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Chapter Seventy-Six: Friendship Blessing
writer:无罪      update:2022-07-21 15:26
  Especially during the time when the You Dynasty conquered the world, the Nether dragon was like the You Emperor, the symbol of invincibility. In any cultivation record, including the Nether dragon that was not yet matured and had appeared in Changling, their appearance could be described as “terrifying,” accompanied by “spectacular,” “grand” and other such terms.

  Their scales seemed to be black crystals made from ice thousands of years old. Their claws were forged from cold metal hammered thousands of times. Even the lines on the borders of their scales were natural seal scripts, and in the perceptions of the cultivators, they had a unique and profound feeling of beauty.

  In the earliest records, the ancient people needed to fight back against powerful beasts so they searched for the truth of cultivators from the heaven path. Then cultivators appeared. Many of the methods of the cultivators, and their ways of using primal energies of the universe originated mostly from studying the beasts.

  So, to all those present, this being that emerged from the cocoon and could be called a new Nether dragon should be stunning in appearance, even if it was very small.

  But the reality was very stunning. Because the being that came out of the cocoon was… astoundingly ugly.

  In the past, the black ice worm had been like a caterpillar without its hairs, and now it was not possible to say whether the black ice worm was formed like a worm or a dragon. It did not have any scales, but its skin had turned a deep back which shone with light. There was a pair of horns on its head, but the horns were deep red, very short, and appeared very thick compared to its body. It had grown flesh wings and four limbs, but there was a pair of short and small wings on its back, and shrunken forelimbs and thick rear limbs which appeared not proportional with its body, not to mention the long arrow tipped tail it had.

  Disregarding the unique and powerful presence which came off its body, just from the outside appearance, the first feeling that people had when looking at this being was that it was shaped by a child out of mud, but they could not do it well, and just pieced together something at will.

  “You are really ugly.”


  Zhangsun Qianxue’s words echoed in everyone’s ears. She rarely said such things, so Ding Ning could not help but laugh out loud right now.

  He looked at the stunned “Nether dragon” and said with a smile, “At least it is not ugly everywhere. Its eyes are quite pretty.”


  Qian Mu was looking the most closely, and did not even blink. He frowned as he looked at the “Nether dragon”. Hearing Ding Ning’s words, he could not help but burst into laughter.

  This “Nether dragon’s” eyes were a pure red, the kind of red of a ruby under the sun, bright and eye-catching. Just looking at its eyes, it was pretty. But with its dark skin, and the short and thick horns on its head, people could not help but want to laugh.

  When Qian Mu laughed, there was a hiss in the air. As it inhaled, all of the remaining cocoon silk was consumed, and the coldness in its body increased again. Even now, it still seemed dazed, not knowing what was going on. But when it met Ding Ning’s gaze, its body shook. It clearly still kept the memories of the black ice worm, and it feared him, instinctively going to Zhangsun Qianxue’s side.

  It only got close to Zhangsun Qianxue because it innately feared the Nine Death Silkworm in Ding Ning’s body. But the moment it came close, it sensed a presence that made it feel intimate and content.

  It immediately moved closer.

  This infant dragon was still confused and anxious, but the living soaring serpents into the air were going mad.

  This was due to their nature. They were so shocked by the presence of the infant dragon that even the Jiaodong Commandery medicines and special whistles lost their effect. They immediately wanted to flee, but could not break free of the formation. In the next moment, they naturally had intentions of submitting and begging.

  The other beasts hiding in the wind and rain that came with them did not have the special feeling of these serpents. They still wanted to dive down and feed. In the next moment, they were torn apart by these two serpents.

  The king was the king.

  Qing Yaoyin frowned as he looked at this scene. He was not dissatisfied, but even he was shocked.

  This infant dragon was very weak and small, but after merging with Zhangsun Qianxue’s Nine Hell King Sword energy, it had a powerful energy that even the Nether dragon raised at Min Mountain did not.

  Could it completely intimidate and rule these serpents?

  Was it that the Nether dragon and the Nine Hell King Sword together was the true path of the You Dynasty, and was now complete?

  “You can try to think about it.”


  Qing Yaoyin took a deep breath and said to Zhangsun Qianxue, “Things like this may not understand our word, but they have their own ways of judging. They can judge from our minute movements and changes in emotions to judge what we want them to do. The longer you are together, the fewer mistakes they will make. Also, your Nine Hell King Sword will cause it to fear you but also feel close to you. It is the sword to command it. So there is no need for me to use some special spirit medicines and methods to help you tame it.”


  Zhangsun Qianxue nodded. She looked at the infant dragon that wanted to stay close to her but did not dare to. Then she looked at the two soaring snakes in the sky and said, “Since these two soaring snakes fear you so much, then tame them.”


  This infant dragon looked at Zhangsun Qianxue for a few breaths, looking at her expression and gaze, but it finally understood.

  In the next moment, to everyone’s shock, it seemed to disappear from Zhangsun Qianxue’s side. It immediately came to a place above the head of one of the soaring snakes, so quick like it was Tantai Guanjian’s sword, leaving behind a dark streak in the sky!

  It fell on the soaring snake’s head. This soaring snake and the other one nearby softened immediately and fell down powerlessly.

  In the next moment, this infant dragon returned to Zhangsun Qianxue’s side, raising its head like it was asking for praise, its ruby-like eyes filled with excitement.

  Qian Mu slowly stopped laughing, his eyes filling with seriousness.

  While this infant dragon was laughably ugly, just from how it dominated these soaring snakes instantly, it was already very shocking.

  “Give it a name?” He thought of how even he had a name and could not help but suggest.

  Tantai Guanjian looked at the infant dragon, and worried, it was so black, would it be called Little Black?

  “It is a blessing from the heavens, and came from a friend, so let it be Friendship Blessing,” Ding Ning said.

  No one objected. He had been the one to bring this infant dragon out of the Min Mountain Sword Trials, it belonged to him. Also, everyone understood why he chose such a name.

  This came from friendship.

  Baili Suxue worked so hard and needed a Nether dragon because he was Wang Jingmeng’s friend and he wanted to kill Zheng Xiu to get revenge for Wang Jingmeng.

  “They come again,” Qian Mu suddenly looked up and said.

  In the sky outside the formation of dust mountains, there was the sound of wind, rain, and the hiss of the soaring snakes.

  “Then what kind of blessing is this, enemy’s blessing?” Zhangsun Qianxue said with slightly scorn.

  Hearing her words, Tantai Guanjian could not help but shake his head. He thought if the people of Jiaodong Commandery knew that the soaring snakes they had spent hundreds of years to accumulate, how would they feel when these snakes entered the formation and turned to the side of the enemy?

  Volume 3 76 - Eight Swords

  The sun was starting to set. A young woman whose clothes were covered in blood at the front passed by the first sword nucleus and then fell to the ground, lacking the strength to keep walking.

  Not far ahead of her, there were about three hundred students gathered together. Behind her, not many students were still persisting in front of the first sword nucleus.

  Of more than a thousand students, there were many students like her who chose to pass the test like Xie Changsheng had. Yet, even sore, there were only just three hundred students who had passed. So many could see the path, but could not go ahead. Many others were like this young girl who was bloodied. So, while the field was silent, there was a violent presence rippling around.

  The sword manual forms engraved on the second sword nucleus were rare in the world, and refined. Even more importantly, each of the engraved sword marks were related to the sword moves they recorded. Through the width and direction of these sword marks, it was easier to understand where to use force in these moves and how fast or slow the strike should be.

  This was like there was a Min Mountain Sword Sect teacher personally teaching them. Even if they had no opportunity to enter Min Mountain Sword Sect to study in the end, the more they grasped from these sword manuals, the more they would increase in strength.

  So, whether it was students like Ye Haoran and Chen Liqiu who had followed Ding Ning and the others here, or those who had reached here like the young woman, none of them was in a hurry to leave.

  No one moved to challenge the green jade mountain path ahead. Everyone was silently standing or sitting as they observed and focused on comprehending the sword moves.

  Night came.

  Night deepened.

  The darkness swallowed the forests on the sides of the mountain path. It grew more wet until the wetness turned to dew in the mountain.

  Many students’ hair and clothing were soaked by the due, yet they seemed to not know.

  All their attention was focused by these masterful sword moves. They even forgot the passage of time.

  If one had enough physical endurance and mental strength, they would hope they could continue to read until they understood all the sword manuals and grasped all the sword forms.

  White slowly appeared in the eastern sky.

  A night had passed. A student near the sword nucleus tiredly rubbed his eyes. He could see there was some whiteness on the black sword nucleus.

  This was the early summer, and frost naturally could not appear. He naturally felt that this was the dew on the sword.

  Yet, in the next moment, this student stopped breathing, his eyes going wide.

  He thought he was seeing wrong.

  The marks on the sword nucleus were disappearing.

  Many gasps sounded, and formed a wave, telling him that he was not the only one to see this.

  Many who were sitting, stood up.

  The white on the black sword nucleus was like fine powder. They started to form the smallest sword marks. The powder fell from the surface of the sword nucleus. It was like a room that had been whitewashed. When the door was suddenly opened after being closed for many years, wind entered, and the powder on the walls started to fall.

  Seeing such a scene, almost all the students were shocked speechless. They started to understand that the person who had engraved these marks had, in reality, turned the surface of the sword nucleus into powder with their power.

  It was easy to cut or pierce hard steel, but to crush metal into powder, what kind of power would this take?

  And this was happening to the sword after a day and night …… What kind of strength was this?

  **

  Many tents had been set up in the mountains of Min Mountain Sword Sect.

  These tents were for the officials and the teachers who came with their students to rest. Also, from the position of these tents, they could clearly see the entire competition.

  Hearing the gasps on the mountain path, Palace Attendant Rong, sitting inside one of the tents, put down the teacup she held. She said to herself in a mocking tone, “You really do not have to rush for time?”


  The Min Mountain Sword Sect naturally would not allow the students to stay forever in front of the sword nucleus.

  This setup meant that the comprehension in front of the second sword nucleus was limited to a day and night. This total time seemed very fair but in reality, was extremely unjust.

  The later someone arrived, the less time they had to comprehend. That young woman who had arrived in the dusk had almost less than half the time Zhang Yi and the others received.

  From a certain point of view, Ding Ning had gained a lot of time. But starting now, these other students would want to be first. Once the competition started, if Ding Ning wanted to be the first to pass, he would not have enough time to cultivate and replenish his vital energy. Even a night of time was not enough for Ding Ning to fully replenish.

  Also, she did not believe that Ding Ning could comprehend the sword manual on the sword nucleus from his brief gaze at the start.

  Now that the sword marks had disappeared and the sword manual turned to dust, Ding Ning would not have time to look even if he wanted to.

  “Stopping now will be your best result,” Palace Attendant Rong couldn’t help but say to herself.

  When one was immersed in these sword marks and comprehending a part of a sword manual, being interrupted in the middle was a painful feeling. Especially when they were obtaining something and the sword move about to take form in their mind was suddenly broken off. That was even more uncomfortable.

  Such was the case with Ye Haoran.

  When the sword marks disappeared, he almost groaned in pain. But in the next moment, he instinctively turned to look at Ding Ning.

  The gasps were rising around him in waves.

  He saw the dew fall off Ding Ning’s eyelashes. Ding Ning had opened his eyes at this moment.

  Palace Attendant Rong thought that starting at this sword nucleus, the other students would start competing to be first and win time for themselves.

  Yet, most of the students had yet to recover from looking at the blank sword nucleus.

  “We are going.”


  Ding Ning told Zhang Yi and the others when he opened his eyes. Then he calmly walked forward.

  So, he was still the first to go at the target.

  The first ray of the morning sun fell.

  Everybody’s gaze converged on him. His body seemed to give off an inexplicable light.

  The field was completely silent.

  All of the emotions calmed due to Ding Ning’s movements.

  The bloodied young girl who had been the last to arrive had originally been filled with grief. But when she saw Ding Ning’s calm figure, she gradually forgot her own circumstances, and her attention was completely attracted.

  “He seems to be very confident,” Chen Liqiu said, blinking his eyes hard to ease the soreness he felt.

  After a moment of thought, Xu Lianhua said, “They want to pass together.”


  Xia Wan frowned.”Let us see what they will do first.”


  Ding Ning was not the only one advancing forward. Zhang Yi and the others, including the injured Xie Changsheng, were all following behind Ding Ning towards the green jade mountain path.

  In Xia Wan’s view, there would be at least one or two of the group who could not pass through the path.

  Yet, at this time, she found something she could not understand.

  These people looked much more energized than the other students in the surroundings.

  Ding Ning had cultivated for an entire night. That was akin to resting for the night. It was normal for him to be full of energy. But compared to the other people, Ding Ning, covered in dew, seemed like a new lotus leaf after the rain as he gave off a lively presence.

  But, he wasn’t the only one. Zhang Yi and the others seemed to be in better spirits than other people.

  She could not understand so she felt that something unexpected would occur.

  The green jade path was very wide.

  Zhang Yi and the others kept close to Ding Ning. So the group stepped almost in unison to the area where Gu Xichun and Ye Haoran and sensed an unusual presence.

  Ding Ning’s expression was still calm. Zhang Yi and the others appeared nervous.

  There were wild grasses growing on either side of the path. Previously, when Ye Haoran had stepped into this area, light green mist had risen on the path while the grasses had swayed. But when Zhang Yi and the others stepped, as the green mist rose from under their feet, the wild grasses on the two sides of the mountain path started to snap.

  The grasses snapped right in the middle.

  Many shadows appeared in the light mist in front of them, like countless waist-high grasses that suddenly grew.

  The field was even more silent, as though there was no breathing.

  Almost everyone knew that these were not grasses, but swords.

  Ding Ning, Zhang Yi, Shen Yi …… there were eight of them in this group. But there were many sword-shaped holes on the green jade path and there were far more than eight swords rising out of the path.

  Everyone could imagine, even if the eight swords attacked eight different people at the same time, the attack would come like a storm, one sword after another. There would be no gap to rest, just like how Ye Haoran had endured those two sword strikes.

  The time left for people to think was short.

  The snapped grasses on the path had not fallen to the ground when the light green mist was torn apart by the chaotic and wild power.

  The surroundings became unusually clear.

  Dozens of green jade swords stood silently like guards. Of them, eight swords gave off different sounds and turned into light.

  On the green path further off, more green jade swords silently rose up.

  One sword was extremely fast, turning the shadow it cast extremely faint like an ink stroke that had been diluted by water. The sword appeared soft and powerless, but the air in front of the tip was compressed by the sword tip as though there were dozens of transparent flows moving around.

  One sword was extremely violent, with the energies inside constantly exploding and causing the air around it to explode and form strange dust.

  One sword seemed to turn into a metal ruler, the sword horizontal as it pushed foward. The primal energies of the universe gathered in front of it to form a green wave.

  One sword advanced silently as it refracted lines of light. People could not see it clearly, it was as though a thin mirror.

  All eight swords were different but they were all extremely smooth as though there were eight experienced swordsmen wielding these words.

  The falling grasses were cut to pieces by the rippling sword energies and turned to powder.

  The eight sword attacked in unison towards the eight figures.

  Translator Ramblings: You can just imagine Ding Ning’s group walking forward like the Justice League.