Chapter 48: The Legend of Jing Siwang
Fang stared at the shocked Supreme Sword Dao Ancestor.
"Umm...," he began hesitantly.
"Who exactly are you?" he asked.
The crowd drew another collective gasp of air, decreasing the air pressure in the room by a large amount.
The master in front of him twitched slightly. Sighing, he gazed at Fang with a humble expression.
"Haha! I'm just a small-timer really. My name is Jing Siwang," he spoke nonchalantly.
Fang smiled. The crowd nearly fainted from the exchange. This revolutionary man... the rebel of their province... was actually showing respect to someone!?!
To understand their shock, it was important to know the legend that followed Jing Siwang. Born in the city to a pair of overburdened parents, he was quickly thrown out soon. Living off scraps from the gutters and garbage, he lived out the earliest memories as a beggar.
However, his fortunes changed with a sudden insight. Finding a simple blade on the streets, he began waving it around and instantly fell in love with it. Carrying it to sword lessons delivered by other schools, he would climb the trees in order to observe their lessons on swordplay. Like this, he began to develop his sword skills, training them to a high degree of efficiency.
Disaster struck when the empire went to war and he was immediately forced to enlist. Part of the most poorly equipped squadrons, he marched against a bigger and more powerful army, to be used as cannon fodder. The result was brutal and reinforcements never arrived.
However, his survival skills and sword skills came in handy here as he escaped the battlefield. Filled with terror and grief at the loss of his temporary companions, he hid in the forest for a few days, surviving on the beasts in the forest. It was during this time that his sword skills slowly began to increase in profoundness and power.
With this massive boost to his power, he assaulted the enemy camp alone. His sword waving in the air like a silver omen of death, he single-handedly massacred the enemy. His revenge wasn't over then. After killing every soul in that camp, he continued to move forward with his overpowering and dominating sword skills across the entire battlefield, massacring every enemy that crossed his path.
He saved dozens of citizens from being killed or worse fates by the enemy soldiers. His actions earned him the nickname of the One Man Army, the Silver Ghost of Steel, and many more. After the war had ended, he was declared a national hero and given various honors.
When he returned, he was eagerly sought after by many powerful noble families to join their ranks. Refusing every single one of them, he roamed the city where he was born. The nobles, angry at this refusal, sent hundreds of soldiers after him and in retaliation, he exterminated their entire families.
Eventually, his actions got him the attention of the emperor. Rather than being angry with him, he favored the young man and took him in as an advisor. Then, while he was in office, he created a specific sword art that was so widely proliferated, it could be said that all sword techniques available in this continent were related to this root sword skill.
He was a legendary existence, famous for his rebelliousness and refusal to obey the demands of the elite, preferring to forge his own path in life. In the legends, it had been said that he did not respect anyone based on their power, but rather based on their character.
And here he was, treating a man whom he had obviously never met, with the utmost respect!
Fang stared at this character, unaware of his status in the empire, and smiled cheerfully.
"You know, you don't have to treat me with so much respect right? I'm just an ordinary guy," he spoke.
Jing Siwang smiled elegantly and gazed at Fang intently.
"Then, you won't mind if I test that theory?" he spoke.
After all, the chair wasn't infallible. There were certain... methods... to fool it. The only way to know for sure, whether it had chosen the right person was to test him out.
In the corner of the arena, Lu Xiongnan stared at the commotion outside. His eyes narrowing, he stared at Jing Siwang and Fang with a surprised gaze.
Thrusting forward with his blade, Jing Siwang released his most powerful attack, the blade flying towards Fang with the ferocity of a dragon.
Fang's eyes widened and the world slowed.
Sliding to the side, he grabbed the sword with two fingers and pressed slightly, shattering the sword into tiny fragments.
Lu Xiongnan started. His sword... had been completely shattered. HIS SWORD! Infused with his own tyrannical power, forged from meteoric metal, thousand refined by the best blacksmiths, and something that not even top level experts could scratch! It had been shattered with a pinch!
Staring at the fragments of the sword in shock, he slowly tore his gaze from the shards of metal to Fang's sheepish face.
"Ahhh... I broke your sword.... sorry!" he spoke.
Lu Xiongnan stared at him incredulously.
Fang gazed back at him, ashamed.
Sighing, he waved his hand the shards floated up in the air and reformed into a sword. There was a flash of light and the sword reappeared in Lu's hands.
Flabbergasted, the sword master stared at Fang.
"What.... how? This sword... it's gotten stronger!?!?" he exclaimed.
Fang sighed with embarrassment.
"Sorry... I didn't know that I'd break your sword so I just returned it to its original state...," he spoke, embarrassed.
Lu Xiongnan stared at him again, looking incredulous.
"And I might have fixed some deficiencies...," he spoke.
'This man.. without knowing it, increased my weapon's grade to a Heavenly Superior Grade artifact... who is he?!?!?' he thought, terrified of Fang's extraordinary capabilities and all the more convinced that this man was not ordinary.
Clearing his throat, he sheathed his sword.
"Apologies master. I just had to test you to make sure you weren't a fake," he spoke.
Fang nearly bowled over.
'Is that how you test someone?!?!?' he cried internally.
Lu Xiongnan, looking repentant, smiled and apologized once more. Taking his leave of Fang with his nerves clearly rattled, he sat down.
And with that, the tournament began.
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