Chapter 1162: Chapter 1160 Shi Xiaole’s Ambition_1
In the depths of the vast desert.
There stood a massive mountain made of yellow sand, spanning thousands of kilometers in length and tens of thousands of meters in height. Whenever the surface dust was blown away, new dust would replenish it immediately; not a speck more, not a speck less, maintaining a mysterious equilibrium.
At the peak of the sand-sculpted mountain.
Several figures were sitting cross-legged at considerable distances from each other. Above their center floated a profound sphere with a diameter of three feet, from which strands of essence were currently streaming toward these figures.
"Right Vice Hall Master, why have you come?"
At a certain moment, the long-faced man sitting on the north side suddenly opened his eyes and swept a cold gaze that immediately sent a chill down the spine of the burly old man at the foot of the sand mountain, almost rendering him speechless.
The burly old man broke out in cold sweat on his forehead but still mustered the courage to speak in a trembling voice, "Hall Master, there’s been a terrible incident. Our temple beyond the sky has been breached, the Left Vice Hall Master is dead. And, the Junior Hall Master, he’s been killed as well."
No sooner had he finished speaking than the burly old man felt as if the desert, previously as hot as a furnace, had suddenly become colder than an ice cave, the chill piercing his bones and nearly freezing his soul.
Those who entered the Overlapping Land from beyond the sky had a very clear hierarchy. Moreover, every subordinate’s family and relatives were arranged to be under the control of the superior’s force, making betrayal nearly impossible unless one was willing to abandon their family.
For example, the family of the burly old man from beyond the sky was controlled by the power where the beyond-the-sky Hall Master resided, while the Hall Master’s family was held by an even higher power.
So, despite being terrified, the burly old man dared not simply walk away.
"Tell me the details."
The long-faced man said indifferently.
He wasn’t angry, and his tone was calm, but the more the Hall Master was like this, the more frightened the burly old man became. He trembled as he recounted the entire incident of Shi Xiaole causing chaos in the temple beyond the sky.
"Under a hundred years old, a swordsman in green with white hair, I know of him," said the long-faced man, sighing. "Even the Junior Hall Master is dead, and yet you managed to escape. However, you did deliver some useful information."
"No, Hall Master, I..."
Boom.
With a loud explosion, the burly old man vanished from the base of the mountain.
The long-faced man withdrew his hand, his expression sullen enough to wring water from.
He had many children, and the death of one or two wasn’t a big deal. What truly angered him was the incompetence of his men, allowing a young whippersnapper to raid his home, which was a complete joke.
"Aren’t you going back to check, Hall Master?" asked a man in a treasure-blue long robe, laughing from the east side.
"What use is it to go back now? As for you, Pavilion Master of Thousand Leaves, haven’t you cultivated the Eyes of Life? If you could help in finding and locating the murderer, I would be extremely grateful," said the long-faced man coldly.
The Pavilion Master of Thousand Leaves just smiled, saying nothing.
What a joke, the "Eyes of Life" was his unique skill, capable of encompassing nearly half of the East Victory world if he wished, but the cost of using it was tremendous.
With the realm of Fate about to open, using it now meant risking losing great opportunities.
The long-faced man didn’t press any further and continued to close his eyes, absorbing the power from the sphere.
What mattered now was to compete for the resources in the realm of Fate; this was the command from the powers beyond the sky. They even bestowed sacred crystals for this purpose, making everything else a secondary concern.
Furthermore, the Hall Master felt that with Shi Xiaole’s skills, he might also enter the realm of Fate. If they encountered each other then, taking revenge in passing would suffice; there was no need to lose sight of the bigger picture for something small.
...
In the verdant mountains, a snow-white waterfall cascaded down, creating spray like crystal beads that gleamed with unmatched brilliance under the sunlight.
On the grassy area downstream of the waterfall stood rows of interconnected cottages, small in size but exquisitely charming, obviously designed by a woman’s hand.
Not far from the cottages, a young man in green was practicing his swordplay, lost in complete dedication.
This was his sixth day residing here. Besides deepening the skills he had learned in the past, Shi Xiaole had also started to cultivate new martial arts regularly.
Although he had never entered the realm of Fate, he had heard too many tales about it. From Ling Cunwei, Shi Xiaole learned that the competition for this iteration of the realm of Fate might be the most intense in tens of thousands of years.
Ahead lay the rush of top-tier experts, followed by the peerless talents of the South Sea’s Ten Great Prides, even to the point where old monsters who were peers with the Fake Sky Origin Realm powerhouses were rumored to leave seclusion to join this world-altering battle.
It was only due to the rules restraining the six great experts who had been recognized by the realm of Fate from participating, or else the competition would be even more brutal.
Although confident, Shi Xiaole didn’t have much assurance facing a line-up that encapsulated nearly all the elites of the South Sea; all he could do was try to enhance himself as much as possible in the coming year.
At the moment, he was cultivating the Four Great Sword Techniques from Xiao QiuShui.
Beyond the "Lightning Startling Swan," the fastest sword technique, there also was "Old Ox’s Broken Cart," the slowest; "Destruction of All," the best offensive technique; and "A Line Between Heaven and Sea," the best defensive technique.
Moreover, once he mastered all Four Great Sword Techniques, they could ascend to the supreme sword technique, "Sky-shocking Sword!"
Of course, all that was far off. At present, Shi Xiaole hadn’t even begun to grasp "Old Ox’s Broken Cart."
On the grass.
Shi Xiaole slowly thrust out a sword, as if each inch of progress needed tremendous effort, causing the air around to surge and time itself to freeze momentarily.
In the distance, several women exchanged looks upon seeing this.
"What martial art is Brother Shi practicing? It looks very powerful," expressed Bai Ruiting, admiration and an inexplicable pride on her face.
"Why don’t you go up and ask?"
Qu Ni was also very curious.
"We can’t keep on like this."
As the women sighed, Shi Xiaole shook his head vigorously.
It was too slow. At this rate, it would take him half a year to master the "Old Ox’s Broken Cart" fully, which could be described as lightning-fast for any other Martial Emperor in the Void Origin Realm, but Shi Xiaole was far from satisfied.
What he lacked most now was time.
His goal was to master the Four Great Sword Techniques within a year. If others knew of his thoughts, they would definitely call him mad.
Compared to "Lightning Startling Swan," the profundity of the other three techniques was only higher, not lower. Other Martial Emperors in the Void Origin Realm would need years, even decades of perseverance to master them. Trying to compress this process into one year was ten times more absurd than daydreaming.
"It seems that I have to go to the Ruthless Gang Wind River."
Shi Xiaole thought of the leaves of the Supreme Sword Way. If he could get a few more of those, combined with his quick comprehension, perhaps he could create a miracle!
Although obtaining the leaves of the Supreme Sword Way was extremely dangerous, no risk meant no reward. To accomplish the impossible task, one had to take risks that ordinary people could not.
What’s more, with his own abilities, as long as he was careful enough, it wasn’t certain that anything would go wrong. Otherwise, if he continued in this methodical way, by the time he arrived at the Overlapping Land, Shi Xiaole didn’t think he would have any competitive edge.
Having made up his mind, Shi Xiaole mentioned his plan to the ladies. They were very worried, and the master of the Illusion Orchid Tower immediately said she would follow him. After thinking it over, Shi Xiaole agreed.
With the master of the Illusion Orchid Tower’s abilities, she would not be a burden. In case he was heavily injured, she could provide some support.
"It’s a pity we can’t get through the Lost Forest."
Bai Ruiting was so anxious she stomped her foot.
Qu Ni pouted next to her; you would just be a drag if you went, Young Hero Shi wouldn’t take you with him.
...
With the Illusion Orchid Tower master’s pace, it would take at least twenty days to rush back to the third zone.
Shi Xiaole didn’t have time to waste. He circulated the martial arts of life and death while absorbing the death energy of the black stones held in the system space. He dashed forward with all his might, and eventually took the initiative to grab the master of the Illusion Orchid Tower’s hand, pulling her along.
While hurrying on the way, he also took care of his training, killing two birds with one stone.
"You..."
The Illusion Orchid Tower master’s pretty face flushed, her body burning hot, with goosebumps rising all over. Her jade hand, which had never been touched by a man, felt as if it was scorched by fire at that moment.
How could this young man act in such a manner without her consent?
She wanted to pull her hand away, but to her surprise, she found that Shi Xiaole maintained his maximum speed as if he never knew fatigue.
Heavens, how was he doing this? Exactly how many secrets did this young man have?
In just three days.
Shi Xiaole, with the Illusion Orchid Tower master, had crossed the Lost Forest. This pace made her think she was dreaming.
Swoosh!
Not long after returning to the safe area of the third zone, a sword light suddenly appeared ahead. The sword light condensed into a human shape, bursting out with vigorous Sword Qi.
"Kid, I’ve finally caught you."
The eyes of the Falling Sky Sword Emperor were cold as ice; his hand rested on the sword, and the corner of his mouth slowly curled into a cruel smirk.
The humiliation of being defeated by Shi Xiaole tormented the Falling Sky Sword Emperor all the time, making him long to kill Shi Xiaole immediately.
Fortunately, heaven favored him, and today he finally encountered him.
"Falling Sky, is this the descendant of Ling Wenlong you mentioned?"
To the left of the Falling Sky Sword Emperor, another figure emerged, shrouded in a misty glow, intangible and ethereal, perhaps not as ostentatious as the Falling Sky Sword Emperor, but more eerie and unpredictable, as if he had no physical form.
If an outsider was present, they would definitely recognize him as the Mist Hidden Martial Emperor, one of the top ten experts of the Ling Family, belonging to the same lineage as Ling Wenyu.
"Yes, this kid is not simple."
The two communicated telepathically. As they spoke, Shi Xiaole was already within ten thousand meters. The Falling Sky Sword Emperor’s body shone with a pitch-black sword-shaped armor, making him look like a human-shaped sword, extremely sharp.
"Kid, prepare to die, Unblemished Sword Armor!"
With a forceful palm, the Sword Qi, which had been ready to burst forth, surged like a tsunami along with the Falling Sky Sword Emperor’s drawing of the sword, cutting towards Shi Xiaole with an unstoppable force, leaving dark streaks in the sky.
"Mist Hidden Traceless, kill without a trace!"
At the same time, the misty figure let out a sinister laugh, and his body became even more ethereal.
Suddenly, the entire heavens and earth were filled with the Mist Hidden Martial Emperor’s figures, some deep, some shallow, some high, some low. You couldn’t tell which one was real, which one was fake, and which one would launch the killing blow. All you could do was to defend passively.
Shi Xiaole also saw the two attackers. He kept holding the Illusion Orchid Tower master’s hand with his left while drawing the Cleansing Evil Sword with his right. Facing their onslaught, he looked at the myriad of light shadows without a glance, uncaring.
Crackle!
A multitude of light shadows shattered. At the tip of the sword light, the Mist Hidden Martial Emperor let out a horrified scream, retreating uncontrollably. The sword light did not fade and in an instant, a second sword was slashed out.
The Mist Hidden Martial Emperor saw the Sword Qi of the Falling Sky Sword Emperor being broken, and the whole person looked like a grasshopper off its thread, embarrassingly hurled sideways.
