Myriad Dragon Divine Sovereign

The crowd outside the Heaven-Reaching Martial Pavilion stared blankly at the Water Curtain, their eyes filled with disbelief.

”This is incredible! Wen Qingye’s sword can actually split the Fire Armor Lizard’s flames!”

”Yeah, the Fire Armor Lizard’s fire is no ordinary flame.”

”But why? How can Wen Qingye’s sword split flames?”

Everyone murmured in confusion, completely baffled by what they had just witnessed. It was as if their entire understanding of the world had been turned upside down.

Nie Qinglan frowned, turning to Instructor Chen. ”Instructor Chen, do you know what’s happening?”

Instructor Chen stared at Wen Qingye’s figure, his lips trembling. ”Impossible. Absolutely impossible,” he said, his voice laced with shock. ”I don’t believe it. If this is real, then that boy’s Swordsmanship has reached an unheard-of level.”

Nie Qinglan glanced at the flustered Instructor Chen before turning her gaze back to the Water Curtain.

Wen Qingye knew that this fourteenth floor would be his greatest challenge. ’This is it.’ He took a deep breath, a faint smile touching his lips as he strode forward.

The moment his foot touched the ground of the fourteenth floor, he felt a powerful pressure wash over him.

Wen Qingye traced the pressure to its source and saw a massive, black-striped tiger lying motionless on the ground, its eyes locked onto him.

The black-striped tiger slowly rose to its feet. As its four paws touched the ground, it stood at one and a half times Wen Qingye’s height.

The great tiger didn’t roar, but slowly began to walk toward Wen Qingye.

SHIIING!

Wen Qingye jerked his sword from its sheath, his eyes filled with caution as he watched the great black-striped tiger.

Nie Qinglan crossed her arms and said slowly, ”This is a modified puppet, designed to imitate a Dark Slaughter Tiger. Its strength can’t compare to a true Dark Slaughter Tiger at the Ninth Heaven of Refining Essence, but it’s not to be underestimated.”

Instructor Chen frowned. ”Even if it’s an imitation, I recall its strength is still roughly equivalent to the Ninth Heaven of Refining Essence, isn’t it?”

When the black-striped tiger appeared, the crowd gasped. Even though they weren’t facing the Dark Slaughter Tiger puppet directly, they could tell from its bearing alone that it was formidable.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, the Dark Slaughter Tiger puppet pounced on Wen Qingye, its body moving as fast as lightning, like a black whirlwind.

Wen Qingye’s eyes widened, his expression cold and detached. His sword slashed through the air, aimed straight for the Dark Slaughter Tiger’s body.

THUMP!

The Dark Slaughter Tiger met his strike with its enormous claws. The collision of sword and claw produced a dull thud.

It felt as if his sword had struck solid rock. He staggered backward, a massive shockwave traveling up the blade, jolting his arm numb and making his chest heave.

The Dark Slaughter Tiger immediately pressed its attack, its four paws moving faster and faster. Faint black wisps of air swirled around its claws as its speed increased, as if its paws were treading on the wind itself.

In the blink of an eye, the Dark Slaughter Tiger lunged, landing right in front of Wen Qingye. It opened its cavernous maw, and a putrid stench washed over him.

Wen Qingye quickly steadied himself and sidestepped, narrowly dodging the tiger’s lunge.

After landing, the Dark Slaughter Tiger cracked its neck and seemed to regard Wen Qingye with amusement.

Wen Qingye’s brow furrowed. ’This Dark Slaughter Tiger is too fast,’ he thought. ’Its only fatal spots are its throat and heart, and I’ll have few chances to land a direct, killing blow. But in a prolonged fight, this puppet’s body is so tough that it’ll be difficult for me to gain any advantage.’

The Dark Slaughter Tiger’s attack pattern was simple: pounce, bite, a slash of its claws, or a sweep of its tail. Wen Qingye dodged and struck back in turn. But even with his peerless Swordsmanship and the Fifth-grade Cyan Mist Sword in hand, the sheer disparity in power made it difficult for him to rend the puppet tiger’s flesh.

”Spiritual Snake Frenzy Dance!”

Wen Qingye hastily dodged a sweep of the Dark Slaughter Tiger’s iron-like tail. His swordplay became broad and sweeping, moving like a ferocious Spiritual Snake as the blade shot toward the tiger’s paw.

SCREEE!

Wen Qingye’s sword tore through the puppet’s flesh, and the grating sound of the blade scraping against bone was enough to set one’s teeth on edge.

”Undying and Undying Yin Yang Break!”

Wen Qingye immediately stepped forward and thrust his finger out once more. A beam of violet-black light shot through the air, its eerie glow incredibly menacing and enough to make one’s Heart Spirit tremble.

The Dark Slaughter Tiger puppet, seemingly impervious to pain, spun around and swatted at Wen Qingye’s finger. Its paw was wreathed in black Powerful Qi that suppressed the surrounding Primordial Qi, forcing it to scatter.

Wen Qingye had thought the sword wound would cause the puppet to hesitate, but he hadn’t expected it to react so quickly. Now, with his technique already unleashed, it was too late to pull it back.

The two beams of black light collided, and violent ripples of Primordial Qi spread out in all directions. The Dark Slaughter Tiger froze for an instant before its entire body crashed heavily to the ground.

PFFT!

Wen Qingye spat out a mouthful of blood, after which some color returned to his face.

Wen Qingye wiped the blood from his lips with his sleeve, his eyes narrowing.

The Dark Slaughter Tiger was in much better shape. It scrambled back to its feet, its fur bristling as its ferocious eyes locked onto Wen Qingye.

Wen Qingye watched the Dark Slaughter Tiger and began to analyze the situation again. ’The puppet’s body is incredibly tough, but it’s not without flaws. Its skeleton must be made from some special material, which is why the bones are so hard. But my sword can still penetrate its flesh.’

With this in mind, Wen Qingye calmed himself and began searching for an opening.

Wen Qingye kicked off the ground, using the Butterfly Step to charge at the Dark Slaughter Tiger.

”Profound Light Swordsmanship!”

As Wen Qingye swung his sword, it erupted with an astonishingly bright light. The dazzling brilliance of the attack was enough to shake the Heart Spirits of the onlookers.

But the Dark Slaughter Tiger didn’t rely solely on its eyes to track an enemy’s movements. It coiled its body back and then, like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, shot toward Wen Qingye with a WHOOSH.

Wen Qingye gritted his teeth, gripping his sword with both hands. He held the blade level to meet the tiger’s charge.

BANG! BANG!

The Dark Slaughter Tiger pounced with claws spread wide, its attack backed by immense Primordial Qi and a fierce Gang Wind. Wen Qingye’s sword slammed heavily against the tiger’s claws.

Wen Qingye was sent spinning through the air. He felt awful; if not for his impressive physical fortitude, clashing head-on with the Dark Slaughter Tiger twice would have been enough to knock him unconscious from the shock alone.

The rebound force sent the Dark Slaughter Tiger flying backward as well. As Wen Qingye watched the tiger begin its descent, a predatory glint flashed in his eyes.