Chapter 378: Chapter 377: Perfect Sword Heart (2nd update, asking for monthly tickets!!!)
Clang, clang, clang...
Shi Xiaole swiftly swung his sword, sparing no effort to bring forth seventy-five percent of the emphasis of his Wind Intent Realm. But the speed of steel balls was too fast. For every swing, there were at least five steel balls shooting towards him.
Two thuds.
Shi Xiaole’s left shoulder and right leg were hit, initiating the activation of the Faceless Divine Skill and deflecting the steel balls.
Due to their speed, the intensity of the steel balls was astonishing. Each ball had the capability to pierce a three-inch thick layer of iron.
In a quarter of the two-hour period, Shi Xiaole was hit by the steel balls over seventy times. He had to disable the lowest toggle switch as the Faceless Divine Skill rapidly consumed his internal power.
"What a place to hone reflexes."
This underground space was constructed secretly by the ancient Black Devil Divine Monarch for cultivation purposes, only known to the Wind and Rain Dual-Demons and their offspring.
Upon the completion of the Black Devil Palace, Shi Xiaole came here daily for training.
At first, he was hit over seven hundred times in a quarter of the two-hour period, but over the past few days, this quickly decreased to around seventy times. The rate of his progress was incredible.
Because Shi Xiaole’s mental strength was excessively robust, full of infinite possibilities. Only slight cultivation could lead to a rate of progression ten to a hundred times that of the average person.
According to Lan Tian, the Black Devil Divine Monarch had practised for many years and was later able to withstand a quarter of a two-hour period without being hit, even when the steel balls were at maximum speed.
This swift adaptive ability was exactly what led the Black Devil Divine Monarch to reach the invincible level in close combat across the eight regions.
However, Shi Xiaole believed that such a statement was not precise.
During the process of warding off the steel balls, his swordplay skill also improved.
Moreover, the constant effect of internal power on his body allowed him to utilise each hit by a steel ball as a means of refining himself, thereby solidifying his internal power.
The incredible progression of Sword Heart Realm and Faceless Divine Skill was not unrelated to this.
"I wonder when I can reach the level of the Black Devil Divine Monarch."
After taking a half two-hour period rest, Shi Xiaole hit the third switch, and the clanging sound resonated in the room once again.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
On this day, Shi Xiaole stealthily killed a disciple of the Blood Essence Sect, disguised himself in their place, and infiltrated the large group heading towards Lele City.
Comparing the portraits of everyone in the convoy, the palace guards let each one through.
The large group had left Haoyuan City by the afternoon of the second day.
"Such a stifling couple of days!"
"Don’t mention it. Since joining the Demon Alliance, I’m not allowed to do this or that. It’s more stifling than when I was in the Blood Essence Sect. I really don’t know what the person was thinking."
Along the way, Shi Xiaole heard many of the Blood Essence Sect disciples grumbling. There was resentment in their words, although none dared to name their leader openly.
"Master, since the journey to Lele City is so long, why not make some moves on the way. I doubt the people of the Demon Alliance would notice."
One disciple boldly proposed.
Xue Jingzi hesitated, seeming somewhat enticed.
"Master, rest assured, as long as we eliminate all trace, who knows it was us? Even if that Xie... Alliance leader finds out, he can at most reprimand us. Does he dare to make a move? Ha-ha, he really thinks he’s the head of the Devil Path? We have someone higher backing us, and they’ll be here soon."
Another disciple, a man in his forties, suggested, with clear insinuations.
"Silence, all of you," Xue Jingzi growled, then continued: "Make sure it’s clean. That man is young and impulsive and your Division Elder hasn’t arrived yet, so don’t cross boundaries."
"Yes!"
The others cheered.
Having heard enough, Shi Xiaole pulled out his sword and took the heads of over a dozen people with one swift stroke.
"The True Intention of the Savage... so this is who you are..."
Two quarters of a two-hour period later, Shi Xiaole beheaded Xue Jingzi and flicked off the blood on his sword with a swift move.
It was a pity for Xue Jingzi. Only at death’s door did he realise who had betrayed him, but it was a secret he would never get a chance to tell.
After setting all the corpses on fire and ensuring no trace was left behind, Shi Xiaole strode away. However, on the night he returned, he felt a sudden disturbance and looked towards his front left.
Two figures rushed past him one after the other, trees were blasted open, the ground cracked everywhere, a scene of destruction.
"Die!"
A man in a black robe swung his arm. Air within the two-metre radius was sucked dry, turning into a more significant wave spreading outwards, raising dust like a rolling carpet.
"Not good."
Shi Xiaole immediately dodged, but he dared not use the Wind God Leg because the man in the black robe was Black Darkness Elder, one of the reknown figures in the Demon Path, residing in the Black Devil Palace.
Affected by the residual wave, Shi Xiaole spat out a mouthful of fresh blood in shock, watching the intense battle unfold.
For ninety-nine percent of people, the Winddust and Demon lists represented the pinnacle of martial arts. But there were a select few who could push beyond their own boundaries as their lifespan of a hundred and fifty years approached.
With Shi Xiaole becoming the supreme head of the Devil Path, and Jade Fan Scholar re-emerging in the Martial World, tensions between the Righteous and Demon paths escalated. Those secluded figures from decades ago who had made further advancements in the Wind and Dust and the Demon lists started gradually reappearing.
Of course, there were very few such people.
Some people had recently conducted a survey and found that the Martial World only had thirty-two Righteous figures, while the Demon Path had thirty-five.
Frankly speaking, these people, whether on the surface or the underlying aspects of the Martial World in eight states, are truly top-notch experts!
They themselves are the top five strongest of each era. Their aptitudes need not be mentioned, and with over a hundred years of arduous cultivation and comprehension, they have reached the limits in all aspects of life.
Shi Xiaole, in the guise of Xie Xiaofeng, is renowned as the current number one martial artist in the eight states. Yet, when encountering these old monsters who are well over a hundred years old, he naturally pales in comparison.
Reasonably so, when talents are compared, the gaps are minimal, so the time of cultivation naturally becomes an important standard for measuring strength.
This is also why young individuals are always categorized standalone in the Martial World.
It should be noted that the Jade Fan Scholar, who was faintly hailed as the top master of the Martial World in the eight states when he was over forty, broke the long-standing record in the Martial World.
A terrifying explosive force, under two completely different truths, evolved into various lights, like boiling water in a dyeing house spreading around, filling the night with a violent sound of suction.
Shi Xiaole kept retreating.
Originally, with the speed of Wind God Leg, even if he could not withstand the combined strength of two, he would not be so passive. However, in order to conceal his identity, it greatly slowed Shi Xiaole’s speed and resulted in injuries to his organs.
Luckily, the righteous master seemed unwilling to implicate the innocent and deliberately led the Black Darkness Elder away.
"Humph!"
Before leaving, the Black Darkness Elder casually threw a punch at Shi Xiaole and did not look back.
The Wind God Leg was executed, and Shi Xiaole barely managed to dodge. It wasn’t until he was ten miles away that he stopped, his back was already covered in a layer of cold sweat.
"Is this the strength of a legendary master?"
Shi Xiaole could see that the cultivation of those two people was still at the peak of the ninth level of the Spiritual-Passage Realm, but the quality of their internal power was scary high, at least 90% of it had been transformed into Inborn Gang Qi.
As everyone knows, the Spiritual-Passage Realm is a process of transforming internal energy into Inborn Gang Qi. But, even if you cultivate second-rate top-grade internal skills to perfection, it’s hard to completely transform all internal power into pure Inborn Gang Qi.
That’s because impurities emerge as soon as the body starts running its power.
Of course, the higher the grade of internal power, the fewer the impurities.
There is a rumor that when all internal power is transformed into Inborn Gang Qi, you can break through the Spiritual-Passage Realm and reach the legendary Dragon Gate Realm.
This is why top-grade internal power is so rare and precious.
Dwelling in the Black Devil Palace during this period, Shi Xiaole wasn’t tranquil. At least more than ten masters of the Devil Path had asked for the Faceless Divine Skill from him half jokingly, half seriously.
Fortunately, the two old one-eyed men took a stance to protect him, otherwise, Shi Xiaole really suspected that he would have already been disassembled by those violent Devil Path practitioners.
"I must increase my strength fast!"
Shi Xiaole did not intend to put his life in others’ hands. If those two one-eye old men changed their minds one day, he would definitely die horribly.
Rushing back to the Black Devil Palace and changing into the appearance of Xie Xiaofeng, Shi Xiaole locked his room and entered the underground space.
Perhaps due to the direct stimulation he received; Shi Xiaole was more focused than at any other time, tirelessly brandishing his sword.
Time flewby.
Approximately half a month later, after pressing the switch at the bottom, Shi Xiaole was hit by steel balls twenty-six times in a quarter of an hour.
After another ten days, the number decreased to six times. The speed of his progress was at least ten times that of the previous Black Devil Lord!
After a month, Shi Xiaole danced with his sword so airtight that the sparks formed a screen of fire in front of him, and the steel balls couldn’t get close to him.
He finally passed the test of the third switch perfectly.
Next came the second switch.
The speed of steel balls increased by thirty percent.
Shi Xiaole kept pushing himself, releasing his mental power again and again. During the process of waving his sword and defending, he could feel the gradual elevation of his Sword Heart Realm. Every day, there was a change, getting closer and closer to the Perfect Realm.
When the steel ball carrying immense force hit him, it triggered a spontaneous reaction of the Faceless Divine Skill, equivalent to a disguised internal skill training.
Shi Xiaole had forgotten both the world and himself, making continuous progress in the underground space.
On a certain day of the third month.
At a particular moment.
The momentum of Shi Xiaole’s sword suddenly stalled, then transformed from a gale to a torrential rain, from lightning to thunderbolt. The power hugely increased, and the sword swung out was so fast that the hand’s shadow was almost invisible.
Ding, Ding, Ding...
Countless steel balls flew around, but they couldn’t touch Shi Xiaole’s body.
He directly pressed the third switch.
The fiercely increased speed of the steel balls was so fast that it made no sound cutting through the air. Often before the eye could see it clearly, it would rush to the front. But Shi Xiaole’s sword was even faster, along with his ultimate mental power, which elevated his swordsmanship to a whole new realm.
A ring of sparks ignited and went out.
Steel balls scattered all over the ground.
"Finally, my Sword Heart Realm is perfected."
Feeling the sword’s intent that hadn’t dissipated in the air, Shi Xiaole took a satisfying deep breath.
From the Great Sword Heart to the Perfect Sword Heart, progress was undoubtedly far more significant than from Small Sword Heart to Grand Sword Heart. At this moment, Shi Xiaole felt his mental power sharpening, when viewing things, he had a piercing sense of determination.
As for the power of the sword technique, as long as he wants, he could increase the speed of the sword to twice as fast as before. Combined with the brutal truth, it was a piece of cake to slay the Demon Marquis during the Mountain Cang conference.
