Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 520: Sword Control and Water Control

In midair, two sword energies clashed thousands of times in the blink of an eye. Lightning and sword flashed so intensely that the figures engaged in battle were barely visible.

On one side, the raging sea roared, waves crashing against the shore in an endless barrage.

On the other side, purple qi filled the air, layer upon layer, as the wild waves surged across the mountains and rivers, soon diluting to nothing but trickling streams.

Every time Wang Daoning fought against Cui Wenjing, he felt this frustrating powerlessness, a sense that his strength had nowhere to go. The two seemed to counter each other perfectly, which was why Wang Daoning was always ranked below Cui Wenjing on the Ranking of Troubled Times.

It was not about softness overcoming hardness... Cui Wenjing was anything but soft.

He was vast, with his purple qi filling the mountains and rivers, displaying a magnificent aura.

Wang Daoning had always struggled to understand how someone so devoted to his family could embody the grandeur of rivers and mountains. And yet, the contradictions seemed to harmonize perfectly in Cui Wenjing. He was simply a paradox.

For this very reason, even though he seemed to embody the true destiny of the Qinghe Sword, he still had not gained its full acknowledgment. To the sword spirit, he was close, but not quite there.

But it no longer mattered whether the sword spirit recognized him or not. The Qinghe Sword had lost half its power when Xia Longyuan seized it, and its spirit’s slumber was largely due to this loss of power. Meanwhile, Wang Daoning’s Zhenhai Sword had been fully restored, replenished with energy from the Sea Tribe. Cui Wenjing might think that the Zhenhai Sword was no longer truly itself, but Wang Daoning knew otherwise.

The vast purple qi around Cui Wenjing began to ripple, as if struggling to hold its ground.

“With the grandeur of mountains and rivers, you try to contain the fury of the raging sea... Wenjing, have you ever considered that the sea is actually more expansive than the land? It may seem like you can suppress it, but when the imbalance in power becomes too great, you might find yourself completely overwhelmed and submerged.”

The Zhenhai Sword seemed to advance toward Cui Wenjing at an incredibly slow pace, so slowly that one could see the engravings and carvings on the blade, each character clear and distinct.

But in Cui Wenjing’s eyes, there was no sword in front of him, nor was there Wang Daoning.

It was as if he stood alone on a crumbling reef, facing a towering wave a hundred zhang high. It seemed to approach slowly from a distance, yet it was inevitable—an overwhelming, suffocating force.

“Your cultivation has improved, too. It’s not just because of the Zhenhai Sword... No wonder you’re so confident.” Cui Wenjing’s eyes were calm, devoid of any sorrow or joy. “But I haven’t stood still either.”

A tiny glimmer of purple light appeared within the roaring waves. It seemed faint and insignificant at first, but that small flicker pierced through the overwhelming tide, refusing to be dissolved by the monstrous wave.

Wang Daoning’s pupils contracted. “You’ve reached this level too...”

“Indeed.”

The towering wave suddenly condensed into an extremely fine line, like the distant horizon where the sea met the sky.

Clang!

The tips of their swords met, and both fighters were shaken, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths as they were sent flying backward.

Though they were at the bottom of the Ranking of Heaven, both of them had glimpsed the threshold of the Profound Control Realm.

Even with the restored Zhenhai Sword, and Wang Daoning borrowing more of its power than Cui Wenjing could from the Qinghe Sword, it was still a draw!

The rankings in the Ranking of Heaven were accurate in the end.

As Wang Daoning flew backward, he suddenly extended his left hand, grasping at the air.

Cui Wenjing, initially only lightly injured and quietly regulating his disrupted internal state, suddenly felt his entire body tighten. Blood seemed to flow out from the previous wound, gushing forth again. He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his body plummeting like a kite with its string cut, blood spilling through the air.

Even his sword slipped from his hand, wobbling as it fell.

Unable to even pick up his sword, Cui Wenjing struggled to suppress his rampaging blood, speaking softly, “Drawing out the water element within the body... this isn’t a technique of the Wang Clan, it isn’t even a technique of this world. It must be from the Sea Tribe...”

“My apologies, Wenjing.” Wang Daoning stopped his backward motion and launched forward in midair, his sword poised to strike.

But Cui Wenjing revealed a faint smile.

How could he not have anticipated that the Wang Clan would possess secret arts belonging to the Sea Tribe? He had pored over countless ancient texts in recent days, making countless secret preparations. Although he could not entirely counter it, he was not so unprepared as to be beaten so miserably, even dropping his sword.

Just as Wang Daoning believed victory was in his grasp, the seemingly wavering Qinghe Sword suddenly flew silently back up, aiming straight at Wang Daoning’s back!

This was not the work of the Qinghe Sword’s spirit... this was Cui Wenjing controlling the sword with his will!

Pah!

Wang Daoning’s sword thrust forward, and Cui Wenjing brought his palms together, allowing the sword qi to pass through his body as he firmly clamped onto the Zhenhai Sword.

Warning bells tolled in Wang Daoning’s mind. He knew something was attacking from behind, but he was reluctant to abandon the ancestral divine sword.

That moment of hesitation cost him.

Awkwardly holding onto the sword, he twisted his upper body just enough so that the Qinghe Sword grazed his right flank, piercing through before returning to Cui Wenjing’s hand.

Cui Wenjing caught his sword, falling to the ground like a kite with its string cut, laughing aloud.

Just as he expected—people like them, from aristocratic families, could let go of many things, but abandoning an ancestral sword felt worse than death. Wang Daoning could not bear to let go of his sword, just as he himself could not imagine dying without his own sword by his side.

Such a result was fitting.

He had no strength left to resist, and Wang Daoning still had enough energy to finish him off. But Wang Daoning was also gravely injured—unlikely to be able to continue attacking Puyang. He would have to retreat to heal and recover... What happened next would be up to their children...

Wang Daoning pressed his hand against the wound on his side, shaking his head. He could not help but admire his old friend’s cunning and resolve. Holding his sword, he drifted downward. “Wenjing, I’m sorry.”

Just then, his heart suddenly skipped a beat, and he looked southward in shock.

A fierce wave of vicious energy surged across the sky, staining it blood-red. Even from a distance, it filled him with an instinctive sense of dread.

It was as if the power of a ferocious beast from primordial times had descended. In the blink of an eye, the dark red wave of blood was upon him.

Wang Daoning swung his sword horizontally in a desperate strike, but he was badly wounded, and the blood wave broke through. He failed to dispel the vicious qi, and it crashed into him with immense force. Though he quickly activated his vigorous qi to protect himself, his entire body was still torn apart, leaving him in a pitiful state.

Now, both he and Cui Wenjing were equally injured...

This is definitely an attack at the threshold of the Profound Control Realm. Which figure on the Ranking of Heaven came to reap the rewards?

Wang Daoning strained to look and saw a large man wielding a saber, charging forward with a roar, “Damn you! You hurt my father-in-law and you think you can leave?!”

...Zhao Changhe? How on earth did he deliver that strike?

Wang Daoning could almost see Cui Wenjing sprawled on the ground, grinning ear to ear.

Damn it.

What infuriated Wang Daoning the most was that now he really had to retreat; otherwise, the Tome of Troubled Times might soon announce his death.

No... wait.

Just as he was about to turn away, Wang Daoning stopped.

Zhao Changhe must be killed now. Zhaoling won’t be able to handle him in the future.

As this thought crossed his mind, Zhao Changhe was already charging forward, leaping into the air, his broad saber slashing down furiously. “Die!” Nôv(el)B\\jnn

A transparent, watery shadow suddenly emerged from behind Wang Daoning, a silent palm strike aimed at Zhao Changhe’s chest.

Cui Wenjing cried out in alarm, “Watch out!”

Suddenly, from the sky descended a dragon-shaped fist shadow, viciously slamming into the watery figure.

Wang Daoning’s face went pale with shock. “Xia Longyuan!”

Zhao Changhe had no time to concern himself with Wang Daoning any further. With all his strength, he lunged forward, grabbing Cui Wenjing and carrying him away from the range of the fist’s impact.

Boom!

An earth-shattering explosion echoed across the land.

Zhao Changhe did not fully escape the residual shockwave; he was blown away, forced to roll several times before coming to a stop. He coughed and turned his head and saw that the riverbank plains had been obliterated by the blast, leaving behind a deep crater dozens of zhang wide.

Wang Daoning had vanished, and the watery shadow was also nowhere to be seen.

Looking down at his father-in-law in his arms, Zhao Changhe saw his face had turned deathly pale, and he had lost consciousness.

After catching his breath, Zhao Changhe suddenly jumped to his feet and pointed at the sky. “Old Xia, you bastard! You clearly watched the whole fight here, yet you let Old Cui face death alone? But the moment you see the Sea Tribe, you rushed to intervene without even caring if you’d cause collateral damage? Do you think you’re some hot shit?! Others are protecting your empire—your empire!”

Only silence met his anger.

The air was still, and for a long time, there was no response.

At that moment, three thousand members of the Blood God Cult arrived at the edge of the battlefield.

After weighing his options, Wang Zhaoling had no desire to continue fighting and withdrew with his forces.

Cui Yuanyong opened the city gates and led a group of light cavalry in pursuit. Both sides skirmished briefly before pulling back.

The Wang Clan’s first battle of rebellion ended in defeat.