Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 263: Easter Egg - : The Sword Transcendent_2
Johnnie hung his head in contemplation, but from his constant confusion and eventual self-doubt, Dream Master knew the answer.
Of course, when you’re immersed in gaming, even parents are forgotten, let alone a girlfriend?
Dream Master issued the final verdict.
"Johnnie, you... you prefer gaming!!!"
Unable to refute, Johnnie bowed his head deeply.
"Think about it carefully, Johnnie. As a Wind Swordsman, the world is vast and you can go anywhere. You own the whole world. But what do you get when you become a knight? The company of a lover? Wrong! It’s restraint! You are confined to a saddle less than a square meter in size, and after that, are you still yourself? She dictates your direction! You’re just a puppet controlled and manipulated by her by your side! You’ve given up a world full of wonders and locked yourself in a birdcage called love."
"You... have been bewitched!"
Johnnie kneeled on the ground, drenched in cold sweat, muttering to himself.
"Have I been bewitched? Is Xia Ya my Heavenly Demon? Caught in karma and still unaware..." The seemingly reasonable words of Dream Master echoed in his heart, and Johnnie gradually lost his way, sinking into confusion. In this feeling of insignificance and impotence, he remembered his mentor. Dream Master, who had guided him when he first dabbled in the profession of Wind Swordsman. He had taught him the tricks of being a Wind Swordsman, on how to pull mobs without dying and without letting a monster touch even the hem of his clothes. How to transfer aggro, even onto a passing healer, allowing the Wind Swordsman to shift the hatred onto the healing profession. And finally, how to inscribe their epitaphs on tombstones with the briefest of words to infuriate them into disconnecting. These were the most basic pleasures of being a Wind Swordsman. Recalling those past joys, this time, Johnnie once again turned to Dream Master for help.
"Master, what should I do?"
"Cut through your inner demons with your sword."
"But, Master, it hasn’t even started, and my heart... already aches." Johnnie’s face bore a look of desolation, unable to find the happiness he once had.
Dream Master patted his back, just as he had always encouraged him.
"Better a short pain than a long one, Johnnie. What we gain, we also lose. Go and compete in the Sword Control competition. You need inspiration to truly eradicate your Heavenly Demon. The current you could perhaps break and rebuild to shine brilliantly."
"I... understand." Johnnie stood up from the grass, equipped his treasured sword, and the big boy transformed into a mature man with a melancholic air, his furrowed brows heartbreakingly expressive.
"A long road lies ahead, with only the sword for company. My path is solitary, only righteousness can serve as my guide. Dream Master, I must go now. I’ve promised to meet Xia Ya by the lake under the starry sky; please... go and bid her farewell on my behalf." Johnnie turned into a streak of rainbow light, slicing through the tree shadows, shooting into the clouds, leaving no trace. All that could be heard was his cry, echoing like the mournful roar of a beast through the forest.
Dream Master gazed at the poetically shattered gap.
"Did I, go too far?"
The Sword Control competition was set in the Crown Forest, where enormous trees grew straight up into the clouds, borderless at the tips of the Crown Trees, as designed. Only such an environment could impose some limits on the Wind Swordsmen known as Heaven’s Kings. On the giant leaf blades as large as soccer fields, diminutive figures moved like ants. They were the Wind Swordsmen, the competitors in the Sword Control competition.
Checking prepared items from the backpack, ensuring the durability of the weapons, or getting them reinforced by a nearby blacksmith. On this important day for Wind Swordsmen, everyone gives their all because the winner of the Sword Control competition gets a unique title, a title that belongs solely to them.
A sword light fell, its sharp edge seeming to appear in the eyes of those around.
"It’s Johnnie’s entrance! Another seeded contestant! Damn it, no one is absent from this year’s Sword Control competition. Do Wind Swordsmen really find themselves with nothing to do on this day?"
Under the supervision of the Sword Maniac Elder, the competition began shortly after he sliced through three floating leaves.
The Wind Swordsmen turned into streaks of light washing across the heavens, soaring into the sky.
Throwing shuriken, releasing poison gases, shock grenades, and various other strange and unusual restricting items. Climbing not even a hundred meters, the Wind Swordsmen fell like dumplings. The Sword Control competition had no rules, just as the Wind Swordsmen followed the principle of ’everything is permitted.’ Their rule is having no rules. The biggest strategy is to be ruthless by any means necessary.
Of course, what they’re competing in is primarily the proficiency of their skills. In the world of games, skill is king. Johnnie weaved in and out among a crowd of man-made and non-man-induced obstacles, passing through densely packed attacks without a scratch. Under Dream Master’s teaching, his Flying Sword technique was definitely among the top tier. Soon, Johnnie surpassed the crowd, blocking his path like a barrage, and broke into the leading group.
Where skills are similar and there isn’t some godlike high-level player, equipment and weapons play a significant role. Johnnie clearly understood his own weapon. Wind Sword, Dragon-Snake Style Two. Its longer than usual blade allowed him to strike first, exceptional flying agility, boasting a freakish ability to perfectly dodge ranged attacks while in Sword Control stance. To defeat him in the Sword Control competition, one would have to engage him in close combat.
Those around him were all acquaintances, familiar with each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The high-level combat began swiftly.
