Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Gathering of Martial Artists
Outside of Wangyuan City, there is an expanse of grey stone caves hewn from the mountain, standing a hundred meters high and stretching thousands of miles. The surfaces of the caves are pockmarked with holes, densely packed like a honeycomb.
No one knows the origin of these caves; only that they have stood here since before the establishment of the Flying Horse Dynasty, enduring through the ages, undeterred by wind and rain.
Whoosh, whoosh.
Shadows of people rush into a cave on the western side of the caverns.
"We’ve ascertained that the cave’s owner was Dongfang Haoran."
"Him?"
The voices echo out, filled with unstoppable excitement.
Dongfang Haoran, also known as the ’Mad Scholar’, was a famous martial arts practitioner who flourished in the Floating River Area 150 years ago. He was renowned for his Frenzy Technique, widely recognized and had attained the mid-rank of the second class.
"We need to act fast, any later will be too late!"
"Damn it, we’re going all in this time!"
Nobody seemed to know the identity of the cave’s master and when they found out it was Dongfang Haoran, most had mixed feelings of joy and concern.
The good news was that Dongfang Haoran had accumulated many treasures in his residence.
The bad news was that they feared the news would excite the top-class martial artists who could hardly keep calm.
It should be noted that the Sect Masters of today’s top martial arts sects in the Floating River Area only cultivate second-class martial arts skills. Perhaps the power of these skills does not even match that of Haoran’s Frenzy Technique.
"I’m fortunate this time, hopefully, I’ll find something."
In the sunset, a young man dressed in yellow with sharp facial features slowly approaches. With a closer look, one can find that every step he takes measures the exact same distance, as if meticulously measured.
Suddenly, he raises his eyebrows, cups his hands together, and suddenly springs towards the left.
Bang!
The explosive force sends a massive figure three steps back before turning to flee.
"I usually do not kill, but thinking you can ambush me and escape so easily, is too naive."
The young man in the yellow robe laughs lightly. In the blink of an eye, he overtakes the massive figure, hitting him so hard that he spits out blood. Without a backward glance, he enters the Dongfang cave mansion.
"The man in the yellow robe, who doesn’t kill, it’s him."
The massive figure lets out a breath, terrified.
He had no plans to enter the cave, it would be safer to ambush those who come out, and perhaps the gains would be even bigger.
Earlier, he had managed to kill quite a few people, but this time he hit a wall.
"I need to be more careful next time."
After wiping off the blood, the massive figure swallows a healing pill and hides in a shadowy place, replenishing his energy while waiting for the next ambush.
Not long after the young man in the yellow robe went into the cave, another three or four young men entered one after another, each with an extraordinary demeanor. Those who recognize them from the Floating River Area feel a sense of unease.
As for other well-known veteran experts, there were even more.
What’s worth mentioning is that this place happens to be at the intersection of the Floating River Area and the Cloud Triangle, thus many top experts from the Cloud Triangle have also rushed over upon hearing the news.
"Zuo Feiyang."
"Ba Renxiong."
Outside the cave, the two young men coincidentally ran into each other. They were the two outstanding young talents who had made a great scene at the Cloud Sky Gathering.
"I’ve heard this place is fraught with danger, we might as well collaborate."
Gazing at Zuo Feiyang, whose aura was becoming increasingly aggressive, Ba Renxiong weighed his strength and suggested.
"Sounds good."
Zuo Feiyang considered briefly and agreed.
After being defeated by Lu Yan at the Piaoxu Building, Zuo Feiyang, spurred on by a sense of shame, began training intensively upon returning to his sect, and recently succeeded in unsealing his powers.
Despite the great confidence in his strength, he recognized how dangerous the Martial World could be, especially in secret mystical caves filled with deadly traps. An additional ally wouldn’t hurt.
...
The sky was gradually turning dark.
The massive figure hiding in the shadows grew restless.
There were plenty of martial artists coming and going, but the problem was they all huddled together, so he had no opportunity to strike.
To widen his search, he even ventured thousands of miles away from the caves, but still struggled to find a suitable target.
"Hmm? Here comes the fatty."
Suddenly, the massive figure’s eyes lit up.
With his keen eyes, he could tell at a glance who was worth robbing and who wasn’t.
The young man in a blue gown walking towards him had an air of elegance. He was certainly not an average wanderer.
The key was that the area was deserted, a perfect opportunity to strike.
Learning from his previous encounter, the massive figure dared not be careless. He quietly followed behind the young man, observing his every move.
"This fellow is even younger than Yellow Dragon Talent, his skills should be far inferior."
Having run through the image of every famous young talent in the Floating River Area in his mind and finding no match, the massive figure grew bold.
It was funny to think that he, a Qi Absorption Fifth Tier gangster, was afraid of an obscure youngster?
Whoosh!
The massive figure suddenly struck, launching a metal spike.
"So you were hiding until now to make a move, quite patient."
Dodging the attack, Shi Xiaole slowly turned around.
At this moment, the massive figure felt a surge of intense unease, the sixth sense he developed from years of navigating the Martial World.
"Escape."
He sprinted with full force, throwing a wave of hidden weapons from his hands.
Chit!
He had not run far when a sharp sword light suddenly loomed over him, aiming straight for the top of his brow.
"What excellent flying skill."
The burly figure only practiced a third-rate mid-tier flying skill, and it was at most Spirit Integration Perfection, naturally, he couldn’t escape Shi Xiaole’s pursuit.
With no choice left, he had to counter with his fist technique. At the same time, the sound of a crossbow came from his sleeve, shooting a sharp arrow with lightning speed.
The two sides were only ten feet apart. With the speed of the arrow and Shi Xiaole having exhausted his swordplay, the burly figure didn’t believe he could dodge again.
Just as the sharp arrow was about to reach him, Shi Xiaole drew his blade with his left hand and with a "clang", accurately deflected the arrow. His blade’s residual force collided with the opponent’s fist.
In the hissing sound.
Fist force was cut open by the Shattered Snow Blade, the burly figure screamed in shock and wanted to turn and run. However, the dazzling cyan sword light had already lit up in his eyes.
"No..."
His words abruptly stopped.
With the burly figure’s Qi Absorption initial stage of the fifth tier internal power, he stood no chance against Shi Xiaole, coupled with the gap in techniques, it was hard to avoid being killed on the spot.
Up to now, Shi Xiaole’s style of combat had become even clearer.
With his exquisite techniques, and a variety of endless means, besieging him was ineffective. And if it was one-on-one, as long as the strength was slightly inferior to him, it basically couldn’t last more than a few moves.
Having searched dozens of silver bills worth a hundred taels from the burly figure, Shi Xiaole satisfyingly left.
Some days ago, in order to gather information from ’Know-it-all’, he had drawn quite a lot of silver from the Golden Phoenix Tower, he also didn’t want to keep taking it for free, so he was happy to put this money away.
After a while, Shi Xiaole entered the cave mansion.
The entrance to the cave mansion was not large, about thirty feet wide and twenty feet high, and there was no light inside. Fortunately, martial artists, due to cultivation, had little problem seeing things in the dark, otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to adapt to such an environment.
After walking several hundred meters, dozens of fork roads appeared ahead.
Shi Xiaole chose the one on the far right.
...
"If you don’t want to die, hand over the key."
"Hand it over quickly."
The forks were crisscrossed like a grid. And the intersections of the grids were a variety of different sized stone rooms. At this moment in the first stone room on the far right, a group of people were surrounding an old man.
The old man held a stone key in his hand.
Many martial artists who had come in knew that most of the treasures in the Dongfang Cave Mansion were hidden in these small closed stone rooms, and the key to opening them was the stone key.
Stone keys were not common, some were hidden in notches, some in unnoticeable corners, and others at the crossroads, if one was found, one less was left.
For it, people in the cave mansion had already turned a blind eye.
The old man looked around, knowing from the previous chaos that he had no ability to swallow the key alone, he gritted his teeth and bitterly said, "You have to rely on your own abilities." He placed the stone key on the ground and then retreated a few steps with a sneer.
You want to rob it, don’t you? Let’s see who dares to make the first move, it’s better if you all die.
As expected, seeing the old man’s movements, the dozen or so people around him revealed a look of eagerness, but surprisingly, no one moved.
Without overpowering strength, no one wanted to become a target.
The calm only lasted a few seconds before it was broken by the sound of footsteps.
A green-attired young man walked in. He slightly hesitated, then went straight past the old man, picked up the stone key on the ground, seemingly unaware of the experts around him.
"Kid, put down the key or die."
A burly swordsman with a back like a tiger and a waist like a bear ordered with a cold voice.
"Young man, this is not your place. Throw the key to the left and sister will ensure your safety."
The crisp voice condensed into a line, piercing into Shi Xiaole’s ears. He glanced sideways and found that the one who said it was Mrs. Huaxin standing on the far left, not far from the passage leading to the left.
Sensing Shi Xiaole’s gaze, Mrs. Huaxin flirtatiously blinked her eyes.
"The smartest thing for you all would be to leave now."
Shaking his head, Shi Xiaole casually spoke.
Among the dozen or so people in attendance, their strength should not be weak. Unfortunately, none of them posed a threat to him.
"Such an arrogant brat, asking for death!"
In the deep shout, the swordsman was the first to hack at Shi Xiaole with his blade. The intense blade wind hadn’t even reached him yet, but it already caused the old man behind Shi Xiaole to have goosebumps.
"This man concealed his strength before. He actually has an internal power of the high stage of the fourth tier of Qi Absorption."
The old man stared at the swordsman with a shocked expression.
"Not good, he wants to kill everyone, grab the key and run."
The others also reacted, becoming angry.
In the triumphant laughter, the swordsman’s blade had already hacked in front of Shi Xiaole.
Sighing softly, Shi Xiaole’s left hand quickly gripped the blade handle, and his body rushed forward. Just as the two of them passed each other, the glint of the blade was so fast that few people saw it clearly.
"Uh..."
The swordsman’s movements froze, his smile had not yet faded, only his eyes uncontrollably narrowed, and a burst of blood spewed out from his throat, and he fell to the ground, facing the sky.
His!
A wave of gasps rang out, everyone was dumbfounded, staring blankly at the handsome young man who had been expressionless from beginning to end.
Not until Shi Xiaole’s figure disappeared from the scene, did someone whisper, "Who is this man, with such strength, he can’t possibly be a nobody."
"Perhaps he’s one of those rising talents that have recently appeared, who knows."
Mrs. Huaxin patted her ample bosom, inwardly relieved that she had not rushed up first, otherwise, the one lying on the ground right now might have been her.
