Chapter 203: Chapter 203: The Boiling Storm is Coming
It is March, when the grass is growing and the birds are flying, precisely the best time of Spring.
The martial world of Qingxue State is boiling over due to the quinquennial Martial Art Competition, a rendezvous for all heroes.
Qingxue domain, located in central Qingxue State.
This domain is the largest in size and also boasts the most advanced martial arts standard in the entire Qingxue State.
A simple example is that in the Yunfeng Domain, a Xuan Qi low-rank martial individual could become the Sect Master of a top-notch martial sect. A Xuan Qi mid-rank martial individual can even dominate the martial world.
Yet in Qingxue domain, Xuan Qi mid-rank martial individuals do not even qualify to be Sect Masters of top-notch martial sects, let alone dominating the martial world. They need to have at least a Xuan Qi seventh-layered realm.
Stronger top-notch martial sects might have Sect Masters who reached Xuan Qi’s ninth realm.
As for the strongest apex martial sects of Qingxue State, their Sect Masters are uniformly high level spiritual passage experts and are ranked near the top of the heroes list.
Qingxue City, the central city within the Qingxue Domain.
In the streets tens of meters wide, wherever you look, there are martial arts people with knives and swords around their waists. As for the taverns, inns, or even brothels, the bustling noise is unbearable.
Swearing, laughing, and all sorts of common sounds in the martial world could be heard everywhere.
In the sky, the clouds are subtly scattered by an invisible force and could never gather together. This is due to the numerous martial arts masters in the city. Even though they restrain their Qi, their collective energies still form a strong disturbance in the sky.
In fact, compared to the martial artists rushing in from all over the place, the number of people who can enter Qingxue City is less than 10 percent. This is because a few days ago, the local government intervened to limit more people from entering the city, otherwise Qingxue City would most certainly be paralyzed.
Those martial artists who could not enter the city and rest were resentful, but they could only take a detour, head straight to the Heroic Hill Ranges, and wait for the commencement of the Martial Art Competition.
A Spring rain had just fallen, leaving the surface of the city a bit damp.
At the gate of a bridge at the end of Long street, a group of people were clustered around.
"Why are you meddling with me, kiddo?"
A one-eyed swordsman asked coldly.
There was a hint of disdain on the face of the young man facing him wearing a blue hero’s headscarf.
"The Sword Crazy man has a notorious reputation for killing in the past, he has killed many Sect Masters from various martial sects. I fear the young man has stirred up big trouble by stopping Sword Crazy from harassing the young girl."
"We should better keep our distance. They say when Sword Crazy goes on a rampage, he goes on a killing spree."
"Humph! I think Sword Crazy is the one who is doomed. You guys don’t know, do you? This young man is the recently famous Situ Changkong, the meddlesome Situ Changkong."
"Situ Changkong? The one who defeated the One-Arm Saber with six strokes, and killed the Lingnan Nine Players with three strokes, but he looks ordinary."
Everyone was surprised, their gazes once again fell onto the two people atop the bridge.
"Since you do not cherish your life, you can’t blame me."
Sword Crazy burst into wild laughter, his laughter sounding like a night owl, many people were instantly stupefied, and almost lost their balance.
"Look out, it’s the sound wave skill."
The people standing at the front swayed incessantly. The next moment, the spatial sword scar flashed, and Sword Crazy’s sword had already stabbed at Situ Changkong’s throat.
The crowd was shocked. Is this the trump card of Sword Crazy? By launching an unstoppable sound wave attack to disrupt the opponent, then unleashing a deadly sword strike, no wonder many experts died in his hands.
"Your sword is too slow."
Situ Changkong’s emotionless voice echoed.
A sword pierced the throat of Sword Crazy. However, Sword Crazy’s sword had stopped at the throat of Situ Changkong, and it would never advance half an inch.
Situ Changkong left, no one saw his move, they didn’t even know what his sword looked like.
"What... what ..."
"What a quick sword, what a ruthless swordsman."
"Sword Crazy, who reached the peak of Qi Absorption Ninth Realm, couldn’t stop Situ Changkong’s casual sword strike. My God, this is enough to compete for the top three in the Junior Hero Leaderboard in previous years. See, this person is bound to shine in this Martial Art Competition."
There was a heated discussion among spectators.
Not far away in the inn, some people stood by the window and shifted their gaze away from the scene.
"Situ Changkong is mysterious and his swordsmanship is superb. I believe that only he is qualified enough to challenge the status of the four teen swordsmen of Qingxue State in this competition."
"Challenge? Each of those four teen swordsmen is an amazing talent, so to say he could challenge them is a bit of an overstatement. But apart from those four swordsmen, indeed only a few can match up to Situ Changkong in swordsmanship."
The voices in the inn reach the ears of a man and three women in a private room. The four people have different expressions on their faces.
"Young Master Pan, do you think you have a chance of winning against Situ Changkong?"
The three beautiful women were stunning and filled the room with their fragrance, they were unmistakably the Three Flower Ladies. Yinhua Lady in simple clothes asked, laughing, addressing the silk-clothed young master across from her.
The young master in silk looks quite beautiful, with a high nose and red lips, he has a unique elegance to him. Without uttering a single word, he poured out the wine in the cup with a smile on his face.
Then something incredible happened, under his guidance, the wine morphed into various shapes in the air and flowed back into the cup, seemingly defying gravity.
"The ninth layer of Jade Divine Skill?"
Yuhua Lady covered her mouth in shock, almost gasping out loud. Even Madam Gold Flower and Yinhua Lady opened their eyes wide in surprise.
"Young Master Pan is indeed remarkable. It seems that he is likely to win the beauty this time."
Yinhua Lady’s gaze was circling between Pan Yue and Yuhua Lady, there was a hint of playfulness in her tone.
The Jade Divine Skill has a total of thirteen layers, the famous skill of the top martial artist in the heroes list, Elder Jade. ’Jade Lad’ Pan Yue managed to reach the ninth layer at the age of 24, which predicts that his future achievements will be higher than Elder Jade.
It seems that the third lady has found herself a treasure.
"I have only recently made a breakthrough and would like to measure up against all the other heroes."
Pan Yue’s voice was as attractive as his appearance and his confident gaze out of the window made it hard for Yuhua Lady to shift her eyes away.
...
The Qiongjia Gang, one of the three major gangs in Qingxue State.
"Dominate the four seas."
A disheveled young man with patched clothes twisted his arm, his internal power suddenly burst out, directly transforming into a series of scales-like waves.
The scales-like waves layered unevenly, like a ferocious surge in the ocean, leaving the ground pockmarked.
"Good, my disciple, you have indeed mastered the Supreme Dominating Divine Palm. You took the third place in the last tournament, and in this one, I want you to take the top spot."
The head of Qiongjia Gang, revered by thousands, Old Mr. Ma, walked into the courtyard with his cane and spoke out loud.
"Disciple will not let master down."
The young man cupped his fist in his other palm, his ambition soaring.
The Supreme Dominating Divine Palm is the unique skill of Qiongjia Gang, even with his astonishing talent, it took him several years to perfect it. Plus, with the progress in his cultivation, his strength is several times stronger than five years ago, isn’t it?
This time, no one can stop me, Lin Gaofei!
Divine Fist Clan, one of the top three gangs in Qingxue State.
A teen of nine feet tall threw a punch, the surging air wave roaring non-stop. It directly punched out a huge hole in the wall thirty feet away.
You should know that he did not use his internal power for that punch, it was purely physical strength.
"Still a bit short. They all say that this tournament is full of talents. I want to see, at the time, who can withstand my fist."
The young man kept practicing his punches, sweat pouring down like rain.
Xu Family, one of the top four families in Qingxue State.
A beautiful girl with a cold temperament was waving her long sword, her sword light transforming countless clones, which then combined into one, piercing through a poplar tree a hundred meters away.
"Hundred Steps through Poplar, junior sister, your sword technique is getting better and better."
A beautiful woman in yellow clothes clapped her hands from the side.
If Shi Xiaole were here, he would definitely recognize that these two ladies were Xu Nianxue and Wang Zuying, whom he had encountered at Astonishing Dragon Castle. But compared to two years ago, these two ladies’ strength has become much stronger.
"Senior sister, you were a top-ranking master who was twelfth in the last tournament. What do you think, where could I rank in this one?"
Xu Nianxue sheathed her sword and asked.
This is her first time representing the Xu Family in the tournament of heroes. It would be a lie to say that she is not nervous. Although her father and brother did not put too much pressure on her, she wanted to secure a good place, to make everyone look at her in awe.
"If it’s of the last tournament level, and your performance is good, perhaps you can be within the top twenty."
After pondering for a while, Wang Zuying gave her answer.
"Top twenty, huh?"
Xu Nianxue nodded, somewhat satisfied with the answer, and smiled: "With senior sister’s current prowess, it should be very steady to make it to the top ten."
"Before it begins, who can say for sure, but I’ll give it my all."
She tickled her hair slightly and Wang Zuying smiled faintly.
Everyone is saying that the level of contestants in this tournament is far higher than in the last one, she wants to see how much higher can it get.
Top five is a bit uncertain, but the top ten, she must get it!
Snow Listening Mountain Villa, one of the top eight martial arts schools in Qingxue State.
The person was an undusted, white-haired, young man in white; even his socks and shoes were very clean. The sword technique he employed was incredibly beautiful, just a few glances would captivate anyone.
This was just the aesthetic beauty of the pure swordplay. As for its power, most people could not tell because those who had tried to test it had already died.
"Changqing, is this a sword technique created by you? Very good, it ranks in the middle among the second-rate low-grade ones."
In the snowy backyard, a handsome middle-aged man praised.
If someone of the martial world heard this, they would be shocked.
Xue Changqing, though one of the top four young swordsmen in Qingxue State, and a genius in the way of the sword, would it be a bit too far-fetched that a 21-year-old has created a second-rate low-grade sword technique?
"It cannot be considered self-created, it’s just an inspiration borrowed from Snow Listening Sword Technique."
Xue Changqing smiled faintly, his ice-blue eyes staring at the city in the distance, his coldness gradually replaced by the deep-seated passion.
Outsiders will never know how much progress he has made in these five years. The so-called four young swordsmen are nothing more than the results of him showing a bit of his strength.
"You were eighth the last time, what’s the plan for this time?"
The owner of Snow Listening Mountain Villa asked.
"First, but only 30% certain."
Xue Changqing’s words made the owner of Snow Listening Mountain Villa burst into hearty laughter.
He understood Xue Changqing too well, the latter’s words were always to be understood by halves. When he says he is 30% certain, the certainty should at least exceed 60%, which is enough.
Asura Mansion, one of the top eight martial arts schools in Qingxue State.
In a quiet courtyard, as the gate to the courtyard opened, a majestic young man with long hair down to his waist walked out. Standing there, he looked like a king, making people unable to help but bow their heads in reverence.
"Yuan Zong, in my Asura Mansion we always strive for first place, never settling for the second. You were first last time, this time, no matter how strong the opponents are, I want you to keep it."
The master of Asura Mansion strode over.
"Dad, so-called power, is measured in comparison."
Yuan Zong’s expression was indifferent, an extremely dreadful force suddenly surged within his body.
"This is...hahaha, good, good. It seems I was needlessly worried."
Twenty days before the start of the heroes’ tournament, the talented geniuses of various martial schools and major families came out one after another, full of confidence in their own achievements, just waiting for the day of the tournament to commence.
In the martial world of Qingxue State, the wind and clouds are stirring, and a raging wave is about to rise!
