Chapter 438: Chapter 437: Astonishing Everyone
"Has this man been hiding his true power?"
Zhu Wen’s eyes, as green as mung beans, were bulging in surprise.
The idea that someone at the first tier of Dragon Gate Realm could defeat a practitioner at the fourth tier was already unimaginable, let alone in just two moves. This was challenging everyone’s capacity to cope with such shock.
There had been geniuses who achieved this but they were all top-tier geniuses of Xuanwu State, rarer than those at the fifth tier of Dragon Gate Realm by a hundred times.
The three great geniuses, Zhan Shuo, Fan Donglai, and Yu Meiren, all revealed their apprehension, their previous calm completely shattered.
His fists clenched tight, veins bulging on their surface, Zhan Shuo was deeply shaken.
To think that a complete nobody suddenly emerged, showing even more power than him — it was an unexpected blow that caught him off guard.
"I won’t be able to block his sword."
Fan Donglai had pondered the scene repeatedly and finally arrived at a conclusion that he found hard to accept.
In terms of both sword speed and sword might, Shi Xiaole exceeded him by at least fifty percent. Furthermore, this was just Shi Xiaole seemingly improvising. Judging from the display of those two sword strikes, Fan Donglai didn’t believe for a second that Shi Xiaole had used his full strength.
"My goodness, who is this man?"
Yu Meiren covered her cherry lips slightly, a strange light flickering in her beautiful eyes.
Shi Xiaole’s performance reminded her of her Senior Brother, a powerful man who was reluctant to acknowledge his Pink Sect background.
Everyone was astounded, but the Crown Sword Marquis was the most shocked of them all.
His understanding of the Sword Realm far surpassed that of the others, making him more attuned to the aura emanating from Shi Xiaole’s two sword strikes, which made his Sword Realm tremble subtly.
The only explanation for this phenomenon could be...
The Heavenly Sword Realm?!
"No, he should not have reached it yet, but he’s very close."
The Crown Sword Marquis muttered to himself, his body trembling slightly, feeling a sense of horror only he could comprehend.
"Is this the extent of my strength?"
Not only the others, even Shi Xiaole himself was somewhat taken aback.
He couldn’t explain his state just awhile ago; he felt as though he knew the outcome as soon as he unsheathed his sword, giving him an uncanny sense of unreality when it happened.
If this was just touching the boundary of the Heavenly Sword Realm, Shi Xiaole couldn’t even imagine what step his strength could escalate to if he truly reached that realm.
Shush.
Ignoring everyone’s emotional disturbances, this time Shi Xiaole proactively moved towards Fang Hao who was trying to escape.
"Flying Squirrel Swing!"
Fang Hao’s face was pale. Using his two feet as the base point, his entire body was flung forward as if thrown by someone, suddenly dashing a hundred meters forward, greatly widening the gap between them.
"Meteor Demise."
If it could be said that the Meteor Demise, before the Sword Realm advancement, was as swift as a meteor,
Then at this moment, all people could see was a streak of starlight sweeping across the void, its brilliance only momentary but the aftermath was an eternal silence.
"No...!"
Fang Hao’s body stopped mid-air, his pupils dilating. With a ’plop’ sound, his head was lobbed into the sky, immediately exploding into a mist of blood due to the infusion of Sword Qi.
Hiss!
The crowd drew in a sharp breath, their faces turning pale and their bodies cold.
Only the Crown Sword Marquis, the one-armed old man, Zhu Wen, and the rotted scholar remained unaffected, but upon close inspection, the eyes of the latter three also showed some solemnity.
Shi Xiaole’s power had made them feel a sense of threat.
After killing Fang Hao, the Sword Heart Fruit that the other party had picked naturally fell into Shi Xiaole’s hands. He didn’t seem to show any attention to the cloth bag the other party was holding, probably because he hid it seeing the crowd.
"Friend, your swordsmanship is remarkable. I’d like to experience it for myself."
A dazzling knife light came slashing from the distance. Zhu Wen had made his move.
Without backing down or dodging, Shi Xiaole met it with his sword.
Clang!
There were no sparks flying, no earth-shattering noise, just a soft and gentle metal collision sound that seemed to linger without end.
"Looking down on the mortal world."
Zhu Wen laughed wildly, his robust body slanting in mid-air, the silver knife light also turned into a tilted straight line, splitting the void as if it was cheese.
Being within the attack range, Shi Xiaole saw not just one knife light, but ten, twenty, a hundred knife lights. Each moment seemed to multiply the knife lights, increasing their strength.
Zhu Wen had comprehended three-tenths of the True Meaning of Silver. This True Meaning was rather odd, with both murderous intent and light changes, especially during daytime. A slight miss could be taken advantage of by his knife techniques.
Keng keng keng keng keng...
While the knife techniques were strange, Shi Xiaole’s sword techniques were just as unusual, or should they be called magical, as no matter from which angle or timing the knife techniques emerged, they seemed to automatically congregate on Shi Xiaole’s sword blade and each was shattered one after another.
"Such a quick reaction!"
Zhu Wen couldn’t help but gasp in terror.
How could he not see that the reason his knife lights seemed to be actively broken by Shi Xiaole was because the latter had anticipated everything and reacted first.
Zhu Wen asked himself that if he were in Shi Xiaole’s place, he definitely could not have done it. So, how did Shi Xiaole achieve this?
"His comprehension of the Sword Realm is higher than I thought."
Crown Sword Marquis took a deep breath.
The Heavenly Sword Realm can sense all things. If Shi Xiaole truly approaches this state, Zhu Wen, who built his reputation with eccentric sword techniques, would naturally be unable to counter him.
However, the Crown Sword Marquis simply cannot imagine that a person appearing to be under twenty years old is approaching the Heavenly Sword Realm. If this news were to spread, it would nearly shake the entire Xuanwu State.
"Sweep the Army!"
Seeing that the first sword technique did not work, Zhu Wen immediately executed the second one.
They saw the lengthy Sword Qi shake in mid-air, dragging a splendid silver light. Wherever it passed, the sizzling sound was unending, as if countless sharp blades were cutting the void, making the crowd shiver.
Zhan Shuo clenched his fist. Forced to face this sword, Death Without Life, he wanted to see how Shi Xiaole would respond.
Shi Xiaole quickly gave an answer, advancing instead of retreating, executing the Meteor Demise.
Bang!
Whoosh!
First a point, then cracks spread out from the center like a spider web. Eventually, the entire Sword Qi shattered as if it were glass.
"Encounter my later move, Silver Blade Pathway."
Just as the Sword Qi shattered, Zhu Wen’s next sword was already hacking out.
The seemingly shattered Sword Qi abruptly seemed to be attracted by some force, recondensed, enclosing Shi Xiaole within. At the same time, a streak of even more sharp silver Sword Qi was targeting Shi Xiaole, rushing straight through.
"As expected from a master at the fifth tier of the Dragon Gate Realm."
The surrounding Sword Qi seems indestructible. Even if Shi Xiaole tried to execute Meteor Demise, it would be hard to break it all at once. Instead, he would waste time and be cut into halves by the silver Sword Qi.
Just as everyone thought that this genius of swordsmanship was about to perish, at the last moment, Shi Xiaole held his sword in front of his chest and suddenly moved incredibly fast like a meteor, zigzagging to the other side.
It was not until this time that the silver Sword Qi that had been hacked out earlier just hit the prison knife light, shattering it instead.
"That sword technique...or is it a flying skill?"
Everyone was confused.
If it was a sword technique, Shi Xiaole’s sword had no attack power. If it were a flying skill, his entire person was clearly like a sword, exuding hidden sharpness and killing intent.
"What was the move just now?"
Zhu Wen couldn’t suppress his curiosity and asked first.
"It’s a flying skill I created myself, named Star Shadow Flee."
Shi Xiaole said indifferently.
Star Shadow Flee was derived from Meteor Demise.
The last time Shi Xiaole used Meteor Demise to accelerate to escape Fang Hao’s pursuit gave him a deep insight. But his foundation was too shallow back then to refine it further.
Now, having absorbed some Sword Qi from Jade Sword Valley, Shi Xiaole’s foundation and Sword Realm have both been greatly improved. Naturally, he deduced the flying skill of Meteor Demise.
Of course, this flying skill has not been perfected yet. It requires quite a bit of time to hone. Even so, it still stunned everyone.
Such a young man has created a top-tier second-rate flying skill. This young man seems to create surprises every moment.
The fierce fight continued. Although Zhu Wen had the upper hand, relying on the immature Star Shadow Flee, Shi Xiaole always avoided timely when defeated.
By this time, the one-armed old man and the decrepit scholar also joined the battle group.
The two of them were not scheming for the Sword Heart Fruit on Shi Xiaole. They were not fools. They would never offend an extraordinary genius for a Sword Heart Fruit.
They were worried that Shi Xiaole had many encounters in Jade Sword Palace and was already so powerful. If he progressed any further, could he kill them all?
This kind of person, if you can kill him as soon as possible, you must not let him live.
Unfortunately, the three of them teamed up and there was no much difference with Zhu Wen alone. After all, if they couldn’t lock Shi Xiaole, what was the use of more people?
Unless, there were two more masters of the same level.
At this thought, the one-armed old man and the others looked at Crown Sword Marquis. But they saw him standing in the distance, indifferent, with no intention of making a move.
"The young hero’s skills are extraordinary. I admire him. Let’s stop here for today’s discussion."
The one-armed old man retreated in the air, laughing heartily.
Shi Xiaole’s flying skills were too strong. Unless he was sure to kill the opponent, the one-armed old man wouldn’t take action, so as not to provoke a future enemy.
The decrepit scholar almost stopped at the same time as the one-armed old man, always wearing a gentle smile.
"Little brother, Zhu admires young people like you. After we get out of here, Zhu must invite you for a drink."
Zhu Wen withdrew his blade and laughed up to the sky. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he admired Shi Xiaole.
"I hope I have the opportunity."
Shi Xiaole would not forget that Zhu Wen was trying to kill him just now. He was even more alert about this fat man with big ears who changes his expression at will.
The atmosphere at the scene became even stranger.
Everyone feared Crown Sword Marquis and the other three, and now there was another Shi Xiaole, whose strength was only inferior but might be more difficult to deal with. Everyone was polite when they started, and many even stopped fighting, fearing that the five would join forces.
Whoosh.
In the silence, the canopy suddenly shook. Crown Sword Marquis sped away and quickly disappeared without a trace.
After glancing at everyone, Shi Xiaole also chose to leave.
He had no intention of monopolizing the Sword Heart Fruit. Firstly, he did not have enough strength, and secondly, having too many exotic fruits like this was meaningless. Four pieces were enough.
The priority now was how to find the exit of Jade Sword Valley and leave the Jade Sword Palace.
