Chapter 312: Chapter 311: System’s 7th Task
Strolling through the market, Shi Xiaole inevitably heard about the recent events.
"Demon Arm, Sky Edge Pavilion?"
Black Devil Divine Monarch didn’t understand, but Shi Xiaole knew about Sky Edge Pavilion.
There are probably few people in the martial world of the Flying Horse Dynasty who don’t know about Sky Edge Pavilion.
It’s an incredibly mysterious and powerful organization that appears once every few hundred years. During the last major conflict between the Righteous and Devil Paths, Sky Edge Pavilion was a key asset of the righteous side.
The Saintess of the Sky Edge Pavilion, who will be the future suzerain, holds a position that far surpasses those of the top players in the Great Cold State.
Every time a Saintess is born, she selects 500 golden boys and 500 jade girls as her attendants. But don’t be fooled and think they are just attendants. Many young talents strive to become golden boys or jade girls.
The influence of Sky Edge Pavilion stretches across the Flying Horse Dynasty, their resources unimaginable. As long as one becomes a golden boy or jade girl, they can enjoy the extensive cultivation resources of Sky Edge Pavilion.
Countless past events have proven that the golden boys and jade girls under each generation of the Saintess aim low to become powerhouses; at the highest, they hold renowned status throughout the entire dynasty.
So it wasn’t surprising at all to Shi Xiaole when he heard that the talented youngsters in Great Cold State who reached the Spiritual-Passage Realm and were under thirty years old started to act.
Of course, he’s not interested in becoming a golden boy or jade girl, unless the Sky Edge Pavilion is as relaxed and free as the Demon Alliance, then he could consider it.
Without the intention of going to Black Devil Ridge to join the crowd, Shi Xiaole wondered whether or not he should leave Great Cold State.
Ding!
"Initiating a repayment task."
In his mind, a mechanical voice rang out.
"Demon and Righteous Paths at war, an unexpected force develops. A man walks in the martial world, he should be free and unrestrained. But without formidable strength in hand, how can he be unrestrained? You’re limited to within two months to obtain the Black Devil Divine Monarch’s arm, and absorb the essence of its internal power."
Shi Xiaole paused in his steps, partly because of the nature of the task, but also because the description of this one was different from previous ones. What exactly is a repayment task, and it didn’t mention the task’s difficulty, reward, and punishment.
As if reading his mind, the system explains, "The last time in the Ghost Fortress underground, the system activated its protective energy. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You need to complete a task as repayment."
"So in other words, I cannot refuse, and there’s no reward?"
Shi Xiaole asked.
"Indeed, you can’t refuse, but the completion of the task itself is your reward."
"What if I fail?"
"The system will vanish from your mind because the energy can’t be replenished."
Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but feel helpless.
Having countless secret manuals and the magical system space, Shi Xiaole had to admit, the system has brought great convenience and advantages.
If the system disappeared from now onwards, unless he joined a more superior top-tier organization or scout out possible ancient ruins, he won’t get a chance to practice first-rate martial arts.
But the former is too difficult; as someone who wasn’t raised from a young age, there is little chance an organization would trust him completely and teach him their top skills. Living under someone else’s roof was also too humble.
The latter was entirely due to luck and was likely to end in death.
Where can you find something as convenient as the system, that rewards martial arts of any level once you have enough merit points.
"I can do the task, but I heard that if one’s cultivation hasn’t reached the Spiritual-Passage Realm, they can’t enter Black Devil Ridge."
Shi Xiaole expressed his last concern.
"Don’t worry, possessing a soul from another world and a body unlike ordinary people, you won’t fear the demon’s invasion."
The system’s words made Shi Xiaole slightly moved.
He could understand the soul part, but what did they mean by a body unlike ordinary people?
Unable to figure it out for the time being, and without getting an answer from the system, Shi Xiaole shook his head, switched to a new direction, and headed towards Black Devil Ridge, ensuring he gathered information along the way.
The good news was, the demonic energy was gradually weakening, now even fighters in the first layer of the Spiritual-Passage Realm can enter. But because most of the internal power was used to ward off demonic energy, the strength they can display while inside barely reaches one-tenth.
The bad news was that those who dared to enter either were exceptional talents, seasoned experts who lived in seclusion for many years, or powerhouses from both the Righteous and Devil Paths, even the level of the chief.
In the current Black Devil Ridge, where the top martial world elites of Great Cold State gather, no one would oppose the claim.
For Shi Xiaole to seize the arm of the Black Devil Divine Monarch amidst such a gathering of experts, the difficulty was self-evident.
This would undoubtedly be the most challenging task in his life so far!
Black Devil Ridge is located within the barren mountains on the west side of Great Cold State, almost spanning a thousand miles. From a distance, a large piece of black clouds blocked the sky, reminiscent of a devil’s world.
In the city nearest to Black Devil Ridge, various figures from the martial world hustle and bustle.
"Who has recently entered Black Devil Ridge, and who are the most powerful?"
Nobody loves gossip more than the martial world. To ensure timely information, many intelligence organizations have set up temporary branches in the city and then elevated the price of information to make a killing.
Shi Xiaole certainly didn’t care about the money. After entering the second floor of ’Know All’ tiny room, he immediately asked.
Only by knowing the latest situation of his enemy can he adapt flexibly.
"A thousand liangs."
The person in the room replied.
Shi Xiaole placed down ten silver notes with a face value of a hundred liangs.
"Almost seventy percent of all notable powerhouses from the Great Cold State have gone to the Black Devil Ridge. According to my analysis, several are the strongest among them."
"First, there’s the Three-Heart Man, top of the Wind Dust List. It is said that he has already slain eight demon list experts in Black Devil Ridge."
The righteous and the wicked both had their rankings, known as the Wind Dust List and the Demon List, respectively. However, apart from those in the Devil Path, very few people knew about these rankings.
"In second place is the Broken Sun Blade Marquis, ranked third on the Wind Dust List, Gu Nanfeng, the Gu Family’s head and the father of the Sunset Little Sword Marquis. He is also the top swordsman in the Great Cold State today."
"Third is Chen Xiao, the Flying Sky Fist Marquis, ranked fifth on the Wind Dust List, and the Suzerain of the Flying Fist Sect."
"The fourth is..."
As the other party spoke fluently, Shi Xiaole felt more and more alarmed. He knew it was a gathering of experts, but he didn’t expect so many top masters. Any of them could kill him easily with their real strength."
"Beyond these powerhouses, both the righteous and wicked paths’ younger generations are also dueling. This time, all talents from the Great Cold Demon Path are present showing strength far surpassing the estimation of the righteous path."
After obtaining sufficient information, Shi Xiaole rose to leave.
"Boss, this man has an extraordinary aura. He cannot be some nobody."
After Shi Xiaole left, someone spoke from the shadows.
"Sketch this man’s face and go investigate."
The voice that previously interacted with Shi Xiaole said.
Shi Xiaole, as he appeared now, was wearing lavish clothes. He looked somewhat handsome but he appeared to be about 25 or 26 years old, the result of a disguise.
To avoid being discovered, he’d even stored his Green Peak Sword in the system space and changed it for a regular long sword.
There were too many martial artists in the town. If he revealed his true appearance, it would inevitably cause trouble.
"Look, the powerhouses are back."
Suddenly, a burst of noise came from the town gate.
Shi Xiaole looked up to see several powerful men with either rugged, sharp, or elusive temperaments being ushered into the guest house among a crowd of people. Despite the brief glance, it still left him awestruck.
They were so powerful.
If he were to judge purely by aura, compared to these men, Shi Xiaole’s aura was nothing more than a trickle against a raging river. There was no comparison.
Excluding cultivation levels, Shi Xiaole believed that these men had superior martial understanding and martial arts levels. In combination, these men could easily crush him."
"By appearance, they must be the Broken Sun Blade Marquis, Flying Sky Fist Marquis, and others."
Shaking his head with a bitter smile, Shi Xiaole headed towards the outskirts of the town.
Like the Broken Sun Blade Marquis and other masters, fully protecting oneself while staying in the demonic aura could last three 2-hour periods. To prevent the demons from taking advantage of vulnerability, the righteous path adopted shift rotations, where several masters formed a group, alternating among themselves.
So no matter when Shi Xiaole entered the Black Devil Ridge, the difficulty would be the same.
"This big fight between the righteous and wicked paths, I wonder how it will turn out."
"We have many masters on our righteous path; I heard they have slain quite a number of demon list masters. We will surely be the final victors."
"That’s not certain. I heard that we have also lost many masters on our righteous path, like the Youzhou Guest who was ranked sixth on the Wind Dust List, and the Plum Flower Elder who was ranked seventeenth."
In the town, you could always hear such discussions.
This was the first open conflict between the righteous and the wicked in the Great Cold State in over six hundred years, naturally drawing the attention of everyone in the martial world.
Under these circumstances, even those usually brilliant young masters seemed dull and mediocre, merely serving as a backdrop for these peak powerhouses.
A few people noticed a young man around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing luxurious clothes and wearing a long sword at his waist, walking towards the outskirts of town. But they didn’t pay him much heed, just assuming he was out for experience or hoping to catch the eye of the Sky Edge Pavilion."
Unfortunately, judging from the current situation, the younger generation of the Great Cold State appeared to have no winning chances against the demonic geniuses. Unless something unexpected happens, they’re likely not going to catch the Sky Edge Pavilion’s attention."
Half an hour later, Shi Xiaole arrived near the Black Devil Ridge. The dense demonic aura covered the sky, occasionally roiling and emitting thunderous noises."
Just as he was about to enter..."
"Step aside for this old man!"
Someone from afar shouted, a strong Inborn Vigorous Air aimed at Shi Xiaole’s back.
Luckily, Shi Xiaole was on guard. He narrowly managed to dodge in a critical moment as the Inborn Vigorous Air hit a spot in the distance, shattering seven or eight large trees that could only be embraced by two people."
With a flash, Shi Xiaole dove into the demonic aura."
"Humph, you’re lucky."
The old man in black looked strange with black pupils highlighted by yellow, occasionally flashing dreadful light, revealing that he was a master of the Devil Path."
They were more than 30 feet apart, and it was a casual blow; otherwise, he was confident he could have killed Shi Xiaole."
In the demonic aura, it was as black as ink. As the system had said, apart from initial discomfort, Shi Xiaole quickly adjusted. His body was not affected by the demonic aura."
But he quickly realized that although his internal power was not affected, his mental perception was restricted by the demonic aura. Usually, it could spread 25 meters, but now it was less than 10 meters."
"Also, if perception wasn’t affected, that missing arm would likely have been found a long time ago."
The demonic aura restricting perception was both good and bad. The good thing was that it prevented detection by masters. The bad thing was that if he ever encountered one, escaping would be very difficult."
Luckily, Shi Xiaole had already investigated this – a master of the initial stage of the Spiritual-Passage Realm in the demonic aura could only maintain the strength of the first level. He could deal with it all-out without too much trepidation."
After quietly memorizing the appearance of the black-robed old man, Shi Xiaole headed deeper into the Black Devil Ridge."
