Chapter 618: Chapter 617: Three-phased Flying Feather Blade
Besides the Sword Realm, Shi Xiaole has long since reached the standard of the Invincible Lord, especially recently, as his Vigorous Air has increased by another twenty percent, his power has surged.
Common Limit Supreme Lords can’t withstand his sword, only the Invincible Lord can ignite his will to fight.
The azure Sword Qi surged upwards, splitting the heavens and the earth in two. Two eerie yellow knife lights fell instantly from either side, creating two trenches on the ground that were a kilometer long and three meters deep.
The residual power of the knife technique rebounded from the trench, buzzing and cutting deep intersecting lines into the nearby hills.
The power of a single strike from the Invincible Lord was so ferocious that it made Shi Weiwei’s legs wobble. Yet, such a formidable strike was blocked by their young master.
"Within three strikes, I’ll take your dog life!"
As the voice rang out, the bulging muscles of Luoyu Knife Lord’s gripping arm burst through his sleeves.
Under his wild pulling, a fifty-foot-long blade improvised from the sky. The knife technique hadn’t even approached yet when a gigantic crack sprouted from nowhere, spreading from beneath Shi Xiaole’s feet to two kilometers away, as if the whole island had been cleaved in half.
Shi Xiaole was unable to move as the knife technique had locked the void. Fearlessly, he met it with his sword.
Clang!
Like the booming of a large bell, visible transparent ripples, originating from where the sword and knife clashed, continued to spread. Within a hundred meters, rocks crumbled, and the spot where the two stood continued to sink.
It turned out that the surface had been shaved off a thick layer due to the impact of the brilliant sword and knife Qi. Dust had just begun to stir when it was instantly crushed a second time.
"Blocked it?"
The pupils of Luoyu Knife Lord slightly dilated.
He couldn’t understand how Shi Xiaole, who’d only reached the late stages of Heavenly Sword Realm, could block his attack.
Ten years ago, his heavenly knife had reached its peak state, turning every move into a strike. The most ordinary knife techniques could explode with the power of superior knife techniques in his hands.
The lord’s feet were motionless, his knife quickly retracted - in the next instant, it fell with lightning speed, too quick to be described with the phrase ’as fast as lightning’.
Shhh, shhh...
The void became a world of blades, countless slender knife lights pouring down on Shi Xiaole like a torrential downpour, pervasive and unstoppable.
In contrast was the azure Sword Qi, but it was obviously less than the freelance knife light, and its attack power was slightly weaker. In a short time, over half of it was neutralised, leaving Shi Xiaole, behind the Sword Qi, severely exposed.
Boom!
What has just been shown was merely the peak state of the Heavenly Knife, but now, the dazzling, eye-piercing knife light is Luoyu Knife Lord’s killer move.
Just as Shi Xiaole seemed about to lose his life, Shi Weiwei was even prepared to rush forward, but a sharp trembling sound suddenly rang in her ears. Only then did she realise that the unstoppable knife light suddenly began to shatter from the top half.
A sword tip rushed out from the middle, and the figure in a purple robe on the ground that had been pierced by the knife light turned out to be a phantom that Shi Xiaole had left behind.
Clang!
The sword swept past, creating sparks from the friction with the knife blade. While Luoyu Knife Lord stood like a mountain, his face was exceptionally gloomy.
As an Invincible Lord facing a Limit Supreme Lord, not only was he unable to resolve the fight quickly, but he was also counterattacked, which was an utter humiliation.
With just a fleeting thought, Shi Xiaole stabbed again from the left, only to be swatted away by the enraged Luoyu Knife Lord. However, as soon as his knife technique ended, the Sword Qi moved to the right.
"Begone!"
Using his arm as a blade, he easily cut through the Sword Qi. The actual attack was a feint; the real sword glare fell from above. But by then, Luoyu Knife Lord had recovered, swiftly whirling upwards with his long knife.
Sword and knife collided. Contrarily, it wasn’t Shi Xiaole who retreated, but Luoyu Knife Lord. This sword had seemed to have calculated the perfect position, striking right at the weakest point of the knife technique.
Clang, clang, clang...
The situation greatly defied Shi Weiwei’s expectations, and more so Luoyu Knife Lord’s. In head-to-head combat, the upper hand was surprisingly held by Shi Xiaole.
Thanks to Life and Death Dual Qi and Wind True Intent, Shi Xiaole’s speed was astonishingly fast, even faster than Luoyu Knife Lord. And speed, to a certain extent, represents the upper hand.
"Damn, this boy must be killed!"
Luoyu Knife Lord’s angular face fluctuated between green and red.
After a series of clashes, he finally realized that Shi Xiaole’s ability to hold his ground in direct combat was due to his unusual proficiency, which even surpassed the limit of a Lord.
Not only his unpredictable speed and keen judgement had instantly seized control of the field, making it impossible for him to fully exert his strength.
However, absolute strength is absolute strength, which other things cannot reverse.
A flash of fierce light in his eyes, Luoyu Knife Lord suddenly dropped his defense. No matter how fast Shi Xiaole’s sword was, his body was like weightless feathers, drifting backward lightly.
"Master, be careful! This is Luoyu Knife Lord’s Flying Feather Body Technique — it can dodge all forces!"
Shi Weiwei cried out in a hurry.
"Courting death!"
Luoyu Knife Lord casually swung his blade, and a destructive blade light instantaneously struck at Shi Weiwei. At the crucial moment, Shi Xiaole appeared in front, slicing the blade light in half with a single sword stroke.
"Black Feather Tianluo."
The previous strike was merely to divert Shi Xiaole’s attention and buy time for his own killer move. Luoyu Knife Lord laughed uproariously as he swung his blade. Suddenly, black feathers appeared in the sky, and like they were dropping slowly yet quickly.
Sprightly rising to his feet, Shi Xiaole executed the Wind of Lingxi technique. However, the sword Qi brushed past the black feathers. The latter were blown away but immediately changed direction and continued to drop.
"If you can’t break my Flying Feather True Intent, you’re as good as dead."
Luoyu Knife Lord smugly kept his thoughts to himself.
This was a top-grade true intent he had gleaned while observing feathers fall as a child. Implemented into his body technique, it could maximize evasion of the enemy’s attack, employing a flexible strategy in response to the enemy’s changes. In his attacks, it displayed a blend of softness and hardness, making it difficult for the enemy to defend against.
The Flying Feather True Intent is not impossible to crack, but the enemy would consume several times more air strength than his own, resulting in an inevitable dead end.
"To become the Invincible Lord, each one indeed is no simple feat."
As the black feathers condensed from the knife’s aura fell, Shi Xiaole had the composure to sigh in his heart.
He had carefully studied the Lord Rankings of the Tian State, and discovered that most of the 122 invincible lords were under sixty and considered part of the younger generation.
Those who lacked aptitude could forever only dream of becoming an Invincible Lord, while those with sufficient aptitude could achieve this after decades of cultivation. There were certainly exceptions, but they were mostly due to special circumstances.
For geniuses like that, they are ten times stronger than the average in terms of the true intent they comprehend, combat techniques, martial arts levels, etc. To defeat them from a lower level was a herculean task.
However, Shi Xiaole was willing to test his luck.
With a flick of his sword, he waved high multiple times.
"Useless, a waste of effort..."
Before Luoyu Knife Lord could finish his sentence, he was stunned.
No, the black feathers hadn’t disappeared, but under Shi Xiaole’s sword technique, they suddenly lost their trajectory. Instead of targeting Shi Xiaole, they were turned against Luoyu Knife Lord himself.
Indeed, wind is incapable of extinguishing feathers, but it can control their landing point.
In a sense, Wind True Intent perfectly restrained Flying Feather True Intent. Another swordsman who fully understood Wind True Intent would also not be able to break this like Shi Xiaole.
Because he could not instantly spot the vulnerability in Luoyu Knife Lord’s knife technique like Shi Xiaole.
Whir...
Countless knife intents burst out, obliterating the black feathers. The face of Luoyu Knife Lord became more rigid than iron, and a ghastly white glow burst from his knife.
"White Feather Extinction!"
Dozens of black feathers turned into a storm of white. The heavy white feathers, carrying the stench of death, enveloped Shi Xiaole. If softness wouldn’t work, then force would be used. This was a strike that could not be fended off using techniques.
Sensing the surrounding emptiness like a prison, Shi Xiaole remained calm and composed. He twisted his right wrist, and his sword immediately drew several circles of Sword Qi around him.
As soon as white feathers approached, they were first sucked and attracted by the outer ring of the sword Qi circle, then by the second, and so on. By the time they got close to Shi Xiaole, most of their energy was lost, making it hard for them to even reach his hair.
Undying Seven Illusions!
However, at this time, Undying Seven Illusions was wielded by Shi Xiaole in the form of a sword technique, transforming it into Undying Swordsmanship.
"Life Enters Oblivion!"
Passively taking a beating was not Shi Xiaole’s style. Just after blasting the white feathers, he swung his right arm, drawing a cross in front of him with his sword.
The two glows, white and black, symbolizing life and death, slashed towards the Luoyu Knife Lord, and what shocked the latter was that he could not dodge it with his Flying Feather Body Technique.
The Flying Feather Body Technique might be able to avoid physical force, but how can one avoid life and death, which are inviolable facets of life.
Hisss...
The black light, like a parasitic disease, continuously eroded Luoyu Knife Lord’s knife strength, while the white light absorbed the surrounding force, continuously providing power to the black light, forcing Luoyu Knife Lord to retreat again and again.
This sword technique, more mysterious than the Flying Feather Knife Technique, stunned Shi Weiwei and caused her eyes to widen in amazement.
"Soul Extinguisher!"
Not giving Luoyu Knife Lord the chance to react, Shi Xiaole appeared before him, and with Life and Death Dual Qi at their climax, his sword swung and a black aura filled with an air of death spread out.
The speed of the Soul Extinguisher wasn’t fast, but it could make up for it with distance.
Hissss...
Black sword Qi attached itself to the knife, then entered Luoyu Knife Lord’s arms through the knife, and subsequently ate into his shoulders, abdomen, and the rest of his body.
In an instant, Luoyu Knife Lord’s momentum sharply plummeted, and his face turned white as a sheet. His life force weakened noticeably, and he even seemed to be transitioning from a vibrant youth to a middle-aged man.
"Master is awesome!"
Shi Weiwei’s eyes sparkled as a comforting sense filled her being.
"Hahaha, you fell into my trap, die!"
Moving backward, a much weaker Luoyu Knife Lord suddenly roared with a ferociousness. A blood-red knife aura raced toward Shi Xiaole even faster than his voice, just when Shi Xiaole was relaxed.
The Three-phased Flying Feather Blade’s Blood Feathers Fluttered.
He deliberately took the hit, so he could store energy for this final strike. It was just that he never expected Shi Xiaole’s sword technique to be so terrifying that he might not recover from this ordeal for many years.
"Wind Kill!"
Expressionless, just as the blood aura approached, Shi Xiaole swung his sword.
Luoyu Knife Lord had deliberately stored energy, but very much the same Shi Xiaole had been doing too. Wind Kill was his real trump card when manipulating Vigorous Air.
Swoosh!
The blood-red knife aura had just burst halfway when it suddenly collapsed. A figure, like a sack, fell backward. The long knife clanged to the ground.
