Chapter 138: Chapter 138: Silver Silk Dress, The Killing Technique Reappears!
"In this unpredictable world, not even my trump card was used."
Sheathing his sword, Shi Xiaole did not know what to say. But saving one trump card was always a good thing, so it wasn’t necessary to dwell on it.
Approaching the center of the hall, there lay three wooden boxes.
Seeing a hole next to the wooden box, an idea struck Shi Xiaole. He inserted a bronze key and with a ’click’, the box opened, revealing a blue secret book with the word ’Frenzy Technique’ written on the surface.
It is indeed Dongfang Haoran’s most profound skill throughout his life – a second-rate, lower-tier internal power method, the Frenzy Techniques secret manual.
Just as he was about to reach out, Shi Xiaole’s heart suddenly jumped.
Something is wrong!
Now that he was closer, he saw the manual wasn’t placed randomly, but was embedded in the wooden box. And the entire wooden box was connected to the ground.
This uncanny sight immediately made him think of traps.
Retracting his hand, Shi Xiaole opened the second wooden box.
Inside there was a layer of pale silver silk.
Assured that it had no connection to the wooden box, Shi Xiaole picked up the silk layer and discovered that it was a silk outfit made from some unknown material.
The silk outfit was semi-transparent, thin and light as air. While it seemed big, it surprisingly shrunk down to the size of a baby’s fist when grabbed.
After some thought, Shi Xiaole pulled out his Qingfeng sword and slashed at the silver silk outfit.
It remained undamaged.
The Qingfeng sword is a lower-tier magical sword, extraordinarily sharp, capable of easily severing even hard substances like marble.
Gathering his Purple Light internal power, Shi Xiaole took another swing with his sword.
The power of this attack was enough to break the Qi Defense of an ordinary fifth-tier Qi Absorption expert. But on the silver silk outfit, there was no trace of damage.
The legendary ’Treasured Armor’!
Shi Xiaole was overjoyed.
Treasured Armor is technically a weapon, but it exists as a defensive weapon.
But such defensive weapons are much rarer than ordinary weapons - if one had to quantify it, it would be about a one to fifty ratio.
Most importantly, the value of defensive weapons is much higher than ordinary weapons.
Taking a lower-tier magical weapon of the same quality - if the value of the Qingfeng sword is around one hundred thousand taels of silver, then a piece of lower-tier Treasured Armor will cost at least one million taels of silver.
There are two main reasons for this huge difference.
Firstly, the materials and dedication required to refine Treasured Armor is far greater than ordinary weapons.
Secondly, the utility of Treasured Armor is greater. It’s always safer to deflect a blow than to dodge one. In the Martial World, face-to-face combat is not scary, what’s truly scary is being schemed against.
With Treasured Armor, at least one is partially protected from sudden attacks, not to mention face-to-face combat, it can withstand much greater damage, significantly enhancing a martial artist’s ability to survive.
"This silver silk outfit is of a much higher quality than the Qingfeng sword."
Without any hesitation, Shi Xiaole put on the silver silk outfit inside his shirt and stabbed himself in the chest with his sword. The result was his shirt was ripped open, but his chest was unhurt.
"Treasured Armor is indeed Treasured Armor. With it, I have more confidence wandering in the Martial World."
Shi Xiaole laughed satisfactorily.
To some extent, the value of the silver silk outfit is higher than the Frenzy Technique secret manual. After all, he didn’t know if the latter was suitable for him or not, and it would be difficult to cultivate based on it.
The effect of the silver silk outfit is visible immediately.
Although it does not isolate one from internal power, it can, at the very least, withstand sword strikes.
If the ’present him’ were to face the ’past him’, the former could slowly exhaust the latter without the latter knowing.
Suppressing his joy, Shi Xiaole prepared to open the third wooden box. That ominous premonition once again emerged from his heart, but this time it was much stronger.
"’Mad Scholar’ Dongfang Haoran, said to be an unpredictable character with fine lines between being righteous and evil. Would such a person willingly allow the treasures in his mansion to be looted?"
"Wouldn’t it be more in character for him to destroy everything just when you think you’ve achieved the greatest success?"
From the beginning, Shi Xiaole was full of doubts about the mansion. These doubts have not lessened now that he has obtained something. Now, his intuition was warning him that danger was approaching.
"Run!"
Boosting his cultivation base to the limit, Shi Xiaole sprinted towards the exit.
In the tunnel, a figure was also running quickly.
"I hope it’s not too late."
The figure was a sullen-faced old man dressed in black, who had a cultivation level that had impressively reached the early stage of the ninth-tier of Qi Absorption!
Although the Floating River Area is full of Xuanqi Realm experts, experts at the ninth-tier of Qi Absorption are rare. As soon as he heard the mansion appeared, the black-clothed old man rushed over from far away, hoping he wasn’t too late.
From a distance, the old man in black spotted three people.
The three of them also saw him. As they sensed his aura, they all looked extremely cautious.
"Eh, young man Ling?"
Just as he was about preparing to make his move, he recognized Ling Tianyu and suppressed his cultivation.
"Senior Wang Lu."
Ling Tianyu was also surprised. Hurriedly, he withdrew his cold demeanor and saluted the old man in black.
’Lone Solitary Guest’ Wang Lu, a top-tier expert in the Floating River Area. This man is acknowledged as a tough opponent in both the righteous and evil paths. Ling Tianyu couldn’t help feeling glad, fortunate that his master once saved this man’s life, otherwise, his life would have been in danger.
"Are these two people your friends?"
Wang Lu asked coldly.
Ling Tianyu hesitated for a bit after looking at Xiang Mingzhen and Ye Linglong, then he reluctantly nodded.
"Hmph, take care."
Wang Lu’s figure flickered as he disappeared into the distance.
Xiang Mingzhen and Ye Linglong both breathed a sigh of relief. Just now, they both thought they were going to die.
The formidable strength of a ninth-tier Qi Absorption expert was not something ordinary people could imagine, once they made a move, even the two of them working together couldn’t handle it for more than three moves.
"Thanks, Brother Ling."
After glancing at each other, Xiang Mingzhen and Ye Linglong thanked Ling Tianyu.
"Hmph, if you really want to thank me, don’t publicize my defeat."
Ling Tianyu reverted to his icy demeanor.
Ye Linglong chuckled, then exclaimed as if remembering something, "Not good, Brother Shi is in danger!"
...
No sooner had he set foot outside the stone hall than Shi Xiaole felt his hairs standing on end. He sensed a powerful aura approaching him.
Whoosh!
In a matter of breaths, the arrival was before his eyes.
"Kid, did you just come out from inside?"
Wang Lu scrutinized Shi Xiaole, his eyes icy. Without waiting for an answer, he said, "Hand over what you have and I’ll leave your body intact."
While speaking, his aura intensified, bearing down on Shi Xiaole like a mountain.
Seventh Tier Qi Absorption warriors could release their internal power.
But Ninth Tier Qi Absorption warriors formed a substantial aura that could cause the will of many lower-tier Qi Absorption warriors to crumble and their minds to become chaotic.
In the past, Wang Lu wouldn’t even bother to deal with anyone below the Third Tier of Qi Absorption.
He believed this time would be no different, as the kid in front of him would soon kneel at his feet, tremulously surrendering his possessions.
However...
There wasn’t a trace of panic on Shi Xiaole’s face, instead he calmly said, "Since handing it over means death and not handing it over also means death, why should I give it to you?"
Under unprepared circumstances, Shi Xiaole believed his only path was death, so he had no intention of heeding the old man in black.
Wang Lu’s ancient eyes bulged.
He doubted his hearing. Who in the younger generation had dared to address him in such a manner these past twenty years? Not even the apex talents dared to.
"Kid, you’re really asking for it."
With splayed fingers, Wang Lu nonchalantly slapped toward Shi Xiaole.
The horrifying release of internal power was like a mudslide, surging toward him. As Shi Xiaole was about to retaliate, he felt an oppressive heaviness in the surrounding air, almost as if he were trapped in a quagmire.
Thud!
Shi Xiaole spat out a mouthful of blood and retreated several steps, a bitter smile on his face.
Indeed, he was no match for a Ninth Tier Qi Absorption master. The latter had only to lift a finger to take care of him.
"Old men like me love to teach brazen youths a lesson, this is only the beginning."
Seeing Shi Xiaole still smiling, Wang Lu deemed his tactics insufficiently ruthless. He redoubled the force in his hand, this time aiming for Shi Xiaole’s spine.
He was eager to see whether his opponent could keep smiling once he was paralyzed.
The terrifying force seemed about to strike.
Yet Shi Xiaole’s smile didn’t falter.
It was a mocking, cold, merciless smile.
No one knew that, even before entering the cave, Shi Xiaole had used the Sunflower Treasure Manual, along with two hundred bonus points, to exchange for a system killing technique.
The martial arts used for the sacrificial rite wouldn’t be erased from his mind, only that he couldn’t practice them. Besides, he had no intention of practicing the Sunflower Treasure Manual.
"Activate killing technique."
With a cold command in his heart, Shi Xiaole suddenly had a flash of enlightenment, and his sword hand involuntarily thrust out.
What kind of sword was this?
The sword light tore through the void, creating a path that gave Wang Lu multiple illusions - unable to trace its source or its destination.
It seemed this was no longer a sword, but a sublimated spirit, a sublimated will.
Shii!
The sound of the blade piercing the body almost coincided with the sound of it being sheathed.
No blood splattered.
Because the speed of this swordstroke was so swift that the blood in Wang Lu’s throat didn’t have time to flow out.
"This, this is, what swordsmanship?"
Wang Lu gasped, bloodshot eyes unable to believe what they were seeing.
"It doesn’t have a name, it only serves to kill."
Shi Xiaole shook his head, an unyielding figure surfacing in his mind.
The Flying Swordsman, Affi.
Everyone acknowledged the speed of Affi’s swordsmanship, which even received compliments from Li Xunhuan at the outset. ’This kid could be unmatched under the heavens the moment he eliminates the flaws in his swordsmanship.’
Although he strayed and lost his way, Affi found himself in the end, hence becoming the fastest swordsman under the heavens.
In front of such a swordsman, what was a Ninth Tier Qi Absorption master?
Shaking off his sentiment, Shi Xiaole searched Wang Lu’s lifeless body, then regretfully left.
Old Martial World hands will always be old hands and wouldn’t carry anything valuable on their person.
Squeak, squeak.
Inside the cave, the noise of wheels grinding could be heard.
From the moment Shi Xiaole picked up the silver robe, the slight change in weight triggered the cave’s self-destruction mechanism.
Little did Shi Xiaole anticipate that if he initially took the Frenzy Technique scripture or opened the third box directly, the self-destruction mechanism would have activated faster, detonating the cave immediately.
Along the wall, Shi Xiaole pushed his strength to the max, quickly climbing back to the original fork, then by using certain points for leverage, he made his way toward the cave exit desperately.
Squeak, squeak...
The sound grew louder.
A quarter of an hour later, a booming explosion centered around the stone hall spread out, obliterating everything in its path. No corpses, stone walls or pathways remained intact.
The fire tongues shot out of the cave, extending hundreds of meters, causing the entire gray cavern to tremble.
