Chapter 674: Chapter 673: Four Top-Tier Martial Arts
A storm was raging in the sky, with rainwater continually dripping onto the ground from the leaks in the dilapidated temple.
Inside the temple, a few dozen people were sitting, each looking glum than the other.
"Ancestor, are we really just going to retreat like this?"
Several days had passed after the incident, and Qiu Yuansheng was still unwilling to accept it. No one could understand the fury inside him, having gone from the respected head of the Qiu Family to a scorned figure in the Devil Path.
The old man in grey robes had his eyes half-closed. He remained silent for a long time before saying: "We underestimated our opponents. That’s why we failed this time."
The Ancestor of the Qin Family had friends in the Divine Border Realm, and so did the old man in grey. But he thought their victory was assured, so he did not call for their help. But mostly, his friends were not the sort to be rallied without an enticing offer. Trying to mobilize them would come with a high proposal.
"It all boils down to that lad. He ruined everything, ruining our chance to control Yuanling. I must kill him!"
A formidable practitioner from Hell Gate grumbled with murderous intent.
He had attained the Fifth Tier of the Divine Border Realm and was confident that he could easily take down Shi Xiaole.
Upon hearing this, the Terrestrial Immortals from the three major families all wore frosty expressions.
Their only grievance was with Shi Xiaole. They blamed all their current predicaments on him, and their hatred for him had seeped into their bones.
"How are you going to deal with him when we don’t even know where he is?"
The old man in grey muttered, as if asking himself, or questioning the others.
Qiu Yuansheng’s eyes narrowed, "Finding his whereabouts and killing him might be too challenging. Perhaps we should take another approach and strike at his base of operations."
All eyes turned to Qiu Yuansheng as he continued, "I’ve checked, the lad has established a villa of some sort in Xuanwu State. We could go there and slaughter his villa! Once he’s hears the news, he’s bound to rush back."
The rest of his words remained unsaid, but a sense of eager anticipation surged within everyone.
Especially for the high-ranking members of the three major families, who had nowhere else to go. If they could deliver the Kirin to Hell Gate, they would surely attain a higher position.
The old man in grey said, " Let’s change the plan from ransacking the villa to assassinations. Start with the Kirin’s friends and family, but don’t make a huge scene all at once."
While many people looked confused, Qiu Yuansheng smacked his forehead and praised his Ancestor’s wisdom.
Immediately plundering the villa would inevitably draw the attention of the Righteous Path. Some busybodies might interfere and disrupt the plan to capture the Kirin.
On the contrary, if they take their time, Wuling Villa would surely inform the Kirin. By the time he rushes back, there would be a great opportunity to get him.
Upon understanding the plan, everyone laughed heartily.
The old man in grey then led a group of powerful practitioners back to Hell Gate to report the situation.
Meanwhile, twenty-odd Terrestrial Immortals headed straight to Xuanwu State to evade pursuit in the Martial World and to seek revenge on the Kirin. With such a lineup, even with their eyes closed, they could take care of Shi Xiaole if they spotted him.
...
"It’s really difficult to determine strength levels when you reach the Divine Border Realm."
In the room, Shi Xiaole let out a bitter chuckle.
Despite defeating three Terrestrial Immortals, he still wasn’t clear about where his strength truly stood.
There are just too many factors that can influence one’s strength in the Divine Border Realm.
The first is cultivation level. Higher cultivation means stronger Vigorous Air, but people have different physical limits and foundations established in the Dragon Gate Realm.
This means that someone with a lower cultivation level might be stronger in terms of Vigorous Air than another person with a higher cultivation level.
The second is Martial Arts.
Martial Arts evolve from true intent and are divided into second-class, first-class, top-tier, and Supreme Martial Arts. Of course, their powers vary with each level.
But we can’t ignore the influence of one’s realm.
For instance, a second-class Martial Art with 50% mastery may not be inferior to a first-class Martial Art with only 40% mastery.
Besides cultivation level and Martial Arts, martial techniques also play a vital role.
Two Terrestrial Immortals with the same conditions but one has practiced a first-class top-grade martial technique, the difference would be states apart.
People in the Martial World are saying that the Kirin is stronger than the Jade Lion, but Shi Xiaole knows that it might not be accurate.
The Jade Lion’s opponent, Xing Shuzi, practiced a first-class top-grade martial technique. His strength was definitely stronger than the Earth Immortal from the Qiu Family and the other two. If Shi Xiaole were to fight Xing Shuzi, even if he could win, it would be a hard-fought victory.
Apart from the three factors mentioned earlier, the influence of weapons also needs to be considered.
In short, the Divine Border realm is too complex to precisely determine a practitioner’s power level. This is probably why the Divine Strategy Academy does not rank Terrestrial Immortals.
"Regardless, strengthening oneself is the key, and I have the opportunity."
The four kinds of Martial Arts needed to be coded and decoded carefully, so substantial improvements are unlikely for now, and the same applies to cultivation level. Thus, Shi Xiaole’s only choice was to practice a first-class top-grade martial technique.
The number of steles in the first to fifth layers of the Martial God Hall decreased exponentially. The first-class top-grade martial techniques on the third layer could be easily counted.
Shi Xiaole planned to choose at least one suitable inner strength technique and sword technique.
The inner strength technique was the most important. Shi Xiaole had tried before and found that the Karmic Conversion Skill could not absorb the Vigorous Air of Terrestrial Immortals, which solidified his decision to switch to another inner strength technique.
After looking around for a while, Shi Xiaole quickly made his decision.
Ding!
"Congratulations to the host for purchasing a first-class top-grade inner strength technique, Wei Beihui’s Dragon Gate Divine Skill!"
Wei Beihui, the most powerful Sect Master in the history of the Blood River Sect, earned a reputation that literally would stun his ancestors and shine brighter than his contemporaries. In his time, the only person in the Martial World worthy of being his opponent was Xiao QiuShui.
Regrettably, this extraordinarily gifted man loved a woman deeply, yet due to his excessive energy, he was unable to resist indulging his passions. This broke her heart, to the point where he had to cut himself every day in order to alleviate his longing for her.
During the battle at the Dragon Gate on the Yellow River, Wei Beihui, harboring a death wish, accidentally fell into the Dragon Gate during his duel with Xiao QiuShui.
Before he died, he used all his life’s energy to preserve his body. Decades after his death, his body was still intact, and his spirit still exuded a powerful aura, showing just how terrifying his power had been.
The Dragon Gate Divine Skill was an unparalleled technique created by Wei Beihui. He had derived it from the inner skills of the Blood River Sect and the swiftly rushing currents of the Dragon Gate. Once one mastered it, his power could reach the very heavens and penetrate the earth.
Judging from the consumed reward values and the nature of this inner skill, it is the most suitable one for Shi Xiaole at present.
Next on the list was swordsmanship.
At a glance, Shi Xiaole immediately made his choice.
"Congratulations, host, for acquiring the top-tier swordsmanship, Xiaowu’s Xuanyin Twelve Swords."
The Xuanyin Twelve Swords, a supreme swordsmanship technique from the Sword Realm, was born out of myriad malicious thoughts and considered the ultimate sinister sword.
In the Martial World, only Xiaowu could comprehend the full twelve-style sword intent, but Jian Chen was surprisingly the one who wielded it most proficiently.
Employing just the first seven styles, Jian Chen defeated Jue Xin, who had ingested dragon essence. Later, he teamed up with a young Mo Kui, using it to blind Wu Wudi’s eyes, thereby pushing this sword technique to its limit.
However, the Xuanyin Twelve Swords had one fatal flaw: they needed to rely on, and be submissive to, the wielder’s inner malicious intent in order to unleash their power.
This was why the swords shone brilliantly in Jian Chen’s hands, but were unremarkable when wielded by Xiaowu, Da Dangjia, and others.
Shi Xiaole guessed that this was the reason why the Xuanyin Twelve Swords only received a top-tier rating. He chose this sword technique because of the Demon Martial Way.
He felt that he could perhaps use the Xuanyin Twelve Swords to stimulate the Demon Martial Way, thus achieving mutually beneficial results. Even if he failed, there was no harm done, as he could always earn more reward points.
Having spent 223,000 of his remaining 239,000 reward points, Shi Xiaole bought two top-tier martial arts techniques.
They were the Divine Wind Movement and the Effortless Seeking Technique.
Yes, they were the same Divine Wind Movement that Nie Feng had gleaned from the waves and the Effortless Seeking Technique that Bu Jingyun had found in the Loulan ruins.
With the foundation of the Wind God Leg and 30% of the Wind Sword Way, Shi Xiaole had an innate advantage in practicing the Divine Wind Movement. He could significantly boost his strength in the shortest time possible and practice other sword techniques later.
The Effortless Seeking Technique emphasized going with the flow of nature. Although lacking in attack power, it could ensure victory and had significant research value.
With the addition of the Dragon Gate Divine Skill, Xuanyin Twelve Swords, Divine Wind Movement, and Effortless Seeking Technique, Shi Xiaole felt an indescribable excitement. Once he mastered these, his power would drastically advance, surpassing anyone’s expectations.
"Shi Xiaole, are you leaving?"
In the hall, the Qin Family’s Ancestor showed some regret upon hearing Shi Xiaole’s words.
"I’ve been at the Qin Family for many days. It’s time for me to leave."
Said Shi Xiaole.
"Where do you plan to go?"
Qin Xiangyu lowered her head, then raised it and asked.
Shi Xiaole laughed, "I’m going back to Xuanwu State."
When he initially came to Tian State, he was searching for the ingredients to counteract Blood Yang. But now, Shi Xiaole had decided to keep it for a while, so finding those ingredients had been put on hold.
On the other hand, it was past the time he had promised the three strange men. Shi Xiaole needed to go back and give them an update.
"Since you’ve made up your mind to leave, I won’t keep you. But there are lots of people outside, why not leave through the Qin Family’s secret passage?"
The Ancestor had no intention of stopping him. For people like Shi Xiaole, once they spoke, their decisions were final and no one could alter their determination.
But now that they were parting, who knew when they would meet again. Perhaps they may not see each other in this lifetime.
The Qin Family’s Ancestor sighed. He had at most ten years left to live, and he feared he wouldn’t be there to see the day when Shi Xiaole would become a towering tree.
Considering Shi Xiaole’s safety, the higher-ups in the Qin family kept his departure a secret. Apart from a few individuals like Qin Xiangyu, everyone else was kept in the dark.
...
A magnificent swift horse was galloping in the mountains, crossing hills and leaping over ridges, covering tens of meters in each leap.
The man on the horse was Shi Xiaole, jade-like in his green robe.
After reuniting with Qingfeng, Shi Xiaole rode away overnight and was now approaching Xuanwu State.
"Go!"
He pressed his fingers together and used his arm like a sword to slash towards the side, creating a dazzling sword light that penetrated a mountainside thousands of meters away. A domineering and peerless aura lingered in the air.
This was the first sword of the Xuanyin Twelve Swords, Heaven and Earth Sole Dominance Sword.
From the moment he obtained the secret manual, Shi Xiaole had been assiduously practicing every day and pondering over it during his travels. His progress was not slow, but so far, he was just a beginner in the Xuanyin Twelve Swords.
As for the Dragon Gate Divine Skill, Divine Wind Movement and Effortless Seeking Technique, he hadn’t had the time to start practicing them yet.
"I did not fully understand the mysteries of the top-tier martial arts. Practicing the Heaven and Earth Changing Spirit Great Method really gave me an unfair advantage due to my strong spirit power."
Chuckling and shaking his head, Shi Xiaole patted Qingfeng’s head. After he dismounted, they both entered an ordinary mountain alcove.
When Shui Lingping had designed the Wuling Villa, she had created nine different secret passages in order to avoid trouble. These passages led directly in and out of the manor.
The people who had built these passages had their memories erased by Shi Xiaole, so at the moment, he was the only one who knew this secret.
