Chapter 377: Chapter 376: Get Rid of Shi Xiaole (1st update, asking for monthly tickets!!!)
Haoyuan City, one of the ten largest cities in the Great Cold State. This place is bustling with commerce and has a dense population. Likewise, it is also a place where the forces of the Righteous Path are highly concentrated in the Martial World.
But recently, most of the skilled practitioners of the Righteous Path in Haoyuan City have been very frightened.
Ten miles outside Haoyuan City, the deserted wasteland of black stone ruins was refurbished by someone once again, which transformed into a pitch-black and mysterious palace. In front of the palace, the four bold characters of ’Black Devil Palace’ were exhibited prominently!
With the news of the Mountain Cang conference spreading across the martial world, the hearts of the righteous people in Great Cold State were clouded by a shadow, making the entire Martial World absolutely still.
"I have to leave now, the forces of the Devil Path have been surging in the recent years so I have to stay away from here first."
"Hmph! Let those cruel people from Devil Path gloat for a while. When our mighty masters in the Righteous Path make a move, that will be the time of their doom."
Within Haoyuan City, many of the originally stationed righteous sects began to move on a large scale, going to other places, with less than a tenth remaining.
There were also many people who came from afar, including those of the top-tier sects, who had sent their skilled practitioners to Haoyuan City to cautiously lookout at the city outskirts.
The re-establishment of the Black Devil Palace by the Demon Alliance did not occur without opposition from the mighty practitioners of the Righteous Path.
The trouble was that those old monsters from the Devil Path were already waiting there, and the power of both sides was nearly the same. It always ended inconclusively, and in the end, it could not stop the Devil Path.
Today’s Martial World can be said to be drastically changing.
In the past when speaking of Xie Xiaofeng, most people had nothing but praise for him. Now, there’s only resentment, dread, and fear.
That young and mysterious dominant force of the Black Devil Palace, his talent was just too astonishing. The longer he lived, the more unease people felt.
"Damn it! At the Black Devil Ridge, if it weren’t for Gu Nanfeng and Blue Tidal saving him, Xie would have died long ago and we wouldn’t have the present calamity."
"Isn’t that right?"
In the inn, several martial arts figures angrily slammed the table.
The rise of Xie Xiaofeng made many people think of the battle at Black Devil Ridge. Consequently, even those who had saved him, the Broken Sun Blade Marquis and the Tidal Waves Sword Marquis, were blamed. The blame trend was not in the least bit minor.
Even to the extent that, there were a few people who ran to the outside of Jade Moon Palace, cursing Lan Xiaodie while venting their anger."
"The situation isn’t as pessimistic as it looks. I’ve heard that the remarkable Jade Fan Scholar has come back into the Martial World and started to communicate with the other hidden masters of the Righteous Path. After all, if the Devil Path has Xie Xiaofeng, our Righteous Path certainly has geniuses that can contend with him."
One person drank a pot of wine and said loudly.
"Who are you talking about?"
Someone immediately asked.
"Have you forgotten the one who climbed to the sixth level of the Silver Bull Horn, Shi Xiaole? Haha, someone has checked that Young Hero Shi has established Lele City in Qingxue State and is now considered the top expert of that state. He is only twenty-one years old."
The person who had been drinking, laughed loudly. The words he spit out instantly eased the heavy atmosphere within the inn.
"Is this true?"
There isn’t much interaction between the martial worlds of the various states, and due to the vast territories, very little news from other states comes across. A substantial number of people are unaware of Shi Xiaole’s current situation.
"There’s no falsehood in what I said! I also heard that although Young Hero Shi’s actions are slightly unorthodox and unlike an average Righteous Path follower, he’s clear about love and hate and appreciates kindness and seeks revenge. His talent is in no way inferior to Xie Xiaofeng."
"Hahahaha, if it’s really so, I am looking forward to the day when Young Hero Shi can slay Xie Xiaofeng’s dog head, and flaunt the might of our Righteous Path."
...
Black Devil Palace.
In the central meeting hall of the palace complex, which is thousands of square meters, a long wooden table is placed. Everyone is seated in order according to their positions.
The leader of the Demon Alliance, Shi Xiaole, unhesitatingly occupies the main seat alone.
On both sides of the wooden table, sitting in respective positions starting from the top, are the two deputy leaders, the former Suzerain of the Demon Sky Sect - Demon Marquis, the former leader of the Eradicating Emotion Clan - Eradicating Emotion Elder, and a total of thirty-two people including the leaders of various Devil Path forces serving as Lords, Protectors, Elders, etc.
Thump, thump, thump.
Shi Xiaole drummed his fingers on the table, looking around at everyone, and said, "Everyone, any important matters to discuss?"
The Demon Alliance convenes a regular meeting every half month, and today happens to be the third regular meeting.
A brief silence.
An old man, sitting in the third position on the left, cleared his throat and said, "Master, during this period, we’ve been acting according to your guidelines, staying idle, and restraining our forces. However, many of my subordinates simply can no longer bear it."
The eyes of Shi Xiaole flashed.
This old man was known as ’Xue Jingzi’, the former leader of the Blood Essence Sect. The Blood Essence Sect, everyone from the leader to ordinary disciples practices a kind of evil skill, which requires the frequent consumption of human blood to increase their cultivation.
Obviously, out of fear from his prestige at the Mountain Cang conference, they dare not make a move for now. However, as time goes on, once the evil power takes effect, this group of people are likely to go out and do evil deeds again.
After all, the Devil Path is the Devil Path.
The Blue and Yellow families haven’t shown any evil tendencies due to their long years in seclusion.
But after some contact over this period, Shi Xiaole discovered that more than half of the experts in the Demon Alliance have no bottom line in their martial studies or their way of doing things, and are utterly devoid of human compassion.
You should know that anyone living in the Divine Palace must be an elite of a faction. If this group of people were to run wild, the damage they could cause to ordinary people is incalculable.
"I beg the Alliance Leader to relax the restrictions, and I believe that those from the Righteous Path won’t dare to move. Otherwise, if we continue to suppress them in the long term, I’m afraid it might not be beneficial for the stability of the Demon Alliance."
Xue Jingzi said, making a fist salute.
"I beg the Alliance Leader..."
Seeing this, several others also made a fist salute at the same time, clearly they had discussed this beforehand.
"Lord Xue, are you trying to threaten your leader?"
The tapping of a single finger on the table ceased, as Shi Xiaole gave Xue Jingzi a cold look.
The entire meeting room chilled down.
"I wouldn’t dare!"
As a master at the limits of the Spiritual-Passage Realm, Xue Jingzi’s strength was absolutely at the peak of the Martial World, but now, he only felt sweat drenching his entire body. Shi Xiaole’s gaze felt like two blades piercing his heart.
"Your Alliance Leader always sticks to his word. Whoever dares to disobey the orders of your leader shall die,".
Shi Xiaole looked around the room with a cold expression.
Since it’s a fake identity, Shi Xiaole didn’t bother with niceties and directly displayed his most domineering side.
Xue Jingzi and the others lowered their heads with indiscernible expressions.
Some people turned to look at the two deputy alliance leaders, the Demon Marquis and the Eradicating Emotion Elder, but both appeared composed and didn’t say a word, everyone promptly turned their gaze away.
In the silence, another elderly man in grey robes laughed and said, "Lord, This subordinate has something to report. Recently, some ignorant fools in the martial world have been comparing a boy named Shi Xiaole to you, even daring to say that he could defeat you."
"Strike before it’s too late. Although that boy is nowhere near as good as you, it’s better to be safe than sorry. I suggest we infiltrate Lele City secretly, and seize the opportunity to get rid of that boy. If this fails, at least we should kill his little aunt, his relatives and friends, to give the Righteous Path a warning!"
By the end, the old man in grey robes made a killing gesture, his face bearing a savage and cold smile.
Shi Xiaole nodded, "Your suggestion is good. Do you have anyone in mind?"
The old man in grey looked at Xue Jingzi and the others, then laughed, "As the disciples of Lord Xue and others have needs, why not let Lord Xue take charge of this operation. Wouldn’t that be the best of both worlds?"
Xue Jingzi and the others raised their heads, their expressions turning eager.
Shi Xiaole pondered for a moment, and then laughed, "Excellent, Lord Yinsha’s suggestion aligns perfectly with my intentions, it’s approved."
"Thank you, Alliance Leader!"
The old man in grey, Xue Jingzi and the others were overjoyed, and immediately rose to give a fist salute.
After the meeting was dismissed, Shi Xiaole returned to his room and his expression turned icy in an instant.
He had been worrying about an inability to find an opportunity to eliminate those harmful creatures, but now they had brought themselves to his doorstep, he wouldn’t be polite.
After becoming the alliance leader of the Demon Alliance, the system hadn’t given any prompts about whether he had completed the task. Shi Xiaole guessed that there were two reasons for this.
First, there were other powers of the Devil Path working in secret.
Second, there were still a lot of people in the Demon Alliance harboring ill intentions, and they hadn’t truly submitted to him yet.
He was afraid that only when the Demon Path powers of the eight provinces were completely under his control, could he be considered to have truly completed the task. And there was still just over a year left from the time limit given by the system for the task, Shi Xiaole was not at ease.
Apart from the system task, Shi Xiaole also had people secretly investigating the Demon Sword Sect, especially having personally met the leader of Sun Demon Palace from Qingxue State.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t found a breakthrough yet.
However, one thing was certain, the plan to impersonate the Righteous Path using the Saber Tablet Skill, certainly wasn’t the idea of the Devil Path’s Great Cold State, otherwise, they would not have hidden it from him.
Setting aside his distractions, Shi Xiaole sat on his bed intent on cultivating the Faceless Divine Skill.
Since the Cang Mountain conference two months ago, Shi Xiaole’s cultivation had already secretly advanced to the mid-level of the 8th level in the Spiritual-Passage Realm under the urging of the Faceless Divine Skill.
What’s more, as his practice deepened, the Faceless Divine Skill was gradually reaching perfection from its peak. Once he achieved mastery, his strength would definitely surge yet again.
"The Ferocious Essence was exposed at the Cang Mountain Conference. After recovering my true self, it’s best to avoid using it if possible. If only I could elevate my other aspects to the True Essence, that would be great,"
About a 2-hour period later, he stopped cultivating. A thought crossed his mind.
For most experts, to comprehend a kind of True Essence was extremely difficult. But Shi Xiaole’s ambition was big. He wanted to master multiple True Essences at the same time, making rapid progress. Otherwise, how would he control the group of demons in the coming year?
Now, he’s the leader of the Evil Dao in name, but he still feels insecure and lacks authority in front of those notorious figures. If he explodes in rebellion, they wouldn’t take him seriously.
In the end, power is everything.
No intent to sleep, Shi Xiaole opened the inside of his bed, and performed a few array commands, revealing a passage. He travelled down the passage, arriving in an underground space.
The underground space was only a few dozen square meters, with smooth walls on all sides. On the left side of the wall, there were three square protruding stones from top to bottom. Shi Xiaole pressed the lowest one and with a ’puff’ noise, a silver light burst out.
Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t silver light, clearly, they were tiny steel balls. Due to their fast ejection speed, they drew straight lines in the air.
