Chapter 543: Chapter 542: Testing the Sword Under the Moonlight
The monthly issue of the Martial World Publication was due for a release again.
On this day, long queues were forming in front of each bookstore.
Ever since the Martial World Publication started getting issued, each publishing day has become a festival for the entire Martial World.
Whether it was the wandering Martial Artists, experts from distinguished families, or the gang leaders, all were eager to get their hands on the freshly released Martial World Publication to stay updated with the significant events of the past three months.
"My goodness, it’s exceptional! ’Young Dragon’ Zhang Xiangfeng, in order to join in marriage with the Saintess of the Heavenly Snow Mountain, audaciously stepped into the Heavenly Snow Mountain alone with just a sword. He overpowered the twelve monsters of Heavenly Snow and the three saints of the Dianchi Lake, successfully withdrawing unscathed from the hands of the Snow Mountain Master. He is indeed the most outstanding talent after the Martial Emperor."
People exclaimed in astonishment intermittently at the street-side taverns.
Thanks to the Martial World Publication, the warriors from remote states were now aware of every significant event taking place across the Flying Horse Dynasty. By now, most people knew names of the top-tier celebrities of the martial world.
The ’top-tier’ not meaning the individuals with the most strength, but those at the peak in their respective spheres.
Take Zhang Xiangfeng for instance. He was just over fifty, but already had enough capability to cut across the Martial World. Many honored him as the successor to the Martial Emperor, the emerging leader of the Righteous Path.
Of course, there were many who disagreed. They believed the top three on the genius list were not inferior to Zhang Xiangfeng. Thus, triggered by this matter, they sardonically dubbed the four as the ’Four Monsters.’
’Young Dragon’ Zhang Xiangfeng.
’Heavenly Phoenix’ Duanmu Keren.
’Jade Lion’ Mu Ling.
’Mysterious Sparrow’ Gui Zhihang.
Worth mentioning are their nicknames. They weren’t attributed to them by Martial World individuals but were granted by the Celestial Phenomenon Elder when they climbed the Celestial Phenomenon Mountain in Tian State and achieved the best-ever records.
Note that the Celestial Phenomenon Elder had made public appearances extremely infrequently over the past several decades, let alone spoken. Winning attention from numerous people merely from his uttered phrase, even if it was addressed to a beggar, let alone acquiring such a metaphor-rich nickname.
By now in the Flying Horse Dynasty, there existed no young person who didn’t know the names of these Four Monsters. Their fame outshone reputed talents in various places, appearing as the moon outdoes a firefly’s light.
"Eh, look! There’s news about Shi Xiaole in this issue. He seems to have killed many intermediate-class Lords and on top of that, he forced the Nine Cliffs Lord of the Xiahou Clan to step back."
"Are you kidding me?"
Many people out of reflex turned pages to the Shuntian Capital column and indeed found this piece of information.
"At just twenty-four, he possesses an intermediate-class Lord’s capability and can fight a higher-class Lord. This Shi Xiaole is truly unrivaled, overshadowing others in Shuntian Capital."
"Indeed a genius, but when compared to those in Tian State, he loses some shine. Not to mention those Four Monsters with astonishing accomplishments."
"This comparison is basically unfair. Coming from a minor sect and reaching where he is today, Shi Xiaole is already remarkable."
"Well, that’s true."
With the extensive display of other genius talents, although everyone was stunned by Shi Xiaole’s records, they weren’t shocked to their core
Actually, by now, having seen so many instances, everyone could cope with such news unless it was a truly historic big event.
...
This was a small city, divided into two halves by Green Water Lake of varying widths running from one end to the other. Willow trees planted along the banks, creating a scenery remarkably reminiscent of the Jiangnan in his previous life.
Shi Xiaole had bought a housing courtyard in the middle of the city.
Early morning.
The sounds of fishing boats rowing, children frolicking and street vendors shouting mingled together waking Shi Xiaole from his sleep. Upon opening his window and looking at the lively scene outside the courtyard, he couldn’t help but give a satisfied smile.
Having been long immersed in the Martial World’s strife, his nerves were a bit weary. These past few days, he intentionally relaxed and it indeed had a great effect.
After freshening up, Shi Xiaole headed to the courtyard to begin his first session of sword practice since the past few days
Swipe, swipe, swipe.
The sword light, at times fast, at times slow, looking as splendid as a cascading beam of silver light.
"Having mastered wind true intent to a third level, I developed the first three forms of the Wind Extreme Sword Technique. As it progressed to the fourth, I created the fourth form. Now I can attempt the fifth form."
The Wind Extreme Sword Technique might not be Shi Xiaole’s most powerful sword technique as yet, but it surely was the one that suited him the best. It was indeed his personal interpretation of and insight into both swordplay and wind true intent.
He felt that perhaps other martial arts might get abandoned as his strength increased. But this sword technique would accompany him for quite some time, making it necessary for continuous improvement.
Having mastery over hundreds of martial arts plus an exceptional comprehension ability, Shi Xiaole quickly identified a few points of breakthrough and started evolving as per these points.
His attempt flashed by and three days had passed.
"This style must be in perfect accord with the essence of the fifth layer of wind true intent to unleash its maximum power."
Shi Xiaole’s ambition was soaring.
Today, no buts, the Undying Seven Illusions were his trump card. With the underlying two layers of Illusion True Intent, no martial art could threaten its dominance temporarily.
What followed closely behind was the Fifteenth Sword of Death Claiming.
Then came the Wind Extreme Sword Technique.
However, in terms of sophistication, neither the Fifteenth Sword of Death Claiming nor the Wind Extreme Sword Technique could compare to the Outer Heaven Flying Immortal. The former had three layers of Demonic True Intent as its advantage while the latter was derived from five layers of Wind True Intent.
Therefore, if the meticulously developed fifth form of the Wind Extreme Sword Technique were not to surpass the Fifteenth Sword of Death Claiming in power, it would be better not to develop!
"This style must reach the level of a first-class inferior sword technique."
For most Martial Artists, being able to train in one first-class inferior martial skill in their entire lifetime was indeed a heavenly fortune. As for creating, even the top-class Lords of the Xuanwu State didn’t possess this capability.
Back then, the Tianya Saintess had given Shi Xiaole only the first half of the Demon Jade Hand. The complete version had undoubtedly reached first-class level. It was co-developed by many elders of the Sky Edge Pavilion, thus, it’s known how difficult it is to create first-class martial skills.
But Shi Xiaole still wanted to give it a try.
Anyway, he was going to walk this path sooner or later. So why not start now? Moreover, having absorbed the essence of several first-class martial skills, Shi Xiaole felt that he might not be void of hope for success.
In the courtyard, the atmosphere was filled with chilling Sword Qi and gusty winds. The ground was now mysteriously marked with scratches, long and short, deep and shallow. Ultimately, due to the large number of scratches, they all disappeared, and the ground was decisively shaved off by three inches.
Before anyone knew it, the sky started pouring down heavy snow like goose feathers.
Children were running on the flagstone road, throwing snowballs at each other, and having a grand time.
Inside the courtyard, Shi Xiaole was entirely covered in snow.
He was so close, so close to perfecting the sword technique he envisioned in his mind, but what exactly was missing?
The snowfall intensified, and after three days, Shi Xiaole was completely transformed into a snowman.
Moonlit night.
There was a crack.
A branch from the peach tree was snapped due to the heavy snow, causing a shower of snowflakes on the ground, which also broke the layer of snow covering Shi Xiaole.
All of a sudden.
A sharp cold wind strangely whipped up in the courtyard.
...
"You two stinking women, don’t run."
A group of men were running wildly in the night, the one leading was a bald man with hoops in his ears, occasionally throwing out a flash of blade, stirring up a storm of snowflakes.
"Sun Zhuo, you despicable villain, you won’t die a good death."
The two women running in front were surprisingly identical twins, one dressed in green, the other in pink. The lady in green turned her head back and spat out angrily.
"Hehehe, do you really think you two Swallow-tailed Butterflies are well-known? I just wanted to toy with your bodies, that’s why I’ve been so courteous towards you. Stand still if you know your place, otherwise once you’re in my grasp, I’d have to share you with my brothers."
No sooner had the bald man finished speaking when the men behind burst into laughter, unanimously praising that their leader was wise.
"Double Swallows in Flight!"
The twin sisters looked furious, swiped their swords towards the back, and two sword lights aimed at the rear.
Two unfortunate souls were in their prime, pierced through the chest by the Sword Qi, and fell heavily into the snowy ground.
"Stay for me, Sky-shaking Blade!"
The bald man’s eyes flashed, and as soon as the twin sisters made their move, he raised his saber high and brought it down forcefully.
The pale saber light arrived in the blink of an eye; the two women only managed to draw their swords horizontally to block it. With a clang, the swords flew out of their hands, and their bodies, numbed by the power of the saber, fell powerlessly outside the gate of a yard.
Seeing this, the bald man flipped in the air, blocking the women’s escape path. The men he was leading blocked the rear.
"I told you, you can’t escape."
The bald man laughed heartily.
"Sister, I’d rather die than fall into this man’s hands."
The young girl in pink shed tears. Under the moonlight, she was a pitiful sight.
Sun Zhuo was a formidable practitioner at the third level of the Spiritual-Passage Realm; the twins, even if they joined forces, could not withstand more than ten moves from him.
"You can commit suicide if you want. After you die, I will strip you naked and expose you to everyone on the street. Let all my friends in the Martial World appreciate the nude bodies of the Swallow-tailed Butterflies."
The bald man’s words sent shudders through the two women, turning their faces deathly pale. They knew they wouldn’t rest in peace if things turned out that way.
"As long as you serve me well, I’ll let you go. You can continue being your Swallow-tailed Butterflies, fooling those pitiable young heroes of Martial World, hahaha..."
Just as the bald man was about to step forward, he heard the court gate aside being opened, and a young man in blue walked out.
"Why force others to do what they don’t want to? It’s better to let the ladies go."
The young man in blue softly spoke.
"What are you; it’s not your place to speak."
The bald man sneered.
The young man in blue casually broke off a branch from a willow tree and murmured, "Well, let’s try it out on you."
"I dare you!"
The bald man was furious, and he swung his blade at the young man in blue. The men following him thought this was a good opportunity to show off, and they all rushed out, brandishing their weapons.
"Be careful, Young Master..."
The Swallow-tailed Butterflies screamed. Their power hadn’t yet returned, and they could only call out a warning.
To test the power of his move, Shi Xiaole kept his power at the first level of the Spiritual-Passage Realm. He didn’t even use the Wind True Intent. The willow branch in his hand slowly but swiftly waved.
In an instant.
The gentle Sword Qi formed a gust of wind, which was not powerful initially. But, as the bald man and others came down with their attacks, it unexpectedly stirred up the Sword Qi and started spinning rapidly.
Whoosh!
The raging wind passed and then became invisible again.
The bald man and others were crushed to powder visibly, and the wind blew, leaving no trace of their existence, completely dissipating into thin air.
The Swallow-tailed Butterflies stood there with their mouths open wide in sheer surprise.
Under the moonlight, the young man in blue was as leisurely as an immortal, testing his blade with a willow branch.
