Chapter 574: Chapter 573: The Way of Life and Death
For a genius like Shi Xiaole, those who are surpassed can only admire deeply. However, for those who have not been surpassed but are likely to be, in addition to astonishment, there is inevitably a hint of resentment and jealousy.
Why should you, who have practiced martial arts for more than a decade, be compared with us who have been striving for over two hundred years?
Upon hearing Old Weed Chopper’s comment, some people shifted their gaze uncertainly, while many remained silent.
Although Shi Xiaole once killed the Inferno Lord with a single strike, according to those present, there were suspicions that he had caught the Inferno Lord off guard. Moreover, the Old Weed Chopper was nothing like the Inferno Lord.
The former had comprehended the Heavenly Martial Realm decades ago, his strength was about two notches above the Inferno Lord, and definitely not comparable to Shi Xiaole at this point.
Seemingly affirming the crowd’s suspicions, Shi Xiaole declined, "We are here on invitation and waiting for the main person to arrive is the principal matter."
Old Weed Chopper gave a meaningful smile.
"This statement is mistaken!"
The speaker was another lord. Some recognized him as the Purple Bamboo Lord, ranked fifth in Shuntian Capital. He smiled and said, "We martial artists frequently spar and exchange ideas. Moreover, the people of Pudu Peak have not yet arrived! Young Hero Shi is renowned throughout Shuntian. I believe he certainly will not disappoint us."
"Indeed, we’ve long heard of Young Hero Shi’s remarkable sword arts, second only to the Sun Sword Lord. This is a perfect opportunity for us to witness it ourselves."
"Could it be that Master Shi looks down on us?"
As soon as the Purple Bamboo Lord spoke, many others immediately echoed him, all egging Shi Xiaole to accept Old Weed Chopper’s challenge.
Shi Xiaole just stood aside, shaking his head with a smile.
He would avoid pointless duels like this if he could, not because Old Weed Chopper was weak, but rather because the latter was evidently harboring ill intentions.
"Alas! Heavy is the head that wears the crown. If a person is too cautious about preserving their reputation, I’m afraid it would hinder their martial arts cultivation. I hope that Master Shi will keep this in mind."
Purple Bamboo Lord took a few steps back, shaking his head and sighing, looking utterly disappointed.
"Perhaps Brother Shi already possesses extraordinary skills, but simply chooses to keep a low profile without showing off."
One of the top ten disciples behind the Sun Sword Lord sneered.
Seeing that everyone wanted to watch Shi Xiaole make a fool of himself, his strong jealousy could no longer be suppressed and he blurted out. He wasn’t afraid of Shi Xiaole’s retaliation. After all, the latter was no match for great masters like Old Weed Chopper. If Shi Xiaole dared to start a fight, he would have to get past the Sun Sword Lord first!
"Youngster Shi, are you really not going to spar with me?"
Seeing Shi Xiaole still unresponsive, Old Weed Chopper’s voice deepened.
"I don’t engage in meaningless fights."
Shi Xiaole shook his head.
"Fine, if you can beat me, I’ll give up my rank of third place in Shuntian Capital to you."
"I don’t need it."
"Heh heh heh, whether you need it or not is not up to you."
Initially, Old Weed Chopper wouldn’t have been so persistent, but Shi Xiaole’s repeated refusals had thoroughly annoyed him. This was a deliberate insult!
Whoosh!
An ephemeral shadow flickered in the air, it was Old Weed Chopper. He laughed heartily, intentionally sending a warning to Shi Xiaole, and then his aged fingers pressed downwards.
The heavy palm imprint, like thousands of tons of loess rolled into one, possessed astonishing density. All the lords within a circumference of thirty feet felt as if their chests were being crushed and hastily retreated. Soon, only Shi Xiaole remained.
Old Weed Chopper sneered to himself.
Naturally, this palm strike was far more powerful than this, but this place was where Pudu Peak was supposed to meet, so he couldn’t cause unnecessary destruction.
Facing the oppressive palm force, Shi Xiaole felt neither panic nor fear, just a sigh of lament. With a whoosh, he blinked and was suddenly outside the building.
Upon seeing this, Old Weed Chopper immediately withdrew his palm imprint, followed suit, and landed almost simultaneously across from Shi Xiaole. He smiled and said, "Occasional failure promotes progress. Youngster Shi, you’ll thank me in the future."
With that, he raised his left palm and struck down towards Shi Xiaole once again.
This time without any qualms, the palm imprint expanded to a hundred feet in radius. As it descended from the sky, it made loud booming noises like a landslide. Even the surface of the distant lake began to ripple like fish scales.
Crowds of figures soared over and stood in the distance. They were the lords who had flown out from the courtyard.
This palm strike should reveal his true worth."
The Sun Sword Lord looked at Shi Xiaole and thought privately.
As swordsmen, it was difficult for him to accept that someone else’s talent was significantly stronger than his own.
Just when everybody thought that Shi Xiaole would dodge as he did before, he moved. However, instead of evading, he pointed out a finger at his front.
"Arrogant!"
Someone in the crowd shouted in their heart.
However, in the next moment.
A deep green sword mark emerged out of thin air, stretching abruptly through the void, piercing through the palm and out the back. The color of the mark turned from deep green to light green, spreading up into the sky in a radial pattern.
The speed of the palm imprint slowed down. When it was about nine feet near Shi Xiaole, it suddenly shattered like a sandcastle, and dissipated together with the Sword Qi.
"Huh?"
The Old Weed Chopper’s triumphant expression froze instantly.
Not only had Shi Xiaole blocked this sword, but the Wind True Intent he displayed had clearly reached ninety percent completion! Wasn’t it seventy percent last time?
Not only was Old Weed Chopper stunned, but everyone present also found it somewhat unbelievable.
"Very well, take another blow from me, ’Grass Grows, Oriole Flies’!"
Hovering in the air, Old Weed Chopper darted around in the void. Suddenly, clumps of grass sprouted from the ground beneath him, swiftly growing to twice a man’s height, engulfing Shi Xiaole’s figure.
Immovable like a mountain, Shi Xiaole drew his Hidden Edge Sword with his right hand and unleashed a Wind Rises and Clouds Surge attack. The savage Sword Qi dispersed in a fan shape, sweeping away a large patch of grass.
However, just as the grass was eradicated, it grew back even faster. It seemed ever-lasting, and any attack would only accelerate its growth. It crazily wrapped itself around Shi Xiaole, who was in the center.
Each blade of grass was forged from Vigorous Air, capable of killing ordinary martial artists at the Xuanqi Realm. All these blades of grass together could easily shred a small mountain peak.
Shi Xiaole could use his defense to withstand this attack directly, but he had no intention of doing so.
For a swordsman, passive defense is merely an auxiliary skill. It can be relied on, but not depended on. Attacking is the fundamental strength of a swordsman. Choosing to defend when there are clearly capabilities to break through would be a disgrace to a swordsman’s status.
Clang!
Raising both hands, Shi Xiaole drew a slash downward, and the blade-shaped Sword Qi broke up a large patch of grass like a tilting blue waterfall.
"It’s useless, the True Intent of Life’s strongest aspect is its persistency. Unless your attack exceeds the endurance limit, you can never hope to break it."
Old Weed Chopper burst into laughter.
"Not necessarily."
With the same movement of his sword, Shi Xiaole flicked his left finger, and strands of Qi penetrated the regrowing grass. Instantly, a large patch of grass withered and stopped growing again.
Old Weed Chopper’s eyes widened in surprise. He found that the True Intent of Life was somehow flawed, caused by Shi Xiaole’s one-finger strike. It seemed to have turned into death energy, causing an imbalance and breakdown in his move.
But how did the opponent accomplish this?
"The growth and decay of vegetation, there is a natural order!"
Without any time to think further, Old Weed Chopper finally swung his hoe over his shoulder, delivering a fierce blow towards Shi Xiaole. After failing to capture his opponent with two consecutive moves, he had to give it his all, otherwise, his reputation would be damaged.
Centred around their battlefield, endless vitality spread outward. The many Lords outside the field could see the birth, death, and transformation of flowers and grass in the mix.
"This old fellow, his power is truly frightening with age."
Soaring Cloud Lord, ranked second in Shuntian Capital, was secretly alarmed.
He had fought with Old Weed Chopper years ago and even then, Old Weed Chopper did not present such a grand scene. If it were himself back then, he would probably have had to exhaust his energy to break it.
"The Life and Death Dual Qi transformed by the Undying Seven Illusions is not a true Life and Death Dual Qi. It merely approaches or may increase my understanding."
In Shi Xiaole’s eyes, Old Weed Chopper’s moves combined with the True Intent of Life had quite a few flaws, which is why they were instantly broken by the Undying Seven Illusions.
On the other hand, it also revealed the strength of the Undying Seven Illusions. This martial arts technique is like a door. The so-called strength is just what’s inside the door. Once the door is opened, there might be even more surprising surprises.
From early on, Shi Xiaole had an astonishing idea. He wanted to comprehend the Dao of Life and Death with the help of Undying Seven Illusions. If he could walk to the end of that path, could he achieve immortality?
Now having experienced Old Weed Chopper’s True Intent of Life, the idea deep within Shi Xiaole sprouted again.
This train of thought was just momentary. Facing the encroaching greenness, Shi Xiaole’s body spun, transforming into a tornado made up of Sword Qi.
Wind Extreme Sword Technique, fifth move, Fierce Wind Hundred Turns.
Bang!
The green light collided, immediately looking like the fusion of two kinds of dye. Under the influence of the Wind True Intent, the momentum of the True Intent of Life spurred even higher, eventually covering a full five hundred meters around, brimming with vitality.
All the top Lords around, except for a few like Xin Zhuliu, had retreated beyond five hundred meters. The reason was that as soon as their protective Vigorous Air touched the aftermath of the duo’s fight, it alarmingly began to grow, though this growth was bizarrely beyond control.
The struggle lasted for a full moment, then the green light faded.
"It ended in a draw?"
Purple Bamboo Lord’s face looked a bit sullen.
In fact, when he discovered that Shi Xiaole’s Wind True Intent had reached ninety percent, he vaguely knew that Shi Xiaole had truly become one of the top five experts in Shuntian Capital. However, seeing the result, he still felt bitter, very bitter.
If jealousy is a demon, then the hearts of the many top Lords present must be filled with hundreds, even thousands of demons.
Never has anyone provoked such intense jealousy in their hearts!
Old Weed Chopper’s attacks became more ferocious, each one more powerful than the last. However, Shi Xiaole’s responses became more composed, both offensive and defensive, moving like flowing water and clouds, forcing the crowd present to admire him, whether they wanted to or not.
If they knew that Shi Xiaole had suppressed his cultivation to the eighth layer of the Dragon Gate Realm from the beginning in order to avoid arousing suspicion, they would probably be in awe.
"A forest rises to the sky, prepare to lose!"
In the heat of battle, Old Weed Chopper suddenly swung his arms with force, and rapidly waved down. A phantom of a tremendous tree suddenly surged out from the ground where Shi Xiaole stood. The tree’s shadow twisted around, and the crowd could hear the terrifying sound of teeth grinding.
Old Weed Chopper took a deep breath, this was his ultimate move. Once swallowed by it, no one could escape unscathed.
Shi Xiaole, who was initially experiencing the True Intent of Life, suddenly noticed a strong threat. Despite his regret, he had no choice but to forcibly stop, since his strength was not yet levels where he could handle Old Weed Chopper casually.
"Wind of Lingxi!"
Relaxing his body, Shi Xiaole brushed his hand down seemingly slowly but swiftly. Enhanced by the Wind True Intent at ninety percent, this sword move left no trace behind.
Bang!
Thump!
The phantom tree was first struck with a hole, followed by Old Weed Chopper, because he couldn’t react in time. His protective Vigorous Air was also broken, and he was sent flying back.
