Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

The strike really could not be considered a sword technique. The sword energy was also very unstable, and his heart of the sword was even more abominable. However, Chen Changsheng discovered a difference from his previous strike, suddenly and with some confusion.

Just what change could cause someone as level-headed as him to find it hard to maintain his mental state? In the moment he struck, he suddenly discovered that the dagger that had been with him for a very long time no longer belonged to him. The dagger had begun acting by itself, cutting through the wind and rain towards Nanke behind it. It seemed as though he had used the dagger to execute a complete sword move, but actually, it had nothing to do with him. In his original thoughts when facing up against Nanke’s full-powered strike, he was prepared to use the move that had the greatest power in the True Sword of the Orthodoxy, but...

The dagger did not heed to his will and use the sword technique. Instead, it just pierced straight out like so.

This pierce was executed extremely recklessly and negligently. If there were bystanders to the battle who saw Chen Changsheng use this sword move, they would definitely believe he was looking to die.

Just what was this about? There was a power in his body—no, not power, nor Qi. Instead, it was a feeling that was very hard to describe with words, causing him to directly pierce at the wind and rain in front of him with the dagger he grasped. His actions completely followed this feeling; the entire movement was extremely natural.

The strike that pierced through the cold wind and rain was not completely straight. The path that the edge travelled was crooked, and looked like a line that was carelessly left behind by a child who had just learnt to write. The style could not be seen at all, and it did not possess some kind of profound idea. However, the feeling instead originated directly from the depths of his heart, and he felt it very vividly.

Like sword energy, this feeling was the excitement of leaving an abyss. It was the ecstasy of being able to see the blue skies; it was elated and excited and it was in extremely high spirits.

For some reason, some unfathomable mystery, the dagger trembled excitedly.

How could such a sword pierce through the cold wind and rain, and block Nanke’s full-forced blow head-on? How could it be victorious over the terrifyingly strong Demon Princess?

However, only for that moment, the dagger pierced forwards crookedly, easily piercing the wind and rain before him, before arriving in front of Nanke’s eyes.

On the stone platform in front of the main entrance of the mausoleum, there was a very light stab, as if something had been pierced.

Closely following it, there was a thunderous hum, as if a huge bell had been rung by countless strong men carrying huge wooden hammers.

A strong tremble appeared, spreading in all directions in the air, creating floods of dust, rain and snow.

Amidst the dust, rain and snow, Nanke’s angry roar reverberated just like in the battle at the peak of Sunset Valley. Her roar was still clear, but compared to that night, her current roar was no longer as steady, strong and confident. Instead, it was filled with pain, confusion and shock.

The powerful Qi immediately knocked all of the dust, rain and snow off the platform, creating a clear area.

Nanke quickly retreated. Her feet landed on the boundary between the stone platform and divine path, which gave a muffled bang. Several cracks immediately appeared at the gray rocks there.

A green plume around half a foot long slowly fell on the stone platform with a charming and beautiful feeling.

The gaze on Chen Changsheng from Nanke’s small, pale face was filled with the flames of anger and a sliver of perplexity. A while later, she retracted her gaze, and looked at a certain area on her left moss-green wing. She only saw that there was a cut, slowly bleeding. The slightly dim light of the sky from the distant horizon shone through there.

Before the main entrance of the mausoleum, all fell into silence.

Probably because of the pain in her clear roar, Xu Yourong also woke up and saw this scene in front of her. She was slightly startled and speechless. Nanke once again stared at Chen Changsheng. Her gaze landed on the dagger held in his right hand, and her pupils constricted slightly. She did not understand—just why was the dagger so sharp? What was this sword technique? How did the sword intent become so strong?

Chen Changsheng also looked at the dagger in his hand. His expression was also slightly perplexed. It had already been over a year since his senior had given him this dagger, but just why did the dagger now give him a feeling of unfamiliarity? He knew this dagger possessed a sharpness rivalling the weapons of the Tier of Legendary Weapons, but why did this dagger have such a strong sword intent?

Yes, he had already confirmed it by now. The powerful feeling from before was sword intent. The dagger followed the feeling and pursued the feeling. The path it travelled in seemed ugly and crooked, but actually, it was extremely natural, like traversing between the clouds, like flowing in the water. This feeling obviously was sword intent. It could only be sword intent.

It was just that this sword intent… did not belong to him, because although the current him could already reach a brightly lit heart of the sword, his level of cultivation was still not enough to nurture such a great sword intent. Just where did the sword intent come from? If the dagger itself did not possess sword intent, just when did it enter his body?

The knuckles of the hand he used to hold onto the hilt were rather white. He thought through feelings of perplexity and shock. Perhaps this was the sword intent that the Yellow Paper Umbrella had always searched for? Was this the strand of sword intent that had led him through the thick grasslands to the Mausoleum of Zhou? Had this sword intent not really disappeared? When did it come? Why did it come?

Because he understood even more about the sword intent, he thought even more. Nanke did not need to think this much, so she recovered much faster than him. Most of the shock and anger disappeared from her eyes, and recovered the indifference and lifelessness from before. Without any hesitation, she began to attack him once again. She had vaguely guessed something, and was prepared to confirm her guess through battle.

As for whether it would injure her, she had never cared about such matters.

The cold rain fell again, and the pair of wings that were over ten zhang in length created a hurricane. The wild wind blew again, turning the droplets of rain into gravel and using it to hit Chen Changsheng’s face and body.

A cry of the peacock.

There was a clang.

Nanke appeared before him once again, and used the Southern Cross Sword in her left hand to chop at his forehead.

This was the first time she used the sword. In other words, the current Chen Changsheng in her eyes finally had become an opponent at the same level as Xu Yourong.

If this were any other time—a few days ago, or even just a few moments ago—Chen Changsheng would have found it very difficult to receive this strike. to receive this strike. Although his heart of the sword was brightly lit, and his sword intent was flawless, compared to the terrifying sword intent that Nanke had poured into the Southern Cross Sword, it was much weaker. However, just at this moment, before he had even thought at all, he swung his dagger.

Actually, this was something that did not even require his thought.

The feeling once again appeared in his heart. He swung the dagger in his hand, completely following this feeling.

It seemed to be simple, but actually, it was mysterious and indescribable.

With a loud bang, several extremely deep cracks appeared on the gray stone ground before the main entrance of the mausoleum.

Nanke’s Southern Cross Sword had been blocked by the dagger in his hand.

Before she could even completely use all of the power of her Southern Cross Sword Technique, it had already been stopped by the dagger in his hand.

A sword ray burst out from the edge of the dagger. It was around three zhang in length, and seemed to illuminate the entire mausoleum.

The green wings retracted inwards, blocking in front of Nanke. With a painful, smothered grunt, she once again retreated rapidly backwards. Her two feet landed at the edge of the stone platform, and another crack appeared on the gray stone from her treading.

However, this was not all. The extremely sharp sword ray directly pierced through her pair of wings, and shot towards her forehead.

With a flap of the two wings that blew away rain, Nanke leapt, and landed on the divine path.

However, this was still not enough.

She leapt up once again, and retreated rapidly into the rainy space behind her.

Still not enough.

She needed to retreat, to constantly retreat.

The only sound was a series of cracks from the gray stone.

Her two feet were like plows. They dragged out two clear marks in the tough gray stone on the divine path. Only after she had travelled several hundred zhang backwards did she finally stop.

Silence.

The gray clouds in the sky constantly showered the ground with cold rain. The entire Mausoleum of Zhou was enveloped in it. No matter if it was the stone platform or the divine path, all had been drenched by it.

The sound of falling rain seemed to disappear.

A trail of fresh blood slowly flowed from the corner of Nanke’s lips. Afterwards, it was quickly washed away by the cold rain that became heavier and heavier.

Chen Changsheng looked at the dagger in his hand and felt that extremely powerful sword intent. He did not know what he should think about.

Actually, that sword intent was not in the Yellow Paper Umbrella, nor was it in the dagger. It was in his body.

It was because the person that the sword intent wanted to help was him.

He raised his head and arrived at the boundary between the stone platform and the divine path. Looking at Nanke who was hundreds of zhang away and in the rain, he said, “Now, I seem to be able to win against you.”

Rainwater flowed from Nanke’s pale, small face. It dripped down from her wet black hair, and seemed rather miserable. However, her expression remained so cold, arrogant and condescending, that her defeat in the previous two strikes from just before could not be seen at all. Even without any leeway of being able to counterattack, her voice remained cold. “This is not your sword intent at all.”

Chen Changsheng went silent for a while and then said, “So?”

Nanke said without an expression, “Even if I am defeated, I will be defeated by that sword intent. What has it got to do with you?”

Yes, this sword intent could not belong to Chen Changsheng. No matter if it was her who battled against Chen Changsheng, the great Demon Generals that watched the battle on the divine path from below, the zither-playing old man, or Xu Yourong, who had just opened her eyes and witnessed this scene, they were all extremely clear on this point.

The sword intent was too sharp, and did not match up with the Dao Chen Changsheng cultivated at all. Most importantly, this sword intent was too strong, a strength that could even make up for the difference in true essence. It could not be trained through time. If he wanted to train such a sword intent, he needed at least several hundred years of pursuing the path of the sword. He was only fifteen. No matter how talented he was in the path of the sword, he could not do this.

No one could do it, not even the demons.

Even if Zhou Dufu revived once again, he could not do that.

“Yes, this is not my sword intent.” Chen Changsheng looked at the endless grassland behind the monster tide that was like a black ocean, and then looked at Nanke. He said, “However, this sword intent came to find me, and is willing to be used by me. That is evidence that I have enough qualifications to use it. Then, it… is my sword intent.”

Nanke asked, “This sword intent… just where did it come from?”

Chen Changsheng looked into her eyes, and said honestly, “You should have guessed it.”

The surroundings of the mausoleum, on and above the divine path, fell into a period of shocked silence.

Although Nanke had already guessed the truth of this matter as Chen Changsheng had said, she was still unable to believe it, and felt very unwilling.

The torrential rain was concentrated, and the wet coldness pierced the bone. Her voice was slightly hoarse. “Sword Pool?”