Chapter 64: Chapter 64: Entering Wanlin Mountain
Seeing that Shi Xiaole didn’t seem to apologize, Lin Langyue sneered, "Uncle Wu, it seems your guest here is quite arrogant."
Fearing that Shi Xiaole, due to youthful impulsiveness, would bring trouble upon himself, Wu Taishan hurriedly advised in a low voice, "Xiaole, Lin Langyue’s martial arts skills are beyond your imagination. Don’t let your temper get the better of you."
Shi Xiaole replied indifferently, "I never act rashly out of pride. I have done nothing wrong. Why would I apologize?"
Wu Taishan stamped his foot in frustration, knowing that trouble was about to start.
Sure enough, upon hearing this, Lin Langyue sneered, "Kid, you could have suffered less if you had just apologized."
Shi Xiaole asked, "Is there any difference now?"
"Such an arrogant brat! Brother Lin, let me teach him a lesson."
Before Lin Langyue could act, a bearded youth behind him couldn’t bear it anymore and charged at Shi Xiaole with a heavy fist. Judging by his aura, he had reached the eighth level of Hidden Qi.
"Zhang Tian is still so impulsive."
"This kid better be strong. If he falls into Zhang Tian’s hands, he won’t get off lightly."
A few young men and women chuckled.
Before their laughter subsided, Shi Xiaole met Zhang Tian’s charge with an equally forceful punch.
Bang!
The two fists collided, causing a painful crackling sound. Immediately after, Zhang Tian’s triumphant face twisted in agony. He screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his right arm, stirring up dust.
"Brother Zhang, you..."
The faces of the other young men and women froze for a moment.
Even Wu Taishan and his daughter Wu Xiaoxian were taken aback.
Zhang Tian’s strength was not inferior to Wu Xiaoxian and was even slightly stronger. The father and daughter initially thought Shi Xiaole would have to go through a tough fight, but he solved it with one punch.
"You dared to hurt my man. Great, now even if you apologize it won’t help. I’m going to sever your right arm."
Lin Langyue’s face darkened.
In the vicinity of Wanlin City, no one of his generation ever dared to disrespect him like this, which infuriated him. He was determined to give Shi Xiaole a lesson he would never forget.
Swish!
Lin Langyue, in his flowing white robe, propelled forward, his wrist twitching the long sword vigorously. The gleaming sword tips resembled a group of snakes darting out of their holes, covering 23 vital points of Shi Xiaole.
It was the same move he used to defeat Wu Xiaoxian.
"Be careful!"
Wu Xiaoxian shouted a warning, but she was somewhat worried that Shi Xiaole wouldn’t be able to block this sword strike.
Clang!
Under the gaze of everyone, Shi Xiaole calmly drew the Hundred Battles Blade from his waist and, without a glance, cut towards the chaotic sword motion.
It was the long-unused Draw Sword Skill.
With a thump, the sword motion was broken. Under the intense chop of the Hundred Battles Blade, Lin Langyue’s long sword bent, forcing him to retreat a step.
"What?!"
The young men and women behind Lin Langyue were once again stunned.
"Such a powerful sword technique, is this his real strength?"
Wu Xiaoxian muttered to herself. She felt it was time to reassess Shi Xiaole.
Only Wu Taishan looked perplexed.
Brother Fangge is known for his superior sword skills. Where did Shi Xiaole learn this sword technique? Then he remembered that Shi Xiaole also had a sword at his waist and couldn’t help but wonder about his sword skills.
"Boy, identify yourself."
After his sword technique was blocked, Lin Langyue finally took things seriously.
"My name is none of your business."
Shi Xiaole retorted.
"You’re asking for it!"
Lin Langyue was angry. He had never imagined that this boy could be so defiant.
Enraged, Lin Langyue no longer held back. In a flash, he elevated his ninth level of Hidden Qi to its peak. As he thrust his sword, a faint crescent moon emerged in the sword light.
Third-grade superior sword technique, Waning Moon Sword Technique.
As the ancestral sword technique of the Lin Family, Lin Langyue had already perfected the Waning Moon Sword Technique to the Transformation Phase, each move flowed like moonlight, deadly yet undetectable.
With this sword technique, he had fought an expert of the Qi Absorption Realm without defeat, making his way into the ranks of the prodigies of the Cloud Triangle’s second tier a few months ago.
"Brother Lin is finally taking it seriously. Let’s see how this brat dies now!"
Zhang Tian, clutching his broken right arm, gritted his teeth in anger, wishing for Shi Xiaole to be killed by Lin Langyue immediately.
Facing the relentless sword light, Shi Xiaole, contrary to everyone’s expectation, did not retreat in the slightest. The Hundred Battles Blade Skill required absolute forward momentum, courage in the face of countless battles, and a single decisive slash regardless of the opponent’s strength!
Clang, clang, clang...
A surprising scene occurred.
Shi Xiaole, relying on a third-grade medium blade skill, managed to block Lin Langyue’s all-out attack. Even more incredibly, his momentum was growing stronger, hinting at a potential counterattack.
In a martial arts contest, internal power is one factor, technique is another, and there’s also the matter of reactions during the fight.
Though Shi Xiaole was two minor realms weaker than Lin Langyue in terms of internal power, he had already achieved great proficiency in the Fuyang Qi Skill he practiced, so he was not at a disadvantage, even slightly ahead.
Regarding the level of technique, both were at the peak of the Transformation Phase, but it was clear to anyone with discernment that Shi Xiaole’s application of techniques had reached a level akin to the flow of wind and water, something Lin Langyue simply could not compare to.
As for in-the-moment reactions, the gap was even more striking.
In-the-moment reaction depends primarily on a person’s agility and their combat experience.
The former was another manifestation of technique application, and the two were not in the same league.
As for combat experience, although Shi Xiaole had only been in the martial world for a few months, he had already survived several deadly battles, giving him deep insights.
Conversely, Lin Langyue, as the eldest son of the Lin Family, had always been well protected since childhood.
Even when he had previously clashed with a master in the first tier of the Qi Absorption Realm, it was under the protection of the family’s top fighters, hence it wasn’t a real life-and-death battle and he had always had confidence, which deeply disadvantaged him in this competition.
This comprehensive suppression from three aspects made everyone watching, stunned and shocked, their eyes seemed to be deceiving them.
"You’re no match for me."
After dozens of moves, Shi Xiaole made a swipe with his heavy blade, and once again performed the Draw Sword Skill, knocking away Lin Langyue’s long sword with an outrageously unreasonable stance.
"Impossible!"
Lin Langyue stumbled back, his handsome face turning red.
"Brother Lin actually lost, and was on the back foot the whole time. This man’s strength, even among second tier prodigies, is top tier, who on earth is he?"
Zhang Tian was astonished, looking blankly at Shi Xiaole.
"This guy!"
Wu Xiaoxian opened and closed her small mouth, speechless for a long time.
Before the fight, when she saw Shi Xiaole carrying a sword and a blade, she had thought that he must be quite strong, but she never expected him to be this powerful. Even ’Langyue Sword’ Lin Langyue, ranked in the second tier of the Cloud Triangle prodigies, was no match for him.
"I misjudged, I misjudged."
Wu Taishan kept smiling bitterly and recalling his previous timid appearance, he couldn’t help but shake his head
"Tell me your name. I will one day avenge today’s humiliation."
Lin Langyue picked up his sword from the ground and glared at Shi Xiaole with a humiliated and angered expression on his face.
Shi Xiaole was well aware of the malicious light in Lin Langyue’s eyes.
From Lin Langyue’s unscrupulous attempts to take down the Wu Family today, Shi Xiaole was certain that the ’vengeance’ Lin Langyue referred to wouldn’t be achieved via fair means.
Suppressing the killing intent in his heart, Shi Xiaole said: "Scram!"
Lin Langyue wanted to explode, but dared not to do so in the end. He left in bitter defeat along with several other shocked young men and women.
"Xiaole, we owe a lot to you this time. But you’ve offended Lin Langyue, it’s better for you to leave here as soon as possible."
Wu Taishan came over, looking worried.
Lin Langyue wasn’t scary, but the Lin family behind him was. If they sent out a Qi Absorption Realm master to avenge Lin Langyue, no matter how strong Shi Xiaole was, it would be useless.
Shi Xiaole came to Wanlin City to acquire the Stone Touching Skill. Seeing that things weren’t going well, he no longer wished to stay and nodded immediately.
While he wasn’t afraid of the Lin Family, he did not want to invite unnecessary trouble. Cavorting around playing hero wouldn’t be a smart move,
"Uncle Wu, what about you two..."
"Don’t worry. I’ve been getting better recently, and am ready to make a trip to Wanlin Mountain. If it goes well, we won’t have to worry about the Lin Family anymore."
From the look in Wu Taishan’s eyes, Shi Xiaole sensed an anticipation of restoration and he secretly thought whether Wu Taishan had a self-healing technique, which would be great.
When Shi Xiaole prepared to leave the village, and was about to drive away, he was suddenly called out to from behind by Wu Xiaoxian.
"Shi Xiaole, I know why you came. As long as you’re willing to accompany me and my father to Wanlin Mountain, I can give you the Stone Touching Skill."
This statement took Shi Xiaole by surprise.
"Why do you need me to accompany you?"
"This time we are going to pick a particular flower, if we get it, combined with the Jiehuan Grass and other ingredients, it could cure my father’s wounds. But this flower is extremely rare, so I fear that if others discovered it, it might cause a fight."
Having said this, she glanced at Shi Xiaole.
Shi Xiaole understood, they had seen his strength and wanted him to act as a bodyguard.
"Is this your idea, or your father’s?"
Shi Xiaole wasn’t clouded by the good news.
If this proposal was Wu Taishan’s idea, then of course he would be happy to accept. But if Wu Xiaoxian decided on her own, he wouldn’t take advantage of someone in danger.
Although Shi Xiaole was not a gentleman, Wu Taishan was after all friends with Yu Fangge. There were some things he just couldn’t do.
Seeing Wu Xiaoxian opening her mouth but not being able to say anything, looking embarrassed, Shi Xiaole knew the answer in an instant, saying: "I will not accept your proposal."
Wu Xiaoxian was taken aback, feeling a deep disappointment in her heart. But to her surprise, Shi Xiaole changed his tone and said: "However, as it concerns Uncle Wu’s recovery, I’m willing to accompany you to the mountain. As for the reward, don’t even mention it."
"You, Shi Xiaole, thank you!"
Wu Xiaoxian’s heart was moved. In the setting sun, she looked at Shi Xiaole’s crystal clear and jade-like face, and sincerely said.
Not wanting to make Wu Taishan feel awkward, Shi Xiaole did not appear that night. Instead, he quietly followed behind Wu Xiaoxian and her father.
After turning left and right through the mountains and passing through several dangerous areas, about two days later, they arrived at the base of an isolated mountain peak surrounded by pools on all sides.
