Chapter 208: Chapter 208: The Person Destined for Disaster
The final stage tests not the flying skill, but the depth of one’s power and self-coordination.
Keep in mind, once the human body reaches an altitude of three thousand meters, they often start to experience altitude sickness due to strenuous exercise. If it happens at three thousand meters, imagine at twelve thousand meters!
Even though martial artists have internal power, if that power is exhausted, their physical constitution, aside from those who focus on horizontal practice, may not be much stronger than ordinary people.
This is why, historically, tens of millions of martial artists have raced to the Yingxue mountain range, but only a few tens or hundreds of thousands can ultimately reach the summit of Yingxue Peak.
All the way up, Shi Xiaole suppresses his speed, neither too fast or too slow. He has enough time and doesn’t need to show off.
At three thousand meters, no one is left behind.
At four thousand meters, some start to feel discomfort due to rapid power consumption.
At five thousand meters, some turn pale and begin to fall from the precipice. Typically, some would fly out to catch them and take them down from the mountain.
These people are all Xuanqi Realm experts from various factions, responsible for timely rescue and prevention of accidents.
Six thousand meters.
Seven thousands meters.
...
When Shi Xiaole reaches ten thousand meters, the air becomes incredibly thin around him, surrounded by clouds. Looking down, he feels as if he has left the secular world.
"I actually consumed 20% of my power."
Shi Xiaole scans his body internally and is somewhat surprised.
His internal power is now absolutely far beyond anyone’s expectations. On his way, Shi Xiaole once compared internal power with a peak expert of the ninth tier of the Qi Absorption, and knocked the latter away with only half of his power.
If he needs to consume 20% of his power, the difficulty of climbing Yingxue Peak is really not small.
Most importantly, don’t forget about the 2-hour period. Otherwise, with a constant pace, every genius could reach the summit.
People around him begin to fall back, slowing down, gradually widening the gap with Shi Xiaole.
"Who is this person? Terrible."
"Damn, I don’t believe I don’t even qualify to get on the stage."
...
At this time, atop the main peak of Yingxue Peak, under a welcoming pine hanging with an ancient large clock, a monk and a Taoist are sitting leisurely.
"Master Honest, in the past few days, I have received a letter from Senior Brother. He says that the Heroic Spirit Bell in Tian State has frequently vibrated, as if indicating the birth of an extraordinary genius."
Daoist Xuhuai strokes his beard and says.
Master Honest shows no surprise, obviously having already received the news: "What Daoist friend said coincides with my thoughts. When the Martial Emperor was born, the Heroic Spirit Bell in Tian State rang 81 times, shaking for miles. Although this time is far from that, it is an anomaly that has rarely occurred in hundreds of years."
After a pause, he said again: "After the last appearance of the Ghost Carriage and the frequent chaos caused by the forces of the Devil Path, the Heroic Spirit Bell has begun to show signs again. It seems that the peace of the martial arts world will not last long."
Seeing Master Honest with a compassionate look, Daoist Xuhuai says: "Where evil thrives, there will be those who can overcome it. Do you think this person will come from Qingxue State?"
Master Honest smiled: "Among the geniuses this time, the 12 with the highest realm indeed lead the others. Among those in the seventh tier of Qi Absorption, there are also several promising talents. However, their true strength is still to be tested."
Although he doesn’t explicitly deny it, the tone of his denial is obvious.
"Let’s wait and see."
Daoist Xuhuai discards his duster and laughs.
Saying that the person who can overcome the disaster comes from Qingxue State is also a joke of his.
In the Flying Horse Dynasty, there are many factions. In some places, dragons and tigers fight, and talents that emerge there are the focus of the entire dynasty.
However, there are indeed a few notables from Qingxue State this year that can be watched closely.
Just over halfway through the 2-hour period, someone takes the lead reaching the summit.
’Flying Flower Chasing the Moon’ Ye Liushuang.
Her hair, complexion, even her breathing, show no signs of disorder. She appears as if she has just returned from a leisurely walk, astonishing many masters from various factions who are responsible for safety.
Arriving alongside Ye Liushuang is ’Cold-faced Asura,’ Yuan Zong.
A few breaths later, ’Qi Dominator of Long River’ Lin Gaofei, and ’Iron-hearted God Fist’ Fang Shenwu also arrive. The two are known for their aggressiveness, slightly inferior in flying skill to the first two.
"Your surname is Yuan, this time I will defeat you."
Fang Shenwu’s eyes burn with battle intent. In his view, the only opponent is Yuan Zong.
"You’re always welcome."
Yuan Zong’s black hair flutters in the wind, seeming indifferent.
Last time, he was only nineteen years old. He defeated all powerful competitors and topped the rankings, marking a historical moment for Qingxue State in decades. Today his strength is exponentially greater than five years ago.
In Yuan Zong’s mind, there are no opponents. If there has to be one, it would be himself.
"Hmph."
Lin Gaofei smirks from the side, as if laughing coldly.
No matter Yuan Zong or Fang Shenwu, he will throw you all down this time.
Ye Liushuang doesn’t say anything, she just looks at the sea of clouds beneath, a spirit of defiance surging in her heart.
After the Four Heaven Kings, apart from the ’Ice and Snow Swordsman’ Xue Changqing, the other seven masters of Qi Absorption Eight Heavy also arrive one after another, only differing by a dozen breaths of time.
Climbing the peak tests power and coordination, but it’s not absolute. Some people intentionally hide their skills, while others try their best. Therefore, strength cannot be judged simply by time alone.
Looking at the Four Heaven Kings standing in a row, the seven newly arrived have different expressions.
"I will defeat all enemies with my sword."
This is a young man with a handsome face, ambition in his eyes. He is the last of the four young swordsmen, ’Shadow Swordman’ Nangong Yang.
"There is no person who never loses, only the path that never loses."
Gu Zhihang, dubbed as ’Wild Blade Chaotic Sword’, bearing swords on his back, unabashedly watched Yuan Zong, blatantly ignoring the other three.
"Overestimating oneself."
Lin Gaofei’s brows twitched, and he sneered repeatedly.
"Fang Shenwu, is your fist still tough?"
In the eerie atmosphere, a lean young scholar-like man pointed directly at Fang Shenwu.
"Xu Canghai, you’ll know if you try."
Fang Shenwu looked up, his spirit imposing.
If Yuan Zong was the one he wanted to defeat, then this Xu Canghai, from the Xu family in the north, was the only opponent he admired, because they both trained in fists.
In the last competition, they fought with each other for thousands of moves before he narrowly won by a fluke. He was definitely a formidable opponent.
In addition to Nangong Yang, Gu Zhihang, and Xu Canghai, ’Wandering Dragon Swordsman’ Yue Tianlin, ’Death Claiming Fast Sword’ Guan Duli, ’Floating Rain Fairy’ Su Zhi’er, as well as ’Dragon Stick Monk’ Monk Wunian remained silent, keeping a low profile.
It didn’t take long before more people started arriving at the peak.
"Brother."
Xu Nianxue quickly approached Xu Canghai. She glanced at the crowd and started smiling.
That Shi lad indeed wasn’t as fast as her. Had he already been eliminated halfway?
With fifteen minutes left to half a 2-hour period, Shi Xiaole finally leaped onto the peak. Many people turned to look at him and after taking him in, they quickly moved their gaze away.
Other than his handsome appearance and a calm aura, there was nothing special about him.
Calm?
Who in the arena wasn’t calm?
"Brother Shi."
However, a few people greeted Shi Xiaole.
They were Tao Baichuan, Song Wuji, and Li Wufeng.
There was also a ’Martial Arts Top Scholar’, Hou Tianping. Because of the previous incident, he didn’t say anything, only looked at Shi Xiaole begrudgingly with jealousy.
After a while, another group of people entered. Among them, Shi Xiaole recognized one familiar face.
Yi Nanxiong.
"It’s him."
Yi Nanxiong also saw Shi Xiaole, clenched his teeth tightly before shaking his head.
The opponent who could easily defeat him before was now even higher in cultivation. He really didn’t know how far the opponent’s strength had grown.
"Is he the Copper Banner Master?"
Next to Yi Nanxiong, several other top-notch young talents from the Floating River Area stood. They all missed the battle of the Dark Alley because they were in seclusion, so they were a bit curious, except for Wei Renhao.
"Young Master Shi."
When the half 2-hour period ended, the last batch of people also arrived. Xue Changqing’s presence caught many people off guard.
Also, a cold and gorgeous woman who, without thinking, walked towards Shi Xiaole caught the attention of some people.
She was Shangguan Yan from the Will Sect.
There were more than a thousand people in the second round, so Shangguan Yan didn’t say hello back then.
"Your cultivation isn’t bad."
Shi Xiaole, uncharacteristically, smiled. The other party’s realm had amazingly reached the peak of the Fifth Tier Qi Absorption.
"It’s nowhere as good as yours."
Shangguan Yan had the urge to roll her eyes.
She didn’t know how to describe Shi Xiaole. She only knew that nobody could take him lightly. How far would he go in this competition?
While they were making small talk, a group of powerful cultivators from the sect came over and interrogated everyone for registration. This was done to verify everyone’s identity, to ensure that no one was dishonest about their age, which would be unfair to the others.
As for whether they could uncover any deceit within a short period of time, organisations like ’Knows All’ were responsible for verification. If they couldn’t find out in time, then no one could.
Taking advantage of the break, Shi Xiaole observed his surroundings.
The length and breadth of the main peak of Mount Yingxia were unknown, and in the middle, there was a man-made flat ground divided into nine areas.
If he didn’t guess wrong, that must be the competition field.
An hour later, all 432 people were verified, with no one found cheating.
Ding, ding, ding...
Under the welcoming pine at the highest point of the main peak, Daoist Xuhuai suddenly got up and hit the bell nine times, and the sound of the bells instantly resonated throughout heaven and earth.
"Nine strikes. We can go up to the peak now."
"I am looking forward to seeing which talents have earned the qualifications to compete in the ring."
There was a burst of noise all around the mountains. Under the orderly organization of each sect, the crowd split into numerous streams and approached the main peak of Mount Yingxia from all different directions.
During this process, there were many sect experts patrolling to prevent fights from breaking out.
By the time of sunset, tens of thousands of people had finally climbed to the top of Mount Yingxia. However, spectators were not qualified to enter the main peak and could only stand on the continuous side peaks surrounding the main peak.
With the superior vision of martial artists and the side peaks not being far from the main peak, nothing was hindering observation. From a high view, the massive crowd across the sea of clouds enclosed the main peak in circle after circle, creating an incredibly grand scene.
According to the rules, tomorrow at the beginning of a 2-hour period, the Fighting Matches of the All Heroes Competition will officially start. Unless the competition is over, the participants cannot leave the main peak. This is said to avoid splitting the aura of the main peak.
A night slowly passed with everyone’s anticipation.
As the red sun penetrated the clouds and cast infinite radiance, everyone looked towards the main peak.
