Chapter9:TheGatekeeperoftheDarkForest

Thecorpseofthegreenhipposlowlyturnedintocountlessblackmistandstartedtodissipate.LikeYunXi’sdeath,therewasonlyapoolofbloodthatremainedinthecenteroftheslope.

"Huh...hoo..."YunXileanedonhisironsword.Hepantedheavilyintheplacewherethegreenhippohaddied.

Whilehewasinthefight,hedidn’tthinkaboutanything.However,afterthecombatended,allthewearinessofhisbodyfranticallyburstedout.

Thebodywasalivingthingandithadbeenusedtoitslimit.

Hisbonesandnervesseemedtobecryingduetothestrenuousactivities.YunXiwasn’tabletoseehisownface,butheimaginedthatitshouldbeprettycontorted.

Itwasreallynoteasy.

Ifitwasn’tforthegreenlightthatflewoutfromthegreenhippo’scorpse;whichreplenishedhisconsumedenergy,hewasafraidthathewouldn’tevenbeabletostandup.

"Not...enough..."Afterfacingdeath120times,YunXinowkneweverypartofhisbody.

Afterswallowingthegreenlight,bothhisbodyandjoint’sflexibilityhadincreasedalotandnow,hewasn’tasstiffasazombie.

Whileleaningonthebrokentreehitbythehippo,YunXiclosedhiseyesasbegantoregulatehisbreathing,adjustinghisbody,andsavouringtheremainingexcitementfromafterthatintensefight.

"The3rdswordtiming,Iwastoohastyusingtheswordandmystepwasalsoshiftedby3centimeters."

"The7thswordtiming,Iwastoolateandtooanxious."

"Thefinalthreeswordscouldbeconsideredasdecentenough."

Ittook21slashestokillthatgreenhippo.YunXicouldclearlyreplaythescenevividlyinhismindineachattack.

Everymistakeandeveryimperfectmovereappearedclearlyinhismind.Herealizedthathisperformancewasbynomeansperfect.Therewereatleast10minorflaws.

Therewasevenafatalmistakeofwhichalmostcosthimhislife.

Fortunately,thatgreenhippo’sweakpointwasfarmoreobviousthanhisandcommittedmoremistakesthanhedid.Especiallytheattackwhichmadethehippoturnaround,gallopforwardandcrashinastraightline.InYunXi’sview,thiswasthehippo’sbiggestflaw.

Hethenusedacrevicetocontainthis鈥榬ollercrusher’move.YunXihadchoppeditsbackatleast10timesbutthefinalthreeslashesweretheonesthatdealtthekillingblow.

Afterkillingthisgreenhippo,herealizedthatstrengthwasnotafocalpoint.Anaccuratejudgmenttoutilizeanopportunityandtimingforhisattackswerefarmoreimportant,coupledwithcautiontonotmoverashly.

Thiswasthetruereasonwhymortalsneededtofightmanybattlesandtemperthemselvescountlesstimestograspthetrueessenceofswordarts.Relyingonhissuperiorabilitytoreplaythescenesofthefight,YunXinaturallygraspedthisaspect.

(TranslatedbyGravityTales馃槄)

Becausehebasicallyneverhadatinybitoftimetorelaxinhisfightwiththisgreenhippo.

Onlyafterimmersinghimselfinhisswordandpredictingthehippo’sattackinadvancewasheabletoachievethisresult.Eventhen,hecouldonlydefeatthisbeastwitharigidandstiffbody.

"Thisis...thefight..."Afterdyingfor120timesastheprice,YunXihadgrownrapidly.

Thosebattle-hardenedveteranswhofoughtmanybattlesgainedtheirexperienceaftercountlessbattles.Mostpeopleevendiedintheirenemies’handsthefirsttimetheyenteredthebattle.

Theexperiencetolivethroughlifeanddeathsituationswasthemostprofoundandmostpreciousexperience.

"Death...terror..."YunXitightlygrippedhisrustyironsword.Aspecialfeelinggrewinhishearttowardthisnamelessrustysword.

Withoutthisrustysword,hecouldn’thaveinjuredthegreenhippo.Evenifthereweretenofhim,itwasimpossibletodefeatthatferociousbeast.

Aswordisatoolandweapon,itcouldbeusedtocommitcrimesanditwasalsousedasaweapontokill.

Reveringthesword,thiswasthemainstreamideologyintheSwordGod’sDomain.

Now,YunXiwasgreatlyanticipatingthefinalrewardofthisquest.Whatwouldthetreasure,theSwordArtsSeedlooklike?

"Thereisalsoamonsterhere..."Lookingatthemap,YunXislowlystoodup.Holdingthesword,heheadedforwardtowardstheDarkForest.

ThelandscapeontopofthehillwasmuchmoredevastatedcomparedtoYunXi’simagination.Theearthwasscorched,therocksturnedashgray,andeventhemountain’swallwasasifithadbeenburntdown.Theentirescenerygaveoffastrongdeathlyaura.

But,inhisstraightlineofvisionatthefarendoftheDarkForest,therewasanominouslivingbeingexertingadangerousandmenacingaura.

InfrontoftheentrancetotheDarkForest,thereddot,asifwaitingforYunXitocome,wasmotionlessanddidn’tmove.

"One...Two..."

"One...Two..."

Afterashortwhileinthisplace,YunXihadabetterunderstandingofwhathischildhoodsweetheart鈥擧uaHuo鈥攈adtaughthimaboutthebreathingpracticemethod.

HuaHuohadpassedontohimaparticularbreathingmethod.Notonlydidheusethatmethodinthedeathmatchagainstthatgreenhippo,butitalsohadhelpedhimrestorehisstrengthovertimeinthatfight.

Hisheartbeats,hisbreathingrhythm,andthesoundsofthebloodflowinginhisbodyintertwined,formingamarvelousmusic.

HuaHuoseemedtobeabletomaintainthisbreathingstateallthetime,butYunXiwasonlyabletomaintainitforaquarterofanhour.Longerthanthatmadehisbreathingrhythmfallintodisorder.

Thiswasthedifferencebetweenageniusandanordinaryperson.Evenifhehadexperiencedlifeanddeathsituations120times,somethings,likespeedinguphispractice’sresult,couldnotberushedupforever.

FifteenminutestobeabletofightwithallofhisstrengthwasYunXi’slimitatpresent.Hecouldonlymaintainthisstateforthistimeperiodandifhepassedthistimelimit,thenhisbattleefficiencywouldsufferanddeclinegreatly.

Inessence,hisbattleefficiencyactuallydidn’tevenimprove;itwasjustthathecouldtemporarilybringoutallofhisbody’spotentialtofight.

Ifhisbattleprowessweretobecalculatedwithnumbers,thenwhenthegreenhippokilledhimforthefirsttime,hecouldbegradedbetweena6and7.However,afterhekilledthegreenhippo,hisbattleprowesswasperhapsabout20.Hecoulddefeatthegreenhippothankstohisobservationoverthebeast’sattackstyles.

"Idon’tknow...whattypeofbeastisthere..."Judgingfromtheredspotsizeonthemap,YunXicouldonlyestimatethatthisbeast’ssizewasprobablyalittlesmallerthanhisbody.

Thegreenhippohadastrongskinanditsfleshwasthick.Itwasdefinitelyastrongandaggressivebeast.Itsspeedperhapswasn’tslow,butitsattackhadafatalflaw.Thiswasalsodependentonthebodyshape.

Then,ifthisbeast’sbodyandhisbuildweresimilar,couldthisbeastbeanagilitytype?

Perhapsthisbeastwouldnotbesosimple.Whenhefirstreceivedthisnewquest,apowerfulfeelingcrossedhisintuition.YunXicouldsomewhatvaguelysenseanominousforeboding.

Hispremonitionquicklycametoreality.

AttheDarkForest’sentrance,hissecondopponentstoodmajesticallyaloofthere,waitingforhischallenge.

"Howcoulditbeyou?"YunXi’scomplexionwasprettymuchdesperateashelookedattheopponenthewasabouttoface.

Hecouldn’tbeatit,thisopponent...hereallycouldn’tbeatit!

Becausehewasmuchtoofamiliarwiththisopponent.

Anenergeticandlivelydoubleponytail;awhitelotusandlongswordmarksengravedonthesword’shilt;longarchedeyebrowswithbigwidedarkeyeslikethemoon.ThiswasYunXi’sfirstlove,themostfamousswordswomangeniuseverinhissmallvillage.

Itwashischildhoodsweetheart鈥擧uaHuo.

"Cough...strange...whyamIhere?"HuaHuoseemedtostillbealittlepuzzledandsleepywitheyeshalfclosed.

"Wait...letmesee...Stoptheinvaderfromenteringthedarkforest.Protectthebeautifulprincessfrombeingdesecrated!"

"Oncetheprincessiskissed,YunXiwouldwin!"

"What?Theprincess?!Bedesecrated?!"

"Bekissed?ByYunXi,you?!"

"YunXi!Iwon’tletyoupassthroughhere!"

Itwasallover.YunXilookedatHuaHuowhosuddenlywokeupandlaunchedherradarofjealousy.

Inthissituation,whatshouldhedo?