Chapter 1235: Chapter 1233: Sword of Annihilation 23
"Defeated?"
The crowd stared intently at the inner ring.
Without an artifact by his side, even Qin Elder and the blind old man couldn’t withstand two strikes from Chi Evil Great Witch, and Shi Xiaole’s strength was a notch below theirs, so it was estimated that if he wasn’t dead, he was at least severely injured, with no strength left to fight again.
The shattered void dust slowly coalesced, and from it emerged a young swordsman with tattered clothes, his body covered with open wounds, yet his limbs were still intact.
"What?!"
"Shi Xiaole, how did he do that?"
"To take a hit from an artifact and not fall, has his understanding of life and death in martial arts reached a whole new realm?"
Experts from all three sides were utterly shocked.
Only the three weather-beaten old men had smiles on their faces, as if they had anticipated this scene.
"Even if you are not crippled, how much fighting power do you have left?"
Chi Evil Great Witch’s face was ashen, even the black of his eyelids seemed to be covered with a layer of white powder, a sign of massive consumption of power. But in his sense, Shi Xiaole wasn’t doing much better, merely forcibly recovering his body, seemingly vigorous but actually weak.
Of course, being able to take a hit from an artifact and not fall was enough to prove Shi Xiaole’s extraordinary understanding of life and death.
"Go to hell, old man!"
Not allowing Shi Xiaole to hold out for another battle, Chi Evil Great Witch concentrated his mental energy and fired a three-inch long psychic arrow that disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
With our mental strength refined by Che Renzhong to seventy-one percent, we could hardly withstand the psychic attack of Great Battles Emperor, and our understanding of the psyche was not inferior to that of Great Battles Emperor.
Chi Evil Great Witch laughed smugly, relieved to have achieved his goal.
Thud!
Shi Xiaole staggered back dozens of steps, as if struck by lightning, and the color drained from his face instantly.
"The power of the artifact is too great, what use is there in just recovering the torso? East Victory was unwise, they simply sacrificed Shi Xiaole in vain."
"Just from this battle, it can be seen that Shi Xiaole is still not as experienced as Che Renzhong, and he is also inferior in strength."
The experts of South Sea actually felt a sense of relief.
Shi Xiaole was too monstrous, and every time he appeared ’ordinary,’ everyone present felt a bit of schadenfreude. People are like that, holding deep caution towards things they can’t control or predict, wishing they could eliminate them immediately.
But soon, to everyone’s surprise, they discovered that Shi Xiaole had not fallen, and after swaying a few times, he slowly recovered.
Indeed, Shi Xiaole’s spiritual resilience was not as good as Che Renzhong’s, but the nature of his spirit was far superior to Che Renzhong’s, not inferior to a master of the Fake Sky Origin Realm.
Therefore, Chi Evil Great Witch’s psychic attack could not crush Shi Xiaole.
And who knew that it wasn’t that Shi Xiaole couldn’t counterattack, but that he was deliberately doing this to buy time to recover more power?
If he got rid of Chi Evil Great Witch all at once, the next opponent would put on even more pressure.
"Impossible!"
Chi Evil Great Witch’s eyes bulged, as he fired psychic arrows one after another.
Under his frenzied attack, Shi Xiaole’s sea of consciousness shook violently, but as a result, more psychic energy flaked off the mountain of his psyche, actually increasing Shi Xiaole’s mental strength.
"This is actually a good method, but it will damage my psychic power. If not for the Spiritual Origins Grass and the Fate Stone, I wouldn’t try it."
Shi Xiaole shook his head, and when Chi Evil Great Witch had exhausted his mental energy, he promptly displayed ’Heavenly Palace Illusion,’ neither killing his opponent nor allowing him the possibility of suicide.
Following that, Shi Xiaole sat down cross-legged, beginning to heal his injuries with all his might using the Supreme Martial Arts.
"Mid-stage eleven percent of Supreme Martial Arts?"
"Damn it, we’ve been tricked!"
After their initial shock, the experts from Miaojiang all reacted, their faces ashen with a mix of shock and anger.
How could they not know that Shi Xiaole was buying time to recover, and the more Chi Evil Great Witch fell for the ruse, the more it resulted in a stalemate.
The consequence was that Chi Evil Great Witch had been squandered for nothing, and Shi Xiaole would be able to face the next round in peak condition.
This Shi Xiaole, how exactly did he cultivate? In five years, he had actually raised the Supreme Martial Arts by two minor realms, almost like a dream.
"What a shameless brat, if you’ve got the skills, stop using these tricks!"
"You, Shi, are deliberately wasting time, have you no shame, so much for being called the number one prodigy of East Victory, I see it’s all empty fame!"
"Bastard, dare to fight a proper battle..."
The experts from Miaojiang panicked, each yelling angrily, wishing they could end the duel immediately.
The expressions of the experts from South Sea weren’t any better, just as they felt that Shi Xiaole was ’nothing special,’ he pulled this stunt, it was outright cheating.
In sharp contrast were the experts from East Victory, their faces serene, their eyebrows raised in joy, and even their breathing much steadier.
Undying Ancestor laughed heartily, giving a thumbs up and shouting: "Brilliant! From today on, I, the Undying Ancestor, acknowledge you, Shi Xiaole, you’re amazing!"
As for the dispute outside the ring, Shi Xiaole paid it no mind and focused solely on healing his injuries.
One day.
Two days.
Three days passed, and Shi Xiaole finally opened his eyes.
After all, an artifact is an artifact, and even with the mid-stage eleven percent of Supreme Martial Arts, it took three days to heal the wounds. If Chi Evil Great Witch had chosen to self-destruct from the beginning, at most he could only take down one more person.
As for now, it was time to see the skills of the people of Miaojiang. With a wave of his hand, Shi Xiaole shattered Chi Evil Great Witch and voluntarily started the next battle.
"He recovered in three days, is this true?"
"Impossible, I absolutely don’t believe it."
Shi Xiaole felt that three days was an exaggeration, and everyone else felt it was even more so, not because they thought it was too long, but because it was too short. What was three days? For many people, it would be a blessing to recover in several years with the help of heaven-sent treasures and earthly treasures.
"Kill, use every method at your disposal, spare no effort, I want this Shi person dead!"
The most furious and frustrated person at the scene wasn’t anyone else; it was the Chi Evil Great Witch.
To be one of the top three powerhouses of the East Victory world and yet to be pinned down by a youngster on the stage for three days, becoming a stumbling block for Miaojiang’s victory.
Humiliation.
A great and disgraceful humiliation!
"Rest assured, Great Witch, I’ve been wanting to teach him a lesson for a long time now," said a junior.
With a flash, the Black Abyss Elder appeared in the inner ring. Although he had made a military promise, his expression was extraordinarily grave. Undeniably, Shi Xiaole’s recovery speed had scared him.
If previously the Black Abyss Elder had only fifty percent confidence in winning, now he had less than thirty percent confidence.
You should know that between two individuals of similar strength, the one who maintains a better condition and can endure combat longer always has a higher chance of victory. Against someone like Shi Xiaole, unless you kill him with one blow, you would end up in an endless struggle.
Moreover, the Black Abyss Elder also had to be ever-vigilant to not follow in the footsteps of the Chi Evil Great Witch.
"If I had known it would come to this..."
For the first time in his life, the Black Abyss Elder felt some regret. If he could do it over, he would rather have never crossed paths with Shi Xiaole. The opponent could now match him, so what would he become in a few years?
Clang!
At the moment when the Black Abyss Elder was lost in thought, the sound of Sword Qi rang out. With a swordsman as graceful as jade and a sword as brilliant as a rainbow, Shi Xiaole struck with his sword, and in the blink of an eye, only three feet separated him from his opponent.
Hiss hiss hiss...
The Sword Qi collided with the protective Vigorous Air on the surface of the Black Abyss Elder’s body, creating a penetrating sound like the rubbing of iron sheets.
Sparks of dark gold scattered in all directions, creating countless ripples on the Array System’s light screen; if this struck a top-tier Heaven Realm Martial Emperor, it would immediately incinerate them.
"Get lost, World-Subduing Fist!"
Stepping forward with his right foot, the Black Abyss Elder cast aside all distractions and threw a punch, sending dense shadows of fists like a barrage of cannonballs towards Shi Xiaole, allowing no room for evasion.
"Sky-shocking Sword!"
Countless sword paths overlapped, turning into a sword beam that split the heavens and the earth. Many fist shadows were shattered, but the sword beam also continuously weakened until it completely vanished three yards from the Black Abyss Elder, with a portion of the fist shadows continuing their assault on Shi Xiaole.
Hiss hiss, two sounds!
Another two consecutive "Sky-shocking Swords." The speed at which Shi Xiaole’s energy returned had become terrifying after the significant enhancement of his life-and-death martial arts.
But the Black Abyss Elder was no easy adversary. After throwing the first punch, he not only did not advance but retreated, successfully avoiding the subsequent two sword beams.
"If it’s a war of attrition, I definitely can’t outlast him. But I can try to exhaust him as much as possible. I just need one opportunity, and with my killer move, I might not lose!"
His eyes turned cold and resolute, and without hesitation, the Black Abyss Elder executed another "World-Subduing Fist" and then immediately retreated, repeating the cycle.
After three times, the Black Abyss Elder’s strength was substantially consumed. In contrast, Shi Xiaole, having performed his killing move nine times, was even more drained. However, due to the presence of his life-and-death martial arts, his condition was not much worse than the Black Abyss Elder’s.
"Relying on the Wind Sword Way, I can only slowly grind the opponent down."
After several exchanges, Shi Xiaole lamented to himself.
Continuing like this, he could certainly win, but he didn’t want to win in such an unseemly manner. Moreover, the ongoing battle would disrupt the recovery balance of his life-and-death martial arts and significantly deteriorate his condition.
It was time for everyone to witness the true power of life-and-death martial arts.
With a change in his sword stance, Shi Xiaole charged forward, no longer using "Sky-shocking Sword," but instead actively approached the remaining momentum of the fist shadows.
"What does this boy want to do? He must not be allowed to get close," thought the Black Abyss Elder.
"Abyss Devouring Soul Fist!"
As he roared in his heart, a mysterious and unfathomable black abyss suddenly appeared behind the Black Abyss Elder, slowly rotating as if it contained endless strength, ready to absorb everything in the world.
Crack crack crack...
Pieces of the void were the first to be sucked into the abyss, leaving large patches of dark space. The suction was so strong that it caused currents of chaotic energy to lash out, affecting everything and deviating from their original paths.
As the Black Abyss Elder delivered his punch, the enlarged suction force suddenly rebounded, with a reverse force surpassing its previous strength, surging violently towards Shi Xiaole on the opposite side.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The void shattered like a fragile mirror, mercilessly crushed by a bulldozer, breaking into a million pieces. These fragments became part of the punch’s force, continuously moving forward, making the punch’s power grow even stronger.
Everyone, including many powerhouses present, as well as Scorpion Lady and Che Renzhong, couldn’t help but change their expressions.
"To think he still had a card up his sleeve, this punch is not inferior to my own killing move, just slightly lacking in strength but sufficient to crush anyone below the level of a head honcho," exclaimed Xuanyuan Lang, utterly shocked and then filled with boundless joy. He had not been optimistic about the Black Abyss Elder, but the latter had given him such a delightful surprise.
"Black Abyss Elder, you’re not bad," the Scorpion Lady thought to herself.
She had never dared to underestimate the other party. With only a few Heaven Kings in the world, who knew if the other party had created a new killer move, like this one.
However, in the current situation, this was a good thing. If Shi Xiaole were hit by this punch, even if he didn’t die, by the time she took the stage, she would easily sweep him aside.
Some were thrilled, some anxious, some full of regret – the thoughts of the crowd seemed to freeze at this moment.
Amidst the unstoppable punch, Shi Xiaole’s physical body suddenly stopped moving. A ray of spirit light holding the Cleansing Evil Sword burst forth, emanating an overwhelming aura of annihilation.
This was a sword technique surpassing the physical body, achievable only through the spirit: a sword unleashed, punishment for the heavens and destruction for the earth.
Annihilating Heaven and Exterminating Earth Sword Number Twenty-Three!
