AI Cultivation: Reborn as a Sword

The fourth-ranked disciple spares no effort or time in immediately attacking the tiring Yuan Qiuyue, who is forced into an exhausting defensive posture for much of the brief match. Each time the disciple thrusts his spear, he also shakes off the gathering ice crystals, preventing them from lowering his offensive mobility, which further puts the Frozen Peak Palace disciple in a disadvantageous position.

When Yuan Qiuyue finally runs out of stamina and energy, the disciple aims a blow at her stomach, clearly with the intent to cripple her cultivation, but unlike her sister-disciple, she is ready for it, and even gracefully receives the blow, shielding her internals as much as possible.

This is not surprising at all; before, when the disciples sparred, it was with the understanding that heavy injuries were against the rules, and, even without thinking about it, they did not have to remain vigilant of stray blows once they were bested and defeated.

But now it is different; this time, the disciples fight with the full knowledge and intent that getting away with heavy injuries is the goal, and aiming debilitating blows at the moment when a defense is least likely is something they are vigilant towards.

Even as she tumbles across the podium, hurt badly, but alive and cultivation intact, another disciple from the Frozen Peak Palace jumps onto the podium to take Yuan Qiuyue’s place, uttering her challenge and before it is even acknowledged, retaliates with the full might of her ice attribute martial arts.

The Sky Continent Martial Conference has always been a competition of strategy as much as tactics, but it now quickly devolves into something else entirely. No more is any thought spared toward setting up sweeps and obtaining points and glory for the sect, but instead is entirely dedicated toward going blow for blow, until one side runs out of disciples.

And in this matter, only the Frozen Peak Palace disciples and elders remain calm and collected, while the other elders gawk with a mix of disgust and second-hand embarrassment — simply by association — at the quickly deteriorating situation.

The most incensed, naturally, are the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion elders and tournament organizers who are likewise, now, invested in seeing this grudge through after one of their own disciples was injured heavily.

However, even as the Frozen Peak Palace disciple takes the field, she is unable to get revenge for Yuan Qiuyue and is likewise defeated by her opponent, much to the cheer and celebration of his sect brothers and sisters.

Then another disciple — third rank, this time — from the Frozen Peak Palace takes the field, and further plunges the podium into ice, and the environment into the arctic colds of their home in the distant north, and she manages to fight the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion spear-wielder to a deadlock after several long, exhausting minutes of evading and countering blows.

The spear-wielder’s weapon sings and parts the air with efficient thrusts, circles, and sweeps, but never manages to even catch the shadow of the Frozen Peak Palace third ranker, who is likewise unable to trap the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion disciple in ice either.

Surprisingly, the Frozen Peak Palace disciple forfeits the match, when both parties are exhausted, and for a moment, it seems like the grudge has finally been settled. With that forfeit, it finally seemed as if heads had cooled.

“Maybe they finally realized how pointless this was…” Tian Li murmurs, to the reluctant nods of the other disciples.

However, the moment the second-ranked Frozen Palace Pavilion disciple comes out, she immediately attacks the spear-wielder with deadly force, not even bothering to announce her challenge — allowing a spike of ice to instead announce her intentions.

Blood flies across the podium as the spike pierces the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion disciple through the shoulder, and sends him flying a dozen steps across the podium, and his spear also a dozen steps but in a different direction.

This time, the elders of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion do not even protest or cry out in rage, as if to admit that they are all aware — and agreeable — to what this has become.

Instead, the third-ranked disciple of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion charges out onto the podium and flings his spear at the second-ranked Frozen Peak Palace disciple, which does not manage to catch her off-guard.

Her defense is impeccable and absolute; the speed with which she can summon blocks of ice, spears, and spires is orders of magnitudes faster than those of her sisters who fought until then, and she is effortlessly capable of turning the sudden attack to her advantage, by crushing the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion third-ranker between two slabs of ice, and freezing his body to dangerous levels.

It is clear that she could’ve killed him right then and there, but the fact that she holds back enough is evidence that this grudge does not run as deep as it would otherwise appear — not that any shocked spectators would be able to tell the difference; to them, this looks like a lethal attack.

“Are you still not satisfied, Frozen Peak Palace?!” the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion second-rank disciple steps out onto the field, much calmer than his defeated brothers. “All we are doing is ruining our own standing in the Conference! And our reputation!”

His words cause the Frozen Peak Palace disciples, and those of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion, to frown and briefly reconsider their positions.

“Then apologize for what you did!” the second-rank Frozen Peak Palace disciple calls out, pointing a finger at Xu Tian. “Get him here, and force him to apologize to my sister!”

“You are dreaming!” Xu Tian calls back. “Look how many of us you injured! You should apologize first!”

“We’ll see who is dreaming!” the second-ranked disciple replies, and thrusts her arms out, summoning more ice.

“Sister Xiang!” the sword maiden calls out from the ranks of the Frozen Peak Palace but is too late to sway her sister.

The battle between second-rankers, and first-rankers for that matter, is truly the main attraction of this event because it is such a spectacular display of prowess and overwhelming strength that it remains in the minds of all spectators — regardless of their sect or cultivation — for years.

This is largely because those of such high ranks have unlocked and comprehended the deeper layers of their martial arts — referred to as the First Boundary — which truly unleashes the techniques and strengths of martial arts.

[Thunder Dragon Spear Method] is no different, and neither is the second-ranked disciple of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion.

When he leaps into the air, a lightning bolt descends from the sky, striking his spear, but instead of a charred corpse flinging out of the air, the image of a golden dragon coils around the second-ranker of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion, crackling with lightning.

“Thunder Dragon’s Descent!” he calls out, and as the name of the move suggests, falls from the sky like a comet wreathed in light and thunder, as the dragon uncoils and points at the Frozen Peak Palace disciple, like an arrow.

“Absolute Ice Palace!” the female cultivator replies, raising her arms high as sheets of ice come to envelop her on all sides, and then further slabs raise from the ground, forming from both the top and bottom simultaneously, and forming three sets of obstacles in the path of the spear.

When the spear strikes the first slab of ice, thunder and lightning explode outward, sending chunks of ice flinging across the podium like deadly projectiles that never make it further than the barrier surrounding the podium for this exact reason.

Even the second line of defense falters before that spear, followed by the third until it is finally stopped by the last layer of defense — the ice prison surrounding the girl whose surname is Xiang.

“Xiang Liling,” the second-ranked disciple hisses, trying to free his spear from the ice. “There is no reason to continue this. We can end it right now; please listen to me.”

“We did not start this, Ren Jinhai,” Xiang Liling replies, laying her hand on Ren Jinhai’s wrist. “Until you apologize, all we can do is keep feeding the embers!”

“You…!” Ren Jinhai exclaims, and then howls in pain as the frost energy infiltrates his internal systems, and he is forced to let go of his spear, and tumble on the ground.

“I forfeit!” Ren Jinhai cries out, and for the first time in a while, one of the disciples comes to reason and remembers the purpose of this Conference.

This forfeit even catches Xiang Liling by surprise who, for a brief moment, is uncertain how to proceed. In her last two matches, while she did hold back, she still aimed at teaching the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion disciples a very painful lesson. Though she appeared brutal and savage in her application of force, in truth, she did not want to injure anyone badly. If anything, all she wanted was that apology that she demanded.

This brief moment of distraction proves more than a costly mistake when the first-ranked disciple of the Heavenly Mountain Pavilion takes the field and utters three words.

“Dragon-Slaying Thrust.”

The ice surrounding Xiang Liling shatters, and neither the spear nor the motion of the first-ranked disciple can be seen; only the bright, burning light, resembling a lightning strike, that followed the motion of his spear.

Xiang Liling rolls on the ground, coughing out mouthfuls of blood before losing consciousness.