Chapter 7: The First Strike

"Afraid to accept? Just you?" Black Jiao Ancestral God's face was ugly, the fire in his heart burning even hotter. Ever since those Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals died last time, the other soldiers of Wuyan Army looked at him differently, some even directly cursed and mocked him. Li Hao Ancestral God was one of them. These curses and taunts made Black Jiao Ancestral God feel terrible.

For someone like him, who had lived for over a chaos cycle and had no hope of breakthrough, he valued reputation and face even more. Recently, he had been holding a bellyful of anger.

Li Hao competing with him was one thing.

But Bai Wu Ancestral God, a Silver Scale soldier, dared to provoke him? Well, at least Bai Wu Ancestral God had some fame.

Now even an unknown Silver Scale soldier dared to provoke him!

"Yes, just me." Ji Ning looked at him.

"How much do you want to bet?" Black Jiao Ancestral God sneered. "How much can you offer? I'll match whatever you bet."

"Three hundred bottles of chaos nectar." Ji Ning said.

"Three hundred bottles?" Black Jiao Ancestral God was startled, then sneered, "Do you have that much? Can you produce it?"

An ordinary peak Ancestral God might be able to produce a hundred bottles of chaos nectar. If they scraped together treasures, three hundred bottles might barely be possible. But in a normal bet, how many would be willing to part with their most important treasures?

Ji Ning waved his hand, and beside him appeared over ten thousand chaos gems. "Here are a total of one hundred and sixty shares of chaos gems."

The hard currencies in the chaos... one was chaos nectar, the other was chaos gems.

One drop of chaos nectar was equivalent to one chaos gem. One share of chaos gems was ninety-nine gems!

Ji Ning had plundered the more than ten Ancestral Gods in the World Prison, obtaining some chaos nectar and quite a few chaos gems. The chaos gems totaled over one hundred and sixty shares.

"These two sets of chaos treasures are probably worth one hundred and forty bottles of chaos nectar." Ji Ning waved his hand again, and beside him appeared two sets of chaos treasures: one was a flying scissors treasure in the shape of a flood dragon, the other was a set of nine flying needles. Both were precious top-grade chaos treasures Ji Ning had collected.

"He does have some treasures." Black Jiao Ancestral God squinted at Ji Ning, becoming a bit wary. It seemed this unremarkable Silver Scale soldier had hidden some strength.

"Whatever. I've recently improved my strength. Among the peak Ancestral Gods of Wuyan Army, I doubt anyone dares claim they can definitely beat me. Only the five generals have sure victory over me. Could a Silver Scale soldier possibly have the strength of a general?" The fire in Black Jiao Ancestral God's heart burned more fiercely, and his aura surged.

"Fine, three hundred bottles of chaos nectar, I'll bet with you." Black Jiao Ancestral God waved his hand, and beside him appeared two hundred and forty black jade bottles and a set of Nine Star Azure Spirit Hooks. Among these, one hundred bottles of chaos nectar and the set of Nine Star Azure Spirit Hooks were just won back, while the other one hundred and forty bottles were his own, which Black Jiao Ancestral God had specifically exchanged for this bet, nearly emptying his treasures.

If Ji Ning had said five hundred bottles, Black Jiao Ancestral God really couldn't produce it; he would have had to stake his treasures.

...

A bet of three hundred bottles of chaos nectar was a huge gamble.

Even peak Ancestral Gods rarely bet so much. It was fortunate that it was at the peak Ancestral God level; ordinary Ancestral Gods or top Ancestral Gods didn't have such wealth.

"Three hundred bottles?"

"That Silver Scale soldier seems unfamiliar. Does anyone know him?"

"Don't know."

"Don't recognize him."

"I don't know either."

"There are only so many Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals in Wuyan Army. Where did he come from? He might actually have some strength."

"Of course he has some strength to dare come out. But so what? Black Jiao may be an idiot, but he's really powerful. He used to use heavy hammers, but just now he suddenly used that thin sword... I think Black Jiao has hidden some tricks. Among the peak Ancestral Gods of our Wuyan Army, no one can say they can definitely beat him. Do you think a Silver Scale soldier can win against him?"

"Well, he's just a Silver Scale soldier after all."

The watching Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals chatted among themselves, generally not optimistic about Ji Ning. No matter what, a Silver Scale soldier's strength was limited. They didn't think someone with 'general' level strength would deliberately become a Silver Scale soldier. Even if they were low-key, they wouldn't go that far.

...

"Brother Beiming, don't."

"Brother Beiming, Black Jiao has hidden his strength. I just suffered a big loss."

"Beiming..." The group of Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals under Li Hao Ancestral God all sent voice transmissions to dissuade him. They had just been eating and drinking with Ji Ning and had formed some friendship. This time Ji Ning was standing up on their behalf, and they didn't want him to lose his treasures to the opponent.

"Everyone, no need to persuade me." Ji Ning turned and smiled.

Li Hao and the others could only feel helpless. Once one reached their level of cultivation, it wasn't easy to persuade them.

"Brother Beiming probably has some special techniques, but he doesn't know that soldiers of Wuyan Army have the teachings of the 'Wuyan Star lineage', with no major flaws in any aspect. Special techniques are hard to work. Alas, Beiming just joined Wuyan Army and isn't familiar yet." Li Hao and the others shook their heads in worry.

The more powerful the inheritance, the fewer the flaws.

Take Ji Ning, for example. In soul defense, heart power detection, resistance to illusions, protective divine abilities, and many other aspects, he was extremely formidable, thanks to the many minor techniques Beixiu World God had taught him. With such flawlessness, dealing with him was even harder. Black Jiao Ancestral God was also a peak Ancestral God of Wuyan Army, so he naturally could learn many powerful techniques. Relying on special means to deal with him? The chance of success was very, very low.

...

On the training ground.

Black Jiao Ancestral God and Ji Ning faced each other from afar.

"Sending me so much chaos nectar, hahaha..." Black Jiao Ancestral God held four heavy hammers, his mighty aura rolling.

Ji Ning stood there, his aura ordinary.

He had originally planned to familiarize himself with the camp, so he naturally restrained his aura, making it seem like that of an ordinary Ancestral God. Otherwise, if he revealed his 'half-step World God' aura, he would have become the center of attention long ago. Ji Ning wasn't that flashy. By hiding his abilities a bit, he unexpectedly got a chance to earn some chaos nectar.

He could teach Black Jiao Ancestral God a lesson and earn some chaos nectar—why not?

"Be careful. Your captain Li Hao was knocked down by me earlier." Black Jiao Ancestral God said while also going all out, not daring to slack off.

"Go ahead." Ji Ning stood there.

"This Silver Scale soldier hasn't even taken out a weapon. Could it be that he uses his palms?" Black Jiao Ancestral God pondered. Using hands as weapons was common; hands were more flexible, able to use palms, fists, fingers, claws. Some special tempering techniques could even temper the hands to be as tough as powerful treasures.

"Hmph."

Black Jiao Ancestral God instantly transformed into a streak of light, charging forward while swinging his hammers. The void trembled, as if a whole world was smashing down.

"Fall!" Black Jiao Ancestral God shouted.

"Star Picking Hand." Ji Ning directly swung his right hand. This palm strike was like Pangu opening the heavens with his giant axe, carrying boundless force. Ji Ning's palm grew to a hundred zhang in size, like a dark cloud covering Black Jiao Ancestral God. Ji Ning's palm, comparable to a chaos treasure, could fully withstand the instant explosive burst of divine power.

With a half-step World God body and the explosive power of Star Picking Hand, in terms of strength, he absolutely crushed almost all peak Ancestral Gods.

"Fall." Black Jiao Ancestral God's voice still echoed, his eyes full of madness as his hammer smashed fiercely toward the giant palm. What use was a giant palm? Even if it grew to ten thousand miles, it would still be smashed to pieces.

"Bang."

The hammer struck the giant palm.

"Rumble~~~" The giant palm directly crushed down, like a flyswatter hitting a fly. Black Jiao Ancestral God was slammed into the ground by the giant palm, embedded into the training ground.

Ji Ning withdrew his hand.

The entire training ground fell silent. The Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals all stared at Ji Ning.

Black Jiao Ancestral God climbed out of the pit in the training ground. His face ugly, he growled, "I haven't lost yet!" From the exchange, he understood how terrifying this Silver Scale soldier's strength was. In a head-on collision, few peak Ancestral Gods could match him. But in a real life-and-death fight, mere strength wasn't enough.

"Whoosh." The heavy hammers in Black Jiao Ancestral God's hands disappeared, replaced by thin swords.

"Swish." He turned into a streak of light, charging straight at Ji Ning.

"Shameless."

"He was just smashed like that. If the opponent had continued attacking, he would have been finished."

The watching Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals shook their heads, but they had nothing to say. In a normal bet, the match ended when one side lost the ability to resist, had their divine body shattered, or their treasures sent flying. Just being knocked down wasn't enough; Black Jiao Ancestral God's divine body was comparable to a top-grade innate spirit treasure, not easily broken. If he didn't admit defeat, there was no help for it. If he cared about face, he would have admitted defeat after seeing the gap.

But Black Jiao Ancestral God thought he could still win!

"He's just strong. I won't compete with him in strength." Black Jiao Ancestral God, holding four thin swords, moved like a ghost, closing in on Ji Ning.