Chapter 444: Chapter 443: The Top Genius Infiltrating the Hidden Sword Pavilion
"What is this?"
The appearance of the Jade Sword Seal had once again stirred up the uneasiness that Shi Xiaole had been suppressing for a long time.
However, he wasn’t given any time to think as the fourth humanoid light shadow emerged.
This light shadow was elusive. Usually, eight-tenths of the full force would be reflected back at the attacker, with the remaining two-tenths just enough to push it back slightly.
The fifth light shadow was infinitely powerful. Its shockwave alone within a five-meter radius could severely injure Shi Xiaole.
After strenuous efforts, Shi Xiaole managed to take down the opposers one after another with the help of the intermediate-level Fist Technique and Claw Technique.
Upon the emergence of the sixth light shadow, its cultivation was finally revealed. It was at the first level of the Dragon Gate Realm. For some unknown reason, its facial contours resembled Shi Xiaole’s.
Its swordsmanship was faster than the first light shadow’s, it had the immortality feature of the second light shadow, the mighty spirit power of the third light shadow, and the strengths of the other two light shadows.
Under the combination of so many abilities, even many masters at the fourth level of the Dragon Gate Realm would not be able to defeat this light shadow.
Fortunately, it did not have the real intent and the Sword Realm to aid it. After a fierce battle which lasted for three 2-hour periods, Shi Xiaole finally managed to kill it, earning himself a high-level intermediate Fist Technique.
What truly shocked Shi Xiaole, however, was the seventh light shadow.
No, this could no longer be considered a light shadow. Judged solely from its image, it looked no different from a real person. Dressed in a green robe with ink-like hair, elegant and spirited, if it were not Shi Xiaole, who could it be?
His opponent was himself.
Whoosh.
The swordsmanship integrated into the wind was heading towards Shi Xiaole’s neck in an instant.
Gentle Breeze Thirteen-Form.
Shi Xiaole quickly retaliated with Gentle Breeze Thirteen-Form.
Clang!
Under the impact of the formidable power, both of them retreated simultaneously. On the half way, Shi Xiaole suddenly felt a chill on his back and immediately used the Eye Blade Absolute Technique.
As a result, a wave of spirit power exploded in mid-air.
His opponent surprisingly used the Eye Blade to counter.
Hiss.
His robe was torn apart. At the very last moment, Shi Xiaole dodged the sword aiming at his side. The light shadow had unexpectedly appeared on his left side and accurately found the flaw in Shi Xiaole’s defenses, a flaw that no one else at the same level could detect!
With a stroke of his sword, Shi Xiaole simultaneously tore the light shadow’s green robe.
"Meteor Demise!"
Without giving the opponent any opportunity to retaliate, Shi Xiaole launched his second most lethal attack after the Death Claiming Fifteen Sword Style, with the aid of ten percent of the Wind True Intent.
Unexpectedly, the ’Shi Xiaole’ opposite seemed to have anticipated this. With a sidestep devoid of any specific movement, it left behind a light tail as bright as a meteor.
Flying Skill, Star Shadow Flight.
The sound of metal collision was incessant like the rain hitting plantain leaves. However, what was faster than sound was their sword speed. Often, with every ten sounds, they had already crossed swords twenty or thirty times.
Sometimes, it was as indiscernible as the gentle breeze, and sometimes, it was as resplendent as a fleeting meteor. At times, the dispersion of spiritual waves would kill invisibly.
If observed more carefully, one would notice an even more terrifying phenomenon.
Compared to the number of times they crossed swords, they had crossed each other’s path even more times.
Both of them had the perceptive eyes that could see through everything. Hence, it was very difficult for them to find the best timing to attack as they could easily spot each other’s flaws.
Figures, green radiance, sword light, and the illusion array were filled with overlapping illusions. In the end, all the collision noises had disappeared leaving behind a suffocating atmosphere, much like the ocean before a storm.
At a certain moment, two equally radiant meteor sword lights fiercely collided in mid-air.
Swish!
Sparks, just like two golden cones colliding at their tips, traveled dozens of feet away from the collision center. The sparks scattered in all directions.
The center of the cone, on the other hand, was transparent where countless terrifying Sword Qi was madly clashing the very moment the sword tips came into contact, distorting the void like ripples of water.
"You only know the techniques I used in the Jade Sword Palace, right?"
Without moving his right hand, Shi Xiaole pinched his two fingers on his left hand and suddenly jabbed.
Spiritual Rhinoceros Finger.
Thud!
The place where the light shadow was jabbed started gushing blood. It lost its strength, and its sword movements became chaotic. It was then pierced through its body by Shi Xiaole’s Meteor Sword Qi.
However, Shi Xiaole was not a bit excited. Instead, he employed the Star Shadow Flight to swiftly move to the right. The moment he moved, a long sword pierced through the place he had just vacated.
Illusions appeared one after another in front of his eyes hile another Shi Xiaole, who appeared unscathed, stood three feet away just like a mirror image.
"Full Illusion Intent Realm."
Shi Xiaole gave a bitter smile, somewhat helpless.
Before this, he never truly realized how troublesome and terrifying he was.
Amongst those of the same age and realm, in terms of attack, his swordsmanship, combined with ten percent of the Wind True Intent and exquisite techniques, had already reached perfection. It was exceptional and coupled with his ability to perceive flaws and far superior Sword Realm cultivation compared to the majority of Dragon Gate Realm mid-level swordsmen.
Regarding defense, although his self-created Star Shadow Flight was not yet perfected, it was still better than the seldom seen intermediate-level Flying Skill. Hence, catching up with his pace was extremely difficult; even if one could, it would be hard to break through the Spiritual Rhinoceros Finger.
Having nearly unbreakable offense and defense, not to mention, Shi Xiaole had extraordinarily strong spirit power, surpassing the power of the Dragon Gate Realm to a certain extent. He even had the ability to maximize his spiritual power with the Illusion Intent Realm and Eye Blade.
A person, if they could excel in one aspect, could be deemed a genius. Shi Xiaole was strong in every aspect, with no weaknesses!
With a focused gaze, the two Shi Xiaoles clashed once again.
This was the most thrilling battle, and for Shi Xiaole, it was also the most meaningful one.
From an outsider’s perspective, he witnessed himself, almost perfect, impeccable. However, only Shi Xiaole could see what he had always ignored within this magnificent facade.
"To defeat myself, I must constantly break through. The me of this moment is not the me of the past moment."
The battle intent in his eyes burst forth, and Shi Xiaole’s sword suddenly accelerated.
He had always been confused, in others’ eyes, he always seemed calm and unflustered, as if he would never panic. His true source of confidence was not power, but himself!
Power is unreliable because it can be lost at any time. Only oneself will never betray. Being is power.
His body felt light, Shi Xiaole seemed to have penetrated through some fog, his two swords, which were about to collide at the same speed, suddenly became one fast and one slow.
Hiss!
The scene froze.
The illusory Shi Xiaole, his features dispersed and became blurry until it finally crumbled inch by inch.
It was not until now that the sword qi, formed from a gust of wind, slowly dissipated.
Two-tenths Wind True Intent!
Under the constant pressure of ’himself,’ Shi Xiaole finally broke free from his shackles and grasped the two-tenths Wind True Intent.
Generally speaking, a strong medium-level Dragon Gate Realm master would have a top-level True Intent of three-tenths or a first-rate True Intent of four-tenths, if it’s a common True Intent, then it would be five-tenths.
Shi Xiaole’s Wind True Intent, though only two-tenths, his Sword Realm was exceptionally high, superior to most medium-level Dragon Gate Realm masters. In terms of overall strength, he was not inferior to them.
In other words, at this moment, apart from the realm and first-rate martial arts, Shi Xiaole was no less than most medium-level Dragon Gate Realm masters.
And there were more surprises to come.
After the seventh illusionary figure collapsed, the words that appeared in the void was more than double the size, at the top, it clearly said - Jade Void Divine Skill!
Jade Void Divine Skill, a second-rate internal skill, along with Jade Sword Divine Skill, they were known as the two great palace treasures of Jade Sword Palace.
It was said that both Divine Skills have a certain connection, only when the Jade Sword Divine Skill was cultivated to perfection, the Jade Void Divine Skill could be cultivated. Moreover, once cultivated, its power would increase exponentially.
Thanks to the two Divine Skills, many masters from the Jade Sword Palace were able to break through to the Divine Barrier Realm in the past, becoming famous figures of their time.
There is no doubt that Jade Void Divine Skill is equivalent to half of the core legacy of Jade Sword Palace, which has now ended up in the hands of Shi Xiaole.
Outside the Hidden Sword Pavilion, rays of light burst forth. Bundles of jade sword qi shot out of the jade tablet, creating resonates that stirred people’s blood, its intensity was so great that the caped elders were forced to retreat. Other high-level fighters, who had already set up the Array System, were even more scared, hiding behind the two elders with a face full of terror.
"How could this be, this is..."
The caped elder’s lips trembled, his old face twitching.
"The Jade Swords resonate, someone has passed the final stage of the illusion."
The elder who accompanied Shen Wumei spoke solemnly.
As things reached this point, even the two senile elders were well aware that something was wrong.
Given Shen Wumei’s talent, if she was lucky and in good condition, she might be able to pass one or two more levels, but the chances of her passing the final level were extremely low.
"Could a top-tier genius have infiltrated?"
"It shouldn’t be, from the day Jade Sword Palace was founded, I carefully screened everyone who entered, none of them included those individuals."
After exchanging glances, the two elders became excited and anxious again.
There must be a top-tier genius with unremarkable reputation who entered the Hidden Sword Pavilion. If the individual doesn’t have a prominent background, perhaps they could...
"It seems I should go in early."
"Hehe, it’s always good to be cautious, let’s go and see the genius’ identity, and make plans accordingly."
With a swish.
The elder accompanying Shen Wumei entered the Hidden Sword Pavilion. Upon seeing this, some of the masters from behind also followed suit.
...
"Although Jade Void Divine Skill is an incomplete martial art and cannot be exchanged for martial arts of the same level, it greatly increased my reward points."
Before getting the Jade Void Divine Skill, Shi Xiaole’s reward points had already reached an astonishing 50,200 points. With the addition of 21,000 points from the Jade Void Divine Skill, his reward points jumped to 71,200 points. This was enough to purchase any second-rate martial art he wanted.
Buzz Buzz Buzz!
The illusion disappeared, Shi Xiaole found himself standing in a hall. The hall was surrounded by lawns, which had withered away due to many years and turned into yellow soil.
And in the middle, there’s an eight-sided jade pavilion.
"Sword Enlightenment Pavilion?"
Looking at the plaque in front of the pavilion, Shi Xiaole walked in. Threads of breath infiltrated his pores, and in an instant, the shadows of sword masters seemed to flash in front of Shi Xiaole’s eyes. The once clear Sword Wisdom became even more transparent.
Being here, his comprehension of sword techniques had also improved a lot.
Only after a careful look did he discover that many holes had been dug inside the octagonal pavilion, inside these holes, many Three Purities Flowers, which could temporarily increase comprehension, were placed!
This was a huge investment prepared by Jade Sword Palace for top-tier geniuses who passed the illusion.
