Chapter 1009: Chapter 1008: The Imperial City Blood Battle Kills from All Sides (3) (poonlo, 11/20)_1
The three Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors engulfed by the Sword Qi, not even reaching the Human Realm level, saw the Sword Qi coming and were scared witless, hastily gathering all their strength to resist.
The other Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors were not idle either, launching attacks simultaneously to assist those three, while some took the opportunity to attack Shi Xiaole, hoping to take advantage in the confusion.
"Reverse Star Slashing Saber!"
Min Yunxiong’s fury was unrestrained, for he, a Heaven Realm Martial Emperor, was actually unable to handle a Kirin just entering the Void Origin, which was nothing short of a joke. Lifting his long saber high overhead, he sent a blue saber light flying out, cleaving through the vast void.
But just midway, it was blocked by the force of an Array System, weakened, and although it finally broke through the defense, it missed the best chance to kill Shi Xiaole.
"Die."
A moment before the saber light brushed by, Shi Xiaole used the might of the Sword Qi to flash close to the three Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors he targeted, not giving them time to react, as he gently swung the Spring Fury Sword.
"Soaring Dragon and Wood Birth!"
"Crack Earth Power!"
"Piercing Dragon Fist!"
The three retreated swiftly, with vine wood, yellow cracks, and dragon-shaped fist Qi bursting out all at once—it wasn’t that they were able to keep up with Shi Xiaole’s pace. Instead, precisely because they couldn’t keep up, the three could only blindly execute moves, reasoning that not leaving any gaps was right. Even the strongest first-rate Earthly Realm Martial Emperor couldn’t breach their defenses instantly.
But such disorganized moves were only effective against ordinary people.
As the Spring Fury Sword was swung, Shi Xiaole’s left hand’s index and middle fingers came together, gently pointing forward.
In an instant, infinite Sword Qi spread in all directions, like a barrage of Flowing Rain, each strand reflecting Shi Xiaole’s understanding and essence of the sword way.
At its highest realm, "Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi" turned a mere glance into infinite Sword Qi, and each strand possessed half the power of his own. United, it amounted to boundless strength.
While it sounded frighteningly powerful, how else could it qualify as a top-tier martial art? Moreover, even among top-tier martial arts, "Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi" was considered one of the very best.
Shi Xiaole was far from reaching the highest realm at the moment, estimating that each strand of Sword Qi carried only one percent of his power, but the sum of them was not something just anyone could withstand.
"Ah..."
A blood mist exploded, one Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor who hadn’t reached the Human Realm level was directly shattered.
Spring Fury Sword Qi and Invisible Sword Qi converged into a raging torrent, rolling toward the three Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors at a speed faster than the others.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The vine wood broke, the yellow cracks split further, and the dragon-shaped fist Qi dissipated. Bolstered by the momentum, the three Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors fell back, screaming in terror, "Block him, block him quickly..."
Their voices transmitted as swiftly as the speed of sound.
But—
Sword Qi was faster, for "Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi" required no execution of moves, no intention needed; every movement was imbued with Sword Qi, capable of continuous attacks.
With a splurch!
The brain of the Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor on the extreme left was pierced, his expression one of horror as he met his death, and in less than half a second, the other two Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors followed suit—one with a pierced brow and the other turned into a sieve.
In the blink of an eye, amidst the concerted attack from nearly thirty Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors, Shi Xiaole not only survived but casually killed four. This effortless scene completely shocked everyone, almost causing their souls to fly out.
It’s known that in the Void Origin Realm, even within the same level, a one-on-one victory was possible, but one couldn’t withstand a three-on-one or many-on-one assault.
Because most people spent their energy on researching deadly moves, and in other respects, they were roughly equivalent.
There were those who aspired to study in all areas, but energy is after all limited, and such endeavors usually led to mediocrity in everything. Those who forsake deadly moves to focus on other aspects, in a one-on-one situation, couldn’t withstand another’s deadly move, only death or escape awaited, rendering it mostly meaningless.
Hence, within the Void Origin Realm circle, it was recognized that unless it was a clash of different levels, it was very difficult to win against overwhelming odds.
Yet the emergence of the Kirin shattered this iron rule.
It wasn’t one against three, but one against nearly thirty, and he counter-killed four, a feat that, if spread, would shock the whole world and even rewrite the rules of the Void Origin Realm circle!
"He can’t last long using deadly moves so frequently, everyone, don’t be afraid, rush him all at once, wear him down. If we don’t eliminate him today, he’ll be an endless menace!"
A master of the Ancestral Temple transmitted this message telepathically to everyone in a cold, seductive voice.
"That’s right, Earth list deadly moves, if he can use them three times consecutively that’s already incredible. Haven’t you noticed that his swordplay has decreased in power just now?"
"He’s at the end of his tether. We should attack from a distance and ensure he can’t get close."
Instantly, everyone reached a consensus, and with fierce determination, they executed their ultimate skills. A myriad of colorful Vigorous Air surrounded Shi Xiaole, making even mental power unable to probe.
"Think I can’t do it?"
Shi Xiaole smiled faintly.
How could outsiders know of the depth of his Vigorous Air, which at half-step Void Origin was comparable to some Void Origin Realm masters.
And as his Vortex System neared perfection upon entering the Void Origin Realm, perhaps in terms of power, due to the current realm limit, Shi Xiaole’s Vigorous Air might not be considered top-notch, but in terms of thickness, it far surpassed that of the Earthly Realm level.
The previous streams of Invisible Sword Qi had consumed far less of Shi Xiaole’s energy than outsiders imagined, merely his deliberate disguise.
Not to mention, he possessed 80 percent of the initial stage of the Life and Death Martial Way, constantly replenishing his Vigorous Air.
Transforming into a rush of Sword Light, he pierced the surrounding Vigorous Air. Shi Xiaole waved his hand casually, and Invisible Sword Qi enveloped the Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor on the far right.
Boom.
The latter exploded into a mass of severed limbs and parts.
The fifth person.
The sixth person.
The seventh person.
In just a few dozen moves, Shi Xiaole had killed nine Martial Emperors of the Void Origin Realm who hadn’t reached the Human Realm. Then, he set his sights on the Human Realm Martial Emperors.
The Human Realm Martial Emperors were indeed a bit more troublesome, but only just, it took him several hundred moves, and of the masters besieging him, only seventeen were left, all were Earthly Realm Martial Emperors and Heavenly Realm Martial Emperors.
"Ah, boy, your methods are so vicious!"
"Such merciless brutality, even the heavens won’t tolerate you!"
Everyone except Min Yunxiong was scared stiff. In their eyes, Shi Xiaole was like a Sword Emperor, with an invincible blade. No one could stop him.
All they could do was to keep retreating, retreating, and then wait for their heads to be chopped off by him.
How could this be?!
"Will his Vigorous Air never run out?"
"Heavenly Father, why do you favor one man so much?"
"We can’t beat him, not even altogether, the Kirin isn’t human, he’s a devil..."
If before, people could still keep their composure and thought that they could exhaust the Kirin by their numbers, now they were all in despair.
Looking at Shi Xiaole, where was there any sign of his Vigorous Air running out?
If the fight continued, it could well be that everyone would be killed by him. Although with all-out effort, they might be able to drag him down with them, under normal circumstances, who would want to die? The stronger the person, the more they cling to life.
"Why, why..."
Min Tianliang was on the verge of madness, witnessing Shi Xiaole’s transformation within a year. Could it be that his rate of progress matched his own decades of time, with a difference of dozens of times?
A mouthful of blood burst out; in his distracted state, Min Tianliang had been grazed by Sword Qi and was seriously injured.
"Retreat, everyone retreat!"
Min Yunxiong was so agitated that his veins bulged as he roared out, "Kirin, if you have the guts, fight me fairly!"
Given his status, he shouldn’t have said such a foolish thing, showing just how much Min Yunxiong was pushed to the edge.
These were Martial Emperors of the Void Origin Realm, accumulated generation after generation by the Ancestral Temple, each of them a symbol of the Ancestral Temple, cut down like rice stalks. Min Yunxiong’s heart bled with the loss.
And it wasn’t just him, even Min Yunshu and Min Yuntian wished they could flay Shi Xiaole alive, but the former was entangled by Uncle Wang, while the latter was blocked by Pan Eunuch, unable to come to the rescue.
"Go!"
The Martial Emperors of the Void Origin Realm who were besieging Shi Xiaole had all lost their will to fight and retreated in disorder.
"You think it’s that easy to leave."
Shi Xiaole was not a bloodthirsty person, but he was never merciful to his enemies. Gathering his power to its limit, a trasparent dome of light appeared around him, which quickly expanded a hundredfold into a sky full of Sword Qi that shot out in all directions.
Boom...
Hiss...
The sounds of explosions, piercing, and screams merged into one cacophony. Besides Min Yunxiong, the sixteen Martial Emperors of the Void Origin Realm were more embarrassed than severely injured, at most, they were only lightly wounded. After all, the wide range of the attack meant that the Sword Qi hitting each person wasn’t concentrated enough.
But before they could catch their breath, Shi Xiaole’s real killer move arrived. The Spring Fury Sword suddenly shone brightly, and he struck out with it at the Angry River Martial Emperor of the royal family.
Compared to the Ancestral Temple, Shi Xiaole hated the royal masters even more because, to some extent, they had betrayed him.
"Angry River Blocks the Sky!"
The Angry River Martial Emperor pushed forward with both hands, waves of Vigorous Air shielded him, which were penetrated by the Sword Qi and dispersed to either side. He dodged to the side and was grazed on the shoulder, but he managed to escape the life-threatening situation, with the distance between them, it was impossible for Shi Xiaole to catch up.
"To be so decisive in your actions, one day you’ll die a horrible death, for sure."
Touching the wound on his shoulder, the Angry River Martial Emperor retreated frantically, not forgetting to curse with a voice that was both bitter and assertive.
"Idiot, worry about yourself."
Shi Xiaole suddenly shouted, "All Witch Heavenly Guards, heed my command and stop those who were besieging me!"
What?
The Witch Heavenly Guards, still immersed in the shock of Shi Xiaole’s explosive combat ability, did not react at first; moments later, all of them had ugly expressions on their faces.
The Ancestral Temple and the royal family were nothing less than vital supports for the Witch Queen’s temple. Now that Shi Xiaole was asking them to stop them, wasn’t that the same as cutting off their own arms?
But in the back of their minds, a very terrible premonition suddenly surrounded them all.
This was the will of heaven at work.
They had sworn that once Shi Xiaole safely returned, they would serve him loyally, with a status equal to that of the Great Witch Servant. They didn’t feel it when they had ’complied’ with Shi Xiaole’s orders not to besiege Uncle Wang, but now, when they resisted his orders, they immediately felt the warning from the will of heaven.
That’s really shooting oneself in the foot!
"I command you, don’t."
The Great Witch Servant was also shouting, trying his best to stop Shi Xiaole.
But he hadn’t expected that Shi Xiaole still had strength to spare, and took advantage of a moment when one of the Witch Heavenly Guards was distracted, briefly controlling him with his mental power and placing him in front of the Angry River Martial Emperor.
