Chapter 610: Chapter 609: The Final Level
Seven people have made it to the fourth round.
There are six left in the fifth round.
They are Fu Tong who ranks 6th on the genius list, Han Yang who ranks 10th, Wu Siming who ranks 13th, Huan Yundu who ranks 16th, Zuo Shaobai who ranks 17th, and Shi Xiaole.
Excluding Shi Xiaole, the achievements and rankings of the first five in the previous four rounds are accurate. Only Huan Yundu outperformed Wu Siming, his remaining achievements align with his rank. From this perspective, the information from the Divine Strategy Academy is quite accurate.
"Even the Tianya Saintess has been eliminated."
Halfway up the mountain, watching the slim and matchless Qiu Yuchu step out from the Array System, many men covertly swallow.
Some women, not only will they not tire of watching her, but they also find her more enticingly the more they see her. Qiu Yuchu belongs to this category. Her figure alone could provoke fantasies even among the monks.
"Humph! This woman can’t even make it on to the genius list; she only attracts others with her beauty."
While the men on the field were drooling over Qiu Yuchu, the women saw her as their enemy. Her certain features were just too striking, causing envy and hatred.
"They haven’t come out yet?"
Gazing around, an unusual look appeared on Qiu Yuchu’s extraordinarily beautiful face.
She was eliminated in the fourth round, but those whom she was watching did not appear. This signifies that they all entered the fifth round and get their names inscribed on the Ten Thousand Forms Stele!
"I wonder whose ranking is higher, Wu Siming or Huan Yundu?"
With Qiu Yuchu’s taste and status, ordinary talents could not catch her eye. In fact, Wu Siming and Huan Yundu were somewhat unsatisfactory even.
Only the two of them, who were highly talented and from prominent backgrounds, could be considered the best among all her suitors.
Little known fact, Qiu Yuchu once fancied the fifth-ranked genius list, Duanfang Xiu (Chapter 324), only to realize later that it was just a childhood friendship, not a woman’s admiration and love for a man.
In Qiu Yuchu’s heart, the only ones worthy of her are the four exceptional individuals.
Unfortunately, ’Jade Lion’ Mu Ling is a man of cold nature, and he treats women like clothes, chasing them when he likes them, and discards them directly when bored, treating women as playthings.
’Mysterious Sparrow’ Gui Zhihang is a renowned beauty in the world, who is also gentle and refined, but he seldom shows up, leaving no chance for any interaction.
And the most powerful ’Young Dragon’ Zhang Xiangfeng, is deeply involved with the Saintess from Heavenly Snow Mountain, even boldly ascending the Heavenly Snow Mountain, defeating a group of top martial artists, leaving them in a disastrous state. This is something widely known in the Martial World.
As for ’Heavenly Phoenix’ Duanmu Keren, being a woman, it’s even more impossible.
Therefore, Qiu Yuchu is quite helpless, she is unwilling to compromise, yet there are also no better choices. She has always been fending off Duanfang Xiu, Wu Siming, and others while maintaining her purity to herself and them, which made it hard for them to give up on her.
"Is my taste too high? But these years, the situation in Tian State has been unstable, I have to find powerful protection."
Qiu Yuchu shook her head, temporarily pressing down her complicated thoughts.
What’s the point in thinking so much? Besides, with the status and qualifications of Wu Siming and others, they are fully capable of becoming towering trees offering her shelter.
...
The fifth round’s test is just pure combat.
On a boundless desolate plain, a crystal puppet appeared before Shi Xiaole.
Puppets can be categorized into wooden puppets, copper puppets, iron puppets, and even crystal puppets.
Regardless of agility, dexterity, hardness, or explosive power, the crystal puppet is the top among all puppets. Across the entire Flying Horse Dynasty, the number of sects capable of creating these does not exceed twenty.
Whoosh!
The crystal puppet brandished its sword and raged forward. Its speed and power reached the level of the High Lord.
Since each round is the same every time, a lot of information has already been circulated. Shi Xiaole knew that the strength of the crystal puppet was related to the challenger.
If he’s a Limit Supreme Lord, then the crystal puppet would be a High Lord. If one was an Invincible Lord, the crystal puppet would be a Top Lord. In general, this round tests combat power, regardless of one’s level.
Shi Xiaole stayed still on the spot, flicking his finger, the Sword Qi grazed past the sword edge and penetrated the crystal puppet’s throat.
Hummm...
Micro ripples spread out in the air, the crystal puppet split into two and attacked Shi Xiaole simultaneously from the left and the right without pause.
This time, Shi Xiaole flicked two fingers.
Having mastered ten percent of the Wind True Intent along with the swift transition of Life and Death True Intent, his shot was incredibly quick. The two crystal puppets were killed the moment they came within three feet of Shi Xiaole.
Four puppets.
Eight puppets.
When eight crystal puppets appeared, Shi Xiaole finally had to move. Regardless of how fast he is, he could only instantaneously kill six High Lords, unable to handle the other two simultaneously.
That’s Shi Xiaole for you. Another Limit Supreme Lord could, at most, just kill two to three puppets.
His body moved as if blown by a gentle breeze, Shi Xiaole dodged and flicked two more fingers while evading.
The eight crystal puppets changed into sixteen.
At this point, Shi Xiaole discovered that the fatal points of these puppets began to vary; they no longer concentrated in the throat or between the eyebrows. If he did not hit their fatal points, no matter how strong the attack, it would not be able to destroy them.
The various qualities of the crystal puppet are not weaker than a typical High Lord and considering their varying fatal points, at some level, the puppet is even more difficult to deal with than a Top Lord.
After all, even a top-tier Lord could be injured or killed if their defense was penetrated, whereas crystal puppets wouldn’t. It’s just that their offensive capabilities were comparatively weaker.
Sixteen long swords attacked from various directions and in diverse postures, virtually blocking all of Shi Xiaole’s escape routes.
If he launched a full-range attack, he could probably destroy them easily, but that would consume a significant amount of Vigorous Air. Moreover, this was not what Shi Xiaole wanted. He wished to win by the virtue of his absolute skills.
Clang!
Shi Xiaole unsheathed his sword and first blocked three long swords. His left hand snapped two fingers. His body retreated simultaneously, and he bent down, dodging among eight long swords, and barged into the group of crystal puppets.
Crackle... Crackle...
Sparks scattered everywhere. Shi Xiaole swung dozens of strikes in a flash, identified the fatal spot of each crystal puppet through their movements, and annihilated them one by one.
"So fast!"
The elders on the mountain peak were astounded.
They had earlier speculated that Shi Xiaole’s combat abilities might be strong, but they hadn’t imagined that he would be that strong.
While the other five were still struggling against fighting four or eight crystal puppets, he had effortlessly killed sixteen. This speed would rank amongst the top three across hundreds of young prodigies.
When the number of crystal puppets reached thirty-two, Shi Xiaole started to feel a hint of pressure.
An increase in quantity leads to a change in quality.
The offensive power of thirty-two crystal puppets wasn’t merely double that of sixteen; their collaborative attacks and the pressure they created were multiple times than before.
Shi Xiaole held his sword in both hands. He had just sent a crystal puppet flying when swords aimed at him came from all directions—front, back, side, up, and down—forming a sword net. Although it wasn’t as dense as the hidden weapon rain, its power was much greater.
His body slanting, he spiraled out like a screw. His left hand didn’t forget to flick and launch Sword Qi. Shi Xiaole narrowly escaped. Unexpectedly, he landed right into a trap laid by a puppet that surged up from above.
Whoosh.
Shi Xiaole sliced off the puppet’s head with a single stroke. It wasn’t just their trap—it was also his excellent opportunity.
He retreated mid-air and dashed forward immediately, escaping from thirteen deadly swords below and on the left. He rushed into a group of six puppets on the right and knocked down one first.
Previously, he had not only been evading but also observing the movements and habits of each puppet, guessing every puppet’s fatal spot.
Coming and going like the wind, Shi Xiaole kept dodging and striking. One by one, puppets fell at his feet. Most of their fatal spots were guessed right by him. Occasionally, few guesses were incorrect, but with reduced pressure, he easily knocked down those puppets too.
"Sixty-four puppets! Only fifteen people have reached this stage in hundreds of years. Among them, only the Four Great Demonic Beings have passed this round!"
The voice of the short and chubby elder was trembling intently.
"It appears that his limit is far from being reached!"
The crowd’s eyes were wide open as they seemed to try to see through Shi Xiaole.
At this point, they were no longer concerned about Shi Xiaole’s ranking on the stele. All they wanted to know was who was superior between him and the Four Great Demonic Beings.
Boom! Boom!
Meanwhile, the other five started to falter one after the other.
The first to be disqualified was Zuo Shaobai, ranked seventeenth on the genius list.
He had knocked down fifteen out of sixteen crystal puppets. Due to a moment of carelessness, he was punctured through the chest by a puppet playing dead after being severely injured.
"Damn it, I can’t accept this!"
Zuo Shaobai screamed in furious regret. Given his capabilities, he could’ve passed this round.
The second to be disqualified was not Huan Yundu, but Wu Siming, who was ranked higher.
It was not because of his weak capabilities, but his combat style which didn’t suit group fighting. He struggled to knock down twenty-eight puppets out of thirty-two and was finally killed by the remaining four.
The third and forth to be disqualified were Huan Yun Kuo and Han Yang, who hung on for half a quarter longer than Wu Siming.
Fu Tong, unexpectedly, kicked off thirty-two puppets, becoming the seventeenth prodigy to face sixty-four puppets.
"Come on, I’ll kill you all!"
Fu Tong’s eyes were burning red. His eyeballs looked like blood-jewels. He was so thrilled with the fight that he rushed into the puppet crowd recklessly, seemingly using a strategy of injuring the opponent at the expense of his own injury.
The secret art of the Blood Emperor’s cave could turn one’s injury into momentum, enhancing power for a short period. To pass the challenge, Fu Tong obviously didn’t hold anything back.
But human strength has their limits.
Though the secret art could enhance power, it couldn’t last long. Fu Tong had already depleted majority of his power, and his injuries were severe. After knocking down fifty-three crystal puppets, he was pounded into dust by a punch from behind and disappeared amid the array system.
...
Shi Xiaole’s blue clothes were as fresh as new, and his breathing was not disordered at all.
The previous fights had only been appetizers to tune his condition to its best level. Now was the actual show.
Facing sixty-four crystal puppets standing at the Senior-Lord-level and hard to kill, anyone, not even a Supreme Lord, would dare to claim a sure win. This round was so difficult that it could induce despair.
Indeed, having passed this round, the Four Great Demonic Beings rightfully deserved their title. If not, did you think the title ’Demonic Being’ was casually bestowed?
With terrifyingly calm eyes, Shi Xiaole held his sword and charged forward. The sixty-four puppets surged towards him simultaneously, and a violent clash ensued instantly.
