The Portal of Wonderland

The second day had arrived.

There were a lot more people watching the crowd near the platform compared to the day. The news of Shi Mu defeating Yun Xiao in one fell swoop had naturally attracted more attention.

Above the ring, Shi Mu and Ling Feng stood opposite each other.

“Brother Shi Mu made such progress in less than ten years. Not only did you improve in physical strength but in skill as well. It seems that you’ve put in a lot of hard work,” said Ling Feng.

“Thank you for your praise. However, for today, I would like to ask for your guidance in return,” Shi Mu replied.

“I have nothing more to guide you on, but I’ll go all out today.”

.

“It might be like back then, where I was defeated by Ling Feng during the championship,” Shi Mu said with a smile.

“Alright then!” Ling Feng laughed as a blue light flashed and a three-foot sword appeared in his hand.

The sword merged with the blueness of the sky, and the runes engraved on it could be seen clearly. It had already exuded a horrible aura. This weapon was as powerful as Yun Xiao’s feather fan.

Shi Mu’s eyes flashed. A black light flashed in his hand and the Wishful Steel Staff materialized in his grasp.

“Take this!”

Ling Feng swung his sword above him, forming a visible ray of cold air that enshrouded Shi Mu. He felt like the blood in his body was freezing, and the flow of his qi slowed down.

“Not bad!” Shi Mu snorted as he realized how much improvement Ling Feng had made since their last encounter. It seemed that his effort was not in vain nor he had not been idle for the past nine years.

He quickly concocted a plan in his mind.

In the midst of the whistling wind, the Wishful Steel Staff suddenly became several times longer before transforming into three great shadows. It wrapped onto the white turbulence that was rushing out toward the blue long sword.

Chi!

There was a sound of metal clanging onto the ground.

The blue sword in Ling Feng’s hands was crushed by the endless white waves as the Wishful Steel Staff hit at it.

Ling Feng’s sword bloomed in bright blue light and slashed across the attack.

Ka-cha!

The long blue sword and the Wishful Steel Staff slammed against each other before bouncing off.

“Eh!” Ling Feng’s eyes flashed as he snorted.

He had attempted to cut through the staff and get to Shi Mu’s arm. He knew Shi Mu’s black staff was of extremely good material, but assumed that it was not on par with his spirit weapon. He had not expected that his sword would be unable to penetrate the staff.

Shi Mu floated back and looked at the surface of the staff. He was slightly relieved to find that its surface had no scratches.

The Wishful Steel Staff was a top-grade spirit weapon, and under Master Yong Zhu’s refining, it was at its highest quality of hardness. No other weapon would be able to damage it that easily.

In between his thoughts, Ling Feng landed an attack once again.

The sword in his hand swayed as the light emitted from the sword glowed brighter. Countless layers were superimposed to form a blue-crystal sword net, which was facing Shi Mu.

Shi Mu shouted as the Wishful Steel Staff glowed in black and white light and a dense shadow appeared.

Shi Mu was now more than familiar with the Eighteen Staves Through Heaven than last time. Every technique was immersed within his being as if designed specifically for him.

For a time, the clanging of metal got louder as the blue sword blocked Shi Mu from advancing forward.

The defensive sword shadows flew around as the cyan light curtains continued to flicker.

Ling Feng furrowed his brows slightly and began to launch another attack. However, there was no way for it to reach Shi Mu.

“Not bad, brother Shi Mu!”

The next moment, he shouted and his figure skyrocketed into the air.

The shadow of the sword weighed down heavily before suddenly appearing behind him.

Followed by the guidance of the wind under the control of the sword in Ling Feng’s hand, a blue river broke out with a rumble.

Shi Mu’s expression changed greatly. It was not a blue river but a myriad of swords gathered together like drops of water, charging down from the sky!

On a hill near the ring, several veterans appeared out of nowhere.

One of them in a blue robe brushed his beard slightly.

“This is a Heaven-rank move called the Sword Technique of The Ashen River. It’s impressive to see such a maneuver employed by Long Feng. Not bad.”

“Ling Feng is indeed a genius when it comes to swordsmanship. Ever since he ranked second among all disciples, he’s always out and it’s hard to see him around.”

…

Everyone around the platform was stunned by the power of Ling Feng’s sword technique.

Shi Mu was not feeling much of anything at the moment. The swords were so overwhelming that they almost drowned him. He might meet his end at any time.

His pupils dilated slightly and his expression was cold. Suddenly, the steel staff in his hand shone black light and grew larger until it reached seven or eight feet.

Black light emerged from the giant staff like a magic wand.

“Wah!”

Everyone watching burst into exclamation, so surprised were they.

Shi Mu shouted as his arm began to glow in golden light. He doubled up and waved the black staff.

“Art of The Striving Mountains!”

“Art of the Mountain Ascent!”

“Art of the Shockwave in Eight!”

As soon as the three moves were performed, the giant black staff growled like a beast as it charged toward the blue sword river.

Boom!

The two collided with a loud “pang” that caused waves in the void.

The blue sword was suddenly crushed. Numerous swords flew outward. Some even went upstream, stabbing into Ling Feng.

The entire platform shook, and the ground beneath the feet of the crowd began to tremble.

Shi Mu could only feel a huge force from the black giant rod. He retired a few steps and stood firmly, his face was as pale as a ghost.

He took a deep breath and began to perform a charm rune.

The giant rod quickly shrank to its original size as it bounced off the ground and flew back into his hand.

In the middle of the air, Ling Feng’s figure emerged and he looked slightly clouded. His face was still as calm as ever.

“Brother Shi Mu’s strength is not bad. He already made me pull down my last technique!” Ling Feng muttered as he pointed the sword toward the sky.

Boom!

A dense blue cloud of swords emerged, covering all the space above the ring. In an instant, every corner was shrouded in blue light.

At the same time, the endless swords spread out and instantly enveloped the entire square.

When everyone out of the ring was aware of this scene, it felt as if they were being pierced by a sword, retreating with a pale face.

Shi Mu was the first to bear the brunt as he had been shrouded by swords in every corner.

However, he had been training in the Dead Spirit World so this would not affect him at all.

Shi Mu’s brows wrinkled as his body glowed in golden light. In an instant, the totem had been transferred and the Wishful Steel Staff in his hand had also shone with a larger black light.

The sword in Ling Feng’s hands grew bigger to the point of enveloping his entire figure.

“Art of the Arched Universe!”

Ling Feng shouted. The numerous swords in the air were released as it shocked suddenly. In the next moment, like a starry sky hitting the ground as it flew toward Shi Mu.

One by one, the sword flew down and let out a piercing scream.

The sword fell to the ground. Compared to the Sword Technique of The Ashen River, it was much more powerful than it was before.

Shi Mu took a deep breath and slammed his hand onto the steel staff as a white fluctuating atmosphere began to appear around him.

In the fluctuating white atmosphere, the sound of the beasts rang out, followed by rumbles. It was so loud that it overshadowed the sound of the sword in the air.

The next moment, with a loud humming sound, countless white behemoths jumped out of the air and formed into a torrent of beasts.

The air trembled violently like boiling hot water.

Rumble!

The two huge torrents collided and burst into brighter light than the sun. The entire platform vibrated violently and the surrounding light curtains trembled wildly.

In midair, the single-horned old man was shocked. He quickly performed a rune and cast a light curtain to prevent it from breaking and hurting those in the crowd.

Above the ring, it was shattered by a glare. No one could see what was going on inside, and only the rumbling sound could only be heard.

A bang continued for a full quarter of an hour before it stopped. After a while, the glare slowly dissipated, revealing the situation on the platform.

Near the platform, the audience consciously held their breaths and they looked over.

On the top of the ring, Shi Mu and Ling Feng stood a few feet apart, both of them looked extremely worn out.

Shi Mu’s totem transformation had also disappeared. The two men’s clothes were torn. Their heads were bruised and cut, leaving them a bloody mess.

However, the two stood equally at the moment and could not see the outcome of the battle.

Ling Feng’s body swayed a little as he coughed a mouthful of blood and fell to his knees.

“Not bad, brother Shi Mu. You’re progressing scarily fast. I, Ling Feng, admit my defeat.”

Under the ring, there was a sense of awkwardness.

“Brother Ling Feng, thank you for everything.”

Shi Mu was pale and weak at the moment but he mustered the strength to greet and shook his hand one last time.

…

In the middle of the night, in Shi Mu’s residence, Shi Mu meditated on a futon in the center

After a long while, he opened his eyes with firmness.

He would only need to win one last game!

If he were to win this last round, he would be able to challenge the Enchanted Road and enter the second space of the Holy Land to look for the white azure ape ancestor’s treasure.

Shi Mu took a deep breath as he rolled his hand and took out a medicinal herb. He quickly consumed it and recovered instantly.