Chapter 727: Chapter 726 Fifth Tier Level (3rd update, for ’Minotaur Berserker’ update)
It was unclear what the Three Talents Association’s motive was for gathering talents from all over. Fortunately, they did not harm these talents, just sealed their power, and at most, tortured their physical bodies.
With Shi Xiaole’s help, everyone’s power was soon restored, they promptly sat cross-legged on the ground, recuperating their spirits.
Taking advantage of this idle time, Shi Xiaole searched the dispersed people of the Three Absolutes and various rooms, successfully obtaining several weapons. Sadly, except for the Separation Mace that was a lower grade spiritual weapon, the rest were merely strange weapons, with no significant value.
However, in the largest room, through the scan of his spiritual power, Shi Xiaole discovered a secret compartment. He shattered a large rock on the wall, revealing a three-inch wooden box.
Shi Xiaole slightly raised his eyebrows.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this room should belong to the three dispersed individuals. They had been so careful with it, so what must be in the wooden box was not ordinary by any means.
From a distance of several feet, Shi Xiaole waved his hand, and the wooden box crumbled open, revealing a fruit the size of an adult’s fist, grey-white shell, speckled with black dots on the surface.
Threads of fragrance wafted out from the fruit, making Shi Xiaole slightly dizzy, it took him a moment to recover.
"Such a strong poison!"
A poison that could threaten Terrestrial Immortals was definitely amazing, and amazing poison also come in different ranks.
Typical fifth-tier amazing poison could affect lower-tier Earth Immortals from Divine Border Realm’s first to third strength level. Fourth-tier poison, could harm the middle-tier Earth Immortals of the fourth to sixth strength level of the Divine Border Realm.
For third-tier poison, it corresponded to the high-tier Earth Immortals of the Divine Border Realm.
As for second and first-tier poisons, they are rare in the world. Even the Shu Tang Sect didn’t have much, each one was a treasure of the sect, accessible only to a few people.
Considering Shi Xiaole’s poison-immune body, he was probably not vulnerable to the fourth-tier poison.
However, being immune to damage doesn’t mean it can’t affect you, like the aroma just now, it slightly affected Shi Xiaole, this must be a fifth-tier poison.
From this, it could be inferred that the poison of the fruit must have reached at least the fourth tier.
Recalling what he learned, Shi Xiaole had an epiphany, this must be a Double-edged Fruit!
Legend has it there is a fruit in the world known as the Double-edged Fruit, which is a fourth-tier poisonous fruit. Its origin is unknown. It was called Double-edged because while it is rich in poison, it also boosts the power of Terrestrial Immortals!
Keep in mind, once they reach the Divine Border Realm level, there are too few things capable of enhancing power, and most rely heavily on personal cultivation. Which is why the older a practitioner of the Divine Border Realm is, the more profound their power.
So, even though Double-edged Fruit is fourth-tier poisonous fruit, many Earth Immortals can’t give it up. Especially for those who practice Poisonous Skill, it is an absolute treasure.
"The Three Absolutes were too afraid of its toxicity to consume them. Perhaps they were considering exchanging them for something valuable. Finally, it ended up benefiting me."
With a faint smile, Shi Xiaole put the Double-edged Fruit away and scanned the stone room several times. After confirming that there was nothing left, he walked out.
Those who were trapped had already recovered. Seeing Shi Xiaole approached, they thanked him profusely and righteously didn’t ask what he had gained.
Everyone was sensible, they owed their lives to him, so naturally, everything here was rightfully his to dispose of. Rashly asking would leave a poor impression on Shi Xiaole and do more harm than good.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, there’s something I have to say, we owe it to Young Hero Kirin for taking huge risk to save us. As humans, we must distinguish between gratitude and grudges, so we must not betray him."
A young man named Qiao Yu looked around and led the way in saying, "I, Qiao Yu, swear on my Martial Dao heart, that I won’t reveal today’s events under any circumstances, let alone mention the name of Young Hero Kirin. If I break this vow, may heaven and earth obliterate me!"
Shi Xiaole watched Qiao Yu calmly.
Apart from himself, this man’s aura was the strongest of everyone present, he didn’t expect him to be so meticulous in his actions.
Indeed, although everyone was saved because of Yuan Yuying, there might be someone, intentionally or unintentionally, who would reveal this, pushing him in front of The Three Talents Association which would add danger.
Saving people only to be harmed was not what Shi Xiaole wanted to see.
"Brother, what you said is very true, I, Wang Dong, swear on my Martial Dao heart..."
"I, Zhao Chenggong ..."
"I, Ye Tao ..."
After everyone had made their vows, Shi Xiaole said, "We shouldn’t stay here for long, let’s leave quickly."
At that moment, a group of people hurriedly left the Spiritual Fortune branch, stopping only when they were hundreds of miles away.
Since everyone had their respective sects and families to avoid their elders worrying, they left contact information and then parted ways.
Before leaving, they all invited Shi Xiaole to visit, expressing that if there was anything he needed, they would be at his service. Shi Xiaole accepted each invitation.
"Brother Qiao, aren’t you leaving?"
In the end, only Hua Yiyun, Yuan Yuying, and Qiao Yu were left. Shi Xiaole asked with a smile.
Qiao Yu’s face flashed a hint of loneliness, smiled and said, "They all have a home to return to, people to care for, I, Qiao, am just a rootless wanderer, where can I go?"
Hua Yiyun said, "As wide as the world is, anywhere could be home. Before, I was very attracted to this life, but seeing Brother Qiao, it seems there’s bitterness in this freedom as well. Luckily, I’ve decided to follow Brother Shi, accompanied by my junior sister, it won’t be lonely in the future!"
Yuan Yuying tightly grasped her beloved’s hand, looking at him affectionately.
"Brother Qiao, if you don’t mind, you can travel with us."
Hearing Qiao Yu’s words, an idea to recruit him suddenly arose in Shi Xiaole’s mind.
Although he is only forty-five, he has already reached the peak of Dragon Gate Realm’s ninth level. Although his aptitude may not be as good as Hua Yiyun, he is considered a first-class talent in Tian State. Most importantly, he is thorough in his actions and considers things carefully.
"Hahaha, as long as Brother Shi and Brother Hua don’t mind, I’ve been hoping for this."
...
Sword King City.
Inside a room in a manor.
Shi Xiaole took out the Double-edged Fruit, but instead of swallowing it impulsively, he used his Sword Qi to cut a piece the size of a fingernail and put it into his mouth.
Even though he considered himself immune to class-four deadly poisons, to be honest, Shi Xiaole wasn’t entirely sure, so it never hurt to be cautious.
The slice of Double-edged Fruit dissolved as soon as it entered his mouth. It felt like warm water surging towards his organs. After a while, the warmth turned into throbbing pain, and then disappeared in an instant.
At this moment, Shi Xiaole suddenly felt an additional surge of pure strength in his meridians, which actively merged into his Vigorous Air.
Exotic Fruits of heaven and earth each possess their unique effects, and those that can increase cultivation often need no active refinement. This is a gift from the heavens to martial artists.
"It’s effective indeed."
Elated, Shi Xiaole began to slice more of the Double-edged Fruit and constantly put it into his mouth.
By the time he had consumed half of it, his cultivation had astonishingly elevated from the early stage of the second layer of Divine Border Realm to its later stage, and it was still skyrocketing.
Boom!
Once he consumed an entire Double-edged Fruit, Shi Xiaole finally broke through to the early stage of the third layer of the Divine Border Realm.
Wielding his fingers like a sword, he waved it forward.
Hiss!
Through the wall, a petal in the courtyard was split in two and slowly fell into the wine cups of Hua Yiyun and Qiao Yu. The Sword Qi on the petals made the wine effervesce. When the bubbles dissipated, the wine turned even more crystal clear than before.
The three of them turned their gazes towards the room where Shi Xiaole was, all filled with astonishment.
At their levels, they had no way of distinguishing whether Shi Xiaole had made a breakthrough, but some intuition told them it seemed possible.
But it was too shocking to accept. After all, he had just effortlessly defeated three top-tier Earth Immortals of the Fourth Tier. If he had another breakthrough, just how powerful would he become?
And do not forget, it had been less than two years since Shi Xiaole advanced to the Divine Border Realm. This rate of progress was simply unimaginable and irrational!
"This is Brother Shi’s Sword Qi Wine, it tastes pretty good."
Qiao Yu emptied his cup in one gulp and burst into hearty laughter.
"Is that so? Then I must have a taste too."
Hua Yiyun joined in.
"My attack power now should have reached the early fifth-tier level, right?"
Suppressing his aura, Shi Xiaole was quite satisfied with his progress.
At his current state, even without using Crossing the River with a Single Reed, he had a solid chance of defeating three great individual fighters. With Crossing the River with a Single Reed, he might be able to defeat the mid and high tier Earth Immortals of the fifth tier.
Of course, it wasn’t a hundred percent sure.
If he was up against a fifth-tier Earth Immortal who was also proficient in high-class flying skills, the opponent would be much more difficult than ordinary fifth-tier Earth Immortals.
In short, attack power represents strength to a large extent, but it is not absolute.
He took out the Tortoise Shell, infused it with Sword Qi, and the humanoid light shadow in the second box indeed lit up, but unfortunately, it was still blurry. Shi Xiaole entered the Sword King Valley again, venturing deeper than before, but the result remained the same.
He estimated that he would need to reach the fourth layer of the Divine Border Realm to see the second humanoid light shadow clearly.
He couldn’t deny feeling a tinge of disappointment, but Shi Xiaole also knew that he was already much luckier than others. He had discovered the shortcut to comprehend the Heart Sword technique.
...
Martial arts training involves alternating periods of tension and relaxation. On the night of his breakthrough, coinciding with the full moon, Shi Xiaole took a bath and sat in the courtyard with Qiao and Hua, chatting and drinking.
Yuan Yuying was responsible for pouring the wine on the side.
The wine passed three rounds.
Qiao Yu chuckled, "The other day, I went for a stroll around town, and many people were discussing Brother Shi’s battle with Shen Canghai. Now there’s talk in the Martial World that by next year, or the year after, Brother Shi might challenge the top ten."
The three pairs of eyes looked at Shi Xiaole, who remained calm and composed. They couldn’t help but silently admire his steadiness.
One must know that the worst of the hundred-year-old Earth Immortals in the top ten of the Little Earth Immortal are at least at the fifth-tier level.
In the near thousand years of Martial World history, no one has ever reached the fifth tier within two years of breaking through to the Divine Border Realm. Those who reached within three years are believed to be only two or three individuals.
This was an extremely high praise, almost equivalent to placing Shi Xiaole alongside Martial Emperor and the Master of the Ghost Carriage, or even slightly higher.
In the eyes of the three of them, the rumors were somewhat exaggerated, but they could indeed be realized.
But they, including the entire Martial World, had no idea that the current Shi Xiaole already had the prowess of the top ten, and therefore he didn’t care at all.
As if he was worried about Shi Xiaole feeling awkward, Qiao Yu shifted the topic, "Have you heard that another young genius has recently emerged in the Martial World. He comes from a newly established sect called Destroying Saint, a name as audacious as Yao Mie Sheng."
A flicker sparkled in Shi Xiaole’s eyes.
"Reportedly, this Yao Mie Sheng possesses a talent that does not fall behind the five great monsters. In just these two months, he has defeated thirteen experts from the Righteous Path, including four top-tier Earth Immortals of the fourth tier. No one has been able to withstand even one of his moves."
Qiao Yu delivered the information word by word.
"That powerful?"
Hua Yiyun and Yuan Yuying gasped.
Such strength... he might even be stronger than Shi Xiaole.
