Chapter 1006: Chapter 1005: The Stature of the Sword Emperor (Part 2)_1
The vast square was unmistakably divided into three separate battlefields.
On the first, a crazed old man faced off against fifty Martial Emperors of the Void Origin Realm, his body riddled with wounds.
On the second, Pan Eunuch engaged in fierce combat with Min Yuntian; they had exchanged merely one move, yet had already revealed their formidable strengths, both being top-notch Martial Emperors of the Heavenly Realm.
On the third, and perhaps where the outcome was most apparent, a middle-aged man in white from the Ancestral Temple wielded a long whip that enveloped the Kirin from the Flying Horse Dynasty.
And at that moment, the young man known as Kirin made his move; with a swing of his sword, a violent storm raged, making it impossible to discern whether it was Sword Qi forming the wind or the wind itself forging the Sword Qi.
Clang!
Sparks like blades from the whip’s tip burst into lengthy golden sparks upon contact with the storm of Sword Qi. Amidst a deafening, bizarre roar, the whip’s shadow shattered inch by inch, as the relentless storm of Sword Qi found its way in, fast enough to defy any reaction.
Pfft...
Blood mist sprayed as the middle-aged man in white displayed a look of utter horror, his body hurled sideways. Lowering his head, a sword mark appeared on his chest, run straight through.
"What?!"
Everyone was shocked, their faces as if they had seen a ghost.
"Struck the Divine Whip Emperor with a single sword?"
"Void Origin Realm, his aura, his Vigorous Air, it’s not at the level of the Divine Barrier Realm but truly that of the Void Origin Realm. My heavens! Kirin has broken through, he is a Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm!"
Following a brief silence, gasps, screams, and heavy breathing intertwined, boiling the entire square over into a state of frenzied agitation.
The onlookers, each a prominent figure of vast experience, even the weakest among them could stir up storms in the Martial World; yet at this moment, no one could blame them for their discomposed manner.
For what had unfolded was too shocking for the world to bear.
Years ago, it took the Martial Emperor of the Flying Horse Dynasty sixty-two years to achieve the rank of Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm, an accomplishment that shook all nations. A few years ago, word spread that ’Young Dragon’ Zhang Xiangfeng had set this record a year earlier, causing a sensation throughout the Martial World.
To say the least, in terms of fame among the younger generation, within the scope of the three great dynasties and the hundred nations of the Western Region, none could match the Young Dragon’s!
Even the most distinguished disciples of the top powers would show a grave look upon hearing the name Young Dragon, considering him the hypothetical enemy of their lifetime.
Despite his low profile, not having taken action for several years and with no news of him, the terrifying record he created stood unparalleled for a thousand years, with none able to match him!
And now, a new record was born.
Kirin, at the mere age of thirty-nine, had stepped into the Void Origin Realm, advancing the globally watched figure by a full twenty-two years!
Not twenty-two 2-hour periods, not twenty-two days, nor twenty-two months, but twenty-two years; when people realized this, they were almost shocked into unconsciousness, their hearts palpitated uncontrollably.
The more gifted an individual was, the more significant the meaning of time, especially within a hundred-year lifespan. For peerless geniuses, perhaps three months might bring rapid progress, years might completely transform them.
The Young Dragon was indeed a talent of his era, termed a once-in-a-millennium prodigy, so what did it mean for someone to become a Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor twenty-two years earlier than him?
Everyone was dumbfounded, their minds went blank, thoughts delayed and muddled as everything before their eyes seemed so unreal. For those present, they would rather believe this was all just a dream, the most preposterous dream in the world.
"Impossible, no one can do this, no one..."
Min Tianliang’s face paled, he could only murmur to himself.
He had barely recovered from the blow inflicted at the Blood Sacrifice Ceremony and firmly believed that the last man standing would be the victor. Yet reality dealt him such a heavy blow again, pushing him deep underground.
Indeed, persistence is victory, but faced with an opponent like Kirin, does persistence still hold any meaning?
Min Yunshu remained silent, not knowing what to say. Although he had foreseen that Kirin, at half-step Void Origin, would eventually become a Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm, he had not expected that day to come so soon, catching him utterly off guard.
"This lad, he is simply..."
The Divine Light Emperor gaped, feeling his scalp tingle.
In his life, he had witnessed countless remarkable individuals, but he had never seen someone like Shi Xiaole, not just a prodigy, but a divine being, always defying expectations.
"Hahaha, hahaha... Well done, Brother Shi, I knew you weren’t so simple. Kill these damned rats raised by bitch hounds!"
Uncle Wang, his white hair flying, laughed heartily. He had long witnessed Shi Xiaole’s talent on par with a Holy Monarch, feeling an immense satisfaction as his right hand continuously swung, transforming into a barrage of staff strikes towards those around him.
"This is an accident, I only let my guard down, that’s how you took advantage. I can’t be worse than you, Nine Dragons Deadly Dance!"
The white-clothed middle-aged man who was repelled stood in a daze for a moment before snapping back to reality, his eyes bulging, veins throbbing on his forehead, and without thinking, he channeled all his strength, the black whip like countless swimming black dragons, ferociously attacking Shi Xiaole.
This move could compel many second-rate Martial Emperors of the Earthly Realm to exert all their might, but for Shi Xiaole, it was not just slow; there were far too many flaws.
Perhaps there were not as many flaws originally, but in his agitation, the middle-aged man in white ultimately lost his composure. One must realize that the more exquisite the killing move and the more perfect its structure, the slightest divergence could lead to a colossal error.
With the Spring Fury Sword in hand, Shi Xiaole thrust with the Wind Fury from the Wind Tribulation Sword Technique.
Crack, crack, crack.
The howling storm condensed into one, like a rainbow piercing the sun. The black dragon, which had been so imposing just a moment ago, was now shredded into many pieces, scattering across the sky. The sword qi, with its remaining force, continued along the most fragile point until it reached the white-robed middle-aged man before him.
"No good!"
The moment the white-robed middle-aged man who had just launched his killer move saw this scene, he instinctively gathered all his power, but he couldn’t match the speed of the sword qi. His technique, only half executed, was shattered, and he could only dodge to the side.
A slicing sound.
His entire right arm was severed, blood raining down as if it cost nothing, with a piercing and terrifying scream coming from his mouth. The sword qi at the wound burrowed into his body, destroying his muscles and bones, and no matter how hard the white-robed middle-aged man tried to dispel it, it was ineffective.
"How can this be, so powerful?"
The white-robed middle-aged man’s face turned deathly pale, almost catching up to the color of his clothes.
He had to believe it, whether he wanted to or not: the Kirin had truly become a real Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor, and his strength had reached an extremely alarming level.
"One year, not even one year, what kind of opportunity did this youngster have to advance so much?"
"It must be the Witch Queen’s legacy he obtained, the ultimate secret of the Witch Queen’s temple, yet it aided the enemy. I truly hate this!"
The four Great Witch Servants looked as ugly as their expressions could get, each pore on their faces trembling violently.
They once crushed the Kirin as easily as pinching a grasshopper; now, bound by their sworn pledge, they could not lift a hand nor dare to command others vocally, only watching helplessly.
"So what if he has broken through? When it comes to masters, whether from the Ancestral Temple or the royal household, any can pile up and kill him. Not to mention many are already stronger than him."
The second Great Witch Servant was the calmest, quickly assessing the situation, and his heart found slight ease.
What he could think of, others could too.
After the white-robed middle-aged man was severely wounded, six more Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors charged towards Shi Xiaole from the Ancestral Temple side, each with an aura as deep as the sea, unfathomable.
"Xuantian Thunderstrike!"
One of them, a robust man wielding a golden hammer, moved the fastest. With his terrifyingly white teeth bared, his arms swelled as he called forth thunderbolts as thick as an arm from nowhere, smashing fiercely towards Shi Xiaole.
"Stronger than the white-robed man by a notch!"
Shi Xiaole silently gauged the man’s strength and quickly came to a conclusion. Observing the other five, their attacks were slightly slower than the robust man, but their might was not weaker by any means; in fact, the attacks of two of them were even slightly stronger.
Such a lineup, even a top-tier Earthly Realm Martial Emperor would not dare to confront directly. The reason top-tier Earthly Realm Martial Emperors are so powerful is largely due to their killing moves—this is the most important criteria for assessing the strength of a Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor.
As for other aspects, the differences are actually not that big.
So a top-tier Earthly Realm Martial Emperor facing six opponents who are only slightly less powerful than themselves would most likely flee.
Just as the six Ancestral Temple experts launched their attacks, several more stood in various positions, obviously blocking Shi Xiaole’s escape routes, not giving him a chance to flee.
But everyone had misjudged one thing: Shi Xiaole didn’t run, nor did he plan to.
Facing six layers of thick Vigorous Air, Shi Xiaole moved like a light breeze, and while wielding his sword, he quickly avoided the attacks by moving through the weakest spots with swift and nimble moves.
His extraordinary Vigorous Air, coupled with his unparalleled vortex system, further unleashed Shi Xiaole’s advantage in Vigorous Air. While he had only undergone one division and had just entered the Void Origin, the Vigorous Air strength of many Earthly Realm Martial Emperors couldn’t compare to his.
"Thunderous Downpour!"
The robust man with the golden hammer, failing to hit with his first attempt, leaped into the air, launching a second killing move.
The other five were not to be outdone, each unleashing their mightiest killing moves.
A beam of sword light shuttled through the rolling Vigorous Air, now heading east, now veering west. But no matter how strong the Vigorous Air was, it could never touch it, only occasionally shattering the afterimages left in its place.
"Wind Wound!"
Dozens of exchanges took place in the blink of an eye. Shi Xiaole shifted from defense to offense, swinging his long sword with a vibration frequency that surpassed vision.
The man under attack was also a swordsman. Startled and furious at being targeted first, it signified that in Shi Xiaole’s eyes, he was the easy prey to be manipulated at will.
"Light Walking Heaven and Earth!"
The swordsman’s body became a streak of light as he retreated, in line with his sword and arm. He thought it was better to lure Shi Xiaole into the range of the battle rather than face him head-on, where he would stand no chance.
The thought was lovely, but he truly underestimated Shi Xiaole’s current speed.
Whoosh!
A restless gust of Wind Sword Qi brushed past the man’s body. Before he could scream out, a pair of sounds thudded; one of his arms, dripping with fresh blood, was irreparably damaged on the spot.
