Chapter 721: Chapter 720: Momentum Attack
"Accidental planting of willows have grown into a shade, I didn’t expect that while comprehending the Heart Sword, it unexpectedly raised the state of Thousand One."
Inside the superior guest room of Yinfeng Inn, Shi Xiaole’s whole body emanated rolling Sword Qi. As his mind slightly moved, the Sword Qi receded back into his pores.
But.
All the furniture, walls, including the floor, inside the guest room had several tiny holes - all uniformly about an inch deep. It seemed like they were measured thoroughly.
Shi Xiaole conjectured that it wasn’t the Heart Sword that had stirred Thousand One. After all, no matter how profound the Heart Sword is, it is only a wisp.
It was likely the diverse Sword Qi in the Sword King Valley subtly influenced him. It was after a night of quiet cultivation that Thousand One naturally reached the level of perfection.
"My current swordsmanship attack power should have reached the high Fourth Tier level, approaching the top Fourth Tier, and even surpassing the Divine Wind Movement."
Shi Xiaole laughed lightly.
As a swordsman, if his swordsmanship strength can’t lead the crowd, it will inevitably give people an untrue impression. Although he doesn’t care what others think, he himself is not comfortable with it.
...
On the streets of Sword King City, many people from the Martial World were lingering around Yinfeng Inn.
Amongst them were a male and a female, both looked under twenty years old. The man was wearing a light blue shirt, his head was wrapped in a blue scarf, he had a long sword hanging around his waist. His outfit was exceptionally similar to Shi Xiaole’s.
"Junior Sister Yuan, do you think Young Hero Shi will see me?"
Hua Yiyun asked with high tension.
"I’ve heard that the Kirin is approachable, he shouldn’t turn people away from miles away."
Yuan Yuying was somewhat uncertain.
The talented and brilliant Senior Brother Hua had always considered Kirin as his idol. This time the two came to Sword King Valley for cultivation. Upon hearing that the Kirin was here, Senior Brother Hua almost rushed over without caring about anything only to hesitate at the doorstep.
Hmph, he wasn’t this nervous when he confessed to her.
"Okay, let’s go in."
As if she made up her mind, Hua Yiyun held Yuan Yuying’s hand, ready to walk in.
But suddenly, there was a loud commotion from the distance.
"Such a powerful aura, who is this person?"
"You don’t know? He is the recently popular ’Romantic Nine Chains’ Shen Canghai. I heard from a friend in Natural Residence, he is preparing to challenge the Kirin!"
"What, challenge The Kirin? Haha, that’s going to be fun!"
Many people who came from Natural Residence answered upon hearing someone’s inquiry. Suddenly, the whole street was bustling.
There were also many people who left in a hurry. It seemed that they went to inform others. It wouldn’t take long before the news here would spread throughout Sword King City.
"Shen Canghai wants to challenge Young Hero Shi?"
Hua Yiyun’s footsteps stopped. He turned to look where a group of people were walking. The aura of each was exceptionally strong. The man clad in a blue robe in the middle had a charm like a pearl in the night, radiant and dazzling, making people unable to confront him.
Is this Shen Canghai?
A sense of heaviness filled Hua Yiyun’s heart.
He had heard of the man’s reputation. It is said that he defeated Gu Wantong in nine moves and he was dominating the whole process. This meant that he barely used his full strength.
According to the judgement of the spectators, the strength Shen Canghai demonstrated in that battle was definitely not inferior to the expert ranked number twenty on the Earth Immortal list.
So, what if he unleashed his full strength?
Shi Xiaole was ranked seventeenth on the Earth Immortal list. This position might be in danger!
"Several months have passed, Young Hero Shi must have made some progress and certainly hasn’t stagnated."
Although it was logical, Hua Yiyun couldn’t help but worry for his idol. At that moment, he wished he had heard false rumors that the Kirin was not there.
"Is the Kirin present?"
With his feet planted firm, Shen Canghai didn’t shout this himself but one of the young people next to him did. Boosted by Vigorous Air, the words resonated to ten thousand meters.
Many martial artists came out of Yinfeng Inn, apparently all alerted. Upon learning the reason, they all had inexplicable expressions.
"I saw a young man yesterday who looks exactly like the Kirin."
A burly man spoke loudly.
He actually didn’t recognize Kirin, speaking deliberately to provoke a reaction. If Kirin really was present, he would have to show himself, lest he be thought to be afraid.
Just as everyone’s gaze seemed to float like light clouds, a youth clothed in azure appeared at the eaves of the inn.
His azure clothes were much lighter than Shen Canghai’s, a comfortable sky blue. He stood tall and straight like a jade tree facing the wind, with two streaks of white hair hanging from his temples onto his shoulders. As the breeze lightly lifted his hair, there was an ineffable charm and grace about him.
Gasps!
The crowd was in an uproar.
Most of them had never seen Kirin before, but from the moment they saw the azure-clad youth, they knew - the man before them had to be Kirin.
"Young Hero Shi!"
Hua Yiyun was so excited he didn’t know what to do. He was also spellbound by his idol’s charisma, and for a moment, lost his senses.
"You’re Kirin?"
Shen Canghai narrowed his eyes.
He had to admit that a monster was indeed a monster. Despite beforehand not considering his opponent highly, or even having him on his list of challenges, upon seeing him with his own eyes, Shen Canghai was taken aback.
Not by his power, but by his presence.
This indicated that the depth of his opponent was not to be underestimated. And in martial arts, depth is power. Of course, for now, it was enough to grab his attention, he still didn’t feel threatened.
"Correct, Sir. What do you want with me?"
Shi Xiaole asked, his gaze revealing that he had a vague idea about what was going on.
"Kirin, Senior Brother Shen Canghai challenges you."
One of Shen Canghai’s followers roared.
Actually, they had some doubts about Shen Canghai’s decision to challenge Shi Xiaole. The latter’s accomplishments were well known. Since his debut, he hadn’t lost a single match at his level. Even the rankings of the Divine Strategy Academy might be invalid when applied to him.
Yet reason told them that Kirin was, after all, human. He couldn’t possibly progress at high speed forever. When he was in the Tri-Pole Palace, he was only a middle-ranked Fourth Tier Earth Immortal. Only a few months have passed since then, he couldn’t have possibly become a high-ranked Fourth Tier, could he?
Setting aside all reservations, even if he had, Shen Canghai would still be a formidable match. And once Shen Canghai deployed his trump card, his power would increase dramatically. With what would Kirin block such a move?
Gaining confidence, the followers were all noticeably elated. Today, they might witness the defeat of a prodigy.
Shi Xiaole had not heard of Shen Canghai before, but it didn’t affect his judgment. Around him was a strong aura indicative of him having reached the third level of Divine Barrier Realm. His breath was extraordinarily thick, far exceeding the Dragon Slayer Swordmen.
Good, his own swordsmanship had just made progress. Perhaps he could use his opponent to test his limits.
"They’re right, and also wrong. Prior to challenging you, you must first prove to me that you qualify to be challenged by me."
Under the gaze of the stunned crowd, Shen Canghai spoke up. Without moving, a sharp and indistinctly visible aura suddenly burst from his body.
With a ripple, numerous differing sizes of bow-shaped figures appeared in the air.
Each of these bow figures contained a surprising explosive power. According to Divine Barrier Realm swordsmen around, it was as powerful as a casual full-strength blow by a first-ranked Earth Immortal.
However, this was just the aura emitted by Shen Canghai. No, this was an aura attack uniquely created by him!
Blocking this attack wouldn’t be difficult for Kirin. The difficult part was, if he used his swordsmanship to block it, it would seem too forceful, giving others the impression of being less skilled than Shen Canghai, putting himself at a disadvantage from the start.
If he similarly uses his aura to defend, has Kirin practiced this type of aura attack? He probably hasn’t! Who would practice such a thankless technique among the majority of people?
For a moment, the Divine Barrier Realm swordsmen focused their gaze intensively on Shi Xiaole, with some feeling tense.
Of course, Shi Xiaole understood Shen Canghai’s intentions. However, the latter seemingly picked the wrong opponent. Without moving a muscle, a spiral of Sword Qi appeared from nothingness and jutted out.
’Pfff, pfff, pfff...’
The incomprehensible bow-shaped aura was pierced one after another, dissolving from the force into a faint breeze and scattering to nothing. They didn’t even manage to lift Shi Xiaole’s clothes, let alone compel him to make a move.
What was called aura attack, which others thought needed multiple practice attempts, was just an easy task in the eyes of Shi Xiaole.
"Good! Let us meet outside the city."
With a flash of his eyes, and erupting into laughter, Shen Canghai transformed into a beam of light and swept across.
Swoosh!
Shi Xiaole, too, turned into an azure flash, closely following behind him, disappearing into the city.
The martial artists on the street, along with the ones who came after hearing this news, and the Divine Barrier Realm experts who had detected the aura of the two, all headed towards the outer city, eager to witness this exciting battle between geniuses.
