Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Enemy of the Sword (Thanks to the book friend ’Chicken Rice Can’ for the reward!)
Great River City, one of the cities in Cloud Triangle.
Its name is derived from the Mist Whirl River that flows through the city.
The Mist Whirl River is the biggest river in the Cloud Triangle, stretching 9900 meters directly from the west of the Cloud Triangle and running through two other regions.
Due to the year-round fog on the river and occasional whirlpools, it has earned its reputation as a perilous river.
Shi Xiaole learned that to reach Emerald City smoothly, he must cross the Mist Whirl River. Otherwise, the detour would take more than triple the time.
There were quite a few people by the river, not too many yet not too few either. Besides some merchants, most of them were martial arts practitioners.
Among them, one group stood out.
This group was led by a young woman in white, surrounded by men and women who were clearly full of admiration, love, and even a hint of jealousy.
"Senior Sister Zhu, considering that your grandfather is a well-known swordsman in the Cloud Triangle, his 60th birthday celebration must be quite a grand affair," said one of the young girls, flattering the woman in white.
"My grandfather prefers things to be simple and planned to celebrate the occasion modestly," Zhu Xiuling said while twirling her hair, a gesture that sent many men into a dreamy daze.
Being renowned as the most beautiful woman in the martial world of Cloud Triangle, Zhu Xiuling was not only stunning but also a direct disciple of the Justice Sect, a legitimate martial arts sect. Her family, the Zhu Family, was also one of the top-tier clans in Cloud Triangle.
Moreover, from a young age, she had revealed incredible martial arts aptitude, and among people under the age of twenty-five, her skills were among the most exceptional.
Countless talents in the martial world admired this beautiful, formidable, and well-established young woman.
Not to mention, when she returned to the Zhu Family this time, many of her junior and senior brothers voluntarily followed, arousing envy among many female disciples.
"Shi Xiaole!"
A male disciple, who had been laughing, suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked at a young man in green walking from a distance.
This male disciple was none other than Lu Yan, also known as ’Sword Falls on the Western Cloud’, who had previously lost to Shi Xiaole at the Piaoxu Building in Cloud Sky City.
Since his defeat by Shi Xiaole, Lu Yan had been training rigorously to avenge his honor. However, he had never expected that he would encounter Shi Xiaole here.
Could this be fate?
Lu Yan licked his lips and snickered.
"Shi Xiaole, why does this name sound familiar?"
Many disciples of the Justice Sect were deep in thought.
"More than two months ago, he made quite an impression at the Sky Convention, earning him the dual title of the Sword and Blade Supreme," Zhu Xiuling reminded them nonchalantly.
"So it’s him."
Some people’s expressions changed.
Students from orthodox schools often looked down on those from factions that are not as esteemed. Hence, Shi Xiaole’s title as the Sword and Blade Supreme was considered a joke by many orthodox disciples.
Especially for the disciples of the Justice Sect. The fact that Shi Xiaole had defeated Lu Yan was utterly intolerable.
"Senior Brother Lu, you’ve been training hard for two months, and now your enemy is right in front of you. Don’t you want to take action?" a tall, elder-looking disciple laughed and asked.
"I was just about to challenge him."
Lu Yan’s eyes were ablaze as he came forward and shouted, "Shi Xiaole, halt!"
Upon hearing the voice, Shi Xiaole, who was communicating with a boatman, turned around. As soon as he saw Lu Yan, he looked stunned.
"Listen, Shi, it’s perfect that you’re here. This saves me the time to look for you, come and fight," Lu Yan demanded, gripping his longsword, ready for battle.
For the past two months, he had been training rigorously not in vain but had reached the late stage of Qi Absorption and had purposely learned a new sword technique to counter Shi Xiaole’s Cloud Mist Thirteen Styles.
Lu Yan believed that he had the upper hand in terms of internal power, and with his new technique, he was confident he could exact his revenge by defeating Shi Xiaole.
"Challenge me?"
Shi Xiaole raised his eyebrows in curiosity.
"Not challenge you, but defeat you."
With a roar, Lu Yan lunged towards Shi Xiaole with his sword without uttering another word.
"Junior Brother Lu is quite confident."
The tallest of the disciples looked on with a grin.
"There’s no doubt about that. After all, I’ve seen him master the Four Lantern-lifting Swords within an instance, striking lanterns in four corners," another person added nonchalantly.
"The Four Lantern-lifting Swords? Now that’s interesting."
Many disciples from the Justice Sect looked surprised, and a wave of laughter followed.
Even among third-grade upper-class martial arts, there are differences in their tiers.
Without a doubt, the Four Lantern-lifting Swords was the highest quality third-grade sword technique, believed to be derived from a second-grade lower-class sword technique. This technique focuses not on power, but on skill, making it an excellent counter to similar martial arts.
"Kid, take this."
Lu Yan flicked his wrist, and his longsword began to vibrate rapidly. To Shi Xiaole, it seemed like four swords were thrusting at him simultaneously.
With a skip, Shi Xiaole leaped up into the air, gliding across like a flying wild goose.
Golden Goose Skill.
Able to jump a height of one and a half zhang after reaching the ninth layer of Hidden Qi, Shi Xiaole’s leap attracted the astonished eyes of the crowd, causing the wealthy merchants to cheer aloud.
"Running away? Where can you go?"
Sensing Shi Xiaole’s Qi, Lu Yan’s heart skipped a beat. However, this surprise swiftly turned into the thrill of spotting prey.
There’s no doubt that the sense of achievement derived from defeating a continuously improving opponent is far greater than simply treading water.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
With each consecutive sword strike, Lu Yan let loose his unique techniques. The dazzling display of sword-light nearly surrounded Shi Xiaole, leaving him nowhere to flee.
After dozens of moves, even Shi Xiaole had to admit; the swordsmanship his opponent had newly learned was indeed skillful. Its subtlety was potentially even superior to the Taiyue Three Green Peaks.
"This sword blow defeats you, Lantern-lifting Flower Viewing!"
Bursting into hearty laughter, Lu Yan assumed he’d pushed Shi Xiaole to a point where he could no longer fight back. He instantly invoked a decisive move from the Four Lantern-lifting Swords.
The long sword flashed, moving from bottom to top as if to flip Shi Xiaole mid-air.
"Victory."
"Brother Lu fought a good battle."
The members of the Justice Sect cheered him on.
"Your swordsmanship is good, it’s a pity..."
Hovering mid-air, Shi Xiaole subtly shook his head, and then suddenly unsheathed the blade at his waist.
In an instant, the blade flash seemed to gather like a raging wind, clashing with Lu Yan’s sword at high-speed.
With a clanging sound, Lu Yan’s right arm wavered. The next moment, a gentle breeze blew through a crevice and the sharp blade was pressed against Lu Yan’s neck.
The scene froze, leaving an eerie silence.
"You, you..."
Lu Yan, dumbfounded, looked in disbelief, his face alternating between flushes of red and white, as he swallowed hard.
The members of the Justice Sect behind him were similarly stupefied.
Even the usually composed Zhu Xiuling had a fleeting look of surprise in her eyes.
Nobody had expected the carefully prepared and significantly improved Lu Yan to be so easily defeated by Shi Xiaole.
"What blade technique is that?"
Lu Yan asked, unable to hide his frustration.
"Wild Wind Blade Technique."
Shi Xiaole responded.
It had been over half a month since he broke through the Hidden Qi’s ninth stage. In the middle of the month, he had attempted another extraction, but unfortunately came up empty-handed.
Luckily, he had transcribed the few martial arts techniques from the Huajian Sect and the Golden Phoenix Tower to the system, which earned him a reward of 5,100 points.
Also, he used the techniques from two mediocre top-tier martial arts books to exchange for two martial arts skills in the system, thereby reinforcing his foundation.
These two techniques were the Wild Wind Blade Technique and the Void Mistake Hand.
The Wild Wind Blade Technique was a creation of the notorious bandit, Tian Boguang. This technique emphasized speed and momentum. Once performed, it pressured the opponent like a river breaking its banks, leaving them with no opportunity to counterattack.
Most importantly, this technique emphasized speed and momentum, making it particularly effective against skill-based techniques.
Lu Yan didn’t grasp the essence of the Four Lantern-lifting Swords. Combined with the lack of an Internal Power advantage, he was naturally defeated by Shi Xiaole.
"A brilliant combination of sword and blade mastery. However, don’t you think it’s rather brash of you to purposely defeat Brother Lu with a single move, flaunting your skill so ostentatiously?"
The highest-ranking male disciple in the Justice Sect stepped forward.
"What are you trying to say?"
Shi Xiaole sheathed his sword and stood still.
He hadn’t intended to win in a single move. It’s just that after reaching the ninth stage of Hidden Qi, his deficiency in Internal Power smoothed out, and he unintentionally resulted in the earlier outcome.
Lu Yan, blushing furiously and feeling humiliated, was trying hard to comprehend his own sense of powerlessness.
He was becoming acutely aware that the gap between him and Shi Xiaole wasn’t closing. In fact, it was widening.
"Sir, your arrogance and belittlement of Brother Lu suggest a lack of reverence for the Justice Sect. I, Li Zhichong, would like to experience your great skill firsthand."
The tall male disciple glanced at Zhu Xiuling covertly and sneered.
This wasn’t about standing up for Lu Yan as much as it was trying to curry favor with Zhu Xiuling.
After a long period of observation, Li Zhichong knew that Zhu Xiuling had a soft spot for audacious young martial artists, despite her apparent aloofness.
If he were to stand up now, when a fellow disciple was being bullied, wouldn’t that perfectly cater to her preference?
Even if it didn’t immediately win Zhu Xiuling’s heart, at least he’d made his presence felt—an advantage over the other competitors.
Whoosh!
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Li Zhichong couldn’t wait to confront Shi Xiaole, instantly lunging forward with his sword.
Just as Shi Xiaole was about to react, he felt his consciousness locked in by the surreal fluctuations in Li Zhichong’s eyes, causing him to hesitate momentarily.
"Eye technique?"
Shi Xiaole was shocked.
"You’ve already lost, sir."
Laughing robustly, Li Zhichong abruptly quickened his sword speed.
When it came to actual strength, Li Zhichong was only slightly more skilled than Lu Yan, and that was due to his seniority. How could he be confident about defeating Shi Xiaole?
His real trump card was his Eye Technique.
The Eye Technique has always been one of the rarest martial arts skills in the Martial World, not only because the secret scriptures are hard to come by, but also because it imposes high demands on practitioners.
Even a slight deficiency in mental strength can result in detrimental effects when practicing this method. Side effects include complete blindness in milder cases and severe mental derangement in more extreme cases, reducing the practitioner to a simple madman.
Fortunately, Li Zhichong happened to possess a rare natural talent for Eye Techniques. Just one month prior, he had successfully mastered the only eye technique known to the Justice Sect, the Spirit Locking Great Method, at its peak.
"Spirit Locking Great Method?"
Zhu Xiuling felt a wave of astonishment when she sensed the imperceptible aura.
"What? Brother Li actually possesses a talent for Eye Techniques?"
Upon hearing Zhu Xiuling’s words, the screams of the other Justice Sect members echoed across the field, their faces mirroring their shock.
