Multiverse Skill System

Page 561

"Why don't you speak? I'm asking you if you're Yi Shuihan!"

"Oh! That's me."

Yi Shuihan's answer was infuriating, especially his nonchalant demeanor, which seemed to be imbued with a mocking buff.

Originally, some of the school leaders did not have much ill will towards Yi Shuihan. They came here simply because they could not refuse and wanted to watch the show. However, seeing Yi Shuihan's attitude, they immediately frowned and felt disgusted.

You, a "sinner," are so arrogant in front of us. Do you look down on us or something?

Yi Shuihan is very strong. Based on the preliminary assessment, he is definitely a master of the advanced stage of the karmic realm. Many school leaders are not as strong as him. However, there is not only a school leader here, but all the members of the entire school association. Among them are also masters of the advanced stage of the karmic realm. A prospective school leader who has not yet passed the final assessment is incomparable to the entire school association. In the eyes of most school association members, Yi Shuihan should be trembling with fear and panic right now.

"Yi Shuihan, in order to pass the final trial, you deliberately spread the news that the Unity Sect has the strongest swordsmanship, fist techniques, spear techniques, etc., which has now been confirmed. You may plead guilty."

They confessed right off the bat without any evidence; it would be truly foolish to confess like that.

"Plead guilty? No."

Was Van Gogh a member of your Unification faction?

"Yes."

"He said the Unity School has the strongest swordsmanship, don't tell me you didn't know that."

"I know!"

"That's good. You've already admitted it, so why not confess your guilt!"

"Our Unity Sect's swordsmanship is the strongest! That's a fact, not a lie, so what's wrong with that?"

"..."

When Yi Shuihan stated matter-of-factly that the He Yi Sect's swordsmanship was the strongest, the entire hall fell silent, and the old man who had asked the question was stunned.

Chapter 1449, Sword Duel

"Absurd! You, a sect that isn't even a formal school of thought, dare to claim you possess the strongest swordsmanship? Everyone in the entire Holy Academy knows that our Sword Sect is the school with the strongest swordsmanship."

An elderly man with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes stood up and said excitedly.

"Elder Jian, don't get angry with this junior. Everyone knows that the swordsmanship of the Holy Academy is the strongest. The strongest swordsmanship he mentioned is definitely not comparable to the profound swordsmanship of the Sword Sect. He's probably just being stubborn and trying to exonerate himself."

"Indeed, this junior's words are utterly laughable, so everyone should not take them seriously. However, since he believes he possesses the strongest swordsmanship, why don't you let him see what the truly strongest swordsmanship is, and make him give up completely?"

"It's been a long time since we've seen Elder Jian make a move. I wonder how far his once exquisite swordsmanship has become now?"

The old man known as Sword Elder is the head of the Sword Sect. His cultivation has reached the upper level of the Karma Realm, and he is a senior upper level Karma Realm expert. If he hadn't spent too much time on swordsmanship, he would probably be at the peak of the Karma Realm by now.

Because swordsmanship is a technique of killing, even if Sword Master only has the cultivation of the upper level of the Karma Realm, he can still fight against someone at the peak of the Karma Realm in a head-on battle. Of course, the peak of the Karma Realm refers to those who are not good at fighting.

Throughout the entire school, Sword Elder's actual combat strength ranks among the top three, making him a true giant.

Even a big shot like Sword Elder didn't really care whether Yi Shuihan's Unity Sect could pass the final review. Even if Yi Shuihan's Unity Sect included swordsmanship, Sword Elder still believed that Sword Sect was the best choice for sword users. How could a hodgepodge compare to Sword Sect, which specialized in the way of the sword?

The Unity Faction hasn't really made its move yet. The big shots are wary of the Unity Faction, but they don't take it too seriously. Even the people who facilitated this academic council meeting were just ordinary members who weren't considered big shots in the academic council. The biggest impact of the Unity Faction's successful creation will be on these ordinary members, since the seats in the academic council are fixed. If the Unity Faction is to rise, some people will have to lose their seats.

Those school leaders whose strength was only at the middle level of the Karma Realm naturally did not want to see Yi Shuihan, who was at the "upper level of the Karma Realm," become a competitor, which is why they were so eager to cause trouble.

“Boy, if you confess now, I can plead with Elder Jian and ask him not to pursue your insult to the Sword Sect.”

It was the same person who asked the question at the beginning. The old swordsman's display of power gave him a lot of confidence. If it was just a fox borrowing the tiger's power before, the tiger might not have borrowed its power. But now, he had borrowed the real tiger's power.

The focus now is not on whether the Unity Faction is engaging in deception, but on the issue of Yi Shuihan offending Elder Jian.

A big shot like Sword Elder is someone no academy would disrespect. If Sword Elder were to be a little tougher, it would be acceptable to break some rules for this reason.

"Are you sure the Sword Sect's swordsmanship is the strongest in the entire Holy Academy?"

Yi Shuihan asked this question in return, which surprised everyone. The main reason was that Yi Shuihan did not play by the rules. Was this the right time to ask this question?

“That’s right. Anyway, I admit that the Sword Sect has the strongest swordsmanship in the academy, and I don’t think anyone else would object.”

This meant that everyone else remained silent, tacitly agreeing.

"Old man, let's have a match! I'll defeat you with my swordsmanship, and everyone will agree that my Unity Sect has the strongest swordsmanship."

The challenge, the initiative to challenge, was another move that no one expected. Yi Shuihan had repeatedly made unexpected moves, and it could be said that everyone was now somewhat immune to it, forming the impression that Yi Shuihan was this kind of person.

"Looking for death, absolutely looking for death. Sword Elder is notorious for showing no mercy. He never holds back when it comes to a duel. He has killed double-digit numbers of high-level Karma Realm cultivators. Today, there will probably be one more."

"Even if he confesses, he won't die. With his cultivation level, he can get by anywhere. Challenging Sword Elder is just asking for trouble!"

"For the glory of the Sword Sect, Elder Jian will definitely fight. Let's see how many moves Elder Jian can kill Yi Shuihan."

Those sect leaders who knew Sword Elder shook their heads, looking at Yi Shuihan with pity.

"Boy, I've agreed to your request. Let's settle this with our swords. If you win, the title of the strongest swordsmanship will belong to your He Yi Sect."

Sword Elder spoke in a deep voice, his entire body exuding a sharp aura, like an indestructible divine sword.

With the establishment of the challenge, the venue was also changed, and Yi Shuihan followed the leaders of the school to the Nine Heavens.

Once they reach the Karma Realm and truly fight without restraint, even the Holy Academy needs to activate its defensive array to withstand the attack. Activating the defensive array costs money, so the Nine Heavens is the most suitable battlefield for them.

"Go ahead!"

Sword Elder held a purple-blue longsword, his body radiating sword energy. The gale-force winds that existed in the heavens above were shredded by the sword energy before they could even get close.

Compared to Sword Elder, Yi Shuihan appeared quite calm. There was no sword energy around him, and the gale swirled around him, but it was just a "coincidental" thing that it didn't hit him.

Yi Shuihan took out a very ordinary sword from his collection, its tip pointing downwards, and charged straight at the old swordsman after hearing his words.

“Flaws, flaws everywhere, like someone who knows nothing about swordsmanship. But the sword in his hand is no ordinary sword. It can make a lone goose sing, so it must be a divine sword that is no less than a lone goose. How could someone with such a sword know nothing about swordsmanship?”

With doubts in his mind, Sword Elder chose to play defensively and did not attack the opening he had seen.

"Good weight!"

The force transmitted from the sword made the Sword Elder's expression change slightly. If he hadn't had enough practical experience to quickly neutralize the force, this first strike would have put him at a disadvantage and put him in the opponent's rhythm.

With his second sword strike, Sword Master seized the opportunity to counterattack, constantly changing the trajectory of his sword in the air to position himself in the best possible attack position.

The so-called best attack position is one where you can only attack while the opponent can only defend, with no chance to counterattack. Generally speaking, this effect can only be achieved by attacking the opponent's biggest weakness.

"Sword Elder is indeed worthy of being called Sword Elder, he's going to win."

"This is completely a case of a layman's lack of expertise. I thought Yi Shuihan was at least somewhat skilled, but now it seems..."

The leaders of the surrounding schools all had good eyesight and could see the situation of the battle. They had already foreseen Yi Shuihan's crushing defeat.

"how is this possible?"

"This is……"

"In the end what happened!?"

Before anyone knew it, Yi Shuihan's sword tip had reached Jian Lao's throat, while Jian Lao's sword was pointing at the air, not even at Yi Shuihan.

Chapter 1450, Attempting to Steal a Chicken Backfires

What swordsmanship are you using?

Sword Elder asked, trembling. In that instant, he seemed to have seen the essence of swordsmanship, the supreme Dao. Although it was only a fleeting moment, it was absolutely correct.

"Well! Who knows? Maybe I didn't even use swordsmanship."

Yi Shuihan spoke in a flippant tone and did not answer Jian Lao's question.

In fact, Yi Shuihan was only using a small application of swordsmanship. Although he did not specialize in swordsmanship, when one's level reaches a high point, one can draw inferences from similar cases and use some swordsmanship power.

Sword Domain is a special power that Yi Shuihan just used. It is a power that beings with a certain understanding of the sword can obtain. When facing someone who does not understand Sword Domain, it can make them see an illusion and forcibly interfere with their will.

Sword Master made a mistake at the last moment because he was influenced by the Sword Domain. The power of the Sword Domain belongs to the way of the sword. It was because of this that Sword Master was certain that Yi Shuihan was using the power of the sword.

The Great World of Contending for Fortune is too oppressive to other Great Daos. The mainstream Fortune is too prosperous, so no strong person who can use the Sword Domain has been born in this world. Even though Sword Elder is obsessed with swords, his foundation is actually in the Fortune Dao, and his understanding of the Sword Dao is not deep enough.

"Please tell me what that is?"

Sword Elder looked pleading, his sharpness long gone. He now resembled a pitiful old man, a seeker of the Dao.

A hint of admiration flashed in his eyes. Yi Shuihan appreciated Jian Lao's attitude. He was willing to ask questions when he didn't know, and he dared to face reality. As a big shot, he didn't feel incredulous after being defeated, nor did he harbor resentment towards Yi Shuihan. Instead, he focused on swordsmanship. Jian Lao truly lived up to his name.

"Alright, now you should admit that you lost to me in swordsmanship, right?"

“I concede defeat. My swordsmanship is far inferior to yours. You possess the most powerful swordsmanship in the entire world, not just the most powerful swordsmanship in the Holy Academy.”

Sword Elder's attitude towards Yi Shuihan was now like that of a disciple towards his master, extremely humble, leaving the surrounding sect leaders dumbfounded.

Is this still the bigwig of that academic society? Why does he act so subservient?

What was supposed to be a battle of pros stomping noobs turned out to be a battle of pros stomping noobs, except that the noobs were the "pros" in their eyes.

Although they didn't understand how Yi Shuihan had done it, it didn't stop them from assessing his strength. The fact that even Sword Elder was willing to lose meant Yi Shuihan's power was undeniable. Upper-level Karma Realm? Probably more than that. Perfect Karma Realm? Very likely!

In reality, even someone at the Learning Realm couldn't defeat Sword Elder so easily. It's just that Yi Shuihan's method of defeating Sword Elder was too advanced for everyone to understand. All that can be seen is that Yi Shuihan's strength is above the Upper Realm of the Karma Realm, but how strong he really is is unknown. After all, although Yi Shuihan won, the extent of his attack power, defense, and speed were not clearly demonstrated.

It is a fact that Yi Shuihan defeated Jian Lao, but this fact must be based on the fact that the competition was in swordsmanship.

Of course, if his swordsmanship is so strong, he can't be weak in other aspects either.

"The swordsmanship issue is resolved. What's next? Spearmanship, or fist fighting? Anyone who disagrees with me being the strongest, step forward and let's have a match."

Yi Shuihan looked around and said in a firm and resounding voice.

If he had been so arrogant before, countless people would have stood up to teach him a lesson. But after Yi Shuihan easily defeated Jian Lao, no one reacted immediately. The strong are worthy of respect.

"What? Is nobody here? Does that mean you all admit that the Unity Sect's spear and fist techniques are the strongest?"

"I'll compete against you."

Finally, someone spoke up, and it was an acquaintance—the leader of the Boxing Association's school of thought, Quan Zhifeng.

"A contest of fist techniques?"

“That’s right, but I need to make one thing clear first: you are not allowed to use any power that is not related to your fist technique. If you do, you will lose. Also, you are not allowed to use any power that exceeds the upper level of the Karma Realm.”

"Of course."

Once you understand one method, you understand all methods. Yi Shuihan won easily even with a power level far lower than Quan Zhifeng.

The second match ended the same way, only slightly more entertaining than the first swordsmanship contest. Quan Zhifeng launched a full-scale attack from the start, and Yi Shuihan, to his credit, didn't let him lose immediately, allowing him to finish his performance before responding with the same move.

That's right, it was the same move he used to counter the move that Quan Zhifeng used to hit him, and he even made a slight improvement. The difference in their levels was obvious.

Compared to Sword Master, Fist Edge's mentality was a bit weaker. He was defeated by his own moves, especially the enhanced version, which he couldn't accept. Although he admitted defeat, he was somewhat dazed.

After defeating Quan Zhifeng, no matter what Yi Shuihan said, no one else accepted the challenge. However, Yi Shuihan realized that Rong Shihuang wanted to compete with him in food, but Yi Shuihan was not one to seek revenge and ignored Rong Shihuang.

Yi Shuihan was also self-aware; he wasn't omnipotent. Even the natives of this world of struggle for destiny couldn't be said to be superior in every aspect. With so many schools of thought in the Holy Academy, there were bound to be a few that Yi Shuihan needed to learn. Van Gogh and the others were only promoting the few that Yi Shuihan was well-versed in, such as cuisine, painting, music, and diplomacy. He wouldn't claim to have the strongest lineage.

The matter is basically coming to an end here. The so-called charges are simply untenable. However, the reason why they are untenable is what makes everyone uncomfortable. If this gets out, it will not only fail to achieve its purpose of harming Yi Shuihan, but will also help Yi Shuihan gain fame. This is what is called "trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead".

Unfortunately, with so many people present, it was impossible to hide it from them even if they wanted to. And even if they wanted to, there was nothing they could do if Yi Shuihan told them herself.

After the disastrous trial, news of Yi Shuihan's performance quickly spread throughout the Holy Academy. The Sword Elder played a major role in this, personally announcing that the Unity Sect possessed the strongest swordsmanship inheritance, which he himself acknowledged to be far inferior to.

Not only that, Sword Elder stayed by Yi Shuihan's side the whole time, repeatedly expressing his desire to become her apprentice and learn martial arts. He wouldn't leave even if she didn't allow him to become her apprentice.

Unable to get rid of the pestering, Yi Shuihan finally threw Jian Lao a beginner's and an intermediate swordsmanship manual, which finally made Jian Lao stop for the time being.

Chapter 1451, Division

The Unity Faction was officially established at the Holy Academy. On the day the final review was confirmed, the Unity Faction had more than a thousand students, but not all of Van Gogh and his friends became core members.

Yi Shuihan's powerful defeat of Jian Lao and the development of the Fist of the Edge incident led to students automatically joining without invitation, which of course wouldn't be attributed to Van Gogh and his group.

Van Gogh and Garin became core members, while Feng Xishan unfortunately missed out on becoming a core member by 3 people. As for Yang Dapan, he had exactly 100 people, thus securing his spot as a formal member.

The establishment of the Unity Sect signifies that Yi Shuihan has officially joined the competition for the Holy Academy. Relying on its strong foundation, Yi Shuihan rapidly develops the Unity Sect, with almost every day bringing a new change.

Just six months later, the Unity faction secured a seat in the Society of Schools through proper procedures, becoming one of the 108 members of the Society of Schools.

Unlike other schools of thought that focus on a single area, the Unity School is all-encompassing and mostly comprises top-tier lineages, which greatly increases its appeal to students, drawing them to the Unity School en masse.

Yi Shuihan was not a qualified manager, but he had the ability to make mistakes, was not afraid of reform, and, with his advanced knowledge in the myriad worlds, gradually pushed the Unity Sect to the altar.

When there's a cake, some people get a bigger slice, and others get a smaller slice; the Holy Academy is just such a cake.

The rapid development of the Unity faction means that the interests of certain schools of thought have been infringed upon. Not to mention the school that was forced to give up its seat in the School Council, other schools of thought have also been hit to varying degrees. Many students who joined other schools of thought broke their contracts and chose to join the Unity faction.

Some schools of thought quietly became empty shells, and some even broke up and joined the Unity School.

Some schools of thought, due to the high cost of breach of contract, do not have many students who break their agreements; however, morale is low and the cohesion of these schools gradually dissipates.

Feeling immense pressure, the leaders of some schools of thought gathered again, reluctantly discussing countermeasures.

Through both overt and covert struggles, and what was essentially a minor conflict for Yi Shuihan, the schools of thought that had been hindering the development of the Unity School all received their due punishment.

Several years later, the Unity faction had occupied half of the entire academy, with only a few schools of thought able to remain aloof. The Unity faction now basically represents the entire academic community.