14: Chapter 14 Challenging Ji Juechen

When Meng Hongchen heard that Mu Qingci wanted to challenge Ji Juechen, her mouth instantly formed an 'O' shape.

"No way, Qingci, are you running a fever? You said you want to challenge that madman Ji Juechen? Are you kidding me?"

Mu Qingci hadn't expected such an intense reaction from her, which only strengthened his resolve to challenge him.

After all, he had seen Ji Juechen's performance in the original work; in terms of swordsmanship, one could practically say he was the sword of swords during the era of the Tang Sect.

His talent could be described as low, yet he was still able to cultivate his own Domain, which showed his perseverance and hard work.

"Oh, Sister Meng, don't worry about that; just take me to see him."

Meng Hongchen ultimately couldn't resist Mu Qingci's persistence and had to take him to a simulated cultivation ground within the academy.

It was a bamboo forest, evergreen throughout the seasons, very suitable for students to cultivate, especially those of the plant system.

As Mu Qingci walked with Meng Hongchen, he suddenly heard a rustling sound coming from ahead.

Passing through the bamboo forest, Mu Qingci saw a young man in blue standing there.

He was holding a long sword, with white light flowing over the blade, his eyes slightly closed.

Mu Qingci stopped and observed quietly.

The young man suddenly opened his eyes. He didn't even swing the long sword in his hand, but an invisible sword intent surged around him, cutting all the surrounding bamboo stalks. The cuts were neat and smooth, with the sharp aura of the sword intent remaining.

"See, that guy is Ji Juechen. Qingci, I must warn you, that guy is a madman; you'd better not challenge him."

Mu Qingci seemed not to have heard Meng Hongchen's words and walked forward on his own. Meng Hongchen was helpless and had to follow.

In the bamboo forest, Ji Juechen sensed someone approaching, held his sword in one hand, and looked in the direction of Mu Qingci and the other person.

"Brother Ji's sword intent is truly remarkable; he is worthy of being known as the Sword Fanatic."

Mu Qingci appeared before Ji Juechen while clapping.

"Who are you?"

Ji Juechen's voice was cold. Even though they were in the academy and he knew the other person was his classmate, he didn't show the slightest emotion.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Mu Qingci, and I am the class monitor of Grade One, Class One. I have long admired Brother Ji's reputation, and since my Spirit happens to be a sword, I thought I would come and spar with you."

"Spar?"

Hearing that someone wanted to fight him, some ripples of emotion finally appeared on Ji Juechen's calm face.

However, these ripples quickly dissipated: "Forget it, you're just a kid from the first grade; I can't be bothered to fight you."

This wasn't because Ji Juechen didn't respect his opponent, but because he felt the gap in strength between them was too vast, and such a battle had no meaning for him.

And precisely because he respected his opponents, once he accepted a challenge, he would definitely give it his all, and it wouldn't be good if unnecessary injuries were caused.

"It seems I have been underestimated by Brother Ji."

Mu Qingci sighed while releasing his Spirit.

The Hades Sword was held in his hand, followed by four spirit rings: one yellow, two purple, and one black.

The pressure of his Soul Power, which was no less thick than that of a Spirit King, radiated out, finally attracting Ji Juechen's attention.

Seeing the Hades Sword in the other's hand, a trace of fanaticism flashed in Ji Juechen's eyes; he could feel the power of that sword.

"Fine, I accept!"

At this moment, Ji Juechen's tone was finally no longer so cold, but carried a sense of fanaticism—it was a longing for battle.

The two of them headed to the academy's arena to spar.

Meng Hongchen was a little worried, so she went ahead to find a powerful teacher to act as a referee.

By the time Mu Qingci and Ji Juechen arrived, the teacher had already been invited.

"The academy advocates for everyone to spar freely, but I still have to declare a few points: do not maliciously injure classmates, safety first."

Mu Qingci and Ji Juechen both nodded at the same time, the collision between their gazes seeming to spark fire.

"Good, you have one minute to release your Spirits. The sparring begins!"

Ji Juechen drew the long sword he carried on his back. Subsequently, an invisible sword intent surged around him, and five spirit rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—circled at his feet.

"Ji Juechen, level 51, attack system, please advise!"

Mu Qingci also released his Spirit.

The extraordinary spirit ring configuration made the referee teacher on the side look surprised, and at the same time, he became curious about the outcome of this sparring match.

"Mu Qingci, level 43, attack system, please advise!"

Both sides moved at the same time, and the two long swords, carrying an unstoppable momentum, suddenly collided.

"Clang."

The sound of metal colliding rang out, and both sides retreated three steps, their expressions vivid.

Mu Qingci was surprised at the other's high level of attainment in the way of the sword; he could clearly feel a sword intent wanting to rush into his body from that last strike.

Mu Qingci expended a large amount of Soul Power to counteract it.

And Ji Juechen was surprised at the other's strength.

Mu Qingci was only in the first grade, yet he possessed the cultivation of a Spirit Ancestor. After one clash, he had tied with him, a Spirit King. What kind of monster was this?

A powerful opponent didn't make Ji Juechen feel afraid; on the contrary, it made him even more excited.

"Good, good, good! Come again!"

He lunged forward, sword intent condensing on the blade, and thrust straight at Mu Qingci.

This seemingly plain and unadorned strike carried a thousand variations of trickery.

Mu Qingci dared not be careless and immediately lit up his first and third spirit rings.

Under the double amplification, he raised the Hades Sword in his hand to clash with him.

Another violent collision occurred, and the shockwave emitted by their clash even impacted Meng Hongchen, who was off the field.

Ji Juechen's eyes were filled with fanaticism. Invisible sword intent circled around him, stacking layer upon layer, evolving in the direction of a Domain, but it ultimately did not form a complete Domain.

Mu Qingci knew that this was the Sword Fanatic Domain that Ji Juechen would possess in the future.

Mu Qingci also lit up his newly acquired fourth spirit ring.

"Fourth Spirit Ability, Netherworld Sword Array!"

A portion of the entire arena was covered, and Ji Juechen instantly felt the Soul Power in his body dissipating rapidly.

He exerted his full strength to drive his sword intent, attempting to sever this devouring effect, but everything was in vain.

After discovering he couldn't sever it, Ji Juechen began to go all out.

The long sword in his hand swung continuously, his sword moves wide and open, full of sharp aura and killing intent.

Under the support of his sword intent, even though he was trapped in Mu Qingci's fourth Spirit Ability, he did not fall into a disadvantage at all.

And because this was an arena and there wasn't much heaven and earth elemental energy around, Mu Qingci couldn't fully unleash the power of his fourth Spirit Ability and could only remain in a stalemate with Ji Juechen.

Now it depended on whose Soul Power would be exhausted first, or if one of them could suddenly burst out and defeat the other in seconds.

The two went back and forth, and after a short while, they had already clashed over a hundred times without a winner.