Chapter 954 Sword Power
As a Semi-Heavenly Soul, Solomon definitely knew what he had to face when breaking through to the Heavenly Soul Stage. At that moment, there was a faint sense of uneasiness in his heart. After all, according to Kai’s description, the minor Heavenly Calamity was extremely dangerous. Furthermore, he had not done any preparations. But very quickly, he knew that he did not need to make any preparations.
The h.e.l.lfire in his body burned brightly. It was 10 times more frightening than the most terrifying h.e.l.lfire he had learned about from Kai! He was the prince of the Kaiser Empire and was the future heir of the Empire. He had the heavy responsibility of developing the Empire. He had the lives of millions of people in his hands. He had too many burdens and desires in his heart, and the h.e.l.lfire was produced as a result. The blazing flames rose to the skies and were so vigorous that they were about to jump out of his internal organs! One could see countless sparks from the surface of his body, turning his entire body red!
With such a h.e.l.lfire, even Kai might have died several times over. However, the enormous power from the nine-headed-snake sword viewed the h.e.l.lfire as if it was nothing. It released some of its aura, and boundless energy engulfed all the organs, meridians, and blood vessels in his body. Even though the h.e.l.lfire was monstrous, the sword was unyielding. Not only did Solomon not feel uncomfortable, on the contrary, he felt warm and extremely refreshed.
This was truly an almighty protector!
Solomon immediately knew that no matter how frightening the following Tempering Soul and Inner Demons calamities were, they would be insignificant in the face of this powerful and divine power…
In the shrine, Kai was very anxious. Meanwhile, Xiao Wu and the rest who were on guard outside were even more anxious. Kai was 50% sure that Solomon was not in any life-threatening danger or that he could safely escape very quickly. Either way, there was a fifty-fifty chance that he would be fine. However, they believed that time and tide waited for no man.
After such a long delay, the news that the shrine protection squadron and their elders had died in battle started to spread among the Octopus people. A majority of the campsites had collapsed and been broken through. The first exploration teams to arrive were the Storm Listeners and the Imperial Court. The strength of the five groups that each of these two exploration teams had sent out was shocking and had gained the absolute advantage at the mountain gate campsite. When the news that the Octopus people had lost control of the shrine got out, the campsites that were on the verge of collapse were immediately defeated. Then, those teams had immediately rushed to the shrine.
Their mission was to destroy the shrine, and the campsites they had broken through were simply obstacles. Although the Kaiser Corps, of which Solomon was a part of, had been the first to enter the shrine, they did not destroy the shrine. Thus, when the other teams rushed over, they definitely wanted to take their share of the loot. At that moment, they were standing facing Xiao Wu and the others. Carolyn was among these people, and the exploration team she led had also arrived.
“What do you mean by ‘suddenly achieved comprehension’? Do such coincidences occur?”
“I heard that the Kaiser Corps earned a lot from your previous mission. Did you make any major discoveries in the shrine? A treasure? Legendary weapons? Is Solomon moving stuff inside while you stop us here?”
“That’s right. Furthermore, what kind of comprehension has he achieved, such that no one is allowed to enter? And you are afraid that we will disturb him? Do you think he is conquering a minor Heavenly Calamity?”
“Ha ha! He has only been in the Holy City for a year. If an ordinary Heroic Soul can break through to the Heavenly Soul Stage, he would be the fastest in the history of cultivation. Your Solomon is really amazing.”
Several captains from the Storm Listeners started to mock him. Some of their members had left the Storm Listeners and established the Kaiser Corps. This was not a big deal. Under normal circ.u.mstances, if capable experts in top exploration teams wanted to leave and establish their own exploration team, most of their old friends would congratulate them. Some would even support them financially on the basis of their friends.h.i.+p. After all, most of those who had the right to establish exploration teams were experts, and it would be better to make relations with them rather than offend them. Most importantly, these new exploration teams typically did not have any conflict of interest with the top exploration teams.
However, was the Kaiser Corps an ordinary exploration team? The speed at which they rose was much faster than the Wanderl.u.s.t Team in the north battlefield. Not only was Solomon strong, he also had help from his government and looked down upon minor tasks. In particular, they stole missions from the other top exploration teams and did not care about any “old friends.h.i.+ps” with the Storm Listeners. They stole whatever they could steal without any discrimination…
This was impolite! It was far too impolite. An overwhelming majority of people in the Storm Listeners were very unhappy with Solomon.
Xiao Wu and the others did not answer. At that moment, Micah had already woken up. Earlier, when the captains had arrived, he told them about how Solomon had suddenly achieved comprehension and was undergoing closed-door cultivation. Then, he and the others boldly stood in front of the door to the shrine. No matter how others talked until they were hoa.r.s.e, the five of them forcibly occupied the door and refused to budge.
“My G.o.d, do you think that you are door G.o.ds?” Someone from Imperial Court could no longer take it. An enormous reward was right in front of their eyes. If they destroyed the Phoenix Shrine of the Octopus people, once such a ma.s.sive and eye-catching building collapsed, it would definitely be earth-shaking. One would have been able to clearly see it even from hundreds of kilometers away. This would definitely affect the morale of the Octopus people fighting downhill. Then, the Octopus people would be defeated, and they would achieve victory at the Jiaozhi Mountains. The first-cla.s.s merit would be theirs!
“Others might be afraid of the Kaiser Corps, but we don’t care! If you continue to block us, don’t blame us if we don’t hold back!”
Several short-tempered captains spoke as they prepared to break through.
But closely after, whoosh whoosh whoosh…
The five people guarding the door of the shrine immediately reacted. Xiao Wu and Enoch had unsheathed their daggers, while Holmdi had fully drawn his bow. Stark’s hairs were standing on their ends, while Micah took one step forward, and a black aura filled the surroundings. Their power was shocking. “Anyone who dares to disturb the Young Master will be killed without mercy!”
Their power and determination were extremely shocking. Micah’s Semi-Heavenly Soul aura instantly shocked everyone there. In terms of pure power, they could sense that they were on par with the leaders of the top-10 exploration teams! Back then, Micah was a newbie who had been hidden among the Tyrants, but now…
Their opponents were all elites and had the advantage of numbers, but when faced with Micah, no one dared to step forward for the time being. Then, countless swords were drawn. Both sides immediately turned tense and hostile. A fight was about to begin.
“Don’t attack,” Carolyn finally spoke.
Needless to say, compared to these pract.i.tioners who only knew about power and ma.s.sacres, Carolyn was more like a rational politician. At the very least, she knew how to carefully observe the situation and speak.
In reality, the captains did not actually want to fight either. They were facing a Semi-Heavenly Soul. Unless their exploration team leader was here, just a group of elites would not be able to gain the upper hand.
“With a war ongoing, the base has established strict rules. If you attack, you should clearly consider the consequences of this internal strife.” Carolyn first spoke to stabilize the situation. Then, she turned to look at Micah. “But Micah, you should know that the Holy City Army is now fighting fiercely with the core forces of the Octopus people. The earlier we can destroy the shrine, the faster the Octopus people will be defeated. At least a few dozen soldiers from the Holy City Army will be spared! While we are talking about this here, hundreds or thousands of humans have probably died down there! Thus, even if Solomon has truly achieved comprehension and is undergoing closed-door cultivation in there, I advise him to switch locations. If not, making losses due to this delay will be the greatest offense, enough to fire the 100,000 troops he has sent!”
Micah furrowed his eyebrows. He would not have cared if Carolyn had talked about other things. But if these people reported to the higher-ups that they had committed this offense, Solomon’s earlier efforts would have been for nothing, and this was what Solomon treasured most. As Solomon’s trusted follower, he definitely had to share Solomon’s worries. He hesitated. The situation was somewhat out of his control. Should he go in and ask Kai? Alternatively, he could directly contact the higher-ups in the base and let them know about how Solomon had been sucked into the door. Perhaps someone in the base would know what to do.
His hesitation allowed the rest to see his guilt. A few captains took advantage of this opportunity and scolded him.
“What closed-door cultivation? That is just an excuse to buy time. He is definitely taking the objects inside!”
“That’s right. And achieving comprehension? He is already a Semi-Heavenly Soul, right? If he breaks through, he will be a Heavenly Soul. Heh heh, what a joke. If he is able to break through to the Heavenly Soul Stage, I will serve him every day and even wash his feet for him!”
“Micah.” A faint laughter suddenly sounded from within the shrine.
Everyone was slightly dumbfounded. They felt something flash in front of their eyes, and a figure appeared in front of Micah. It was Solomon!
At that moment, his body seemed to have achieved harmony between nature and mankind. His entire body dazzled with a golden light as if every single pore on his body could breathe. The spiritual influence in the heaven and the earth continuously gathered on his body as if he was a favorite of the heaven and the earth. Everyone was instantly dumbstruck, including Carolyn. Her mouth was wide open, but she could not seem to say anything.
He was a Heavenly Soul! Furthermore, he did not seem like an ordinary Heavenly Soul. The aura that Solomon’s body emitted was even more powerful than ordinary Great Teachers they had seen.
Was, was it really Solomon?
A newbie who had been in the Holy City for just over a year had advanced from the Heroic Soul Stage to the Heavenly Soul Stage. This…
“Blow up the Phoenix Shrine.” He did not even look at the people from the other exploration teams. He did not even look at Carolyn, who had an expression of gloom and surprise on her face. He simply smiled at Micah. “We should go back.”
……
Two swords were facing each other in a hollow s.p.a.ce.
w.a.n.g Zhong did not even know just how much time had pa.s.sed. He was immersed in cultivation and was comprehending the unique method of fighting with sword power. According to w.a.n.g Zhong’s understanding, he had achieved some sort of comprehension of sword power principles when he first encountered it. Strength was not the key. Instead, the key was in rhythm and sword technique. This seemed purely imaginary but existed in real life. It was a rule.
w.a.n.g Zhong felt that he faintly understood these rules and the principles behind it, but understanding was one thing, and doing it was another.
Now, he could carry out similar sword techniques, but he was slightly lacking in terms of might. He could not suppress his opponent and could only defend himself by force. But attacking was better than defending. In the long run, he would still be affected by his opponent, and his rhythm would be disrupted. Then, he would collapse.
This was his 1000th attempt. Every attempt yielded better results than before, and his endurance was also higher. However, every time he collapsed at the end, his soul would be injured to varying degrees. If these injuries only occurred once or twice, w.a.n.g Zhong would not care. However, they were terrifying when added up. Luckily, he had the Fate Stone. Every time it felt that w.a.n.g Zhong’s soul had been severely injured, the Fate Stone would allow him to recover in time and start a new round of trials.
Two Nebula Swords were dazzling in the starry sky and emitted the same sword power. It was as if the entire universe had been affected by the reverberations of their sword power as an endless echo continued to resound in the void.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa…
He had just experienced his soul being repaired by the Fate Stone. This time, it felt particularly good. w.a.n.g Zhong had completely forgotten about himself as if he had truly become a Nebula Sword. He was using a unique method to fight a different battle with another Nebula Sword.
Their rhythms were completely the same. There was no difference in where the sounds were produced. w.a.n.g Zhong’s sword techniques had become stronger, and he felt as if they were enough to fully protect himself. However, if his opponent could not spur him on, he could not spur on his opponent either. Time pa.s.sed slowly, and the two sides seemed to have descended into a hopeless stalemate.
Changes often occurred during this hopeless situation. When he pa.s.sed the limit of how long he could endure, the trembling sounds in his surroundings did not stop. However, w.a.n.g Zhong could clearly sense that his Sword Intent was rapidly rising during this sustained confrontation. The feeling that he had transformed into a sword was also much stronger. He even forgot that he was a human called w.a.n.g Zhong!
Gradually, the feeling that he was deliberately imitating a sword grew weaker. He had finally discovered the underlying structure of his sword power and was completely integrated with it. It was completely natural.
Man was like sword, and sword was like man.
There was no change in his strength and rhythm, but his sword technique immediately changed.
There was the aura of a king that looked scornfully at everything else. It was as if he was the king of swords and monopolized everything in this world!
He had perfected his sword techniques, and his might grew!
He did not deliberately control the rhythm of his sword techniques. After all, rhythm was only used to introduce you to sword techniques and was not an actual part of sword technique. In an instant, w.a.n.g Zhong had controlled and mastered the slow rhythm of the rules in his mind.
Pa pa pa pa pa!!
A sudden vibration turned the peaceful situation into a pressing one. It was as if Lao w.a.n.g wanted to vent his unhappiness of being abused by this sword 1,000 times. The sword in front of him crashed and exploded into pieces before vanis.h.i.+ng completely!
Had he pa.s.sed?
He had been at odds with this sword power all this time and had always been defending himself, but he had never launched a counterattack. He never expected that he would succeed the first time he counterattacked. w.a.n.g Zhong was not quite used to this feeling.
But before Lao w.a.n.g could be surprised, the Nebula Sword appeared before him once again.
Was this a vicious cycle? Did the inheritance only refer to sword power?
Before w.a.n.g Zhong could give much thought to this, changes had occurred in the Nebula Sword. Unlike earlier, when it was floating in midair and used its sword power to attack, the Nebula Sword immediately moved the moment it appeared. It spun in the air, and it felt as if the whole world was revolving!
w.a.n.g Zhong felt as if the entire universe was spinning along with the Nebula Sword. In that instant, he could not even figure out his directions, let alone respond to this!
He was dizzy and his vision was blurred. He was nauseous and wanted to vomit!
Before he could see what the Nebula Sword did next, his body crashed and broke into pieces from the dizziness. He did not even see how his opponent attacked before his death!
His soul was instantly pulled back. This time, the injury to his soul was 10 times more severe than when it had been destroyed by the sword power. Furthermore, it was accompanied by a strong dizzying sensation. As a result, he could not immediately recover from this shock! Even Lao w.a.n.g’s soul, which had high stamina, could not stand this injury. However, this degree of injury was still not enough to fully activate the Fate Stone. Thus, w.a.n.g Zhong sat on the ground to catch his breath for a full 10 minutes before regaining his senses.