Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 336 - 73: Righteousness Unyielding

February 14, 2018

"The 59th battle has ended, Shen Jingwen wins, taking 3 minutes and 25 seconds!"

As the results in the speed arena were revealed, the judge Shen Herong announced the outcome with a detached and numb voice. Meanwhile, a small-statured boy walked out of the circle, looking dazed, shaking his head, still somewhat in disbelief.

What welcomed him was a sparse and scattered applause.

Objectively speaking, it was quite an exciting battle. The 16-year-old Shen Jingwen, despite his cultivation only being at the Cloud Surge Realm, managed to defeat the Cloud Flipping Realm ancestor Shen Bailin with excellent tactical arrangement and proficient use of magical treasures. Although it took him a bit longer, and thus couldn’t be compared to those seniors who achieved instant victory within seconds, before Shen Jingwen, no cultivator in the Outer Courtyard at the Cloud Surge Realm had ever defeated an opponent in the speed competition. As such, a 5-minute timer score would definitely be 0 points, and he couldn’t earn full marks for damage either. Though Shen Jingwen’s battle was arduous and full of luck, he managed to slay Shen Bailin at the last moment, earning full marks for damage.

However, when Shen Jingwen walked out of the arena, he did not receive the enthusiastic congratulations he might have hoped for. Instead, people fixedly stared at the warhammer in his hand, particularly the marks left by over 50 predecessors on the hammer’s handle with a Gold Melting Pen, each person silent and hesitant, making the scene within the battle array map quite awkward.

——

The matter has to start from half a day earlier.

Initially, the speed competition progressed quite smoothly. Shen Lu, the second to appear, successfully defeated Shen Bailin with an 11-second record, surpassing Shen Qing by two seconds, temporarily holding the first place in the entire competition.

Although it was just the first place temporarily, for Shen Lu, being above Shen Qing, even if just for a moment, was already a rare historical breakthrough after many years. Therefore, when he walked out of the arena with his head held high, embracing the congratulations of more than a hundred people ahead, he was on cloud nine, oblivious to everything.

It wasn’t until the third contestant, Shen Feng, started urging him incessantly, that Shen Lu realized he was still holding the shared Divine Weapon Silver Frost.

So Shen Lu hurriedly apologized, handed Silver Frost over, and slipped back into the crowd without continuing to savor the afterglow of victory.

After getting hold of Silver Frost, Shen Feng hurriedly used the limited break time to familiarize himself with the uniquely shaped Divine Weapon.

Although the remnant True Essence of Shen Qing and Shen Lu was still faintly present, making it a bit uncomfortable, the quality of the magical treasure was indisputable, and Shen Feng soon became enthralled by the supreme pleasure that an excellent magical treasure brings to a cultivator.

A moment later, Shen Herong began urging Shen Feng to enter the arena quickly. Shen Feng collected his thoughts, lifted Silver Frost, and stepped forward. Just before reaching the boundary, he realized he hadn’t made a mark with the Gold Melting Pen yet. So he quickly picked up the pen and casually added a vertical stroke beneath a horizontal one.

When writing this stroke, Shen Feng truly didn’t overthink it, it was purely out of habit. However...

When the fourth entrant from the Shen Family Outer Courtyard seemingly intentionally or unintentionally added another horizontal stroke to that vertical one, the nature of the matter began to change.

By the time the first six contestants had completed their speed rounds, a complete "correct" character had been written on the handle of Silver Frost.

After the first "correct" character was written out, Shen Feihu’s eyes widened, his face pale, with an expression as if something terrible was imminent, disaster was approaching.

"What’s wrong?" Shen Qing, beside him, noticed clearly and asked curiously.

Shen Feihu turned his head, trembling, and pointed at Silver Frost: "Can’t you see? The ’correct’ character on it!"

Of course, Shen Qing could see it, so he was baffled, "What’s wrong with the ’correct’ character?"

"What do you mean what’s wrong!? Don’t you know what writing the ’correct’ character implies?"

Shen Qing was even more confused: "Isn’t drawing the ’correct’ character used for counting? One ’correct’ character equals 5 strokes, and we have over a hundred people. Using the ’correct’ character to count is less prone to error. What’s wrong with that? Or is there a different usage of the ’correct’ character elsewhere?"

Shen Feihu wore a cursing expression for a long time before hoarsely saying, "No different usage, I’m just overthinking it..."

Shen Qing asked, "Really nothing?"

"Really nothing! It’s just drawing the ’correct’ character; what could be wrong?!"

Shen Qing’s doubt also occurred among some other enlightened Outer Courtyard members. They knew the ’correct’ character was inappropriate but couldn’t provide a reasonable explanation to the naïve and innocent companions, especially when others asked how they knew, making it even harder to answer.

This massive penalty of unknown knowledge source left the Outer Courtyard disciples only able to respond with silence.

Thus the matter could only continue to deteriorate in such a way.

After Shen Jingwen, the 59th to enter, triumphed, a column of ’correct’ characters had already been fully marked on the hammer’s handle. Shen Family Outer Courtyard disciples were rigorously collectively trained from a young age, and their sense of uniformity was exceptionally prominent. Every stroke of this row of ’correct’ characters was written upright and solemn, but in the eyes of the knowledgeable, it really was a sight that made one’s heart ache. Shen Feihu looked at Shen Qing with full concern, fearing that once Shen Qing returned Silver Frost, he might be blood sacrificed by Shen Zicheng.

Even Shen Qing was unnerved by Shen Feihu’s gaze. Despite asking repeatedly, Shen Feihu only brushed it off as nothing, with his evasive demeanor making Shen Qing even more uneasy.

Moreover, perhaps due to overexertion during the speed competition, somewhat draining his Divine Sense, whenever Shen Qing closed his eyes while resting off-court, he could always see sinister scenes like familial blood sacrifice and human cauldrons.

——

Time gradually passed in this awkward atmosphere, and finally, in the afternoon, it was time for the last member of the Shen Family to appear.

It was none other than Shen Feihong.

This tall former top member of the Outer Courtyard once again took up the heavy responsibility of upholding the family honor. After referencing more than a hundred combat examples from his peers, Shen Feihong had gained enough confidence.

He stood up, his figure like a mountain, exuding an astonishing aura — this time it was indeed the aura of a powerful cultivator, rather than the unique scent of someone who hadn’t bathed for days. The young peers beside him frowned simultaneously and stepped back a few paces.

However, in stark contrast to the retreating crowd was a sweet, charming girl who walked calmly forward against Shen Feihong’s pressure, step by step, until she stood in front of him.

"Senior Brother Feihong, please do your best." As she spoke, the girl handed over the Divine Weapon Silver Frost, inscribed with tally marks. Her gaze was filled with longing and admiration, complex and romantic.

"I’ve always believed that you are the true top member of the Shen Family Outer Courtyard."

Upon hearing this, Shen Feihong lowered his head, looking at the girl named Shen He, and felt a ripple in his usually calm heart.

This mature young man nodded slightly, then reached out to take the warhammer. The heavy hammer, over five feet long, seemed like a small mallet in his hand.

Tightly gripped by such a broad and powerful hand, the Divine Weapon Silver Frost quivered slightly, as if emitting an excited cry.

"Divine Weapon Resonance!?" Several sharp-eyed members of the Shen Family exclaimed in surprise.

It is well known that high-tier magical treasures often possess a vague self-awareness, understanding how to choose their owner and entrust all their divine techniques. However, only those with a highly compatible affinity can gain the favor of the Divine Weapon.

The more than a hundred Shen Family disciples before, although they could wield the Divine Weapon from a young age, making the heavy warhammer an extension of their limbs, none had truly elicited a resonance from Silver Frost.

Not even Shen Qing.

Now, just by picking up the warhammer, Shen Feihong had already impressed everyone, displaying the aura of a genuine top contender.

Shen Feihong wasted no time, striding into the circle. At the moment the countdown began, he exerted force with his feet, shaking the Qingyu-colored Fang Zhuan violently. The energy contained within collided and burst into dazzling green light.

Using the recoil, Shen Feihong transformed into a swift beam of light, charging straight at Shen Bailin. The large hammer was gripped tightly with both hands, raised above his head. With the robust True Essence surging, the Divine Weapon’s form suddenly expanded, and the square hammerhead crashed down like a towering Qingshan.

As the hammer landed, the entire field surged. Boiling True Essence transformed into a tangible hurricane sweeping across the room. At the eye of the storm, Shen Feihong was drenched in blood, looking utterly disheveled. His thick armor shattered from the recoil of the hammer landing, and his right arm took on a twisted shape that made onlookers wince.

Yet, this groundbreaking hammer also achieved astounding results. In the field, Shen Bailin’s projection was hammered down to the ground, with more than half of his Ice Meteor Battle Armor shattered. The icy cold within scattered wildly, indiscriminately freezing everything it touched, both living and inanimate.

With one hammer, Shen Bailin was gravely injured and near death. Shen Feihong then took a deep breath, mustering the remaining strength in his body to raise the warhammer once more, swinging down with his fractured, twisted arm. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Shen Feihong wins, time: 5 seconds!"

When this result was announced, the crowd erupted.

The heir chosen by the Lord City Lord had finally lived up to everyone’s expectations, achieving a result that convinced all present. Five seconds, it took only five seconds to defeat the Shen Family Patriarch of 500 years ago, Shen Bailin!

And as this result was announced, Secretary Yi, who entered the Battle Array Map with the Li Family, turned pale.

It’s outrageous!

In his hand, he held the performance records of the entire Shen Family Outer Courtyard, with the fifth best at 13 seconds!

It was simply unimaginable, breaking all expectations. That was Shen Bailin, the Shen Bailin whose defense in the Rain Cover Realm was believed to be invincible! The Vice City Lord’s Mansion had used him as a target to slow down the performance of the Outer Courtyard people. Then they hoped the Li Family could find Shen Bailin’s weakness in a few days and achieve an impressive result.

But the Li Family’s result was still unknown, and yet the performance of his own people had already dazzled everyone’s eyes!

The top five, now almost certainly occupied by the Outer Courtyard people, with the fastest at 5 seconds and the slowest at 13 seconds. As a former elite of the Outer Courtyard, Secretary Yi really couldn’t imagine what the Li Family could do to stand out.

And in this anxious moment, it was finally time for the Li Family to take the stage.

The first match was the critical battle, Shen Qingming!