Chapter 484: Chapter 324: The Final Round! Innate Hope! [Seeking Monthly Pass!]_2
Reversed Heavenly Gang!
Complete chaos!
This time it’s truly a ’share for everyone’—
Gods or devils, any cats or dogs can go up and have a round.
Some even with unclear minds stumble onto the stage, win the Arena Master in a daze, and get kicked off the stage absentmindedly. When they regain clarity offstage later, they don’t even realize they were Arena Masters for four hours.
Chaos, chaos!
Complete chaos!
At the top of Chess Stone Peak, there’s no craziest, only crazier, it’s like a dance of mad demons.
As time passed.
As the Sword Discussion approached its end.
Even those top-notch players who hadn’t gone mad, slowed their pace, no longer fixated on temporary wins and losses on the stage, no longer obsessed with the Arena Master position for one or two days.
They sit down to meditate and control their breath.
They close their eyes to rest their minds.
Wholeheartedly rejecting Evil Qi and resisting Demon Barriers, preserving their peak state as much as possible, only waiting for the final moments of the Sword Discussion, only waiting for the last day of the Sword Discussion, they are ready to give their all to secure a spot on a stage to become the ultimate ’Twelve Champions’, the ’Twelve Strong’, with a guaranteed Fifth Tier reward and a highest Second Tier reward, far more worthwhile than winning a few more arenas now.
Demon Barriers disturb the mind!
These people’s thoughts are clear.
Thus, based on these various subjective and objective factors, the top of Chess Stone Peak remains lively, but all in a nonsensical way, with the quality of the martial arts competition seriously declining, almost turning into a farce.
More than a thousand Heavenly Proud’s ugly faces are exposed.
Fortunately, Great Yan doesn’t have cameras, otherwise, the audience would be carrying cameras, snapping and recording with phones, after ten or eight years, when brought out again, it might well be the black history the "Earthly List" experts and "Heavenly List" grandmasters most want to destroy.
Regrettably, technology in this world isn’t that advanced.
After the Sword Discussion.
Ten years later.
Perhaps no one would admit then the shameful states revealed now at the top of Chess Stone Peak, would never admit they were such a madman.
In a flash.
Six or seven days passed.
This round flew by fast.
Soon, the time came to the forty-second day of the Sword Discussion, the end of Hai hour.
Hai hour is over.
Zi hour is imminent.
About to enter the first day of the seventy-seventh cycle of the Sword Discussion.
At this moment.
Yan Chuan opened his eyes, exhaled a stream of white breath, conducted an internal examination, and couldn’t help but smile——
...
"Postnatal Nine Layer!"
"Bone Training Sixth Grade!"
"Muscle Training Grade Two! Grade Two Muscle Training! Second Grade Skin Training!"
The Sword Discussion had not completely ended, and Yan Chuan’s strength had surged greatly from the Postnatal Fourth Layer and Bone Training Fourth Grade before it started, skyrocketing to Nine Layer and Sixth Grade now, the progress is indeed significant.
As for his state——
These past days, Yan Chuan cultivated to resist while continuously holding martial arts lectures, benefiting from countless feedbacks gleaned through ’Mutual Teaching and Learning’, focusing solely on martial arts, making ’Demon Barrier’ hardly affect his mind.
He also rotated the Yijinjing and Innate Skill, constantly resisting, and dissolving ’Evil Qi’ erosion. Although it’s hard to completely block it, after fourteen consecutive days, the impact on Yan Chuan is indeed minimal, probably still able to exert seventy to eighty percent of his power, most of which were already previously invaded during the ’Ghost Prison Yin Wind Roar’.
Seventy to eighty percent!
This counts as a lot among more than a thousand contestants.
He couldn’t compare to individuals like Wang Zhengyi and Ma Hongniang who seemed invincible, but compared to others like Situ Fei and Ban Xianfu, he shouldn’t be much worse. As for Wang Ge, Fu Yunzhan, Chen Ze, they are in worse states; Chen Ze is a bit better, capable of exerting about twenty to thirty percent of their full strength, while Wang Ge and Fu Yunzhan are pitiful, with full battle prowess and so-called absolute combat power almost wiped out, unable to withstand the relentless challenges due to their poor Inner Strength attainment and Mental State Cultivation.
Entering the final stage of the Sword Discussion is imminent, Hai Character Arena seems to have reverted to the liberation era, now only Yan Chuan and Wang Zhengyi are left standing with combat capabilities.
Two individuals!
They are yet to fight side by side again!
"Si Qi, Forbidden Treasure, Absolute Weapons."
"Wu Qi, Evil Qi."
"Liu Qi, Demon Barrier."
"What about Qi Qi?"
"What test will this round be?"
Though Wang Zhengyi is not affected by ’Evil Qi’, his strength remains intact, but his mental discipline is slightly weak, disturbed by ’Demon Barriers’, sometimes sober sometimes muddled.
At this moment, Wang Zhengyi is in a temporary clear state, and Yan Chuan keeps reciting the Heart Sutra beside him to prolong Wang Zhengyi’s moment of clarity.
Wang Zhengyi is curious.
Yan Chuan is also curious.
Hai hour finally ends.
Zi hour arrives.
The forty-third day of the Sword Discussion begins, Yan Chuan recites the Heart Sutra while on guard against the tests of the seventy-seventh cycle.
Boom!
A roar is heard, from above the twelve arenas, or descending from the sky or bursting from the ground, each stands a stone stele upright.
"A stele?"
Yan Chuan looked towards the stone stele on the Hai Character Arena right in front of him, seeing ’Jiangguan’ inscribed on the front, with a Mist Rain Map on the back depicting a misty autumn river scene, mountains faintly visible in clouds, a boat, a fisherman moving across the river. The entire artwork, combining near and far views, dynamic and still, showcases the majestic scene of autumn rivers and riversides, its composition meticulous, strokes and ink soft and elegant.
The describable and indescribable beauty effortlessly draws one in.
"Jiangguan Mist Rain Map!"
Yan Chuan felt a peculiar stirring in his heart, unsure what this meant.
Looking towards the other arenas, the nearest is the Xu Character Arena, Yan Chuan squinted to see it from afar, unable to see the front, but the back is also a Mist Rain Map, different from his ’Jiangguan Mist Rain Map’, depicting a creekside scene, shrouded in cloudy mist, a boatman in a bamboo hat about to pole the boat to shore, ascending the creek, with three small thatched huts, distant mountains under rain embers. The overall strokes and ink are subtle yet eloquent, the painting style unique, unlike Great Yan or any previous dynasties.
"This should be ’Lin Luan Mist Rain Map’!"
Looking further, Yan Chuan sees on the stone stele of the You Character Arena ’Spring Mountain’ written on the front, the back is invisible, presumably a ’Spring Mountain Mist Rain Map’.
Further yet to the Shen Character Arena, the back of the stele depicts overlapping peaks, with the main peak towering and the side peaks hazy, a natural landscape. In the middle and near views, it shows ancient temples hidden in fine rain. Vast lakes with islets dormant, wild trees forming forests, scattered village dwellings. At the embankment foothill, under lush forests, huts are encircled, with a single plank spanning the shore.
"And the gentle wind brings misty rain, vaguely losing the village scene."
"This is the ’He Feng Rainy Mist Painting’!"
Yan Chuan glanced over one arena after another, one stone stele after another from afar, all making texts on the front, while on the back was a Mist Rain Map.
What is this?
Yan Chuan couldn’t figure out what the court was up to, suspecting the stone steles to be the test of this seventy-seventh cycle, yet unaware of the test’s direction.
"Could it be picture interpretation?"
Yan Chuan looked at the stone stele and the painting, perplexed.
Suddenly.
At this time.
Thunder rang from the sky, auspicious clouds with moonlight laying a white jade road reaching up to the clouds, a man in a dragon robe walked down, overlooking the mortal world.
This man—
"Emperor Yan?"
Yan Chuan looked up and recognized the person, remembering the glimpse at the cliff before the Sword Discussion began, seeing the person’s dragon robe all over, not hard to guess their identity.
His guess was correct, the person was indeed Ying Tianxing.
The Yan Emperor smiled, dignified, looking at the thousand Heavenly Pride at the top of Chess Stone Peak, his voice like thunder: "It is the forty-third day of the Sword Discussion, with arena challenge and defense, three tests, those who still hold the stage afterwards are the most outstanding Heavenly Pride of our Great Yan, with a boundless future. Therefore, I have descended these twelve ’Mist Rain Steles’ containing the ultimate truth of Martial Arts for you to contemplate. The closer you are, the deeper your understanding. Arena masters on stage have natural advantages; if you can comprehend any Absolute Skill or gain some Martial Arts Realm from it, a significant increase in strength is secondary, paving a path to Innate is just the beginning—"
Mist Rain Stele!
Comprehension?
Insight into the Way?
Yan Chuan was startled to hear that this round was not a test but a benefit offering?
"Can it be the Yan Emperor has turned a new leaf, being so generous?" Wang Zhengyi voiced to Yan Chuan, skeptical of the old fellow.
Yan Chuan was about to reply, but suddenly noticed Yan Emperor seemingly glance over, caught off guard: "Even Sound Transmission into Secret can be heard?"
Coincidence perhaps?
Yan Chuan was unsure but dared not respond, focusing on listening to the Yan Emperor’s speech—
...