Chapter 309: Chapter 308: The Undistinguishable Self, the Busy Le
In a suburban teahouse.
"Grandpa, according to you, wouldn’t Shi Xiaole be the most talented genius of the past thousand years?"
A little girl asks a white-haired old man holding an erhu in his hands, her eyes shimmering brightly.
Most of the people in the teahouse are passing businessmen who are not familiar with the affairs of the Martial World, taking the old man’s words as merely enchanting stories.
Only the little girl shows great interest, as if she can’t wait to meet the protagonist of the story.
The white-haired man is blind. He replies, "The Flying Horse Dynasty is vast, who dares to claim the top spot, and who can claim it? But in the Great Cold State, Shi Xiaole is undoubtedly the first."
Thud.
Someone on a nearby seat gently puts down their teacup.
He is a young man dressed in red, plain-looking. His amber eyes initially seem ordinary, but once you stare for a while, they feel like two miniature suns, blindingly bright.
"The sixth level?"
The young man in red sighs lightly, stunning the robust man sitting across from him.
Because he finds that when the young man in red inhaled gently, the tea in the cup actually turned into a faint mist and was entirely drawn into his nostrils.
After numerous changes in his gaze, the young man in red leaves a silver ingot, picks up a sword from the table, and gets up to leave.
The white-haired old man seemingly smirks and begins to gently play the erhu.
...
A riverbank.
There’s a solitary boat docked on the shore.
"Send me back?"
A young man with thick eyebrows furrows them.
"Master says it’s not the right time to challenge the Silver Bullhorn, it would harm Senior Brother’s reputation." Said the man on the boat respectfully.
The young man with the thick brows clenches his fists tightly, strikes the river with one punch, his terrifying power making the boat shake significantly, scaring the few people on board with their complexions changing drastically.
"Let’s go."
...
"Qingxue State, Shi Xiaole."
Atop a high mountain, the howling gale rages, a figure stands amidst the storm, yet his robes remain motionless as if he is part of the wind.
"You’re saying, the Sunset Little Sword Marquis and Little Fist King have both retreated?"
The figure in the wind asks.
"Yes, Young Master."
Someone behind him bows and fist-greets.
"Haha, originally it was supposed to be the competition of the three big geniuses, but before it even started, someone has already stolen the spotlight. But unlike those two, who fear becoming stepping stones, I’m not afraid. If one doesn’t even have the courage to try, how can they go against the current?"
"But Young Master, the leader said..."
"My mind is set."
...
Shi Xiaole, Silver Bullhorn, these two terms, recently seem to set the Martial World of Great Cold State ablaze. Especially the former, like a comet streaking across the sky, its radiance so dazzling, no one can face it directly.
When people found out that Shi Xiaole hailed from Qingxue State, many more gasped in awe.
However, soon after, the news of Shi Xiaole killing Xu Shengquan spread. For a time, the controversy intensified, even overshadowing the remarkable feat of reaching the sixth level of the Silver Bullhorn.
"What a ruthless and cold-blooded individual, gifted but devoid of the heart of righteousness, it’s pathetic and lamentable!"
"With such extreme actions, do you think he might stray from the right path in the future?"
"I heard that Xu Shengquan’s master is seeking help across all of the Martial World, swearing to achieve justice."
As the Martial World argued incessantly about this, unexpectedly subdued news arrived that the Divine Wind Young Master attempted to ascend the tower, causing a brief flash of light on the fifth level of the Silver Bullhorn before disappearing.
The fifth level, failed.
"Despite Divine Wind Young Master’s astonishing prowess, he couldn’t even climb to the fifth level?"
Nothing reveals the truth better than a comparison.
While the failure was anticipated, everyone was taken aback when the Divine Wind Young Master indeed failed. Just how extraordinary is Shi Xiaole’s talent and ability?
"I don’t understand why Divine Wind Young Master would attempt to ascend the tower at this time. Doesn’t he understand that he represents the young generation of our Great Cold State?"
Some were resentful, feeling that the Divine Wind Young Master was overshadowed by Shi Xiaole, damaging the prestige of the Martial World of Great Cold.
"I think the Divine Wind Young Master is very brave, at least better than some who avoid the spotlight."
Others made veiled remarks and mocked coldly.
Under the mysterious manipulations, after a few days, the rumor mills started churning again.
Some said Shi Xiaole obtained a superior martial art from the Silver Bullhorn and was in hiding to practice it. Others claimed that Shi Xiaole received a lost secret weapon, powerful enough to defeat the top martial artists in the world...
In short, all kinds of rumors spread, and countless Martial World figures started searching for Shi Xiaole everywhere, motivated by these rumors.
...
In an ordinary small town.
"Brahma-I Unity is nearly perfect."
Shi Xiaole awakes from his meditation and slowly reins in his aura.
Originally, after achieving 90% of the Brahma-I Unity, it would create a bottleneck that cannot be crossed so quickly.
However, the fight on the fifth level of the Silver Bullhorn allowed Shi Xiaole to comprehend the Brahma-I Unity on a deeper level, saving him time as it was akin to completing the process of accumulation ahead of time.
Looking at the night outside the window, Shi Xiaole knows that the Martial World is looking for him, but he’s totally calm. After washing up, he lies in bed and easily drifts off to sleep.
The second day, before dawn had broken, Shi Xiaole walked out of the house and entered the local ironworks.
"Ah Le, you’re here this early."
Someone greeted him warmly.
"Yes, Uncle Wang, if I don’t start early, I can’t make any money."
Shi Xiaole quickly responded, appearing simple and honest.
At this moment, he was far from his previous appearance of a jade-like scholar. He was dressed in coarse clothes, looking pale and even his facial features were different. He appeared to be more than thirty years old.
Even if Su Yanru were here, she would absolutely fail to recognize him.
The day he put on the prepared disguise mask and left White Mountain City, Shi Xiaole came to this ordinary small town and transformed into an ironsmith.
The art of disguise had long been lost, how could someone from the martial world find him?
The middle-aged man named Uncle Wang shook his head.
This Ah Le was always talking about doing business, but the sword he forged was not only bizarre in shape but also of poor quality. For such a long time, no one had bought anything. He was bound to lose money sooner or later.
However, the other party’s attitude was really good, welcoming people with a smile all day. He really didn’t know where all this happiness came from.
Shi Xiaole entered the ironworks, examined the iron water poured into the mold had solidified. He picked up the sword blank, put it on the table after it turned red-hot, held a hammer in his other hand, and began to hammer it at varying paces.
Clang, clang, clang...
The nearby ironsmiths were obviously used to it, many of them shook their heads. This wasn’t sword casting, it was just brute force; blacksmithing would be a more apt description.
Indeed, Shi Xiaole was not casting a sword, but preparing for it.
He had thoroughly studied the contents of the two pieces of sheepskin paper. So he understood that to forge a low-grade spiritual weapon, the method of hammering was just as important as the materials.
The energy in the low-grade spiritual weapon is absorbed from a special environment through this unique hammering method and sealed in the weapon.
During this period, Shi Xiaole has been familiarizing himself with the special hammering method, striving for perfection in the power, position, and even the time intervals of each hammer blow.
Ordinary people would think of mastering the special hammering method without ten or twenty years of hard training. But Shi Xiaole was different, his powerful mind gave him incredible insight and control.
Each hammering mistake, even the most minor, could be detected by him and corrected in time. He would then coordinate the exertion of his muscles to achieve proficiency, error-free.
Clang!
With the final hammer blow, Shi Xiaole was soaked in sweat.
The sword blank in his hand suddenly erupted with a burst of red heat, and a crack appeared on the surface of the sword blank amidst the crackling sound.
"Ordinary materials simply cannot withstand the power of sealing. However, my hammering technique is not yet perfect, otherwise the sealed power would have been enough to blow up the sword blank. Of course, this is not a special environment, so the sealed power is not strong."
With a smile, Shi Xiaole continued his monotonous ironwork.
In this process, he was not only familiarizing himself with hammering techniques.
Shi Xiaole found that when his mind and body were fully engaged, it seemed as if a closer connection had formed with the sword. In the invisible realm, even his Sword Heart Realm was being tempered and slowly elevated!
This resembled the Four-Sided Link Theory of the Tidal Waves Sword Marquis, but was obviously more advanced. The latter could not temper the Sword Heart.
Practicing internal power and sword technique at night, familiarising himself with the hammering technique during the day, Shi Xiaole’s life was incredibly fulfilled.
Because of his busyness and blind optimism, many people in the town called him ’Busy Ah Le’.
One month later.
The sword blank hammered out by Shi Xiaole had six cracks on the surface.
Two months later, the cracks increased to ten.
On the evening of the third month, when every household was setting off firecrackers to celebrate New Year’s Eve, Shi Xiaole also achieved a breakthrough in his internal power.
In the room.
Transparent waves emanated from Shi Xiaole as the center, first spreading out and then contracting. In the end, it seemed to be frozen in time. But looking closely, the waves were not frozen, they were visibly rapidly spreading and contracting.
Hum!
The moment the waves dispersed, the furniture in the room, such as tables, chairs, and stools, suddenly collapsed and shattered into pieces of wood.
"Is this the highest realm of Brahma-I Unity, the Brahma-I Duality?"
Opening his eyes, Shi Xiaole’s eyes were like lightning.
His aura had astonishingly reached the mid-stage of the Fifth Tier Xuan Qi.
At the early stage of Fourth Tier Xuan Qi, Shi Xiaole was unsure of competing against a Spiritual-Passage Realm first-tier expert. But now, after the simultaneous breakthroughs in his internal power and cultivation, he really wanted to find someone to test himself.
If the people of the martial world knew about his thoughts, they would be utterly shocked.
Wanting to compete against a Spiritual-Passage Realm expert at the age of nineteen, is this madness or genius?
Most of the popular stars on the ranking list could not even compare to a finger of the Spiritual-Passage Realm expert when they were nineteen.
Shi Xiaole clenched his fists, and with a thought, his aura disappeared completely. Even a martial arts expert closing his eyes would not be able to sense him.
When he deliberately released his aura, his cultivation suddenly surged layer upon layer, quickly reaching the Spiritual-Passage Realm.
In the martial world of the Tang Dynasty, even Fu Nantu had not practiced the Brahma-I Unity to its highest realm, greatly limiting the potential of this technique. But now, intentionally or unintentionally, Shi Xiaole had discovered another magical use.
Using an eerie internal energy that appears to absorb and push, but doesn’t, to disguise his aura and confuse his cultivation!
From now on, as long as Shi Xiaole was willing, he could switch at will between being an ordinary person and a Spiritual-Passage Realm expert. Coupled with his disguise skills, not even ghosts or gods would be able to tell his true identity.
"Ah Le, tonight is New Year’s Eve, you’re alone, come and eat with us."
Not long after, Uncle Wang’s voice rang out from outside.
Shi Xiaole stopped his tidying up, pushed open the door, and smiled honestly, "Uncle Wang, you don’t have to be so polite."
"What nonsense, just go when I say so."
Uncle Wang pretended to be angry.
"Then... alright."
Uncle Wang turned anger into joy, thinking that although Ah Le might be a bit simple-minded, he was sincere and hard-working. As long as Uncle Wang taught him well, Ah Le would be able to continue his work. When the time comes, he would marry his daughter to Ah Le and that would solve two big issues at once.
