Chapter 1196: Chapter 1194: The Strange Little Stone_1
"I’ve long wanted to witness Brother Liu’s killer move."
Shi Xiaole did not pursue his victory. The power of the Sword Realm had its limits, once the opponent broke free from control, its effectiveness would be greatly diminished.
Dressed in white that outshone the snow, Liu Ruofei’s expression was cold, with a glint of dark light flickering in the depths of his eyes, signifying the conviction to kill and the power brought by death.
At this moment, it was as if he had borrowed infinite strength from the Grim Reaper himself. His swordplay was not fierce, but it was like the coming of darkness upon the world, silent but unstoppable.
The light around the Fate platform began to collapse inward from all around, suddenly leaving only a beam of light at the center.
Now was the moment!
Clang!
The long sword was drawn from its sheath.
Liu Ruofei’s body, spirit, will, and even his soul, everything was melting away, attracted by the sword in his hand. The sword trembled with minimal amplitude, like the power of a super volcano building up, allowing this sword strike to erupt with the ultimate speed of a meteor falling from the sky.
Distance in space lost its meaning, and even time lost its meaning, because under this sword, you couldn’t feel the passage of time at all.
When Liu Ruofei displayed the Limitless Killing Sword tripled in potency, it represented that his understanding of the Breaking Extreme Killing Sword had reached a new height, not just more powerful than before, but now he could completely control this lethal strike.
"Shi Xiaole, this sword has consumed my life, to be defeated by it, you are not inferior to me."
Liu Ruofei thought to himself.
The Sword Qi lightly grazed, easily piercing through the power of the Sword Realm, tearing it mercilessly.
"It’s over."
The Thousand Swords Emperor felt a deep sense of emotion in his heart.
The younger generation was formidable. Liu Ruofei’s strike had finally put pressure on him, and if it had been him, he could not have easily caught it; he would have had to suppress it with absolute power.
He had underestimated his opponent after all. At this rate of progress, it would take less than two hundred years for his opponent to catch up with him.
"Liu Ruofei."
This was the first time Xuanyuan Di truly acknowledged his opponent. Talent was one thing, but true strength was what really mattered. Now, Liu Ruofei was barely worthy of a second glance from him.
Many other experts couldn’t even react with their eyes or minds in time to perceive all this when Liu Ruofei executed his killer move, their minds went blank.
Time stood still.
"If the Sword Realm cannot withstand it, how about this strike then?"
Without any fear in his heart, as soon as the Sword Realm was torn apart, Shi Xiaole’s sword intent suddenly changed, his body relaxed, and he lightly lifted his right hand, swinging the Cleansing Evil Sword forward with slow yet rapid movement.
If Liu Ruofei’s sword represented darkness and death, then Shi Xiaole’s strike symbolized endless hope and vitality. The brilliant sword light was more intense than the sun itself, piercing through the infinite shadows enveloping the Fate platform.
Some saw mountains, others saw rivers, and yet others saw countless stars...
One sword transformed into all things!
Bang...
The Sword Qi was like hundreds of nuclear bombs compressed into a sphere of eight thousand kilometers in diameter, blasting chunks out of the void, over and over again, destroying and reforming.
The surface of the Fate platform was pocked with craters, gouged out by the Sword Qi!
Both figures retreated explosively at the same time.
Covered in blood, Liu Ruofei’s hair disheveled, but his eyes were colder than those of a Lone Wolf as he shouted, "Breaking Extreme Killing Sword!" With the strike, the world plunged into darkness, only the sword light remained eternal, and to everyone’s astonishment, he launched one killer move after another.
Liu Ruofei’s complexion turned paler than paper, a sign that his life force was drained. If he were outside, Liu Ruofei who had unleashed this strike would certainly be dead without a doubt.
"Extreme Breaking Sword!"
Shi Xiaole’s robe was also torn in several places. As he retreated, he lifted his sword upward, bringing forth a sword light that seemed to split heaven and earth. Only a few could see that Shi Xiaole’s sword strike was faster than Liu Ruofei’s by one-hundredth of a blink of an eye.
Whether by chance or not, both their sword techniques included the phrase "extreme breaking." What Liu Ruofei represented was breaking through his own limits, while Shi Xiaole’s phrase intended to break through the limits of sword techniques.
Indeed, the "Extreme Breaking Sword" was the most difficult to master and also the most powerful ultimate move among the fifth-tier techniques of the Body-Breaking Invisible Sword Qi.
As Shi Xiaole strived to meld the Four Great Sword Techniques, it naturally followed that he would successfully comprehend it.
Boom!!
Heavenly Collapse and Earth Shattering, the sun and moon lost their luster, and the array system around the Fate platform bulged outwards several meters, lasting for a good moment, before rebounding back into place, triggering another terrifying explosion.
Pupu pupu...
Mist of blood lingered, then was shredded by Sword Qi, Liu Ruofei was annihilated in body and spirit. Just before his last breath, he was enveloped by the breath of life from above the clouds, and he safely appeared on the outer ring of the Fate platform.
When the aftermath dissipated, within the inner ring, stood a young man in tattered green robes. Aside from his somewhat disordered breath, there were almost no bloodstains on his body.
Shi Xiaole.
It was Shi Xiaole!
A rumble of voices arose, the entire Nineteen Peaks erupted into an uproar!
"What, what? Liu Ruofei was defeated?"
"The number one sword prodigy of the South Sea, defeated by a swordsman of the East Victory continent, how is that possible?"
"Not only defeated, but defeated so cleanly and decisively, heavens, I can’t believe it."
Everyone was in shock, unable to help it.
The various qualities displayed by Liu Ruofei, his strength, absolutely reached the limits of human imagination. Any person who possessed even one of these aspects could truly be called a swordsmanship genius.
Such a person, after mastering the "Breaking Extreme Killing Sword," who among his peers and even his generation could be his enemy?
But against all odds, he lost, and to a swordsman even younger than himself, without even inflicting serious injuries on him.
People can no longer describe Shi Xiaole, any word seems insufficient to encapsulate his stunning talent, if one must try, probably only a title that has made countless people envious, yet forever unattainable, would suffice.
The number one prodigy swordsman in the world!
"Indeed."
The White Cloud Emperor took a deep breath to suppress the surging emotions within.
He suspected that Shi Xiaole had concealed his strength, but he still couldn’t fathom the extent of it, in fact, when Liu Ruofei unleashed his killer move, he once thought Liu Ruofei had won.
"He really is unfathomable."
Fan Shengnan’s eyes twitched slightly.
If Shi Xiaole were to fight with all his might, she doubted she could withstand even three moves from him, just the thought of such a gap made her scalp tingle. Could she still consider herself a genius?
"Young master..."
Elder Wangyue’s expression turned ugly, but there was nothing he could do. Other experts from Bright Moon Mansion were also devastated, even more so than if they had been the ones defeated in the duel.
After an initial bout of stunned silence, Liu Ruofei was the first to regain his composure and looking at Shi Xiaole who appeared in the outer ring said, "This time, I lost."
"You also wounded me, which is quite impressive."
Shi Xiaole said.
Some people from Bright Moon Mansion listened with frowning brows; this comment sounded somewhat sarcastic.
"Is this supposed to be praise?"
"Brother Liu, please don’t misunderstand, I mean no sarcasm, I’m merely stating a fact. In the next battles, I think there won’t be many who can injure me, you will see."
In his battle with Liu Ruofei, Shi Xiaole used at most seventy percent of his strength, just to compare swordsmanship and vie for supremacy under equal power. This was the pride unique to swordsmen.
But facing the remaining true powerhouses, Shi Xiaole would no longer hold back, nor could he afford to. He had mastered his trump card, and all that was left to do was to fight with all his might.
The Fate Grounds opened once every two hundred years, but Shi Xiaole couldn’t wait for two hundred years, he wanted to reach the pinnacle this time and take in the view from the top, so he had only one chance.
"Such arrogance!"
"What a joke, a huge joke! Has he forgotten the nine great masters? And what about Xuanyuan Di and Qi Muchu, which of them can’t suppress him?"
"I think this lad is blinded by victory, delusional."
Not to mention most of the competitors in the outer ring, even those on Nineteen Peaks listening in with their profound abilities, found it incredible, secretly cursing Shi Xiaole for not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth.
They could not believe Shi Xiaole possessed such power, perhaps more deeply, they did not want to believe. How could they accept someone not even a hundred years old daring to boast so loftily and seek to challenge the top masters of the world?
If that were true, where would they, who considered themselves unparalleled geniuses, put their faces?
"Nonsense!"
The Purple Jade Great Emperor sneered in secret, but could not hide the jealousy on his face. Particularly when he noticed the Sentimental Demon Concubine beside him staring blankly at Shi Xiaole, unable to look away, the fires of envy nearly consumed him.
Liu Ruofei gazed intently at Shi Xiaole, watching his eyes for quite a while before slowly saying, "Alright, I will be watching closely." He sat down and began to reflect on the insights from the previous battle.
Shi Xiaole too returned to his original place, quickly entering a state of complete absorption.
Because the preceding battle was too intense and thrilling, it made the subsequent matches seem dull in comparison. Fortunately, it was now nearing the climax of the competition, and the battles between the nine great masters and the unparalleled talents were about to begin.
There were also some people who were particularly curious to see how Shi Xiaole would perform in the following matches.
The seventy-third round.
Shi Xiaole came up against Elder Tiancan, who from earlier battles was sure to rank within the top twenty this time.
"Tiancan Leg Technique!"
Knowing he was outmatched, but making Elder Tiancan concede was out of the question, as there had not been such a precedent before. With leg shadows flying, Elder Tiancan furiously attacked Shi Xiaole.
Whoosh!
Shi Xiaole, like an invisible breeze, passed through the multitude of leg shadows in an instant, his speed and agility surpassing any other time before.
"So fast!"
Elder Tiancan was utterly shocked.
His Flying Skill was already superb, with few equals in the world, but the Flying Skill displayed by Shi Xiaole at that moment surpassed his own.
With one sweep of his sword.
Elder Tiancan was defeated.
Hiss!
The sound of gasps rose and fell uncontrollably.
Defeating Elder Tiancan, who was ranked within the top twenty and not far from the White Cloud Emperor in skill, with one strike, Shi Xiaole’s power seemed to truly begin to reveal itself at that moment.
Remembering his previous words, everyone’s hearts tingled and trembled.
Liu Ruofei’s gaze shone brightly, those closer could notice his pupils shaking.
Fan Shengnan, Ding Yufang, Thousand Real Person, Luo Zijiao, and others were simply stunned, rendered speechless. Even the likes of the White Cloud Emperor, Master Xuanci, and Xuanyuan Dao were as motionless as wooden chickens.
It was not that Shi Xiaole deliberately sought attention, rather, for him, he was momentarily in a bottleneck period, and dragging out fights was meaningless; he might as well spend more time honing his mental strength.
