Chapter 44: Chapter 44 Shi Xiaole’s Bold and Reckless Actions
"Qin Zhao!"
Seeing Qin Zhao covered in blood and falling powerlessly to the ground, the martial official cried out, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
Two moves, Qin Zhao couldn’t withstand two moves from Shi Xiaole?!
A storm of shock surged in the martial official’s heart.
At this moment, Yuan Qiuwei, Xiao Yuanbo, and Mao Wenjing, who were all rushing over, also stood still, hardly believing their own eyes.
The widely recognized fourth strongest young fighter in the Huajian Sect was almost instantly killed by Shi Xiaole, this result was simply astonishing.
"You scoundrel, you dare to attack and injure people, I’ll cripple you!"
Furious to the point of madness, the martial official charged forward, striking a palm straight towards Shi Xiaole’s face.
Although he was not as high-ranking as Qin Zhao, the martial official was, after all, an expert at the eighth level of Hidden Qi. Combined with many years of experience in the martial world, his power far surpassed Qin Zhao’s.
If not for the fact that they wanted to entrap Shi Xiaole to get the secret manual on him just half a month ago, they could have finished him in three or four moves.
"Looking for death."
Facing the martial official’s strike, Shi Xiaole did not panic, he raised his sword and unleashed a terrifying slash.
With the help of Fuyang Qi Skill, Shi Xiaole’s realm was not as high as Qin Zhao, but his internal power was not weaker, so what he just displayed was merely the Battle Blade Skill.
It was only now that he executed the Draw Sword Skill, the killing Draw Sword Skill.
The sword light tore through the air, and its terrifying momentum instantly seized the martial official’s soul, making him want to withdraw. But it was all too late.
"Ah!"
With a scream, the invisible palm force was cut apart, and a trace of blood appeared on the throat of the martial official. He stumbled backward, with unwillingness, resentment and even deep regret flashing in his eyes.
Until his death, the martial official could not understand why Shi Xiaole’s skill had become so terrifying in less than two months.
No one understood.
The clouds around the martial arts stage were swirling, the previous commotion had completely subsided, and the scene became utterly quiet.
Shi Xiaole had gravely injured Qin Zhao with two moves, which was already an eye-opening moment for everyone. Now he killed the martial official, who was more formidable than Qin Zhao, with one swift strike, shocking everyone to the point of gasping for air.
Even Yuan Qiuwei and the others looked at Shi Xiaole as if they were seeing a stranger.
"Junior Brother Shi, his martial arts..."
Xiao Yuanbo tried to say something but couldn’t find the right words. What had just happened was too sudden, making it difficult for them to digest.
"You, you dared to kill the martial official of our sect, you won’t have a good end."
Blood kept flowing from Qin Zhao’s chest, it seemed that if the bleeding wasn’t stopped urgently, he too would only have one path left: death.
But Qin Zhao seemed to forget about it, because at this moment, Shi Xiaole seemed to him like a cold-hearted demon, stepping towards him, ready to deliver the killer blow!
"No, you can’t kill me, the Huajian Sect forbids disciples from fighting each other. If you kill me, you will die too."
Like a dog that has lost its home, Qin Zhao kept retreating.
"So if I kill you, I will die, but if you kill me, it will be fine, is that what you mean?"
Shi Xiaole laughed coldly.
Under his oppressive aura, no disciple at the scene dared to speak up for Qin Zhao. Mainly, Qin Zhao and his friends were clearly in the wrong from the start and they had no ground to stand on.
Seeing Shi Xiaole about to raise his sword, Yuan Qiuwei shouted: "Junior Brother Shi, stop!"
But someone was faster than him.
"Brat, you dare!"
A voice, like a roaring thunder, came from afar. All eyes turned to see the source of the voice. It was the Grand Elder who looked gloomy and seemed like he was ready to devour someone.
Seeing the severely injured Qin Zhao and the martial official lying in a pool of blood, anger and the desire to kill almost exploded out of the Grand Elder’s chest.
"Shi Xiao the dog, I will not rest until I kill you!"
The Grand Elder howled towards the sky, his beard and hair standing on end, and his robes agitated by his uncontrollable murderous aura, frightened the disciples and made them retreat hastily.
"Old fool, I’ve been waiting for you too."
Even more astounding to the disciples of the Huajian Sect was that Shi Xiaole did not retreat in the face of the furious Grand Elder, instead he brandished his blade and charged.
"Mysterious Painting Palm!"
The Grand Elder could no longer restrain himself and roared, hitting a palm towards Shi Xiaole’s head with a tremendous amount of force.
Mysterious Painting Palm, a top-tier palm skill among the third rank martial arts, and one of the three unique arts of the Huajian Sect.
Years ago, the Grand Elder had perfected this skill to the stage of Transformation Phase, combined with the ninth level of Hidden Qi. The magnificent momentum of this palm was so overwhelming that it almost stifled the breathing of the disciples present.
With his black hair flying, there was a compelling coldness flickering in Shi Xiaole’s eyes, as dark as gemstones.
This Grand Elder had been targeting him since he joined the Huajian Sect, even tailed him to kill and defamed his reputation, giving him no way to survive.
No one ever made Shi Xiaole feel such a strong desire to kill.
His left hand quickly shot forward, striking several palms that created a force of the Heaven and Earth Net Force in the air, which made the Grand Elder’s palm force deviate slightly and flung the Hundred Battles Blade away.
At this moment, Shi Xiaole held the Green Edge Sword. This lower-grade strange weapon was unsheathed for the first time.
Clink!
The faint green sword light reflected in the sunlight was exceptionally dazzling, causing the Grand Elder’s eyes to ache. Shi Xiaole swung his sword, exuding a profound and desolate power that instilled fear in people’s hearts.
In an instant, the Grand Elder seemed to see himself standing in front of a cliff, one more step would send him into the abyss.
"What is this?"
The Grand Elder looked horrified.
However, given his older age, his mental quality was incomparable to Wang Bufan’s, allowing him to quickly recover and continue his attack despite his fear.
But the Grand Elder didn’t realize that unless one could truly disregard fear, their movements would unconsciously change. In high-level combat, a minute difference could lead to a disastrous outcome.
Under the combined influence of the dangerous circumstances and the Heaven and Earth Net Force, the Grand Elder didn’t even notice that his movements had deviated significantly.
Compared with Wang Bufan, the Grand Elder excelled in experience and temperament, but was far behind in comprehension and adaptability.
Ten strokes.
Twenty strokes.
By the twenty-ninth stroke, Shi Xiaole seized an opportunity as his sword pierced into his opponent’s unguarded opening with a crisp sound, creating a deep, three-inch-long wound on the Grand Elder’s shoulder.
"The Grand Elder is disadvantaged and defeated."
The disciple who had advised Shi Xiaole the night before murmured to himself, as if in a dream.
Recalling Shi Xiaole’s expression at the time, he realized that Shi Xiaole wasn’t merely pretending to be calm, he clearly had the capability to demand justice!
How long had it just been?
After several continuous strikes, the Grand Elder was now dishevelled and utterly defeated. Suddenly, a long sword came from nowhere, blocking Shi Xiaole’s blow.
"Junior Brother Shi, please show mercy."
The one who stepped in was Yuan Qiuwei. As he spoke, he instructed other disciples to treat Qin Zhao and the Grand Elder’s injuries.
Xiao Yuanbo and Mao Wenjing also came forward, looking at Shi Xiaole with curious eyes.
"Are all three of you trying to stop me?"
Shi Xiaole asked.
"We’re not trying to stop you; we just don’t want you to make a mistake. As a disciple, rebelling against your superiors will ruin your reputation once word gets out."
Yuan Qiuwei solemnly said.
In this Martial World, defying one’s master is the first and foremost crime. This includes not only the master but also the elders within the sect. Any righteous person who bears the infamy of defying their master is destined to be cast aside.
As for the functionary Wu, given his status, the consequences of killing him, if it’s proven that he was genuinely harming Shi Xiaole, would not be so severe.
"Defying the master?"
Shi Xiaole glanced at the Grand Elder, whose eyes were filled with both relief at escaping death and malicious intent. With a cold sneer in his heart, he thought, "The Grand Elder can’t be spared!"
However, what Yuan Qiuwei said wasn’t wrong. If Shi Xiaole wanted to continue within the martial world, he should not carry too severe a stain on his reputation and must not challenge the moral bottom line of the entire martial world.
Shi Xiaole didn’t care about others’ opinions, but if he could solve the problem in a better way, why would he rush into things?
Whether it’s a public murder or a stealth assassination, it’s still killing!
As the three core disciples tried to stop Shi Xiaole, the elders of the Huajian Sect also arrived. Seeing the situation, they were dumbfounded.
When they understood what had happened, their shock deepened.
The Third Elder was about to roar, but when he met Shi Xiaole’s cold and ruthless eyes, he shivered inexplicably.
This kid Shi Xiaole, dared to attack the Grand Elder in public and was even about to kill him; he’s definitely a madman. Did the Elder really want to offend him to death?
After moving his lips a bit, the Third Elder fell silent.
Therefore, an awkward scene occurred on the exercise field. The high-ranking members of the sect, who were on the same side as the Grand Elder, didn’t dare to reprimand Shi Xiaole because of his audacity and their own guilty conscience.
However, when the Second Elder arrived, he rebuked Shi Xiaole severely.
"What is going on here?"
While the situation was at a standstill, a puzzled voice suddenly rang in everyone’s ears, abruptly breaking the silence.
A tall and upright middle-aged man had somehow appeared on the edge of the crowd. He had a gentle face, handsome features, and his black hair was tied up with a blue scholar’s headband.
"Master!"
Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Yuan Qiuwei and the others shouted excitedly.
"The Sect Master, Sect Master has come out of seclusion."
The Second Elder also rejoiced. However, people like the Third Elder quickly moved to the middle-aged man, looking like they couldn’t wait to tattle.
"Sect Master, Shi Xiaole is wicked and ruthless. During your seclusion, he colluded with outsiders and conspired. If we keep him, he will bring disaster to the Huajian Sect!" The Grand Elder immediately pointed the finger at Shi Xiaole, hoping to provoke the Sect Master to take action.
Yu Fangge frowned and asked Yuan Qiuwei about what had happened. After a little while, he fixed his stern gaze on Shi Xiaole.
Shi Xiaole met his gaze fearlessly.
"Xiaole, do you know your crime?" Yu Fangge asked in a deep voice, causing those including the Grand Elder and the Third Elder to secretly rejoice. They knew that although the Sect Master was a scatterbrain, his martial arts were highly skilled. With him taking actions, Shi Xiaole was doomed.
Just as Shi Xiaole was about to respond, Hu Fangge suddenly said, "Considering your young age, I’ll let this offense pass for now. But bear in mind, there will be no exceptions after this."
Shi Xiaole was a bit taken aback.
Like he had heard something impossible, the Grand Elder screamed, "Sect Master, this is inappropriate! I strongly disagree!"
Yu Fangge asked, "What does the Grand Elder intend to do?"
"If you want to favor Shi Xiaole, then I will leave the Huajian Sect."
Yu Fangge had always been lazy, focusing only on his training every day, so the day-to-day affairs of the Huajian Sect were managed by the Grand Elder. The Grand Elder was confident that the Sect Master wouldn’t let him leave.
Who would have thought that, after a moment of consideration, Yu Fangge would say, "If that’s the case, then Grand Elder, please do leave."
