Chapter 230: Chapter 230: Listening to the Snow, 49 Swords
Once the "Rivers and Lakes like Blood" was unveiled, half of the arena seemed to be covered by a bloody rain, which blocked the sunshine shining on Shi Xiaole’s head.
The droplets of blood, although appearing vivid, were composed of strands of internal power. While a single drop might not be lethal, the combined force of many was something not even a group of masters with peak Qi Absorption Level Nine could fend off.
"So this is your killing move?"
Shi Xiaole’s footsteps did not halt. He held his long sword in front of him, with swirling green Sword Qi moving around him. The bloody rain fell on it and produced a sizzling sound of internal power collision. By the time the green swirling Sword Qi was exhausted, the bloody rain also dissipated.
The Vortex of Wind could actually be used as a defensive move.
At this moment, countless people were amazed at Shi Xiaole’s ingenuity and creativity. With the sun setting, he slashed with his sword, knocking an unprepared Yuan Zong off the arena.
"Wow!"
A mouthful of blood spurted out. Yuan Zong’s face turned pale and green intermittently. He was shocked by his defeat and felt the shame of being ousted.
Before today, he had never imagined that he, who was at Qi Absorption Level Nine and had trained the Asura Martial Arts Scripture to the tenth level and understood the first three styles of Jade Halberd Six Style, would be defeated by his peers in Qingxue State.
It was Yuan Zong who was considered a heaven’s pride character. After experiencing five years of prosperity and being hailed as the flag bearer of the younger generation in Qingxue State, how could he lose?!
In his rage and shock, Yuan Zong spurted out three more mouthfuls of blood, and his body was staggering. At this moment on the stage, Shi Xiaole, bathed in the setting sun, was too bright to see clearly. His brilliance also hurt Yuan Zong’s eyes.
"I will defeat you, I will definitely defeat you."
Yuan Zong roared, feeling dizzy.
"You’re always welcome."
Seeing Yuan Zong’s state, Shi Xiaole responded coldly.
He was never afraid of anyone’s challenge, only fearing that his opponents were not strong enough. To him, Yuan Zong was just one of the milestones he had surpassed on his path to growth.
It wasn’t that Shi Xiaole was arrogant, but with his talent and the support of the Grand Wuxia System, if he couldn’t surpass Yuan Zong, he might as well just kill himself.
"Did Shi Xiaole really win?"
Under the stage, everyone felt a jolt, stunned to the extreme. The shock left them speechless.
Su Zhi’er let out a fragrant sigh heavily. Even her dazzling eyes couldn’t hide the surprise.
She might have been one of the first to notice Shi Xiaole’s extraordinariness, but his extraordinariness was indeed beyond her imagination. Next to him, even the sky’s pride character, Yuan Zong, felt dull.
Not to mention Ye Liushuang, Fang Shenwu, Lin Gaofei and other seasoned experts, at this moment, even those rising talents were dumbfounded, feeling a mix of emotions.
"Losing to him is not a disgrace."
Pan Yue gnashed his teeth in rage before finally sagging his shoulders as if a certain weight had lifted from him, feeling relaxed. Even Yuan Zong had lost. It was only normal that he had lost to his opponent.
Bang!
The lord of Asura Mansion’s face was extremely ugly. In his anger, he punched a hole through a large tree beside him, scaring many martial artists around into retreating.
"Master, calm down. Victory or defeat is a common matter for soldiers. If the young master lost this time, he will win next time."
A group of high-ranking Asura Mansion warriors hurriedly came forward to console.
"Humph!"
The lord of Asura Mansion didn’t say anything, but his eyes looking at Shi Xiaole were faintly filled with a cold color.
If it were an ordinary victory or defeat, he wouldn’t mind so much. What made him angry was that years ago he had met a weird man, who told him that this Heroes Gathering would have a huge impact, potentially affecting everyone’s fate.
If Yuan Zong had won, not only he but also the whole Asura Mansion could have benefited. But all these plans were ruined by Shi Xiaole.
"Eh, my aura observation technique can’t see through this child."
Under the welcoming pine tree, a monk and a Taoist were also surprised. Daoist Xuhuai moved his deep gaze from Shi Xiaole and said in a low voice.
On hearing this, Master Honest’s face changed. He clasped his hands and said, "There are many strange people in the martial world. This child’s origin and destiny must be special. Both Daoist Fellow and I have misjudged."
The match ended, but people’s hearts couldn’t calm down for a long time. The ten judges from the referee group did not immediately announce the next round of the competition. It wasn’t until a long while later that the number one referee slowly stood up and said, "The 78th round, the 41st match, Yue Tianlin versus Xue Changqing."
The cheering sound was somewhat weaker.
The two great swordsmen stood proudly.
"Dragon Slashing Sword Qi."
Three feet of bright yellow Sword Qi extended from Yue Tianlin’s sword, who, without any probing, attacked Xue Changqing with the killing intent of the dragon and the Sword Qi intertwined.
Clang! Clang! Clang ...
A surprising scene happened.
Seeing the quiet Xue Changqing, he suddenly made five consecutive swords, each striking a different location on the Dragon Slashing Sword Qi. As a result, the five points were connected. Although the sword momentum was counteracted, the Dragon Slashing Sword Qi exploded.
"What?"
Many people were drawn in.
"This is Snow Listening Mountain Villa’s Five Broken Gang Swords, specifically designed to counter techniques manifested with internal power. Although Dragon Slashing Sword Qi is not transformed from internal power, the principle is the same."
Wang Zuying’s face changed with a bitter smile.
In the last competition, she was considered a top expert in the second echelon, which was because some people in the first echelon were slightly older. But this time, not to mention that she was no match for many old opponents, even some rising stars had surpassed her, which made Wang Zuying feel a strong sense of loss and urgency for the first time.
"Xue Changqing, I knew you were not simple."
Yue Tianlin was not as panicked as one would expect. All he had was solemnity.
What the people of the martial world didn’t know was that two years ago, the two of them had a secret duel, which ended in a draw. Thus, in Yue Tianlin’s eyes, apart from Yuan Zong, the hardest person to deal with was this unassuming Xue Changqing.
"Brother Yue, unsheathe your sword and show me the progress you’ve made these last two years."
Xue Changqing palmed the hilt of his sword, his blue eyes revealing unfathomable depth, a mix of yearning and loneliness.
Whiff!
A wisp of sword Qi as fine as silk cut through the void, seemingly splitting Xue Changqing into two halves. The latter deflected it with his sword, and the sparks generated from the friction between sword edge and sword Qi were not just tiny embers, but blindingly bright.
Sparks splattered on the stage, creating countless more radiant specks. Some couldn’t resist squinting at it, only to find the affected area of the stage riddled with countless craters and uneven holes.
"The strength of their sword technique is at the level of a Xuan Qi first-tier master?"
The disciples of the Mechanism Pavilion were somewhat stupefied.
In previous competitions, it was already impressive to have a prodigy whose attack power nears that of a first-tier Xuan Qi master, like Yuan Zong five years ago, who only had two to three-tenths of the strength of a Xuan Qi first-tier master.
This year is different, probably every one of the top thirty has strength comparable to Yuan Zong five years ago. In other words, anyone who ranks in the top thirty this year is already on par with the winner of previous years.
Upon realizing this, many gasped in disbelief, once again feeling the intensity of this year’s competition.
Whoever can defeat all the other great masters in such a dazzling lion-up and dominate the top, he will surely go down in the history of the martial arts in Qingxue State, becoming a story for later generations to admire.
Clang, clang, clang...
Countless sparks exploded in the air, only to vanish in the blink of an eye. Among the fading embers, two swords gleamed coldly. They clashed several times in an instant, watching the high speed of their exchange was enough to make the audience squint, even causing some to hallucinate.
Suddenly.
Yue Tianlin laughed heartily, exerted power through his arm, and his sword speed increased by fifty percent. It was only when a piercing noise echoed in their ears that many saw that fleeting white light.
The state of late-stage unity of man and sword is not only reflected in attack power, but also in the swordsman’s close combat, and it even greatly enhances the ability in close combat. Seeing Yue Tianlin’s sword, many first-tier Xuan Qi swordsmen couldn’t help but feel their hair stand on end, feeling extremely inferior.
To everyone’s surprise, Yue Tianlin was fast, but Xue Changqing was not slow. His sword intercepted the attack midway. Under mutual repulsion of the two massive forces, the air roared incessantly.
"He has also reached the late stage of unity of man and sword?"
Nangong Yang looked at Xue Changqing in shock.
"The thirty-fifth sword."
At this moment, Xue Changqing chanted a few words, his long sword swirled and instantly turned into white haze, girdling Yue Tianlin.
People suddenly remembered that no matter who the previous opponent was, Xue Changqing would always defeat them with forty-nine swords, could it be this time too...
"Xue Changqing, you are too arrogant."
Yue Tianlin laughed coldly, but without anger. His sword technique was steady and progressively ascending, constantly searching for the opponent’s flaws.
When it came to the forty-third sword, the two were less than three feet apart. Yue Tianlin suddenly retreated and shot a sword light that was only two inches long. The sword light cut across the air, splitting the sparks it passed through, demonstrating its terrifying sharpness.
"Taste my Mysterious Annihilation Sword Technique, prepared especially for you."
Yue Tianlin laughed heartily.
Mysterious Annihilation Sword Technique, a secondary superior sword technique, one of the sect-defining techniques of Spring Filled Court.
For ordinary people, it is nearly impossible to perfect a secondary inferior martial arts technique. For the geniuses on the young hero list, it’s doable.
However, to improve a lower secondary-level technique to the middle level is at least ten times more difficult, with most young hero list geniuses unable to achieve it. As for a superior secondary level, even if it’s a genius ranked in the top ten, they may not be able to master it.
Yue Tianlin, a prodigy with unparalleled talent, at just eighteen, not only practiced Spring Filled Court’s Fusion Spring Technique to near perfection but also directly mastered Mysterious Annihilation Sword Technique, a technique of the same level.
This is an achievement that many people can never hope to reach in their lifetime.
So when they saw Yue Tianlin use the Mysterious Annihilation Sword Technique, all the sect masters from the top sects changed their expressions, and suddenly admired Spring Filled Court profoundly.
Clang!
When the swords clashed, there were no sparks, no burst of internal power, only a dull and ruthless sound.
For the first time, Xue Changqing was forced to back off, his hand holding the sword trembling.
"Xue Changqing, I know you have hidden sword skills. Use them, or you have no chance of winning."
Yue Tianlin swung out three consecutive Mysterious Annihilation Sword Qi, his face immediately turned pale. With his current strength, he was still unable to consecutively use superior secondary-level sword techniques.
"Using the Snow Listening Forty-nine Swords against you is enough."
When the second Mysterious Annihilation Sword Qi missed his long sword and followed by the third, and fourth, the indifferent Xue Changqing suddenly changed, like an unsheathed sword, his blue eyes seemed to be emitting sword Qi.
He twisted his wrist and this time directly targeted the Mysterious Annihilation Sword Qi, knocked it down, and then slashed horizontally. The strange force directly caused the other two Mysterious Annihilation Sword Qi to collide with each other and scattered like the wind.
White shadows converged, Xue Changqing appeared in front of Yue Tianlin like a specter. The point of the sword vibrated, causing the latter’s arm to go numb.
"Impossible, mastery of unity of man and sword?"
Yue Tianlin was shocked.
A soft voice echoed in the air, sounding like snowflakes falling. At the same time, what fell to the stage were Yue Tianlin and his Dragon Sword.
After the forty-ninth sword, Xue Changqing sheathed his sword.
