Stele Forest.
After informing Ning Xuan about the impending opening of the Pride Hunting Ground, the elder had a gloating look on his face. "A hundred years have passed, and you haven’t even managed to sculpt the rough form of a cricket. It seems you won’t be participating in the Pride Hunting Ground this ti around."
Ning Xuan turned a deaf ear.
"But maybe that’s for the best. The greatest prodigies are coming this ti, and who knows how many masters are lurking in the shadows, wanting to kill you. Staying away might let you live a few more days."
Ning Xuan’s hands never stopped moving as he retorted bluntly, "There are still five days left. The emperor is calm, so why are the eunuchs panicking?"
The elder was speechless.
"Junior Brother, you’re so audacious!" Wawa’s voice suddenly echoed in Ning Xuan’s mind. "Should I start calling you ’Junior Brother Fierce’? It sounds quite imposing, doesn’t it?"
Ning Xuan’s chisel slipped and gouged his own leg.
He’d only been teasing that assassin couple, so why was Senior Sister Wawa making it so difficult for him?
The elder’s eyes lit up, and he imdiately asked Wawa, "What did you say? He’s actually started self-harming!"
"I’m not telling you." Wawa shot the elder a disdainful look, then sent a smiling ntal ssage to Ning Xuan. "Junior Brother, I’m sorry! I promise I’ll never say it again!" Though, she truly had no idea why he was upset.
DING! DING! DING!
Inside the Blunt Stone Tower, as if responding to Wawa, Ning Xuan chiseled with even greater fervor, gradually becoming lost in his work.
One day, two days... one year, two years... one hundred years, two hundred years...
Ning Xuan forgot to eat or sleep, becoming one with his task.
There was only one belief in his heart: he had to complete the task before the Pride Hunting Ground opened!
His ntal state was more peaceful than ever. His speed also increased without him noticing, until finally, he could wield the chisel like it was flying, relying on his physical body’s strength alone.
On the fifth day after Ning Xuan had entered the tower, the elder and Wawa both looked up toward the top of the Blunt Stone Tower. Inside, stone chips flew about, blanketing the entire space.
Suddenly, the sound of chiseling stopped.
PUFF!
As Ning Xuan blew away the dust, twelve uniquely shaped crickets appeared before their eyes.
Ning Xuan had completed the task ahead of schedule.
"I was just talking... I never thought he’d actually do it! And he carved twelve of them..." the elder muttered, completely stunned.
The stones on the twelfth floor of the Blunt Stone Tower were no ordinary material. Anyone else, even using their full power, would be unable to make a single scratch on them without having an Earth Realm Cultivation, let alone carve them.
Looking at the twelve crickets, Ning Xuan felt an unprecedented wave of satisfaction. It wasn’t just his ntal state that had improved this ti; his swordsmanship had also advanced.
Upon succeeding, Ning Xuan finally understood why Senior Sister Wawa had deed his work unqualified when he had first arrived at the Stele Forest and carved over ten steles. It was because the depths of his carvings were inconsistent. The turtle that Senior Sister Wawa had carved, though it seed like a doodle, had lines that were sharp, distinct, and perfectly uniform in depth. That was the result of mastering one’s strength to the absolute pinnacle.
If he were to draw his sword now, he could attack and retract it with perfect freedom. As for the Impermanence Stacking Sword, he could effortlessly stack fifteen slashes in an instant, perhaps even more.
This was an unexpected windfall from over four hundred years of wielding a chisel, a pleasure born from friction and heat!
And the rewards didn’t stop there. Amidst his carving, he had grasped Dao rhythm. The strand of primordial source he had obtained at the Landing of the Departed had quietly fused with him, becoming a part of his body. For now, however, Ning Xuan couldn’t feel the benefits of the primordial source, so he wasn’t as excited about it as he was about the improvents to his swordsmanship and ntal state.
Upon leaving the tower and seeing the elder and Wawa, Ning Xuan glanced outside and asked, "Did anyone co looking for these past few days?"
The two shook their heads, and Ning Xuan’s face fell with disappointnt.
"There’s a patch of the Stone Steles Forest over there that hasn’t been swept. Go clean it," the elder said, pointing in a direction.
Ning Xuan nodded. His heart was still hopeful, wondering if he might learn another powerful Martial Skill.
However, the mont he entered, he found himself face to face with a man.
"Quick, get out—"
The man looked as if he were clutching at a final strand of hope, but before he could finish, his words were cut short by a sword to the throat. Sensing the auras from deeper within the forest, Ning Xuan understood what the elder had ant.
"Ning Xuan!"
For the group of Martial Artists who had been trapped in this Stone Steles Forest for days, it was as if a thick fog had suddenly lifted, revealing Ning Xuan standing behind it. Imdiately, the anger that had been building for days erupted.
Soone let out a low shout and lunged with a palm strike.
HISS!
Before the palm even fully manifested, the man’s head was already flying through the air. Ning Xuan’s sword was faster!
"You little bastard, you—"
SHINK!
A sword to the throat.
Ning Xuan didn’t say a word. With every flash of his sword, a life was taken. In the blink of an eye, the forest floor was littered with corpses. The weakest among them had been at the Ninth Layer Heavens of the Human Realm.
"Xiao Bai, ti to work."
Ning Xuan simply summoned Xiao Bai to handle the cleanup.
After calmly returning, sothing occurred to him. "By the way, when does the Pride Hunting Ground open again?"
"Tomorrow."
"I rember you said disciples from the three top sects will be attending?"
Ning Xuan suddenly thought of Si Lanyi. Will she be there? But then again, considering the ti, she’s probably just arrived at the Dao Xuan Institute. She definitely won’t be coming.
Just as he had that thought, a woman’s voice drifted over.
"Junior Sister, I think it’s just ahead!"
"I wonder if he’s still there?"
Hearing this voice, Ning Xuan froze for a mont before his face lit up with joy. It was Si Lanyi’s voice.
"Master, Senior Sister, I’m going to greet soone."
Before he finished speaking, Ning Xuan vanished.
"Elder, I’m going to have a look too." Wawa, curious and excited, disappeared as well.
By the ti Ning Xuan reached Si Lanyi, Wawa was already there. The two young won were staring at each other, wide-eyed. Nearby, another young woman and two young n looked from Si Lanyi to Wawa and back again. The girl’s expression was odd, while the boys swallowed hard, their gazes frozen. Their new junior sister was already breathtaking, but they never imagined they’d et her equal here.
"Ahem, Yi Yi," Ning Xuan said as he walked up and gently took Si Lanyi’s hand. "This is my senior sister, Wawa. What are you doing here?" As he spoke, he gave a polite nod to Si Lanyi’s companions, his deanor neither servile nor arrogant, showing all the proper courtesy.
Si Lanyi nodded to Wawa and said sweetly, "Hello, Senior Sister."
Wawa instantly bead, squeezing Ning Xuan aside to grab Si Lanyi’s hands. "Your na is Yi Yi? You’re so beautiful!" she exclaid.
Ning Xuan’s head was spinning with questions. Seeing his baffled expression, Si Lanyi let out a chuckle and began chatting happily with Wawa.
The pretty, elegant young woman with them smiled at Ning Xuan and introduced herself graciously. "You must be Ning Xuan. On the way here, my ears nearly grew calluses from hearing your na so much. I’m Zhongli Ruoruo, and I entered the sect just a few days before Junior Sister Yi Yi. I hope you’ll look after us in the future."
Before Ning Xuan could even reply, the two young n were already scowling.
This guy not only acts forward with Junior Sister Si, but now he’s making eyes at Junior Sister Zhongli! Does he think we’re invisible?!
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