Chapter 1193: Chapter 1191: Spear and Shield_1
"Your Sword Realm’s power?"
The White Cloud Emperor’s eyes widened slightly, his hands wreathed in clouds suddenly came together, clamping the Cleansing Evil Sword between them. The long sword thrust forward another three inches before finally coming to a stop.
But the concentrated Sword Qi, like a storm, surged from the tip of the sword, blowing the White Cloud Emperor’s hair back straight, instantly turning a head of black hair white.
The remaining force unabated, the White Cloud Emperor kept his sword-clamping posture, retreating explosively. With each step he took on the ground, a puff of cloud dissipated, within which sharp, peerless Sword Qi emitted a hissing noise.
It was the White Cloud Emperor utilizing cloud power to unload the incoming Sword Qi. This profound and unpredictable method left the onlookers holding their breath.
Yet, many were more shocked by Shi Xiaole’s strength.
This scene was so similar to Liu Ruofei’s piercing through the ’Clouds of Ages Past’. The difference was that back then, Liu Ruofei had exhausted all his strength, but Shi Xiaole?
It was unknown.
"Very well, even without grasping the Breaking Extreme Killing Sword, Liu Ruofei, exerting all his might, is no match for you. But, Shi Xiaole, if you want to compare with the current Liu Ruofei, defeat me first!"
The White Cloud Emperor had been deeply impacted by his narrow victory over Liu Ruofei last time, and he was absolutely unwilling to let a similar situation occur again.
Power pushed to the point where his veins ached, the White Cloud Emperor suddenly released his grip, falling backward with his upper body parallel to the ground while he retreated.
Shi Xiaole, along with his sword, lunged forward, and when their positions coincided,
"Cloud God’s Illusory Extinction!"
The White Cloud Emperor fiercely clapped his hands, and two currents of mist instantly merged into one, like a proud, sky-roaring cloud dragon, twining around and compressing towards the two of them. The void cracked under the pressure, and even the ground showed slight cracks.
This was the most extreme palm strike the White Cloud Emperor had executed in his life, surpassing all his past limits!
"Victory or defeat will be revealed at this moment."
"If there is no trump card, Shi Xiaole will be undoubtedly defeated."
The eyes of the spectators were not enough to follow the action, because everything happened in the blink of an eye. They could only use their spiritual senses to perceive, intently ’watching’ the center of the arena.
Would the White Cloud Emperor emerge superior, ending the duel of the top sword genius, or would Shi Xiaole turn the tide and win with a single strike?
As their gazes inadvertently met, the White Cloud Emperor saw a pair of eyes, cold as the depths of a Cold Pool.
If Liu Ruofei’s gaze was merciless and steely, tinged with a sword fighter’s fervor, then the eyes the White Cloud Emperor saw now were gentle and bland, yet in that blandness lay utter indifference. It was as if nothing and no one in the world could incite any ripple in it, elevated and detached from the mundane world.
A moment of sharpness suddenly flashed through.
The White Cloud Emperor’s heart clenched. By then, the masculine and dominating cloud dragon had shrunk to a range of ten zhang, compressing the air till it was like serrated steel so that an ordinary Forbidden Martial Emperor who entered would surely be blasted to pieces.
An odd Sword Strength burst forth from within Shi Xiaole.
Crack!
The Sword Strength began to shatter from the periphery. When it had shrunk to only three feet, it reached a balance with the compressing cloud Qi, locked in a stalemate.
"Impossible!"
The White Cloud Emperor’s pupils constricted.
Because this time, the Sword Realm that Shi Xiaole displayed was utterly different from before, with no Spiral Qi Strength, no gravitational pull, just a strong repulsive force. However, a person’s Sword Realm is fixed once created, how could they change its form at will?
A normal Sword Realm indeed cannot be altered.
But Shi Xiaole’s case was different. His Sword Realm originated from ’Old Ox’s Broken Cart’ and couldn’t be used on its own. The advantage, however, was that by changing the exertion of the sword technique, he could change the form of his Sword Realm!
"You have lost."
Protected by his Sword Realm, Shi Xiaole glided down gracefully, his sword cutting through the White Cloud Emperor’s throat.
"This..."
The experts from the Hundred Battles Tower were dumbstruck.
The supposedly invincible White Cloud Emperor had nearly been overturned by Liu Ruofei, but at least he had won the duel. This time, however, he had lost thoroughly.
Overnight, the foremost person below the six legends seemed to have become a benchmark for the indirect rivalry between the two sword geniuses, a fact unforeseen by the masters of the Hundred Battles Tower, let alone others.
"I’m looking forward to the duel between Liu Ruofei and Shi Xiaole even more now."
"I wonder whether the Breaking Extreme Killing Sword is more formidable or Shi Xiaole’s Sword Realm sturdier?"
"Let us wait and see!"
Atop the Nineteen Peaks, some martial artists familiar with each other communicated through mental transmission, discussing heatedly.
Especially the sword fighters of Heavenly Sword Peak, what else could be more irresistible to them than watching a duel between two sword geniuses?
As for the Thousand Swords Emperor, who was a cut above the other swordsmen and whose realm was unfathomably deep, they felt he offered them little enlightenment.
Many close to Liu Ruofei noticed that after Shi Xiaole’s victory, his chilling Sword Qi had become more turbulent and oppressive, as if a demon from hell was about to break free.
Was this a step forward prompted by being challenged?
The crowd shuddered.
"Liu Ruofei, your opponent is beyond imagination," the White Cloud Emperor muttered as he withdrew his gaze outside the Fate Platform.
He could not forget those eyes, and for the first time, he realized that perhaps the most deeply concealed person present wasn’t Liu Ruofei, but Shi Xiaole.
The Shi Xiaole that the world saw, gentle and restrained, calm and low-profile, might just be a facade he deliberately presented.
Only at rare moments would he reveal his true nature, with an unveiled edge and a heart devoid of ripples. Any entanglement, any obstacle in his path, if necessary, would be swiftly cut down by him!
Such a disposition was even more terrifying than heartlessness.
Could such a person really be defeated by Liu Ruofei? The White Cloud Emperor was very eager to see.
After fifty rounds, the competition grew increasingly fierce.
Because the number of matches between strong competitors increased.
The Tianya Martial Emperor faced off against Elder Tiancan.
Elder Tiancan was an elder who had lost both arms, displaying a strength not inferior to the White Cloud Emperor, with leg techniques that were exceedingly sharp and vicious, each move lethal. After dozens of moves in a fast-paced fight, the Tianya Martial Emperor suffered a bitter defeat.
Among the ten prodigies, Abbot Nannan confronted Thousand Real Person.
The former’s Supreme Martial Arts was only at the late stage of perfection, and he was at a disadvantage in all respects. The outcome was as one would expect.
Luo Zijiao faced off against his master, the Sun and Moon Emperor.
This battle was a confrontation of the Water and Fire Dao, with both parties having inherited the same lineage, and their martial arts were identical. Luo Zijiao was at a disadvantage at every turn.
"Disciple, if you can’t even defeat your teacher, then you have no right to compete for a higher rank. Strength is important, but the heart of a martial artist that dares to strive and to win is even more crucial. Don’t disappoint me,"
the Sun and Moon Emperor said with a stern gaze, chastising through a mental message.
Within that sternness, Luo Zijiao saw a deeply hidden glimmer of hope from his master.
He was the heir to the Water and Fire Dao Manor, the standard-bearer of the next generation. More than victory or defeat, what the master wanted to see was his growth and responsibility, not deliberate concession.
"Water and fire complement each other!"
The red fire dragon and the blue water phoenix suddenly emerged behind Luo Zijiao, intertwining as they dove forward, destroying everything in all directions.
In this battle, Luo Zijiao won.
"Has Senior Brother Luo comprehended the most powerful killing move of the sacred water and fire tome?"
On the Divine Martial Peak, a man in a red and blue Dao robe and a man with a square face looked at each other in shock and delight. They were the two eccentric talents of the younger generation from the Water and Fire Dao Manor, second only to Luo Zijiao in talent.
"Perhaps Senior Brother Luo can contend with Liu Ruofei,"
the square-faced man said, clenching his fists.
The fifty-sixth round.
The twelfth match.
Liu Ruofei leapt into the inner ring. His opponent was one of the prodigious ten, Ding Yufang.
"Chaotic Blade Technique!"
Not daring to take any chances, Ding Yufang’s first strike was a killer move. A dense barrage of blade lights attacked Liu Ruofei.
"Flying Profound Static Stone Slash!"
Pfff pfff pfff...
The blade lights shattered, and not a single hair on Liu Ruofei’s body was touched after he executed his sword technique.
"This guy!"
Ding Yufang didn’t want to admit it, but had to recognize that Liu Ruofei at this moment was terrifying, his whole body immersed in a lethal sword intent, which extinguished any hope of victory in him.
Being fearful before even fighting signified the overwhelming pressure the opponent projected, and that pressure, to a certain extent, meant strength.
"Take this, Extinguishing Blade Technique!"
His expression changing, Ding Yufang skipped the ultimate moves and resorted to his strongest killing move. His arms burst open with blood, bones fractured and tendons snapped, yet the blade’s momentum kept escalating.
"Truly a genius in blade techniques. As Liu Ruofei improves, so does Ding Yufang. He is barely able to execute that blade now,"
said someone. When facing Fan Shengnan in a decisive battle, Ding Yufang recklessly risked his life to perform the "Extinguishing Blade Technique." But this time, he was driven entirely by his realm. His rate of improvement might not be much less than Liu Ruofei’s.
Fan Shengnan curled her lips, obviously quite shaken as well.
Boom!
Black and red blade lights, as if emanating from hell, spewed forth, bringing endless destruction and despair to the world.
"Breaking Extreme Killing Sword!"
Liu Ruofei’s expression grew solemn, as the power of that blade had already surpassed that of "Limitless Killing Sword" by twice. Immersed in the lethal sword intent, he channeled all his strength to the tip of his sword and thrust out with a single stroke.
What kind of a sword was that, exactly?
The heavens and earth darkened, making the black and red blade light seem dim and sluggish. A hair-thin beam of sword light, like a match gently struck, passed in the blink of an eye.
In the darkness, the bright red other-shore flowers bloomed, the only spot of brightness.
"What a terrifying sword!"
Ding Yufang, clutching the bloody hole in his throat, fell to the ground.
In front of him, Liu Ruofei’s left arm had been severed. Facing Ding Yufang’s ultimate killing move, he too was gravely wounded yet thanked the other.
Returning to the outer ring, Liu Ruofei continued to meditate with closed eyes. Each match further perfected his "Breaking Extreme Killing Sword." At the very least, the stroke he had just made possessed the power to decisively kill the White Cloud Emperor.
It was hard for everyone to imagine just how terrifying this sword would be when perfected. And the very air of the Supreme Sword Way here was providing Liu Ruofei with the best conditions to continue progressing.
"I helped you, and you helped me,"
Ding Yufang snorted.
The main difference between him and Liu Ruofei lay in the Heart Martial Realm. Otherwise, even if Liu Ruofei could have won just now, it wouldn’t have been as simple as losing an arm.
If Liu Ruofei was a sharpening spear, continuously honing its edge, then Shi Xiaole was like a shield, deepening the might of the Sword Realm. Relying on this, he defeated Abbot Nannan and the Phoenix Eye Goddess among the ten prodigies, without any effort.
