Chapter 288: Chapter 287: Expanding the Situation
"Hundred Steps Sky Bombardment!"
Sitting idle was not Lin Shaoyi’s style. As his right fist punched out, the energy coalesced into a single force. With a resounding boom, a swarm of venomous insects was flung away, sparks flying from their surface.
"Well-deserved reputation as a top talent of Great Cold State, he actually understood the fist intent beyond the minor success stage."
Ghost Granny and the Middle-Aged Man with Eight-Character Beard were secretly astonished.
For swordsmen, some reach the realm of unity of man and sword, Sword Heart Realm, whereas masters of martial arts with fists and palms have the realms of fist intent and palm intent.
Generally speaking, transcending the minor success level’s fist intent could enhance fist techniques, equivalent to the enhancement of reaching unity of man and sword at the peak for swordsmen. The Grand Success Fist Intent is almost on par with the Sword Heart Realm.
An average eighth tier Xuan Qi master couldn’t shake the Hundred Venomous Insects Formation at all, proving that Lin Shaoyi’s strength, as a Xuan Qi sixth tier, wasn’t weak even compared to an eighth tier Xuan Qi master.
Given his immunity to the venomous bugs’ technique to some extent, if Ghost Granny and the Middle-Aged Man with Eight-Character Beard were to personally confront him, the odds won’t be in their favor.
"Humph, no matter how high your skills are, you’re still going to die here."
The Middle-Aged Man with Eight-Character Beard felt relieved, his relief changed into a more contemptuous snicker.
The Hundred Venomous Insects Formation was just several meters away from them all. Lin Shaoyi’s unbending face changed as he swung his fists like whirlwinds, striking out repeatedly. It only helped to delay the closing time of the venomous insects.
Whiz!
Suddenly, someone actively rushed towards the venomous insects.
"Young Hero, no."
Ying Xiong recognized who it was. Wasn’t it the young man with the sword? But before he could finish his cry, Shi Xiaole landed in the formation.
Ying Bituo and the others sighed, feeling a sense of shared sorrow. It was the fate of all. They were also destined to become the food of the venomous bugs.
"An ignorant fool, knowing the inevitability of death, yet gambling his life away?"
The Middle-Aged Man with Eight-Character Beard remembered Shi Xiaole for breaking his sneak attack and felt immensely satisfied at the sight.
A blast of fist energy arrived before Shi Xiaole, creating a blank space, but the venomous bugs swiftly filled it up. The so-called Hundred Venomous Insects Formation didn’t merely consist of hundreds of bugs. The ’hundred’ was to imply that there were too many bugs to count.
Shi Xiaole looked at Lin Shaoyi. The latter abandoned all defenses, his fist continually striking in front of him, as if paving the way, completely unafraid for his own safety.
"What are you doing?"
Shi Xiaole’s eyes flickered.
"You saved me once, I’m returning the favor."
Lin Shaoyi responded.
What a fascinating guy.
Shi Xiaole gave a faint smile. He stepped into the bug-infested area first, without waiting for Lin Shaoyi to punch. The latter wished to help but was rendered helpless.
The venomous bugs quickly burrowed into Shi Xiaole’s body.
But the next moment.
Hisss.
White smoke flew up, the bugs were forced out of his body, turning into ashes. More bugs pounced but all met the same fate.
The venomous bugs that terrified everyone, upon encountering Shi Xiaole, were like they met their natural enemy, falling dead as they approached.
"Wh-What?"
Ying Xiong and the others blinked, questioning their eyes. Lin Shaoyi also stalled, a strange color flickered in his pupils.
"What is happening?"
The Middle-Aged Man with Eight-Character Beard’s triumphant expression froze on his face, a look of disbelief. Looking at Ghost Granny, he found her face also shocked.
"The bane of Lin Shaoyi, the Hundred Venomous Insects Formation, doesn’t affect the kid. Could his constitution be more unique than Lin Shaoyi?"
Ghost Granny, besides fear and anger, had an uncontrollable greed. If she could acquire this kid and study him in-depth, his worth could be higher than Lin Shaoyi.
Seeing Shi Xiaole leaving the Hundred Venomous Insects Formation, Ghost Granny shouted urgently, "Everyone listen up. Catch this thief."
Before the words hit the ground, she turned herself into a black beam, shot out, spreading her five fingers in the air and suddenly descended towards Shi Xiaole’s head.
Upon hearing the order, the Ghost Fortress experts didn’t dare to delay.
The Middle-Aged Man with Eight-Character Beard also snapped back into reality.
Yes, although this child was not afraid of the venomous bugs, his Xuan Qi cultivation was only at third-tier, hence, much weaker than Lin Shaoyi. With Lin Shaoyi and others being entangled by the Hundred Venomous Insects Formation, they would still win if they managed to capture this kid.
"Die, thief!"
His thoughts lasted only a moment, The Middle-Aged Man with Eight-Character Beard couldn’t stand falling behind. He threw out nine deadly poison-dripping darts, which combined with Ghost Granny, blocked Shi Xiaole’s retreat.
Two seventh-tier Xuan Qi masters join hands to attack from above and below, along with other Ghost Fortress experts. For a while, Shi Xiaole couldn’t advance or retreat.
Lin Shaoyi wished to help but was too far away, his Hundred Steps Divine Fist could not reach.
A rolling surge of strength pressed down, pulling at Shi Xiaole’s hair. He extended his five fingers, gripped the sword, drew the sword. It all happened in a flash. From Ying Xiong and others’ viewpoint, an azure sword trace appeared out of nowhere in the void.
Clang!
With just a single stroke, Ghost Granny’s palm energy was ruthlessly torn into two halves. Large groups of Ghost Fortress experts screamed and fell. Nine poison-dripped darts were whirled round, shot back towards the Middle-Aged Man with Eight-Character Beard at a higher speed.
Ghost Granny was forced hovering, changing directions, landing on the ground with her eyes changing colors in shock while looking at Shi Xiaole.
Ding Ding Ding...
The Middle-Aged Man with Eight-Character Beard was underestimating the enemy and had a close shave. He managed to dodge the darts and was sweating cold sweat. He pointed at Shi Xiaole and shouted, "Kid, who the hell are you?"
A guy with such swordsmanship couldn’t be a nameless character. Could he be a talent who entered the Silver Bull Horn?
"I am Shi Xiaole," Shi Xiaole answered.
"Shi Xiaole? Never heard."
The man with a goat’s beard squinted his eyes, and his breath eased slightly. If it had been an established hero who had made their name by passing through the Silver Bull’s Horn, he would have turned tail and run without a second word.
From what he could see, the opponent had just come into the martial world. Their swordsmanship skills were quite astonishing, but he and his senior sister had been too careless, otherwise, they wouldn’t have been repelled by just one of his sword strokes.
Ghost Granny and the man with a goat’s beard exchanged glances and charged again. This time, they both were fully focused and gave it their all.
"Soul-searching Eighteen Claws."
Ghost Granny’s fingers were long, thin and skeletal, with three-inch-long nails pitch-black in color. As she extended her claws, it was as if a large area of space was missing, which gave Shi Xiaole a weird sensation like his soul was being held captive.
"Autumn Rain Continuous Flying Dart!"
And on the other side, the man with the goat’s beard was no slower either. His hands crossed outwards, and a dense barrage of iron darts shot out from his sleeves, collar, and even his waist, flashing yellow in the torchlight of the stone room, looking like mournful and dangerous autumn night rain.
The combined attack of the two masters made it seem as if the air had solidified.
"Fire Scale Eclipse!"
The long sword whirled around, forming a sword net around Shi Xiaole. The black claws and the dart rain struck it, cascading a percussive sound. After that, the sword net shattered.
Disregarding the influence of the gu technique, Ghost Granny and the man with the goat’s beard had the strength equivalent to an eight-tier Xuan Qi master in the martial world of Qingxue State. If it had been right after he left Qingxue State, Shi Xiaole could not have beaten either one.
Like a fleeting shadow, Ghost Granny burst towards Shi Xiaole. Her black claws, seemingly cast out of metal, could penetrate even iron.
A meteor-like sword light whizzed to meet it.
Shi Xiaole’s sword was incredibly fast, so much so that the man with the goat’s beard had a terrifying illusion of his dart-throwing movements being much slower than usual.
Clang!
When the tip of the sword collided with the dark claw’s strength, the respective power of both transferred; Shi Xiaole felt a numbness in his arm and was forced back six steps, whereas Ghost Granny only wobbled slightly without backing down at all.
"What use is good swordsmanship? You think you can jump four tiers to win?"
This exchange made the man with the goat’s beard see hope. He summoned the flying darts on the ground to return to his hands, then rapidly threw them at Shi Xiaole again.
In his perspective, Shi Xiaole’s talent was only a touch better than Lin Shaoyi’s.
Despite Lin Shaoyi only being able to cross two tiers to fight, the concept is different. As everyone knows, the higher martial artists climb, the larger the gap between each tier becomes.
For example, the difference between the eighth and seventh tier of Xuan Qi is absolutely much greater than the difference between the seventh and sixth tier. As one progresses, it diminishes.
In other words, with Shi Xiaole’s three-tier Xuan Qi cultivation, his strength equates to the average Xuan Qi seventh-tier master, at most a touch more powerful than Lin Shaoyi’s muscle strength, who can fight the eighth-tier Xuan Qi single-handedly.
"Shadow Claw Emergence."
"Soul-ending Claw."
Ghost Granny became more eager to fight, continuously attacking Shi Xiaole from all sides, filling the space with her shadows, leaving him almost no room to dodge.
"Last technique, Bone Snatching Soul-searching, lay down boy."
With a cold soul-searching intentionality imbued in herself, Ghost Granny’s attack had a heart-shaking force. Once the claw emerged, it was as if one’s eyes could no longer look away, only passively awaiting death.
"Such a pity!"
Ying Xiong and others behind flashed a regretful thought: if Shi Xiaole had been just a bit stronger, maybe he could have reversed the situation. However, there are never any ifs in life.
All they could do now was try their best to resist the insects, to delay the time of death, which was quite pitiful.
"I really can’t do anything about a high-level master with general moves."
Shi Xiaole sighed deeply. He felt that it might be necessary to shift his perspective.
The Martial World of Qingxue State was too small, its martial arts level was also much lower than in other places, which led him to think he could fight by crossing five tiers. But in other states, four tiers was limited.
"However, the more competitive the martial world is, the more I like it."
With a blazing fire in his heart, Shi Xiaole changed his sword maneuver, suddenly and lightly thrusting it forward, silent and without any hint, but carrying a lethal Sword Qi.
Death Claiming Thirteen Swords.
Thud.
The claw which could solidify souls was over halfway neutralized by the sword strike, the remaining could no longer handle Shi Xiaole and was easily avoided.
"What a move!"
When her ultimate move was broken, Ghost Granny’s face turned ugly. She hadn’t expected her opponent to keep his cool and save his real ability until now.
However, she was a veteran in the Martial World after all and quickly changed her strategy, replacing frontal attacks with evasive ones, and prepared to take down Shi Xiaole by advantage of her superior agility.
But soon, Ghost Granny was shocked to discover that she had made a mistake. No matter how fast her transitions were or how cleverly her techniques changed, she was always a step behind Shi Xiaole.
The opponent was like a ruthless and precise machine, always able to put the sword in the most appropriate position.
Occasionally, in those moments, Ghost Granny saw herself in the opponent’s eyes. A cutting edge cold light slashed through, making her heart tremble.
Who exactly was this guy?
A sword flicked past, blood splashed.
Ghost Granny’s shoulder was pierced, with blood continuously flowing out.
Shi Xiaole, who had performed the Death Claiming Thirteen Swords, had finally displayed the power when combining Sword Heart and swordsmanship, his true strength that shocked everyone including Lin Shaoyi immensely!
"Junior brother, what are you waiting for?"
Ghost Granny screamed, and while retreating, the man with the goat’s beard hastily threw out all the poison darts on his body.
"Soul-destroying Claw!"
Seeing Shi Xiaole expose his weak point, Ghost Granny was in a hurry to exert her full power, and a large insect-toxic claw came crashing down on Shi Xiaole.
Shi Xiaole was impassive, his so-called flaws immediately became his raising move, whereby the Death Claiming Fourteenth Sword was performed.
Sssh!
A scream was heard, Ghost Granny fell to the ground, bleeding with no sign of getting up.
A large portion of the insects assaulting Lin Shaoyi and the others turned to ash, the rest went out of control and disappeared quickly along the cracks in the ground.
