Chapter 150: Disciple of the Dao Ancestor

True strength? Yuntian raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Junior Brother Ji Ning, you'll have to force me to unleash my ultimate power first."

"Senior Brother, watch my sword!" With a low cry, Ji Ning instantly unleashed the Lawful Ten Thousand Manifestations, transforming into a three-headed, six-armed form as he lunged at Yuntian.

With a slight curl at the corners of his lips, Yuntian also activated the Lawful Ten Thousand Manifestations. However, he merely held a Heaven-grade flying sword in a single hand, casually waving it to parry Ji Ning's three Darknorth swords. Fighting three opponents at once, Yuntian's blade moved with seeming nonchalance, yet it effortlessly and consecutively deflected every single one of those three Darknorth swords.

No matter how hard Ji Ning exerted himself, pouring the minor daos of rain, raging fire, and swift wind into his swordsmanship—making his strikes continuous, ferocious, or blindingly fast—he could never pierce through Yuntian's seemingly casual parry and defense. He could not harm Yuntian in the slightest, nor could he even graze the hem of Yuntian's robe.

"Incredible, simply incredible! Yuntian's comprehension of the Dao of Qiankun is profound beyond measure, and he has even integrated multiple minor daos into it. His swordsmanship flows as naturally as an antelope hanging its horns by its-horns; offense and defense are seamlessly merged. To utilize the Dao to such an extent is truly hard to believe," Lu Dongbin exclaimed, his eyes shining brightly with admiration.

The other Pure Yang True Immortals, including the Emperor of Chu (Emperor Xia), all watched with gleaming eyes, nodding in repeated praise. They had to admit that Ji Ning had already performed with astonishing brilliance. Yet, compared to Yuntian, who always appeared calm and composed while remaining unfathomably deep, Ji Ning was clearly in a completely different league.

"This Yuntian must have been immensely powerful in his past life. Why on earth didn't he successfully cross the tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal? Could it be that his background in his previous life was ordinary, leaving him without powerful magical treasures to protect his body?" Lu Dongbin secretly wondered to himself.

As the battle continued, it unfolded as a flawless demonstration of Yuntian's mastery over the Dao of Qiankun. Eventually, Yuntian began to slowly counterattack, forcing Ji Ning to give his absolute all just to barely defend himself, leaving him no room to spare any focus for offense. Yet under this immense pressure, Ji Ning's comprehension of swordsmanship was gradually improving. Still, this tiny bit of progress was far too negligible when faced with Yuntian.

Seeing that Ji Ning had pushed himself to the absolute limit and could no longer improve by even an inch, Yuntian had no desire to keep bullying him. With a low cry, the sword in his hand seemed to vanish into thin air, and his entire body abruptly disappeared, reappearing behind Ji Ning in the very next instant.

Swish, swish... Immediately afterward, a breeze swept past. Ji Ning's movements froze. The willow-like arms grasping the Darknorth sword and the other three Heaven-grade flying swords were all severed clean at the wrists.

Gasps... A wave of intense uproar erupted among all the spectators, and even the various Pure Yang True Immortals could not help but leap to their feet in shock.

"This... this kind of swordsmanship... Heavens! What level has this kid's comprehension of the Dao of Qiankun reached?!" The Pure Yang True Immortals felt a sharp twitch in their hearts as they stared in utter astonishment. Yuntian's comprehension and application of the Dao of Qiankun far exceeded their imaginations.

After a brief moment of daze, Ji Ning snapped back to his senses. With a bitter smile, a thought flashed through his mind as he recalled his six severed hands. The divine power within his body surged to rapidly heal the wounds, and he retracted his three-headed, six-armed and Lawful Ten Thousand Manifestations divine abilities. Turning to look at Yuntian, he said with a dry voice, "Senior Brother, I have lost!"

***

"Magnificent! Haha... In this final battle, Yuntian is the victor!" The Emperor of Chu slammed his hand against the armrest of his throne, throwing back his head in a loud, joyous laugh.

Instantly, an extraordinarily excited wave of clamor erupted from the Antan Prefecture's delegation in the imperial plaza. The people from Antan Prefecture were utterly ecstatic; both the first and second place winners of the Immortal Destiny Gathering hailed from their prefecture, and the final battle had been nothing short of spectacular. The Antan Prefecture team was practically trembling with excitement.

In the main hall of the Tianmang Palace, the Emperor of Chu looked down at Yuntian, Ji Ning, and True Immortal Muchuan who had just returned to the hall: "The scenes of your three previous battles have all been recorded by me one by one using the Water-Mirror technique. Now, I shall go to my Master and present this water-mirror record to him, so that my Master may personally decide which one of you three to take as a disciple."

As he spoke, an avatar of the Emperor of Chu clad in white appeared beside him, identical in appearance to the Emperor himself. With a single step, the white-robed avatar traversed into the empty void above, and then tore through space to leave this vast world.

Both Ji Ning and True Immortal Muchuan were filled with extreme tension. The white-robed Emperor of Chu was evidently the Emperor's second true soul or avatar, and he had clearly gone to see Patriarch Chi Ming. Everything now depended on whom Patriarch Chi Ming would choose. Who would it ultimately be?

Compared to them, Yuntian appeared far more calm and composed. Even if Patriarch Chi Ming were to choose him, it was uncertain whether he would even be willing to take him as a master!

"My second true soul has already gone to my Master, though it is hard to say when Master will see him or when he will make his final choice," the Emperor of Chu said from above, looking down at Yuntian, as well as the anxiously waiting Ji Ning and True Immortal Muchuan. "As the top three of this Immortal Destiny Gathering, the three of you may choose any one divine ability from our Great Xia Treasury."

With those words, the Emperor of Chu directly instructed Prince Qi to lead the three of them to the Great Xia Treasury, which was also located within the Tianmang Palace.

On the sixth floor of the Tianmang Palace, Prince Qi smiled and pointed toward an endless sea of countless book rolls: "All the simplified texts of the Daoist canons belonging to our Great Xia imperial family are stored here. You may choose any one divine ability, or you may choose any one secret technique, but you are limited to only one."

Yuntian and the other two nodded, and without a moment's hesitation, they walked directly to the most prominent, massive black jade table. The giant black jade table was entirely laden with simplified texts of divine abilities. On another white jade table nearby lay the simplified texts of precious secret techniques.

"Oh? The Candle Dragon Eye? What a coincidence!" Yuntian, who had been browsing casually out of sheer boredom, noticed the most prominent simplified divine ability text among them. Picking it up to take a look, he raised an eyebrow, his eyes lighting up slightly: "This divine ability seems rather interesting..."

Prince Qi walked over with a chuckle: "Haha... This Candle Dragon Eye is the most powerful divine ability here. Although it only contains the upper volume, it is nonetheless a divine ability strong enough to rank in the top one hundred across the Three Realms!"

"The most powerful divine ability here? One that can rank in the top one hundred across the entire Three Realms?" Hearing this, both Ji Ning and True Immortal Muchuan felt their eyes light up.

***

Spurred by a shared impulse, all three of them ultimately chose this very divine ability. Prince Qi then personally led them to view the complete text of the divine ability and learn it.

Once the three of them had fully received the inherited knowledge, Prince Qi spoke up, "Very well, His Majesty has just sent me a voice transmission. Patriarch Chi Ming has made his choice of disciple. Hurry and follow me to the main hall to see His Majesty."

"The choice has been made? I wonder if Patriarch Chi Ming will still choose True Immortal Muchuan?" Yuntian narrowed his eyes slightly, while Ji Ning and True Immortal Muchuan felt a tightening in their chests.

In the main hall of the Tianmang Palace, the Emperor of Chu, who had just been chatting and laughing with Lu Dongbin and the other Pure Yang True Immortals, suddenly saw his expression shift. A look of astonishment crossed his face, followed by a furrowing of his brows.

"Xia Mang, could the Patriarch have already chosen his disciple? From the look on your face, you seem rather surprised!" Lu Dongbin smiled as he looked toward the Emperor of Chu.

Faced with the curious gazes of the various Pure Yang True Immortals, the Emperor of Chu managed a faint smile and replied, "Indeed, my second true soul saw my Master, and Master has just made his selection. But do not be impatient; let us wait until Yuntian and the other two arrive before we discuss it."

"Still keeping us in suspense!" The Floating Sea Great Sage, a disciple of the Patriarch of the Subhuti / Supreme Emperor (or Emperor Fuxi) who had previously come to welcome Realman Daolord, curled his lip in mild dissatisfaction, while the other Pure Yang True Immortals could only smile helplessly.

Moments later, once Yuntian and the three arrived, the Emperor of Chu looked directly at them and announced in a solemn, resounding voice, "My Master has already chosen his disciple from among you three. That disciple is... True Immortal Muchuan."

"True Immortal Muchuan?" Yuntian frowned slightly for a fraction of a second before his expression returned to normal. Instead, a faint smile appeared at the corners of his lips as he turned to look at Ji Ning. Ji Ning looked momentarily stunned, but he quickly regained his composure, despite the anxiety, unwillingness, frustration, and helplessness churning deep within his heart. After all, he had pushed himself to such desperate lengths, only for this to be the outcome.

Quickly suppressing the turbulent emotions within his heart, Ji Ning immediately cupped his hands toward True Immortal Muchuan—who was currently wearing an expression of ecstatic joy and surprise—and said, "Congratulations, Brother Muchuan!"

"Brother Ji Ning, it was merely luck. Both you and Brother Yuntian are certainly no less capable than I am," True Immortal Muchuan replied hurriedly, his eyes brimming with boundless joy.