Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Two Killing Moves
Whoosh, whoosh.
A flurry of arrows plummeted, engulfing the elite forces of the Black Dragon Village.
Some reacted in time, just turning their horse heads to flee, only to be killed by Shi Xiaole’s sword. He moved like a wild goose in flight amongst the crowd, his sword light cutting down men, leaving severed heads on the ground.
In successive volleys, the vigorous men of Meihua Village also shouted and charged out, brandishing their newly learned Battle Blade Skill in a frenzied slash.
The forces of the Black Dragon Village were already more than half dead. Those who were left were besieged. There was no chance of escape. One by one they followed in the footsteps of their fallen comrades.
"Village leader, wait here for me."
After leaving those words, Shi Xiaole sped off.
The situation had been so chaotic earlier, not everyone had been successfully stopped from escaping. Fortunately, Shi Xiaole had anticipated this. After a burst of sprinting, he indeed caught up with one man and silently followed behind him.
An hour later, the two arrived at the half-mountain location of the Black Dragon Village.
"It’s bad, the leaders are in trouble, everyone quick..."
The man who had fled back was just shouting when a sword suddenly pierced through his throat from behind.
Standing at the entrance of the village, Shi Xiaole’s eyes flickered coldly as he looked at the fleeing naked women and the groups of men belching out lewd laughter.
Not all bandits are relentlessly evil, but the conduct of Black Dragon Village was evidently beyond redemption.
So he decided, to unleash a killing spree!
Sheathing his sword, he drew his Shattered Snow Blade. As many men just turned their heads, Shi Xiaole had already charged like an envoy of hell.
The chaotic blade light, like a thunderous whirlwind, brought death wherever it swept through.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
Blood and screams echoed throughout the entirety of Black Dragon Village.
Half an hour later, Shi Xiaole was drenched in sweat, his blue robe still pristine. He wiped the blood off the Shattered Snow Blade with a piece of rag, then gave the blade a gentle shake.
"Distribute all the money and possessions in the village, then live a good life off the mountain."
Looking at the hills, Shi Xiaole took his leave, only leaving behind a gradually fading silhouette for those shivering, barely clothed women.
"Thank you, young swordsman."
Many of the women burst into tears, weeping softly.
They knew that the young master never looked at them from the beginning to the end, not out of disdain, but to give them the last shred of dignity.
Even when he returned to Meihua Village, Shi Xiaole still felt a bit stifled.
Killing couldn’t save the victims of past sins. What he did was merely prevent further evil from being committed.
"Master Shi, I really don’t know how to repay you for your kindness to Meihua Village," said the old village leader, tears streaming down his face as he came forward with the villagers.
The others also looked at Shi Xiaole with gratitude and admiration.
Today, they were all prepared to die. They had resigned themselves to meeting their fate along with this piece of land. It was this young man who, with his own strength, paved a broad road for everyone and changed their destiny.
"There’s no need for that, I just did what I could," smiled Shi Xiaole with humility.
"Even in the martial world outside, you must be someone of great renown."
Looking at Shi Xiaole, tall and straight, always calm and collected, the old village leader subconsciously thought of the phrase ’a dragon among men’.
That night, the village was uncommonly lively. Men were drinking and toasting, while women were singing and dancing, their sweet laughter echoing around.
Of course, they had not forgotten the tragedy that had occurred a few days ago, but people always need to look forward. A bright future was waiting for them.
As expected, Shi Xiaole was the star of the banquet. He was constantly toasted by the men and was also invited by the women to dance. His blushing face as he declined, his shy demeanor, sparked a ripple of giggly laughter.
Worried about Yintong, the Meihua Village started relocating the entire village the next day. Fortunately, there were numerous mountains nearby. They found a secluded area and settled down.
After waiting for a few more days and confirming that Yintong could not find the place, Shi Xiaole prepared to leave.
"Young Master Shi, I’m really reluctant to let you go. But I know, you belong to the outside world. Holding you back would only harm you," said the old village leader, standing at the hastily constructed village gate, his face filled with sadness.
"I will come back to see you in the future if I have the chance."
Shi Xiaole reassured.
The old village leader suddenly smiled, "Young Master Shi, I have a gift for you." As he spoke, he handed over a round, smooth green bead about the size of a longan.
"I can’t accept this."
Although the green bead seemed plain and unadorned, Shi Xiaole recognized it almost immediately by instinct. It certainly wasn’t ordinary.
"Hmph, if you don’t accept it, do you want me to rest uneasily after my death?"
The old village leader pretended to be angry, "If you don’t take it, I will throw it away." He pretended to throw it, and Shi Xiaole hurriedly stopped him, and finally reluctantly accepted it.
Only then did the old village leader turn his pretended anger into a laugh, "Meihua Village will always be open to you."
What he didn’t tell Shi Xiaole was that the green bead was an heirloom of Meihua Village. No one knew its origin. It was said that only those with a deep fortunate fate could bring out its true value.
Shi Xiaole nodded, gave one last look at the remorseful villagers, and then turned to depart.
The orange-yellow mountains, the entwining white mist, and that gradually fading figure in the blue robe, painted a picturesque scene, deeply engraved in the hearts of the people of Meihua Village.
...
According to ’Know No Silence’’s information, He Bugui, also known as ’Sword-shape Hand’, was only a second-rate martial artist, and it was rumored that he had a son before he went missing.
Interestingly enough, this son was named He Qingyu, was hailed as ’Upright and Righteous’, and was a renowned swordsman in the Cloud Triangle area.
Ten years ago, He Qingyu established the Subdue Evil Sect and since then, he had embarked on a major endeavor in fighting evil and promoting righteousness, as well as subjugating evil and eliminating demons. Whenever people in the martial world mention his name, they invariably praise him highly.
Shi Xiaole planned to investigate the Subdue Evil Sect to see if he could find any clues about his parents.
However, before doing so, he planned to improve his martial power. After all, the more abilities he possessed, the more security he would have. No one could predict what might transpire during the investigation.
Paper strength was determined by killing moves, unique skills, and internal power.
In terms of killing moves, both Survival Line and Pupil Skill were strong enough, but the former was easy to dodge while the latter was limited by its range.
With regards to unique skills, Dai Sect was not too bad, however its utility was decreasing as the opponent’s strength increased.
As for internal power, the Fuyang Qi Skill showed signs of perfection, but reaching it would take some time.
After thinking it over, Shi Xiaole decided to focus on precision strikes.
"The Bloody Chaos Kill is the result of the integration of the Hundred Battles Blade. Why don’t I try to integrate all the other intermediate-level martial arts in the third-rank category?"
Shi Xiaole’s killing ability was too lopsided. If he could develop more diverse moves which enriched his tactics, it would undoubtedly assist his advancement in martial power.
The most important thing was, with the experiences of integrating third-rank intermediate martial arts, he would undoubtedly save effort in the future when integrating third-rank superior martial arts.
No sooner said than done, Shi Xiaole began experimenting with the Baihua Fist Technique.
One day.
Two days.
...
As days turned into weeks, Shi Xiaole, who was sitting in silence, suddenly threw a punch forward.
From the launching of the punch to its withdrawal, from the way he clenched his fist to the strength he applied, everything was filled with a true yet deceptive feeling, as if it were genuine but not genuine at the same time.
Iron and cotton seemed combined in this single punch.
If there was any connoisseur around, they would have been greatly amazed. Because the force in Shi Xiaole’s punch had achieved a balance of hardness and softness.
"I didn’t expect that the killing technique transformed from the Baihua Fist Technique, not taking the Shattered Snow Blade’s features into account, could actually be three points stronger than Bloody Chaos Kill."
Shi Xiaole muttered, his heart stirred.
It’s not surprising, after all, since the root of Chaotic Intent Realm lay within the Baihua Fist Technique. The interplay of these two would of course bring about a significant increase in strength.
Thanks to his previous experience in researching Bloody Chaos Kill, Shi Xiaole’s research in integrating third-rank intermediate martial arts this time was extremely quick. After developing his Fist Technique, he began to study other killing skills.
This time, in just four days, one could see him leaping high up, seemingly like a soaring phoenix from above, slashing down a white ray of blade light.
Hissss.
An additional cut of three inches in length and one foot in-depth suddenly appeared on the ground.
Killing moves emphasize absoluteness.
And this blade, an evolution from the Flying Phoenix blade technique, was compulsively overpowering due to its absolute superiority - a high to low strike. It was both irresistible and a long-range attack.
"Form Fist Technique will be called Cotton-coated Iron, and Blade Technique will be called Phoenix Soaring Across the Sky."
Shi Xiaole thought for a moment, and then smiled.
Cotton-coated Iron is suitable for close combat, so even without a weapon at hand in the future, he won’t be helpless.
As for Phoenix Soaring Across the Sky, it is a long-range killing move. As long as it is within a range of three meters, the further the distance, the greater the strength, thereby making up for the shortage of distance for Survival Line.
After developing two killing techniques, Shi Xiaole did not plan to continue further.
Even if he wanted to, it was useless.
He had to admit, after previously exchanging his killing techniques, there were only a handful of third-rank intermediate martial arts left that he could use. What remained were all third-rank superior martial arts, but it was still too strenuous to study them.
As he rode forth, Shi Xiaole sped along the government road. A few days later, he arrived in Four Directions City where the Subdue Evil Sect was based.
Instead of rushing to the sect, he first found an inn to rest and freshen up, before starting to gather information.
"Attack the Xuanyin Faction on October 23?"
It was indeed fortunate. It just so happened that the Subdue Evil Sect had set its sights on a malevolent power in the last few days. They were currently recruiting high-level martial artists from the martial world to jointly plan the attack.
Of course, the actual target of the Subdue Evil Sect certainly wasn’t the Xuanyin Faction.
This kind of misdirection was instantly obvious to any discerning individual. After all, no one would be so foolish as to announce their target in advance, allowing the opponent to be prepared.
"This is a good opportunity to get close to He Qingyu."
He Qingyu’s true character was not yet apparent, and Shi Xiaole couldn’t just walk up and ask questions, lest he alert the enemy. His strategy was to approach indirectly, hence the current opportunity was not to be missed.
The Subdue Evil Sect’s headquarters was on the east side of Four Directions City, occupying a modest area of only about ten acres. Unlike most major powers, the buildings within were decorated simply, with grey walls and black tiles, and appeared rather unassuming.
At the moment, many righteous warriors who had received the news, were rushing there.
"Gentlemen, our opponent this time is very strong. The sect leader does not wish for anyone to sacrifice needlessly, so the selection will be very strict. We hope for your understanding."
Unexpectedly, the steward of the Subdue Evil Sect emerged and politely halted the crowd.
"What are the qualifications needed?"
Knowing that the other party was trying to help, a burly man couldn’t resist asking.
"Withstand fifty of my strikes."
The steward of the Subdue Evil Sect, a short and fat middle-aged man, replied cheerfully.
