Chapter 399: Chapter 398: Easy Achievement
"My current skill level is slightly inferior to Jade Fan Scholar, and half a notch below the Two Elders. However, if I can invoke the Wind True Intent, even if I’m not on par with the trio, they can’t touch me."
Reflecting on his battle with the Jade Fan Scholar a few days ago, Shi Xiaole’s desire for skill intensified.
Many people, once they reach a certain plateau, lose the motivation to progress. They often look back and become entranced by their past glory, losing sight of their true selves.
Shi Xiaole never turns back.
To him, others’ praises and the hype of the Martial World are nothing more than fleeting clouds—illusory and fragile. The only real thing is his own strength.
He enjoys improving himself and the feeling of surpassing one opponent after another.
"Next, I will devote all my efforts to the Faceless Divine Skill."
After reaching the peak of the Spiritual-Passage Realm, Shi Xiaole couldn’t progress any further, for the time being.
In terms of swordsmanship, the only thing he can improve is the fifteenth technique of Death Claiming. But upgrading this technique, while easier than creating a low-quality sword move, is beyond Shi Xiaole’s current capability.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t need the Spiritual Rhinoceros Finger; he could slay the Jade Fan Scholar with a single stroke.
Advancing in True Intent proves similarly challenging. In particular, the Wind True Intent and Demonic True Intent are among the top True Intents.
As for the Spiritual Rhinoceros Finger, advancing from mastery to perfection is much harder than the journey from beginner to mastery, requiring more time for refinement.
Therefore, after much deliberation, the Faceless Divine Skill seems the most reliable.
Having practiced the Faceless Divine Skill for almost a year, Shi Xiaole feels he is only a hair’s breadth away from mastery. This feeling is even more pronounced after his deadly fight with Jade Fan Scholar.
Once he breaks through this barrier, not only will his internal power greatly increase, but it will also facilitate the transformation of internal power into Inborn Gang Qi. This, in turn, raises his chances of breaking through to the Dragon Gate Realm, a win-win situation.
In his private chamber, Shi Xiaole sat cross-legged, a vigorous flow of internal power circulating in his body. Occasionally, the sound of ebbing and flowing tides could be heard.
Gradually, an aura of transcendent light emerged on his face, emanating from his skin and obscuring his features.
For three consecutive days.
Urged on by Shi Xiaole, the Faceless Divine Skill was gradually approaching mastery. If one had to describe it, the gap was initially as wide as a finger, but now it had only the width of a chickpea.
At fixed intervals, Shi Xiaole would rouse from his meditation, eat the meals brought by the palace maid, then continue his practice, without a break.
And so, two weeks flew by.
One day.
From within the chamber, there suddenly came a sound as powerful as ocean waves crashing against cliffs, startling the ready-to-serve maid outside the chamber.
Remember, even to become a palace maid requires Xuanqi Realm cultivation. And being in the palace every day, they have seen much and are not easily frightened.
Yet now, the maid wanted to retreat, afraid that at any moment the stone door would blow open.
Thud!
The thick stone door didn’t burst open. However, layers of stone flakes fell from its surface, and under the astonished gaze of the maid, the entire door shattered into dozens of large rocks, which piled up in front of the doorway.
"Is this a perfectly cultivated Faceless Divine Skill?"
In the chamber, even Shi Xiaole was slightly astonished, not expecting such a powerful effect from the residual energy of a breakthrough.
At this moment, his internal power had grown to an unthinkable level. A rough estimate showed it to be at least 30% stronger than before the breakthrough!
What did that mean?
Given Shi Xiaole’s internal power, even a 10% increase would be an outstanding improvement, let alone an astonishing 30%.
He was almost certain that his internal power now surpassed both the Jade Fan Scholar and the Two Elders. He was at the top of the Martial World in Qingxue State.
Moreover, with the perfection of the Faceless Divine Skill, the quality of Shi Xiaole’s internal power had increased considerably, with 97% transformed into Inborn Gang Qi.
His power had surged to a whole new level.
"Top-tier martial arts truly deserve their reputation."
Shi Xiaole began to understand the complaints of the martial artists in Qingxue State.
Given his talent, had he practiced a second-rate top-tier internal power technique, his internal power would be roughly half as strong. Moreover, it could convert at most 60-70% into Inborn Gang Qi.
Bear in mind, the harder it is to convert internal power into Inborn Gang Qi, the less the transformation.
The limit of a second-rate top-tier internal power technique is 60-70%. To further advance requires time and refinement. This is why no one in the Righteous or Devil Path, despite decades of hard training, has been able to break through to the Dragon Gate Realm.
Unfortunately, top-tier martial arts are rare, not only in Qingxue State but in other states as well. Not just anyone can learn them.
"With my current power, defeating the Jade Fan Scholar should be easy."
Unclenching his fist, Shi Xiaole exhaled a nonexistent breath of turbid air. Walking to the entrance, he waved his hand. The dozens of large rocks blocking the doorway instantly crumbled into dust and scattered in the wind.
"Divine Monarch, have you come out of seclusion?"
The maid was so frightened by the scene she nearly bit her tongue.
"You worked hard these past days."
Shi Xiaole smiled and walked past her.
"No, it wasn’t hard."
Even after Shi Xiaole’s figure disappeared, the maid hadn’t recovered. Recalling the scenes just now, her heart pounded with inexpressible excitement.
Disaster is coming for the Righteous Path in Qingxue State!
...
A swiftly moving horse sped along the official road, covering days and nights, finally reaching the outskirts of Haoyuan City. Several hundred meters away from the far-off red palace, the man dismounted as if on a pilgrimage and walked step by step.
"Who goes there?"
A Divine Palace guard stood on the palace rooftop, shouting loudly.
Nowadays, within a ten-mile radius, it’s all Red Dragon Divine Palace’s territory, even righteous people dare not approach it.
"I am Lord Evil, the suzerain of Sky Evil Sect in Qingxue State, seeking audience with the Divine Monarch to discuss urgent matters."
The man was dressed in black, his complexion pale yet youthful, carrying a trace of evil aura.
The palace guard entered the Divine Palace.
Sometime later, an expert from the Lan family came out holding a portrait. After comparing it for a moment, he guided Lord Evil to the left side of the palace tower, saying, "Use your Sky Evil True Qi."
Sky Evil True Qi was the special skill of the Sky Evil Sect, only their suzerain could use it.
Ever since the Red Dragon Divine Palace unified the eight states under the Devil Path, the Divine Palace, under the coordination of the Love Demon, had already established a comprehensive database that included detailed information on all well-known heads of Devil Path in the eight states.
Following instructions, Lord Evil emitted a strange purplish-black glow from the center of his palm, twisting continuously.
"Follow me."
The Lan family expert turned around.
After waiting for exactly two 2-hour periods, Lord Evil finally met the legend who shocked the eight states of the Devil Path.
Even though he had heard a lot about Shi Xiaole, when Lord Evil saw him for the first time, he couldn’t help but marvel at his youth.
"I pay my respects to the Divine Monarch."
Lord Evil kneeled halfway on the ground.
Shi Xiaole stared at him, silent for a long time.
He wouldn’t forget that Qiu An, from the Sky Evil Sect, who nearly killed him and crippled his aunt Su Yanru.
He was just an ordinary disciple of the Sky Evil Sect, but he could have easily taken his life. Now, only four or five years later, the suzerain of the Sky Evil Sect was kneeling in front of him, trembling with fear.
Indeed, fortunes change with time.
"What brings you here?"
Shi Xiaole asked indifferently.
Hearing the cold intent in his words, Lord Evil’s heart constricted, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back. He didn’t recall ever offending the Divine Monarch.
Not daring to stand up, Lord Evil lowered his head and said, "Reporting to the Divine Monarch, I happened upon a high-ranking disciple of the Demon Sword Sect years ago and learned his Saber Tablet Skill in depth. Over the years, I have secretly trained a group of people to impersonate as Righteous Path disciples using the strategy of replacing like with like. I am here to consult you about our next move."
This impersonation plan is definitely Lord Evil’s proudest work to date.
Using such tactics, not only has he covertly controlled many righteous factions, but he has also secretly obtained numerous secret manuals from the sects infiltrated by the disguised members of the Demon Path.
Furthermore, with the essence of the Devil Path absorbed from the Demon Bone Emperor’s bone remains, Lord Evil’s strength has soared dramatically, surpassing his previous superior, Liu Menglong, the master of Sun Demon Palace.
Lord Evil has never been content with being ordinary, in his view, Liu Menglong was no longer fit to be his superior. After careful consideration, he decided to personally visit the Red Dragon Divine Palace to present his plan to the Divine Monarch.
He believed that as long as the Divine Monarch was wise, he would undoubtedly comprehend the frightening aspects of his plan, subsequently, he would be heavily rewarded.
By then, what would Liu Menglong count for? Qingxue State would eventually be his world!
Lord Evil was overjoyed. However, the praise he was looking forward to didn’t come, instead, the atmosphere in the room became heavier, almost suffocating him.
At that moment, Shi Xiaole’s feelings could best be described as ’all great efforts made to no avail, but success achieved when least expected.’
Wasn’t this the reason why he took on the system task in the first place?
For more than half a year, the Lan and Huang families have been investigating this matter in secret under his orders. They were reportedly close to discovering the truth, but now it seemed unnecessary.
"Good, very good!"
Shi Xiaole stood up, personally helped the sweating Lord Evil, smiled and said, "You did well, but words alone mean nothing. Now, write down every detail of your plan, including key points, the people who infiltrated the Righteous Path, the sects they infiltrated, and so on. I will have someone verify it, and if it’s confirmed to be true, I will reward you generously!"
Feeling as if a great weight had been lifted, Lord Evil felt drained, yet he couldn’t contain his joy: "I will obey your command, Divine Monarch! But there’s no need to go through all that trouble, I recorded the whole process of the plan. Please, have a look."
With that, he took out a thin book from his bosom, clearly prepared in advance.
After reading it thoroughly, Shi Xiaole asked, "Are you sure this is true?"
"I swear on the will of Heaven and Earth!"
"Where are the secret manuals you’ve collected?"
"They’re kept in the secret chamber of the Sky Evil Sect."
Lord Evil didn’t think the Divine Monarch would be interested in those secret manuals. How could second and third rate martial arts skills catch his eye? Of course, if he wanted them, Lord Evil would be happy to give them up.
"You really are my lucky star. Guess how I’ll reward you?"
Shi Xiaole smiled faintly.
"I don’t know."
Lord Evil’s heart began to race as he speculated about the various rewards.
"My reward is this; I will send you to hell."
