“My first opponent is Ning Que, the second is Jiang Yu, and the third might just be… Ice Chunk,”
Ke Mo stood in the arena, silently calculating.
To enter the City of Divine Beings, it’s best to win all three matches, and losing more than one would mean no chance at all.
Right now, he can’t use the Hammer Treasure.
So, he absolutely must win the first two rounds.
Across from him, Ning Que finished his breathing exercises and stepped onto the stage, with a jade flute hanging at his waist, though it was unclear where the Clear Sea Relic Sound Zither was stashed away.
Before the match began, he suddenly raised his hand and said, “Wait a second!”
“What’s up?”
Ke Mo, all fired up, paused in surprise.
Ning Que, looking a bit cautious, replied, “Ke Mo, I think you’re a noble gentleman, so can we agree to a gentleman’s agreement?”
“Go ahead.”
Young Gentleman Ke’s expression grew solemn, acknowledging that Ning Que had a point.
“Since we’re both gentlemen, we should have a fair fight, and first off, no vulgar language.”
After observing, Ning Que discovered the God Hammer Little Overlord’s trademark move—
The Ultimate Skill of Fighting!
First off, he was more of a flutist than a fighter, and secondly, he figured he wouldn’t out-talk Ke Mo.
“My friend has misunderstood me; I am not…”
“The Master of Love Burial said he learned from you.”
“…Alright, what else?”
“And no pulling sneaky tricks, like poisoning, or monkey stealing peaches, or tossing lime powder, or using a sneak attack…”
“I really don’t do any of that…”
“Really? I thought Huang Donglai learned all that from you!”
Ning Que looked a bit suspicious.
“That guy… he’s just naturally gifted.”
Ke Mo sighed and turned back.
“Hey~”
Murong Xiao rubbed his shiny bald head, chuckling, eyes filled with wisdom.
“Hehe…” Huang Donglai’s grin was sort of shady and despicable, as he gave a ‘got it’ gesture towards the arena.
Ke Mo: “…..”
They’re not complimenting you guys!
What’s with the laughing?
But before long, Ke Mo figured out what Huang Donglai was grinning about.
Because as Ning Que kept talking, his mouth and hands suddenly started swelling up:
“Although I admit you’re quite handsome and no less than me, but… ugh… my mouth feels huge… hmm? Why is my tongue swelling?”
….
In the audience, Murong Xiao was stunned, pointing at Ning Que, “Donglai, did you notice? His mouth seems to have suddenly swollen like a sausage, and his hand looks like a pig’s hoof…”
“This is my latest research achievement!”
Huang Donglai said, hands behind his back, looking indifferent.
To make things easier for Brother Ke, he had recently concocted something using precious materials he couldn’t afford before.
“A match does not allow the use of deadly poison, right?”
“Naturally, heinous poisons are not allowed, but this is not a deadly poison, not even a poison at all.”
Huang Donglai pulled out a small bottle:
“This is the Changeless Disguise Powder. The areas it’s applied to will swell due to bruising and impurities in the body; after just one hour, it’ll automatically revert to normal and can even eliminate hidden injuries inside.”
“So, this is just a potion with side effects!”
Murong Xiao leaned back slightly.
He noticed that as Huang Donglai explained, he too began to swell up, looking like a bear that got stung by bees while stealing honey.
So old Huang just coated himself with Changeless Disguise Powder, deliberately letting Ning Que hit him?
Wait, that mouth… oh right, the jade flute!
Hiss… Old Huang is truly a wolf in sheep’s clothing…
…..
“Boom!”
“Ning Que has made a move!”
Ning Que gritted his teeth, looking frantic as he pulled out the jade flute at his waist:
“How dare you embarrass me like this, so don’t blame me for going all out!”
“This poison wasn’t done by me!”
Li Mo hoped he could calm down.
The whole city was watching; he finally found a chance as a swashbuckling swordsman to engage in a gentlemanly contest.
Now a massive bucket of dung had been dumped on his head; where could he reason with that?
But Ning Que, furious, brought the flute to his mouth, ready to blow:
“Pff~~”
Li Mo: “…..”
The crowd: “…..”
Xiao Qian had just come back, looking confused: “Who farted so loudly?”
After a brief moment of silence, low chuckles erupted; Ning Que’s lips had swollen to look like sausages, nearly as thick as the jade flute, with pig-like hands quite unable to control Xiao Dong.
It looked miserable, sure, but after that loud fart-like sound, the crowd couldn’t hold it in.
“I know you’re in a hurry; maybe I can think of a way to help you detox first…”
“None of your business!”
Ning Que lost all reason, quickly dropping the jade flute to the ground, then pressed his palms together, pulling them wide apart.
Splash—
An invisible zither materialized, formed entirely from flowing water, its strings resembling rippling waves, playing a melody that felt divine.
The sound of the zither resonated.
As the strings vibrated, it felt as if the surrounding air transformed into flowing water, creating a turbulent vortex under the influence of the musical notes.
If the arena hadn’t been built from the Mustard Seed Xumi of the great monk, it might have turned into a vast ocean of sound right in front of the Wu Gate.
Even though the hands playing the zither were like pig hooves…
“Sigh…”
Li Mo sighed, wondering how difficult it was just to be a dashing swordsman.
With matters at this point, the might of the divine weapon left no room for further discussion.
He could only center himself, gripping the Divine Sword of the Celestials, its shimmering blade reflecting the autumn waters.
This sword fused with the perfected Dugu Nine Swords, stripping complexity down to simplicity, fully unleashed, and leveraging the divine mysteries of the Divine Sword of the Celestials, enhancing its might layer by layer.
Mysterious and sharp yet oddly discordant.
The zither’s melody seemed to shift from an intangible sound to something concrete, morphing in Li Mo’s eyes into vague sketch lines on white paper.
This single sword could erase the lines.
Dugu Nine Swords, breaking through thousands of weapons, including instruments.
The Divine Sword of the Celestials could cut the formless with the tangible.
Flickering through the waves of zither sound, it separated the entwined rhythms, severing the high mountains and flowing waters’ tempo.
Aiming directly at Ning Que!
If not for his unfaltering resolve, even if he had the might of the Divine Sword of the Celestials at his disposal, he wouldn’t be able to wield it.
At this moment, Ning Que calmed down, forced to focus entirely on the shimmering tip of the sword.
As the melody shifted, it transformed from offense to defense, ethereal and lofty, seemingly layered, echoing from miles away.
Every layer the Divine Sword of the Celestials passed through dimmed the shimmering autumn water atop it.
This tune, played by the divine weapon, no longer felt as if it merely placed you at a distance.
It actually constructed a series of sound barriers that seemed close yet far away.
The speed of the sword slowed.
Ultimately, he stood atop Ning Que’s Clear Sea Relic Sound Zither.
Crack—
One string snapped, disappearing into the void.
“Good sword technique, I underestimated you, thinking your swordsmanship was only average.”
Ning Que’s eyes flickered, but then he shifted his tone:
“Ke Mo, if that’s all you have, not to mention Jiang Yu, even I can’t lose.”
Enhanced divine skills, he equally possessed.
And while the Clear Sea Relic Sound Zither might not compare to the Divine Sword of the Celestials on the divine weapon chart, the skill of the sword was dependent on its wielder.
