Chapter 12

In the training ground, a young man dressed in animal skins stood holding a black blunt sword. Around him stood nine tall and strong warriors, each clad in armor and wielding long spears, sharp swords, and broadswords, though all these weapons were blunt.

For six years, Ji Ning, who had just turned ten, had been practicing swordsmanship. Due to his cultivation of the *Chi Ming Nine Heavens Chart* in this life, he had already grown to over 1.6 meters tall, only ten centimeters shorter than in his previous life. His appearance was almost identical to his previous self, which might be what people call "the face reflects the heart." If there was a difference... it was that his face in his previous life was pale and sickly, while in this life, he was full of boundless vitality.

"Same old rules," Ji Ning scanned his surroundings, his gaze more terrifying than a beast's, "If you defeat me, each of you gets a beast head gold!"

"Roar~~"

"Master, be careful."

"Haha, a beast head gold, brothers, let Master see our strength." These brave warriors roared, they were the strongest warriors in the Ji Clan's Western Manor's army—the Nine Fang Warriors! To earn the title of Nine Fang Warrior, one had to have cultivated internal energy to the peak of the Later Heaven stage and have extensive combat experience.

A beast head gold was a standard ten-pound gold ingot. Gold was a hard currency in countless tribes, and ten pounds of gold was a sufficient attraction for the strongest warriors in the army.

However, none of them dared to be careless, as Ji Ning's strength had long been known throughout the army. Because he often sparred with some of the elite soldiers in the army... the improvement in Ji Ning's strength was also known to these warriors. Even if the nine strongest warriors joined forces... defeating Ji Ning would be very difficult, but it was still possible.

Ji Ning held the black blunt sword, silently scanning his surroundings.

Actually, after mastering the most complex *108 Heavenly and Earthly Swords* to the point where his father was satisfied, sparring with puppets had become meaningless. He was then allowed to spar with a large number of brave soldiers in the army. The weapons used during sparring were all blunt.

At the same time, his father issued a strict order: "When you spar with others, you are only allowed to use one sword! And your strength can only be used at one-tenth! Only when sparring with me and your mother are you allowed to use both swords... remember, the dual swords are your killing move, and you are only allowed to use them when you truly intend to kill your opponent."

Therefore...

Although Ji Ning's reputation had spread throughout the army, and he was recognized as a genius, they did not know that this was just the tip of the iceberg. Of course, during battles, Ji Ning put all his effort into 'single-handed swordsmanship' and 'footwork'.

...

The nine warriors circled around Ji Ning, each staring at him intently, as if they were staring at prey.

Ji Ning, however, stood as immovable as a mountain.

"Whoosh!" One of the nine warriors, a bald man, suddenly lunged forward, his long spear darting out like a venomous snake, reaching Ji Ning in an instant.

Facing this vicious spear, Ji Ning merely flickered and approached the bald warrior, causing the spear to miss.

The spear is most afraid of close combat!

"Swish!" Ji Ning's black blunt sword flashed, a streak of sword light passing by. The bald warrior fell to the ground, kicking his spear with his right foot, causing it to strike Ji Ning horizontally, while he rolled back into the formation.

"Phew, that was close, almost finished in one move, brothers, be careful." The bald warrior called out as he returned to the formation.

Ji Ning had already stepped on the spear, looking around: "Let's all attack together, otherwise you won't have a chance."

"Attack."

"Attack."

Feeling the gap, the nine warriors no longer tested and went all out.

The wind howled, the blades flashed, the swords danced, the spears were like dragons, the staffs like tigers... attacking Ji Ning from all sides. Ji Ning stood there, taking only slight steps back or turning, and these subtle movements made many of the warriors' attacks ineffective.

The sound of weapons clashing or a "thud" like a muffled thunder, clearly indicating a powerful strike.

Or a "swish" very light.

"Indeed, they are Nine Fang Warriors, the cooperation of these nine is truly formidable. If it were just five or six... I could defeat them instantly. But with nine working together, I am completely at a disadvantage." Ji Ning felt the pressure of the nine warriors' encirclement. After all, he only had one sword, and under such pressure, he could only strive to bring his swordsmanship and footwork to their utmost.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

The sword shadows howled.

Ji Ning suddenly felt a sense of intoxication, at this moment his body and sword were in perfect harmony, even feeling the 'sword' itself through the sword, and even the wind generated by the sword's rapid movement.

"Swish!" The black blunt sword lightly touched the war blade, first a shock, then a twist, causing the opponent's war blade to lose control and deviate. Then the sword tip thrust forward, directly piercing the warrior's chest, making him feel a dull pain and retreat two steps, sitting down.

"Whoosh." The black blunt sword drew a distorted arc in the air, easily avoiding the opponent's spear, and struck the bald warrior's face, causing his teeth to fly out, and he was thrown back.

For a moment, it was like the autumn wind sweeping away the fallen leaves.

Ji Ning's sword became extremely ethereal, the swordsmanship changing subtly, able to make multiple changes in an instant. In life-and-death combat... an advantage in an instant could immediately turn into a victory. This made the nine warriors, who had previously made Ji Ning struggle, fall one by one in a blink.

"Congratulations, Master."

"Congratulations, Master, your swordsmanship has reached the micro level, and you have achieved the unity of man and sword."

These warriors were both shocked and excited, congratulating him one after another.

A ten-year-old boy, achieving the micro level of swordsmanship and the unity of man and sword. He was even more prodigious than his father, 'Drip Water Sword' Ji Yichuan.

"Ha ha ha..." Ji Ning was also extremely excited. For six years, he had been practicing swordsmanship continuously. Every day, except for the morning when he went outside the city to practice archery, the rest of the time was spent practicing swordsmanship, sometimes with his father, sometimes with his father's disciples, and sometimes with the army's soldiers.

The sword had long been integrated into his bones.

Millions of practices had made his sword precise to a terrifying degree.

Multitasking made his swordsmanship unpredictable.

A body like a god or demon, and the internal energy cultivated to the peak of the Later Heaven stage, made his sword invincible.

Until today!

The accumulation of effort finally paid off, the swordsmanship reached the micro level, and the unity of man and sword was achieved!

"Today, you all helped me break through. I have nothing else, but each of you will get a beast head gold. Don't refuse." Ji Ning laughed.

The nine warriors looked at each other and said in unison: "Thank you, Master!"

If they had only lost, they would not have accepted, as the Nine Fang Warriors also had pride. But for Master Ji Ning to achieve the unity of man and sword, this was a great joy. In such a joyful event... receiving some benefits was normal.

"Nine of you."

From a distance, Chuncao and Qiuye, the two personal maids, came forward with a stone tray. On the tray were nine beast head gold ingots, all sheep head gold. The nine warriors all smiled and took them, feeling extremely impressed... Master Ji Ning was truly formidable, and they had seen his diligence over the years.

"Congratulations, Master. Congratulations, Master." After the nine warriors left, Chuncao and Qiuye were both full of joy.

Six years had passed, and Chuncao and Qiuye were both around twenty years old, in the prime of their beauty. Personal maids were generally the master's women, so they had long regarded Ji Ning as their sky, their god. Seeing their master become so powerful, they were naturally very happy.

"Ha ha ha..." Ji Ning also laughed.

Anyone would be excited, after all, after years of hard practice, success could not be anything but joyful.

He practiced swordsmanship for two years before his father deemed his body and mind ready for sword practice, and only then was he taught the *108 Heavenly and Earthly Swords*.

Another year, he reached the first level, and his father allowed him to spar.

Another three years, until today, he reached the second level, the micro level of swordsmanship, and the unity of man and sword!

"Chuncao, Qiuye, come with me." Ji Ning called out, he now most wanted to see his parents.

******

Deep in the mountains, a series of roars echoed.

At the foot of the mountain, a large group of black-armored knights stood. The armor of these black-armored knights was very thick, with spikes at the joints. Their mounts were tall, one-horned, long-haired beasts, with two curved, sky-piercing fangs that emitted a cold, chilling light, and thick, powerful hooves that made the ground tremble as they ran.

These hundreds of black-armored knights all emitted a powerful aura.

"Hmm?" The black-armored knights turned their heads to look nearby. They saw the distant mountain wall rapidly soften and turn red, then turn into scorching lava. A large amount of lava flowed down from a spot on the mountain wall, and a vaguely human-shaped creature walked through the lava, surrounded by flames, and directly walked out.

Whoosh.

One step, and he directly landed on the ground below. In his hand, he dragged a large, greenish-brown, scaly, fierce-looking beast. Behind him, a four-hoofed beast followed. Soon, the lava on the human-shaped creature's body was all shaken off, revealing his appearance... it was an old man with fiery red hair, with a small red snake hanging from his ear. The four-hoofed beast also walked to the side of the old man with the snake, behaving very obediently.

"Master." The hundreds of black-armored knights all respectfully called out.

The old man with the snake, Ji Lie, laughed: "Came out to hunt, and actually encountered a ground dragon, good luck, this ground dragon is just one step away from transforming into a先天 spirit, let's take it back and raise it well."

"Master, Master!" A voice suddenly came from the sky.

Ji Lie looked up.

In the sky, a large green-feathered bird was flying, and a lean man in animal skins was sitting on it. As the bird descended rapidly, the man in animal skins leaped down and landed lightly on the ground, then knelt down respectfully: "Master, there is news from the manor."

"Speak." Ji Lie frowned.

"Ji Yichuan's son, Ji Ning, has entered the realm of 'unity of man and sword' today." The man in animal skins said respectfully.

Ji Lie's eyes widened, the flames on his body suddenly flared up, and his body trembled with anger. Suddenly, he fiercely threw the ground dragon he was holding into the distance. The ten-thousand-pound heavy ground dragon turned into a blur, and with a "boom," it hit the mountain wall, causing the wall to tremble and form a huge indentation. The indentation's surroundings cracked into a hundred-foot-long fissure, and the ground dragon was embedded in the indentation, blood seeping from its head and scales, and it had been crushed to death.

"Back to the Western Manor!" Ji Lie gritted his teeth and ordered after a long time.

"Yes." The hundreds of black-armored knights responded in unison, although they felt it was a pity to leave the ground dragon's corpse there, but their master 'Ji Lie' was currently in a rage, and no one dared to defy him.

Rumble~~~

Ji Lie rode the four-hoofed beast, followed by the hundreds of black-armored knights, and quickly disappeared into the deep forest, leaving the ground dragon's corpse embedded in the mountain wall, blood flowing down the wall.

******

New book, diligently seeking collections and recommendation votes~~~

{Piaotian Literature}