Chapter 239: Chapter 239: Bottleneck
"Puff."
Xiao Kuangsheng spat out a mouthful of blood, his face swollen just like a pig’s head, and roared angrily: "Well aren’t you the number one on the list of youthful heroes, such a disgrace to your opponent, is this the style of the number one upright and noble individual?"
Shi Xiaole swiftly moved in front of his opponent and said: "Being righteous does not mean not retaliating when insulted or attacked, but being fair and just, never bullying others because of one’s power. But if anyone deliberately bullies me, I will repay it tenfold. Now, take back what you just said."
Xiao Kuangsheng stood up from the ground and laughed coldly: "What if I don’t take it back, what could you do?"
He didn’t believe Shi Xiaole would dare to do anything to him under the watchful eyes of everyone. After all, he was one of the seniors in the martial world. Would his opponent still want his reputation?
"It appears some people truly think that being old gives them free rein."
Shi Xiaole said coldly.
At this moment, Xiao Kuangsheng suddenly had a bad feeling, but it was too late.
He only saw numerous palm shadows covering him, followed by the sound of slaps, his head shaking uncontrollably, as if it would fly off his neck at any moment.
His final kick landed on the stomach. Xiao Kuangsheng’s face turned ashen, feeling as though his dantian was about to burst and his internal power was about to dissipate uncontrollably.
"Still going to be stubborn?"
His foot remained at the dantian’s position without moving. Shi Xiaole looked at his opponent.
"You... you..."
Upon coming into contact with that pair of cold eyes, a chill suddenly surged from the top of Xiao Kuangsheng’s head down his body, spreading throughout his body. His experience in the martial world told him that if he said no, this young man might actually do it.
But, did he really not care about his own reputation?
"I,... I’ll take back what I said, I’m sorry."
Xiao Kuangsheng reluctantly turned his head, his face flushed, his body trembling.
"A word of advice for you, don’t use your age as a shield, otherwise if you meet someone ruthless, your life might be in danger."
Shi Xiaole moved his foot away and turned around, no longer looking at him.
He wasn’t cruel enough to take someone’s life just because of an insult. Once a person attains powerful martial skills, they can easily become arrogant. Today, someone could be killed for an insult, tomorrow, would it be because someone looked at you too much?
Martial power is just a means, no matter how strong you get, Shi Xiaole will never change his original intention.
Everyone stared at the composed young man, all silent.
Some were in awe, while others were resentful. There were still quite a few upholders of the righteous path among the crowd who thought that Shi Xiaole’s actions were too radical and not representative of the compassion and generosity of the righteous path.
Shi Xiaole couldn’t care less about such people.
"Aunt, let’s go."
Shi Xiaole said with a smile.
"Yes."
Su Yanru started to giggle, as radiant as a spring flower.
Unlike others, she was very satisfied with Shi Xiaole’s actions. If he had displayed any signs of being indecisive, Su Yanru would have considered keeping him at the Golden Phoenix Tower forever. Otherwise, with this personality, what would happen if he died in the martial world?
"He is decisive, knows black from white, and yet doesn’t care about judgment from others, fearsome."
Zhao Tianhao watched Shi Xiaole’s back, reaching a conclusion.
For years, while escorting cargoes, traveling through the south and the north, Zhao Tianhao had met many people. Some people are deceitful while others are confined by worldly views. He’d keep a distance from the former and sigh in lament for the latter.
And someone like Shi Xiaole, who is exactly the one most likely to be attacked, yet whose martial arts practice is twice as effective as others, as he does not bother to hide his thoughts and is clear-headed.
"If he does not die prematurely, he has a future."
Zhao Tianhao decided to further develop his relationship with Shi Xiaole. The closeness beforehand was purely for the sake of mutual benefit, but now there was a hint of personal intention.
The next day, Shi Xiaole and others met with Yu Fangge and others at the town gate and started their journey back to the Cloud Triangle together. Zhao Tianhao said that he was going the same way, so he led several top fighters from the escort agency to follow them.
Zhao Tianhao was knowledgeable and eloquent, talking and laughing all the way, quickly winning the favor of everyone. When it was time to part ways, he extended multiple invitations to Shi Xiaole to visit the Central Plains Escort Agency.
In the martial world, the more friends the more ways, so Shi Xiaole would, of course, not reject the kindness of others and agreed to all.
After Zhao Tianhao left, Shi Xiaole whistled.
Whoosh.
Before Su Yanru and others could react, they saw a flash of green and a magnificent, tall and mighty green jade horse appeared before their eyes, affectionately leaning against Shi Xiaole.
"Heavens, is this...is this a horse?"
"Such a shiny coat, such strong muscles, it’s almost like it came out of a painting."
The men were filled with envy, the women’s eyes gleamed brightly, and some even looked eager to try.
Even Su Yanru couldn’t keep her cool, her pretty face glowing, she asked: "Lele, is this your horse?"
"Qingfeng, this is my aunt, say hello to her."
Stroking Qingfeng’s smooth mane, Shi Xiaole said with a smile.
Qingfeng then became excited, bobbing its head at Su Yanru’s beautiful neck leaving the beauty giggling non-stop.
If it were just him and Su Yanru, Shi Xiaole wouldn’t mind galloping on Qingfeng. But for now, he could only journey slow with the crowd. Fortunately, this gave him time to process the gains from the competition and practice martial arts, so it wasn’t a waste of time.
A few months later, they returned to the Cloud Triangle.
Feiyan City, Golden Phoenix Tower.
When Shi Xiaole and Su Yanru returned, along with the owner of the second floor, the city’s martial artists were all astir.
In the months since the competition, word had spread to every corner of Qingxue State. Many outstanding young talents had become hot topics of conversation among the people of the martial world.
Among them, Shi Xiaole’s name was undoubtedly the most dazzling.
Just imagine the shock when the people of the Cloud Triangle, whose martial arts standard was rather weak and who hadn’t produced any notable talents in several decades, heard the news about Shi Xiaole.
Outside the Golden Phoenix Tower was a sea of people. Some came to pledge allegiance to the Golden Phoenix Tower, some wanted to become disciples, and others were simply there to join the fun. The crowd was so dense that the streets were impassable.
Cao Ruoyu, the leader of the Knife Assistance Gang, had long been waiting outside with his followers. Upon seeing Shi Xiaole and Su Yanru, he immediately stepped forward to greet them: "Master Su, Young Hero Shi, you have finally returned."
The current Cao Ruoyu was full of great satisfaction. He was extremely grateful for his initial choice to firmly tie himself to the Golden Phoenix Tower.
"Leader Cao, long time no see."
Shi Xiaole chuckled, making Cao Ruoyu feel deeply flattered. He quickly responded, "It’s been two years, Young Hero Shi, you look even more outstanding than before."
Honestly, Cao Ruoyu still couldn’t quite believe it. He had thought that Shi Xiaole had great potential, but he hadn’t imagined it would be this enormous. One could only imagine his ’shock’ when he initially received the news.
All he wanted now was to maintain his relationship with the Golden Phoenix Tower, and would side with the former where ever it went.
The elders and disciples responsible for guarding the Golden Phoenix Tower had long been waiting nearby, steals glances at Shi Xiaole as if they didn’t recognize him.
"My brothers, you have worked hard these days. Order everyone to hold a banquet tonight. Reward everyone for their hard work, and also welcome young Master back."
Su Yanru stepped forward in time, her clear and melodious voice resonated throughout the arena, immediately causing a buzz, also indirectly shifting everyone’s attention away from Shi Xiaole so that he wasn’t being stared at like a monkey in a zoo.
That night, the Golden Phoenix Tower was brightly lit with cups passing among hands. The lively noise could be heard hundreds of meters away.
Starting from the next day, people came continuously, requesting to join the Golden Phoenix Tower.
Even a fool could tell that Shi Xiaole had a limitless future. If he continued to develop, he might very well become a major force in Qingxue State. How could the Golden Phoenix Tower, where he resides, be anything less than excellent?
Therefore, everyone in Golden Phoenix Tower became busy immediately again. However, due to limited space, Su Yanru didn’t want to accommodate many people, so she raised the entry requirements.
Previously, anyone who achieved Qi Absorption Realm could become an elder in the Tower, but now, only those who reached the third-tier of Qi Absorption Realm could barely make it to trustee level. Only at the 5th tier could they qualify to become an elder.
In just over twenty days, the overall strength of the Golden Phoenix Tower had grown tremendously.
Below Su Yanru, there were nine experts at the seventh tier of Qi Absorption Realm, twenty-three at the sixth tier, and nearly sixty below the fifth tier.
With this kind of power, they were considered top-level in the Cloud Triangle. Along with the enigmatic Su Yanru, claiming they were the number one force in the Cloud Triangle wouldn’t garner any objections.
Not to mention, they also had Shi Xiaole, who could rival the first tier of Xuan Qi and was quietly the number one master in the Cloud Triangle.
Golden Phoenix Tower was bustling, and Mountain Luyan was equally crowded.
Hearing that Shi Xiaole was from the Huajian Sect, many came to admire him. Some wealthy merchants even had their children initiated into the Huajian Sect and generously improved the environment of the Huajian Sect, leaving the elders of the Huajian Sect with never-closing smiles.
This splendor made the other eleven sects green with envy as they could only watch helplessly.
In the backyard of Golden Phoenix Tower, there was a quiet and desolate courtyard with reinforced walls. The occasional bird call contrasted sharply with the hustle and bustle in the front yard.
This was the residence Su Yanru had specially built for Shi Xiaole.
Under a big tree, Shi Xiaole slowly woke up from meditation.
After returning to the Golden Phoenix Tower, he only showed his face for two days before he started immersing himself fully in practicing martial arts again. Fame and profit could serve as condiments in life, but they were not the foundation. Power was.
"My cultivation level has reached the middle of the Qi Absorption seventh tier. In a while, I should be able to break through to the late seventh tier. But other aspects are not very optimistic."
The strange encounter in Wind Valley had fully unleashed Shi Xiaole’s potential, but it had also led him into a bottleneck for a long time. Given the current situation, Shi Xiaole was not expecting any significant improvements in the next six months.
"During the few months on the road, I had two chances to draw, but only drew a third-rate martial arts, which was not very meaningful. Unless I can draw a second-rate or higher martial art, it would be difficult for me to make any progress."
After realizing the current situation, Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.
Now at the seventh tier of Qi Absorption, he was nearly at the limit of his personal strength. Without the inspiration from the wind, it would be difficult for him to practice second-rate medium grade martial arts, not to mention second-rate superior grade ones.
