Chapter 589: Chapter 588: Passing 100 Moves
Staying away from the forest, the dishevelled man only stopped when his essential energy was completely drained. His face turned as pale as death, and with a soft stumble, he knelt down on the ground.
What had kept him alive in the martial world for so long was not his power, but his ability to escape danger. But this time, he could have lost his chance to escape altogether.
"That young man must be a high-ranking top sovereign. He has mastered two peak-level true intents."
The dishevelled man glanced back with lingering fear.
Having a young high-ranking top sovereign like Shi Xiaole is not uncommon in Tian State, but considering its extensive territory, he definitely counted as a first-rate talent.
If they could capture someone like him, the Three Talents Association would assuredly reward generously!
"It seems I must report this to the master. With the master’s terrifying power, it should not be difficult to subdue that youngster. Although I may not be credited with a feat, at least I will share in its success, and moreover, it will serve as a reprisal for that earlier encounters," he chuckled to himself. After resting for a while, the dishevelled man chose a direction and swiftly departed.
...
In a corner of the ruins of Meditation Fast, the rich, hallucinogenic atmosphere was disrupted.
Shi Xiaole looked at the suddenly appeared middle-aged man in white. Even though he did not release any aura, Shi Xiaole’s illusion technique could not approach him. His very presence severely disrupted Shi Xiaole’s illusion.
What was more terrifying was that he could not even lock onto the man with his spiritual power. It was as if the man existed in another time and space, visible, but intangible.
Shi Xiaole felt his hair stand on end, a chill crawling up his spine. His body’s instinctual response told him this middle-aged man in white was extraordinarily dangerous with the power to annihilate him easily.
"Senior, were you waiting for me?"
Seeing the man’s benign smile, Shi Xiaole forced himself to calm down and asked, following the clue of his previous remark.
With an unchanged smile, the middle-aged man in white said: "Little lad, I’m not waiting for you. It’s another person I’m waiting for. From you, I sense an old acquaintance’s aura."
As soon as he finished speaking, a beam of purple light shine out from Shi Xiaole’s body and coalesced into a slender figure beside him.
This figure was dressed in purple with plum blossom patterns embroidered on the collar. His face was clear, not especially handsome, but possessed a serene and gentle charm that was quite captivating.
"We meet again."
The man in purple smiled at Shi Xiaole.
"The spirit seed from the Purple Extreme Dagger!"
A shock went through Shi Xiaole.
At the Jade Sword Palace, the man in purple had used his remaining spiritual power to help Shi Xiaole get out of the Jade Sword Bone Transformation Array. Shi Xiaole had thought him gone, not realising that he was still hiding in the Purple Extreme Dagger.
He was both delighted and astonished.
His Divine Barrier Realm level spiritual power hadn’t detected the man. This indicated that even in his fragmentary state, the man’s spiritual power surpassed Shi Xiaole’s. How could he have been so powerful in his prime?
It was beyond Shi Xiaole’s imagination!
Shi Xiaole cupped his hands in respect and in with reverence addressed the man as "senior".
The man in purple smiled cheerfully in return.
"Brother Zi Yuansheng, it has been more than five hundred years since we last met. I hadn’t expected we would meet again in this manner. Truly unpredictable."
The middle-aged man in white sighed.
A look of remembrance crossed Zi Yuansheng’s face: "You were one of the most talented people I have ever met. Five hundred years ago, you had already reached the Void Origin Realm and were ranked among the top fighters in the world. How did you end up in such a state, existing only as a spirit seed?"
Shi Xiaole’s heart thumped in his chest.
Void Origin Realm?
This was a level above the Divine Barrier Realm. If fighters of the Divine Barrier Realm were seen as Terrestrial Immortals, and respected as such by ordinary men, then practitioners of the Void Origin Realm were kings among fighters, exalted and invincible.
Such a powerful figure wasn’t readily found even in the entirety of Flying Horse Dynasty, which were celebrated individuals in the legend, whom most would never meet in a lifetime.
This middle-aged man in white was a practitioner of the Void Origin Realm five hundred years ago?
In response to Zi Yuansheng’s words, the middle-aged man in white shook his head sadly: "Ah! Do you remember that fisherman?"
"Was it his doing?"
Zi Yuansheng seemed extremely shocked, and from his expression, Shi Xiaole even noticed a trace of fear.
If the two were not lying, they were both practitioners of the Void Origin Realm. If hearing one’s name alone could instil such fear in Void Origin Realm practitioners, just who is this fisherman?
The middle-aged man in white gave a bitter smile: "He didn’t attack me directly, just exchanged a palm strike with me. But without him, I wouldn’t have been poisoned and my disciple wouldn’t have been implicated. His Meditation Fast wouldn’t have been destroyed."
"We were all mistaken. Perhaps we should have jointly responded with others that time. We wouldn’t be in our current situation, picked off one by one, scattered to the ends of the earth."
Zi Yuansheng spoke with regret: "That fisherman was acting unusual. From what happened that year, what he seeks probably exceeds all our imaginations."
"I haven’t heard from him these years. He must be in hiding, preparing for his shocking plan. Once he appears, I’m afraid a great calamity will befall the world. Then...ah!"
The atmosphere became oppressively grim. Affected by the two great fighters’ pessimistic anxiety, Shi Xiaole felt as though a stone lodged in his chest, and he found it hard to breathe.
"Evil cannot triumph over righteousness since ancient times, yet this can only be said to comfort others. Brother Zi, our original forms are nowhere to be found, sustained only by our spirit seeds. We do not have much time left."
"The mission of hunting down the Angler has to be handed over to this generation. However, they may not have enough time, and when it comes to talent, I’m afraid they can’t compare to our generation."
The middle-aged man in white robes shook his head, rather wistful.
Zi Yuansheng glanced at Shi Xiaole and said with a smirk, "They say that our generation was the golden generation. But you may not know that recently, the Martial World has seen the rise of many talents, no inferior to our times. In fact, four people even set the best record on Celestial Phenomenon Mountain and are acclaimed as the Four Geniuses. Their talents even surpass ours."
"Oh, really?"
The middle-aged man in white was shocked, then he turned to Shi Xiaole, "Little guy, where are you ranked in this generation?"
Shi Xiaole replied, "I am not particularly talented and I’m afraid I can’t even be ranked in the middle."
Zi Yuansheng couldn’t help but laugh, finding this amusing, especially the word ’currently’ carried a deep meaning.
The middle-aged man in white robes did not catch on and simply nodded, "So, with your strength, you’re only ranked in the middle. Well, it seems like the standard of this generation is indeed high."
Suddenly, Zi Yuansheng pointed to the Wanhua Jinsi Grass and said, "This little friend is not well. Brother Gu, for my sake, could you please give him this?"
Expecting a quick agreement, he was surprised when the middle-aged man in white hesitated, "Brother Zi, this plant is something that my disciple painstakingly gathered to cure his only daughter. I promised to protect it well and although they have passed, I cannot break my word unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless this little lad can defeat me."
Upon saying this, the middle-aged man in white seemed rather embarrassed. He was leagues beyond Shi Xiaole, and a hundred of him would never beat the man. It was clearly an unfair proposition.
Zi Yuansheng inquired, "Can there be some room for negotiation?"
"Well, I will suppress my cultivation level, martial arts realm, and even my actual intent down to the level of this young lad. If he can manage a hundred moves against me, that will be considered a win. Brother Zi, for the sake of our relationship, this is the biggest concession I can make."
With a firm tone, the middle-aged man in white made it clear this was his bottom line.
Zi Yuansheng looked apologetically at Shi Xiaole.
Despite the continuous relaxation of the conditions by the man in white, no one understood his strength better than Zi Yuansheng. Among their golden generation full of outstanding individuals, the man in white still held a firm position in the top twenty, his excellence undeniable.
Under the same conditions, Shi Xiaole’s chance of winning would probably be less than thirty percent.
"Although the elder’s abilities are profound, I would like to give it a try."
Shi Xiaole stepped forward.
As long as there was a glimmer of chance to receive the Wanhua Jinsi Grass, he would not miss it. More importantly, a match against someone in the same realm as the man in white robes was a rare experience that may prove beneficial for him.
Zi Yuansheng sighed.
Being a spirit seed, he mainly stayed within the Purple Extreme Dagger for most of the year to conserve his energy to prevent it from depleting away. He only appeared occasionally to get a sense of the world’s progress and was not too familiar with Shi Xiaole’s circumstances. He did not believe that Shi Xiaole was a match for the man in white.
"Young lad, don’t hold back; give it your all."
The middle-aged man in white robes put his hands behind his back and lightly announced. In sync with the circulation of his breath, his cultivation level fell rapidly to the peak of the Dragon Gate Realm nineth level.
Clang!
Shi Xiaole’s eyes were cold, not a frigid cold, but a ruthless cold unique to swordsmen. With a grip on the hilt of the sword, he drew his weapon and swung it forward, casting multiple shadows which blended due to its incredible speed.
Clink!
Sparks flew like scythes as the middle-aged man in white rubbed his feet against the floor, uncontrollably retreating backward, leaving deep imprints where he stood.
"Impossible!"
The middle-aged man in white turned pale, quickly reaching his right hand from behind and struck with both palms in an unusual rhythm, neutralizing the Sword Qi.
If it were just the speed, it wouldn’t have surprised him. The key was that in addition to the speed, Shi Xiaole’s strike precisely targeted his hidden weakness, which required extraordinary keenness and impeccable control.
Before the man in white could recover, Shi Xiaole’s second wave of attacks arrived. He rushed from the side, a cross form strike with his dual swords.
The cyclic cross Sword Qi was an easy read; unless one’s powers were significantly superior, it was hard to counter it directly.
"This is the loophole."
As he retreated, the man in the white robe struck with both his hands, lightly pressing down, disintegrating the cross Sword Qi instantly.
However, the next moment, an arc-shaped Sword Qi emerged from within the cross Sword Qi. The arc light coincidentally scraped his change of move, as if he willingly exposed his weaknesses and traded breaking the move for the previous situation, everything is reset.
Flash!
With a sword slicing overhead, the man in white had to forcibly strafe aside. The light shield he had just built was smashed to pieces, again his weaknesses were hit. The ferocious Sword Qi sprayed over, aimed at twenty-six parts forming an intangible dead-angle around him.
"Change Heaven and Earth!"
The man in white stretched out both his hands, a strange turbulence dispelled the Sword Qi.
However, Shi Xiaole reacted even quicker, adjusting his sword moves with the flow. The path that was originally clear became a dead-end again and under the assault of Sword Qi, there was a ripping sound. The sleeve of the man in white was torn, his face was filled with disbelief.
