Chapter 1003: Chapter 102: The Youngest Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor in History (Part 2)_1
Even with three types of martial arts constantly transforming and improving every moment, it was simply impossible for the Life and Death martial arts to break through from 50 percent mid-stage to 80 percent early stage without several decades.
Without the transformative power, even with Shi Xiaole’s talent, it would take at least a hundred years. And for others, it was even more unimaginable.
Unexpectedly, the opportunity that came with breaking through to the Void Origin Realm instantly saved Shi Xiaole decades of time. His excitement and joy were indescribable.
But it wasn’t time to relax yet.
The world suddenly grew dim, countless dark clouds churned, mixed with devilish laughter and low growls that shook one’s heart. Interspersed were streaks of blood-red lightning that occasionally split a fork, leaving behind bottomless black holes on the ground.
This was only the beginning. Moments later, apart from the sky, all the empty spaces in all directions were filled with darkness, engulfed. Shi Xiaole had just released his psychic power when it was immediately severed.
"Roar... Howl... Woo..."
It was as if the gates of hell had flung open, countless ox-headed demons and myriad evil spirits rushed out, their voices striking directly at one’s core. The surrounding dark qi gathered anger, fear, jealousy, brutality, greed, and all other negative forces that exist in the world. One could find them here, feel them, and experience them more intensely than anywhere else.
The ten levels of the Wizard Scroll only cultivate ten types of negative forces, which couldn’t hold a candle to the powers that Shi Xiaole faced at that moment.
Without a doubt, this tribulation corresponded to the Demon Martial Way.
Countless tendrils of black qi invaded Shi Xiaole’s body. Any Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor with slightly weaker psychic power would go mad and die instantly. Even Earthly Realm Martial Emperors and Heaven Realm Martial Emperors could not endure such a degree of emotional impact.
But Shi Xiaole’s psychic power was incredibly strong, on par with the Forbidden Martial Emperor. After withstanding the initial wave, he immediately activated the Demon Martial Way.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
In the far-off Ghost King Temple, an evilly smiling Shi Xiaole, whose every pore emitted a comfortable cheer.
What was a deadly negative force for others was the most nourishing sustenance in the world for him. Other than making him stronger, it had no second effect.
Visibly, the evil image of Shi Xiaole became more and more real. Eventually, even every strand of hair appeared lifelike, and his body cast a shadow on the ground as if it was solid.
Boom!
The demonic aura soared to the sky. In this moment, the Demon Martial Way finally broke through to 90 percent late stage, and it absorbed negative forces even faster.
About two hour periods later, all the black qi had converged into Shi Xiaole’s body, and he slowly opened his eyes.
Two extremely deep streaks of black light flashed and vanished within his pupils. As the black clouds above dispersed and the sunlight shone down, it was repelled by his gaze, unable to come close until the black light faded, and the sunlight then enveloped Shi Xiaole completely.
His demeanor once again became leisurely and elegant, the serene nobility between his brows more pronounced than before, inexplicably drawing admiration.
"The tribulation seems to be over,"
Shi Xiaole spread his hand, casually pointing, and a very wide, thousand-meter-long spatial rift opened up in front of him, which took a long time to slowly close.
Crisis and opportunity always go hand in hand. Although he went through hardships and was pushed to the brink, the gains were beyond anyone’s imagination.
In terms of realm, he had successfully entered the realm of unity between heaven, earth, and man.
In terms of Vigorous Air, the 409 Vigorous Air Vortices had undergone their first split and perfectly integrated with the four great martial arts, significantly boosting his strength by a large margin.
Without cultivating top-level martial arts, and only using the Illusion Martial Way and the Wind Sword Way, the current Shi Xiaole could easily crush most second-rate Earthly Realm Martial Emperors.
And if he were to use the Demon Martial Way, he had no doubt that he now possessed the strength of a first-rate Earthly Realm Martial Emperor!
For any martial artist, breaking through from the Divine Barrier Realm to the Void Origin Realm would bring earth-shattering changes in strength. But for someone like Shi Xiaole, going directly from the weakest second-rate Earthly Realm Martial Emperor to a first-rate Earthly Realm Martial Emperor was unparalleled.
One could only say that his foundation was too robust and his accumulation far surpassed his predecessors. He had reached the pinnacle in several aspects, which allowed for this miracle to occur.
Beyond the increase in strength, what delighted Shi Xiaole even more was the significant progress in the Life and Death martial arts.
Now at 80 percent early stage, the Life and Death martial arts’ conversion efficiency was much faster than before. This would benefit the four great martial arts in the days to come, allowing them to break through even more quickly!
Moved by a thought, Shi Xiaole extended the index finger of his left hand and swiped it across the thumb of his right hand, immediately causing a cut to appear. But before a drop of blood could fall, the wound had already healed, leaving not even a scar, as if the previous act was only an illusion.
"Amazing!"
Shi Xiaole was overjoyed.
It might have seemed like a casual swipe, but the Sword Qi contained within was enough to seriously injure the weakest of Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors, yet under the conversion of the Life and Death martial arts, the Sword Qi dissipated in an instant.
This meant that his healing ability had seen an incredible improvement. From now on, even if he faced an opponent stronger than himself, he would have a greater chance of survival.
Additionally, it can be imagined that Shi Xiaole’s recuperative ability and endurance in prolonged combat will inevitably rise as the tide lifts the boat. All of these will be transformed into his strength.
Consider two individuals with equal strength; if one can fight tirelessly, sustaining and healing from battle continuously, while the other is just in a normal state, the outcome is self-evident without asking.
The only regret is that Shi Xiaole’s mental strength seems to have made no progress. He wondered if it was because his mental quality was too high and was restricted by the laws of the universe?
Finding no answers, he simply stopped pondering and focused his attention on martial arts.
"Although I now no longer fear most of the top Earthly Realm Martial Emperors, and if I encounter one I cannot defeat, escaping wouldn’t be a problem, I still haven’t reached my limit. This place is tranquil; why not take the opportunity to practice the three top-level martial arts?"
Even before his breakthrough, Shi Xiaole had achieved minor success in ’Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi.’ ’Saintly Spirit Sword Technique’ and ’Sacred Heart Technique’ were a bit lacking, but the gap wasn’t huge. Once he began training, his progress would certainly be astonishing.
Two months later.
A shocking burst of Sword Qi erupted, like countless turbulent cotton strands, densely filling the universe. Perhaps a single thread of Sword Qi could be blocked by the weakest Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor, but the sheer number was overwhelming. Even a top Earthly Realm Martial Emperor would likely struggle to cope.
"I greatly underestimated the ’Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi’!"
This was a sword technique that could be understood from different angles. From the perspective of Sword Realm, it could be divided into ’Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi,’ ’Invisible Sword Qi,’ ’Sword Qi,’ and ’Qi’—five stages.
But from the perspective of sword skills, it could also be divided into ’Sword of the Undead Spirit,’ ’Natural Sword,’ ’Formless Sword,’ ’Returning Sword,’ and ’Extreme Breaking Sword’—five stages.
What Shi Xiaole just executed was pure swordsmanship driven by the Wind Sword Way.
At that moment, he suddenly activated the late stages of the Demon Martial Way, and in an instant, infinite negative energies enveloped him, transforming into a sword in his finger—Sword of the Undead Spirit!
Boom...
A black sword light split heaven and earth, overshadowing the sun. The restored Witch Queen illusionary realm was once again cleaved open by an endless chasm. Negative energies surged within the chasm, enough to drive numerous Divine Barrier Realm Earth Immortals into spiritual disarray.
The power of this strike, enhanced by the late stages of the Demon Martial Way, was much stronger than his previous attack. Even Shi Xiaole, the instigator, felt a wave of fear.
And it didn’t end there. Shi Xiaole then activated the early stages of the Life and Death Martial Way, causing some of the negative energy to be transformed. The surrounding mountains, rivers, and vegetation were drained of their boundless vitality, forming a white sword light that shook heaven and earth.
In the darkness, vegetation withered, and an overabundance of vitality was enough to kill anyone instantaneously.
This was the Natural Sword!
Of course, at this moment, the power of the Natural Sword was far less than that of the Sword of the Undead Spirit. It was even inferior to pure swordsmanship because the realm of the Life and Death Martial Way was still lagging behind the Demon Martial Way and the Wind Sword Way.
But no matter, at least Shi Xiaole saw the path ahead clearly. Merely the ’Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi’ encompassed three great Martial Ways. He believed that as his realm ascended and his strength reached the Heavenly Realm, surpassing the ten great levels of masters, it was only a matter of time!
Following ’Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi’ came the ’Saintly Spirit Sword Technique,’ but this time an accident occurred.
Just as Shi Xiaole was preparing to practice, the whole Witch Queen illusionary realm began to shake slightly as if some energy was being drawn out, causing the space to become unstable.
"Could it be that something has changed on the outside?"
The Witch Queen illusionary realm was, after all, connected to the Ghost King Temple, and now the only people who could control the Array System of the Ghost King Temple were Shi Xiaole and the Great Witch Servant.
"He thinks that by controlling me he can urge me to return, and he wouldn’t affect the Ghost King Temple. Could there have been some unforeseen incident that I’m not aware of?"
After a moment of contemplation, Shi Xiaole decided to leave.
For one, continuing to practice ’Saintly Spirit Sword Technique’ and ’Sacred Heart Technique’ temporarily wouldn’t help his strength, as he had a lesser understanding of these two martial arts compared to ’Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi.’
Secondly, if the Witch Queen illusionary realm were to shatter, it would release a massive amount of spatial force. Not to mention Shi Xiaole unable to withstand it, even a Heaven Realm Martial Emperor caught in it would face ’Death Without Life.’
Having made up his mind, Shi Xiaole took off his tattered green shirt and put on a new set of clothes from his system space. He then released his mental power and followed the Array System’s nodes he had used on his way in, heading out.
...
Inside the Witch Queen Temple, a gathering of heroes.
No fewer than fifty Witch Heavenly Guards were dispersed at different locations, appearing to be standing randomly. But the synchronized aura emanating from them clearly formed a battle array.
At the focal point of the array, the Great Witch Servant had a cold and murderous look: "Shenzong, you insulted the Witch Queen Temple, killed the Witch Heavenly Guards, today you should pay a price."
Outside the array, the four Great Witch Servants were leading other Witch Heavenly Guards, all of whom had gathered their powers, displaying cold smiles on their faces.
They didn’t believe the crazy old man could escape from the Witch Soul Upheaval Array. Even if he miraculously did escape, they would be ready to stop him immediately. In any case, the old man was as good as dead!
In the middle of the array, the crazy old man, undaunted in the face of danger, chuckled hehehe: "Afraid you don’t have the skill."
