Chapter 21: Resilience

Within the Silver Cloud Realm of the Sword Palace.

As the other side of the altar fell silent, Ji Ning merely noted it, then focused entirely on battling the puppets on each level of the altar.

"Rumble~~~ Hiss~~~"

Thunder rumbled incessantly.

Combined through the formation, thunder and water merged, greatly increasing their power, but now they could only barely affect these powerful puppets. For a mighty figure of Ji Ning's level, even a slight disruption to the opponent made things far, far easier.

Four hundred levels!

Five hundred levels!

Ji Ning kept advancing. His strongest technique now was the Brightmoon Sword Art, and this was inevitable. For as he would eventually become a Dao Lord, Ji Ning's greatest strength would always be his own path. Other arts like the Nameless Sword Art and the Heartprint Sword Art were merely references, drawing experience to enhance his sword insights. His ultimate strength would forever lie in his own Brightmoon Sword Art.

All other sword cultivators were the same—their greatest strength was always their personal sword art!

"Break."

Heavenrend, Shadowless, Mind-Heart, Yin-Yang, and Blooddrop.

The five forms of Brightmoon! Ji Ning also utilized the 'Reincarnation Sword Intent,' making his five forms like a cycle, flawless, greatly increasing their power in battle.

Among the five forms, Ji Ning's strongest were the defensive techniques 'Yin-Yang' and 'Mind-Heart,' because he had long focused on the Lingxi Domain, making him more adept at defense.

...

"Eh, Mu Hua, is this the new breakthrough from your Sword Palace? He's already reached five hundred levels." Daoist Zheyou suddenly remarked in surprise.

"Mm." Daoist Mu Hua nodded, a faint smile on his face as he watched the scene of Ji Ning advancing.

"Reaching five hundred levels is decent. It seems this kid named Beiming has some talent. Pity he entered the Sword Palace too late." Daoist Yinfeng poured cold water.

Daoist Mu Hua did not argue.

Because he could also see that although Ji Ning's sword art was superb, compared to Prince Qinghuan, Knife Sovereign Red Snow, and others, there was a clear gap. Ji Ning's sword art was at a mid-level among those World-level cultivators who had gained the ancient tower's acknowledgment. Considering he had only gained the acknowledgment a little over a hundred years ago, ranking in the middle among over sixty prodigies was quite impressive.

Five hundred levels was also a mid-level standard; many prodigies stopped around five hundred plus levels.

...

Ji Ning, with three heads and six arms, wielded six divine swords, Purple Light Qiong, going all out. In midair, thunder and water swirled with constant rumbling, trying to affect the attacking puppets.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~"

A puppet suddenly transformed into a towering wave, rolling directly toward Ji Ning. Ji Ning quickly manipulated his divine thunder and divine water to block, but they were soon overwhelmed by the wave, which continued its assault.

"Yin-Yang Form."

Ji Ning executed the defensive technique against group attacks with all six swords. In the Silver Cloud Realm, he used the Yin-Yang Form most frequently, as the puppets often attacked in groups.

"Whoosh whoosh~~~" Yin and Yang spun, sword light danced, forming a black hole that blocked all the waves.

"Kill."

Ji Ning broke through the waves and continued forward.

Five hundred fifty levels, five hundred sixty levels, five hundred seventy levels...

Ji Ning was extremely resilient. His Azure Flower Mist Force prevented him from using divine abilities, but it also made him very stable, able to sustain his maximum power continuously. Other Dao Lords, even Prince Qinghuan, had to consider divine power bursts, sometimes fighting at normal strength, sometimes bursting, and they carried elixirs, chaos gems, and chaos liquid to replenish consumption.

But Ji Ning was too stable!

His sword art was equally stable. The five forms of Brightmoon covered all directions of swordplay. Some sword cultivators excelled in certain aspects and were weaker in others, always having biases. Ji Ning was proficient in every aspect, with defense slightly stronger only relatively. Moreover, through the 'Reincarnation Sword Intent,' he made the five forms a unified whole, naturally increasing stability.

Emperor Snowdragon was renowned for his tenacity; even those stronger than him found it hard to defeat him.

"Advance."

"Over endless ages, mighty figures have died, even those who failed in dao integration and perished, never to be revived. True spirit annihilation—reversing spacetime to revive them must cost a great deal. Without sufficient strength, how could I ask a being like the Great Dominator to pay such a price for me?"

"To achieve that, I must seize great opportunities."

Ji Ning would never give up easily.

He understood that over endless ages, even many of the royal clan of Mangya Kingdom had died, yet none were said to be revived. Clearly, even if the Great Dominator could revive them, the cost must be astonishing.

"I am just starting out."

"I must not miss this opportunity." In battle, Ji Ning's sword art gradually improved subtly. He had not yet reached a bottleneck, and under such high-pressure, frantic combat, his sword art naturally refined itself.

"Advance."

"One more step." Ji Ning felt the pressure growing.

...

"Eh, could it be..."

"That kid from the Sword Palace, can he really..."

The mighty figures on the thirteen void thrones watched the scene in amazement. Ji Ning was struggling forward under the siege of six puppets, each extremely powerful. His Dao divine thunder and Dao divine water were of little help now.

"Six hundred levels. He actually reached six hundred levels."

"His sword art has also reached six hundred levels?"

The mighty figures were astonished.

Daoist Qiantao exclaimed, "His sword art seems only mid-level among those World-level cultivators who gained the ancient tower's acknowledgment, yet he reached six hundred levels! That puts him at about tenth place, right?"

Due to time, the number of those who passed six hundred levels was changing.

On the first day, only five passed six hundred levels.

By the time Prince Qinghuan passed, eight had passed six hundred levels.

By the time Ji Ning passed, he was the tenth.

Remember—this was competition across all twelve palaces! Among the entire twelve palaces, Ji Ning was the tenth to pass six hundred levels, placing him in the top tier. Even within the Sword Palace, Ji Ning was the best performer.

"Six hundred and two levels. That's about it." The white-bearded old man, the Great Dominator, nodded slightly. "Don't underestimate this Beiming. His sword art seems lower in realm than Qinghuan and the others, at a mid-level among these little ones, but it is very balanced. He is mid-level in every aspect. I recall this kid also inherited from Snowdragon. Look—his sword art contains the Reincarnation Sword Intent, and many aspects perfectly coordinate, naturally raising his strength. Coupled with seven Dao divine thunders and seven Dao divine waters, it's normal for him to break six hundred levels."

"But he has reached his limit. Now he's just holding on by sheer resilience."

The Great Dominator looked at the scene on the screen. Ji Ning was now at level six hundred and two, facing a siege of eight puppets, completely on the defensive, yet he persisted.

"Six hundred and two levels. Not bad." The Great Dominator commented.

"Mm, very good."

"This kid might one day rival Qinghuan."

They all agreed, and Daoist Mu Hua nodded as well, though inwardly he sighed... What a pity. The seven Sword Lords of the Sword Palace had no hope.

No one refuted the Great Dominator, for his insight was extremely sharp. He had clearly seen Ji Ning's current strength and deemed six hundred and two levels as his limit, so it was indeed his limit.

...

Silver Cloud Realm, level six hundred and two of the altar tower.

Tired.

Too tired.

Facing the siege of these eight puppets, with terrible water and fire attacks from midair and puppets closing in for melee, each puppet was no weaker than Ji Ning. Coordinating as eight, they completely suppressed him. Ji Ning relied on his extremely balanced sword art to barely hold on.

He would not easily concede, for giving up meant defeat. As long as he persisted, there was hope.

Ji Ning strove to learn from the battle, pondering the flaws in his sword art, constantly refining it.

"Rumble~~~" The puppets attacked from all sides. Ji Ning was like a small boat in a storm, about to capsize at any moment.

Ji Ning did not know that the Great Dominator and the twelve golden-armored mighty figures were now watching him. Though they admired him, they also believed he had reached his limit at this level.

"Under siege, their attacks come from all directions, truly omnipresent..." Although Ji Ning's sword art was slowly improving, he still felt a sense of despair. A long defense would inevitably fail.