Chapter 474: Chapter 473: Everyone Boards the Ship (Little brother, along with Shi Xiaole, Ai Wenhong wish everyone a Happy New Year!)
"Unrivaled Soul Transformation, the Selfless Heart Transformation, is finally complete."
In a lavishly arranged stateroom, Shi Xiaole woke up from his meditation.
For more than a month on the road, he had spent most of his time on cultivation, thanks to his special spiritual talent, he had advanced the first two transformations of the Life and Death Four Transformations to a consummate level.
As for the third transformation: Transform the Corpse without a Trace, he had only pondered it during his leisure time and currently, it was only of minor achievement.
He rose from his bed, pushed open the window, the night market of Tianyi City was as vibrant as daytime. The lanterns hung at the corners of the streets formed a serpentine chain, like countless yellow dragons extending far into the distance.
The street was crowded with people, bustling and noisy everywhere.
Shi Xiaole was eager to experiment with the power of the first two transformations, so he started scanning through the crowd. Within a short while, he identified a target.
"Stop thief! Someone stole my money bag. Stop thief!"
A man, out of breath, desperately fought his way through the dense crowd, shouting loudly.
A figure was squirming like a mudfish through the crowd dozens of meters ahead of him, the distance between them growing wider and wider.
Quite a few heroes and heroines in the crowd, hearing the commotion, took action one after another, but the dense crowd severely hampered them.
Shi Xiaole narrowed his eyes, as two peculiar waves shot out from his pupils, silently infiltrating the pickpocket’s mind.
The next moment.
The pickpocket suddenly stopped, voluntarily walked towards the victim and handed over the money bag: "I’m wrong, I deserve to die. Please take me to the officials."
Then he slapped himself several times in a row.
The onlookers were all stunned.
"You, are you insane?"
The victim retrieved his money bag and probably wanting to avoid further trouble, he hurled an insult and quickly disappeared into the crowd.
"Hurry, someone tell me how to get to the government office. I want to turn myself in. From today onwards, I, Pickpocket San, will no longer engage in these thieving activities."
The pickpocket was shouting in all directions, grabbing anybody he could to ask.
"Brother, what the heck just happened?"
In the crowd, a delicate young girl, full of doubt, asked the tall, lion-like man standing next to her.
"A master made a move, and not without skill."
The burly man, both hands behind his back, his light-colored eyes glanced around. Suddenly, he looked up, his gaze meeting several people standing at windows, including a woman blushing shyly and waving at him.
He looked away, had he sensed wrongly?
"A master? Who would be considered a master in front of my brother?"
The young girl gave a disdainful smile, the look in his eyes full of admiration.
"Yan’er, do not underestimate people. Remember, everyone has their own strengths. At the very least, Yu Zhao and Li Zifeng are very strong rivals."
"Hmm, I believe that this time you will surely defeat them and claim the throne of the Immortal Congress."
Back in the stateroom, Shi Xiaole left the window and poured himself a satisfying cup of tea.
What he had just performed was Selfless Heart Transformation, one of the Life and Death Four Transformations.
At first glance, Selfless Heart Transformation may seem similar to the Soul Capturing Skill, but they are quite different.
Firstly, the effective range of the Soul Capturing Skill is not as vast as the Selfless Heart Transformation, which can reach up to fifty meters.
Secondly, the effect of the Soul Capturing Skill is far less potent than the Selfless Heart Transformation.
With Shi Xiaole’s spiritual power, if he performed the Soul Capturing Skill, he could only affect warriors at the Fifth Tier of the Dragon Gate Realm at most. After all, the Soul Capturing Skill is a low-level technique and cannot fully leverage his spiritual power.
However, it’s different with Selfless Heart Transformation. Shi Xiaole wondered that if he utilized, even high-level warriors of the Dragon Gate Realm might be susceptible. Of course, everything still needs to be verified.
Thirdly, and most frighteningly, those who are influenced by Selfless Heart Transformation show no outward signs of any abnormality. Everything they do originates from their own ’heart’. Even after they regain their senses, they are more than likely to accept their behavior as their own.
As for how long the effect of the Selfless Heart Transformation can last, Shi Xiaole speculated, it should be correlated with the strength of his own spiritual power.
"Selfless Heart Transformation did not disappoint me, I wonder how fiendish Unrivaled Soul Transformation, that can turn enemies into obedient servants, would be."
Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but force a bitter smile.
If he had learned this superb skill back in the Eight States, he wouldn’t have to disguise himself. He could have turned people like Demon Marquis and others into his obedient servants.
"Right, if I utilize Unrivaled Soul Transformation, it should compel the person under its influence to willingly hand over their martial arts secrets."
Putting down his teacup, Shi Xiaole thought to himself.
The night passed without any incident.
Early next morning.
Ai Wenhong arrived to knock on Shi Xiaole’s door, the two had breakfast in the inn’s front courtyard, and then they left together.
Linjiang Immortal Congress isn’t for the ordinary, in fact, those without sufficient strength aren’t even qualified to enter the congress venue, so, before the congress starts, there is an autonomous selection process.
This selection is called ’Boat Selection’.
...
There was an array of vessels anchored by the bank of Linjiang, ranging from top-notch painted boats to three-story ships, and small fishing boats.
Dark hordes of people stood on the river bank, occasionally the sound of weapon clashing can be heard.
The Linjiang Immortal Congress is staged inside the Immortal Gorge, so prodigies who want to attend the congress must take a boat in. Moreover, the number of boats allowed into the Immortal Gorge cannot exceed five hundred, under the condition of ’more monks than porridge’, boats naturally become hot commodities.
The reason why boats are classified into different grades is to provoke a competitive atmosphere and warm up for the congress.
Geniuses care about their reputation, who wouldn’t want to take a painted boat into the Immortal Gorge? If they had to sit on a broken fishing boat, they would feel humiliated even if others don’t say anything.
When Shi Xiaole and Ai Wenhong arrived, many of the boats were already taken. Fortunately, this was only a temporary situation, as everyone had the right to challenge the current boat owners and become the new masters.
Their eyes naturally were drawn to the several most luxurious houseboats in the center.
Normally, these should have been the most fiercely contested, yet despite the crowd around them, no one dared to approach.
That was until a young swordsman wearing a maple leaf embroidered jacket and carrying a long sword stepped forward. He walked directly up one of the houseboats, completely ignoring the stares from people around him.
"Li Zifeng!"
Someone exclaimed in a trembling voice.
If ’Little Lord Yu Zhao is regarded as the number one talent in Shuntian Capital, then without a doubt, Li Zifeng is the top young swordsman there.
Making his debut at the age of eighteen, he never sparred with anyone whose skills were inferior to his. Especially in recent years, it has been heard that the number of times he has unsheathed his sword is very few.
The reason being, among the people he encountered, very few were worthy of him unsheathing his sword!
"Three years ago, I saw Li Zifeng in action. With a casual swing of his sword, he effortlessly defeated a Sixth Tier martial artist from the Dragon Gate realm. It’s an unforgettable moment! Three years have passed since then, I wonder what realm his swordsmanship has reached."
"In my opinion, only a few people like Yu Zhao and Yu Wen Cang have a chance to gauge his depth."
There was murmuring among the crowd as they watched Li Zifeng enter the cabin, their emotions unable to settle.
Only five hundred people can enter Immortal Gorge. In other words, the majority of the elites present won’t even have the chance to witness Li Zifeng’s swordsmanship.
Why is there such a vast gap between people!
"Greetings, Young Master Li."
Standing outside the cabin, a group of beautiful young girls bowed to Li Zifeng.
Hosting the Linjiang Immortal Gathering is not a small expense.
In fact, every ship used is freshly built, plus the costs of fruits, wine, meals, invitations to physicians, and so on. A massive sum is needed to fund it.
Luckily, the Linjiang Immortal Gathering is sponsored by Xuanwu State’s richest man, Fang Wanwan.
Perhaps aiming for an air of refinement, Fang Wanwan arranged musicians, dancing troupes, and maids of different levels according to the standard of each ship in order to serve the elites onboard at any time.
For example, the service on Li Zifeng’s ship is of the highest grade.
Ignoring the young ladies, Li Zifeng, indifferent, walked into a cabin alone.
The crowd gradually withdrew their gaze, suddenly someone murmured. A delicate young girl floated onto the second houseboat, surprising everyone.
"Who is this girl daring like this?"
"Doesn’t everyone know that these houseboats are reserved for world-class geniuses? Is she new to the Martial World and unaware of the rules?"
Many people sneered, picturing the humiliation once the tender girl was driven away.
Yet there were also people holding their breath, their faces complicated.
"Brother."
A figure, tall and rugged, flew to the girl’s side, who then immediately grabbed his hand.
"Yu Wen Cang, one of the three top talents in Xuanwu State, ’Fist King’ Yu Wen Cang!"
The crowd gasped.
Some people are born to be the center of attention, and without a doubt, Yuwen Cang is one of them.
He stands roughly two meters tall, with wide shoulders and narrow waist, strong and straight legs, each muscle on his body perfectly proportioned. Even in his tight warrior outfit, you can’t hide that masculine beauty.
The most impressive are those eyes, like a hawk hovering in the sky, gazing disdainfully in all directions, causing an unconscious desire to submit.
Clang!
A startling Sword Qi burst from the adjacent houseboat, disappearing almost instantly, causing many people to break out in a cold sweat.
"Brother Li, it’s been years, surely your swordsmanship has advanced." Yu Wen Cang casually said.
"In Immortal Gorge, I will defeat you with my Red Maple Sword!"
A cold voice responded.
"You’re awfully confident, my brother will definitely not lose to you!"
Petite girl Yuwen Yan retorted angrily.
"Yan’er, no need to say more."
Waving his hand, Yu Wen Cang led Yuwen Yan into the houseboat, and a group of elegant women bowed in succession.
In the blink of an eye, only two houseboats remained.
As if by silent agreement, the crowd remained still, even tenser than before.
Finally, a young man dressed in common clothes walked slowly towards them.
If Li Zifeng was as sharp as a sword, Yuwen Cang as domineering as an eagle, then this young man exuded an indescribable nobleness.
Although he was simply walking casually, he seemed to be strolling within a palace courtyard, slightly unapproachable yet somewhat lonely.
"Yu Zhao!"
Inside the cabin, both Yuwen Cang and Li Zifeng fixed their eyes on the young man in common clothes, their competitive spirit blazing like an erupting volcano.
If there is a person in Xuanwu State worth their all-out efforts to defeat, it must be and could only be Yu Zhao.
Not to mention the many elites, even the musicians and dancers who were waiting by the cabin, aware of the courtesy, were at this moment entranced by his aura, forgetting to greet him.
