Chapter 476: Chapter 475: Martial World Gathering (Thanks to the head ’poonlo’)
"The Immortal Meeting at Linjiang is finally about to begin."
"Last time, the three top geniuses led the way, overshadowing the rest. I wonder if anyone will challenge them this time?"
"It’s difficult. Those three geniuses are rarely seen in the Xuanwu State over the past centuries. Their progress over three years equals the progress of ordinary talents over ten, even dozens of years. Unless there are surprises, the gap will only grow."
In the tranquil Linjiang, there is a peculiar sector where a stone tower is erected every few dozens of meters.
The tower stands three hundred meters high. The bottom hundred meters serve as the foundations, covering an area of several thousands of square meters. Starting from the two hundred meters above, it is divided into sixty-six levels, and each level is packed with people from the martial world.
This is the Guanxian Tower.
Originally, only those with strong abilities, or those who had an intimate relationship with the boat owner, were qualified to enter Immortal Gorge to personally witness the Immortal Meeting at Linjiang.
However, twenty years ago, Fang Wanwan, the richest man in Xuanwu State, splurged money and invited tens of thousands of craftsmen to construct fifty Guanxian Towers along the Linjiang River over several years.
In this way, even if people could not enter Immortal Gorge, many martial arts practitioners could enter the Guanxian Tower to appreciate the splendid scenes of the immortal meeting from afar.
Fifty Guanxian Towers, each level can accommodate five thousand people, totalling one hundred and sixty-five million people, which, at first glance, seems to be a frightfully large number!
However, compared to the entire martial arts community in Xuanwu State, it’s just a drop in the ocean.
After all, to enter the Guanxian Tower, everyone must pay an entry fee of one hundred taels, which not every martial artist can afford.
Seeing five hundred boats, big and small, slowly entering the distant Immortal Gorge, the fifty Guanxian Towers erupted in a collective roar.
On the ninth level of one of the Guanxian Towers...
A man with a stern face leans against railings. The aura emanating from him resonates in a strange way with the barely noticeable turbulent sound from Linjiang.
If Shi Xiaole was there, he would definitely recognize this man; who once was the best swordsman talent in the Great Cold State, Blue Tidal also known as the Tidal Waves Sword Marquis
At the beginning, when Shi Xiaole first came to Great Cold State, it was Blue Tidal who guided him in developing a quick understanding of Sword Heart. Later on, when Shi Xiaole disguised himself as Xie Xiaofeng and was heavily ambushed by the Red Charm Demon at Black Devil Ridge, it was Blue Tidal who came to the rescue and saved his life.
Separated for several years, unexpectedly, this man who had once made countless swordsmen in the Great Cold state feel desolate, had also come to the Xuanwu State.
"There are always higher mountains!"
Blue Tidal muttered to himself, but there was no trace of defeat in his eyes.
The environment is crucial for one’s growth.
After spending several years in Xuanwu State, Blue Tidal had made great progress, greater than at any time in his past. Paired with an unexpected opportunity he seized, his strength had broken through to the first level of the Dragon Gate Realm.
He was confident that he could keep progressing rapidly in the next twenty years. Even becoming a top-notch expert in Xuanwu State was not out of the question.
Although Blue Tidal was indifferent to fame and fortune, sensing the atmosphere of the Immortal Meeting at Linjiang, he felt an urge to test his skills.
As a martial artist, who wouldn’t desire to fight with peers and prove oneself against the world’s heroes?
This was neither belligerence nor vanity, but a natural reaction of any passionate martial artist.
Unfortunately, Blue Tidal was already over thirty years old and could only be a spectator.
On the other hand, even if he, as he is now, was to fight with many of the outstanding martial artists on the ships, he would not stand a chance, let alone the him at thirty.
All he could say was that the geniuses who could make a name for themselves here in Xuanwu State, each one of them was truly an exceptional talent, one in a million.
"Xiaodie, Xingyu, if you were here, you would realize how big the gap is."
Unconsciously, Blue Tidal thought of his daughter Lan Xiaodie and his pupil Tao Xingyu, and sighed. Not to mention the two, even that young man in green who had once amazed him so much, would probably be just like everyone else if he was here.
Xuanwu state was too vast. As Blue Tidal just finished his seclusion, he hadn’t been informed about the events of the Jade Sword Palace and naturally, he didn’t know that Shi Xiaole was somewhat famous in Xuanwu state.
"From my perspective, those three top-ranking geniuses will fall and be defeated by one person."
Everyone was looking forward to the performance of the three top-rated geniuses, but on one level of a Guanxian Tower, someone suddenly sang the opposite tune.
"Old man, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Many people nearby were shocked; a middle-aged sturdy man with the most explosive temper immediately shouted at the blind old man who was stirring up trouble.
The blind old man held a battered Erhu in his hands; an alert little girl stood next to him, glaring at the middle-aged strong man.
"Although I am blind, I have a pair of heart-eyes and can sense certain things."
The blind old man playing the Erhu replied with a smile.
"Sense? Hahaha, aren’t you just a fortune-telling blind man trying to deceive people? You say these three top geniuses will be defeated by someone. Dare I ask, who is this great person?"
The middle-aged man roared.
"The secrets of heaven must not be revealed; I don’t know either. But there must be such a person."
"Old blind man, I, Jiang, really don’t believe in evil! If things really happen as you said, I, Jiang, will gouge out these eyeballs for you."
The blind old man playing the Erhu shook his head: "Not good, not good. If the hero loses his eyeballs, how can he fight for justice? Besides, what use would I, an old man, have for your eyeballs?"
"You..."
The middle-aged sturdy man was furious.
Listening to the blind old man’s confident words, everyone privately shook their heads.
Some people just like to stend out, to display their uniqueness. Over the past few years, indeed, Xuanwu State has produced new generation of genius talents.
However, compared with the top three genius talents, there is still an obvious gap. Who can challenge them?
No one!
"When the results come out, I’m curious where you will hide your old face."
The sturdy middle-aged man no longer paid attention to the old man, and continued to discuss with his friends.
"Humph, my grandfather’s words have never been wrong, you all just watch."
Seeing herself and her grandfather being isolated, the little girl stood with her hands on her hips, seething with anger.
...
"Always a bit short."
In the cabin, Shi Xiaole sighed quietly, a concealed sword momentum quietly dissipated from him, unnoticed by anyone.
Back when he was in Jade Sword Palace, he was already just a step away from the Heavenly Sword Realm. After various twists and turns, his understanding of the sword way deepened, and he neared the Heavenly Sword Realm.
Shi Xiaole felt as though there was only a thin piece of paper separating him from this realm, yet he could not break through.
"Hopefully, this meeting can inspire me."
To be honest, Shi Xiaole did not feel much interest in the so-called Linjiang Immortal Meeting.
The reason for his attendance was partly to test his strength and primarily to stimulate himself with the talent of others, to help him break into the Heavenly Sword Realm.
When that time comes, his strength would take a leap.
"Brother Shi, come out to drink."
Ai Wenhong’s voice was heard outside the cabin. Shi Xiaole could only smile helplessly and step out.
From the banks of Linjiang to Immortal Gorge, it takes several days of journey.
Ai Wenhong, who enjoyed drinking, found that Shi Xiaole was quiet but could hold his liquor, and therefore invited him for drinks every day, intending to match up their drinking capacities.
During their drinking, he would invite musicians and dancers to perform. In Ai Wenhong’s words, this was his dream life, free and unrestrained, accompanied by wine and music.
When they passed the Guanxian Tower, they were near the Immortal Gorge.
The sailors unspokenly began to pick up speed. The four barges were out in front, followed closely by the second-class ships. The fishing boats brought up the rear of the fleet.
The width of Immortal Gorge was about twenty meters, and the rocks on both sides blended together at the peak. From a distance, it resembled a human shadow ready to ascend into heaven, hence the name Immortal Gorge.
When the ships entered the gorge, Shi Xiaole’s eyes brightened.
Within the gorge, there was a round rock wall. It was uneven with the higher parts reaching more than twenty meters and the lower parts about three to four meters, enclosing a circle of a river area with a diameter of several kilometers.
The water from the river hit the rock wall, creating a thrilling rhythm.
In the center of the river area, there was a square board about two hundred meters long and wide, floating up and down. The sky’s sunlight shone on it, reflecting multi-colored light.
"This is the Glazed Fairy Platform, made from the essence of western region’s famous glazed stone. It can’t be broken even by high-ranking martial artists of the Dragon Gate Realm and serves as the arena for the immortal meeting."
On the deck, Ai Wenhong explained to Shi Xiaole.
Extracting a drop of glazed stone essence requires dozens of top-quality glazed stones, and much of the essence is lost during the smelting process. The cost of creating a Glazed Fairy Platform with a length and width of two hundred meters is unimaginable.
Without a doubt, this is another demonstration of Fang Wanwan’s lavishness.
On a ship more luxurious than a barge at the southeast of the Glazed Fairy Platform, a fair-skinned fat man was excitedly pointing at the incoming ships. "Hahaha, they’re finally here! I, Fang, most enjoy watching the competition among geniuses. I’m sure to feast my eyes this time!"
In front of him, various famous dishes from Xuanwu State were laid out, filling a long table that was several ten meters long.
"Quick, take note! Two hundred and seventeen years into the Flying Horse Dynasty, on the seventh day of the ninth month, in the Immortal Gorge of Xuanwu State, all the geniuses gather."
Next to the long table, a middle-aged scholar with the complexion of red dates had just spoken when someone immediately began to grind ink, pass paper, and another quickly penned down the statement.
"Mr. Huangfu, your Divine Strategy Academy sends people every year to record everything about the Linjiang Immortal Meeting, but it seems like the scale this year is especially large?"
Fang Wanwan looked at the over five hundred men writing with brushes on the deck, a bit puzzled.
Looking closely, these people were clearly each responsible for a ship. They kept detailed records of the appearance of the ship they were in charge of, including the light, angle, and where it stopped. What was even more exaggerating was that they drew the ship at the end.
Anyone who read their records would feel as if they were present.
"Mr. Fang, you probably don’t know this yet. Starting from the first day of the tenth month, our Divine Strategy Academy will release a Martial World Collection every three months. It will record in detail various major events happening in the Martial World, including the martial artists’ ranking, so that martial artists from various locations can understand the dynamics of the Flying Horse Dynasty’s Martial World."
"This time, Huangfu Duan is here for the talent ranking in Shuntian Capital! This ranking will explicitly rank all talents in Shuntian Capital for the first time and be published in the first volume of the Martial World Collection!"
Huangfu Duan, with his red date complexion, made a shocking statement.
