Chapter 212 Slashing the Heavenly Pillar (Part IV)
The next moment, within ten meters of Fang Xingjian, formless sharp auras started accumulating. Streams of Ether Sword Ripples appeared behind him, making him look like a Thousand-hand Guan Yin, or like a peacock with its feathers spread out.
It was something ordinary people could not see. Only Fang Xingjian or the Conferred Knights who had Heaven’s Perception could perceive it.
The four examiners clearly sensed the existence of the Ether Sword Ripples, and astonishment filled their eyes.
Especially when, in the next moment, the Ether Sword Ripples on the left side behind Fang Xingjian turned scorching hot, while those on the right side turned extremely cold. This was the new special effect he had gained after going through skill synthesis, allowing the Ether Sword Ripples to change their frequencies and either heat up or cool down.
Streams after streams… A total of four hundred streams of Ether Sword Ripples appeared behind Fang Xingjian, like many shapeless sharp swords. Two hundred of them were heated to over five hundred degrees, while the other two hundred had been cooled down to minus thirty degrees.
With Fang Xingjian’s current stamina, he could only unleash five hundred and fifty streams of Ether Sword Ripples. He had now unleashed over 80% of his power in an instant.
Governor Devitt’s eyes were filled with astonishment. ‘What kind of attack is this? Did Windstorm Sword Heroes have such a skill? This skill is… too terrifying… It has far surpassed the level of people in the first transition.
‘Hoult relies on the advantage of his Divine Weapon, but to think that Fang Xingjian is relying on his own powers!’
Effulgence Weapon, Divine Weapon, Unparalleled Sword Intent, and then four hundred streams of Ether Sword Ripples. Fang Xingjian was slowly revealing his abilities, his Ether Sword Ripples. Each was 2.5 times his strength, and were ten times faster than supersonic speed.
Almost at the same time when Fang Xingjian was doing all these, Governor Devitt shook the air furiously with a shout, “Everyone, be careful! Those below Knight-level… No… Those below Conferred-Knight-level all retreat at least a hundred meters away!”
Seeing how everyone was still in a daze, Devitt had not choice but to bellow again, “Quick!”
The spectators from the first row started to retreat. Although the other examinees could not sense the Ether Sword Ripples, nor did they understand what was going on, they also retreated.
Halfway through, Fang Xingjian suddenly moved.
Boundaries Negation!
His Silver Fox Styx was like a lightning cutting across the sky at an extremely fast speed. In the liquid-like air, his clothes were trembling frantically, and his body seemed to have expanded. After a series of sparks blew from the friction with the air, the longsword in Fang Xingjian’s hand created one hundred and eighty-eight sword shadows in an instant.
With a low chi sound, as if a scorching metal rod had been pierced into a human body, the Silver Fox Styx in Fang Xingjian’s hand, accompanied by a layer of fog-like shine, pierced half a meter into the metal pillar.
No one could see when Fang Xingjian had attacked with his sword. They could only witness the final result. When they saw that the longsword had entered half a meter into the metal pillar, they were all astonished. Other than Hoult and Anderson, this was the best result so far.
However, it seemed like this was the limit?
Everyone felt that although the damaging prowess was not bad, there did not seem to be a need for the Governor to shout the previous warning.
Everyone’s thoughts were churning very quickly. But a thousandth second after they had started, Fang Xingjian’s one hundred and eighty-eight swords tapped on the metal pillar and the four hundred streams of Ether Sword Ripples displayed their true prowess.
The one hundred and eighty-eight swords pierced into the metal pillar’s weaknesses, after which Fang Xingjian followed through with one final sword attack to create a greatly resonant explosion from the inside of the pillar.
The four hundred streams of Ether Sword Ripples, enhanced by his level 5 mental cultivation method, were all at 2.5 times that of his strength. At that moment, it was as if Fang Xingjian had attacked with one thousand times’ worth of his damaging prowess.
How terrifying was this? Basically, Fang Xingjian had first weakened the metal pillar with one hundred and eighty-eight swords, after which he made an implosion to create resonance within it, and then layered one thousand slashes with both cold and hot attributes on the metal pillar. The pillar had started to expand and contract, ending up damaged.
What a terrifying condensation of his force! What a terrifying impact of energy!
It was as if he had smashed through the atmosphere and broken through the earth.
The same moment Fang Xingjian’s longsword pierced into the metal pillar, he drew it out and left, retreating fanatically.
Even he himself did not dare to face this explosive force.
In the next moment, the loud booms and the extremely fierce compressed force made it seem as if there were a few hundred explosions going off at the same time. More than ten blocks of buildings collapsed as smoke and dust soared, while visible air currents started dispersing in all directions.
All the Knights had been forced to unleash their Reduced Force Fields in order to fend off the explosive impact as they looked at the scene with eyes wide-open and mouth agape.
It was not until all the dust had cleared up, blown away by gusts of wind, that the metal pillar’s location was revealed. Actually, the metal pillar was no longer there. Other than a crater in the ground which looked like the spot of a meteor’s landing, there was nothing there. Or rather, there was nothing but small pieces of the pillar, all over the floor.
When he saw this scene, Anderson’s jaw dropped. He felt that there was only one word to describe his current feeling now.
‘F*ck!’
Anderson was not the only one who had been stunned by Fang Xingjian’s attack. Everyone else was as well.
This was also the first time after Fang Xingjian had learned the Ether Sword Ripples that he had ever demonstrated its amazing powers before other people.
And this force, when compared to that of experts in the first transition, was overwhelmingly powerful.
Kirst’s City Lord blinked as he look at the ground filled with scraps of the shattered pillar, slowly exhaling. All he could think of was if he were to forcefully receive this blow, how severe would his injuries be?
Governor Devitt also had his eyes wide-open, slightly surprised by Fang Xingjian’s performance.
If he were to receive that attack from the front, naturally, he would be able to handle it. However, if it was a sneak attack, even he would suffer internal injuries. And this despite the fact that he was an expert at the pinnacle of second transition, at level 29.
Of course, all Conferred Knights had attained Heaven’s Perception and could see everything within a ten meter radius. Thus, it was generally unlikely for them to be caught unaware by a sneak attack.
He smiled and shook his head. This Fang Xingjian had given him far too many surprises and he could not help but smile. The more he looked at Fang Xingjian, the more he took a liking to him.
‘If we were to carefully nurture this Fang Xingjian, he’ll have a high chance in clinching the title of National Champion in the National Selection, becoming a champion for three times in a row.
‘Haha, a champion for three times in a row… There had only been one ever since the founding of the Empire.
‘There’s also Anderson, Hoult and Wei Leng… There’s quite a lot of talents in this year’s Regional Selection.’
Thinking this, Governor Devitt’s smile became even more amiable as he looked at Fang Xingjian as if he were a treasure.
He calmly said, “To tell the truth, Fang Xingjian, you have astonished me yet again. Haha, you’re able to surprise me each time we meet. But this time around, the surprise was by far the greatest!
“Regarding your attack, I can only say, ‘perfect’. If I were to give a score, I can only give 100 points.”
The other three examiners had also recovered from the shock as they looked at Devitt in surprise. However, after giving it some thought and glancing at the metal pillar which was like a puddle of mud, slowly regenerating, they all immediately felt that he was well deserving of this score.
The aged Commissioner of Education said, “Fang Xingjian, your talent is unrivaled. Having such accomplishments at such a young age, in a few years’ time, the Empire’s top ten Divine level experts will become the top eleven. However, your attack was like a double-edged sword. It has a great backlash impact, and it is thus still flawed. I’ll give you 95 points.”
Yaris smiled as he looked at Fang Xingjian and said, “In the future, you’ll definitely be a sword arts grandmaster of your generation. I think very highly of you. I’ll give you 100 points as well.” He then joked, “In the future, do take my son as your disciple.”
Armstrong stayed silent for a moment before saying coldly, “In terms of your damaging prowess, you’re the top amongst all these five hundred and twelve examinees. It’s indisputable. It doesn’t matter what score I give, so I’ll just give 100 points.
“Your stage should be on the National Selection. I’ll look forward to your future performance.”
Therefore, Fang Xingjian received a score of 98.75 points, fully deserving of the first place.