Chapter 119: Chapter 119: Giving you a hint
"What do you think?"
Tong Song chuckled, "To sit here, you must have corresponding strength. I won’t make it too hard, you just have to drink a cup of wine."
As he spoke, he flicked his hand, and the wine-filled cup in his hand flew towards Shi Xiaole.
Accompanying it was a deeply hidden burst of Qi.
Many people looked on helplessly.
This Tong Song’s talent was only slightly inferior to the three other Outstanding Youths, excluding Su Junhao. Due to his age, his cultivation level had reached the Qi Absorption Realm’s third tier, making him slightly stronger than the other three.
He was clearly preparing to publicly bully the rising stars.
Everyone looked at Su Junhao, awaiting his response.
Unexpectedly though, the usually prideful Su Junhao showed no intention of intervening. Was he just going to watch his companion being humiliated?
The wine cup was hurled towards him, accompanied by an invisible rush of Qi, similar to a sharp arrow.
Shi Xiaole was certain that if he hadn’t perfected his Fuyang Qi Skill, even if he could catch the cup, he would be drenched in wine.
After all, Tong Song’s third tier Qi Absorption was not the same as a common wandering cultivator’s. His internal power was definitely stronger than Shi Xiaole’s.
But now, let alone the Purple Light Divine Skill, even if he had only perfected the Fuyang Qi Skill, he could easily block this attack.
Amid everyone’s shocked gazes, Shi Xiaole easily caught the wine cup with a sweep of his arm, nullified the Qi unleashed, and not a single drop of wine was spilled.
"I don’t like using wine cups others have touched."
With a faint smile, Shi Xiaole simply pushed the wine cup back without a change.
"You..."
Tong Song was shocked, his complexion became a little displeasing.
"Huh?"
Not only were others surprised, even Bai Yuxue was slightly stunned, taking another look at Shi Xiaole.
Although she wasn’t certain how much power Tong Song had used, the fact that Shi Xiaole could so easily fend off his attack showed that he was even stronger than rumored.
More importantly, the fleeting surge of Qi he displayed clearly indicated he had reached the first tier of the Qi Absorption Realm.
Fifteen-years-old, and in the first tier of Qi Absorption!
Bai Yuxue and Shen Canghai, who was beside her, exchanged glances, both seeing shock and joy in each other’s eyes.
"Junior Brother Shi, you’ve hidden your strength well. Please, have a seat."
Bai Yuxue rarely showed a smile.
At that moment, Shi Xiaole’s value in her eyes had reached Su Junhao’s level. Of course, he was qualified to join in the Snow Appreciation Pavillion.
One could even say, it was yet to be determined whether Shi Xiaole was more outstanding than Su Junhao.
Everyone knew that for a warrior to advance a tier in the Qi Absorption Realm required a significant amount of time and energy, far more than in the Hidden Qi Realm.
People with average talent might take seven or eight years to advance a tier. For example, Lei Lie, Yu Fangge and others.
Those with higher talent basically can advance a tier every three or four years.
Even someone at the Outstanding Youths level needed about a year to advance.
This was just the average scenario. If their condition was bad or they progressed too quickly initially, there were many who lagged behind later on.
Therefore, Bai Yuxue’s comparison of Shi Xiaole to Su Junhao could be said to be a very objective and fair evaluation.
After those twists and turns, of course, no one was ignorant enough to challenge Shi Xiaole again. Shortly, he and Su Junhao sat down at a table in the back.
A serving girl came over and replaced Shi Xiaole’s wine cup with a new one.
The atmosphere once again became lively.
Under Bai Yuxue’s guidance, the group freely shared their thoughts, and bursts of laughter were heard from time to time.
Before they knew it, three rounds of drinks had been served and the mood was high.
"Brother Ye, I lost to you last time. Are you willing to accept my challenge this time?"
A young man stood up, pointing at another man across from him.
"Why wouldn’t I?"
Amid hearty laughter, the man flipped his body and landed in the middle of the arena.
"The main event has finally begun."
Some lifted their wine cups, eager to watch.
Drinking wine and admiring the snow was just pretense. Everybody knew that dueling was the true purpose of this gathering. Most had come for this.
Shi Xiaole perked up, excited as well.
He was eager to see the level of power the top young martial artists of the Cloud Triangle had reached and where he stood among them.
"Entwining Twin-Sword Strike!"
"Illusory Moon Fist!"
Both duelists were at the third tier of Qi Absorption. As soon as they clashed, the powerful Qi erupted dramatically, like two iron walls colliding at amazing speed, leaving people’s ears ringing.
Just from their first strike, Shi Xiaole was certain that these two’s strength was far beyond that of a normal fourth tier Qi Absorption practitioner in the Martial World, and by no small margin.
Sword and fist clashed as the two young top martial artists attacked and counterattacked, fighting hand-to-hand in mid-air at one moment and clashing on the snowy ground in the next, exchanging more than five hundred blows in quick succession.
"Brother Ye, take my ultimate move, Despair Entanglement!"
The swordsman suddenly shouted, his arm moved in a circular motion and his sword, like a snake emerging from a cave, entwined and thrust at his opponent.
This attack seemed to make any evasion meaningless.
Everyone watching had their eyes glued to the scene.
"Good move, Wu Hook under the Moon!"
The young man surnamed Ye was not to be outdone. He punched out with both hands, also displaying his ultimate move.
With a thunk.
The two streams of fist energy and the long sword fiercely collided, the sword distorted under the force and then suddenly tore the fist energy apart with the recoil force.
"You’ve lost."
The young swordsman smiled, pointing his sword tip at the opponent’s throat.
"There’s a move within a move."
A hint of annoyance flashed across the young man surnamed Ye’s face, followed by a fist salute.
He didn’t expect that the opponent’s killing move would be a move within a move. But it was okay, once he figured out a solution, he would win next time.
Their confrontation set a great tone for the main event of the snow-viewing and wine-boiling gathering.
In the following time, people kept stepping forward to spar. Some came prepared and even fought in multiple matches.
There were only a few dozen people present, and if it was stipulated that each person could only go on stage once, it would soon be over. Besides, this wasn’t a formal competition. Everyone was drinking and fighting, aiming to have a good time.
"Brother Su, please enlighten me."
After a fierce battle, ’Unrivaled Blade Young Master’ Lu Erfeng stood up, looking at Su Junhao with a proud face.
"Are you challenging me?"
Su Junhao glanced at him.
"You being my opponent today is the best choice."
Lu Erfeng flatly replied.
Everyone was stunned, and they immediately understood his meaning.
The young men present were mostly over twenty or close to twenty.
In the Martial World, young people are conventionally divided into generations every three years, so only Su Junhao, Lu Erfeng, and Shi Xiaole are considered the third generation.
However, Shi Xiaole was two years younger than the former two and was not as famous as the Four Outstanding Youths. Lu Erfeng challenging him would be justified if he won, but if he lost, he would enhance the opponent’s reputation, which wouldn’t be beneficial to him in any way.
Of course, there was another critical reason. Judging from the way Shi Xiaole accepted Tong Song’s surprise attack, he was a tough nut to crack and difficult to deal with.
"You will regret this."
Su Junhao picked up the sword on his desk and walked onto the stage.
"Qiankun Detached Saber!"
Su Junhao’s nonchalant action infuriated Lu Erfeng completely. His arms began to vibrate rapidly, and the large saber in his hand immediately displayed a splash of white light, slashing at Su Junhao like a whip.
Sparks splashed everywhere.
Su Junhao continually backed away.
However, those who paid attention could see that no matter how swift and violent Lu Erfeng’s saber moves were, Su Junhao’s sword moves always maintained a constant rate, neither accelerating nor slowing down.
"Junior Brother Lu, you are still not as good as Su Junhao."
Despite knowing the outcome, Zhu Xiuling sighed. Unconsciously, she cast her gaze towards Shi Xiaole.
From the beginning till now, he seemed to have no intention of participating, an unperturbed demeanor that made her feel eager.
She was genuinely curious about the extent of his abilities.
After dozens of moves, Su Junhao grew impatient, "Lu Erfeng, if your only strength is this, you should admit defeat sooner."
Furious, Lu Erfeng yelled, "Qiankun Thunderbolt Slash!"
As his internal power surged towards the long saber, a barely audible vibrating sound emerged. Lu Erfeng’s saber energy suddenly surged and slashed forward with the force of thunder.
"Nice killer move."
Facing the terrifying saber energy, Su Junhao’s eyes brightened a bit. The long sword in his hand changed direction, the blade pointed downward, from right to left, a horizontal slash shot up.
Similarly, it was a killer move.
Clang!
In the clear collision, a large saber landed on the snow.
"Keep working hard for a year, and you may be able to beat the current me."
Su Junhao sheathed his sword and returned to his seat, leaving a stunned Lu Erfeng behind.
Everyone exchanged bitter smiles, their hearts full of shock.
They knew ahead of time that among the Four Outstanding Youths, Su Junhao’s talent surpassed the other three, but they didn’t expect such a big gap.
No matter what, Lu Erfeng was also a near top-tier young talent. Yet, it seemed he couldn’t even push Su Junhao to reveal his true strength.
Initially, some were impressed by Shi Xiaole’s brief demonstration. Now, this impression was immediately replaced by Su Junhao’s performance.
Indeed, Tong Song’s surprise move was probably just a casual attempt and could not truly show the strength of Shi Xiaole.
At least from the current view, Su Junhao was still the leader of his generation.
Shi Xiaole was somewhat surprised.
Su Junhao, unlike him, hadn’t comprehended the realm of consciousness, so judging from the power of his moves, his killer move was clearly not as good as the Truth Sword Technique. The opponent had indeed held back.
Just then, as if instinctively, Shi Xiaole quickly caught a mocking gaze full of ill intent.
Tong Song.
From the moment he sat down, his eyes often flitted over Shi Xiaole, as though he wanted to see right through him.
Tong Song was indeed very angry.
Who was he? A prolific young talent who stood at the apex of his generation. When had he ever lost face in public?
To him, Shi Xiaole’s action of blocking his attack was like a slap in his face, making him lose face.
Originally, Tong Song wanted to watch the show, hoping someone else would teach Shi Xiaole a lesson for him. But having waited for so long, nobody seemed interested in Shi Xiaole.
Tong Song didn’t want to wait anymore. If he didn’t punish Shi Xiaole harshly today, where would his face be?
With this in mind, Tong Song suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on Shi Xiaole: "Since you are here, don’t be afraid to embarrass yourself. Come over, let me give you some advice."
