Chapter 23 Ji Ning's Divine Power

"Ji Ning wins!"

"Ji Ning of the Black-White College in Anchan Commandery wins!"

The imperial city square was abuzz with noise. The teams from the three thousand six hundred commanderies and the four great seas were all excitedly discussing the previous battle. It was indeed a spectacular match! Previously, figures like Blackstone True Man, Xiamang Zishan, Nine-Death True Man, and the Ragged True Man had either relied on staves or simply their bare hands.

Their fights might have been more exquisite or more ferocious.

But in terms of 'killing,' they were far inferior to the way of the sword or the saber. Sword immortals and saber demons were both extremely skilled in offense. When they fought earlier, they easily defeated their opponents. But when they met each other this time... they truly revealed the techniques of the two schools of sword immortals and saber demons.

It made one's heart tremble, made one's scalp tingle.

Any one of those sword lights or saber lights could slay a Primal Daoist!

...

Ji Ning walked back to stand behind King Yan of the Heavenly Hall, sitting together with the Ragged True Man, Yuchi Xiyue, and Yu Wei.

Many gazes in the great hall fell on Ji Ning.

"One must never trade blows with this Ji Ning; one should use one's strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses."

"A sword immortal is truly formidable in combat."

"Do not meet force with force."

The other Wanxiang Adepts among the top twenty-four were all pondering. Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy, one could fight a hundred battles without danger. They also understood that sword immortals excelled in offense, while they naturally had their own advantages... Nine-Death True Man, Xiamang Zishan, Cangwu Jiu, Shaoyan Xuan, Blackstone True Man, and others were all thinking secretly.

But the nine Pure Yang True Immortals high above were also puzzled.

"I couldn't see clearly before," said the Northern Mountain Old Immortal with confusion. "But when Ji Ning and that Saber Slave fought one-on-one, it was clear that their attainments in sword and saber techniques were comparable. Yet when they clashed head-on, Ji Ning had the upper hand. This Saber Slave is also a disciple of a friend of Donghua's; the divine power he learned should not be weak. So Ji Ning must possess an even stronger divine power! Or perhaps the power of his sword is greater!"

Chi Ji True Lord also nodded: "This Ji Ning has reached such a level in just over thirty years; he must have had a great encounter and learned a formidable divine power. But this divine power should be a very restrained auxiliary one, not visible from the outside."

"He should have a powerful divine power," Lu Dongbin laughed. "But in this Immortal Fortune Convention, those who remain are the favored ones of this great world of Daxia. Each must have had a great encounter. Since the creation of the world, there have been countless divine powers—some specialize in poison, some in suppression, some in attack, some in strength... all different. Ji Ning should be skilled in a divine power of strength."

"Right."

"His speed is not particularly impressive."

They all nodded.

After all, too many factors affect a person's strength. Some are gifted by nature; even at the same twelfth level of the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens, the gifted can be higher! It's not that everyone at the same realm has exactly the same strength. Even those cultivating the same qi-refining technique, the Water Essence Note, require different amounts of liquid essence. Everyone is an independent individual conceived by heaven and earth; the differences just won't be too extreme.

Or weapons, or insights into various Daos, or some very special divine powers, or secret arts for bursting elemental power...

All could cause some variation in strength.

Earlier, they hadn't even noticed that Ji Ning possessed a powerful divine power. But in the battle between Ji Ning and the Saber Slave, the two were too similar—one in the sword Dao, the other in the saber Dao. The contrast made it more obvious, and the Pure Yang True Immortals thus confirmed that Ji Ning should have a formidable divine power.

And that was all.

There were plenty of powerful divine powers. Even the treasury of the Daxia Emperor contained the Candle Dragon Eye, a great divine power ranked among the top one hundred in the Three Realms. However, the Daxia treasury only had the first part of the Candle Dragon Eye, which could at most be cultivated by Fiendgods at the Return to Void level; the higher-level parts were missing. In theory, even the first part of such a top-ranked divine power should not be casually passed on.

The reason it was in the Daxia treasury was that the creator of the Candle Dragon Eye, the mighty figure 'Candle Dragon' of the Three Realms, had died as early as the primordial era!

"This Ji Ning might have learned some peculiar divine power created by a Celestial Immortal or a mighty figure," the Pure Yang True Immortals thought.

Not every divine power created by a mighty figure is top-tier.

For example, the Black Tortoise Grand Emperor is famous for his 'Black Tortoise Grand Divine Power.' He occasionally creates some peculiar divine powers—some inclined toward escape, some toward defense, some toward attack... The value of such casually created divine powers is relatively low. Only divine powers that are trump cards created with endless effort are precious.

Like the 'Black Tortoise Grand Divine Power' for the Black Tortoise Grand Emperor.

Like 'Starry Hand' for Sanxiao Daoist.

...

"Second match: Loose cultivator Nine-Death True Man versus Rainflower True Man of the Flying Immortal Sect."

This was a battle between two women.

With Nine-Death True Man's Dharma-treasure-like body, Rainflower True Man could do nothing to her. After all, she was not as strong in attack as the sword immortal Ji Ning!

This match: Nine-Death True Man wins!

...

"Third match..."

"Fourth match..."

...

Match after match, the entire imperial city square held its breath, and even the Celestial Immortals and Pure Yang True Immortals on the main hall of the Heavenly Hall did not dare to be distracted. The Pure Yang True Immortals were so serious only because 'Lord Crimsonbright was taking disciples.'

"Eighth match: Shaoyan Xuan versus Xiang Tianxiao."

This match was also highly anticipated.

Among the top twenty-four, only four came from the great clans of the Daxia Dynasty—Xiamang Zishan of the imperial clan, Cangwu Jiu of the Cangwu clan, Shaoyan Xuan of the Shaoyan clan, and Xiang Tianxiao of the Xiangtian clan. Only these four remained, showing that in terms of talent, searching within a single clan could not compare to searching across the entire endless earth.

In this battle, Xiang Tianxiao was extremely fierce, fully displaying the courage and madness of the Xiangtian clan's challenge to the heavens. But he still lost; his strength was indeed far inferior to Shaoyan Xuan's.

Moreover, Shaoyan Xuan carried the heavy trust of his clan and naturally fought with all his might.

Eighth match: Shaoyan Xuan wins!

"Good, good, good, excellent." Xuanji Patriarch couldn't help but grin. His mad and ruthless nature was well known; he might not smile even in ten thousand years, but now he was smiling. The other Celestial Immortals understood Xuanji Patriarch's feelings.

"Xuan'er, good, keep advancing like this. You've already made it to the top twelve," Xuanji Patriarch said to Shaoyan Xuan, who had walked behind him, and immediately urged, "The top three are very, very close."

...

Finally, the twelve matches of the third round ended.

The top twelve were decided!

Ji Ning and the other eleven stood together in the hall, waiting for the Daxia Emperor to bestow ten million catties of liquid essence.

"Xiamang Zishan, Cangwu Jiu, Ji Ning, Ragged True Man, Shaoyan Xuan, Muchuan True Man, Blackstone True Man, Nine-Death True Man, White Dragon True Man, Qianyi True Man, Guiyuan True Man, Jinwu True Man." The Xia Emperor, from his throne, recited all twelve names before saying, "You twelve are the top twelve of this Immortal Fortune Convention. As I said before, each of you who reaches the top twelve will receive ten million catties of liquid essence."

The Xia Emperor waved his hand.

Instantly, twelve purple jade bottles appeared in midair, flying toward Ji Ning and the other eleven.

Even the Celestial Immortals present couldn't help but stare at those purple jade bottles. Ten million catties of liquid essence! Even they would be envious and pained, yet now these twelve youngsters were getting it.

Ji Ning and the others each reached out and grabbed one.

A sweep of divine sense!

"Wow," Ji Ning marveled inwardly. "This purple jade bottle is also a good Dharma treasure for storing liquid essence. It can hold ten million catties of liquid essence, comparable in value to a top-grade Earth-ranked flying sword."

"With this ten million catties of liquid essence, my second true body can rush to the Return to Void perfection," Ji Ning thought. "But there's no hurry. My second true body has only been at the 'Primal' level for a short time. I should stay a while longer and savor it more."

Each realm brings a different understanding of heaven and earth.

Reincarnated immortals, having experienced it before, can skip this. Ji Ning is not a reincarnated immortal, so he should spend more time at each level. Of course, once his true body breaks through to the Primal level, his second true body can then advance to the Return to Void level.

"You will now enter the Painting of Mountains and Rivers," the Xia Emperor suddenly said. "I will alter the flow of time in your location. We will wait outside for one hour, and inside you will have about three days of quiet cultivation."

Ji Ning and the other eleven were all stunned.

Enter the Painting of Mountains and Rivers to cultivate for three days?

"Strange. Earlier, when we hundred thousand people were in the world of the Painting of Mountains and Rivers, the time flow was the same as outside. Why is it that now one hour outside equals three days inside?" Ji Ning wondered.

"Ji Ning!" The yellow-furred bear's voice rang in Ji Ning's mind. "It seems your Daxia Emperor has considerable insight into the 'Dao of Time.' But altering time flow consumes a great deal of divine power. Although the Daxia Emperor is a Pure Yang True Immortal, he cannot affect the time flow for a hundred thousand people at once. For you twelve... the burden on him is much smaller."

...

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!!!

Ji Ning and the other eleven were directly absorbed into a floating painting, which then flew into the Daxia Emperor's hand.

"Xiamang, you're letting them cultivate for three days?" Chi Ji True Lord laughed. "It seems you take this Immortal Fortune Convention quite seriously."

"It's not just seriousness. Serving our master requires not only effort but also dedication," said the Xia Emperor. "Now that only these twelve remain, their previous battles and the tempering of their minds under invisible pressure... they are undergoing a transformation. Giving them three days might allow them to make breakthroughs. Naturally, I must present the best three talents for our master to choose from."

"Right. Serving our master requires not only effort but also dedication," Lu Dongbin nodded with a smile. "No wonder Xiamang is the most favored by Lord Crimsonbright."

...

Ji Ning and the other eleven appeared on a mountain peak. The peak's top was a hundred zhang in area, enough for the twelve to cultivate in peace. There was also a faint barrier around them; Ji Ning and the others could not leave the peak's top.

Immediately, each of them sat cross-legged, not even speaking.

They all felt many inspirations within their hearts, and perhaps they could make some progress. That bit of progress might be the difference between entering the top three and being eliminated! That meant becoming a disciple of Lord Crimsonbright! Who wouldn't give their all?

Ji Ning also longed to become a disciple of Lord Crimsonbright!

...