Chapter 345: Chapter 344 Lele City
"Alright."
Shi Xiaole nodded, took a step forward, and charged the opponent first.
"Carefree Nine Claws!"
The Carefree Master was startled. He didn’t dare to be careless and hastily exerted his most sophisticated technique.
Just as they were about to pass by each other, Shi Xiaole suddenly accelerated. His speed was so fast that he made the Carefree Master seem to have paused in front of everyone else’s eyes.
A bead of blood fell from the Carefree Master’s palm; his face was filled with horror.
In that instant, he had the intuition that he was being pierced through. At the crucial moment, it was Shi Xiaole who had purposely missed, sparing his life.
He, being on the eighth tier of the Spiritual-Passage Realm, was unable to block even one of Shi Xiaole’s moves. What kind of existence was his opponent?
"Young Hero Shi, you, sigh..."
The Carefree Master’s face was flushed. He had intended to play the peacemaker, yet he ended up losing his lifelong reputation and becoming a stepping stone for Shi Xiaole.
It wasn’t so much shame or regret as it was resignation. The Carefree Master shook his head and felt no desire to stay any longer.
"Master, master, don’t go!"
The people from the Divine Fist Clan looked ashen.
All along, those who had escaped from clans such as the Guan Family and Twin Absolute Palace had been talking about how powerful Shi Xiaole was, hyping him up to the sky to the extent that many thought it was an exaggeration.
However, the battle that just took place made everyone on the scene clearly realize that Shi Xiaole’s strength was even more profound than the rumors suggested.
"Life is like a game of chess, a wrong step leads to continuous mistakes, haha..."
The leader of the Divine Fist Clan let out a bitter laugh non-stop.
A quarter of an hour later, the Divine Fist Clan was wiped out.
Two days later, with the help of the Snow Listening Mountain Villa and the Xu Family, Shi Xiaole found the elites of the Asura Mansion and wiped them out in one swoop. Even ’Cold-faced Asura’ Yuan Zong died in this battle.
By then, Shi Xiaole had completed his revenge on the seven major factions. At the same time, he left behind a record of feats that future generations would find terrifying.
For a full half-month, the martial world was buzzing with him.
Never had there been anyone who displayed such violent and oppressive power, single-handedly suppressing the Martial World of Qingxue State, with no one able to match his might!
Some said that Shi Xiaole’s appearance was epoch-making.
He was like a steady star, not only shining brightly but also hanging high in the night sky. Juniors, peers, seniors, wherever his light reached, all were overshadowed.
It started snowing again at Snow Listening Mountain Villa.
Xue Yuanting stood by the window of his study, watching Xue Changqing practising his swordwork in the courtyard. Looking at his son venting and appearing lost, Xue Yuanting couldn’t help but sigh deeply.
His son had already reached the fifth tier of the Xuanqi Realm and was on the edge of realizing the Sword Heart. If it weren’t for Shi Xiaole, he would definitely be the most promising young man in the Qingxue Martial World.
"Living in the same era as him is both your fortune and misfortune."
When a great person presides, people who follow won’t lack goals or motivation. However, when the leader moves so far ahead that they can barely see him, that kind of frustration and chagrin is something ordinary people cannot understand.
The Xu Family in the northern part of the river.
"Brother Shi, you have a good son."
Xu Beihe hugged his wife Xue Furong, looking solemn.
"Dear, is he really that powerful?"
Xue Furong was still somewhat doubtful.
"If I were to face him, I wouldn’t be able to take even half of his moves."
Thinking about the scene when Shi Xiaole attacked that day, Xu Beihe still felt fear even now.
"What about Xue’er’s marriage to him..."
"Never mind, perhaps it’s good for Xue’er that she’s not with him. A man like him is not something Xue’er can hold onto."
In the front yard, Xu Nianxue and Wang Zuying were playing chess, with Xu Canghai sitting nearby.
"Junior sister, you seem a bit distracted?"
Wang Zuying made a move and laughed.
"No."
Xu Nianxue answered quickly, but her mind was tangled up with the recent rumors. She was really curious about how that guy had gotten through these years.
As she thought of their past, a hard-to-describe emotion welled up in her heart.
Xu Canghai glanced at his sister and shook his head secretly. Some opportunities, once missed, won’t come again.
...
Next to a lake surface like a mirror, several exquisite cabins stood. The falling snowflakes outside added to the picturesque scenery.
This was the Hidden Lake Villa.
"You don’t seem happy after taking revenge?"
Su Yanru was wrapped in a red dress. She was leaning half of her body against Shi Xiaole, resting her head on his shoulder, and squinting her eyes with pleasure.
Shi Xiaole said, "Revenge didn’t make me happy. I just regret that those who died because of me can’t come back to life."
"Don’t overthink it, life is full of such helplessness. Instead of feeling guilty, it’s better to be kind to those who survived."
Shi Xiaole fell silent.
In fact, he had invited Su Junhao and Zhu Ling to join the Golden Phoenix Tower. After giving it some thought, Zhu Ling agreed.
Su Junhao, on the other hand, politely declined, indicating that once he improved his martial arts, he intended to venture into the martial world alone to rid it of those with human faces but animal hearts.
"If I had my own power, maybe we could have avoided this tragedy to some extent."
Shi Xiaole started to ponder.
The more he experienced the martial world, the more he realized how insignificant individual power was. Even if one was unrivaled under the heavens, there were still numerous things that were beyond control.
Just looking for his parents alone would probably prolong the process.
Not to mention, there would be even more and more complex affairs to deal with in the future. Would he have to handle everything on his own?
Shi Xiaole started to contemplate about establishing power. But after a brief period of deliberation, he tucked that idea away for the moment.
Given his nature, he was determined to be the best if he was to do something.
Considering his reputation, reintroducing the Golden Phoenix Tower to the martial world would attract countless followers in Qingxue State. There was no need to establish a new one.
Maybe he could try in other provinces.
However, thinking of establishing power did not deter Shi Xiaole from practicing martial arts. Power was something external, an extension of strength. The foundation was one’s own abilities.
Having wandered around for nearly two years, Shi Xiaole chose to stay at the Hidden Lake Villa, sometimes going boating on the lake with his aunt, other times chatting with people like Lan Ning, and most often, practicing alone.
Unfortunately, top powers like the Guan Family were very strict about martial arts and didn’t make any concessions in their own heritage.
As for trapping and interrogating the martial arts experts of the various sects using Soul Capturing Skill, it wasn’t realistic.
Regardless of the power’s history, even if the sect had only been in existence for decades, the experts would install mental restriction in their brain. Whether triggered passively or released actively, their consciousness would self-destruct.
This kind of mental restriction, although exceedingly precious, was disseminated freely by the number one power in the Flying Horse Dynasty to keep the orthodox martial arts from being acquired by the Devil Path.
After all, nefarious arts like the Soul Capturing Skill were excelled by experts of the Devil Path. It’s to the credit of these restrictions that the confidentiality of martial arts in the Martial World was so high.
In his free time, Shi Xiaole began questioning the system’s extractions.
According to the system, the probability of drawing top-tier martial arts was 6%. It was low indeed, but after fifty to sixty free draws, he still hadn’t touched the edge of it
It seemed as if it was limited by the rules of this martial world. The top-tier martial arts were too powerful, making them difficult to pull out.
After the annihilation of the seven major sects, the property and resources left behind had to be redistributed. Headed by power holders like Queen city, it was proposed that 70% of the spoils be allocated to Shi Xiaole.
Shi Xiaole certainly would not politely refuse. Even if he didn’t consider himself, he had to think about Su Yanru and others.
As a result, Su Yanru and the three vice commanders, and even Zhu Ling who had just joined the Golden Phoenix Tower, got to work.
The seven sects’ 70% assets were far more than imagined. After a month of continuous effort by several top members of Golden Phoenix Tower, they finally had everything in order.
On this day, the Golden Phoenix Tower re-emerged in the Martial World, and was officially renamed to Lele City at Su Yanru’s insistence.
"Lele City?"
Shi Xiaole found it amusing while others could hardly suppress their laughter.
What kind of cracked...weird name was that?
Everyone knew that when mixing it up in the Martial World, they needed a formidable name.
The original Golden Phoenix Tower, although not extremely catchy, was fair enough. But now, they simply changed it to a name with no intimidation at all, wouldn’t others laugh when they heard it?
"It’s settled then, it will be Lele City."
Su Yanru made a definitive decision.
Lele City was situated at the intersection of the territories occupied by the seven major powers and built into the mountain.
With the help of a force of nearly five thousand skilled builders working day and night regardless of cost, in just two short months, a majestic and beautifully structured city rose from within the mountains.
The entire city was constructed using glazed tiles, extending from the top of the mountain to halfway up its slope, spanning an area of over three thousand meters. At the centre of the city gate, the three golden characters of Lele City shone in the reflection of the distant clouds, emitting a dazzling and breathtaking light.
Within half a month of the city’s opening, martial arts experts who wished to join Lele City formed a line from halfway up the mountain to the foot, everyone impatiently wanting to get inside.
Everyone knew, with the backing of the resources of the seven major powers and Shi Xiaole’s support, this newly established Lele City would definitely be the ruler of Qingxue State’s Martial World for a long time to come.
The advantages of joining were extremely enticing.
Facing such a large crowd, Zhu Ling felt excited. Her ultimate goal was enjoying the glory of being highly respected, wasn’t it?
Standing on the city walls of Lele City, looking at those experts whose powers were far superior to her own, Zhu Ling’s vanity was immensely satisfied.
She had become one of the significant figures in the Martial World !
The hierarchy within Lele City was as follows: a City Lord, an Auditor, a Grand Steward, two Vice City Lords, ten presiding Elders, fifty martial art Elders, etc.
The City Lord’s position was naturally taken by Su Yanru. The position of Grand Steward was held by Zhu Ling, who was responsible for managing various important affairs.
The original vice commanders of Golden Phoenix Tower took upon themselves the positions of logistics Elders. They decided to take a step back and abstained from making decisions inside the city.
As for Shi Xiaole, he was ’forced’ to take up the position of Auditor, not inferior to the City Lord. He held the right to mete out punishment at any time, to anyone in the city, without prior approval.
Of the hundreds of thousands of Martial World people who applied, only a few thousand passed the examination for Lele City. The highest was a Fifth Tier Spiritual-Passage Realm expert, and the lowest were at the third tier of Xuanqi Realm.
These people were assigned various positions according to their abilities and strengths. They started as normal Elders and stewards, then depending on their loyalty and merits, further promotions were given.
The positions of Martial Arts Elders, Presiding Elders, and even the two Vice City Lords were left vacant, which stirred up everyone who joined, even the Fifth Tier Spiritual-Passage Realm expert.
