Chapter 491: Chapter 490: Intense Battle
"The martial world’s unrivaled technique of controlling the sword with Qi, unbelievably reappears in this world. Oh heavens, who can tell me if this is reality or just an illusion?"
"I can’t believe that there’s someone in the martial world today who has mastered this skill."
The emergence of controlling the sword with Qi, like a depth charge, sent waves of shock through everyone’s hearts.
This was true for the heroes, for the prodigies, and even those old, wise sages of the martial world who remain unflustered even when a mountain crumbles before them.
"It is said that the ability to control the sword with Qi is a divine talent. You either have it or you don’t, and no amount of practice can make up for it. Is this Shi Xiaole truly a born swordsman?"
A venerable elder murmured to himself, his face filled with an incomparable shock.
This technique is not considered unparalleled due to its power, but because of the enormous difficulty in mastering it, in some ways, it is even harder than understanding the Heavenly Sword Realm.
After all, although reaching the Heavenly Sword Realm seems impossible, as long as one has enough talent and foundation, coupled with time, there is still a chance of success.
But with controlling the sword with Qi, it’s entirely dependent on talent. Without that particular aptitude, no amount of talent or training will suffice.
However, one thing is certain. Any swordsman who masters controlling the sword with Qi is definitely a genius among swordsmen, possessing superhuman understanding of the sword.
Looking at Shi Xiaole casually brandishing his sword, from a distance of thirty feet, he caused the long sword to shoot out various Sword Qis, forcing Yu Wen Cang to retreat step by step. The scene of him in such disarray caused the hearts of the many heroes present to tremble.
Especially the swordsmen present, they were even more moved and lost in their thoughts.
They saw in Shi Xiaole the image of a swordsman that had only existed in their dreams.
"Back off!"
With his arm continually bleeding, Yu Wen Cang’s face slightly pale, his heavy punches finally managed to send the Hidden Edge Sword flying away.
From thirty feet away, Shi Xiaole caught the hilt of the sword with one hand.
Controlling the sword with Qi seems easy, but in reality, it consumes a lot of mental focus. It requires the concentration of the mind, spirit, and body needle-thin, forming a bridge between the person and the sword. Moreover, one’s own rhythm must coincide with the sword’s, only then can it be possible to execute.
It is not easy to explain, and even harder to execute.
In fact, even Shi Xiaole discovered this talent accidentally. He succeeded with just one thought and is still puzzled to this day.
The distance of thirty feet is Shi Xiaole’s current limit. Therefore, after barely executing a few moves, he was broken by the reenergized Yu Wen Cang.
However, Shi Xiaole had a feeling that controlling the sword with Qi has infinite possibilities. In the future, once his mental focus and sword realm are both elevated, the power might break through in an unexpected way!
"You dare to make me bleed?"
His hair and beard fluttering, Yu Wen Cang was on the verge of rage. As the top prodigy of Xuanwu State, who had vowed to dominate his peers, how could he be defeated by an unknown upstart?
If that is the case, does he still have the qualifications to challenge Yu Zhao?
"Three Yang Prosperity!"
His bulky body shot out like a shuttle, and before reaching halfway, Yu Wen Cang’s enormous fist was already hovering over Shi Xiaole’s head. Suddenly, people seemed to see three suns rising simultaneously, radiating radiant light.
Each beam of light corresponded to a punch, dense and innumerable. When they landed on the Glazed Fairy Platform, it immediately left the surface of the platform with mottled scratches.
"Close to Heavenly Martial Realm!"
Swordsmen have the Heavenly Sword Realm, similarly knife-wielders and spear-wielders, as well as those who use fists and feet, all have corresponding realms.
Only because calling these realms by their specific names would be confusing, they are all commonly referred to in the martial world as the Heavenly Martial Realm.
As a prodigy at the same level as Li Zifeng, it’s not surprising that Yu Wen Cang exhibits this level of realm. People simply want to see how Shi Xiaole will respond.
A torrent of sword thrusts like the exploding waves, cutting through everything. With a few swift movements of his sword, Shi Xiaole managed to halve the power of the three blazing fists. And when they reached him, he quickly dodged them with his swift movements.
Closely approaching the Heavenly Sword Realm, and on par with Li Zifeng!
Despite some people guessing, when they actually saw it, they still couldn’t help but be taken aback.
Where did this Shi Xiaole come from? Except for not having a superior low-quality sword technique, in any other aspect, he does not fall short to Li Zifeng, and even knows how to control the sword with Qi.
"Four Suns Rise Together."
"Five Suns Create Fate."
Yu Wen Cang’s each punch was better than the last. Under the power of the Heavenly Martial Realm he nearly approached, his punches were incomparably fierce. At a critical moment, his body flew forward with his fist, greatly increasing his speed.
Second-tier superior Flying Skill, punch movement technique.
As the top prodigy of the Tianyuan Association, it would be strange if Yu Wen Cang hadn’t learned second-tier superior Flying Skills. He didn’t use them before simply because he wanted to win in one go, and was waiting for the perfect opportunity.
However, Yu Wen Cang had underestimated Shi Xiaole in the end.
No matter how he attacked, changed tactics, and caught him off guard, Shi Xiaole always seemed to respond one step ahead. Coupled with the boost from Wind True Intent, he repeatedly managed to avoid his attacks.
On the contrary, it was Yu Wen Cang who frequently used his unique skills, leading to rapid energy consumption. Seizing an opportunity, Shi Xiaole cut him repeatedly with his sword.
"Hahaha, hahaha ..."
Looking at his bleeding arms, Yu Wen Cang suddenly let out a big laugh, like a lion on the verge of madness.
"Shi Xiaole, do you know, you are the first man who has ever forced me into such a miserable state, even Yu Zhao never managed to do so."
Laughing stopped, Yu Wen Cang said word by word.
Everyone was still immersed in the shock brought by Shi Xiaole. Hearing this, they finally began to come to their senses.
Indeed, looking back at the battle today, Yu Wen Cang, who has always been oppressive, has never had the upper hand. On the contrary, it’s Shi Xiaole, who seems restrained, but in reality has shown his striking ability, suppressing his opponent throughout the battle.
Looking back at the previous battles of his opponent, hasn’t every single one of them been like this? Dominating the opponent from start to finish, winning without a doubt!
They hadn’t thought about it clearly, but after careful consideration, everyone’s gaze towards Shi Xiaole changed completely.
"This man is too terrifying, he seems to have a very special quality that can bewitch others. Only when you really pay attention can you understand his tactics."
Tong Baizhan uttered in a low voice.
His words sounded like nonsense, but on the side, Yu Meiren nodded in agreement.
The so-called outstanding ones, the truly extraordinary ones, will leave a deep impression with their aura. People like Yu Wen Cang, Li Zifeng, and even Yu Zhao.
In Yu Meiren’s impression, aside from being handsome, Shi Xiaole does not have much that is strange about him. Yet, he does not merge with the crowd, enticing people to overlook him.
Just like his strength, every time makes people think that he has reached his limit. However, the next time comes around, he breaks through imagination and shocks them once again.
"You don’t know the true face of Mount Tai, only because you are in this mountain."
At this moment, these two sentences suddenly appeared in Yu Meiren’s mind.
"Brother Shi, your strength has already become so formidable. Compared to you, I’m too ashamed to call myself a genius."
Aboard the ship where the disciples of Water Moon Sect were, the ’Water Moon Swordsman’ Fan Donglai couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.
He couldn’t imagine how Shi Xiaole had cultivated. Even if he happened upon a great stroke of luck, his martial arts realm couldn’t have been built in a day, right?
"Brother Shi, can you defeat Yu Wen Cang?"
Ai Wenhong didn’t know what to say. He turned his head to look at Crown Sword Marquis and Yang Feng, both in a state of stupefaction.
He thought he had estimated Shi Xiaole highly enough, but he now realizes that he still underestimated him. While Shi Xiaole’s direct attack power was not as potent as his sister’s, his overall combat power might even exceed hers.
"Initially, my last resort was to be used against Yu Zhao and Li Zifeng. However, you’re lucky enough to experience it in advance."
Yu Wen Cang calmed down, but this calmness seemed more like the prelude to a storm, oppressing everyone’s spirits, making their breaths quicken.
"At this stage, what other trump cards could there be?"
The crowd secretly marveled.
Regardless of cultivation, True Intent, or martial arts realm, the level demonstrated by Yu Wen Cang was not weaker than Li Zifeng.
The only surprise was probably that Shi Xiaole was not afraid of the Overbearing True Intent, which forced Yu Wen Cang to resort to using just 20% of the Gold True Intent in combination with the Positive Pole Fist. Otherwise, if it were Li Zifeng, it might not be the same situation.
Before the crowd could guess, a domineering and terrifying aura, like a volcanic eruption, shot out of Yu Wen Cang’s body.
The void made a noisy hum, and the Glazed Fairy Platform also sunk down dramatically because of the appearance of this aura, a large area being submerged by the river.
"Fifth Tier of Dragon’s Gate Realm, did Yu Wen Cang break through to the Fifth Tier of Dragon’s Gate Realm?"
"Is this his trump card? No wonder he’s so confident."
There was a moment of silence in the Immortal Gorge, then discussions broke out like boiling water, the noise reaching the sky.
Everyone’s face was filled with deep astonishment.
While Dragon Gate Realm Fourth Tier and Fifth Tier only differed by one Tier, for a genius like Yu Wen Cang, the difference of one Tier reflects a striking disparity in strength.
"I originally thought that Shi Xiaole might have a chance to create a miracle, but now it looks like he’ll mostly fail at the last hurdle."
"To be able to fight up to this point, what more do you want from him? At least besides the four great geniuses, Shi Xiaole has no equals."
While Shi Xiaole did suppress Yu Wen Cang who was at the Fourth Tier of the Dragon’s Gate Realm, everyone was clear that this was because he was not like others and fearless in front of the Overbearing True Intent.
If he were to face Li Zifeng, under the latter’s threefold Rotten True Intent, along the push of the Red Maple Swordsmanship, it’s debatable whether Shi Xiaole could dodge.
So to be conservative, his strength was still considered the best of the rest under the top four geniuses, not enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the top four.
"Yu Wen Cang has a trump card, but how do you all know that Shi Xiaole doesn’t have one too? From the start of the celestial event until now, he’s been one of the people who has kept his abilities hidden the deepest."
Of course, there are also people who hold a different view, their stance slowly leaning towards Shi Xiaole, anticipating his continued ’reveal of strength’.
"Hmph, I just don’t believe that you can match up to the full strength of my brother."
Yuwen Yan clenched her small fists; she had full confidence in Yu Wen Cang from the beginning to the end. She had seen her brother’s full strength in action, and this level of power could easily crush Shi Xiaole.
"Give up, otherwise there may be accidental injuries."
Yu Wen Cang looked indifferently at Shi Xiaole.
If possible, he would prefer to defeat his opponent at the same realm, but it didn’t matter now. After all, after defeating Shi Xiaole, the next challenge would be against Yu Zhao, his trump card would be revealed sooner or later.
"Give up? I’m afraid you’re not yet qualified."
Fighting up to this point, Shi Xiaole had more or less figured out Yu Wen Cang’s way of fighting, and he did not want to continue concealing his strength.
As he spoke, a magnificent and shocking Sword Qi spread out from him towards all directions as if merging with heaven and earth.
At this moment, the clanging sound was endless; all the swordsman’s own swords, including Li Zifeng’s, drew themselves automatically as if they were seeing the ruler among swords, pledging their loyalty.
