Chapter 1136: Chapter 1135 I have an aunt_1
In the dense jungle.
A beam of light ten feet in diameter, piercing the heavens, surged upward. It was composed of particles of various colors, moving erratically, causing the light to be extremely unstable, as if it could explode at any moment.
At a certain moment.
All the particles revolved around a central point, the light instantly tore through the sky, reaching beyond the atmosphere, nearly breaking into the cosmic starry sky.
As the light receded, Mu Qianji opened his eyes wide and burst into loud laughter, "This Sect Leader’s Light Martial Path has reached the late stage of twelvefold proficiency."
"Congratulations, Sect Leader! Best wishes, Sect Leader! With the Sect Leader’s divine prowess advancing further, unifying the world is just around the corner!"
The thirty-some devoted followers, seeing this, all bowed their heads, cupped their hands, and shouted in unison. Judging from their practiced demeanor, this was probably not the first time they had done so.
It wasn’t that they were shameless; they were merely compelled by a certain Sect Leader, and now it had become second nature to them. Of course, they were not entirely unmoved by the spectacle.
A late-stage twelvefold proficiency in top-level martial arts—Sect Leader’s strength must be close to making it into the top fifteen of the Emperor List.
Whoosh!
Mu Qianji flashed, and without a glance, he punched toward a carriage not far away. The punch had not yet landed when the aftermath had already twisted the ground into a mess, and just as the carriage seemed doomed to be shattered, a layer of Invisible Sword Qi blocked in front, clashing with the punch and creating a burst of brilliant sparks.
"Protector Shi, I have just made a breakthrough; help me get accustomed to it."
Mu Qianji called out loudly.
Get accustomed? The mouths of the onlookers twitched, thinking he just wanted to beat up Protector Shi, right?
"Sect Leader, why bother?"
Shi Xiaole emerged from the carriage.
"Whether it’s necessary or not is up to me to decide, come up."
Mu Qianji soared into the sky.
Shi Xiaole pondered for a moment, and without much hesitation, he joined the fray. The other party clearly would not allow him to decline, and he also wanted to see just how far Mu Qianji had progressed.
"Hey, can the Sect Leader win?"
Murong San asked.
"Picking a fight right after a breakthrough, the Sect Leader really holds a grudge against Xiaole. But, I’d say it’s going to be tough."
Han Yanfa’s plump face revealed a schadenfreude smile as he shook his head.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust the Sect Leader; indeed, the Sect Leader was an unparalleled martial genius he had ever seen in his life, but Shi Xiaole... he wasn’t human. Comparing others to him was just unfair.
Even the recuperating Witch Granny watched from the sidelines with cold eyes, her complexion uglier than a few days ago.
One is a neurotic Sect Leader; the other is ambiguously involved with that slut Xi Xianglei; may they both go to hell!
In the sky, two terrifying masses of Vigorous Air constantly clashed and grated against each other, brightening and darkening the surroundings for tens of thousands of meters—a result of the control exerted by two peerless experts; otherwise, the effect would have extended for hundreds of thousands of meters.
"His strength is not much different from that of the Galan Sword Emperor."
Shi Xiaole quickly assessed Mu Qianji’s strength and couldn’t help but be secretly astonished.
With perfected internal skills and martial arts, and having reached the late stage of twelvefold proficiency in the Light Martial Path, Mu Qianji’s strength was now on par with the Galan Sword Emperor.
It was only a bit short in the Heart Martial Realm—the strength of the Heart Martial is related to a person’s experience, and often the longer one cultivates, the higher the realm becomes—it’s not something that can be piled up with just innate talent alone.
From this perspective, given time, Mu Qianji could unquestionably grow into a giant surpassing Uncle Wang and even rivaling the top five experts in the world!
It could only be said that his talent was vastly underestimated by the outside world. There are indeed such people in the Martial World; initially not very remarkable, but terrifying in their powerful potential, steadily improving while others progress slowly.
"Protector Shi, you are not up to par."
Seeing that he could withstand Shi Xiaole’s attacks, Mu Qianji’s face flushed with excitement, did everyone see that? Today, this Sect Leader is fighting the Kirin; tomorrow, I will be able to suppress him.
"Sect Leader, I think the Divine Sect currently has no place to go; why not head to Nine Heavens Mountain first? With its expansive mountains and vast land, accommodating merely a few dozen people is a piece of cake. Moreover, with the Nine Profound Array for protection, safety isn’t a concern."
Shi Xiaole suggested while fighting.
Mu Qianji couldn’t help but sneer, "What, Protector Shi plans to usurp and absorb my Divine Sect?"
"Of course not, it’s just a suggestion."
Shi Xiaole was genuinely interested.
Mu Qianji, an expert of one of the ten greatest levels in the world.
The four Protectors, each making their mark on the Emperor List. That Tian Jizi is also a master of Array Systems, divination, and numerology with profound methods. Even those Divine Sect disciples who seem to be sycophantically flattering possess exceptional talent.
Such a group joining Nine Heavens Mountain would immediately elevate it to a top-tier power among the world’s first-rate forces.
Of course, at the moment, it was just a thought. They were all difficult individuals, and whether their joining would be a good thing was another matter; just the trouble alone would be considerable. Without his presence, Qu Wuyan and the others would not be able to manage the situation.
Mu Qianji said, "I’m not against joining, but only if you convince me wholeheartedly."
No sooner had those words left his mouth than Shi Xiaole suddenly turned serious. His offensive became faster and more ferocious with each strike.
Just half a quarter of an hour had passed.
Mu Qianji was sent flying out, teeth clenched as she charged back, only to be sent flying again, several times in a row, resembling nothing so much as a human-shaped ball—truly a pitiful sight to behold.
Murong San sighed, Witch Granny snorted coldly, while Han Yanfa wore an expression that said he had seen it coming.
The disciples who had been looking up at the battle all lowered their heads in unison, chatting if they were chatting, tending to the fire if they were tending to the fire. They needed to save some face for the Sect Leader, or else they would surely be the ones to suffer.
Mu Qianji’s face was grim as she looked at the calm and composed Shi Xiaole, "You’re ruthless! I’ll let you off this time, but next time, I, the Sect Leader, will make sure you understand how powerful I am."
She then glanced at the crowd below and found that no one was watching foolishly; she quickly disappeared. The Sect Leader needed a cooling-off period—his skin was thin.
In the days that followed, Mu Qianji did not challenge Shi Xiaole again, but her face was so cold it seemed to give off a freezing aura, scaring the disciples from coming near.
Tian Jizi, wherever he went, would chatter away like a charlatan, looking here and there, under the pretext of observing the landscape and the layout of feng shui.
Both Murong San and Witch Granny’s injuries were improving day by day, likely due to the use of the ancient medicinal pills. It was believed they would fully recover soon.
Shi Xiaole’s spiritual power had also undergone a significant change. After persistent daily effort, he had now refined one percent of it. However, Shi Xiaole found that the further he went in the refining process, the more difficult it became—patience was essential.
What he didn’t know was that it had taken the Yuan Sword Emperor years just to refine one percent of his own spiritual power—and the Yuan Sword Emperor’s overall amount of spiritual power was much less than Shi Xiaole’s.
Everyone was busily tending to their own matters, but unfortunately, nearly half a year had passed, and Tian Jizi still hadn’t found a suitable location.
"Keep looking, I refuse to believe we can’t find one!"
Mu Qianji glared at Shi Xiaole and vented his frustration on Tian Jizi.
Tian Jizi wore an innocent face. "I’ve done my best, okay? It was you who wanted to change locations, and it’s not so easy to find a mountain suitable for the Sky Origin Array System."
Then came another deep night.
After completing his routine cultivation, Shi Xiaole did not choose to rest but got down from the carriage and walked toward the river in the distance.
The river, illuminated by the moonlight, shimmered with silver light. By the river were rows of willow trees, but Shi Xiaole had no thoughts of appreciation as he said indifferently, "You have been following me for half a year with great patience. Come out."
There was no response.
"I know your martial arts are profound, but if it comes to a fight to the death, you will certainly be the one to die! My friend, I, Shi Xiaole, never lie. The words I say, I always fulfill. I do not like being followed all the time. Either leave or die. I will count to three."
"One."
"Two."
Shi Xiaole gripped the Cleansing Evil Sword, his spiritual power poised to strike.
A strong intuition told him that someone had been watching him since he left the Divine Sect headquarters. But the adversary was too cautious, and Shi Xiaole couldn’t discern their strength.
Recently—whether because the adversary had grown careless or had intentionally come closer—there had been several close calls where Shi Xiaole nearly caught them red-handed. He didn’t want to tolerate it any longer. Having such a formidable and mysterious expert tailing him was always a calamity-in-waiting.
A restless aura stirred in the darkness, like an enraged lion, but then abruptly, it dissipated. Light footsteps reached Shi Xiaole’s ears with the night breeze.
The person was taking small, delicate steps, and their posture was extremely graceful. To identify someone by sound was quite simple for Shi Xiaole. Yet, he did not expect that this expert would bring another person along, a woman.
Turning around, Shi Xiaole found himself facing a flawless smiling face that bloomed in the moonlight like a water lily, exuding a tender warmth mixed with an inexplicable sense of familiarity, causing him to slightly zone out.
It was at this moment, from the jade bracelet held in his system space, the drop of blood contained within suddenly vibrated and emitted a faint light. Gazing at the orange-clothed woman approaching him, Shi Xiaole’s heart was set ablaze with tumultuous waves!
To this day, how could Shi Xiaole not tell that the blood in the bracelet came from two people—likely Shi Xuanzhong and Ling Yujie? And the part that trembled at this moment felt weaker than the other part; it was probably Ling Yujie’s blood.
The woman who stood on the side of the Carefree Sect back then hadn’t been given much thought by Shi Xiaole; perhaps due to the distance, there was no reaction from the blood in the bracelet.
But today, her appearance caught Shi Xiaole completely off guard!
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm the agitation in his heart, "That’s not your true face."
The woman smiled and didn’t deny it. A light enveloped her face, and as it crackled softly and dissipated, she revealed to Shi Xiaole features that were not stunning at first glance, but grew more charming the longer one looked—a face he would never forget in his lifetime.
Wasn’t it the same as the image of the woman hanging in the Maple Forest Cottage and the lifelike sculpture in the Hundred Flower Grotto? They even resembled each other by seventy percent.
"What’s your name?"
Shi Xiaole suppressed his voice and asked.
"Ling Zixin."
"Your surname is Ling?"
Shi Xiaole’s sense of disorientation deepened.
"Yes, my surname is Ling. I come from the Ling Family of the South Sea. I also have an aunt named Ling Yujie, who later married a man who entered our South Sea martial community, named Shi Xuanzhong."
It felt as if numerous hammers had struck his head. Fortunate that the present Shi Xiaole had exceptionally profound cultivation, otherwise he would have lost his composure.
Little did he know that the calm demeanor he feigned had already left Ling Zixin secretly astounded. While she admired his composure, she couldn’t help but feel a bit worried and reproachful.
Could it be, this man had never known his own origins?
That wasn’t right. The detailed information provided by Uncle Lingfu indicated that he had sought after his parents’ whereabouts many times, even sending people to search for them.
