Chapter 17: Chapter 17: The Power of the Sword Technique
On the official road a hundred meters outside of Emerald Feather City, a group of people in black appeared, surrounding Shi Xiaole.
"Kid, if you obediently hand over the martial arts secrets on you, I might consider leaving you with a whole corpse."
The Life-Seeking Demon God said with a confident grin, stroking his fingers.
Twenty or so days ago, he could have easily killed him and this time would be no exception. Unless the sun rose from the west, the Life-Seeking Demon God refused to believe that Shi Xiaole could escape death a second time.
"A whole corpse? Don’t be too confident, you might miss a step and fall straight to hell."
Shi Xiaole’s grip on the blade tightened, his muscles tensed up.
"Hahaha! You won’t shed a tear until you see the coffin. I suddenly feel that killing you directly is a waste. I hate your fearless face."
The Life-Seeking Demon God steadily approached. When the two were only ten meters apart, he exerted all his power and threw a fierce palm strike.
He was careless last time, which gave Shi Xiaole a slim chance to survive. This time, the Life-Seeking Demon God showed no mercy and aimed directly at Shi Xiaole’s right shoulder.
He was confident that this palm strike would not kill Shi Xiaole but would severely injure him, allowing him to torture him, extract the martial art secrets, and earn credit from the gang leader.
The overwhelming palm force approached, and Shi Xiaole’s breathing instantly became difficult.
However, the emotions and spirits he had accumulated abruptly exploded with unprecedented power. With a clear ringing sound, he used the Draw Sword Skill.
The brilliant blade light, seemingly from the depths of his soul, was too fast to trace.
Last time, Wan Chong, at the seventh level of Hidden Qi, couldn’t block this sword. This time, the Life-Seeking Demon God, at the same level, sensed the power of this sword and shouted loudly, desperately trying to dodge it.
Swish.
Blood sprayed out, accompanied by a scream of disbelief.
A sword mark ran from the Life-Seeking Demon God’s left shoulder to his right ribs, penetrating an inch deep.
At the same time, after the momentum of the Draw Sword Skill was exhausted, Shi Xiaole gripped the Hundred Battles Blade with both hands. After a series of slashes and cuts, he retreated seven or eight steps and barely blocked the remaining power of the Life-Seeking Demon God’s palm strike.
Originally, Shi Xiaole would have been severely injured under the Life-Seeking Demon God’s palm strike once the Draw Sword Skill was used. However, after incorporating the Battle Blade Skill, the flaw in the Draw Sword Skill was perfectly patched up.
"If you want to kill me, you must pay the price of blood."
With a cold shout, the members of the Black Evil Gang clearly felt Shi Xiaole’s different aura.
If he was as peaceful as water before, he was now as violent as fire. As if he was a general on a battlefield, risking his life to fight and winning every battle.
The Battle Blade Skill as a whole emphasizes momentum. Shi Xiaole rushed towards the Life-Seeking Demon God, launching a series of brutal attacks. The constantly changing blade lights, unpredictable, not giving the Life-Seeking Demon God a chance to breathe.
"What kind of blade skill is this, how did this damn kid progress so fast?"
The Life-Seeking Demon God was panicked, mainly because he underestimated the power of the Draw Sword Skill. He was severely injured and disoriented.
"Everyone, attack!"
The members of the Black Evil Gang finally reacted, each wielding their weapons and charging towards Shi Xiaole. However, as soon as they approached, three or four of them were injured by the Battle Blade Skill. Broken arms and bloody limbs fell miserably to the ground.
Upon seeing their fallen comrades, the rest of the Black Evil Gang members were terrified and could not dare to approach as Shi Xiaole’s battle spirit grew stronger.
They were usually very proficient in bullying the weak and fearing the hard because of the reputation of the Black Evil Gang, but when it came to a life-or-death struggle, who dared to make a move?
In fact, they missed the best opportunity.
Excluding the one-time use of the Draw Sword Skill, Shi Xiaole’s true strength still fell far short of the Life-Seeking Demon God’s.
If only a dozen members of the Black Evil Gang with the third or fourth level of Hidden Qi had disturbed him for a while, the Life-Seeking Demon God could have escaped. By then, Shi Xiaole would be left with only one path: death.
"You bunch of idiots, seeing death not rescue, do you want to be dealt with by the gang rules?"
The Life-Seeking Demon God was so anxious that he jumped up and shouted with a hoarse voice.
"You’re the one heading for a dead-end and still want to drag others down with you, you deserve to die."
Shi Xiaole swung his sword faster and faster, retorting those around him, "A bunch of trash, wait until I kill this leader and then it will be your turn."
Showing any signs of fear at this time would lead to death.
Shi Xiaole chose to go against the grain, under the aura of the Battle Blade Skill that showed blood with every strike, he attacked continuously, thrusting and chopping, causing the Life-Seeking Demon God to lose his footing, looking ragged.
Bang.
In a head-on collision, the Life-Seeking Demon God gritted his teeth and endured more injuries to finally knock away the Hundred Battles Blade. But before he could celebrate, Shi Xiaole drew the sword from his waist.
In a single swipe of the long sword, a blurry white crane rushed out from the tip of the sword. Its claws swiftly reached out to grasp the Life-Seeking Demon God’s throat, causing blood to burst out everywhere.
"You... you... Transformation Phase... "
His eyes bulging out, the Life-Seeking Demon God stiffened and fell, showing no signs of life.
He probably never imagined that one day he would die at the hands of a young punk who was far less powerful than him.
During this period of time, although Shi Xiaole had primarily practiced the Battle Blade Skill, he didn’t neglect other swordsmanship, especially the Miao Family Sword Technique. He had reached the peak of the Transformation Phase, which could be considered as the second kill-move after the Draw Sword Skill.
The severely injured Life-Seeking Demon God naturally couldn’t avoid it.
"Run, run fast."
Seeing their boss killed, the members of the Black Evil Gang, scared out of their wits, started running one by one. They only wished that they could sprout a pair of wings to accelerate their escape.
Without paying any heed to these minions, Shi Xiaole carefully recalled the previous battle. He felt that his combat experience was accumulating incrementally. Even before, he would never have considered loosening his grip on the Hundred Battles Blade to prepare for a strike.
"True experts are honed through bloody battles. I relish this kind of combat."
Crouching down, Shi Xiaole rummaged through the body of the Life-Seeking Demon God only to find a money pouch. There was no trace of any secret martial arts manuals.
"Right, after all, the Black Evil Gang is the largest gang in the Emerald Feather City. Those martial arts secrets must be hidden somewhere safe within the gang’s territories, not allowed to be carried around."
Regretfully, Shi Xiaole shook his head and proceeded to leave.
This time, by hastening his journey with short breaks, he finally managed to return to the Huajian Sect within only six hours. That same night, he sat in the light of a candle, deciphering the contents of a parchment that he’d bought from the Dark Alley.
"Third Eye Elder, Third Eye Cave Residence?"
Having deciphered the contents of the parchment after much stumbling, Shi Xiaole put down the book with a shocked look on his face.
As it turned out, the parchment recorded the location of the cave residence of a stone-touching master, nicknamed the Third Eye Elder.
In this world, there exists a substance called the Mystic Crystal Stone. Born of the essence of heaven and earth, it is incredibly rare and highly sought after by members of the martial world.
Because the spiritual energy within this Mystic Crystal Stone can directly be absorbed and transformed into the martial artist’s internal power!
According to legends in the martial world, there once was a martial artist of lowly standing who happened upon a Mystic Crystal mine. After he had absorbed all the spiritual energy within the mine, his internal power increased a hundredfold, catapulting him to the ranks of exceptionally skilled martial artists.
The Mystic Crystal mines rarely exist in the natural world. Fundamentally, they are events that occur once in ten thousand years.
Scattered Mystic Crystals are equally hard to find.
Because their exterior differs in no way from ordinary stones, and there’s an invisible film on their surface. Only by unlocking this film in a sophisticated way can one absorb the spiritual energy within.
After long periods of training, some can garner the ability to find Mystic Crystals and unlock the surface film. These individuals are respectfully referred to as Stone Touching Masters.
A Stone Touching Master is certainly one of the most glamorous but also one of the most dangerous figures in the martial world.
Because wherever they go, they attract the adulation of various martial arts powers. But at the same time, they become the envy of others and completely lose their freedom.
Unless the Stone Touching Master is a powerful martial artist himself. However, for some reason, according to various rumors from the martial world, it appears that Stone Touching Masters can’t practice martial arts, which is very strange.
"Could there be Mystic Crystal Stones, or even Stone Touching Skills, hidden in the Cave Residence of the Stone Touching Master?"
Looking at the parchment in his hand, Shi Xiaole couldn’t deny that he was intrigued by it.
Opportunities should be seized when they arise. Shi Xiaole, a decisive man, only hesitated for a few seconds before deciding to go and see for himself.
From what he can see at present, his internal power level remains a significant weakness. It’s impossible to catch up with others in a short time without taking shortcuts.
The next day, Shi Xiaole first went to the Book Collection Building.
This time, probably being apprehensive about the Second Elder, the Third Elder doesn’t dare to stop him anymore.
The Huajian Sect is only a third-rate sect after all, and the martial arts manuals in the library are scarce. The majority of the books are about geography, customs, and traditions.
Easily acquiring the Dot Plum Sword Skill and the Meditative Mind Method, Shi Xiaole begins to read through them. His aim was not to practice these martial arts but to exchange the content for reward points.
Soon, Shi Xiaole received three hundred and eighty reward points.
"Junior Brother Shi, you’re here too."
At this moment, a clear and soft voice can be heard in his ears.
Looking up, Shi Xiaole sees a young girl dressed in pink with a crystal clear face standing not far away. It was none other than the first genius of the Huajian Sect, Senior Sister Mao Wenjing.
Even though in his previous life, he had seen a variety of beauties through various channels, Shi Xiaole still can’t help admiring that Mao Wenjing truly is an unparalleled beauty, flawless both from afar and up close.
"Hello, Senior Sister Mao."
Shi Xiaole smiled slightly and then saw Qin Zhao coming out from between the bookshelves to converse with Mao Wenjing. It seemed that they had come together.
From beginning to end, Qin Zhao didn’t spare him a glance, as if he hadn’t seen Shi Xiaole at all.
"Senior Sister Mao, I have some business to attend to. I will take my leave first."
Not wanting to embarrass himself, Shi Xiaole turned to leave.
Mao Wenjing nodded slightly, evidently a little disconcerted.
Although she usually doesn’t pay much attention to what others think of her, Mao Wenjing is after all a fifteen-year-old girl. After getting used to the special attention from others and seeing Shi Xiaole’s nonchalance towards her, she can’t help but feel a bit awkward.
Her female intuition told her that Shi Xiaole was not playing hard to get, but genuinely had not taken notice of her.
"Senior Sister Mao, Junior Brother Shi seems to hold us in low regard and doesn’t seem interested in associating with us. The Sect Competition will transpire in two months, and I really hope to have a fair match with him then."
Looking at Shi Xiaole’s receding figure, a disdainful smile crept onto Qin Zhao’s face.
With his words, he was implying that Shi Xiaole was arrogant, and at the same time hinting at his intention to not show any mercy during the competition.
Shi Xiaole didn’t know about Qin Zhao’s insinuations, and even if he did, he wouldn’t care. Right now, he’s busy preparing his personal belongings, ready to visit the Third Eye Elder’s Third Eye Cave Residence to see what lays there for himself.
