DragonKnov
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Chapter 307
🕑 Added 2025-02-03 10:06:01 +0000 UTC"No wonder you were absent from the conference," came an arrogant voice, the words dripping with disdain.
A young man spoke, one of several newly arrived figures stepping gracefully through the carved paifang gate onto the grounds of Kunlun. The speaker was a striking individual with piercing, storm-gray eyes that seemed to flicker with traces of lightning, as if they held a tempestuous life within them.
A faint, condescending smirk rested on his face, exuding an effortless arrogance as his gaze landed squarely on Song Jia.
His raven-black hair, streaked with silver at the tips like flashes of lightning cutting through the night sky, was loosely tied back, allowing stray strands to sway gently in the mountain breeze. With a slight tilt of his head, he regarded her with a challenging look, one brow arched ever so slightly.
The young man wore a robe of deep indigo, adorned with intricate embroidery of golden and silver lightning patterns that shimmered faintly with his every fluid movement. The fine fabric rippled around him like water as he strode forward.
The rest of the group, though all equally youthful, mirrored his attire and bearing. They too donned identical indigo robes and carried halberds — weapons long and imposing, held masterfully in one hand with practiced ease — forming a formation that resembled a disciplined squadron of soldiers.
"Yin Gang..." Song Jia murmured softly, her voice low as she narrowed her eyes at the young man, lips pressed into a taut line as her expression grew colder. Her hands clenched at her sides, knuckles whitening with restraint.
However, the tension in the air swiftly thickened as a swarm of Elders from the righteous factions materialized, surrounding the group's every flank in a show of force.
"What folly. Rather than retreating, you choose to surrender yourselves," one of the Elders remarked mockingly, his words sharp as a blade. A formidable presence, he held a great sword aloft, its gleaming edge suspended dangerously close to the necks of the young intruders as the ancient metal caught the sunlight.
In an instant, the tide shifted.
RANG!
The newcomers were overwhelmed by the collective pressure of the Zone of the righteous faction's Elders.
They found themselves pinned mercilessly to the stone-paved ground, their movements utterly suppressed by an unseen force.
From the look of it, the one who unleashed was an Elder, her silvery hair bound tightly in a severe knot as she unleashed her Zone.
Though martial arts varied greatly among practitioners, all shared one defining characteristic — the manifestation of their unique Zones. This was no exception; with a sharp flick of her wrist, a tempest of wind erupted into being from the Elder's outstretched palm, its gale-force intensity engulfing the area where these newcomer had stood mere moments earlier.
Yet it was no ordinary wind; the very air wrapped around them like invisible chains, pressing their bodies down with an unrelenting, crushing force.
The one who cast this powerful technique was none other an Elder from the renowned Kongtong Sect. Her silver hair whipped wildly in the swirling winds as her narrowed, storm-gray eyes focused sharply on the group of intruders.
She held an ornately carved steel fan aloft, its razor-edged blades glinting dangerously as a silvery glow of Qi radiated menacingly with every minute adjustment of her stance.
"We... we are disciples of the Black Thunder Emperor!" roared one of the pinned youngsters, his voice trembling with defiance even as he struggled futilely against the smothering pressure. Lightning Qi crackled and danced around his iron-tipped halberd, surging with desperate energy as he fought to summon his strength.
However, to the righteous Elders, this resistance was nothing more than a pitiful, futile display.
With a dismissive wave of her hand, the Kongtong sect Elder snuffed out the crackling Qi around the youth's weapon, its power nullified in an instant like a candle's flame extinguished by the wind.
The reply to their bold declaration came not from the Elders, but from another group of Kunlun disciples that had just arrived on the scene. Dressed in pristine white martial robes with dark red stripes, their presence was no less commanding than the Elders from the righteous factions.
"So what?" one of them snorted, his tone filled with disdain as he regarded the pinned intruders with contempt. "Your Master dared to attack Kunlun. Did you truly think we would let his disciples wander freely here as if you are not our enemies?"
The speaker, Quan Wei, held a glistening silvery jian in a white-knuckled grip, the razor-sharp blade glinting ominously as the needle-like tip hovered mere cuns from the exposed throat of one of the intruders.
Quan Wei, an Inner Disciple under the tutelage of Elder Mu himself, was known for his uncompromising stance and resolute convictions.
Yet there was a glimmer of something else in his narrowed gaze - a lingering bitterness that betrayed the memories of regret that still weighed heavily upon him, recollections of when he failed to intervene and save the Jade Blossom Traders from their brutal massacre at the hands of his Master's daughter, the Young Lady Mu.
"Greetings, distinguished Elders. Thank you for your continuous support and for swiftly intervening to protect our Kunlun," another Inner Disciple said respectfully as he approached, cupping his hands in a formal gesture of deference toward the two Elders who remained standing as silent yet imposing overseers.
"Please, allow us to take charge and handle the matter from here."
...
Amid the ongoing exchange between the Elders and the Inner Disciples now taking charge, standing amidst the torn and mangled remains of the unorthodox martial artists' corpses, the aftermath of the vicious skirmish, Song Jia remained eerily silent and still as a statue.
Her expression was utterly cold and unreadable.
Meanwhile, Ji Wuye was busy meticulous cleaning himself, using the pristine white cloth Song Jia had given him earlier to carefully dab at the crimson droplets splattered across his body and face.
His attention, however, kept flicking toward something else - the last translucent screen that hovered quietly before him.
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[>>[DEFLECTING BLOWS (C)]<<]
Type: Passive skill
Effect: Negates damage from any physical, magical, or spiritual attack once per instance (1/1).
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As Ji Wuye studied the upgrade details impassively, his brow furrowed ever so slightly in contemplation. 'There's no change to the skill's core function... except for the missing effect of retaining the impact,' he thought inwardly.
This latest upgrade could neither be deemed wholly positive nor an outright drawback. After all, the previous side effect of his body momentarily absorbing the force of blocked attacks hadn't particularly troubled him before, especially now with his current strength.
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STATUS SCREEN
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Name: Ji Wuye
Level: 26
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ATTRIBUTES
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Strength: 180
Agility: 174
Qi: 254
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SKILLS
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- Quick Adaptation (C)
- Deflecting Blows (C)
- Feline Reflexes (D)
- Slash Breaker (D)
- Qi Training (???)
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MARTIAL ARTS
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- Pressure Form Perfection Style (4th) (B)
- Healing Art Primer (3rd) (D)
- Cloudsoaring Steps (2nd) (E)
- Pulse of Blade Sword Art (2nd) (??)
- The Unbreakable Vajra Form (2nd) (C)
- Heavenly Dragon Fusion Gongfa (3rd) (C)
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COPIED MARTIAL ARTS MOVES
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- Thunder Dragon Dance (1st) (B)
- Twin Phoenix Dance (Final) (C)
- Hundred Steps (Final) (C)
- Kunlun Aura Ascension (1st) (2nd) (B)
- Black Thunder Doctrine (1st) (2nd) (3rd) (??)
- Sky Demon Blade (3rd) (B)
- Venomous Beast (1st) (B)
- Taiyi Divine Sword (2nd) (??)
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'The image has changed... well, no surprise there,' Ji Wuye thought inwardly, his intense crimson gaze fixed on the shimmering new formatting of the translucent screen hovering before him. It wasn't unexpected - not after copying and assimilating numerous martial arts moves over the course of recent days.
Scanning through his updated stats with a critical eye, he noted the significant progress he had made. Not only had he managed to resonate with and attune himself to the of three elements, but almost all of his skills, techniques, and martial arts knowledge had either been refined and improved or upgraded.
'The sixth floor of the trials shouldn't pose much of a challenge for me now with these advancements,' Ji Wuye thought inwardly as the corners of his mouth ticked upward in a faint, self-assured smile.
However, the nagging memory of the tower's trials inexplicably escalating to far greater heights of difficulty in the previous timeline caused his expression to slowly contort into a contemplative frown once more. 'But does the difficulty truly scale in accordance with one's level of strength and realm?'
After all, his growth over the past few days had been nothing short of extraordinary — a leap in level from 16 to 26, and an advancement through entire martial realms, rising from the 3rd Martial Realm to the 5th, the realm of Sword Aura.
'Let's not dwell on uncertainties for now,' he sighed, dismissing the troubling thought with a slight shake of his head as he refocused on the present moment.
With measured, efficient strokes, he wiped away each unsightly stain marring his features using the pristine white cloth Song Jia had given him earlier until not a single speck remained.
"The disciples of the Black Thunder Emperor?" he asked, glancing questioningly at Song Jia, who stood nearby, her body rigid and her fists clenched tightly at her sides.
Her unwavering gaze was locked onto the captured disciples with an intensity that bordered on obsession, cold and piercing, yet she made no move to reply to his query.
'That's odd...' Ji Wuye muttered internally, his mind beginning to churn as he processed the implications. 'Why would the Black Thunder Emperor recklessly send his own disciples into such obvious peril, unable to ensure their protection from this opposition?'
The reason he immediately recognized their identity was simple: the halberds these newcomers carried and the identical martial robes they wore made it easy to guess who they were.
Having finished his task and receiving no answer from Song Jia, Ji Wuye casually draped the now blood-stained white cloth over her tense shoulder as he strode past her unhurriedly, his expression unreadable.
It was at that precise moment that the tense conversations between the Inner Disciples and Elders ceased in unison. Yet Ji Wuye remained utterly indifferent to the palpable shift in atmosphere, continuing to walk forward at an unhurried pace as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
"Greetings, esteemed Elders," Ji Wuye said casually yet respectfully, cupping his hands in a formal gesture as he approached the two Elders. His tone remained calm and composed.
One of the two Elders — the same woman from the Kongtong Sect who had earlier used her razor-edged steel fan to subdue the intruders, and who had also once attacked and surrounded him in the past — now fixed the full weight of her piercing gaze on Ji Wuye. The ornate fan remained tightly clenched in her hand, subtly yet deliberately angled toward him.
"You are quite a remarkable young man, polite and well-mannered," the Kongtong Elder remarked, her tone equal parts sharp curiosity and veiled wariness.
Her storm-gray eyes narrowed slightly as she studied him with intense scrutiny, scrutinizing every aspect of his handsome, youthful face and composed demeanor. "So why, I must ask, did you so brazenly choke one of your own Elders back then during the earlier altercation?"
Her question hung in the air, pointed yet laced with apparent genuine inquisitiveness as her gaze remained locked on him, unwavering.
Yet, Ji Wuye didn't so much as blink at her probing inquiry. His expression remained indifferent, his focus already shifting away from her words as if they were of no real importance to address. Instead, his piercing crimson gaze fell upon the pinned disciples of the Black Thunder Emperor nearby.
"You," he said, his deep voice steady and sharp as tempered steel as his eyes locked onto one of the youths in particular. "Are you not Yin Gang? The Lightning Hawk?"
