Chapter 277: Chapter 276: Persecution in the Imperial Palace
The seventh stone chamber.
The crowd poured in, and everyone expressed shock as if they had witnessed something incredible.
"It looks like this is where the Heavenly Treasure Sword Marquis placed his inheritance, why is there nothing?"
"Have we been played?"
Experts from the Mechanism Pavilion stepped forward, making observations inside the chamber for a while, then suddenly pointed at the eastern wall, "This place once had a mechanism, but it is now locked. The type of situation usually occurs when someone breaks it after leaving. Otherwise, we could try to open it."
A mighty Spiritual-Passage Realm expert angrily slapped the wall, causing the entire stone chamber to shake. The wall’s surface cracked but the crevices were not deep.
Obviously, the thickness of this wall exceeded everyone’s imagination and could not easily be broken through human force.
"Mechanisms usually respond to touch, otherwise, they wouldn’t function. If I’m not mistaken, someone must have destroyed the mechanism here, causing the stone tablet to shatter."
The words of the expert from the Mechanism Pavilion were like thunder exploding in the ears of everyone present.
The stone tablet had just been shattered, implying that someone had recently been in this stone chamber and had taken away the belongings of the Heavenly Treasure Sword Marquis.
Is this possible?!
"Who on earth has the ability to infiltrate here?"
The crowd looked around unbelievingly, some even tried to touch around, hoping to find the hidden mechanism.
"It is impossible. Nobody could do it."
An elderly man with white beard from the Nangong Aristocratic Family shook his head, his face mysterious turned red.
Among the young men from the back, Guan Fei’s eyes flashed as he suddenly glanced at the old man with a goatlike beard standing among Guan Family’s elites and moved his lips.
Not long after, the old man with the goat beard stepped forward and said, "Everyone, perhaps you forgot, we have one genius in Qingxue State, who has never appeared from the beginning, and could not be found among the corpses in the previous layers."
"Who are you referring to?"
"’Little Sword Marquis’ Shi Xiaole."
The stone chamber suddenly quieted down.
"What a joke, how dare he take such a title?"
The young man with a wooden crown sneered first, his face full of contempt and disdain. Not even he dared to take such a title, then what kind of virtue and ability did that Shi Xiaole have?
"You seem to overestimate Shi Xiaole. Although he might be talented, it is not possible for him to pass all six checkpoints."
Elder Rong stood up to dispute, looking at the bearded old man with interest. This guy seemed intent on roasting Shi Xiaole over a fire.
"Although I do not believe Shi Xiaole is qualified either, given his age, strength, and understanding of sword skills, he is undoubtedly the most suspicious. Why not locate him and ask him about it?"
The old man with the goat beard suggested, feigning innocence, then retreated back into the crowd.
However, his words stirred up a storm in everyone’s hearts.
Yes, only an eighteen-year-old boy who has grasped more than 85% of Sword Heart could possibly complete the test.
Looking at the crowd’s expressions, the young man in green and the woman in a lily-pleated skirt were vexed, wishing they could kill the old man with the goat beard.
Originally, only they knew about Shi Xiaole and were planning to steal things silently to make a huge fortune. Now, even if others did not believe that Shi Xiaole was capable, they would inevitably seek him out. Over time, this could easily lead to unexpected complications.
"Shi Xiaole, I want to see how you die this time."
Guan Fei boasts with an arrogantly curved corner of his mouth.
The saying goes: where there’s smoke, there’s fire. After he leaves the Heavenly Treasure Ruins, he plans to continue spreading the rumour on a large scale. At that time, even if it wasn’t Shi Xiaole who took the treasure, everything would still be blamed on him.
Facing those ferocious martial arts experts, he didn’t believe Shi Xiaole could live for long.
"Everyone, let’s set off immediately. If it really is Shi Xiaole, he shouldn’t have gotten far from the Heavenly Treasure Ruins. If we deploy our forces, we should be able to find him quickly. The inheritance of the Treasure Sword Marquis, a martial arts from the era of the great war between good and evil, is of extraordinary significance to the martial arts of today. It should be the treasure of all martial artists in Qingxue State."
The elder from Bale Family spoke righteously.
"I agree."
"Let’s go."
...
When they left the Heavenly Treasure Ruins, the enveloping mist outside had already disappeared. Without looking back, Shi Xiaole immediately chose to take a detour.
He was not aware of the events that had transpired behind him, but being cautious could never be wrong.
Half a day later, Shi Xiaole arrived at the location where he had agreed to meet Qingfeng. He was about to call for Qing Feng when his movement suddenly froze.
"Young Hero Shi is in a hurry. Where are you planning to go?"
Hundreds of meters away, a group of people jumped out of the forest and quickly surrounded Shi Xiaole.
At first glance, Shi Xiaole silently cursed his bad luck. People from the three major clans, the four prominent families, and the eight sects were all here. There were even many unknown experts, but each one of them had a terrifying atmosphere.
Spiritual-Passage Realm experts!
Chou Wuji shrugged at Shi Xiaole in a regretful manner, suggesting he did his best.
"What do you all want?"
Shi Xiaole asked.
Greedy eyes focused on him, as if trying to see right through him.
"Young Hero Shi, where did you come from?"
The Grand Elder of the Divine Fist Clan countered with a question.
Shi Xiaole glanced around the room, meeting the cold smirk of an elder with a goatee, and said lightly, "I come from the Heavenly Treasure Ruins."
The Grand Elder of the Divine Fist Clan squinted his eyes and nonchalantly asked: "Oh? I wonder if Young Hero Shi managed to get some treasures. Would you mind showing everyone?"
When he said this, Shi Xiaole clearly felt many gleaming eyes now focused on him.
"I’m afraid what I have might not meet your high standards. Surely, you esteemed people of the righteous sects aren’t planning to rob others?"
Shi Xiaole realized that some link in the chain must’ve gone wrong; otherwise, these people could not be suspecting him so quickly.
"Young Hero Shi, when venerable individuals here ask about your goods, it’s an honor. With your evasive behavior, are you not putting everyone here in your eyes, or is it that you really have acquired some treasure and do not wish to share?"
At that moment, the elder with the goatee pointed at Shi Xiaole and stirred the pot with profound implications.
"The legacy of the Heavenly Treasure Sword Marquis is a common wealth in the martial world of the Qingxue State. No one can swallow it alone. I believe Young Hero Shi lacks the ability to acquire it, nevertheless, to prove your innocence, why not present everything you have to avoid making this difficult for everyone."
The lead of the Guan Family stepped forward, his gaze deep and his tone serene, yet it concealed an underlying threat.
Ninety percent of the people present didn’t believe that Shi Xiaole had obtained the legacy, but given the significance of the matter, they needed to confirm it with their own eyes.
"I genuinely have no idea what you all are talking about."
Actually, if he revealed the Primordial Life Heart Sutra and Retaining Life Sword Technique, that would sweep away the trouble. Shi Xiaole didn’t mind doing that, since he had already memorized the codes. Both of these second-grade martial arts were important to others, but not to him.
But human hearts are unpredictable. If you present a secret manual, they would then suspect that you have something better. In the end, it would be better to withhold and not harm oneself.
"Ha ha ha, Shi Xiaole, do you take everyone for fools? Simply claiming ignorance, you think you can deceive us?"
Again, it was the elder with the goatee, laughing mockingly.
"What do you want then?"
The gaze of Shi Xiaole gradually turned icy.
The elder with the goatee gave a bow around him, "Gentlemen, people only tell no lies when they’re unconscious, thus I suggest that Elder Guan employs the Soul Capturing Skill on Shi Xiaole. This way, whether he has gotten anything or not, will be as clear as daylight."
The Soul Capturing Skill, the Guan Family’s secret Pupil Skill, was of a second-grade lower level.
This Pupil Skill could easily control a person’s intellect. However, because of its destructive power, once deployed, it could easily cause damage to the soul, leading to a significant drop in wisdom, making it difficult to recover in the future.
In the past, quite a few people had been subjected to the Guan Family’s Soul Capturing Skill, ending up as idiots. Those with stronger souls ended up confused and mentally disturbed.
The elder with the goatee ostensibly wanted to verify Shi Xiaole’s innocence, but his ulterior motives were obvious.
Guan Fei couldn’t help but laugh, feeling extremely gleeful.
Today’s opposition came from top level forces. He didn’t believe that Shi Xiaole had the courage or the ability to resist. Once he suffered the Soul Capturing Skill, even if he was a heaven-sent talent, he would be reduced to a commoner.
Shi Xiaole, this is what you get for trying to make a name for yourself at my expense.
Shi Xiaole’s face was plain, but inside, a raging killer intent surged. His eyes sharpened into a sword-like stare, inducing an inexplicable chill in the elder with the goatee.
"What, feeling guilty?"
Puffing his chest out, the elder with goatee tried to dismiss the shadow in his heart and ridiculed Shi Xiaole aloud.
"Gentleman, without any concrete proof, isn’t this unsuitable?"
The critical moment arrived, and Elder Rong came out to refute.
"Indeed, it’s not in accordance with the conduct of orthodox sects. Young Hero Shi’s talent is unparalleled, and any harm to him is also a loss to the martial world of the Qingxue state."
The Grand Elder of the Queen City, Xiao Yutong, spoke similarly.
"Wrong! Precisely because we lack evidence, we must resort to the Soul Capturing Skill. Additionally, I believe with Elder Guan’s skills, Young Master Shi will not be harmed."
The leader of the Twin Absolute Palace, seemingly a kind-hearted man, spoke.
The legacy from 600 years ago was self-evidently important to the martial world, no one would miss it. Of course, everyone had a bit of a personal agenda.
No one present was a fool, they all saw through the Guan Family’s deliberate targeting of Shi Xiaole.
Actually, it’s not just the Guan Family; Shi Xiaole’s talent was so outstanding it panicked many people. Given enough time, he might even shake the structure of the Qingxue state.
Some of the top forces had been discussing their course of action against him internally for some time. This time, they used the excuse to diminish his potential even more.
The leaders from the Twin Absolute Palace, the Divine Fist Clan, the Spring Filled Garden, Asura Mansion, and the Bali Family also agreed unanimously. The remaining people remained silent, maintaining an ambiguous attitude.
"Come over, I’ll use the Soul Capturing Skill carefully, and not hurt you."
The lead of the Guan Family, Elder Guan, beckoned Shi Xiaole.
"What if I don’t?"
Shi Xiaole’s chest heaved, his fury and killing intent suppressed to the limit.
Destroying a person’s future is just like murdering their parents! Yet these people brazenly wanted to coerce him and harm his talent, their hearts filled with infernal thoughts, he would never simply submit to them!
"Whether you accept or not, you have to accept. You do not have a choice."
Elder Guan smiled faintly, a surge of spiritual-passage realm-like momentum, swept towards Shi Xiaole like a mountain collapsing, causing the atmosphere to freeze on the spot.
