Chapter 541: Chapter 540 You Can’t Escape My Flying Knife
As top-ranking practitioners, it’s hard to sense each other’s presence unless they’re extremely close in proximity. Xiahou Zong’s primary target was Shi Xiaole, causing top-ranking practitioners like Ai Yinglong to fail to notice him.
The moment trouble reared its head, Ai Yinglong and others swooped in.
The man wrapped in flames was none other than Xiahou Zong. Without wasting words, he readied his strike and threw a punch that exploded mid-air into two massive red and black fireballs.
Within the sweep of the fireballs, the area was ablaze for hundreds of meters around him. Within the epicenter, an area of fifty meters radiated brilliant red, greatly affecting everyone’s line of sight.
"Yama’s Noose!"
An obscure shadow filled with a death-like aura suddenly swooped towards Shi Xiaole. Even the scorching Palm Power automatically receded as if swallowed by it.
The one who struck was an ugly elder from the Tianyan Sect.
From the beginning, they had gotten information about the carriage Shi Xiaole was in from Elder Ying, and predicted several possible scenarios.
Thus, the moment Shi Xiaole dodged, the ugly elder’s attack reached him.
"From existence into non-existence."
Feeling a chill crawl over him, Shi Xiaole immediately activated the Undying Seven Illusions. The instant the shadow of death drew near, it was met with the disruptive sawtooth-like invisible force. Sparks flew between them, shooting out dozens of meters away, each one possessing the destructive power to puncture iron.
In this mutual clash, the power of Undying Seven Illusions was eroded, while the death shadow let go of nearly 50% of its strength, with half still entering Shi Xiaole’s body.
Chipping at him incessantly.
Of this half, only a third was transformed into Shi Xiaole’s Vigorous Air, while the remaining two-thirds savagely damaged Shi Xiaole’s tendons and bones, causing his entire body to violently shake as a mist of blood sprayed from his mouth.
The Undying Seven Illusions can protect against an opponent’s attack, but this is contingent upon whether the attack itself surpasses its own limit of tolerance.
It’s clear, a full-on strike from a top-ranking practitioner possesses the power to heavily damage, if not kill Shi Xiaole outright.
While his body volleyed through the air, Shi Xiaole hastily activated a maneuver, moving as stealthily as a ghost in the night. A fierce and unparalleled claw force grazed past him, sending him flying once again, this time even coughing up shards of his liver.
"You son of a bitch, still alive?"
Lu Zixiong burst into mad laughter at the sight of Shi Xiaole coughing up blood. Every single pore of his body simmered with unspeakable exhilaration.
At the same time, high-level practitioners like the Nine Cliffs Lord attacked from pre-arranged positions, aiming to capture Shi Xiaole in one fell swoop.
All of this happened in a flash. Before Ai Yinglong and others could react, Shi Xiaole was nearly snatched up by them.
"Touch him and I’ll chop you to pieces!"
The polite features on Ai Yinglong’s face contorted as he unsheathed his sword, casting the Water Sky Sword Technique. The burning atmosphere was swept clean by his sword’s Qi, causing a chill to run down the spines of the Nine Cliffs Lord and others.
"Mortal Annihilation."
The ugly elder blocked mid-air. He conjured a small orb with his hands that exploded, its death force wrapped around the permeating sword Qi, causing a corrosive sound.
"Universe in Chaos."
Yu Qinghe was no slower than Ai Yinglong.
Amplified by ninety percent Teleportation True Intent, a single gray dot split into two, then four, quickly forming numerous illusions. These, in turn, transformed into swirling whirlpools that surged forth, causing even the void to seem displaced.
In the Linjiang Immortal Meeting, Yu Zhao had used this move against Shi Xiaole, but now his father was using it to save his life.
"Three Yang Divine Claws!"
In the midst of his cruel laughter, Lu Zixiong’s beard and hair stood on end. His ten fingers curled into claws, and he thrust out his Yang energy, which, like a great river, ferociously pierced through the violent gray whirlpools.
His blow continued unhindered, colliding with Yu Qinghe’s forearm and causing a cloud of dust within fifty meters, sinking the ground by three feet.
"Heavenly Inquiry Ancestor, your opponent is me."
Xiahou Zong’s body flared with raging fire, leaving behind a trail of heavy red fire as he intercepted a purple-faced elder.
"Inquiry of the Heavens, Third Stance."
The purple-faced elder’s mouth bulged, emitting powerful sound waves.
The first one exploded Xiahou Zong’s flaming aura into sparks.
The second one shattered Xiahou Zong’s protective Vigorous Air.
By the time the third one was out, Xiahou Zong, who had reacted, blocked it with both hands. The rebounding sound wave actually collapsed a peak hundreds of meters away.
The three top-ranking practitioners were each held off by their opponents, and it appeared that Shi Xiaole was about to be overrun. A deep blue blade streaked across the sky, creating a sound like roiling tide, as if a violent summer sea storm was on the horizon.
Sea Tide Heart Extinguishing Blade!
At the critical moment, the Tide Gate leader made his move.
"Stop it!"
A high-ranking practitioner from the Tianyuan Association tossed out a silver iron bead, which inflated upon contact with the wind and formed a giant net.
The blue blade light pressed down against the net, but for every inch it was pushed down, the blade was subsequently weakened by an inch. Eventually, the net sprang back, shattering the blade light.
"This is the King Yama’s Unyielding I acquired years ago, capable of withstanding three attacks from a top-ranking practitioner."
Looking at all this, Lu Zixiong was somewhat proud and somewhat upset.
King Yama’s Unyielding didn’t come from the Shu Tang Sect, but was something he found in an ancient ruin. He had planned to keep it for his own protection, but in order to capture Shi Xiaole, Lu Zixiong gritted his teeth and handed it over to the practitioners in his Association.
No pain, no gain.
As long as he could capture Shi Xiaole and force his martial arts knowledge out, what was the mere King Yama’s Unyielding? At that time, he would be King Yama, killing whomever he pleased on a whim.
Several streams of Vigorous Air, with an unstoppable momentum, attacked Shi Xiaole at the very center. The Nine Cliffs Lord was the fastest, only thirty feet away from Shi Xiaole.
Everything came so suddenly that the masters of the Ai Family went blank, even their thoughts seemed to have stopped.
"From life into death."
Faced with this desperate situation, there was still no panic on Shi Xiaole’s face.
One could see his body parallel to the ground, his arms outstretched then gathered in. Under the influence of invisible force, he successfully avoided the other high-ranking Lords and his chest even moved actively towards the palm of the Nine Cliffs Lord.
"What?"
The smug expression on the face of the Nine Cliffs Lord suddenly changed.
This was because Shi Xiaole’s palm power also aimed at his neck. The opponent’s move had a terrifying magic power, which forced him to face the same dead end.
At the brink of life and death, the Nine Cliffs Lord subconsciously withdrew his move, moved to the side to avoid, opening a path.
Using illusion techniques, Shi Xiaole moved to Ai Yinglong’s side with a leap, completely escaping the danger.
"You scaredy-cat!"
Lu Zixiong was furious, his hair standing on end.
A guaranteed victory was ruined. He had exposed Elder Ying from the Heavenly Inquiry Sect and gave up King Yama’s Unyielding to save his own life. He was so close to success, yet it fell apart at the last moment?
Xiahou Zong’s face was also very ugly.
To be honest, if sacrificing the Nine Cliffs Lord could capture Shi Xiaole, he wouldn’t mind at all.
But now, Ai Yinglong and the others had come to their senses. With their protection, trying to capture Shi Xiaole again was as difficult as ascending to heaven.
’Lu Zixiong, Xiahou Zong, you shameless villains, you’ve lost the face of Lords!"
Ai Yinglong took a deep breath, looking angrily at the opposite.
Lu Zixiong laughed wildly, saying, "Those who accomplish great things do not stick to details! This time we made a mistake, but there will be a second time, and a third time. I don’t believe this kid is so lucky."
"Lu Zixiong, it seems like you can’t wait to kill me."
Shi Xiaole looked at Lu Zixiong, with a chilling calmness in his tone.
"What do you think? Bastard, I really regret letting you go so easily before, otherwise there wouldn’t have been a chance for you to run wild!"
"Let slip easily? Why are you flattering yourself? You couldn’t kill me that’s all, Lu Zixiong, you are just a complete loser."
Seemingly hit where it hurt, Lu Zixiong’s face turned red, then purple, every pore of his body exuded murderous intent.
Everyone had no doubt, given a chance, he would tear Shi Xiaole into pieces.
Shi Xiaole chuckled, "Lu Zixiong, believe it or not, today is your doomsday."
"Hahaha, who in the room can kill me?"
"I."
Lu Zixiong was stunned, followed by a burst of laughter, as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world: "You, who do you think you are? One-on-one, I can crush you with one hand."
Not to mention Lu Zixiong, even Ai Yinglong, Yu Qinghe and other experts close to Shi Xiaole were also puzzled, thinking his statement was too arrogant, too absolute.
Amidst the sound of the wind, the experts who had been drawn off by Elder Ying one by one returned. When they saw the situation in front of them, they seemed to have thought of something. Having just heard Shi Xiaole’s words, they looked at each other.
"Overconfident, what does he have up his sleeves to kill Lu Zixiong?"
The masters of the Tang Family Fortress also arrived at this place from a distance. Tang Jingtian also sneered, wishing Shi Xiaole would make a fool of himself on the spot.
The one next to him, Tang Ao, watched quietly, deep in thought.
Amidst this eerie atmosphere, Shi Xiaole suddenly took out a knife.
Not the thick-backed broad blade often seen in the Martial World, nor was it a Goose Feather Blade. It was a small knife, only seven inches long, as thin as a willow leaf.
Such a small knife might be fashioned by a craftsman in about three 2-hour periods, truly nothing out of the ordinary.
"Believe it or not, you can’t avoid the flying knife in my hand."
Shi Xiaole said indifferently.
"Hahaha, a bragging child trying to bluff, do you think I’m easily scared?"
As an elite Lord, Lu Zixiong’s vision was naturally unmatched. Even fifty meters away, he could clearly see a mosquito’s eyes.
All mechanical hidden weapons must have a special structure. But he observed carefully and found that the small knife in Shi Xiaole’s hand was indeed just a common knife from the market.
Even with the craftsmanship of the Shu Tang Sect, it was impossible to hide any mechanism in such a willow-shaped, unvarying seven-inch small knife.
"Has this kid gone insane?"
Tang Jingtian’s first reaction was that the flying knife was a hidden weapon. But after careful contemplation, he realized that there was no such hidden weapon in Tang Sect, so he felt relieved.
"Xiaole, what on earth are you trying to do?"
Ai Yinglong transmitted a secret message.
He was standing right next to Shi Xiaole and, of course, saw more clearly that this was just an ordinary knife.
His intuition told him that Shi Xiaole wouldn’t shoot without a target, but he really couldn’t figure out how the other party was going to kill Lu Zixiong.
