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Chapter 71: Ding Ning"s Intentions
The green jade doors were extremely large like the doors to a city.
The indigo-robed swordsman at the side of the door stood with his hands hanging, but his natural presence had surpa.s.sed all the students and even the teachers present. He calmly invited all the students to enter, but the doors were closed. All the students in front of the mountain path knew that it would not be so easy to enter these jade doors.
All of the students wanted to get another hint, but the indigo-robed swordsman clearly would not say anything more.
He stood there like a silent statue.
"Is entering the doors the first test?"
Xie Changsheng narrowed his eyes at the large green jade doors. He coldly asked Zhang Yi and the others around him, "Is it testing our senses or our comprehension? What is the blankness behind the doors?"
Zhang Yi shook his head. "No matter what they are testing, I fear we must get closer to find out."
"Then when should we wake him up?"
Xie Changsheng turned to look at Ding Ning.
The trials had started. They could not let Ding Ning continue to cultivate with his eyes closed.
And yet, no one needed to wake Ding Ning up. When he turned to look at Ding Ning, he saw Ding Ning looking at him.
Ding Ning had woken up.
The moment the green jade doors appeared, Ding Ning had woken up.
He did not ask after Xue w.a.n.gxu, just looked calmly at the green jade doors.
With just a moment of eye contact, Xie Changsheng"s restlessness disappeared only to be replaced by a great discomfort.
Ding Ning"s expression was just as calm as usual, but his eyes flashed with eerie five colored light, as though his eyes were burning with five-colored flame.
Even more importantly, he was certain Ding Ning was seething with murderousness and rage, yet he could glimpse none of it.
Or rather, Ding Ning"s entire body was like a calm and icy sword blade without any smoke. But if touched, he would cause people to bleed.
"We will enter." As soon as he had said so, Ding Ning started to walk.
Xie Changsheng"s eyebrows rose. He felt slightly terrified of Ding Ning"s state but was also excited.
He had a feeling that many extraordinary things would occur at this year"s Min Mountain Sword Trials.
Regardless of how profound the green jade doors may be, when one drew closer, they could sense this symbol of commencement of the Min Mountain Sword Trials more clearly.
When Ding Ning started to walk, the thousands of students ahead had already started walking. The students near the front could sense vastness and heaviness from the jade doors. The smooth green jade did not have any seal scripts or marks. Even if they dared to reach out and push the door, they didn"t know where to push.
Because they did not sense danger and murderousness, the students at the front unconsciously came closer to the doors. They were very close, just a few steps away, their bodies bathed in the weak green light the jade gave off.
Thousands of students gathered around the green jade doors, standing shoulder to shoulder until there was no room for people to pa.s.s through.
The arrival of Ding Ning and the others caused a slight commotion in the wall of people. Thinking of what had occurred previously, many unconsciously moved to let Ding Ning pa.s.s.
However, not all.
One student felt the pressure from behind. Already at his wit"s end in front of the vast presence the green jade doors gave off, he immediately became angry. He turned and shouted, "What are you pushing for? If you want to stand ahead, then line up beforehand. What are you squeezing about now to hinder people from comprehending!"
This student"s voice was not loud, but in the surrounding silence, his pitch was harsh.
He wore a uniform of white with scattered silver stars. When he turned, the silver stars on his white uniform seemed like they were going to fly out as sword energies.
This was the uniform of the Star Fostering Sword School.
This year, the Star Fostering Sword School had chosen only one student, Shao Yangming. He ranked twenty fifth in the Book of Talents.
So this student was naturally Shao Yangming. When someone like him spoke, his words carried weight.
Shao Yangming and the dozens of students behind him all looked with displeasure towards the rear.
The crowd parted slightly.
Shao Yangming and the others looked at Ding Ning.
Ding Ning was at least a dozen paces away from Shao Yangming who was at the front. But since Shao Yangming had spoken up, Ding Ning nodded at him and said calmly, "Apologies, please move aside. I am going to enter."
Shao Yangming was furious upon his words. "First come, first serve. Why should I move aside?"
Many people in the surroundings did not understand why Ding Ning was so cold and calm. They felt slightly chilled at Ding Ning"s att.i.tude. But the Min Mountain Sword Trials would perhap be the most important event of their life, so why would they let you go ahead? Only because your teacher had only just died?
However, Ding Ning still remained calm.
Looking at the raging Shao Yangming, he said, "Because I am going to enter through your position."
It was deathly silent.
Shao Yangming"s anger disappeared from his face. His eyes widened to their limits.
Even Xie Changsheng and the others behind Ding Ning wore disbelieving gazes.
At this time, everyone reacted. Ding Ning had said "I am going to enter" and not "look at a close distance".
Just walking from back there to this place, he had unraveled the mystery of the doors?
"I do not want to waste time," Ding Ning said, amidst everybody"s shocked gazes.
Then he continued to walk forward.
No one else blocked him.
Even Shao Yangming, who had been the fiercest, instinctively turned around and created a path with the surrounding people.
Ding Ning pa.s.sed by them and walked towards the indigo-robed swordsman standing in front of the doors.
The indigo-robed swordsman had a strange light in his eyes.
"Please, Teacher, let me in."
Ding Ning walked in front of him, and bowed deeply with respect.
The indigo-robed swordsman bowed slightly in response and answered.
The heavy green jade doors slowly parted, spilling out light. Behind the doors seemed to be a new world filled with light.
This was it?
Many of the students looked with unspeakable shock at this scene. Ding Ning had done nothing, just bowed seriously and asked to enter. Then this indigo-robed swordsman opened the doors.
This was the way to pa.s.s through the jade doors?
Ding Ning did not linger. He bowed to the indigo-robed swordsman in thanks, and then walked into the light at the center of the gates, disappearing from everyone"s view.
"What does this mean?"
Xie Changsheng was dumbfounded. This was the Min Mountain Sword Trials that everybody watched. In his perspective, how could someone enter the doors in such a way?
"Respect the teacher … to have politeness … These doors are Min Mountain Sword Sect reminding all students at the start, regardless of their cultivation and their future status, they have to remember to respect their teachers and have politeness."
"The most remarkable thing about Junior Sect Brother Ding is that he saw that the energies of the green jade doors were connected to this teacher of the Min Mountain Sword Sect when he came over. Only this teacher of the Min Mountain Sword Sect can open these doors. He sensed this, so he understood the meaning of the jade gates, and so he was the first to enter."
A soft voice entered the ears of Xie Changsheng and the others.
Xie Changsheng"s breath halted and he turned around.
He saw the speaker was Zhang Yi, whose tears had not yet dried on his face.
When he turned around, Zhang Yi had pa.s.sed by him and was walking towards the indigo-robed swordsman.
"Please, Teacher, allow me to enter."
Zhang Yi bowed seriously to the indigo-robed swordsman just like Ding Ning had.
The indigo-robed swordsman returned the greeting and allowed it.
The jade doors shone again.
Zhang Yi followed Ding Ning and was the second to disappear from sight.
"Eldest Sect Brother."
Shen Yi took a deep breath and quickly walked forward.
He understood Zhang Yi well. He knew that Zhang Yi was indecisive usually and did not like to be the center of attention. So he knew that Zhang Yi chose to be the second to enter in order to be close to Ding Ning.
Shen Yi"s figure quickly disappeared in the light of the green jade gates.
"Astounding!"
Looking at this scene, the middle-aged official in black robes gave this heartfelt sigh.
Many of the teachers from different cultivation places who came with their students felt the same.
Their exclamation in their sigh or in their thoughts were half for these young people, and half for Xue w.a.n.gxu.
Palace Attendant Rong was not far from the green jade doors.
At this time, before the other students had reacted, Ding Ning and the people around Ding Ning had disappeared into the light of the doors.
"You want to be first in all things?"
She seemed to be the person who understood Ding Ning the best at this moment, and slowly spoke. The porcelain light on her face grew stronger, as though she was a Buddha in a temple, and not a person.
She would not allow Ding Ning to win in the Min Mountain Sword Trials.
But Ding Ning didn"t just want to win,
He wanted to be the victor, the first!
Ding Ning"s att.i.tude right now caused her to feel that Ding Ning would want to be the first to pa.s.s each stage and test of the Min Mountain Sword Trials. He wanted to be first in all!