Chapter 656: Chapter 655 I Will Win
"Fast, but too weak in terms of offensive power."
If it wasn’t for Shi Xiaole, Han Bolin’s speed would be enough to make his peers despair. Facing him, even the slightest gap exposed would mean the demise.
What a pity.
Attempting to create a striking visual effect, Shi Xiaole stood still, suddenly compressing an invisible spiritual punch wave, and subsequently smashing it towards Han Bolin’s back.
His pupils tightened involuntarily, Han Bolin was secretly surprised at Shi Xiaole’s reaction speed. Nevertheless, he himself was not slow either, his body seemed to split into two shadows, abruptly reassembling behind Shi Xiaole.
Right after the two shadows were about to regroup, the second punch shadow promptly appeared, as if it had accurately predicted Han Bolin’s position, targeting his vulnerability.
Bang.
Before he could react, Han Bolin, with wide eyes, tumbled backwards until he was about thirty meters away.
"What?"
"What just happened?"
All the faces, whether they were watching the show or appreciating it, were all equally stunned.
Thirteenth Elder shouted: "Bolin, do not underestimate your opponent! Use all your power."
He simply could not believe that his most promising grandson would not be able to withstand even one hit from Shi Xiaole. Among the five great geniuses, only Ba Erda could resist Han Bolin by relying on his absolute defense.
"Xuan Shadow Break!"
His body divided into two parts, and each half split again into four. Suddenly, the hall was filled with the image of Han Bolin. Because this was a martial art of the Spiritual Path, each bodily shadow exuded the same aura, making it impossible to distinguish the real one.
Furious and ashamed of what had just transpired, Han Bolin swore to teach Shi Xiaole a lesson, hence, he immediately used his strongest technique.
"What’s real cannot be falsified, and what’s fake cannot be real."
If he had not understood the martial arts of the Spiritual Path over these past few days, Shi Xiaole might have been deceived. However, after grasping the essence of compressed explosion, his understanding of the Spiritual Path was far deeper than anyone could imagine.
If one had to describe it, it would be like a person who already knew all the words to a certain language, but did not know how to apply them. However, in a situation where the language is spoken, the person would adapt quickly.
This was precisely the case for Shi Xiaole and the Spiritual Path.
It was not that Han Bolin’s speed wasn’t fast enough, it was that Shi Xiaole had already surpassed his level. Concentrating his spiritual power into a punch wave, he struck ahead.
Step. Step. Step.
With his pupils almost squinting into slits, Han Bolin stumbled back desperately.
Everyone lost their composure at this point.
"Let me, Ba Erlei, try you, ’Impenetrable Shield’!"
A hulking young man nine feet tall bellowed, stomping his feet so hard that it felt like the entire hall shook in response.
Around his body appeared a layer of spiritual power condensed into an amber armour. Its surface was rugged and uneven, resembling the hardest stone slab in the world, unshakeable.
"He managed to break Han Bolin’s speed, proving his incredible perception. However, against Ba Erlei, no matter how high one’s perceptual abilities are, it is of no use."
A young man named Wang Yuankang narrowed his eyes, emitting a sharp light. Although his words suggested otherwise, the fact that he managed to defeat Han Bolin showed that Shi Xiaole was not a simple opponent.
"Winning through defense?"
Using amazing defensive power, Ba Erlei might be the most difficult one among the five to deal with. Your attack power may be strong, but it can’t break through his defense unless you exhaust his spiritual power.
However, there are always two sides to a coin. Once your own attack power surpasses Ba Erlei’s defense, this type of opponent actually becomes the easiest to deal with.
Concentrating his spiritual power, Shi Xiaole swung his fist forward.
It was still Severing Air Fist.
The punch wave hit him and automatically dissipated. Ba Erlei burst out laughing: "Your little trick is useless against me."
Before he even finished laughing, a second punch wave sprung from within the dissipating waves, three times more condensed than before and thrice as powerful, striking Ba Erlei squarely and unexpectedly.
Bang!
Crack, crack, crack!
The amber armour quickly sloped inward, starting to shatter from a single point, spreading out in all directions, before finally exploding violently. Yelling loudly, Ba Erlei’s feet scraped the ground, almost falling out of the hall with a face full of shock and horror.
He could not believe that besides Gao Kun and Qi Sina, there were other young people of his generation who could shatter his absolute defense with a single blow.
"Is this... the Severing Air Fist?"
Thirteenth Elder was dumbfounded.
He had been immersed in the martial arts of the Spiritual Path for many years and was confident in his eyesight. But the issue was, what was the internal explosive power of that fist just now? Could it be something the lad created himself?
"Unparalleled Drill!"
A high-speed rotating spiritual drill rushed towards Shi Xiaole, causing the space to explode into layers of ripples, as if a plasterboard had been torn apart by force.
The owner of this attack was Wang Yuankang, whose attacking power was the strongest among the five.
With his eyes slightly raised, Shi Xiaole was calm and unruffled, but the speed at which he punched was incredibly fast, to the point that even Han Bolin, who prided himself on his speed, was taken aback.
A spiritual punch wave appeared out of nowhere, preemptively striking the spiritual drill.
Just like before, Shi Xiaole’s punch, embodied with brute force, shattered the spiritual drill bit. The residual force sent Wang Yuankang flying backward, and his facial expression changed rapidly as he barely managed to stabilize himself.
"Snake Crane Eight Steps!"
A figure moved in a twisted yet straight motion around Shi Xiaole. Yu Tai’s expression was serious.
The opponent hadn’t struggled to defeat Han Bolin, Ba Erlei, and Wang Yuankang consecutively; his strength certainly exceeded his. However, he was good at beating those stronger than him. If he was careful, maybe he could gamble a fight.
Shi Xiaole quickly figured out that the opponent was good at tactical fights and was slippery. Such people could often perform beyond their full potential.
Unfortunately for them, who would be able to best him at technique?
Shi Xiaole, again, only threw a punch. However, this punch was different from the previous ones in everyone’s eyes. Besides its terrifying power, it seemed to suppress Yu Tai’s maneuver, like hitting a snake at its critical point, which was just perfect.
In the wildly spreading spiritual fluctuations, Yu Tai staggered backward, speechless.
In the blink of an eye, there was only one of the five geniuses left, Zhao Sen, who had the most balanced offense and defense.
As everyone’s attention fell on him, Zhao Sen touched his nose and laughed bitterly, "I am no match for Young Master Shi. I won’t make a fool of myself."
The hall was unusually quiet, with only the popping sound of flames burning.
The various elders seemed to have lost the ability to speak. They only stared at Shi Xiaole dully. Observant people noticed that since he started fighting, he hadn’t even moved his feet.
The five geniuses had been defeated effortlessly, as simple as eating and drinking.
Even Qi Sina was staring at Shi Xiaole, unable to return to her senses for a long time. The outsider she had brought back by chance was unexpectedly outstanding?
"Young Master Shi, how many young masters like you are there in the outside world?"
Unable to hold back his curiosity, the amiable elder asked a question that perked up everyone’s ears.
Without any hesitation, Shi Xiaole replied, "The world is vast, and there are countless people with remarkable talents. I’m sorry, but I can’t answer your question."
His words were straightforward, but they had a different flavor when heard by the crowd.
Did he mean that among the famous people in the Martial World, none could match him, so he had to consider the whole world? Recalling Shi Xiaole’s previous performance, everyone had their own answers.
Perhaps taking into account the emotions of several elders, the Ninth Elder suppressed his excitement and said, "Young Master Shi, welcome to the Yiling Clan. We believe that with your understanding of martial arts, you will make our clan’s spiritual civilization even more splendid. We look forward to your participation in the competition for the Divine Stone three days from now."
Shi Xiaole’s strength far surpassed the five geniuses and should be on par with Qi Sina.
The Ninth Elder was previously concerned about whether Qi Sina could compete with Gao Kun. Now with the addition of Shi Xiaole, victory was more assured.
Seeing this, several elders did not raise any objections.
They wanted to fight for opportunities for their offspring, but their primary desire was to win the Divine Stone competition. The addition of Shi Xiaole undoubtedly greatly increased their strength.
After all, if they won the competition, everyone benefits.
...
In another brightly lit hall similarly filled with people, the eldest among them was slightly older than the Ninth Elder. He had a head of partially white hair and watched a young man with shining eyes while laughing heartily.
To be precise, not just the seventh Elder. All the people present were focusing on this young man, making him the center of the room, shining brighter than the flames.
"Kun, Qi Sina is cunning and her strength must be stronger than everyone imagines. You can’t be careless," the Seventh Elder warned.
Gao Kun kept a straight face, his voice like fire, carrying an irresistible force, "I will win."
He didn’t explain, didn’t promise, but these three simple words gave people an unparalleled sense of confidence and unassailable charm.
Two young women gazed at Gao Kun with admiration.
The Seventh Elder laughed heartily.
The seventh layer of the Qiankun Eye did not guarantee Gao Kun’s victory. But the Elder knew one thing, his grandson never bragged, if he said he would win, he would win, there would be no second outcome.
Ninth Elder, five years ago my family’s Kun was not grown up yet, and your side took the victory. This time, the victory will be ours!
...
With three days to go until the Divine Stone competition, the entire inner dwelling of the Yiling Clan was already in an uproar. This once-in-five-years event was one of the few festivals of the Yiling Clan and was naturally eagerly awaited.
At some point, the news that Shi Xiaole would represent the Ninth Elder in the competition also quickly spread, attracting many people’s attention.
Especially the Seventh Elder’s side, they dare not be careless, collecting information about Shi Xiaole from all around. Unfortunately, the Ninth Elder had silenced what happened in the hall. Only a few people present knew about it.
While turmoil had arisen outside, Shi Xiaole remained calm.
Presumably seeing his value, Qi Sina sent another first-class, mid-level spiritual martial skill.
With only three days left until the competition, no matter how talented Shi Xiaole was, there wouldn’t be enough time to learn it. However, this didn’t stop him from understanding it, he would learn as much as he could.
Qi Sina’s action was probably to soothe him, expressing her apology for ’overlooking him’ earlier.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Today, the sun was shining brightly, and countless people gathered in the central square of the Yiling Clan.
The once-in-five-years Divine Stone competition officially began.
