Chapter 388: Chapter 387 Sword Marquis Shi Xiaole (2nd Update)
Shi Xiaole’s words left Kong Datong and the other three stunned, but before they could find their words, Shi Xiaole had made his move. A sword thrust with no trace of motion, it seemed like a gentle breeze, hovering between reality and illusion.
"Not good!"
Kong Datong, as the foremost, felt a strong sense of impending danger, his whole body breaking out in goosebumps. Without enough time to use Five Ghost Legs, he sidestepped as quickly as he could.
Almost brandished at the same time, a faint blue sword shadow flitted then disappeared in mid-air.
Just as Kong Datong breathed a sigh of relief, the disappearing sword shadow unusually didn’t vanish, but transformed into a stronger, faster sword thrust. Like a natural wind, it had no discernable pattern.
"Ghost Leg Self-Tie!"
In the face of danger, Kong Datong’s reaction was faster than ever. He spun his body, creating a thick layer of residual images to shield him, but the Sword Qi suddenly scattered.
It turned out to be a feint.
"Stop, young man!"
As the four Devils had previously scattered, they were too far away to offer aid.
The Black Darkness Elder’s palm skill was only half-executed when a third faintly blue sword shadow shot through the phantom images, splattering blood.
"What a... Fast sword."
Kong Datong fell backward onto the ground. From his throat, blood sprayed into the air.
Three strikes and one of the esteemed Devils was dead.
Hiss!
In this moment, within and outside of the street, all noise came to a halt, the air becoming frostily quiet.
The Black Darkness Elder, Chen Da, and Li Baorong, all looked as if they had lost their souls, rendered speechless. However, the one to recover first was the Black Darkness Elder, as Shi Xiaole’s second target was him.
"Ghostly Escape!"
Already lagging a beat and with his mind in chaos, the Black Darkness Elder could not even see in which direction Shi Xiaole was swinging his sword. He knew only to run for his life.
"Think you can escape?"
Shi Xiaole flicked his wrist, and two waves of Sword Qi quietly merged with the wind. Reappearing, they pierced the Black Darkness Elder’s chest from the left and right.
The Thirteen Movements of the Gentle Breeze was fast, yes, but what was truly terrifying was its unpredictable sword momentum. Once the Sword Qi was released, even Shi Xiaole, the one executing the move, couldn’t predict it. It was like the wind in nature, elusive.
If the Black Darkness Elder had put up a full resistance, he wouldn’t have died so quickly. Unfortunately, his fighting spirit had drained, and he was disoriented, unable to bring even half of his usual power to bear.
Pivoting his body, Shi Xiaole moved towards his third target, Li Baorong.
While Chen Da was fast, Shi Xiaole’s fighting style was a perfect counter for him. In terms of difficulty, Li Baorong was actually more troublesome.
"Get lost, Inverse Flow Spiral!"
Chen Da had already leapt away when Shi Xiaole was attacking the Black Darkness Elder. Seeing Shi Xiaole give chase, he felt a chill run up his spine. With a wave of his hands, he formed a bizarre current of Qi that stood between him and Shi Xiaole.
The current was also wind. With the aid of Wind True Intent, Shi Xiaole flitted through the strange current like a bird. His three sword strokes swiftly follow each other, then he dashed off without a backward glance towards a different direction.
Splat!
Although Li Baorong’s moves were unpredictable, he was the weakest among the Devils. He managed to block the previous two strikes but couldn’t stop the last one. A bloody hole was pierced through the top of his head.
"Damn creature, is he human or ghost?"
Chen Da flew at the fastest speed he’s managed in his life, swiftly distancing himself from Jade Town. He caught his breath, but behind him, a sudden gust of wind blew, making him turn around. To his surprise, he almost popped his eyes out.
He saw Shi Xiaole chasing him at a much faster speed than before, utilizing the leg technique that was unmistakably the Wind God Leg!
"I get it now, you are..."
A long stream of Sword Qi flew across the sky, carrying the brutality and sharpness of the wind. Chen Da’s body froze, then his chest exploded, and blood splattered everywhere.
By combining the Wind God Leg with the Thirteen Movements of the Gentle Breeze, Shi Xiaole revealed his true strength and killed Chen Da with a single sword strike.
Of course, his actual strength was at most half a mark higher than Chen Da’s. The reason he had killed so quickly was due to speed. If one could not match Shi Xiaole’s speed, then even if their strength was comparable, they were doomed to be killed instantly by him.
Back in Jade Town, Xiao Qian and Zhang He indeed had gone mad, trying to escape. Their earlier arrogance vanished, but Ge Jiao and Pan Yiheng were no pushovers either. Using grappling techniques, they prevented the two from escaping.
Like a quick knife cuts through tangled knots, Shi Xiaole easily killed the two.
So the six infamous Devils who had once pursued him, all have been slain.
The other Devil martial artists, originally not in the majority, had their morale severely impacted after witnessing the six Devils being killed. Those who could escape did, and those who were dispersed ran away. In just a short time, the group of righteous heroes killed them mercilessly, resulting in casualties everywhere.
It is worth mentioning that due to the brevity of this fight, there were no casualties on the righteous side.
"Young Hero Shi, what about the one who escaped?"
After looking at the five corpses on the ground, Ge Jiao anxiously asked.
"Rest assured, he has been killed by me."
Ge Jiao was dumbfounded.
Pan Yiheng stood not far away, taking a deep breath, but still couldn’t suppress the turbulent emotions in his heart.
Throughout his life of nearly a hundred years, he had never been this shocked before, so stunned that even his breathing rhythm was thrown off.
In his twenties, matching the martial arts legends was unimaginable enough. Yet, here was Shi Xiaole, who killed these legends with ease. It was a near-mythical tale, almost devilish!
"Young Hero Shi’s martial arts are unparalleled, and his sword skills are outstanding. I respect, truly respect."
Ge Jiao rarely admired anyone, but at this point, he couldn’t help but admire a youth who, in his eyes, was no more than a child. The youth’s strength was worthy of all the praises.
"The gap is too huge."
In the direction of the Wind Firming Gang, Divine Wind Young Master clenched his fist, then let out a bitter smile and loosened it.
At the peak of Mount Dabie, he thought Xie Xiaofeng was an unparalleled figure among the young generation of the Eight Provinces, but now he realized what it meant to have a higher mountain up ahead.
But this was good too, at least Shi Xiaole represented the Righteous Path. The stronger he, the more stable the Righteous Path would be.
"Is he really that strong?"
Lady Bizan, Gu Nanfeng, Chen Xiao, and others were rendered speechless with joy.
Who was this person? The formidable figure from the Devil Path, a legend that had been intimidating both righteous and wicked factions for nearly a century, had been slain effortlessly as if he was butchering vegetables.
If Kong Datong and others hadn’t demonstrated their formidable strength, the crowd might have doubted whether those six were impostors.
"Little Shi, is that really you?"
Without any reserve, Lan Xiaodie bounced up and circled around Shi Xiaole, who had sheathed his sword and returned to his refined demeanor, finally reaching out to pinch his cheek.
Shi Xiaole gently slapped it away, "What are you trying to do?"
"You really are Little Shi. I thought you had turned into a monster."
Lan Xiaodie murmured, voicing everyone’s thoughts.
"Little Shi, if my father saw your achievements, he would be very happy."
"Blue Senior?"
"You don’t know, after you left, he praised you more than once, saying that you were a rare martial arts genius in his life."
Shi Xiaole remembered Blue Tidal’s cold demeanor and couldn’t help but chuckle. He hadn’t expected the latter’s appraisal of him to be so high.
Tao Xingyu also approached and called out ’Brother Shi’, but did not say much. He was always reserved, unable to act as freely as Lan Xiaodie in front of so many martial arts seniors.
"Young Hero Shi truly lives up to his reputation."
"Young Hero Shi, being so young, has already achieved unparalleled skill. I believe he will be the pillar of our Righteous Path in the future."
"Not just in the future, he is now."
Under the leadership of Gu Nanfeng, Chen Xiao, and others, the heroes of the Righteous Path one after another came forward and congratulated Shi Xiaole. Some were embarrased, caught between Shi Xiaole, Ge Jiao, and Pan Yiheng, unsure of who to greet first.
Undeniably, Shi Xiaole was stronger, but the seniority of the latter two couldn’t be ignored.
"Hahaha, Young Shi, if you have time in the next few days, come to Wangyuan Residence to chat with this old man, I also want to discuss martial arts with you."
Seeing the crowd’s dilemma, Ge Jiao laughed and took his leave.
Pan Yiheng nodded at Shi Xiaole and then strode away.
With the stature of those two, normal conversation with commoners didn’t suit them; being alone was more comfortable to them.
With their departure, although others felt regret, they loosened up, continuing their conversation with Shi Xiaole. The intention to get closer was more evident.
Nonsense, who wouldn’t want to be acquainted with a character like Shi Xiaole? He had practically left the realm of geniuses and become one of the top figures in the Eight Provinces’ martial world.
Although it’s unlikely to become friends, it’s beneficial to build a good relationship with him. To put it bluntly, it would give them face when boasting in front of others.
...
In the following days, not only did the number of people in Jade Town not decrease, instead, it was showing an increasing trend.
The news of Shi Xiaole slaying the six notable figures of the Devil Path had spread like wildfire, causing an earth-shattering ripple in the Martial World.
The first reactions of countless martial artists were disbelief, followed by thinking it was a distasteful joke.
But people coming from Jade Town insisted on it, along with Gu Nanfeng and others testifying. Furthermore, to uphold the might of the Righteous Path, the corpses of the six notorious figures were hung outside Jade Town as proof for anyone to inspect.
For a moment, the Martial World of the Eight Provinces boiled over.
Everyone went mad. As soon as they confirmed the news, they hastily made their way to Jade Town, wanting to see what Shi Xiaole looked like.
At the same time, more busybodies in the martial world noticed that Shi Xiaole had no title, so they racked their brains to crown him with various nicknames.
For example: Green-clothed Sword Marquis, Wild Wind Sword Marquis, Jade-faced Sword Marquis, Death-bringing Sword Marquis, and so on.
In the Battle of Jade Town, Shi Xiaole revealed his Perfect Sword Heart, so the title naturally had to start with ’Sword Marquis.’
"Shi Xiaole, at only twenty-one, understood the Perfect Sword Heart. He’s been the youngest Sword Marquis in the history of the Eight Provinces for nearly a thousand years. It wouldn’t be inappropriate to drop the prefix and simply call him ’Sword Marquis.’"
Inside a certain tavern, a blind old man playing his Erhu suggested with a smile.
"Grandpa, is there a difference between Sword Marquis and other Sword Marquises?"
The little girl asked, puzzled.
"’Sword Marquis’ denotes the highest rank among all swordsmen and implies he is the number one swordsman in the martial world of the Eight Provinces."
The crowd looked at each other. They had never heard such an explanation before, but found it novel.
The prefix added before ’Sword Marquis’ in the martial world mainly highlighted individual characteristics, making it easier to distinguish between people. This convention had been passed down for generations, and nobody found it strange.
However, after the old man’s suggestion, everyone realized that being directly crowned with the title of ’Sword Marquis’ instead held a certain dominance and uniqueness.
From that day on, the name ’Sword Marquis Shi Xiaole’ gradually rose in the Martial World and quickly spread widely.
