Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Recruit that scimitar wielding youth into the Ji clan!” The distant, spectating Ji Young said to one of his personal servants standing behind him. “He has the potential to reach the Xiantian level.”

  Yes, master.”

  ….

  The dueling platform only had Ning and Grizzly left.

  Grizzly’s eyes flashed with golden light, staring from afar at Ning, while at the same time, his entire body began to glow with a faint gold light as well, and a powerful aura began to emit from him. This caused the distant Ning’s eyes to narrow. “This Grizzly is also a Fiendgod Body Refiner? It seems he’s reached quite a high level as well.”

  “Ji Ning.” Grizzly growled. “I admit that your footwork is superior to mine! But today, we must determine who the strongest person is, and you won’t be able to acquire the golden sword just by fleeing! You must fight me head on, but unfortunately, if you fight me head out, you aren’t a match for me at all. You will definitely lose!”

  Black sword in hand, Ning looked calmly at his opponent.

  From Grizzly’s ferocious aura, Ning could predict that this Grizzly had definitely gone through life-and-death battles. With his sabercraft having reached the ‘one with the saber’ level, and that layer of golden life demonstrating that he had trained in a powerful type of Fiendgod Body Refining technique, if Ning’s guess was correct, this Grizzly should have trained in the [Eternal Mysteries of the Yellow Earth]. After all, he had reviewed all of the nineteen books on Fiendgod Body Refining which the Ji clan’s five prefectures had.”

  “This person called Grizzly has encountered many life-and-death battles, and is a Fiendgod Body Refiner who has reached the ‘one with the saber’ level. But he doesn’t have any reputation at all.” Ning secretly mused. “He definitely wasn’t born in the tribes. He should belong to the Ji clan…nine out of ten says that he is someone whom the viperous Ji Lee cultivated and intentionally kept hidden.”

  “Afraid?” Grizzly, saber in hand, stared like a hungry tiger at Ning. He didn’t make any movement to go attack Ning of his own volition.

  Ning, wielding his black sword, began to walk forward in a very calm, natural way, as though taking a stroll in his own home. If he had encountered Grizzly before suffering from Serpentwing’s attack, Ning would perhaps be a bit more trouble, but in the months which had passed since suffering from Serpentwing’s attack, the swordplay of Ning, who had reached the ‘one with the world’ level in footwork, had increased dramatically as well.

  To reach the ‘one with the world’ level in footwork, one needed to spend time training. The same was true for reaching the ‘one with the world’ level in swordplay. Although Ning had yet to reach the ‘one with the world’ level in swordplay, Ning’s swordplay was no longer what it had been mere months ago. He didn’t even need to utilize the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] in order to easily defeat this Grizzly.

  Ning’s sword suddenly moved!

  “Hu!” The sword was as graceful as the rain, descending in an instant.

  Beautiful to behold.

  When a killing sword technique could transform into a beautiful sight, it showed that the wielder had already reached an extremely deep level of skill.

  “Break apart!” Grizzly roared as he wielded his saber, which flashed with the thickness of blood as one enormous saber-flash after another flew towards Ning. In the blink of an eye, it was though Hell had descended…those enormous flashes of saber-light were the punishing blades of hell, causing one to feel hopeless and as though they deserved to stand there and die beneath those saber flashes.

  “Bloodhell Saber?” Ning’s sword swept out like a gentle sprinkling of rain.

  His flashing sword flowed together into one stream like rainwater which drizzled down, ensnaring Grizzly. No matter how wild and explosive Grizzly’s Bloodhell Saber techniques were, that drizzling flow of water continued to ensnare it, making it lose its wild, explosive aura.

  Grizzly felt as though he had suddenly become trapped in a prison of water. There was water everywhere, wildly ensnaring him. He clearly possessed boundless strength, but he wasn’t able to utilize it against the water.

  “Break!” Grizzly’s saberplay was incomparably wild. Even though he was constantly being ensnared, he still didn’t hesitate one bit, only growing even more ferocious.

  “Your saberplay is indeed strong.” Ning said gently.

  An opponent of this level wasn’t a threat to him at all. Only, the fact that this Grizzly’s saberplay was developed in life-and-death battles was a source of interest to Ning, which was why Ning was willing to exchange ten blows with him to accumulate some experience. Ning knew very well…that compared to some of the elder experts of the clan, what he lacked the most was sufficient experience.

  “Hua.”

  The black longsword in Ning’s hands suddenly thrust forward in a straight attack, and instantly, it seemed as though the entire world grew silent. The hazily glowing sword seemed to have transformed into a single drop of rain. This raindrop pierced past the saber, and as it did, the saber shattered. The raindrop then smashed against Grizzly’s chest, like a raindrop falling against a stone. Pa! The faint sound of bones splintering could be heard as Grizzly was sent flying several dozen meters, smashing viciously against the floor beneath the dueling platform, causing a small crater in the earth.

  Raindrop Sword – Raindrop Pierces Rocks!

  “Ugh.” Grizzly clutched his chest, spewing out a mouthful of fresh blood.

  He lowered his head to look at his chest. The fur of the Xiantian-level beast which he wore had split open, and his chest had caved in, his bones broken. And this was with Ning using a very ordinary, blunt black longsword.

  …..

  The tens of thousands of spectators watching the training area all fell silent…and then, there was an earth-shaking commotion. They were all in awe. This truly was the son of the Raindrop Sword, Ji Yichuan. No wonder the Raindrop Sword had dared to be so wildly arrogant as to have his son fight seven others…this seemingly handsome, inexperienced young master Ji was simply too terrifying, to easily be able to dominate these seven opponents.

  “Hahaha…” The Prefecture Lord, Ji Young, let out a loud, carefree laugh, incomparably happy.

  He won.

  His lineage had won. Ji Ning had seized the golden sword, and would become the next Prefecture Lord.

  “Raindrop Pierces Rocks! The advanced level in swordplay!” Sitting next to him, Ji Lee suddenly clenched his right hand, and the stone armrest his hand was resting on was shattered and cracked.

  “Second brother.” Prefecture Lord Young turned to look at his second brother.

  Lee looked at the Prefecture Lord, his senior brother. His face changing, he said in a low voice, “Advanced swordplay…he’s only ten, but his swordplay is already ‘advanced’, and he has reached the level of ‘expertise’ in the [Raindrop Sutra], one of the five major sword techniques of the Ji clan! He is even more of a monster than his father. Senior brother, first your lineage produced Ji Yichuan, and now, your lineage produced a Ji Ning. Heaven has shown it does not favor me. I have lost, and I have nothing more to say!

  * * *

  Book 2, Chapter 9 - The Traceless Talisman

  Prefecture Lord Ji Young spoke out, “Second brother, listen to me!”

  “Big brother.” Ji Lee closed his eyes, and then opened them and growled fiercely, “No need to say anything else. From today onwards, Ji Ning is the heir to the Prefecture Lord position of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. I, Ji Lee, will definitely be prepared to come when he calls, and will be faithful and loyal as I go out and do battle on behalf of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. I will not be the slightest bit rebellious. I thoroughly admire and submit to Ji Ning. But you…I simply do not admire and submit to you at all!”

  Lee hurriedly turned and left.

  “Father.” Ji Jadewich, seated next to him, called out, hurriedly following after him.

  Young watched
quietly as Lee left, but he had a hint of a smile on his face. He knew very well that his second brother, Ji Lee, had a fierce temper. Lee was an extremely combative man. He would submit to those who were powerful, but he would never do so to one who was weak! Ever since they were young, in terms of power, he, Young, had been inferior to his second brother. Naturally, Lee had never submitted to him. But Lee had once said…if Ji Yichuan were to become Prefecture Lord, he wouldn’t voice a single word of complaint.

  Now that Ning had showed that he was even more of a monster than his father Yichuan, and had in such an awe-inspiring manner defeated seven opponents to seize the golden sword, Lee naturally admired and submitted to him in the same manner.

  If he submitted, he submitted!

  If he didn’t submit, he didn’t submit!

  He, Ji Lee, had never admired or submitted to his big brother, Ji Young.

  …..

  Sunset.

  The Snowfall Palace of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture had put on a feast. The settling of the identity of the next Prefecture Lord was an event of enormous importance to the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. After Young stepped down, Ning would assume his position and also become one of the overseers. As for Young, being both a Xiantian lifeform and the previous Prefecture Lord, he would also become an overseer.

  The Ji clan of the West Prefecture had in total ten major overseers. Any affairs which had a major impact on the destiny of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture were all decided together by the ten overseers. Once Ning assumed his position, the weakest of the current ten overseers would have to step down! The structure of power would completely change. One could foresee how much power would be gained by the current, principal lineage.

  “Wu Sa, Wu Sa Ya!”

  In the center of the palace, more than thirty barefoot and half-naked fur-clad young women were dancing.

  In the area behind the two rows on each side of the palace, there were musicians playing instruments such as drums, pipes, ocarinas, and other such instruments. The sound of the musical instruments were occasionally somber while occasionally lively, reverberating throughout the palace. Within this palace, the most powerful people within the Ji clan of the West Prefecture were currently clustered together, toasting each other and laughing loudly.

  Ning, as the heir apparent to the Prefecture Lord position, had his own seat as well. In front of him, there was a table that was filled with all sorts of delicious food.

  “Huahuahua…” A fur-clad young lady was standing to the side, holding a large urn of wine. Seeing that Ning’s beastskull cup was empty, she hurriedly filled it. The urn of wine weighed dozens of pounds, but the young fur-clad lady didn’t spill a single drop of wine as she poured.

  “It truly has its own unique charm.” Watching, Ji Ning shook his head dizzily.

  There was more than one person seated next to Ning.

  Ji Yichuan was naturally seated on his knees in the middle of the table, with Yuchi Snow by his side, while a large, snow-white dog was on his other side. It was the Godbeast, ‘Whitewater Hound’.

  The people qualified to have their own individual seats here in the Snowfall Palace were all people of extremely high status in the Ji clan of the West Prefecture. Even Ning’s mother, Snow, had to be brought in her capacity as the wife of Yichuan, as she herself wouldn’t have otherwise been qualified to have her own seat.

  …..

  All of the Xiantian lifeforms had brought either their family or the spirit-beasts they had tamed.

  Soon, it was nightfall, and the musicians and dancers all depart, and even the female servants and attendants were dismissed as well. It was the time to talk about some major affairs. If they were talking about extremely important, secret matters, even spirit-beasts and family members would have to leave.

  “Everyone.” Prefecture Lord Young laughed. “Today, the Ceremony of the Golden Sword was concluded. Ning, at the age of ten, defeated seven combatants by himself and seized the golden sword. Naturally, he has become the next heir to the position of Prefecture Lord. However, Ning is still young…it’s best to have him wait a while longer and gain more experience before taking the Prefecture Lord position. As I see it, let’s wait until he is twenty. What do you think, everyone?”

  “Agreed.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Ning’s talent is no lower than Yichuan’s. He is very suitable for being selected as the next Prefecture Lord.” Another overseer nodded. Not even a single objection was raised, including from those on Ji Lee’s side.

  Yichuan, seated off to the side, revealed a rare smile. “Prefecture Lord.”

  “Yichuan, what is it?” Young looked towards him.

  “I wish to ask for an item for my son.” Yichuan said.

  Young was puzzled. “What item?”

  “The Traceless Talisman!” Yichuan said solemnly. As soon as his words came out, the entire hall fell silent. Many of the Xiantian-level people stared at each other in surprise.

  “The Traceless Talisman?” Young frowned as he looked at Ning, then asked, “Ning, you want the Traceless Talisman?”

  Sitting there holding his wine-filled beastskull goblet, Ning was startled. Glancing at his father, he nodded. “Right.”

  Yichuan said, “Ning is the next Prefecture Lord. He should be able to request this Traceless Talisman, right?”

  “Right.” Young nodded, and then took a deep breath. With a flip of his hand, a strange jade talisman, glittering with jade light, appeared in his palm. This jade talisman was covered with complicated diagrams and illegible words, and it emanated strange, faint waves of energy which caused the area around it to seemingly distort. With a toss, Young tossed the item directly to Yichuan. “Yichuan, this Traceless Talisman is one of the guardian treasures of our Ji clan of the West Prefecture. It must not be used carelessly.”

  Yichuan nodded. “I understand.”

  ––––––

  Late night. On the road back from Snowfall Palace, Ning and his parents, as well as the Whitewater Hound, were walking together.

  “Father. Mother.” Ning said, puzzled. “What is the Traceless Talisman. What do you want it for, Father?”

  Snow laughed as she looked at her son. “This is the reason why your father said he would only permit you to leave if you participated in the Ceremony of the Golden Sword and seized the golden sword. Because only after seizing the golden sword and settling the question of your position as heir to the Prefecture Lord position would you be able to acquire one of the guardian treasures, the ‘Traceless Talisman’.”

  Yichuan said with a cold face, “The Traceless Talisman is an extremely valuable talisman. Three hundred years ago, one of the ancestors of our Ji clan of the West Prefecture, thanks to good luck, managed to acquire it. Back then, he acquired three of them, but he used up two of them…and now only this last one is remaining, and it has become the guardian treasure of our prefecture.”

  “What use does it have?” Ning asked.

  Yichuan laughed. “As long as you utilize the ‘Traceless Talisman’, you can instantly travel to any place within ten thousand kilometers.”

  “What?!” Ning was shocked. Instantly travel to any location within ten thousand kilometers?

  “A talisman like this is something you can’t even purchase if you wanted to, and our ancestor was only able to acquire it through luck.” Yichuan sighed. “To our Ji clan, obtaining a treasure of this level…is our absolute good fortune. You are the next Prefecture Lord, and thus I used that to acquire this ‘Traceless Talisman’ without anyone being able to object.”

  After speaking, with a flip of his hand, Yichuan withdrew a jade shortsword that was gleaming with a bloody light, handing it to Ning. “This jade sword was only completed after being immersed in my blood for a long time. No matter how distant you are, I will be able to sense the location of this jade sword. This time, when you go out adventuring, keep it within you at all times. Remember, as soon as you meet any danger, immediately break this j
ade sword. When you break the jade sword, I will immediately know, and I will immediately use the ‘Traceless Talisman’ to instantly teleport to you and save your life.”

  “Ah!” Ning instantly understood the reason why his father needed this Traceless Talisman.

  Yichuan barked at him, “On this adventuring trip, you are not permitted to go too far from the West Prefecture City. This Traceless Talisman has a maximum range of only ten thousand kilometers. Through sensing the location of the jade sword, I’ll know how far away you are. If I sense that you have moved more than ten thousand kilometers away from the West Prefecture City, I will immediately head towards you, capture you, bring you back, and imprison you in the underground prison for three years!”

  Ning rubbed his eyes. Imprisoned for three years in the underground prison? The forever dark underground prison, where the sunlight never shone, was the place where felons and those who were to be executed were held by the Ji clan of the West Prefecture.

  “Your son will definitely remember.” Ning hurriedly said.

  Ten thousand kilometers?

  More than enough. After all, the area which the Ji clan of the West Prefecture controlled was only a few thousand kilometers. If he kept heading west, he would enter the territory of one of the other local hegemons.

  “Ning, son.” Snow asked with concern. “When do you plan to head out and go adventuring?”

  “I’ll make some quick preparations first.” Ning nodded. “Three days from now.”

  ––––––––

  Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

  Dawn. The sky was barely lit. Within Ning’s room.

  “Ning, son, take these with you.” With a wave of Snow’s hand, atop Ning’s bed, two large sets of beast fur clothing as well as some other miscellaneous items appeared out of nowhere.

  “Mother.” Ning couldn’t help but say. “I’ve already prepared everything. Clothing, food, tools.”

  Yichuan snapped coldly, “If we tell you to take it, then take it. Your mother personally stitched every single one of these items with her own hands.”