AGM 410 – Sword Keening, Death
During his duel with Zong Peng, the members from the Zong Clan were already aware of how powerful Qin Wentian was.
Utterly tyrannical, these were the only words to describe him. Even without unsheathing his sword, Qin Wentian had shattered Zong Peng’s Astral Nova.
Although Li Nian and Jian Feng might be stronger compared to Zong Peng, but would they be able to do what Qin Wentian did? Completely and overwhelmingly suppress Zong Peng, obtaining an effortless victory?
Currently, what the Zong Clan members were worrying about was that Li Nian and Jian Feng—the strongest in their respective power among the younger generations—might join forces to deal with Qin Wentian.
“Who is that person?”
Currently on the edges of the precipice, several of the spectators shifted their gazes onto Qin Wentian. They had never heard of Qin Wentian’s name before. However, the eyes of those from the Zong Clan seemed to contain a blazing fire within.
It was as though they had immense confidence in this person, and they believed that he would surely be able to defeat both Li Ran and Jian Feng.
Currently, there were also some that recognized Qin Wentian. Back then when Qin Wentian cultivated his sword at the precipice, there were many that had crossed paths with him. Right now, they involuntarily started—so the guy they had met before was a helper that had been invited by the Zong Clan.
But even so, in front of Li Ran and Jian Feng, no matter how powerful this young man was, he would at most take the role as a spectator. There was nothing to do with him because to put it simply… he just couldn’t be compared to either of the two.
“You actually dared to participate in the Heavenly Dipper level battle?”
At this moment in the direction of the Li Clan, a strange glow flashed past Li Nian’s eyes as she spoke, feeling somewhat puzzled.
“Li Nian, if Brother Qin hadn’t been unwilling to destroy you that day, do you think you would even be here today?” Zong Qian retorted.
Li Ran’s eyes also shifted over to Qin Wentian. A look of disdain could be seen on his face as he spoke, “Just get off the platform.”
The next battle was a battle between him and Jian Feng. He had been anticipating this fight for a very long time, hence the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Li Clan came to an agreement, ousting the Zong Clan from the contest. Their victory would be decided by Li Ran and Jian Feng.
Jian Feng had an extremely serene look on his countenance, he glanced at Qin Wentian as a thought flashed past his mind. Wasn’t this the cultivator that he sensed that night?
He only took a casual glance at Qin Wentian, before shifting his eyes back to Li Ran. Similar to what Li Ran thought, he felt that this battle had nothing to do with Qin Wentian.
It would be for the best if he got off the platform on his own initiative.
Qin Wentian quietly stood there. Although his opponents were Heavenly Dipper Sovereigns, to him, battling against opponents at the same level didn’t give him any pressure.
That day in the ancient kingdom, with all the geniuses at the pinnacle of Grand Xia gathering there, including the demon-level talents of the transcendent powers, didn’t he also obtain the first ranking?
And now in the Sword Reverence City, if it weren’t for the sake of helping clan lord Zong Yi to acquire the rights to the sword range, he wouldn’t even have bothered participating in this battle.
To him, this was a battle that had no meaning to it.
The unperturbed Qin Wentian acted as though he hadn’t heard Li Ran’s words. Li Ran, who was currently focusing his attentions on Jian Feng, frowned in displeasure as a glint of coldness flickered in his eyes. His eyes gradually narrowed into slits as he turned his focus towards Qin Wentian and with a whistling sound, the ancient sword on his back suddenly floated before him, pointing its sword tip straight at Qin Wentian.
“You shouldn’t participate in this battle. Your first mistake was to agree to help Zong Yi. Earlier I gave you a chance to retreat and you didn’t cherish it…that was your second mistake.”
Li Ran spoke indifferently, after which he added to Jian Feng, “We shouldn’t bully him too much. One sword move each, let’s see who can kill him first. How about it?”
After Jian Feng heard Li Ran’s words, he turned his eyes to Qin Wentian as he stated, “You won’t be our match, so you’d better get off the platform now while you still can.”
In the Sword Reverence City, Jian Feng didn’t believe there would be any opponent capable of defeating him if both of them were on the same level. The only exception was Li Ran from the Li Clan, it was said that Li Ran’s talent was extremely outstanding as well, and he was the only person that could make Jian Feng feel interest.
When he was still in Yuanfu, the Heavenly Sword Sect leader, Jian Wuyou had already selected him as the Sword Son. Not to mention now, after several years of cultivation, his Sword Heart had grown even more resolute. He firmly believed that in the Sword Reverence City, it was basically impossible for someone at the same level as him to be able to defeat him.
“Since you are unwilling to make a move, let me destroy him first before fighting against you.”
Li Ran could see that Jian Feng wanted to give Qin Wentian a chance. Yet, he had no patience left. His hands moved forwards, grabbing hold of his hovering sword as he advanced towards Qin Wentian step by step.
Rays of resplendent light shot out from the sword, so dazzling that the spectators couldn’t even keep their eyes open. His entire sword was glimmering, so bright and eye-piercing that its glare was akin to that of a blazing sun.
The wind rose up, the glow brightened.
The crowd only saw Li Ran’s body seemingly transformed into a beam of sword light. Those who were weaker had no choice but to raise their hands, placing them in front of their eyes.
Why was the light from Li Ran’s sword so intense? It felt like the harsh rays from the blazing sun.
The dazzling light flashed, and in the next moment, Li Ran’s sword slashed down and almost instantly, an intense beam of light appeared right in front of Qin Wentian. This beam of sword light flashed by, giving others a bone-chilling sensation.
Li Ran wanted to slice Qin Wentian’s throat apart with a single move.
It was rumoured that because of his pride, Li Ran rarely used his sword. But today at the battle of the sword range where countless people were spectating, and before his battle with Jian Feng, he decided to unleash his most showy and attention-grabbing strike to finish off Qin Wentian.
Using the life of the Zong Clan’s Sword Son as an offering to his sword.
Even with the blinding glare, several in the crowd were still squinting their eyes. They all wanted to take a look at the life-stealing sword technique of Li Ran.
The members of the Li Clan all had the corners of their lips slightly curled up, as hints of arrogance and pride could be seen on their faces. As for Li Nian, a sneering expression could be seen painted on hers.
The moment the sword descended would be the moment when Qin Wentian would die.
The spectators only saw him closing his eyes. Qin Wentian’s sword, that was strapped on his back, abruptly propelled out of its sheath at a speed akin to lightning, flying up in the air before landing into his outstretched palm. His actions seemed impossibly casual, and incredibly smooth. In addition to that, he didn’t even try to dodge the sword slash by Li Ran.
Such an incredibly quick sword only needed the timespan of a blink of an eye to steal his life away.
But although Li Ran was fast, Qin Wentian’s sword was faster.
His hand that held his sword trembled as the keening of a sword resounded out with its vibrations. However, the spectators could already envision Qin Wentian being killed by that intense sword beam of Li Ran’s.
Even those from the Zong Clan were stunned, why wasn’t Qin Wentian dodging?
But right now, with the attack speed of that sword, there was no longer a chance for Qin Wentian to dodge, even if he wanted to.
The sword beam descended, Qin Wentian’s silhouette was slashed apart as the spectators watch on dumbfoundedly.
Those from the Zong Clan felt their hearts grow cold, while the others felt that it was only to be expected. The corners of Li Nian’s lips curled up even higher as the sneer on her face grew even more prominent.
“Mhm?” Right at this moment, a bizarre occurrence took place. They saw a faint shadow gradually lengthening, before manifesting into a figure that eventually appeared two steps behind Li Ran. Li Ran directed the sword beam to slash the silhouette apart, only to see that the silhouette had completely vanished, causing his slash to land on nothingness.
“This…How swift!” The spectators drew in a cold breath of air. Even with his blinding attack speed, Li Ran didn’t manage to hit his opponent?
The sword intent vanished, and with it, the sword beam dissipated. Yet Qin Wentian could be seen standing in his original spot, with his back facing that of Li Ran’s. The spectators all fixated their gazes onto him, they wanted to see if Qin Wentian had been injured by that strike.
Li Ran slowly turned, yet Qin Wentian remained motionless. This caused the spectators to sigh, Qin Wentian still hadn’t escaped from Li Ran’s attack.
“How is this possible?”
A hoarse voice broke the silence. Li Ran who turned his body, gasped. A bloody wound could be seen on his throat, as fresh blood flowed unceasingly from it.
In that instant, the gazes of everyone all focused over at him, as expressions of terror appeared on their countenances.
Li Ran slowly fell onto the ground, dead.
The sword keens, a person falls.
When sword cultivators crossed blows, the sword wind was the most dangerous. With but a misstep, the throat can be slashed.
Li Ran thought himself as someone superior, flaunting his mediocre skills ‘magnanimously’ and granting Qin Wentian the chance to give up on the battle of his own accord. Yet in the end, he was killed from a slash on his throat. The Sword Son of the Li Clan, has fallen.
An intense cold enveloped Li Nian’s body. Overwhelmed by horror, she stared at the scene in front of her with disbelief. Gazing at the fallen figure, her body involuntarily started to tremble.
Those from the Li Clan all had ashen expressions.
They came to an agreement with the Heavenly Sword Sect because they wanted to allow Li Ran a chance to fight against Jian Feng, to see who among them would be able to acquire the controlling rights to the sword range for the next ten years. But now, the Li Clan was actually eliminated from the contest and they even lost a Sword Son.
“Excellent.”
“Sword Son, Qin Wen.”
The eyes of those from Zong Clan all blazed with fanaticism. Earlier, they were still nervous, but now their disappointment disappeared completely without a trace, leaving only hot blood surging through their hearts.
That sword attack was too magnificent, sweeping aside the entirety of Zong Clan’s humiliation, transforming it into a hard smack across the faces of those from the Li Clan.
Earlier, the words that the Li Clan’s clan lord, Li Zhentian had said, were still resounding in the air. Now, he was simply slapping himself in the face.
“Clan lord Li, do not count your chickens before they are hatched,” Zong Yi indifferently spoke, his words causing a terrifying cold light to flicker in the eyes of Li Zhentian as he stared at Qin Wentian standing on the platform.
“Clean that up.” Li Zhentian waved his hands as someone from his clan went up and took away Li Ran’s corpse.
The three powers all agreed that life and death in the contest would be determined by their own fate. Li Ran wanted to kill Qin Wentian but was killed instead.
Over at this area, everyone had astonished expressions on their faces—it seems that the Zong Clan had long made their preparations.
Initially, the Li Clan had wanted to directly engage the Heavenly Sword Sect in the final battle to obtain the control rights of the sword range for the next ten years, yet they hadn’t anticipated that they would become the victims, paving the way for the Zong Clan instead.
For the next battle, as long as the Zong Clan was victorious, the control rights to the sword range would belong to the Zong Clan.
When the gazes of the crowd shifted to Qin Wentian once again, they only saw him inclining his head to stare at Jian Feng. “You might as well get down the platform while you still can.”
Qin Wentian’s tone of voice was extremely ordinary, without any fluctuations. Earlier Jian Feng had ‘allowed’ him to get down the platform and now, he was returning the words spoken back to Jian Feng.
But the situation now was different from before.
Before this, everyone thought that Jian Feng’s words were reasonable, but now, their positions were reversed.
A single sword move had slayed Li Ran, and although Jian Feng was the candidate with the strongest talent in the Heavenly Sword Sect, was he strong enough to fight against the Sword Son of the Zong Clan?
That day in the flatlands underneath the precipice, that female who’d once mocked Qin Wentian’s sword arts as incomparably clumsy felt a surge of surrealism assailing her senses. The one whom she’d ridiculed before, was telling her esteemed Senior Brother Jian Feng to get off the platform of his own accord.
“Sword keening, manifesting sword shadows. What second level insight did you comprehend, exactly? Jian Feng asked. Such a sword intent even made him feel a chill in his heart.
“I have no idea what others call it. But I named it, Sword Melody,” Qin Wentian indifferently spoke. Jian Feng nodded his head, “Sword Keen, Sword Melody, it is an extremely apt name for it. I’m afraid if I fight against this intent, my ending will be the same as Li Ran. I admit my defeat.”
Jian Feng’s words resounded in the air. Taking no heed for the opinions of others and ignoring the prestige of the Sword Heavenly Sect, he turned and walked down the platform. He was conceding defeat.
Was this from fear of death? Or was his Sword Heart not resolute enough?
On the contrary, it was directly because Jian Feng’s Sword Heart was resolute enough that he could utter such words, with openness and honesty in that situation. If he were to cross swords with Qin Wentian, his death would surely be imminent, so he chose to get off the platform instead!