Chapter 434: Chapter 433: Enter
"The Air Sword Formation of the Jade Sword Palace is indeed renowned."
On a mountain peak surrounding the palace, a one-armed elder looked rather pale.
The attack range of the Air Sword Formation lay ten feet between the Blood River and the Jade Sword Palace. He had earlier attempted to break into it, but could only advance three feet before retreating, gravely losing an arm in the process.
"It seems that from now on, ’Twin Swords Soul Severing’ will be changed to ’One-armed Soul Severing’."
A middle-aged scholar materialized behind the one-armed elder with a smile on his face.
"Spurious Scholar, are you here specifically to mock me?"
The one-armed elder huffed coldly.
The spurious scholar helplessly shook his head.
Both he and the one-armed elder were Dragon Gate Realm Tier 5 martial artists, and had some fame in the Xuanwu State’s Martial World. Now that the elder, who was his equal in strength, could not even break into the Jade Sword Palace, it naturally shattered his ambition.
Similar scenarios were happening elsewhere around the vicinity.
As one of the major cities, Mingyu City was home to many experts year-round. Therefore, within two days of the news breaking, there were as many as ten Dragon Gate Realm experts who arrived here.
As for the Spiritual-Passage Realm and Xuanqi Realm martial artists, they were even more numerous, densely packed and stretching far into the distance like a sea of people. The scene grew increasingly crowded with time.
"Look, someone else rushed in!"
"They’re courting death."
Being influenced by the Air Sword Formation, none of the martial artists present dared to act rashly. Thus, whenever someone burst out, they would be instantly noticed by everyone.
Unexpectedly, the person did not suffer any attack from the Air Sword Formation.
"Stay where you are!"
A lance-shaped beam of light as thick as a water barrel descended from the sky, aimed viciously at the young man. The attacker was a Tier 3 martial artist of the Dragon Gate Realm standing on the opposite bank of the Blood River.
"Water Moon Traceless!"
The young man turned around, and the swordplay he performed generated waves of Sword Qi. Within them, a silhouette of the moon flickered.
Just as the beam of light hit the moon silhouette, the ripples in the Sword Qi dispelled most of its attack power. The retaliatory Sword Qi actually ended up piercing through the shoulder of the Tier 3 Dragon Gate Realm martial artist who failed to dodge.
"Water Moon Sword Technique, this man is the ’Water Moon Swordsman’ Fan Donglai."
Someone yelled.
Fan Donglai. A foremost force in Xuanwu State, a genius swordsman of the Water Moon Sect. Only twenty-six years old, he has mastered almost perfectly the foremost lower tier internal power art—Water Moon Scripture.
Besides, he has pioneered a new path based on the works of his predecessors, creating his unique style of the superior second-class sword technique—Water Moon Sword Technique. His refinement in swordplay ranks him among the top thirty of his peers under thirty in Xuanwu State.
"Be more careful."
Glancing coldly at the Tier 3 Dragon Gate Realm martial artist, Fan Donglai approached the door of the Jade Sword Palace. He pulled out his Jade Sword Order and inserted it into the hole on the left side.
Creak.
The palace door opened wide, and Fan Donglai slipped in.
"Damn it."
The injured Tier 3 Dragon Gate Realm martial artist moodily changed his expression several times, before finally merging back into the crowd.
While Dragon Gate Realm martial artists were considered highly powerful and could exert a dominance of certain areas, it ultimately depended on whom they were compared to. Neither the Water Moon Sect nor Fan Donglai himself was an entity he could afford to offend.
Only blaming himself for being greedy and dizzy-headed, he rashly attacked without confirming the other’s identity.
Seeing Fan Donglai easily enter the Jade Sword Palace, the crowd grew enraged and restless, desiring to replace him. A few even had a gleam in their eyes, clutching their hands tight.
There were too many experts present. Without strength as supreme as Fan Donglai, it would be difficult to smoothly enter the Jade Sword Palace even if one had the Jade Sword Order.
"Haha, everyone, please wait here. I, Zhu, will make a move first."
This was a fat, big-eared man with exceptionally fair skin, carrying a broad-bladed sword on his back. He walked unhurriedly towards the Jade Sword Palace, but no one dared to move.
’White Pig Butcher’ Zhu Wen, a Tier 5 martial artist of the Dragon Gate Realm.
This person had a too distinctive appearance, and almost everyone recognized him.
"This Zhu is indeed lucky to have gotten the Jade Sword Order."
On the mountain peak, the one-armed elder ground his teeth.
Although the Jade Sword Palace was mainly dedicated to swordplay, it was not devoid of other profound martial arts. If Zhu Wen were to obtain them, his strength would advance by leaps and bounds.
Not long after Fan Donglai and Zhu Wen, another person effortlessly entered the Jade Sword Palace.
This was a beauty with skin white as jade and dressed in pink.
’Beauty Sword’ Yu Meiren, a disciple of the Pink Sect. She was at the first tier of Dragon Gate Realm, and her talent and strength were not inferior to ’Water Moon Swordsman’ Fan Donglai. She also ranked among the top thirty sword prodigies in Xuanwu State.
As the day waned, six more Dragon Gate Realm experts arrived at the site, totaling eighteen together with the original dozen.
These people were all on the alert, operating their skills to the extreme, and would strike out immediately if they detected any unknown foot soldier trying to exploit the situation and sneak into the palace with a Jade Sword Order.
They had even prepared an excuse, claiming that the perilous Jade Sword Palace was not suitable for those with inferior strength.
The atmosphere on the scene was tense and eerie.
A young man in a green shirt quietly infiltrated the crowd, attracting no one’s notice.
Shi Xiaole had been observing from the outside for a long time and had already seen through everything. So when he used his footwork to come to the forefront of the crowd, without a second thought, he immediately started to activate the Wind God Leg Technique with all his might and charged forward.
The howling gale wailed, and he crossed the Blood River in the blink of an eye, entering the airspace of the ten-foot forbidden ground without triggering any Sword Qi attacks.
"I cannot miss this opportunity!"
"It’s mine!"
In an instant, the eighteen Dragon Gate Realm masters’ eyes shone brightly, releasing their well-stored power like a floodgate bursting, fiercely attacking Shi Xiaole at the center.
Boom...
The ground trembled as eighteen strands of completely different but equally strong Vigorous Air intertwined, exploding like a deep-water bomb detonating in mid-air. The shock waves made the blood river on the ground pulsate, blooming like countless blood-red roses.
Everyone had their eyes wide open.
Under the combined efforts of the eighteen Dragon Gate Realm masters, they didn’t believe that the figure in the green robe could still be alive. The key question was, who would obtain the Jade Sword Order?
"He didn’t die?"
The one-armed elder suddenly shouted.
Before his words could fully escape his mouth, a green flash had already appeared on the other side, shooting towards the palace.
Given Shi Xiaole’s level of power at this moment, he was naturally far from being an opponent for a fifth tier Dragon Gate Realm master. However, the Jade Sword Palace was too large, resulting in many Dragon Gate Realm masters being too far away from Shi Xiaole, and thus being tricked by his shadow-creating agility skill.
Although that was the case, the fact that he, a first tier Dragon Gate Realm cultivator, could accomplish this much, stunned many people.
"Stop, Hook Grappling Hand!"
The closest to Shi Xiaole was a second tier Dragon Gate Realm master, who reacted swiftly. He lifted his long arm upward, stirring up a rolling swirl of Vigorous Air.
Without turning his head, Shi Xiaole lightly flicked behind him.
Pop.
The Vigorous Air shattered, and amidst loud screams, the force of his finger, invincible and destructive, penetrated directly through the arm of that master.
"What?"
Everyone was horrified.
With just a casual flick of his finger, he defeated a second tier Dragon Gate Realm master. Who was this kid?
"Now I recall, over half a year ago, there was a man clad in green who won successively in the Ancient Land Arena against Luo Wenxu and Tan Qingyan. He looks strikingly similar to this man."
Shi Xiaole didn’t know that at that moment, he had already gained some fame in certain parts of Xuanwu State. Quite a few people had heard his name.
After all, those who could achieve ten consecutive victories in the Ancient Land Arena every year were few and far between.
"Death Sentence Sword!"
The one-armed elder was not willing to let go of someone without a strong background so easily. Suspended mid-air, he ferociously thrust his sword forward.
"One Hand Covering the Sky!"
The scholar’s response was just as swift. With both hands outstretched and crossed, the yellow Vigorous Air formed an equilateral triangle which swiftly expanded, immediately covering Shi Xiaole.
The two were the strongest on the scene, and reacted the fastest and most ruthlessly.
But still, they greatly underestimated Shi Xiaole’s ability to respond quickly.
At the very moment he injured the second tier Dragon Gate Realm master with a finger, Shi Xiaole swung his left hand and the Jade Sword Order unfailingly embedded into the wall. Taking advantage of the open palace doors, Shi Xiaole performed the Wind Step Foot Shadow, and easily slipped inside.
Boom, boom.
The two attacks struck the palace doors as they closed again, causing no damage at all.
"Hmph!"
The one-armed old man gritted his teeth, visibly irritated.
The scholar’s expression was equally gloomy.
The fate of the individual holding the Jade Sword Order meant one less person to enter. With the massive Jade Sword Palace laid before them yet unable to enter, it was unbearable.
In the following two hours, no one else entered the Jade Sword Palace. However, those who secretly held a Jade Sword Order were almost driven mad.
Based on the current situation, the number of masters arriving here would only increase. If there were no opportunities now, there will be even less in the future.
"Jade Sword Order, I’ve found a Jade Sword Order."
While everyone was lost in their thoughts, a burst of laughter suddenly erupted from a part of the crowd, followed by a thunderous collision of internal powers.
Hundreds of Jade Sword Orders, under pressure, scattered in all directions.
Actually, anyone with a bit of sense could suppose that the timing of the Jade Sword Orders appearing was too coincidental. Previously they were hard to come by, but now they appear in droves, and no one would believe there wasn’t something suspicious going on.
But there were too many people at the scene. Amidst the chaotic grabbing, there was no time to think. Besides, whatever the plot, getting a Jade Sword Order first would never be a mistake.
"Everyone get out of my way."
"Those who obstruct me shall die."
What started as a small-scale disturbance was like a boulder cast into a lake, immediately attracting everyone’s attention. In an instant, the scene turned into absolute chaos.
Countless colors of Vigorous Air and internal power paired with brilliant sword flashes and the force of punches and palm strikes exploded everywhere, lighting up the sky for miles around.
Every moment, large groups of people were dying. The screams and cries for killing, however, were all drowned out by the deafening sound of the collision of auras.
In just a few moments, the numerous sprays of blood had stained the ground a shocking red. Blood gathered into streams, flowing along the slope into the surrounding blood river.
Vaguely, the color of the blood river seemed to be turning black.
"Hahaha..."
The one-armed elder, covered in blood, couldn’t help but laugh triumphantly.
Even in such chaotic battle, he got injured. But the one-armed elder finally managed to grab a Jade Sword Order and successfully entered the Jade Sword Palace.
Similarly successful were another fifteen Dragon Gate Realm masters. As for the remaining two, they weren’t so lucky and their heart vessels were severed by the chaotic internal energy on the scene.
The horrific carnage continued for several hours. Of the nearly a hundred thousand masters, more than seventy percent had perished in the end.
