Chapter 193: Chapter 193: Great Progress in Skills
Three months quietly passed by.
Shi Xiaole’s whole body had darkened, not from sunlight, but because he had gone a long time without bathing, which had caused a large amount of dust to adhere to his skin.
His long hair was also scattered messily, fluttering in the wind at the moment.
"Go!"
Shi Xiaole pointed a finger and a strand of bizarrely eerie internal power suddenly tore through the air, hitting the root of a large tree five yards away that required two people to wrap their arms around. With a hissing sound, a three inch deep hole appeared in the tree root.
"The second-class superior inner power mind method is indeed incredible. Even though it’s not yet at the minor accomplishment stage, its power has already reached sixty percent of the Purple Light Divine Skill."
Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but was shocked.
With his aptitude and understanding, he hadn’t been able to break through to the minor accomplishment stage even after months of diligent practice in Brahma-I Unity. If Brahma-I Unity was divided into ten parts, minor accomplishment would be considered three parts, Shi Xiaole was at most close to two parts.
Despite this, this rate of progress would still be shocking to the Martial World.
Normal geniuses would need at least several years of hard work to reach this level.
"Brahma-I Unity is not simply an inner power technique. Combined with the peculiar moves from the included Yoga technique, that strike just now could have been even stronger."
As he spoke, Shi Xiaole’s body twisted. His upper body leaned forward to form a straight line parallel with the ground before he suddenly swung a punch upwards.
Bang!
The root of the large tree five yards away vibrated violently, tree bark falling off in flaps revealing a very clear palm print in the center.
The practice of Yoga takes accumulative practice, and the Yoga techniques combined with Brahma-I Unity are many times more difficult to practice than regular yoga.
Shi Xiaole shouldn’t have been able to learn it so quickly, but fortunately, he had swallowed ten Elephant Strength Fruits which greatly enhanced his physique, making it superior even to many martial artists in the Xuanqi Realm. Naturally, his learning speed was much faster too.
Although the progress was fast, Shi Xiaole didn’t let it go to his head. He knew that his strength had actually decreased compared to three months ago.
Any martial artist who changes his inner power technique will find it a trouble. This means you must transform your internal power and start training from scratch, causing one’s strength to fall to a low point.
There are no shortage of cases in the Martial World where highly skilled fighters have been killed by enemies during the period when their strength declines due to changing their inner power technique.
So, Shi Xiaole did not plan to leave the valley until his strength had recovered. Conveniently, there was still 20% of his Purple Light internal power that had not been transformed, and his cultivation has shown signs of breakthrough recently. He planned to finish both tasks simultaneously.
The sun rose and set, and another half a month passed just like that.
On this day, an indescribable internal power emanated from Shi Xiaole. This power passed through the ground, penetrated the rocks, and diffused onto faraway birds, piercing through their pores. However, the birds felt nothing.
If someone stood far away and watched, they would find that the flow of qi seemed to have been separated, pushing and pulling, which was incredibly strange.
At this moment, Shi Xiaole finally managed to transform all his Purple Light power into Brahma-I Unity internal power. His strength skyrocketed, significantly surpassing his previous level.
But that wasn’t all. With the purification of his internal power, a solid barrier inside Shi Xiaole’s body broke with a loud rumble. A forceful qi energy dispersed in all directions, causing even more chaos in the flow of qi.
Qi Absorption Fourth Stage.
After three and a half months of hard work, Shi Xiaole’s cultivation level finally broke through to the Qi Absorption Fourth Stage, and not just the early phase, but the middle phase.
Feeling the warm and cold power surging inside his body, instinctively, Shi Xiaole threw a punch. The punch was incredibly refined, directly leaving a six-inch deep dent in the big tree five yards away.
"My internal power has increased by forty percent. Along with the use of Brahma-I Unity, the increase in strength is around sixty percent."
The same amount of internal power, after being used with different Mind Methods, has vastly different power levels.
This is still when Brahma-I Unity hasn’t reached the minor accomplishment stage. Once it does, the increase will be even more amazing, far surpassing the Purple Light Divine Skill in its peak state.
Shi Xiaole was confident that if he sparred with Hou Tianping again, he wouldn’t need his finishing move. He could easily defeat him in five moves.
Whinny.
As if sensing Shi Xiaole’s joy, Qingfeng, the green horse, galloped over, intending to lick Shi Xiaole’s face again, but was stopped by Shi Xiaole’s outstretched hand.
"Qingfeng, let’s make a deal, you can’t just lick my face anymore."
Shi Xiaole said helplessly.
Because Qingfeng ran like the wind and was comfortable to ride, Shi Xiaole named him Qingfeng (Green Wind). Qingfeng was great in all aspects, except for being too dependent on Shi Xiaole.
Hearing Shi Xiaole’s words, Qingfeng continually rubbed against his neck. Seeing the determined look on Shi Xiaole’s face, Qingfeng could only whine a few times to signify his understanding.
After playing with Qingfeng for a while, a thought struck Shi Xiaole and he swiftly entered the system in his mind. Including the time spent on Lotus Peak, he had accumulated four chances of free draw, and it was time to use them.
The first two attempts resulted in drawing blanks.
On the third try, Shi Xiaole drew the third-class superior technique, Closing Veins and Shutting Cycles, created by Ba Fenghan. When inflicted, no one could save the victim. Even if they woke up, they would forget all previous events. It didn’t have much use in combat, similar to the side martial art, the Breath-holding Technique.
On the fourth attempt, Shi Xiaole had good luck and drew a second-class mid-quality internal power technique, Ice Profound Power.
The exceptional skill ranking only listed second-tier martial arts, so many people belittled the Ice Profound Power, which was a mistake.
It was said that this technique was comprehended by Yuwen Shang during his military campaign in Korea, in an icy mountain.
Although Yuwen Shang was later defeated by Kou Zhong, it wasn’t an easy win for Kou Zhong. Remember that by that time, Kou Zhong’s martial arts were fully developed, and few could compete with him apart from a few grandmasters like Ning Daoqi and Song Que.
From this, one could tell that the Ice Profound Power isn’t simple.
Of course, for Shi Xiaole who had practiced Brahma-I Unity, Ice Profound Power couldn’t arouse his interest. However, it was always good to have it as a reference. Who knows, it might come in handy in the future.
After resting for a night in the valley, Shi Xiaole decided to leave. Now he was indefensible to the master of Qi Absorption at the eighth level. It would be best for the five bald high-hand men not to encounter him.
Qingfeng raised his hoofs and bellowed excitedly; he was finally able to experience the outside world.
The next morning, the man and horse retraced their steps. Placing the green and azure pearls against the stone wall, the crevices opened, and Shi Xiaole and Qingfeng appeared beside the water ditch.
...
"Where the hell did that bastard go?"
At the foot of Lotus Peak, the bald big man vented his pent-up anger.
Since Shi Xiaole disappeared three months ago, they had searched hard but to no avail. They eventually returned to their sects, and Thief Monkey let slip that Shi Xiaole was seeking his fortune.
Upon hearing this, Ying Wei and Ying Wu immediately took it seriously.
What could possibly be so important that a genius like Shi Xiaole risked his life to find it? Therefore, the Yunshui Gang and the Purple Beauty Sect dispatched many men, assisting the bald big man and the other four in searching for Shi Xiaole throughout the mountains.
Even then, because of Duan Xi’s warning, Ying Wei and Ying Wu dared not continue tracking Shi Xiaole and instead personally went to the Lotus Peak.
Unfortunately, even after three months, they found nothing.
Ying Wei and Ying Wu had many sect affairs to deal with, and so they had to return. There were also enough martial artists to deal with Shi Xiaole, they didn’t need to worry.
"Do you people think that kid left a long time ago?"
One of the five who pursued Shi Xiaole ventured a guess.
The Lotus Peak was vast; if Shi Xiaole snuck away, it would indeed be difficult for them to discover.
"No, he wouldn’t. If he didn’t leave before, he certainly won’t now. Unless he’s found what he’s looking for," said the thief monkey, his eyes sparkling with a momentary glimmer of greed and fervor.
At this point, all strategies were useless, and they could only search the hard way. Unfortunately, the Purple Beauty Sect had already issued orders: if they found nothing in ten more days, they would retreat from Lotus Peak.
After all, the manpower here made up a quarter of the Purple Beauty Sect’s elite forces. They couldn’t stay here forever.
Just as the five masters were suffering from their inability to act, someone from the distance came sprinting over, shouting loudly, "Elders, that kid has appeared!"
"What?"
"Is this true?"
"Where?"
The five men raised their heads simultaneously and shouted. Thief Monkey was even more excited, trembling all over.
That kid almost assassinated him with Thunder Bombs; he must seek revenge for this!
Without waiting for the man to answer, their gazes all landed on an open space halfway up the mountain. A man walked out of the thicket there and began to descend.
"You damn bastard, this time there is nowhere for you to run!"
The other four men rushed out impatiently, their faces flushed with anger. Only Thief Monkey hesitated, thinking deeply, suspicious of Shi Xiaole’s calm demeanor.
The other guy should know the situation here.
"Did he really obtain a great opportunity?" asked Thief Monkey, his heart pounding wildly.
Not mentioning the five high levels of Qi Absorption, here were more than five hundred elite fighters from the Yunshui Gang and Purple Beauty Sect combined. They didn’t fear a single kid, did they?
And even if the kid had a great opportunity, how much could he learn in a short three months?
"I will observe from the shadows first."
Reason told Thief Monkey that Shi Xiaole was doomed today. However, his calm demeanor caused him to waver, so he decided to hide behind and watch, ready to act when the time was right.
Whoosh... whoosh... whoosh...
Apart from the four bald big men, other high-level fighters who had received the news rushed forth, rapidly surrounding Shi Xiaole tightly on all sides.
"You damn bastard, you keep me waiting!"
The words seemed to squeeze out from the gaps of the bald big man’s teeth. He never thought that a youngster could cause him such humiliation, but today all the humiliations would end.
The bald big man noticed Shi Xiaole’s odd demeanor, but he was prepared. He simply had to wear down the youngster’s survival skills first. What was there to fear?
As for the kid’s skill, he could defeat the five of them in three months? He wouldn’t believe it even if it killed him.
"You’ve been waiting for me? You shouldn’t have," said Shi Xiaole, shaking his head.
Although he was surrounded by many people, the only ones he deemed worthy of his attention were the four bald big men and one very cautious man who was hiding far away.
Thinking of this, Shi Xiaole revealed a smirk.
His leisurely attitude immediately provoked all the people present.
"Still playing hard at the moment of death, kill him!"
With a wave of the bald big man’s hand, dozens of fighters charged towards Shi Xiaole. Their unrefined internal energy surged like a raging tide, almost instantly engulfing him.
