Chapter 20. Sparring
"Ascension..." mumbled Ning Fengzhi, seemingly ignoring the other points. In truth, considering everything, moving the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and allying with another empire wasn't that troublesome, given the described advantages. However, the divine legacies were precisely what gave him pause. He sank into contemplation, and no one interrupted him. As for me, having said all I deemed necessary, I calmly continued my meal.
"Tell me, Zhuqing. What exactly do you expect from us in the Star Luo Empire? After all, 'taking their side' is a rather flexible concept."
"Hmm, a good question," I nodded, setting down my utensils. "Firstly, I hope you can relocate the clan to the territory of the Star Luo Empire. Secondly, that you can negotiate an alliance with the Emperor, one that naturally won't subjugate the clan—after all, I don't consider the empire worthy of that. If the emperor turns out to be a fool and doesn't understand how important an alliance with you is for the empire, then you don't need to hurry; I'll deal with it myself in the future. Thirdly, I hope that after the Spirit Hall's fall, your clan will take on the responsibility of awakening spirits in the Star Luo Empire; whether to do the same in the Heaven Dou Empire is entirely up to you, although, given how rotten that empire is from within, once the balance is disrupted, I believe the continent will end up united on its own. And then, it will fall upon your clan to develop the path of spirit masters, study new methods of cultivation, creating spirit tools, and, of course, ways to obtain spirit rings without killing spirit beasts. And naturally, when I can ascend, I also plan to leave a shrine in your clan, to be able to find an heir faster. I hope for such a future." In one go, I expressed all my hopes for this clan.
"It sounds tempting," Ning Fengzhi admitted with a smile before adding, "However, I see that almost your entire plan is built on us defeating the Spirit Hall and you becoming a goddess. Aren't you a bit too confident?"
"Perhaps I am overconfident, but this is the path I've walked since the day I first embarked on the path of cultivation, and I will either achieve the goal I've set for myself or perish," I declared resolutely.
"Excellent, I like your determination," Ning Fengzhi said contentedly. "However, I hope you'll understand me and won't refuse a small demonstration? Right now you are only a Spirit King and, apparently, plan to participate in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament, walking right into the enemy's jaws. Prove that you possess sufficient strength to survive and sufficient strength for us to bet everything on you."
"Alright, what do you want me to do?" I calmly accepted this turn of events. Strength in worlds like this decides everything. Thus, a test is quite natural.
"Just a small spar," the clan head said with a light smile before addressing the Sword Douluo. "Chen Xin, you don't mind, do you?"
"I myself am more than interested to experience the capabilities of our young friend," the man replied, rising from the table.
"Believe me, I won't disappoint you," I smiled, standing up as well, already starting to strategize. After all, right now I'm inferior to him in all characteristics. And my only advantage is the ability to hide in shadows, and claws sharp enough to harm him.
It was decided to hold the spar on one of the many training grounds of the clan, and since no extra ears or eyes were needed, besides our group, no one else was there.
I stood calmly on the solid stone of the platform opposite the Titled Douluo. I knew that except for a scenario where he himself allowed it due to carelessness, I couldn't harm him. And yet, my task was different. Right now, I had to show my danger. Show that even now I could pose a real threat to my enemies.
"Before you start, I think it would be good to first demonstrate the self-created skills you spoke about," said Ning Fengzhi.
"Alright," I didn't argue. "First, I'll show a movement skill. It's based on making one sharp dash in the desired direction at great speed through control over spirit power."
Having said this, I demonstratively activated my spirit power and, without even summoning my spirit, as if teleporting, in the next moment found myself at least 10 meters away from my original position.
"Very good! That's truly an excellent technique," Ning Fengzhi immediately applauded enthusiastically. Even if he couldn't grasp the entire principle of the skill's operation, his experience was more than enough to understand how useful it was.
"Next, the offensive skill," I didn't drag it out. "Mr. Chen, are you ready?"
"More than," the man nodded, summoning the sword that was his martial soul into his hand.
"Then I'll begin," as I spoke, I had already folded my hands as required, and in one second, a piercing whistle from the created energy ball filled the surroundings, shooting towards the opponent in the next instant.
The Sword Douluo instantly assessed the threat, and his second spirit ring lit up before a phantom sword appeared in front of him for protection, followed by an explosion.
A cloud of smoke and dust obscured the view, though not for long: with one sweep, Chen Xin dispersed the smoke, revealing a crater filled with molten magma. The Sword Douluo himself stood some distance away, completely unharmed.
"Excellent! Simply marvelous!" the clan head praised enthusiastically.
"See! I told you it was a very powerful technique, and you didn't believe me!" Ning Rongrong's voice, full of pride, immediately rang out, as if she herself had invented this technique.
"Sorry, my dear, I didn't mean to doubt you, it's just my duty," Ning Fengzhi hurriedly reassured his daughter before asking me excitedly: "Tell me, my little friend, does this technique have a name?"
"'Minor Supernova,' as a reflection of the explosion of a star whose life is ending; of course, it's not even close to the same thing," I answered, explaining what I was thinking when I gave it that name.
"A good name," Ning Fengzhi praised again, deciding not to ask what kind of star explosions were being discussed—it was enough that it sounded good. "What do you think, from approximately what rank can this technique be used?"
"From the 40th and above. Plus, sufficient control over spirit power must be trained beforehand, which is useful in any case, and initially, great caution must be exercised during training to be able to rescue in case of a mistake at any moment."
"Hmm... That complicates things... But it's okay," the clan master muttered before announcing with clear anticipation: "And now—a little spar."
"Alright," I agreed and, as befitting such occasions, summoned my spirit.
"Zhu Qingqing, spirit—Hell Civet, 53rd Rank Spirit King." My features distorted slightly, adding feline elements, and at the same time, my 5 spirit rings appeared.
"Chen Xin, spirit—Seven Kills Sword, 96th Rank Titled Douluo," came the reply, and along with the rising 9 spirit rings, I felt his spiritual pressure begin to weigh on me. Were an ordinary Spirit King before him now, they would find it difficult even to breathe; and yet, I was perfectly aware that this was far from all he could do—right now, he was just testing.
"Begin!" commanded the clan head, and while the opponent didn't move, apparently planning to give me a chance to show myself, Zhuqing immediately vanished into the shadows, and in the next moment, her figure burst out behind the man with her first and third rings activated. Her speed was astonishing, and had her target been someone possibly even within the 80th rank, the result would have been severed tendons in the legs. However, a metallic clang rang out. Chen Xin's sword clashed with the claws with such force that the girl's figure was thrown back a good dozen meters. For the first time since obtaining the ring from the Dark Golden Terror Bear, her claws were blocked.
"Incredible," Chen Xin muttered, who didn't attack but instead examined his blade, on which barely visible scratches had appeared. "Your claws are very sharp. Did your third spirit ring enhance them so much?"
His question made sense, after all, looking at the activated first white and third black ring, one might first assume that such a strong ability came precisely from the ten-thousand-year ring.
"No," the girl answered curtly before charging at the opponent at tremendous speed. From any perspective, this wasn't the speed a Spirit King should possess, but at least that of a peak Spirit Sage specializing in agility.
"This way, you won't do anything to me," Chen Xin shook his head disappointedly, who, without moving from his spot, parried the girl's attacks without counterattacking.
"Are you sure?" the girl smiled, and at the moment of the next clash, her fifth ring lit up. Following the girl, several of her phantoms appeared, repeating the strike in the same spot, deepening the scratch, which could potentially have become dangerous. But the main assault was not this. While the man blocked the attack from the front, another Zhuqing emerged from his shadow behind, slashing her claws across the Douluo's leg. This time, he didn't manage to defend, and blood spilled.
This instantly enraged him, and in an instant, a wave of spirit energy emanated from him, and his 6th ring activated; numerous phantom swords appeared, aimed at the non-lethal points of both figures. This should have ended the spar. However, as soon as the swords touched the girl's skin, both figures simply vanished, clearly showing that they had only been clones until then.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha, Sword, looking at you, you're really losing your touch, getting wounded by such a little girl," Gu Rong, watching the spar, laughed loudly, not missing the chance to needle his eternal rival.
"Shut up! I still have more than enough strength to deal with you later!" Chen Xin immediately flared up. And yet, he didn't allow himself to be distracted for long, as he was wary. His right leg was bleeding and painful. Although he understood he could only blame himself for not taking it seriously. But he also realized that instead of an unpleasantly bleeding wound on his leg, the tendons could very well have been cut, severely limiting his maneuverability, or... if one didn't know about the impending attack, for example, in sleep, this could very well have been the throat. This realization sent a chill down his spine. Dangerous! This is damned dangerous!
Some distance from him, Zhuqing's figure re-emerged from the shadow of a small stone, attracting attention.
"This is surely enough for a demonstration? Unfortunately, I currently lack the strength and speed for direct battles against Titled Douluos. Ah, and yes: this body is also a clone." There was a beautiful smile on the girl's face; it was clear she was completely pleased with herself.
"This is more than enough!" Ning Fengzhi immediately spoke up, his face showing clear relief mixed with joy. He was more glad than ever that he was ready to trust his premonition. Such perfect assassins are better kept as friends, not enemies.