Chapter 211: Chapter 211: The Tip of the Iceberg’s Power
An hour since the start of the tournament, the first round on all nine arenas has ended.
The second round immediately begins.
At the start of this round, there was not much to see; it was basically battles between Qi Absorption Seventh Tier prodigies that have recently risen. It was clear that the remaining few at Qi Absorption Fifth Tier, Qi Absorption Sixth Tier were merely cannon fodder, unlikely to triumph.
There was, however, a quiet young girl among the remaining six Qi Absorption Fourth Tier experts, who won two matches in a row, attracting much attention.
"She is from Queen City."
Queen City, as one of the eight main sects, consists of all highly skilled women, from the City Lord to servants. The most peculiar thing is that the women of Queen City innately have a temperament that surpasses men.
The most obvious example is this year’s fourth seeded, Ye Liushuang.
The lackluster moments did not last long.
On the eighth arena, a prodigy who ranked thirty-first last time stepped on the stage.
His opponent, surprisingly, was a young man wearing a blue hero’s bandana.
"So you’re Situ Changkong, the Situ Changkong who loves to meddle in others’ affairs?"
Due to the previous resonant sword sounds, the thirty-first prodigy did not look down on his opponent. He planned to divert his opponent’s attention first, then observe for flaws and choose the best way to attack.
However, this prodigy was soon flustered.
Situ Changkong showed no flaws.
"No flaws? Then I’ll make you reveal some."
With a twitch of his long sword, the prodigy dashed out like a shadow, and in a blink, his sword tip was right in front of Situ Changkong.
A more dazzling sword tip greeted him.
Ding!
His long sword flew out, the prodigy froze, stunned as he looked at the sword at his throat.
"I didn’t see clearly just now, how did this sword move?"
"I didn’t see clearly either."
Under the eighth arena, a group of people were left agape.
Although many had guessed Situ Changkong’s strength due to the sword resonance earlier, no one thought that he would be strong to such an extent.
Who among those present could kill the previous thirty-second-ranked prodigy with one sword?
"Foolish."
Nangong Yang sneered at the prodigy who lost to Situ Changkong.
By creating flaws in another, aren’t you exposing your own? What’s known as strategy, is weak and fragile in the face of absolute power.
The startling things have not ended yet.
On the third arena in the same round, another expert from the Little Hero List joined the fray.
His opponent is Mo Ye from Illusionary Heart Sect.
Without making a sound, that Little Hero List expert fainted and fell.
"He’s really useless, I didn’t even get to show my skills."
With a dissatisfied expression on his face, after the referee declared his victory, Mo Ye swiftly left the arena.
"Illusion Techniques, these are the true Illusion Techniques!"
Nearby people who could see the arena clearly seemed to have experienced something, moving back, a look of terror on their faces. This scared the other competitors on the third arena, putting them on alert about Mo Ye.
"Sect Master, in your opinion, what ranking can Mo Ye achieve this time?"
At Illusionary Heart Sect’s side, an Elder asked the Sect Master.
"Relying solely on his illusion techniques does not guarantee his place in the top twenty. After all, the people here can’t be judged by common sense. But Mo Ye is not just good at illusion techniques. If he goes all out, he might make it to the top ten."
Illusionary Heart Sect’s Master cautiously replied.
"Hahaha, getting into the top ten this time would be more prestigious than being first in some previous tournaments."
The inquiring Elder of Illusionary Heart Sect laughed with satisfaction.
"It’s her."
With battles taking place everywhere, Shi Xiaole’s attention was drawn to a person on the fifth arena.
The beautiful girl in red was Xu Nianxue.
Although her swordsmanship perhaps wasn’t as aggressive as that of the other young swordsmen, she possessed an enduring power. Her opponent couldn’t even last three moves and directly surrendered.
"What’s the background of this girl? She’s so strong."
"She is the Jiangbei Xu Family’s daughter, ’Fist-shaking the Netherworld’ Xu Canghai’s younger sister. How could she not be strong?"
"I see."
Not paying any attention to others, Xu Nianxue stepped down from the stage, her gaze coincidentally met Shi Xiaole’s across the crowd, but she quickly dismissed it.
There was no ripple in Shi Xiaole’s heart.
To him, she was just a passerby. Why should he care?
In this round, his opponent was a newly risen expert. Without suspense, the opponent lost without knowing why. After several failed attacks, he willingly admitted defeat.
"Is that even possible?"
"Suddenly, I really want to meet this Shi Xiaole, to see if his methods are really that clever."
Many competitors looked on with envy.
They were exhausted, and many had to recover immediately after they stepped down from the stage, in order not to affect the next round. This guy, however, just stood there and won.
"It’s still early, wait till he meets a really tough opponent, he won’t be so relaxed then."
"Maybe this is his only trick, overblown and empty."
On the side peaks, there was also much discussion about Shi Xiaole.
One round after another, by the tenth round, some dazzling talents were thoroughly in everyone’s view.
First were the four swordsmen Yue Tianlin, Nangong Yang, Guan Duli, and Situ Changkong. Each of them fought more than one ranked expert and all were flash kills, their formidable strength made people shudder.
The second was Mo Ye from the Illusionary Heart Sect.
His luck was even worse. He encountered high-ranking martial artists in three consecutive rounds, one of whom was ranked 25th. But nothing could stop his march forward.
The terror of his illusionary techniques deeply intimidated everyone, raising his popularity amongst the great swordfighters significantly.
In addition to the aforementioned five individuals, Gu Zhihang of Twin Absolute Palace, Junior Brother Xu Nianxue of the Xu family in northern Jiang, Monk Wunian from Lanci Treasure Temple, also effortlessly advanced, encountering no obstacles.
Particularly noteworthy, Gu Zhihang and Monk Wunian, both possessing a Qi Absorption level of the eighth tier, appeared to be as proficient as the other young sword fighters.
Of course, they already had a reputation from the previous competition, so their strength was undeniably formidable.
And then there was Shi Xiaole.
He, like Mo Ye, was unique in that he managed to win ten consecutive rounds without lifting a finger. However, when compared to the difficult battles Mo Ye faced, Shi Xiaole’s victories lacked value. This incited great dissatisfaction among some people.
The eleventh round.
"Number eighteen, Shi Xiaole, versus number nineteen, Yang Anping."
The referee’s voice echoed around the sixth fighting ring. After a momentary pause, the crowd instantly burst into a cacophony of voices.
"Hahaha, Yang Anping was ranked thirty-seventh in the last competition. Now, Shi Xiaole finally encounters a worthy opponent."
"We’ll see if he’s a mule or a horse after this fight."
Shi Xiaole, who was observing the other battles, laughed upon hearing these comments and leaped onto the fighting stage.
"Kid, I advise you not to deceive yourself or others. Just admit defeat."
At the same time, the furious figure from the opponent rushed forward, stirring up an enormously strong gust. A heavy aura erupted instantaneously, encapsulating Shi Xiaole first.
There were many keen observers among the crowd. They noticed Shi Xiaole’s way of exerting his influence, manipulating the situation. Hence, Yang even specified strategies before stepping up, to avoid falling into any premeditated trap.
"After all, Yang Anping is the third disciple of Twin Absolute Palace who possesses many methods."
Someone spoke maliciously.
In a ring fight, one dreads facing masters of illusion techniques. Therefore, many wished that Shi Xiaole would endure some damage or injuries. As a consequence, such hindrances would disadvantage him should they become opponents later.
"Can you still continue?"
Xu Nianxue looked at Shi Xiaole scrutinizingly.
"Hehe, let me see if you truly are worth my attention."
Mo Ye crossed his arms and focused on the battle in the sixth stage.
"Brother Shi."
Shangguan Yan, having tasted multiple defeats, no longer had a chance of advancing. She fervently hoped for Shi Xiaole’s success. However, considering his opponent’s strength, victory seemed elusive.
"Second Senior Brother, do you think our Third Brother will win?"
The Twin Absolute Palace disciple also participating in the competition asked ’Wild Blade Chaotic Sword’ Gu Zhihang from under stage one.
"That kid’s application of Qi is quite good, but it doesn’t equate to strong abilities. Few with the same Qi Absorption level can defeat our Third Brother, so don’t worry."
Gu Zhihang gave a slight smile.
The use of Qi is reliant on mental strength, so Shi Xiaole’s use of Qi only demonstrated his strong mind. This may scare ordinary people, but trying to bluff Twin Absolute Palace disciples was preposterous.
"This Yang Anping is not a simple character. I heard that the martial arts he practices are incredibly ferocious, making it hard for him to control his attacks. If the lad named Shi is smart enough, he should admit defeat early."
The Grand Elder of the Iron Bone Sect laughed gleefully.
Shi Xiaole had been continuously winning which had previously irked the elder, but now he was pleased; at last, someone had come to give Shi Xiaole a hard time.
"He had better not acknowledge defeat, otherwise this boy would have it easy."
With a pair of iron balls in his hands, Zhou Yilou, the suzerain of the Iron Bone Sect, laughed menacingly.
Thus far, he didn’t believe Shi Xiaole’s power could parallel the top forty contestants. This estimation was an overestimation of the opponent.
On the sixth stage, the two famous juniors were facing each other from afar.
An invisible force rose from inside of Shi Xiaole and infiltrated Yang Anping’s in a subtle, unnoticeable manner. It wormed its way through tiny gaps and spread onto Yang’s body.
For an instant, Yang Anping felt that the distance between him and Shi Xiaole had grown.
"Mantras of Clear Mind."
Muttering incantations under his breath, a cool breeze passed through his entire body. Yang Anping’s vision returned to its typical state. Then he said disdainfully and angrily, "Why do some people always take pleasure in harming others without benefiting themselves?"
As the most distinctive martial arts skill in Twin Absolute Palace, Mantras of Clear Mind awakened the mind and cleared the brain but could only be used occasionally, otherwise it could harm one’s mental state.
According to Yang Anping, this technique was supposed to be the trump card against skilled illusionists like Mo Ye after entering the top 81 contenders. It would be a waste to use it against Shi Xiaole.
"He’s immune to my influence?"
Shi Xiaole’s eyelids twitched slightly, feeling somewhat impressed. To be honest, after ten consecutive rounds, he was tired of winning so easily and was eager to engage in a real fight.
"Go down, boy!"
With pent-up fury, Yang Anping lunged at Shi Xiaole like a ferocious tiger, his arms flailing, creating overlapping flashes of light from his knife and sword. The air was torn apart like cheddar under the blows.
This was the first move of the ultimate set of sword techniques of the Twin Absolute Palace. Using this as his opening move demonstrated that Yang Anping didn’t have any intention of wasting time on Shi Xiaole.
Shi Xiaole remained composed. He lowered his left hand and pulled out his weapon with a swift motion.
CLANG.
The bright flash from the blade’s edge as it was drawn reflected in everyone’s eyes.
Shi Xiaole’s strongest suit was his swordplay, but he was proud. Not everyone had the privilege to face his blade.
An invisible surge of sword energy swept across the stage like a tornado. In less than the blink of an eye, over seventy percent of the knife and sword lights that Yang Anping had created were torn apart.
"What?"
Shocked, Yang Anping hastily executed the second move of the Twin Absolute Palace’s ultimate sword technique.
However, before the move was fully executed, his motion was distorted under the influence of an unseen force, turning his knife into something unrecognizable and his sword could no longer be called a sword, slashing his attack power by more than half.
At this point, Shi Xiaole’s Shattered Snow Blade was drawn halfway out of its sheath.
"Go back down."
After a flash of the blade, Shi Xiaole finally unsheathed the Shattered Snow Blade. Without even looking, he raised his hand and precisely struck at Yang Anping’s weakest spot.
Draw Sword Skill.
Swoosh!
Both the sword and knife flew out of the ring and Yang Anping, rubbing his feet against the platform floor, fell off the battle stage with a look of shock on his face.
