward Zen with intent. “Would you participate in the All Peaks Competition?”
Zen was already two steps into nature level. An examination was to be held at the end of the year, and if he passed it, he would have the chance to become an inner disciple. The black-robed disciple assumed that Zen was likely to take part in the All Peaks Contest if his strength was good enough. And by the looks of it, it was. He would love to compete with Zen in the competition. As a swordsman, the disciple longed to fight another one.
“My name is Zen Luo, and I'm a disciple from the Drizzle Peak. I'm not sure if I would take part in the All Peaks Competition this time,” Zen said calmly. He had been practicing for the contest and was keen on it as it would be a great opportunity for him, but at the moment, he was not an inner disciple and couldn't give a definite answer.
“I hope I can compete with you there,” the disciple continued. “My name is Desmond Li. I'm an inner disciple from the Day Peak.”
Fighting another swordsman would grant Zen a chance to comprehend the sword intent, so he was interested in this suggestion.
“There might be a chance for us if I take part in the All Peaks Competition,” Zen said, nodding as he stood up. The magic array was going to start soon, so he could not stay on the platform for long.
Just as he was about to leave, Desmond Li stopped him in his tracks and threw him another question. “Wait a minute. How many waves did you combat in the magic array just now?”
Desmond Li was much stronger than Zachary. He could resist seventy-three waves even at the difficulty of level eight.
Keeping in mind the design of the Seven Star Sword Light Platform and the challenges it posed, only a master who had reached the Illuminating Soul Realm was capable of resisting a hundred waves in the eighth difficulty level. Desmond Li, who could resist seventy-three, had already proved his skills. He was curious about how many Zen had resisted. It would tell Desmond Li the exact gap between his capability and that of this outer disciple who had just received the slender sword intent.
“Eh? I withstood a hundred waves,” replied Zen in an indifferent manner, after which he straightaway walked down the platform.
“W-what?” Desmond Li stammered, dumbfounded as he stared at Zen's back. He opened and closed his mouth several times, unable to say anything else. The other disciples who stood behind him were much the same.
Zachary felt somewhat delighted when he saw their reactions.
Standing next to them, Steward Song also beamed surreptitiously. At the very least, he was not the only one astonished by Zen's abilities on the platform. As the steward of the Seven Star Sword Light Platform, he knew well that Desmond Li often practiced wielding his sword on the eighth difficulty level. He also knew that Desmond Li was always proud of his achievement of holding out against seventy-three Aurora waves. It was a bit amusing to see the embarrassment on his face at meeting a more powerful opponent.
When Steward Song noticed that Desmond Li was still slack-jawed and in a state of astonishment, he added, “It's true. Zen resisted one hundred waves. As a nature creature, he is the only one who resisted that many at the eighth difficulty level. Besides, he is only into grade-two of the nature level currently.”
Desmond Li and the rest of the black-robed disciples stared with wide eyes as they heard what Steward Song said, shocked at his words. With that, Steward Song and Zachary left the platform furtively, hiding their delighted grins.