Chapter 483: Chapter 482: Like a Wildfire
"Senior Sister’s Rainbow Sword Technique, it was broken?"
Tan Qingyan tightened her pretty fist, finding it hard to believe.
In her eyes, Hua Yunshang was a female swordmaster second only to a few people like Li Zifeng. Although her strength was not all-encompassing, she was at least in the top ten among her peers in Shuntian Capital.
Unexpectedly, in her first appearance, she was suppressed from beginning to end and defeated cleanly.
Recalling her own battle with Shi Xiaole, Tan Qingyan felt an unreal sense as if she was dreaming.
"This man is quite a handful."
On a ship not far away, a group of Tianluo Sect disciples sat, their leader looking particularly serious.
Half a year ago, the sect had ordered some of its strongest disciples to bring back Shi Xiaole to investigate Luo Wenxu’s death, but later, those strong disciples disappeared without a trace.
After analysis, the sect unanimously deduced it had something to do with Shi Xiaole, but they had been unable to find Shi Xiaole’s whereabouts in the Martial World for more than half a year.
Therefore, when they saw Shi Xiaole, many Tianluo Sect disciples secretly prepared to capture him after the immortal meeting. However, it seems that their strength is far from enough.
"I lost."
Since her debut, Hua Yunshang had experienced numerous losses, but the most memorable ones were three.
The first time, she was defeated by Yu Zhao. The second time, she was defeated by Yu Wen Cang, and the third time was today.
She was still bewildered about her loss to Yu Zhao and didn’t understand how she lost.
Against Yu Wen Cang, she was suppressed by his violent fist strength before she could even draw her sword, and she surrendered wholeheartedly.
But losing to Shi Xiaole had a different feeling from the previous two. It felt like she was inferior to him in every way from inside to out. The gap wasn’t large, but when combined, it presented a one-sided defeat.
The feeling of being able to fight once more, yet instinctively knowing that Shi Xiaole was unfathomable, made Hua Yunshang as frustrated and repressed as if she were going mad.
If she could help it, she didn’t want to cross swords with him again unless she was 100% confident of victory.
"I am very curious, how did you see through ’Rainbow Cloud Cover’?"
Concerning a sect secret, Hua Yunshang spoke to Shi Xiaole through sound transmission.
"You overestimate me. I didn’t see through your move. I merely responded according to the changes in your aura."
Hua Yunshang inhaled lightly.
Her aura shifts were minute, yet he could sense them even during the heat of battle. What kind of heart does this man possess?
"No wonder Luo Wenxu lost to you."
Giving Shi Xiaole a deep look, Hua Yunshang leapt off the Glazed Fairy Platform.
Just like the others, she also began to wonder where Shi Xiaole would rank among all the swordsmen in Shuntian Capital.
After all, there were a few people who, although not as comprehensive as Shi Xiaole, had terrifying strengths in specific areas that could counter his type.
As for Li Zifeng, everyone knew that he never accepted challenges from people with lower cultivation than himself, so Shi Xiaole didn’t even have a chance to face off against him.
Even if he did, no one would believe that Shi Xiaole had the strength to beat Li Zifeng.
"Two Hundred and Seventeen years into the Flying Horse Dynasty, in the evening of September the 7th, at 7 p.m., Shi Xiaole won two battles against Xiahou Liang and Hua Yunshang. I estimate his skill level to rank fifth among the young swordsmen of Shuntian."
Just as Huangfu Duan finished saying that on the largest ship in Immortal Gorge, someone nearby immediately noted it down.
On a long parchment scroll, in addition to the writing, there were numerous ink drawings. They depicted crucial moments from the two previous battles of Shi Xiaole.
"Mr. Huangfu, don’t you have a dedicated person recording this?"
Fang Wanwan pointed to the over five hundred people on the deck, each responsible for one individual from the Divine Strategy Academy, his words filled with doubt.
"Uncle Fang, for some people worthy of attention, Huangfu Duan will make additional records," Huangfu Duan laughingly explained.
"I see. It seems that Mr. Huangfu should conserve his energy instead. Otherwise, when Yu Zhao and Li Zifeng start to act, I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it."
"Hahaha, no matter how busy, as long as you enjoy it, there is nothing to fear."
The moonlight on the horizon became increasingly hazy, casting down patches of gentle illumination.
"In the battle with Xiahou Liang, I used 20% of my strength, with Hua Yunshang it was 30%, neither of them provided enough stimulation."
As of today, even Shi Xiaole himself couldn’t estimate how powerful he had become. The previous two battles, totaling several hundred moves, only hyped him up.
In fact, if it weren’t for Ai Wenhong, he wouldn’t have made his move so early. As he saw it, looking at the entire Linjiang Immortal Conference, the only ones worthy of fighting against him were scarce.
With a soft sigh, Shi Xiaole drifted back to the boat. His elegant figure, under the moonlight, not only fell into the waters of Linjiang, but also into many hearts.
"Brother Shi..."
Ai Wenhong rose to greet him, patting Shi Xiaole on the shoulder, the usually talkative him, astonishingly fell silent.
Everything was left unsaid.
Returning a favor with a favor, talking too much about such matters would seem pretentious.
"Congratulations, Brother Shi, you are about to become famous again."
Ren Mengzhen’s breathtaking face bore a slight dimpled smile, then she swiftly changed the subject, "However, this is not enough to impress me."
"Oh? What will impress you?"
Shi Xiaole remained silent, Ai Wenhong took the initiative to ask.
"Unless, someone can defeat all the heroes at the Immortal Conference, being invincible all the way."
Ai Wenhong choked on her words, unable to speak.
Three years ago, even Yu Zhao, who was hailed as unparalleled in talent and extraordinary in aptitude, the so-called ’Little Lord’, did not accomplish this feat.
At the time, Yu Zhao and Yu Wen Cang engaged in a fierce battle of over nine thousand moves before Yu Zhao finally won by a narrow margin. Unfortunately, both of them were significantly injured and naturally unable to recover within a few days.
Li Zifeng, a highly arrogant person, was unwilling to take advantage of their compromised states, thus never fought with them.
As a result, there emerged the three top talents.
Because Yu Zhao was younger than the other two, he was crowned by some people as the top talent of Shuntian Capital.
Shi Xiaole was indeed impressive, but if you were to claim that he could accomplish something that the three top talents had not, not even people close to him like Crown Sword Marquis or Yang Feng could believe it.
Ignoring Ren Mengzhen’s words, Shi Xiaole returned to his original seat, watching with interest the competition taking place on the Glazed Fairy Platform.
What others think has nothing to do with him.
With the spare time, it would be better to watch the competitions of others carefully. Perhaps there might be something useful to learn.
With Shi Xiaole’s outstanding performance earlier, the subsequent matches were somewhat disappointing. Many people found them boring and eagerly anticipated the arrival of stronger opponents.
Martial artists generally have much more energy than ordinary people.
Participants in the Linjiang Immortal Conference, including juniors whose skills were mainly at the Dragon Gate Realm level, all had powerful vitality. They could stay awake day and night without any trouble.
However, the competition paused when it reached midnight.
From then until dawn, it was a time for the martial artists to digest what they had learned during the day. After all, the main purpose of the Immortal Conference is not just competition, but also mutual exchange and learning, which should not be neglected.
The eastern sky was faintly showing a whitish hue.
Dawn on the eighth day of September had arrived.
Compared with the first day, the second day’s contest was undoubtedly more exciting. The participating martial artists who took the stage were clearly stronger, with several reaching the third level of the Dragon Gate Realm.
At the beginning of the Immortal Conference, those truly strong did not usually appear.
This was not only to give opportunities to others; if the competition began with clashes between the strongest, how would the ’weaker’ ones have the chance to show their skills?
Furthermore, it was a chance to observe the opponents.
In contrast, Ai Wenhong broke the norm. Given his strength level, he should have appeared on the second day at the earliest.
Amid various fierce competitions, be it friendly or with hidden threats, time moved on to the fifth day of the Immortal Conference.
By this time, most of the talented participants had made their moves in one way or another.
On the Glazed Fairy Platform, the highest level of competition had finally begun.
The competitors were Jia Ning, an expert in killing techniques who had once vied with Ai Wenqian for the painting boat, known as ’Half-Inch Kill’, and Liang Shuhao of Heavenly Inquiry Sect, nicknamed ’No Strategy to Employ’.
"Brother Liang, bring out your Ninth Level Heavenly Inquiry Devine Skill, or else you can’t defeat me."
After over six hundred moves, the result was still inconclusive. Jia Ning chuckled with his breath slightly disordered.
"You don’t need to remind me."
Liang Shuhao replied icily, crossing his hands. A silver-grey aura erupted around him, seemingly drawing forces from the surrounding world, absorbing its power to strengthen himself.
"The Heavenly Inquiry Divine Skill is a top-grade inferior-class internal skill. It is said that when cultivated to the perfect thirteenth level, one can infinitely absorb the forces of heaven and earth. Liang Shuhao is only twenty-eight years old but has already cultivated to the ninth level. No wonder some people say he’s the most likely to attain the ultimate level of the Heavenly Inquiry Divine Skill."
"The two of them are indeed extraordinary talents ranked among the top fifteen in Xuanwu State or even in Shuntian Capital. Judging from the situation just now, either of them could defeat the talents who’ve appeared in the past five days. It’s just uncertain who will win this duel."
Everyone was holding their breath in anticipation.
"Heaven-Asking Divine Fist!"
As the aura reached the peak, Liang Shuhao suddenly threw out a punch. With the enhancement of his cultivation level at the peak of the third level of the Dragon Gate Realm, the powerful momentum of his punch was like a laser beam piercing the void that could destroy anything touch.
Many martial artists on the ships nearly a kilometer behind Jia Ning felt threatened and their faces changed color, subconsciously gathering their strength, fearful of being affected by the punch.
"Half-Inch World’s End!"
At the same time, Jia Ning made his move too.
His weapon was a dagger hidden in his sleeve. The overwhelming killing intent seemed to form a protective shield around Jia Ning, repelling most of the punch’s momentum.
"Killing intent can be used like this?"
Someone shouted out.
The surprise hadn’t ended yet. Under the influence of the killing intent, Jia Ning’s body maneuvered a lightning bolt shape on the Glazed Fairy Platform. His right hand, holding the dagger, stabbed down sharply.
Swish!
A spray of blood spurted out.
It was not Liang Shuhao’s blood , but Jia Ning’s.
"The Heaven-Asking Divine Fist doesn’t question the heaven, it analyses the heart of the opponent. Your every move is under my control."
Looking at the pale-faced Jia Ning, Liang Shuhao withdrew his fist, ignoring the shocked gazes around him and scanning the crowd for Ren Mengzhen.
He was the real strong one, how could that Shi Xiaole compare to him?
