Chapter 1334: Chapter 1332: Experiencing the Worldly Life (Part 2)
Nine Heavens Mountain spans an incredibly vast area, and with Shui Lingping constantly implementing Array Systems in recent years, a multitude of folded spaces have been created, making one feel like they are walking through boundless mountains and rivers, where wonders are found everywhere.
On a mountain peak shrouded in clouds and fog, unreachable by anyone.
Two figures stood a hundred meters apart.
Not far from the two figures, a handsome young man in a dark cyan long shirt watched with anticipation. He was Shi Xiaole’s third disciple, Yao Yuxuan.
"Dad, be careful."
Standing to the east, Shi Wuyou’s white clothes were spotless, and his expression was solemn.
Shi Xiaole smiled faintly.
The favorite pastime of those in the Martial World is to compare famous individuals to fight over who is stronger or weaker. Currently, in the world of East Victory, the most fiercely debated are none other than Shi Xiaole and his son.
The strength of the great landlord is undeniable. Apart from the missing Holy Monarch and the three Outer Heaven Demons, he is considered invincible under the heavens. In terms of talent, he is even above the Holy Monarch.
But Shi Wuyou is not to be underestimated either.
Becoming an Earth Immortal at fifteen, entering the Void Origin Realm at twenty-seven, and now not yet a hundred and thirty, he is already the foremost figure beneath the giants, having overtaken Xuanyuan Di, Zhang Xiangfeng, and others in recent years.
Although at the same age, the great landlord had already become a Supreme Lord, let’s not forget that this was based on the great opportunity that arose after he was driven to a desperate situation that he had to fight his way out of.
Even the great landlord himself admitted that without the desperate battle with the Divine Thought Supreme Lord, he would not have become the Supreme Lord so quickly.
Therefore, to this day, there is still no consensus on which of the father and son duo has the higher talent.
"Brother Shi, you and your son are competing, how can you not call me to watch the battle? That’s really not too kind."
A robust presence landed on the mountain peak, and it was none other than Mu Ling, dressed in gold and with a handsome look.
Following that, Zhang Xiangfeng, Gui Zhihang, Duanmu Keren, and a whole host of Nine Heavens Mountain’s higher-ups arrived at the scene, except for those out adventuring in the Martial World.
Not only are people from the Martial World curious about the father and son’s strength on equal footing, even the people from Nine Heavens Mountain are very curious. Moreover, since both are powerful, watching the battle is beneficial for everyone.
Everyone’s gaze fixed on the center of the arena.
Zhang Mengyun secretly conveyed her thoughts to Zhang Xiangfeng, "Dad, Uncle Shi is a Supreme Lord, there is no such thing as a battle on equal terms, right?"
Zhang Xiangfeng looked at his daughter, a smile playing around his lips, until the petulant girl blushed, then he said, "You don’t have to worry about Wuyou being at a disadvantage. With Brother Shi’s ability, he is more than capable of controlling his strength to match Wuyou’s level."
Zhang Mengyun retorted, "Who’s worried about him?"
Whoosh!
In the midst of their conversation, Shi Wuyou, holding a tree branch, thrust towards Shi Xiaole.
He didn’t want to make a move so quickly, but Shi Xiaole’s stance, seemingly full of openings, was actually flawless. Even with Shi Wuyou’s sharp eyes, he couldn’t find an opportunity to exploit and ended up at a disadvantage in terms of momentum because of a slight emotional fluctuation.
At that moment, Shi Wuyou felt an unprecedented pressure. With equal strength and momentum, he had lost half a move in the initial exchange!
Clang clang clang...
The colliding bamboo branches emitted fluctuations only divine weapons possessed. The two shifted and switched positions, and in an instant, their intercrossing figures spread across ten thousand miles.
Every single pose they froze in, as seen by the onlookers, was a deadly attack, unpredictable and unavoidable. What was even more terrifying was the absence of any qi fluctuations.
This meant that the tens of thousands of moves they made in an instant were all supported by the same force, instantly switching moves as soon as they realized they couldn’t find a weakness in their opponent.
It was nearly inconceivable how they could control their power to such a degree.
"Wuyou’s strength has reached such a level. I fear I may not last even two breaths," Zhang Xiangfeng thought to himself, shaking his head with a wry smile.
Losing to Shi Xiaole was one thing, but now being far inferior to Shi Wuyou, that left the once greatest prodigy feeling quite helpless. Fortunately, he had witnessed Shi Wuyou’s terrifying talent since childhood and was prepared mentally.
The others were also amazed by Shi Wuyou’s combat power. Below the Supreme Lord, perhaps fewer than five people could withstand him for a single breath!
The father and son’s figures became increasingly numerous. Often, before the figures of one breath had dissipated, the next would appear, layering up like drawings on a piece of paper, until ultimately, only a few could barely keep up with the battle.
In this battle, Shi Wuyou exerted all his abilities, even surpassing his limits at times. He swore he had never been so focused in a battle before. In the past, he only needed to exert a fraction of his effort to easily defeat an opponent.
The dense sword light was sometimes flexible, sometimes rigid, sometimes swift as wind, sometimes violent as fire... Every sword move came naturally to Shi Wuyou, possessing the power to turn decay into magic.
Everyone had to admit that this was a once-in-an-eternity peerless genius, destined to resonate through the annals of history.
However, his opponent was truly terrifying.
If Shi Wuyou was the foremost genius of this universe, then Shi Xiaole had already stepped into the ranks of gods and demons. His moves and their variations were utterly traceless; plain and unremarkable, yet they seemed like the most perfect responses.
After dozens of breaths passed, a faint crisp sound was heard.
All the figures swiftly vanished, and the two reappeared where they had originally stood. The only difference was that the bamboo branch in Shi Wuyou’s hand had snapped into two pieces.
"Father, I’ve lost."
Shi Wuyou felt a surge of bitterness.
Shi Xiaole said, "Although I’ve suppressed my strength to be at a level equal to yours, a Supreme Lord is still a Supreme Lord, and I ultimately had some advantage. Moreover, once you grow to become a Supreme Lord with equal-level fighting power, you should be much stronger than you are now."
Shi Wuyou laughed and said, "Father, I won’t be discouraged. Just as you said, once your son becomes a Supreme Lord, I will definitely challenge you again and defeat you."
"I’ll be waiting."
Shi Xiaole nodded.
The result of this battle was not spread throughout the Martial World. However, as time passed, the news of Shi Xiaole’s return to Nine Heavens Mountain became known to many.
The Immortal Scholar and others arrived as soon as they heard, and the two sides held a secret talk for several 2-hour periods.
Meanwhile, in the Martial World, an endless stream of martial arts celebrities and influential figures came to visit Nine Heavens Mountain for various reasons. Initially, they didn’t expect to actually meet Shi Xiaole and just wanted to try their luck.
To their surprise, this time, the great villa owner actually met with them, shared laughs and discussed a variety of marvelous tales, leaving these martial arts giants flattered and even slightly terrified, wondering if this was all just a wonderful dream.
Even more famous people surged toward Nine Heavens Mountain.
Although they dominated their respective territories and were only known by reputation to countless martial artists, they were insignificant compared to the villa owner. Sitting down and discussing martial arts with the great villa owner was undoubtedly the most glorious and prestigious event of their lives.
This situation lasted for two months, with invitation cards continuously pouring into Nine Heavens Mountain like snowflakes, with some requests scheduled decades into the future.
Under Qu Wuyan’s ’forceful interference,’ the situation finally came to an end. Those martial arts celebrities who had not met the villa owner could only look up to the sky and sigh, cursing themselves for being too slow.
After returning to Nine Heavens Mountain, Shi Xiaole didn’t practice anymore. He lived a very leisurely life every day, reading and painting, or feeding fish by Jade Water Lake, or spending cozy and amusing time with several women.
Sometimes, when strolling through the Nine Heavens Mountain Range, he would also casually give pointers to disciples he encountered, often exciting those lucky disciples for days. Eventually, many disciples simply left the villa in hopes of ’coincidentally’ meeting the villa owner...
Several years later, Shi Xiaole got married. He had three brides: Xi Xianglei, Xia Yunxi, and Shui Wuling. Since Shui Wuling had passed away, Shi Xiaole held her spirit tablet to complete the ceremony.
This wedding, which should have been the grandest event in the East Victory world, was conducted with extreme discretion. Only people from the top ten villas were allowed to attend, and the news did not spread until a month after the wedding was over.
Clearly, the various intelligence organizations understood the villa owner’s intentions. Thus they held the news back, not releasing it for a long time. It was only after a Nine Heavens Mountain disciple let the news slip that it caused an uproar in the Martial World.
Untold numbers of maidens from the Martial World were left heartbroken.
Five years passed.
Shi Wuyou left Nine Heavens Mountain alone. Unwilling to lag too far behind his father and knowing it was difficult to make progress on Nine Heavens Mountain, he resolved to delve deep into the Martial World to seek a breakthrough amidst the trials and turmoil.
The night Shi Wuyou left, Zhang Mengyun also vanished without a trace.
Zhong Lingsui was very worried, but Zhang Xiangfeng consoled her, "Mengyun’s strength far surpasses yours, and she is cunning as a fox. She’ll be fine."
"Who talks about their daughter like that!"
Zhong Lingsui, now a Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm, looked the same as many years ago. She understood her daughter’s feelings and could only silently bless her.
In the following years, the four great prodigies, Mu Qianji, Xin Zhuliu, and others, also left one after another. They were restless by nature, often descending from the mountain and returning after a few years, which was normal for them.
Only Mu Ling, that fellow, never settled down and remained unattached. On the night before he left, he found Shi Xiaole, and the two drank heartily, consuming dozens of jars of fine wine.
"What, you’re not planning to come back?"
Shi Xiaole asked with a smile.
"Old Shi, are you trying to get rid of me? Let me tell you, no way, Jade Lion Villa is my territory!"
After a pause, Mu Ling sobered up, and said earnestly, "It’s just that this time, I think I’ll be away for a very long time. I won’t return to the mountain until I break through to become a Supreme Lord. Heh, after all, I was once as renowned as you. If I fall too far behind, I don’t even want to see you."
Shi Xiaole said, "With your talent, coupled with the replenishment of spirit energy and the world’s rules, I think at most in a thousand years, you will achieve your wish."
"Haha, I’ll take your auspicious words, great villa owner!"
Mu Ling laughed heartily.
However, he did not know that after he left, he would not see Shi Xiaole again for many years to come.
Soon after, Bai Ruiting, An Rumei, and other women, moved by restlessness, also left one after another, heading to the Martial World for adventures. Eventually, the Witch Queen and the three Great Witch Servants prepared to leave as well.
"My Wuyou is not here, and seeing you and Xi Xianglei being all lovey-dovey every day makes me sick,"
the Witch Queen snorted when Shi Xiaole asked her the reason for leaving.
The expressions of the three Great Witch Servants behind her varied.
They had nearly drained their life essences to help the Witch Queen escape a crisis. However, they had long since been healed by Shi Xiaole, and their current strength was far greater than before.
The three of them knew well that the Witch Queen and Xi Xianglei shared one soul between two bodies. To some extent, their emotions were connected, so what was claimed as disgust was more likely jealousy. Out of sight, out of mind, perhaps.
In the years that followed, many people Shi Xiaole knew came and went from Nine Heavens Mountain, and it was rare to see each other even once in a few years. However, since everyone had high cultivation levels and long lives ahead, they didn’t overly mind.
