Chapter 475: Chapter 474: Old Friends Meet (Happy New Year Everyone!)
The three top geniuses each occupied a ship, and the fourth ship instantly became the focus of everyone’s attention.
"Hahaha, how about I take this one for now?"
A figure dashed onto the deck of the fourth ship, a young man with a goatee.
’Half-Inch Kill’ Jia Ning, a beyond-top-tier genius from Xuanwu State. He was given the nickname ’Half-Inch Kill’ because he was highly skilled in killing, and there was no difference between thirty feet or half an inch in his eyes.
Most of the outstanding individuals present are just here for the spectacle and remain silent, while those confident of claiming a ship and entering Immortal Gorge narrowed their eyes.
It must be said, Jia Ning’s strength was indeed formidable, and his killing intent exceeded his strength, making him particularly daunting.
Whoosh!
A stunningly beautiful woman landed in front of Jia Ning, quietly watching him.
"Brother Shi, look, that’s my elder sister."
Ai Wenhong, standing by the riverbank, said to Shi Xiaole with excitement.
Due to the great distance between them, even with Shi Xiaole’s spiritual force, he could not judge the beautiful woman’s strength. However, he had an intuition that she was frighteningly strong.
"I don’t seem to know the lady, would you mind telling me your name?"
Jia Ning stroked his goatee, having been laughing and joking a moment ago, suddenly appeared in front of the beautiful woman, not knowing where he pulled out a knife and slashed heavily.
Being a beyond-top-tier genius, Jia Ning naturally would not be distracted by beauty. In fact, his ability to hide his murderous intent was stronger than anyone else’s, often making his advances and retreats in an instant.
Clang!
A spark splashed out.
The two passed by each other.
Jia Ning landed on the riverbank, laughing loudly: "Jia admits that he has a soft spot for the fairer sex, so let’s leave this ship to the lady."
No one noticed his left hand hidden in his sleeve, which shook slightly.
Jia Ning’s heart was churning with shock.
In that strike just now, he had exerted three-percent of his full strength. Among his peers, fewer than twenty could withstand his three-percent strength, and even fewer, no more than five, could cause him some minor discomfort in such a hurry.
This is a hidden top-tier swordsman, on par with Li Zifeng!
Haha, looks like this Linjiang Immortal Gathering is going to be quite entertaining.
With a spark in his eye, Jia Ning leaped onto a large boat that was only second to the three-story boat in size and chased the outstanding individuals away from it.
Although he suffered a setback just now, Jia Ning does not consider himself weaker than Ai Wenqian. For the Linjiang Immortal Gathering, he prepared a trump card, enough to turn the tables, defeating the top three geniuses wouldn’t be impossible.
After Jia Ning’s defeat, no one else dared to challenge Ai Wenqian.
It was not that they all admitted defeat, but they felt it was not worth it.
For those with true strength, the real battle within the Immortal Gorge was the main event. At this moment, rashly revealing their cards for the sake of a ship would be unwise.
After all, as long as they didn’t enter the battle in a fishing boat, it wasn’t too embarrassing.
"Brother Ai, since that’s your sister’s ship, why don’t we go on it too?"
Shi Xiaole suggested with a smile.
There was a custom in the Immortal Gathering, the one who seized the ship could invite others on board.
"Uh, Brother Shi, I think we should try to get another one?"
Ai Wenhong responded awkwardly with a smile.
His sister was cold and rowdy. And she could be harsh to him, like smacking him on the head and pulling his ears. He didn’t want to lose face in front of Shi Xiaole.
"Brother Shi, aren’t you going to try and snatch a ship with your abilities?"
At that moment, a sound as pleasing as the sound of nature resounded. A gentle fragrant breeze wafted, and a young girl in black stood pertly not far away.
The dazzling sunlight seemed to become an understatement because of her appearance.
"It’s you!"
Shi Xiaole’s pupils contracted slightly.
He had encountered countless peers since his debut, but there were very few who had given him a real impression. Among them, the girl in black in front of him was the most troublesome.
The two once shared life and death situations in Qingxue State and Mirror State. It should be said that the friendship between them is deep. However, from beginning to end, Shi Xiaole had always maintained a deep vigilance toward the girl in black.
He had never really been able to figure out her depth.
Ren Mengzhen revealed a charming smile, angelic as a blooming flower bud, causing a few to stare: "We have fought side by side twice, but why every time Brother Shi sees me, he always looks as if he is facing an enemy, it really breaks my heart."
"Do you truly feel that way?"
Shi Xiaole retorted.
Ren Mengzhen just looked at him directly.
Before Shi Xiaole could respond, many men behind him had their hearts racing, their faces flushing, captivated by her eyes that sparkled like stars. They couldn’t believe that such a beautiful woman existed in this world.
Some even couldn’t help but swallow their saliva secretly.
"Brother Shi, who is this...?"
Even Ai Wenhong’s voice was trembling.
"I am Shi’s closest friend."
Ren Mengzhen said.
"Oh, then... Blackie Ai Wenhong here, honored to meet my sister-in-law."
Believing he had figured everything out, Ai Wenhong laughed heartily, bowing to Ren Mengzhen repeatedly, and didn’t forget to nudge Shi Xiaole, as if blaming him for keeping this a secret, and not being faithful.
Ren Mengzhen only smiled without confirming or denying, making the men around her hearts sink, each revealing their intense jealousy towards Shi Xiaole.
"Miss, I am Liang Shuhao. I would like to invite you to board the ship with me. Would you honor me with your company?"
Out of the crowd came a man with a lean figure and handsome face, speaking in a reserved yet confident tone.
"Liang Shuhao, he is the most distinguished disciple from the Heavenly Inquiry Sect, the ’No Strategy to Employ’ Liang Shuhao?"
Among the top talents of Xuanwu State, there are only a handful, and Liang Shuhao is among them. If one were to rank the talents, conservatively speaking, he would be within the top seven, highly regarded among his peers.
Liang Shuhao believed there weren’t many women who could decline him.
Granted, he’s not as talented as the top three, but Yu Zhao has always been a loner, Li Zifeng is obsessed with his sword, and Yu Wen Cang is a madman who treats women as playthings.
He alone possesses good looks, great strength and an understanding of romance. His appeal to women in no way inferior to the aforementioned three.
In the Martial World, countless women yearned for his affection.
Ren Mengzhen appeared to consider the invitation and then shook her head with a smile, "Sorry, but I’d prefer to stay with Brother Shi."
"Are you sure about your decision, miss?"
Liang Shuhao’s expression faltered as he glanced at Shi Xiaole.
This unknown youth seemed calm, but he wondered if it was just a facade.
Seeing Ren Mengzhen no longer speaking, Liang Shuhao hid his unhappiness and laughed, "In that case, I won’t insist."
He has his pride. He wouldn’t resort to disgraceful actions for a woman. Moreover, opportunities were seized by oneself. If the other party did not cherish it, they would regret it sooner or later.
Thinking so, Liang Shuhao leapt onto a boat which was next in grandeur to the pleasure craft, and with a wave of his hand, the famous champions on board were forced to retreat.
"So powerful!"
"I heard a rumor that Liang Shuhao had recently mastered the ninth level of the Heavenly Inquiry Devine Skill and has been designated as the next suzerain of the Heavenly Inquiry Sect."
A loud discussion arose from the crowd.
Hearing all this, Liang Shuhao couldn’t help but glance over at Ren Mengzhen and Shi Xiaole again. Seeing the former smile and the latter maintaining a calm expression, he snorted coldly to himself and turned to leave.
"Is the Heavenly Inquiry Sect really impressive? Brother Shi, I’ll be right back."
Not wanting to be looked down upon, Ai Wenhong also targeted a boat of the second tier and soared towards it.
"Sir, for your own good, you’d better step down."
A man with a robust aura and a cold tone, holding a gun, stood on the ship.
"It’s not yet decided who will step down."
Drawing his sword, Ai Wenhong launched a series of attacks. Sword light emanated from 16 directions, rapidly attacking the man with the gun.
Stepping back, the gun-wielding man transformed into a brilliant light to meet the attack.
In a matter of moments, the two exchanged dozens of moves, their sword light and spear shadow all converging into one mass.
Although Ai Wenhong is not as successful as Shi Xiaole, having reached the second level of the Dragon Gate Realm at 23, he is considered top-tier in Xuanwu State. From within the spear shadow, he twisted his wrist and directly flung the other’s long spear away.
The whole process only lasted a few moments.
"I don’t lose to nameless people, leave your name."
The man with the spear looked unhappy.
It’s not that he was significantly worse than Ai Wenhong. During the boat-seizing stage, everyone agreed not to use their ultimate arts or abuse their cultivation levels, instead resorting to basic moves, which challenged personal reactionary skills.
"My surname is Ai, with Wen on top and Hong below."
With his chest held high, Ai Wenhong paid no further attention to the spear-holding man. He winked down at the others and said, "Brother Shi, sister-in-law, come on board quickly. I can’t wait to have a drink with you by the Linjiang river."
Two figures landed on the ship almost simultaneously.
Shi Xiaole, clad in a blue robe, was incomparably handsome with his refined demeanor.
Next to him, Ren Mengzhen was smiling gently. Her flowing black chiffon dress swaying lightly in the breeze enhanced her beauty and gave her an enchanting, otherworldly charm.
When the two of them stood together, they naturally formed an extraordinarily harmonious picture.
After Ai Wenhong defeated the spear-wielding man, who was also a well-known racer, no one tried to make trouble for Ai Wenhong.
"Xiaole!"
With two swooshing sounds, two more people landed on the deck.
One was an elegant middle-aged man with a long beard and the other was a young swordsman with bright eyes and delicate features. It was none other than the Crown Sword Marquis and Yang Feng.
The one who called out was the Crown Sword Marquis.
"Brother Zhou, Brother Yang, you guys are here too."
Shi Xiaole immediately greeted them with a rare look of happiness on his face.
"Hahaha, how could we miss such a grand event?"
Yang Feng was tremendously excited.
Ever since he apprenticed to a master of the way of the sword half a year ago, his progress could be described as leaps and bounds. Every day brought about something new. Even his master praised his progress without end.
He wasn’t supposed to leave his master so soon, but with the start of the Linjiang Immortal party approaching, his master took the initiative to let him go and test himself. This was also a way to verify his half-year’s gains. Naturally, Yang Feng couldn’t refuse.
Of course, compared to himself, Yang Feng believed that Shi Xiaole would not be far behind. All in all, he was full of anticipation for this event.
After a quick introduction by Shi Xiaole, the new arrivals got acquainted and returned to the cabin together.
Soon after, the clashes for the 500 boats also came to a conclusion.
"Set sail."
Someone shouted from the riverside, and the 500 boats simultaneously sailed into the mirror-like Linjiang river.
