Chapter 235: Chapter 235:Written into Qingxue’s Martial World History
The three-yard Snow Sword was reflecting colorful flowing lights. At first glance, it appeared soft and fluffy, but in reality, it was unbreakable. The sword was so strong that a thin layer of mist formed on its surface. Swiftly, the sword aimed to pierce through Shi Xiaole.
The cold, bone-piercing force was advancing, but Shi Xiaole closed his eyes. At this critical moment, his mind was calmer than ever. In the barely perceptible intervals between his breaths, he deftly swung his arm, attempting to meet the Snow Sword head-on.
The first to strike was a sword light.
What a sword it was.
Like a meteor from the sky, its speed and glow at that moment could not be stopped. The Qingfeng Sword was extraordinary, and at this moment, it transformed into an eternal light, unresistable, elusive, yet always remaining in the hearts of those present.
How could a human withstand a meteor from the sky!
Plop.
With a soft sound, Shi Xiaole appeared at the other end, the elongated starlight behind him quickly vanishing. He spat out a mouthful of blood.
The three-yard Snow Sword stopped. Numerous ice crystals that had stuck together shattered, like an atomic explosion, dancing wildly, and in an instant, they transformed into a thick fog, blocking the view of those present.
"Who won?"
"It must be Senior Brother Xue, Shi Xiaole is injured."
The disciples of Snow Listening Mountain Villa held their breaths, the fog on the stage was blown away by the wind, revealing the dust-free white robe and neatly-combed white hair of Xue Changqing.
Just as they were about to cheer, they suddenly saw Xue Changqing stagger, blood spilling uncontrollably from his mouth. He was half-kneeling on the ground as he couldn’t support himself, his face full of paleness and shock.
"What kind of sword technique was that just now?"
Xue Changqing didn’t turn his head, his voice unusually trembling.
"It only has one move. It’s called ’Meteor from the Sky.’"
Shi Xiaole sheathed his sword.
’Meteor from the Sky,’ one of the most mysterious sword moves in the Martial World.
No one knew who created it. Nor did anyone know where that third-rate bodyguard picked up this fragment of the script. The bodyguard’s son, after practicing hard for many years and relying only on this sword move, defeated many martial arts masters and shook the martial world.
His son’s name was Ding Peng.
Mr. Xie of the Divine Sword Villa once said that this move was eerily similar to Yan Shisan’s ’Death Claiming Thirteen Swords,’ just slightly lacking in power.
Therefore, many people suspected that ’Meteor from the Sky’ was one of the ’Death Claiming Thirteen Swords,’ but there was no evidence.
The famous Qing Song swordsman, Liu Ruosong, fearing that he would lose to Ding Peng, had to send his beautiful wife to get the Meteor from the Sky sword technique with her beauty. After defeating Ding Peng, the same sword move elevated his fame another notch.
This shows how formidable this sword move was.
In the past half a year, Shi Xiaole had a total of six system-free draws. Although the other five times were not satisfactory, having the ’Meteor from the Sky,’ a second-rate mid-quality move, was enough to offset any bad luck.
Of course, despite his high wisdom, Shi Xiaole couldn’t possibly perfect the second-rate mid-quality sword technique in just a few months. All thanks to the gales of inspiration found in Wind Valley.
"Meteor from the Sky? Good sword technique, good name."
Xue Changqing coughed up blood from his mouth. After several attempts, he stood up with difficulty, walked down the ring without looking back, his figure looked extremely desolate.
He lost, Xue Changqing lost.
Five years ago, he was only sixteen years old. Even though he only ranked eighth, he believed he was not inferior to anyone, not even Yuan Zong.
Now, at the age of twenty-one, he finally defeated all his familiar opponents. However, he ultimately lost to someone younger and more low-key than him.
Everyone was stunned.
In the impressively large Swordsman Peak, many martial artists from the Martial World gathered. At this moment, only the sound of the wind and breathing could be heard. The silence made people’s scalp numb.
This climax duel between swordsmen had presented a thrilling scenario from the beginning, which was breathtaking. The masterful sword technique, unpredictable reaction speed, endless trump cards, it could be said that everyone was shocked by the strength of these two genius swordsmen.
If there wasn’t a battle between two tigers, everyone believed that placing either one of them in any previous competition would have resulted in an absolute first place.
However, there were no ifs.
There had to be a winner between the two tigers. Now the result was out, and everyone was left speechless.
Shi Xiaole.
The winner was Shi Xiaole, a dark horse who passed each round with ease despite being only at the seventh level of Qi Absorption. He had calmly and steadily defeated each of his opponents, leaving them with no fighting spirit.
Swish, swish, swish.
Countless eyes rested on Shi Xiaole; some were excited, some admiring, and even more were envious.
"After today’s battle, the first genius, the first swordsman, and the supreme glory of Qingxue State will all fall on this young man. And there’s every reason to believe that this competition will be recorded in history, and his fame will surpass all previous champions."
Old Mr. Ma of Qiongjia Gang sighed.
Lin Gaofei was the successor he carefully selected, but in terms of martial arts aptitude alone, he was undoubtedly weaker than Shi Xiaole by at least one level.
He was one of the few people who had seen Shi Xiaole’s information at the venue. Knowing that the latter was only seventeen years old, he felt his heart trembling.
What did it mean to win such a competition at this age? Even a fool could understand it.
"Junior Master, did you win first place, the first place of the mass contest that is known to encompass all the righteous geniuses of Qingxue State?"
"Junior Brother, is he really our junior brother? Why do I find it hard to believe?"
The reactions of the people from the Golden Phoenix Tower and the Huajian Sect were not excitement, but confusion. When something incredible yet secretly anticipated happened before their eyes, their minds took a huge hit.
Su Yanru didn’t say anything.
Ever since Shi Xiaole continuously took out high-quality secret scriptures, she felt that he was somewhat mysterious. Now this sense of mystery is undoubtedly stronger, so strong that even her little aunt could not see him clearly.
"Qingxue State’s number one genius swordsman."
The members of the Will Sect were stunned. The elders were looking at each other, and then they turned their attention to the Sect Master altogether. They admired his far-sighted wisdom for establishing a strong friendship with Shi Xiaole early on.
Given the situation today, as long as Shi Xiaole develops smoothly in the future, the Will Sect will have a powerful ally, quite possibly a high-ranking martial artist of the Wind Dust rankings.
While some were full of joy, others were full of worry.
While the people of the Will Sect were overjoyed, the people of the Iron Bone Sect were unnerved. From Suzerain Zhou Yilou to the elders, their faces were pale as if mourning a death.
With Shi Xiaole’s current strength, equivalent to a Xuan Qi first-grade master, who in the Iron Bone Sect could be his match? Wouldn’t they be at his mercy?
"Suzerain, don’t worry, our Iron Bone Sect is a member of the Qingxue Alliance after all. That young man wouldn’t dare to act recklessly," said Elder Ma, who once followed Shi Xiaole in the Dark Alley.
Zhou Yilou simply hummed. He knew the rationale, but what if Shi Xiaole used underhanded tactics and acted against him behind closed doors?
"When we return, immediately send people to widely publicise our Sect’s matter with Shi Xiaole, prepare the best herbs and my letter of apology, and send them to the Golden Phoenix Tower in the Cloud Triangle."
Zhou Yilou, his sullen face relaxed, aged by ten years, and said slowly.
The elders were astonished, but some quickly understood and couldn’t help but praise their Suzerain’s wisdom.
With the warning from Dark Alley, and with Shi Xiaole’s rise to power, the Iron Bone Sect is essentially in a position to take a beating. Under such circumstances, it’s better to appease and make peace with the other.
As for why to widely publicise, would Shi Xiaole, as the top genius of Qingxue State with a promising future, want to deliberately trouble the apologetic Iron Bone Sect, which poses no threat? Wouldn’t this contradict the honour accorded to his title?
Of course, they believe that with Shi Xiaole’s reputation, past grievances will be dug up without much effort. But it’s better to be cautious in all things.
"Changqing."
Looking at his son’s lonely figure on the main peak, Xue Yuanting felt a sudden pang of heartache.
He had thought he would feel disappointed, even angry, but when it came to it, he couldn’t help feeling sorry for his son. No one knew better than he how proud Xue Changqing was.
"He will rise where he fell, Changqing needs not your worry."
Xu Beihe patted Xue Yuanting’s shoulder and comforted him gently.
Xue Yuanting nodded.
According to the ranking competition rules, of the 81 competitors, one of them hasn’t drawn to fight twice in one round. For fairness, the referee will arrange him to fight an extra match with a competitor with similar points to determine the rank.
Quarter of an hour later, as the competition came to an end, the judges were calculating the points to determine the final rankings.
Master Honest, who was under the guest-welcoming pine, suddenly stood and said, "Amitabha, this contest has produced many outstanding heroes, which is very comforting. I propose to include this contest in the Qingxue Martial World history."
Every martial world has a history manuscript compiled with the imperial court. But getting recorded in it requires a highly respected recommender and the approval of the imperial court’s representative in the local martial world.
Being a Shaolin high monk and the chief referee, Master Honest naturally met this requirement.
As soon as he finished, a distinguished-looking man standing with the chief of the Asura Mansion on the sideline peak laughed and said, "The master’s proposition is exactly what I had in mind."
Boom!
The crowd was thoroughly agitated.
Many recognised the distinguished-looking man as the imperial representative of the Qingxue martial world, responsible for compiling the history manuscript. Having his approval means this contest is definitely being recorded in the martial world history.
At this moment, numerous forces cheered excitedly. Competitors who made the rankings were thrilled, while those who just missed out were green with regret. Had they known this, they would have fought their way into the ranking competition even if it meant exhausting their soul strength!
Many young prodigies roamed the martial world, but how many could get recorded in the history? Making into the top 81 in this contest is a lifetime honour, enough to brag about for a lifetime!
Half an hour later, the first referee stood up holding a book. With his solemn voice echoing around, countless sects, families, and martial artists picked up their prepared pens and papers and shakily recorded this event’s rankings.
"81st in this contest, Xiao Shan."
"80th in this contest, Tao Baichuan."
...
"10th in this contest, Situ Changkong."
"9th in this contest, Guan Duli."
"8th in this contest, Mo Ye."
"7th in this contest, Lin Gaofei."
"6th in this contest, Fang Shenwu."
"5th in this contest, Ye Liushuang."
"4th in this contest, Yue Tianlin."
"3rd in this contest, Yuan Zong."
"2nd in this contest, Xue Changqing."
"First in this contest, Shi Xiaole."
As each name was read, every competitor was flushed and trembling. Even those whose rankings slipped compared to the previous event felt no loss, only exhilaration.
The cheers from the summit shook the heavens, as if they could turn the sea upside down.
Kidding me? Making into the top 81 in this contest is no less significant than making into the top 30 in the past events. And the top 30 of this contest are no less formidable than the top three in the past. Under such circumstances, everyone who made the cut had a reason to celebrate.
Most importantly, the Group Generals Competition is held every five years, but not all competitions can be recorded in the martial world history.
