Chapter 550: Chapter 549: Eight Fingers Mysterious Lord and Huangquan Lord
Shi Xiaole had no idea of Shi Xuanzhong’s skill level, but he had a feeling that he was incredibly powerful, far beyond his imagination.
What was it that drove the couple to leave him with his aunt and set off to Mingliu Villa by themselves?
This brings up a big question.
Mingliu Villa was merely a normal sect in the Cloud Triangle of Qingxue State, likely not home to a martial artist in the Xuanqi Realm. What did Shi Xuanzhong and his wife find so special there?
Riddles, riddles were everywhere.
Shi Xiaole foresaw that he had a long journey ahead if he wanted to solve these riddles.
For now, he took the notes left by Shi Xuanzhong and Snow Sword Lord, and after some thought, also put the Inheriting Heaven Seal into his system space. Only then did he leave the market.
"There’s a place called the Blood Battle Plain in the eight martial states, which is very mysterious. But with my current abilities, I might not be qualified to explore its secrets. I’ll save it for later."
Upon his return to the eight states, Shi Xiaole found that there were many things he had to do. In addition to the Blood Battle Plain, he suddenly remembered the pair of one-eyed Elders.
Last time in the Jade Sword Hall, he was trapped in the Jade Sword Bone Transformation Array and was lucky to survive thanks to the spirit seed in the Purple Extreme Dagger. Now that he was back, he thought he should ask the two Elders who the ’righteous brother’ mentioned by the spirit seed was.
Half a month later.
Shi Xiaole left Red Dragon Demon Palace alone and returned to Lele City.
The one-eyed Elders gave him a shocking answer. They had forgotten the appearance of the man, only remembering his existence!
How could they, with their skills, have memory lapses? There was only one explanation – the man’s skills were unfathomably deep. His spiritual influence had affected the two of them and messed up their memories.
...
Lele City.
Meeting Hall.
"Auntie, would you like to leave this place and come with me to Xuanwu State?"
Shi Xiaole looked at Su Yanru seated by his side.
Startled, Su Yanru quickly got excited and grabbed Shi Xiaole’s hands, losing her composure, "You little brat, you’ve finally allowed me to follow."
Shi Xiaole was speechless, "Not exactly! I just thought you might want to change locations. After all, Qingxue State is too small and not very safe."
"I’ve been wanting to leave for a while now. Humph! If I wasn’t worried about you coming back and not being able to find me and being upset, do you think I’d stay here?"
Su Yanru lifted her chin proudly.
Zhu Ling, who was not far away, was snickering but also felt a tinge of envy, "Both of you can go ahead, I’ll take care of things here."
"Miss Zhu, aren’t you coming with us?"
Shi Xiaole’s question made Zhu Ling look up in surprise, "City Lord Shi, do you mean?"
"I plan to take the main elites of Lele City to Xuanwu State and re-establish a faction there."
Shi Xiaole stated seriously.
Establishing a faction was a major decision he had taken after a lot of thought.
First of all, as he ventured into the martial world, he was bound to make many enemies. If he left his friends and family, like Su Yanru, behind, they could easily be targeted by his enemies.
Rather, it was better to find a safe place for them.
Secondly, the more Shi Xiaole thought about it, the more complex the situation with his parents seemed to be. In order to find clues about them, it would be unwise to rely solely on his efforts, he needed to have a strong force in the martial world.
Not to mention, he had unexpectedly obtained the Inheriting Heaven Seal. If he didn’t put it to good use, it would be a waste of resources.
Anyway, creating a faction would only involve a busy initial period. Once things soothed down, he would have ample time to continue his practice.
"Establish a force in Xuanwu State?"
Shi Xiaole was casual about it, but the idea was overwhelming to both Zhu Ling and Su Yanru.
Xuanwu State was a place where even high-level martial artists had to keep a low profile, and even Lords had to tread carefully. It was truly a gathering place for the strong.
A young man, not yet thirty, making a name for himself there would be nothing short of a miracle, let alone establishing a faction!
But thinking about Shi Xiaole’s past actions, the two women felt a surge of excitement. Who could say that Shi Xiaole wasn’t qualified to establish a faction in Xuanwu State?
He might have been young, but his achievements had already surpassed 99% of the people in Xuanwu State.
"With him there, perhaps in less than twenty years, Lele City can become a top-tier faction in Xuanwu State."
Zhu Ling, dressed in white, was an attraction in her own right, her eyes twinkling as she sneakily looked at Shi Xiaole from head to toe, her heart pounding fast.
Less than half a day later, everyone in Lele City knew about Shi Xiaole’s plan, and the city was in an uproar.
"We’re moving to Xuanwu State? City Lord Shi’s ambition is great!"
"Without ambition, would we have what we have now? I’ve been longing for Xuanwu State for years. It seems I may be able to become a disciple of a major sect there during my lifetime."
"Better to be the tail of a phoenix than the head of a chicken. Even though going to Xuanwu State will inevitably bring about a period of hardship, this is the charm of the martial world. Hahaha, struggling together with City Lord Shi will surely be an unforgettable memory."
The disciples of Lele City, everyone was inexplicably excited.
Young people with their passion, who doesn’t dream of the highly competitive martial world? Even if they’re cast as supporting roles, they want to make their own highlights.
As for the higher-ups, opinions were divided. Some were willing to go, while others were accustomed to their prestigious positions in all eight states and did not wish to move.
Fortunately, Shi Xiaole did not make it mandatory. He simply said that it was up to each individual’s discretion.
"Xuanwu State, huh? Little junior brother, you’re really moving fast. As your senior brother, I can’t even see your back anymore," said Yuan Qiuwei, looking out of the window in a daze.
The Huajian Sect had dissolved many years ago, but the elites remained, including Yu Fangge and the three main disciples - they were all core members of Lele City.
No one understood Shi Xiaole’s past better than them, so they were most amazed by his achievements.
"Senior Brother, don’t you want to go?" Xiao Yuanbo and Mao Wenjing looked at each other before Xiao Yuanbo asked.
"Go? Of course, I will. If I don’t go, won’t you all laugh at me and think that I, as the senior brother, am scared?" Yuan Qiuwei turned around and snorted.
"As the senior brother, you are indeed the senior brother. Shi Xiaole pays his respects."
A young man in blue clothes walked in from outside the door and bowed to Yuan Qiuwei.
"Little junior brother!"
The three people in the room were all stunned. Yuan Qiuwei instinctively stepped forward to stop him, but the young man in blue said, "Could it be that senior brother no longer recognizes this little junior brother?"
Yuan Qiuwei hastily denied it, allowing Shi Xiaole to pay his respects. His nose was already somewhat sour.
"Little junior brother, would you like to drink?"
Xiao Yuanbo laughed heartily, putting his arm around Shi Xiaole’s shoulder.
"Since it’s been so many years since I last saw my senior brothers and sister, we must drink."
The jar of wine was placed on the table, and the four of them drank together. For a moment, it was as if they had returned to that summer night where Shi Xiaole was about to leave the Huajian Sect, and the four had also been drinking.
...
Three days later, the majority of Lele City’s forces set off.
Of the three Deputy City Lords, two chose to stay. Of the fifty elders, more than half did not wish to leave. However, among the disciples, ninety percent of them were eager to go.
Shi Xiaole chose a remote path because it was the closest to Xuanwu State, and he feared that taking the main road would attract spectators from the Martial World of the eight states, which would be inconvenient.
As it turned out, his concern was justified.
The news of Shi Xiaole’s relocation had spread throughout the martial arts world in the eight states, with countless people waiting on the inevitable route. Some wished to witness his grace, some saw it as an opportunity to join Lele City, and others were merely there to spectate...
From Qingxue State to Xuanwu State, even a fast horse would take more than half a year. So after taking the remote path, Shi Xiaole took his people onto the waterway, drifting along the river.
The journey was inevitably dull. However, this was not the case for Shi Xiaole. He would spend eight two-hour periods training his martial arts every day, and the remaining period reading through Buddhist scriptures to deepen his understanding of the Undying Seven Illusions. His days were fulfilling.
The senior officials and disciples of Lele City who were on the same boat saw this and couldn’t help but deeply admire him. No wonder the city lord was so young but had such amazing martial arts skills. It was hard not to be powerful with such perseverance.
Invisibly, the disciples were influenced and gave up their time for chatting and drinking, instead using it to practice their martial arts.
...
On the river, a fishing boat was traveling at an astonishing speed, creating ripples on the water as if it was a flying shuttle.
Soon after, the fishing boat stopped in front of several oncoming ships. The two men on the ship simultaneously revealed a weird, sneaky smile.
"Are you sure that Shi kid is on the ship?" One old man in yellow robes asked.
"The news from the Divine Strategy Academy couldn’t be wrong," the man answering was a fisherman wearing a reed hat, he chuckled to himself: "Now, the Xiahou Clan, the Tianyan Sect, and other forces have been besieged several times and can barely protect themselves. The Lords don’t have the leisure time, instead, it is beneficial for the two of us. As long as we can get the martial arts on that kid, we will certainly make further progress."
The yellow-robed elder was also very pleased and said, "Enough talk, let’s get down to business. I heard that there are some old guys also looking for that kid."
Whistling sounds.
Like two sharp arrows, before the people on the several large ships opposite them could react, the two men were already on top of the cabin. The yellow-robed old man exuded a terrifying aura, causing the river surface where the large ships were located to sink a little.
On several large ships, the people from Lele City were all trembling intensely, their souls were shivering.
Compared to Elder Yan from that day, this aura was undoubtedly much stronger and more ominous.
With his eyes open, a fierce light flashed in them, Shi Xiaole landed on the deck, looking at the yellow-robed elder: "Gentleman, do not go too far."
The sword Qi burst out, swirling towards the yellow-robed elder. The aura between the two collided fiercely, sparking off sparks.
Without plans for a head-on clash, the yellow-robed elder retracted his aura, seeing that Shi Xiaole was indeed as young as rumored, he laughed: "Young Master Shi, the old man has something to talk with you, come over."
"What if I refuse?"
Realizing that the other party had ill intentions, Shi Xiaole had no intention of keeping up appearances.
"Hehe, there aren’t many people who dare to disobey words I, Eight Fingers Mysterious Lord, have spoken."
The yellow-robed elder was confident, seemingly having regarded Shi Xiaole as his prey.
