Chapter 31: Life-and-Death Battle

In terms of strength, Shadowless Dao Ancestor was slightly stronger than Darklight Swordmaster, but that was due to his divine abilities. In reality, when it came solely to the subtlety of techniques, Darklight Swordmaster was superior.

His sword technique was the strongest sword art of the Voidgate, the pinnacle of assassination.

Unfortunately, he died under Houyi's axe.

Ji Ning carefully studied Darklight Swordmaster's sword techniques, each move surfacing in his mind, allowing him to continuously gain insights. Although he could not fully comprehend Demonhand Dao Ancestor's palm techniques, he could still discern some mysteries. Now, as he quietly pondered, more secrets were revealed and analyzed.

…

When Ji Ning opened his eyes, nine days had passed.

The white-robed Ji Ning walked out of the Azure Jade Temple and condensed a longsword with his finger.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. The sword light was ethereal, sometimes sharp and fierce, sometimes eerie and unpredictable, sometimes violent and domineering.

"I feel like I'm just a hair's breadth away, but why can't I break through?" Ji Ning shook his head and muttered to himself. He had thought that with the insights gained from his battle with Demonhand Dao Ancestor and the others, he could step into the fifth level of Sword Force. After all, Demonhand Dao Ancestor was at the leader level—she had comprehended the four Great Daos of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind in the Endless Chaos World. To engage in a life-and-death battle with her was a rare opportunity.

Ji Ning felt he had made significant progress during this meditation.

Yet he still could not enter the fifth level of Sword Force.

"The leap from the fourth level to the fifth level of Sword Force is truly extraordinary in difficulty." Ji Ning's mind stirred, and he waved his hand. Boom, boom, boom. Huge Star Gold Pearls fell onto the surrounding plains, scattering around the stone tablets. As the three thousand six hundred Star Gold Pearls landed, the Ninefold Chaos Seals on them began to evolve.

Ji Ning stood there, looking at the massive Star Gold Pearls and the sword technique stone tablets around him.

He observed carefully...

The sword technique stone tablets were left by Northrest World God specifically for his successors.

The Ninefold Chaos Seals on the Star Gold Pearls were even more profound.

…

After half a day of observation.

"Withdraw." Ji Ning shook his head, waved his hand, and put away the Azure Jade Temple, the ninety-eight sword technique stone tablets, and the three thousand six hundred Zhoutian Star Gold Pearls.

"Life-and-death battles are more helpful."

Swoosh.

The white-robed Ji Ning instantly transformed into a bolt of lightning, streaking across the sky and flying swiftly into the distance.

After a moment.

"Hm?" In the desert, a thin, small man with a single horn on his forehead sat cross-legged. His golden eyes fixed on Ji Ning as he sneered, "Guardian, why are you here again? Last time you threatened me with a pile of innate spirit treasures. What tricks do you have this time? Go ahead and show them. Want me to submit to a weak True Immortal like you? Dream on. Eh... why is your aura completely concealed this time? I can't even sense it. Have you been scolded too much by the other True Gods and True Immortals, so you decided to hide your weak aura?"

The white-robed Ji Ning looked at the thin man.

Previously, in order to extract as many memories and obtain as many innate spirit treasures as possible, Ji Ning had taken some spoils and threatened all the True Gods and True Immortals in the world prison. Those True Gods and True Immortals understood that continuing to fight Ji Ning would only lead to death. After seeing the huge pile of innate spirit treasures, some of them eventually bowed their heads.

Without a fight, only about twenty True Gods and True Immortals in the entire world prison had submitted. The others would not easily yield; they would not bow to Ji Ning, a weak True Immortal with a 'third-grade golden core,' unless they truly felt death approaching.

"Weak?" Ji Ning's aura suddenly surged into the sky. The powerful aura made the sneering thin man's expression change.

"You, you..." The thin man stared at Ji Ning in shock.

Ji Ning's current aura was no weaker than his.

"Fight me." Ji Ning held a Northmoon sword in each hand and shot forward like a streak of light, charging straight at the thin man.

"Daring to engage in close combat with me?" The thin man licked his lips. "Your strength has greatly increased, but that's the aura of your magic power. Your divine body shouldn't be stronger than mine. And you dare to fight me up close? Fine—if I can kill the guardian before I die, it'll be worth it."

The thin man was filled with battle intent. Two huge axes appeared in his hands, and his body rapidly expanded. Originally thin and almost skin and bones, now his muscles quickly became defined, his hunched figure straightened and grew tall, and his golden eyes radiated a fierce, domineering aura.

Wielding the two giant axes, he laughed wildly: "Since you seek death, I'll send you off."

Swoosh, swoosh.

The two clashed instantly.

"Clang." The True God prisoner staggered back two steps, gripping his axe and staring in shock at Ji Ning, who had been knocked flying backward. He said incredulously, "Beyond the limits of the Dao? You, your sword technique... where did you learn it?"

Techniques that surpassed the limits of the Dao were each extremely precious; even he had never learned one.

He had barely avoided being split in two by Ji Ning's sword just now. Fortunately, his reflexes were quick, and his axes were large enough that when he held them horizontally, they acted like shields, blocking that eerie, unpredictable strike.

"That's not for you to know." Ji Ning squinted at his opponent. Impressive. Although the other's axe technique was ordinary, he was a True God, while Ji Ning was only a half-step True God. In terms of strength, speed, and other aspects, Ji Ning was inferior. Only his sword technique, the best in the Three Realms, allowed him to threaten his opponent.

But this made it interesting!

With enough pressure, life-and-death battles could better hone his sword technique. Fighting these prisoners from the Nine Chaos Kingdoms was dangerous, but with the Nine-Lightning Serpentine Escape Art, he had a much greater chance of escaping if things went wrong.

Fighting the Voidgate outside would be far more dangerous than this.

"Be careful not to get killed by me," Ji Ning said.

"Hmph, you? Even with your sword technique beyond the limits of the Dao, you're no match for me." The True God prisoner was clearly arrogant. How could he lose to someone who wasn't even a True God?

Swoosh, swoosh.

The two crossed paths repeatedly, engaging in close combat.

Such close combat was far more dangerous than manipulating treasures from a distance. After suffering a loss the first time, the True God prisoner became more cautious of Ji Ning's sword techniques.

Ji Ning's sword showed no mercy.

The True God prisoner also wanted to take the chance to eliminate Ji Ning, the guardian, and perhaps obtain the technique beyond the limits of the Dao from the treasures Ji Ning would leave behind.

This kind of battle was exactly what Ji Ning needed.

"Clang, sizzle, whoosh." Sword light and axe blades clashed and collided repeatedly.

As the battle dragged on—half an hour, an hour—the True God prisoner was astonished to sense that the guardian's sword technique was subtly improving. He did not know that since Ji Ning emerged from the Moon Under the Lake, he had had too few real life-and-death battles, only fighting Demonhand Dao Ancestor and the others.

As for capturing the Envoy of All Things, that was simply a massacre.

This battle with the True God prisoner was the first time Ji Ning had truly fought to his heart's content. The insights from six hundred years of meditation in the Moon Under the Lake and from his clashes with Demonhand Dao Ancestor were now being absorbed. Even some previously incomprehensible mysteries of Northrest World God's sword techniques suddenly became clear during the fight.

"Whoosh." A flash of sword light.

The True God prisoner's body was split in two.

Ji Ning sheathed his sword and stood silently aside, watching the True God prisoner's divine body fuse and recover. The True God prisoner looked at Ji Ning with a complex expression. From the continuously improving sword technique, he could sense that Ji Ning's talent far surpassed his own. In fact, anyone who could master a technique beyond the limits of the Dao was an unparalleled prodigy.

The True God prisoner said in a low voice, "I lost."

Ji Ning was delighted inside.

Some mysteries of sword techniques could not be understood through meditation alone; only in actual life-and-death combat could one grasp how to apply those subtleties.

"It's a pity this True God's axe technique isn't stronger. If it were, it would be even better," Ji Ning thought. "One life-and-death battle like this is more useful than a year of secluded meditation. Time to find the next True God."

Of course, before going to fight the next True God, he had to take this prisoner's treasures. His Violet Light Qiong Divine Sword was in dire need of the Five Elements Essence.

In the past, when dealing with True Gods and True Immortals, he had worn them down slowly and threatened them with innate spirit treasures, saying things like 'So-and-so has already submitted to me; those who didn't submit are dead.' This verbal intimidation had succeeded with some, but compared to the vast number of True God and True Immortal prisoners in the world prison, it was only a small fraction. The more powerful ones were even less likely to yield.

By wearing them down slowly, it would take decades to deal with a single True God or True Immortal.

Now, he could fight them head-on! His efficiency was far higher than before.

"Are you willing to submit?" Ji Ning looked at him.

"I am willing." The True God prisoner reverted to his thin, small form and bowed his head.