Chapter 1170: Chapter 1168: Entering _1
More than a year ago, Shi Xiaole’s strength was already no less than that of the Lonely Lance Emperor. After a year of cultivation, in addition to the "Four Great Sword Techniques" and the "Saintly Spirit Sword Technique," and even the path of martial arts involving life and death, Shi Xiaole’s progress within the Sword Realm had been substantial.
The "Sword Realm" mentioned here does not refer to the "Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi," but to the pure Sword Realm, including the understanding of sword techniques, the force exerted when drawing a sword, and so on.
The most important factor was still the power of the Heart Sword, which had smoothly increased from the previous four hundred and sixty strands to five hundred strands.
What did this mean? As a rare swordsman in the East Victory Continent, the Galan Sword Emperor’s complete power of the Heart Sword was also five hundred strands, and most people could not even come close to that number.
Compared to the Lonely Lance Emperor, Shi Xiaole was only slightly inferior in terms of martial realm. If he couldn’t defeat his opponent instantly, he felt he might as well run headfirst into a block of tofu and kill himself.
For this outcome, Shi Xiaole saw it as only natural, but everyone else was dumbfounded, struck speechless, with a momentary silence falling over the fourth ring.
This was one of the South Sea’s unparalleled masters, ranking within the top two hundred. Perhaps the ranking was slightly lower due to the emergence of many reclusive experts, but the strength of the Lonely Lance Emperor was undeniable.
And Shi Xiaole, who had slain the Lonely Lance Emperor with two swords, how strong must he have become?
Could he now rank within the top one hundred and fifty of the South Sea?
All were shaken to their core.
Whew!
The Falling Sky Sword Emperor and the Mist Hidden Martial Emperor exchanged glances and couldn’t help but inhale sharply. They thought that Shi Xiaole would be difficult to deal with, but they had never anticipated an outcome like this.
The reality proved that Shi Xiaole didn’t slow down as they had hoped. Instead, he had sped up even more, leaving them far behind within a year’s time, making him an adversary no longer.
"Now in the Ling Family, aside from the two ancestors, no one can control this young man."
The expression on the Falling Sky Sword Emperor’s face was dark and terrifying.
He was acutely aware that those two ancestors had long since withdrawn from worldly affairs, and unless Shi Xiaole did something to incur the wrath of heaven and man, resulting in the destruction of the Ling Family, they would never take action. They might even regard him with newfound respect due to his talent.
In other words, Shi Xiaole had become invincible within the Ling Family. Years of scheming, yet such a twist had occurred, saddening the Falling Sky Sword Emperor for Ling Wenlong. Considering his own feud with the other party, the Falling Sky Sword Emperor felt an urge to distance himself.
The Chaos Sky Sword Emperor and the others were similarly too shocked for words, still unable to recover from their astonishment. Ling Jianming had the worst expression of all.
Being a key figure in Ling Wenlong’s line, with aspirations to inherit the position of the Ling Family head, everything seemed to shatter with those two sword strikes from Shi Xiaole. The opponent’s strength was comparable to the Top Ten Prides of the South Sea, leaving people in despair!
In contrast, Ling Cunyi, Ling Cunwei, and the other powerful members from Ling Wenlong’s line were inexplicably thrilled, their faces flushed with excitement.
"Heh heh, just as I thought."
In the third ring, Fu Shuijing revealed a cold smile. A bunch of fools—if the person of destiny could be so easily killed, then he wouldn’t be the chosen one.
The strength that Shi Xiaole displayed indeed exceeded expectations, but Fu Shuijing was not frightened, because he himself no longer needed to fear too many people with his current level of strength.
Looking at the experts in the second ring and feeling the raw essence and vitality nearly bursting forth in the air, Fu Shuijing licked his lips, displaying a look of intoxication.
"Oh, not bad at all."
Although Ding Yufang verbally appreciated it, his pupils contracted slightly.
At this time, however, no one paid him any attention, including Liu Ruofei. Most of the Top Ten within the inner circle exhibited a solemn demeanor. Defeating the Lonely Lance Emperor instantly was something they could do as well, it was just a question of exerting a few more percent of their strength.
No one knew how much effort Shi Xiaole had put forth, but at least it proved that he was on the same level as them.
"As a fellow swordsman, Liu Ruofei, you truly have a worthy opponent now."
Fan Shengnan gave Liu Ruofei a sideways glance.
What had once been Liu Ruofei’s own assessment was now the evaluation of others. Liu Ruofei understood the significance deeply; his right hand stroked the hilt of his sword while a terrifying will to battle arose throughout his body.
Very well, Shi Xiaole, you haven’t disappointed me, but whether it’s you or any other swordsman, all I can do is defeat you all!
"The two junior brothers have still underestimated this man."
While at the Water and Fire Dao Manor, Luo Zijiao had learned about Shi Xiaole from the two eccentrics and had paid some attention to him then, but now he knew that his opponent was a formidable enemy and must not be taken lightly.
"No..."
"Ah..."
Several screams resounded as the disciples of Dugu Jigong, who had previously been eyeing the women, were also killed by several strikes of Sword Qi.
Shi Xiaole had no intention of showing mercy; had he not been more skilled, he was certain that if he ended up in their hands, they would be ten times as cruel as him.
After this interlude, all the experts in the fourth circle stayed far away from Shi Xiaole, fearing to provoke him.
The only exception was the Five Hearts Divine Monarch, who kept showering Shi Xiaole with all kinds of flattery and compliments, until Bai Ruiting was annoyed enough to consider taking action, at which point the Divine Monarch scampered off.
Just as Ling Cunyi and the others were about to go over and greet Shi Xiaole, the sky underwent a change.
The several hundred-meter-tall Fate’s Gateway suddenly began to shrink, its surface light also receded inward, turning from illusion to reality. Gradually, a ten-meter-tall, milky-white gate with various inscriptions appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Creak.
Before anyone had the chance to make out the inscriptions on the gate, it suddenly flew open, revealing an impenetrable fog behind it, like a new world.
"The time has come."
"After waiting so many years, this time I’ll see who can compete with me."
"You’ll only know if you try."
Those nine towering figures moved for the first time, like nine super volcanoes erupting, shaking the heavens and splitting the earth; just the act of leaping into the air caused the world within everyone’s sight to shake incessantly, even after the nine had entered the light gate and the shock to the soul had yet to dissipate.
Some of the faint-hearted stood frozen in place, unable to move, the slightly stronger minded also took a considerable moment to recover. Only the experts of the second circle seemed composed, quickly following and entering the light gate.
"Is it related to mental strength?"
Shi Xiaole wasn’t affected; he faintly realized that the reason those nine figures were so terrifying was not just due to their own aura, but also the invisible mental energy field they projected.
This mental energy field had definitely reached the level of Sky Origin, not inferior to Shi Xiaole!
"Have they also tempered their mental strength?"
It was said that within the land of Fate, there were places to temper one’s mental strength, which is also why even the Forbidden Martial Emperor was eager to seek it. Contemplating this, Shi Xiaole became even more determined to explore further.
Leading the eight women, their energies connected, the nine of them followed the crowd through Fate’s Gateway.
The first to appear amidst the fog were nine lights.
With a flash in his eyes, Sword Qi shattered one of the lights, but when Shi Xiaole prepared to attack the other eight, he found them beyond reach.
This must be the first challenge!
The master of Illusion Orchid Tower made her move and easily dispersed the second light.
After her came An Rumei, Bai Ruiting, and the other women, who managed to pass the test with relative ease. Fairy Yunni, however, struggled significantly, and it was only after repeatedly deploying her killing moves that she barely managed to shatter the ninth light.
The fog vanished in an instant, and Shi Xiaole and the nine found themselves in a different world.
