Chapter 160

In the heart of Mingdu's territory, a giant tower rose from the ground, piercing straight into the clouds, as if it meant to skewer the heavens.

Even from a great distance, pedestrians could only barely make out its middle and upper sections — the towering spire shimmered with a faint silver glow, like cold iron soaked in moonlight, icy and mysterious. Its eight clearly defined angular walls refracted sharp contours in the sunlight, while the higher portions had long since vanished into the swirling clouds and mist.

The entire tower emanated an intangible pressure that made one involuntarily hold one's breath and focus, as if a single extra glance would see one's soul devoured.

This was the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.

Relying on spirit soul technology, the Spirit Pagoda had gathered the most top-tier research talents and powerhouses, while simultaneously accumulating wealth vast enough to rival a nation. The Federation had even directly gifted the Spirit Pagoda eight Councilor seats — and one must know, there were only one hundred and eight Federation Councilor seats in total.

This was enough to show the pivotal status the Spirit Pagoda occupied in the Federation.

"Why is the Sword Maniac still sitting there?"

"He's been sitting there for ten whole days, right? Is it to challenge Huo Yuhao?"

"Everyone who was waiting before has left; only he remains waiting there."

In the Spirit Pagoda's ground-floor hall, staff members gathered in twos and threes, whispering. Everyone's gaze kept darting toward that solitary figure on the plaza outside the tower — Ji Wufeng.

Ji Wufeng of the Ji Family, sixteen years old this year, cultivation at five-ring Soul King. This man, habitually called the "Sword Maniac" by all, had already sat motionless on the plaza before the Spirit Pagoda for ten full days.

He cradled a gray-white sharp sword, letting wind blow and sun bake, not moving a muscle. Even stranger, in these ten days, not a single speck of dust had been able to settle within three inches of his body.

"He's probably waiting in vain; Huo Yuhao likely won't come. The news that the other party was invited by Mingde Hall has spread everywhere recently; maybe that person is still preparing to enter Mingde Hall……"

Before the voice fell, the entire hall suddenly fell quiet.

Because Ji Wufeng moved.

He slowly opened his eyes; those pitch-black pupils seemed to hold ten thousand swords returning to their source.

"He's here."

Ji Wufeng's voice was very light, yet it made the hearts of everyone coming and going on the Spirit Pagoda plaza tremble; they unanimously looked up toward the direction he was looking at.

In the distance, three figures walked over, but in Ji Wufeng's eyes there was no one else, only the youth in white tight-fitting clothes at the very front, and the surrounding people seemed also driven by his intent, their eyes leaving only that youth.

"Spirit Pagoda — Huo Yuhao! He's finally here!"

The crowd looked at the approaching figure, then glanced at Ji Wufeng, faintly understanding something; amid the solemn atmosphere they subconsciously retreated, leaving a hundred-zhang open space in the center of the plaza.

Huo Yuhao stepped forward in the morning light, his hair drifting slightly in the morning breeze. When his gaze fell on Ji Wufeng, a trace of hard-to-detect reminiscence flashed in his eyes — so alike, too alike, not because of appearance, but that pure sword intent and battle intent, simply identical to that Sword Maniac from ten thousand years ago.

"From the Ji Family?"

Huo Yuhao stopped ten steps away from Ji Wufeng.

"Ji Wufeng." Ji Wufeng rose, gazing fixedly at him.

"No wonder." Huo Yuhao nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the morning dew condensed on Ji Wufeng, and suddenly smiled, "Ten days of silent sitting, just for this one sword?"

"Ever since I saw that punch of yours two years ago, I have been waiting in anticipation; please grant me your guidance."

Ji Wufeng bowed deeply.

Even with mental preparation, the plaza still erupted in an uproar.

The rule against fighting within one kilometer of the Spirit Pagoda doesn't care whether you're internal personnel; if it's truly for a challenge, there's no need to fight here, right?

Ji Wufeng turned a deaf ear to these discussions. Ten days of wind and sun had left marks on his body, but those eyes grew ever sharper, like a treasured sword not yet unsheathed.

Huo Yuhao watched the momentum of the person before him grow stronger and stronger, did not speak to dampen the enthusiasm, merely nodded lightly.

"Good."

A simple, single word, yet it made the entire plaza instantly fall silent. Everyone held their breath, stared wide-eyed, afraid to miss any detail.

Ever since the battle with Shrek Academy two years ago, Huo Yuhao hadn't fought in public; now facing off against a Ji Family junior, would they see a spectacular fight today?

But urgent footsteps from afar shattered the calm here; five enforcement team members in silver-white uniforms rushed over rapidly, the captain in the lead with a grim face: "Stop! Private duels are prohibited within one kilometer of the Spirit Pagoda!"

Gu Yue Na and Gu Ruiqiu, who had stopped not far away, frowned, about to intercept them, but the situation in the field had already changed.

Ji Wufeng suddenly moved, his right hand lightly stroking his sword; a sharp sword intent instantly erupted from his body.

"Clang——"

A clear, resonant sword cry rang through the clouds.

The onlookers' faces changed in alarm; lower-cultivation Soul Masters felt every hair on their bodies stand on end, as if countless sharp swords pressed against their throats, and they stumbled back in unison. Even several Soul Sage-level powerhouses wore solemn expressions.

"This… this is really the momentum a Soul King can have?"

"Worthy of the Ji Family's sword… ten days of accumulated sword intent actually made me feel a threat; truly lives up to the name!"

A Spirit Pagoda Soul Sage couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

The Spirit Pagoda's Ji Family was a famous oddity in the entire Soul Master World. Their uniqueness lay not only in their inheritance coming from ten thousand years ago, as descendants of the first Spirit Pagoda members, but even more because the martial soul of their core lineage — "Intangible"!

Legend has it that the Ji Family ancestor, Sword Maniac Douluo, had a martial soul that was a piece of Extraterrestrial Meteoric Iron; relying on continuously nurturing it with his soul power, fusing soul into sword, ultimately his martial soul completely energy-ized, perfectly merging into the Extraterrestrial Meteoric Iron. Man and sword as one, indistinguishable from each other.

A Hereditary Spirit Soul passed down Sword Maniac Douluo's comprehension generation after generation, but this kind of comprehension that can only be felt, not spoken, the Ji Family initially couldn't enter its door; they merely kept researching because it concerned their ancestor's core inheritance.

After all, how many in history have advanced from three-rank innate soul power to rank ninety-seven Super Douluo?

Having such an ancestor worthy of respect, they didn't want his inheritance to disappear.

But it was hard, too hard!

A hundred years, a thousand years, never anyone who could truly enter the door. Until several thousand years ago, another stunningly talented Ji Family disciple — Ji Wuxia — appeared out of nowhere, finally breaking this deadlock.

He abandoned the family's traditional cultivation method, no longer obsessing over the past path, but instead using the mind to control the soul, transforming soul into intent; ten years of bitter cultivation, his martial soul actually gradually "disappeared" — no, precisely speaking, it completely fused into his spirit and flesh, then fused into the sword implement he had honed since childhood, becoming a generation's Sword God.

This situation was called by the Ji Family — Refining Vessel into Soul, postnatally changing the martial soul, having the same effect through different means as the legendary god-bestowed martial soul; it is the unique inheritance belonging solely to the Ji Family!

What their original martial soul was no longer mattered; those who could complete Refining Vessel into Soul would have their martial soul energy-ize, fusing with the implement the Soul Master had accompanied and nurtured since youth, and the implement the Ji Family chose was naturally — the sword!

From then on, the Ji Family's core lineage inheritance was finally established, also becoming one of the most mysterious existences in the Soul Master World. Several thousand years later today, those in the Ji Family who can complete Refining Vessel into Soul are still very few, even having had a generational break, but every core disciple who completes it is an existence that inspires dread.

And Ji Wufeng is one of them!

For the outside discussions, Ji Wufeng turned a deaf ear. The essence, energy, and spirit accumulated over ten days of silent sitting were released without reservation at this moment; his whole person seemed to transform into an unsheathed peerless fierce sword. The gray-white sword body had sword patterns lighting up inch by inch, dragging a meteor-like tail flame in the air.

Where is this a spar? Clearly the momentum of a life-and-death struggle!

Facing this heaven-shaking sword intent, Huo Yuhao's eyes blazed with brilliant light; no soul rings appeared, no soul power fluctuations, merely a change in a single gaze —

The whole heaven and earth seemed to freeze in an instant. Ji Wufeng's fierce sword intent actually seemed to crash into an invisible wall, collapsing with a boom three feet before Huo Yuhao. Even more terrifying, an indescribable pressure descended from the sky, making Ji Wufeng's sword-holding hand suddenly heavy as a thousand jun.

Huo Yuhao knew, this was the battle the other party yearned for.

Between the two, a most pure confrontation had already unfolded — no soul skills or techniques mixed in, only the collision of the truest artistic conceptions!

Ji Wufeng gritted his teeth, fine beads of sweat seeping from his forehead. He felt as if he were in an abyssal ocean ten thousand zhang deep, every movement having to contend against the pressure of all heaven and earth.

At this moment, in the comparison of momentum, he was actually completely at a disadvantage! The Sword Intent radiating from his whole body, before Huo Yuhao's condensed, substantial artistic conception, was like thin silk meeting sharp scissors, easily torn apart.

But Ji Wufeng did not feel discouraged; the sword in his hand was excited, and the fighting intent in his eyes grew ever thicker.

He still did not use a soul skill, but the light in his hand grew increasingly dazzling, and kept expanding. What expanded was not the sword's physical body, but a transparent yet brilliantly dazzling sword shadow.

That sword shadow trembled slightly, emitting a nimble aura. Although it did not possess an overbearing oppressive feeling, with its appearance, Ji Wufeng's aura instantly soared to the Soul Emperor level!

The surrounding passersby were all moved by it.

"Sword Soul?!"

Not some unity of man and sword, nor Sword Intent, but Sword Soul!

The Sword Realm — Sword Intent, Sword Soul, Sword God. A Sword Dao expert possessing Sword Soul can obtain an extremely terrifying amplification, amplifying oneself by one rank is even possible. Becoming a peerless powerhouse in the future can be said to be a foregone conclusion.

Ji Wufeng actually reached this realm at Soul King cultivation? Or even earlier?

However, some Spirit Pagoda heaven's prides were not surprised.

Possessor of a Sword Martial Soul, comprehend its intent, obtain its profundity; possess its soul, obtain its spirit — that is Sword Soul.

The Ji Family's Refining Vessel into Soul path is difficult as climbing heaven; only once every several generations might one be completed. The previous one was still Tower Master Ji Xuanqiu, but once completed, the future will surely achieve Sword Soul!

Because their martial souls are polished by themselves, there are few who understand their own martial soul more than them, who love their sword more.

Moreover, the Sword Soul realm usually requires a soul ring as a vessel, but the Ji Family's people do not need one; their martial soul is the soul, is their "Sword Soul"!

Ji Wufeng's Sword Intent rose steadily with the blooming of the Sword Soul; the next moment, his whole person seemed to transform into a bizarre ray of light, skimming the ground as he rushed toward Huo Yuhao. Astonishing Sword Qi filled the entire space; the pressing might actually made Huo Yuhao's robes flutter without wind, the whipping fabric seeming to emit a silent wail.

Seeing this, Huo Yuhao revealed a smile, and finally moved. Right hand forming a fist, he simply pushed forward. This punch had no flourishes, yet seemed to contain the ultimate principle of heaven and earth.

What is Sword Intent, what is Sword Soul, what is Sword God?

The foundation of cultivation is Essence, Energy, Spirit; true Sword Art is the perfect fusion of the Soul Master's own Essence, Energy, Spirit with the sword.

So-called Sword Intent, Sword Soul, Sword God are all realms derived on this basis; ultimately they are extensions of the "self"!

Where the fist edge passed, Ji Wufeng's Sword Intent that could sever mountains and rivers actually melted silently like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun. On Huo Yuhao's fist there were no dazzling soul rings, no gorgeous soul skills, only the purest "intent".

"Boom——"

The moment fist and sword were about to collide, everyone felt the air within several dozen square meters seem to collapse inward; everything around became distorted.

But sword and fist actually did not truly touch; only two intents collided together.

Left side, Sword Qi surged like a tide, stirring up sky-soaring killing intent in the void.

Right side, yet was eternal silence. No wind sound, no sword cry, only a stretch of pure clarity. That silence was not void, but a profundity embracing all things, as if even time had frozen in this domain.

The two intents fiercely clashed in the void. Every collision made the entire space violently tremble. Sword Qi shattered in succession, yet that stretch of silence remained steadfast and unmoving, even silently devouring the shattered Sword Qi.

The gap, clear at a glance.

The silent artistic conception on the right was like a self-contained world; that was an Absolute Domain surpassing moves and techniques, the product of truly touching the peak of artistic conception!

Ji Wufeng's originally cold face had a subtle change; at this moment the shock in his heart simply could not be described. Only he who experienced it personally could truly feel how astonishing the momentum Huo Yuhao currently emitted was.

Within it there was God, a realm he still had not touched!

But what Huo Yuhao's punch made him feel was not just this point.

The peak of the Sword Dao realm, what must be grasped is not one among Sword Intent, Sword Soul, Sword God, but all three combined, perfectly fused. Fuse one's own emotions, thoughts entirely into it; Essence, Energy, Spirit fused as one. Sword Art displayed like this, like a domain, like an artistic conception, that is the true sword!

And in this punch Huo Yuhao displayed, he saw such a shadow.

"What was seen two years ago, truly not bad. At that time he had already fused Essence, Energy, Spirit." Ji Wufeng's state of mind was hard to calm, but his eyes flashed with brilliant light, striving to capture that trace of divine charm within the fist edge.

Seeing this, the corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth curved slightly; after fist and sword deadlocked for about one second he suddenly exerted force, then a deafening boom suddenly exploded.

——Boom!

With the two's clash point as center, the ground suddenly split with large cracks and subsidence, spreading outward at extreme speed until extending to several dozen meters before gradually ceasing.

Ji Wufeng instantly flew back twenty meters; after stabilizing his figure, his face was extremely pale, his sword-holding palm mottled with blood. But his eyes were filled with unprecedented excitement, not a trace of discouragement, "I lost."

Leaving three words, he sat cross-legged on the ground, meditating to comprehend his gains, not caring in the least about the blood on his body and others' gazes.

"……Truly a nostalgic scene."

Huo Yuhao's eyes revealed nostalgia.

One sword, one fist…… Once they were also like this.

You have a successor, Jue Chen.

Not lingering long, Huo Yuhao walked straight toward the Spirit Pagoda doorway.

At this time, the onlookers only then came back to their senses, hearts still in disbelief, "A Soul King possessing Sword Intent and Sword Soul, actually lost in a contest of 'intent'?"

First invited by Mingde Hall, now suppressing the Ji Family's descendant in artistic conception; he just wanted to ask, what else is there that Huo Yuhao doesn't know?

Everything refined, everything understood — what kind of monster is this?

And the Enforcement Team looking at the wrecked plaza and the three departing figures, finally looked at the meditating Ji Wufeng, fierce light blooming in their eyes.

You caused the trouble, yet this calm?

Wait until you finish comprehending, then we'll settle accounts!

(End of Chapter)