Chapter 612: Chapter 611: How Could It Be Him
Twenty-nine bodies.
Twenty-eight bodies.
Twenty-seven bodies.
...
Shi Xiaole was already missing his left leg, his right shoulder had been shorn off, there were six bloody holes in his abdomen, and his back was covered in countless wounds so deep you could see the bone. That he’d made it this far was already a miracle.
But his expression remained unchanged. His movements had gotten slow now that he’d chosen to focus on defence. He simply stood in place, turning defence into offence and exhaustion into relaxation.
With his unrivaled fighting skills and reflexes, he was able to single-handedly kill another sixteen crystal puppet warriors. However, he had suffered fresh injuries and had nearly collapsed on the ground.
The remnants of his energy allowed him to execute another two slashes at most.
And there were still eleven crystal puppets left. As long as he could finish them off, he would set a record that was perhaps unprecedented and unsurpassable, leaving the four demon prodigies far behind him!
Boom!
Eleven crystal puppets, with their speed and power still at peak levels, came rushing at Shi Xiaole from all directions, attacking him like a hurricane thunderstorm.
He mustered as much strength as he could, leaping into the air with just one foot remaining. He shook his left shoulder slightly and "schhee." Six swords plunged into the ground, two brushed past his head, and three impaled him.
The three swords that had impaled him abruptly shifted under the force Shi Xiaole had exerted and conveniently ended up perforating another three crystal puppets.
Thud, thud, thud.
Three crystal puppets shattered.
In the short time that this took, Shi Xiaole took advantage and swung his sword twice. Two more crystal puppets had fallen.
Only six puppets remained.
Shi Xiaole was on the brink of death and his Vigorous Air all but spent. If he truly desired victory, he had one final ace, the Heart Thunder Sword.
This sword was a combination of the Controlling Sword with Qi Skill and real Sword intention. The mechanism was an unprecedented invention in Martial World history which didn’t rely on Vigorous Air. Given his mental strength in his current condition, he could launch the attack six times.
Looking at the six uncompassionate crystal puppets charging at him, the struggle in Shi Xiaole’s eyes vanished in a flash.
Was it more important to pass the test and gain fame, or to keep his abilities hidden and patiently consolidate his strength?
The answer hardly required a thought.
The longsword swung before his eyes, and the next moment, Shi Xiaole plunged into an endless darkness.
At the mountaintop, the elders stood dazed, unable to wake up from their stupor for a long time.
For hundreds of years, they thought they had seen countless promising talents. But no one, like Shi Xiaole, ever left such a unique and deep impression on them.
His calm demeanor, the acuteness of his swordsmanship, the unprecedented finesse of his techniques, his ruthless determination. He seemed to have been born for battle, perfect to the point of being faultless.
Especially in the final, grueling battle, he had portrayed the spirit of a martial artist, and the true manliness of a warrior to the utmost.
"He was so close. If he had just held on a bit longer, he could have set an unparalleled record in Mount Wanxiang’s history! I’ve never before imagined that anyone could get so close!"
The elder with the silver beard said as he trembled with overwhelming excitement. His eyes shone with an indescribable awe, admiration, and a sense of deep sorrow.
"Among the four demon prodigies, Heavenly Phoenix fought until there were sixteen others, Mysterious Sparrow fifteen, Jade Lion thirteen. Young Dragon was the strongest with only nine left. We initially thought, they were the most impressive people for thousands of years. But didn’t expect that today, a peerless hero who surpasses all four of them would emerge!"
"Only in the brilliant era about to come, can we see such an extraordinary figure! Ha, Ha, Ha. This is indeed an enormous blessing to the Martial World."
The elders of Mount Wanxiang felt the day’s events were dreamlike and surreal, if not entirely impossible. As if Shi Xiaole’s appearance was nothing less than a fantastical dream.
They knew that they would never forget this young man and the various miracles he had brought along.
"Heehee, very well, very well," a benevolent voice rang out.
The elders with the silver beards turned their heads, startled then immediately paid their respects, "Greetings Patriarch."
The old man in white casually nodded, indicating they didn’t need to be overly formal. He then instructed with a smile, "You fellows should quickly go and check the Retaining Image Stones, and pick out those eligible for engraving their names on the monument."
"Yes, Patriarch."
Despite their response, they didn’t move a single step. They were all too absorbed in something else.
Only those who advanced to the fifth trial are eligible to have their names engraved on the monument. This time there were six that fit the criteria, but to watch the images captured in their Retaining Image Stones would hardly take much time.
The silver-bearded elder hesitated for a moment and asked, "Patriarch, the young man in green only finished in the top thirty in the fourth trial. But for the rest of the trials, he had achieved the best score in history. Should we carve his name on the first row of the Ten Thousand Forms Stele?"
Going by score alone, Shi Xiaole was possibly the top scorer in history and had surpassed the four demon prodigies. His name should be featured first. However, since this was a big deal for Mount Wanxiang, it was essential to consult the Patriarch.
"Heehee, I have seen his Retaining Image Stone, he is indeed a rare talent. He really should be considered the equal of the four demon prodigies!"
The man robed in white, Elder Wanxiang, chuckled.
In his opinion, Shi Xiaole’s talent was even slightly better than the four demon prodigies.
The reason he had mentioned that they tied was that firstly, although Shi Xiaole had achieved the highest scores ever, they were not much higher than the scores of the four demon prodigies. There were differences in their scores too and a few points here or there theoretically meant they still belonged to the same level.
Secondly, elevating someone too high was often a bad thing. It may seem like a helping hand but could possibly end up harming them.
The Patriarch has spoken the truth!"
Delighted, the silver-bearded elder asked, "From today onwards, does Mount Wanxiang now have a ’Fifth Demon Prodigy’? Also, as per custom, should the Patriarch choose to grant a title to the fifth demon prodigy?"
A few elders all pricked up their ears.
Elder Wanxiang laughed heartily: "You all, do you really think that this old man’s eyesight is failing and that he has lost his memory? Rest assured, I already have a plan."
...
Halfway up Mount Wanxiang, what used to be a noisy scene turned silent in an instant as a flash of light caught everyone’s attention, and a young man in a green robe appeared. All the noise disappeared as if it was erased.
The surroundings became eerily quiet.
Pair after pair of eyes, either surprised, shocked, puzzled, or stunned, were fixed on the suddenly appearing young man in the green robe.
"It’s him, how could he be here?"
The Evil Intent Young Master’s hands which were swinging a fan suddenly froze, and his face twisted drastically.
The young man had appeared much later than Fu Tong, which implied something that anyone with common sense could guess easily. But how could this be possible?!
"This person!"
At the same time, Fu Tong, who was seated calmly waiting for the results, abruptly stood up from the stone he was sitting on, his expression rather unsightly.
He was ranked sixth on the genius list, the undisputed top genius in this place.
The flattery and compliments coming from the Evil Intent Young Master still rang in his ears, but now, the sudden appearance of this young man in the green robe was like a slap in the face.
Humiliation.
This was simply humiliation!
"Brother Shi!"
Two surprise shouts came from Yu Zhao and Li Zifeng.
The two of them never expected to see Shi Xiaole in this place and under these circumstances. They were eliminated in the third round, living quite an unremarkable existence in Mount Wanxiang, packed with extraordinary talents.
But Shi Xiaole, the only person who had ever beaten them in Linjiang, unexpectedly made a shocking appearance once again.
Did he manage to reach the fifth stage, and what kind of results did he achieve?
"He, he’s even more formidable than Fu Tong?"
Bai Zhanmei took a deep breath, not too surprised.
When she crossed swords with Shi Xiaole in the woods, she realized that he was incomprehensibly powerful. Perhaps, his ranking might not fall behind most people on the second row of the Ten Thousand Forms Stele.
"Shi Xiaole!"
Among the crowd, many people’s faces had changed continuously. The three with the most notable expressions were Su Zhaoyang and his group of three who had erected straw huts at the entrance of Wuling Villa to force Shi Xiaole to appear.
The trio could not believe that Shi Xiaole’s talent was so formidable, seemingly surpassing even Fu Tong’s.
"Shi Xiaole?"
Upon hearing the voices from afar, another person furrowed her beautiful brows; it was none other than the Tianya Saintess, Qiu Yuchu.
Qiu Yuchu had traveled to the Eight States to acquire the treasure of the Black Devil Divine Monarch in the past, and she even caught Xie Xiaofeng, who was disguised as Shi Xiaole, had him pretend to be the Devil Path Holy Young Master, in order to win over the trust of the Lan and Huang families.
Qiu Yuchu clearly remembered that when they were on Mount Dabie, she had sent out two invitations in the name of the Tianya Saintess, inviting the two most outstanding young people in the Eight States at the time.
One was for Xie Xiaofeng, and the other was for Shi Xiaole.
Could this be the same Shi Xiaole?
"It must be just a namesake."
Qiu Yuchu’s beautiful eyes flickered with curiosity as she visually appraised Shi Xiaole from head to toe, guessing which position his name might be carved in on the second row.
"Young man, I assume you must have made it to the fifth stage. May I ask, to what level have you reached?"
In the peculiar silence, the handsome Wu Siming stepped forward and asked with a smile.
This was a question everyone wanted to know. All eyes were on him again.
Shi Xiaole did not know his exact score and did not want to respond directly to this question as it felt a bit like showboating. Hence, he simply returned Wu Siming’s question with a polite smile.
"What, Brother Shi Xiaole, from your demeanor, it seems like you don’t take brother Wu seriously, even deigning to answer his question?"
After a moment’s thought, the Evil Intent Young Master adjusted himself, broke into a smile with his fan, knowing if he was too serious, he would be accused of stirring up trouble, it was better to play along. This way he not only could give Wu Siming a wakeup call, but Shi Xiaole also couldn’t retaliate as it was all just harmless jesting.
"Shut your mouth, stop treating everyone like fools."
Shi Xiaole glared at the Evil Intent Young Master. The sharp light in his eyes seemed to transform into two sharp swords, piercing straight into the latter’s mind.
Evidently scared, the Evil Intent Young Master trembled and retreated four or five steps. He wanted to rebuke, but under Shi Xiaole’s stern gaze, he couldn’t muster up the courage.
"Do you ever get tired of saying things that disgust people?"
Shi Xiaole said nonchalantly.
Everyone has their limits to tolerance. The latter had been against him at every turn in the Yundai region, and now he continued to provoke him. If he refused to stop, Shi Xiaole wouldn’t mind giving him an unforgettable lesson.
Fu Tong let out a cold laugh, just about to say something when he spotted several white-robed figures stepping down from the stairs wreathed in mist out of the corner of his eye.
The elders of Mount Wanxiang who were in charge of announcing the results and inscribing the names have come down!
