Chapter 767: Chapter 766: Shi Xiaole Takes Action
After successfully defending two passes, Zhuge Xuan prepared himself to his best state. Amid all the complex inexplicable gazes, he finally set foot on the star-level arena.
In history, there have only been nine star-level swordsmen, all of whom eventually became Sword Emperors of the Void Origin Realm.
Therefore, in the circle of swordsman, there is an inaccurate saying that in order to gauge if someone has the potential to reach the realm of the Void Origin, just see if they can become a star-level swordsman.
Of course, there is undoubtedly more than seven Sword Emperors in the Void Origin Realm in all of the world.
Many people are unable to pass the challenge because either their power on the same tier is not as strong as the successful one, or they fail the test before their promotion and lose interest after getting promoted, or they simply hide their abilities on purpose.
Zhuge Xuan had no such intention.
Becoming world-famous, he desires to stand side by side these seven unparalleled swordsmen, as most of the other swordsmen do.
Hum!
On the opposite side of Zhuge Xuan, a young man in white appeared. His eyes were incredibly deep and seemed like they have experienced the vicissitudes and insouciance of the world.
The man inside the array system filled with the finest wine, who looked just like the white-clothed young man, couldn’t help but laugh.
"It’s the Dustless Sword Emperor!"
"I heard he also came this time, could he be watching the duel somewhere?"
Seeing the man in white, elders from all top-level forces put away their inappropriate expressions.
Every powerful figure in the Void Origin Realm is not someone that terrestrial immortals can regard lightly. To say nothing of the Dustless Sword Emperor, who is incredibly dominant in that circle, and few dare to provoke him.
One should know that he had surpassed the Galan Sword Emperor, one of the current top nine masters.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that Dustless Sword Emperor’s power at the same level is necessarily stronger than the Galan Sword Emperor. No one’s power stays constant. The array image that the Dustless Sword Emperor faced when crossing the pass was just left by the Galan Sword Emperor a hundred years ago.
Zhuge Xuan took a deep breath, and every pore on his body stood upright.
"Six-Star Shift!"
Raising his power to 100 percent, Zhuge Xuan swung his sword. Six compressed starlight sword auras were connected in a series, attacking the opponent rapidly.
The talent restriction for the star-level stage is the peak of the Divine Border Realm, so at this time, Zhuge Xuan was demonstrating his true strength.
There was no reaction from the Dustless Sword Emperor against this strike. He circled his sword in front of him. Influenced by the chaotic force field, the six stars collided and exploded.
"Attack!"
Zhuge Xuan closed the distance quickly, displaying the peerless light-body technique of Dragon View Ridge.
Ten moves.
Fifty moves.
One hundred moves.
Over two hundred moves passed quickly, but regardless of how hard Zhuge Xuan tried, he couldn’t force the Dustless Sword Emperor to retreat. In fact, he didn’t even make him move at all.
Zhuge Xuan’s heart gradually sank, but giving up was out of question. In a roar, he shouted: "Seven-Star Catastrophe!" Seven majestic beams of star aura descended from the sky and enveloped the Dustless Sword Emperor.
Again, he drew circles with his long sword, but this time, the Dustless Sword Emperor’s speed doubled, and his power terrifyingly increased to twice as strong.
Boom!
A figure shot out and stumbled onto the ground.
"Is this the gap?"
Zhuge Xuan got up from the ground, his face turning from pale to green.
Unless one reaches his realm, one would never know how difficult it is to become a powerhouse of the Void Origin Realm. Yet, he didn’t expect that in direct combat on the same level, he would be significantly weaker than the Dustless Sword Emperor of a hundred years ago.
How much strength did the opponent exert?
The people present also took a deep breath of cold air.
The Dustless Sword Emperor’s strength lay in his solidity. Attentive observers could see that none of Zhuge Xuan’s string of attacks could even shake the Dustless Sword Emperor, nor could his sword aura enter the opponent’s three-zhang radius.
This was just a projection of his array of lights.
No wonder there are countless swordsmen in the world, but only seven have made it through. This stage is prepared for unparalleled swordsmen; ordinary people can only envy and look up to it.
Zhuge Xuan’s failure didn’t lead to an awkward silence. After all, no one thought he could pass. Major swordsmen continued their respective challenges undeterred.
It’s worth mentioning that no one could pass the second-level stage anymore because no one could block Ding Xuefu’s Floral Movement.
The first-level stage was even more embarrassing.
There were few people eligible to challenge, some of whom had already passed in the previous session and were preparing to charge into the Earth-Level stage. Those who did come onstage were defeated by Liu Xuantong without revealing their true strength.
Shi Xiaole saw many familiar faces, such as ’Blood-Slaying Sword’ Xu Zhongting and the Dragon Slayer Swordman whom he had defeated.
Until.
Ding Xuefu appeared on the first-level stage.
With two consecutive strikes of the Floral Movement, she crushed Liu Xuantong.
"This..."
"Actually, there is no need to be surprised. This is her ultimate technique, and it won’t be much weaker than her full strength."
"A first-level swordsman at the age of thirty-six, she kept breaking her own records! I just counted, among the younger generation, only Gong Thirteen and Kirin haven’t made their move yet, I wonder how far they can go?"
"Trust me, Ding Xuefu’s records will soon be broken. Hehe, Gong Thirteen’s combat power on the same level might not be weaker than Ding Xuefu, let alone Kirin. Kirin’s combat power on the same level is world-famous, I can’t wait."
"True, they haven’t made a move yet, and they seem quite composed."
A golden talent would always attract attention, no matter where.
Considering the identities of Gong Thirteen and Shi Xiaole, it’d be impossible for them to keep a low profile.
Especially Shi Xiaole, though perhaps not as strong as Gong Thirteen, he had a bigger reputation. Since his entry into the Martial World, he remained unbeaten amongst his peers. Those who had been defeated by him were all extraordinary talents in the eyes of ordinary people.
The disciples of all the top forces had been secretly keeping an eye on him, curious to see how far he could go.
First-tier swordsman, there should be no suspense.
Was there any chance for him to be an Earth-level swordsman?
Perceiving a cold gaze directed at him, Shi Xiaole turned his head slightly and saw Ding Xuefu, who probably heard the discussions of the people around her.
"Hmph, Senior Sister Ding is far stronger than she appears. If a real fight happens, the Kirin may not be her match."
The women of Heavenly Snow Mountain expressed their dissatisfactions.
These ignorant individuals, they never realize how strong Sister Ding truly is.
The duel on the stage was still in progress. It was worth mentioning that Zhuge Xuan finally was defeated by someone. The one who passed the challenge was Xiao Lingyun, the ’Cloud Piercing Swordsman’ from seventy years ago.
This man was famous in the Martial World for his Cloud Sword Way, his sword moves were strange and agile, to some extent had restrained the Seven Stars Swordsmanship.
But Shi Xiaole saw deeper, the other’s Cloud Sword Way was not purely the Cloud Sword Way, it clearly mixed with the flavor of illusion techniques, this is how he easily deceived Zhuge Xuan’s Array System light and shadow.
Looking around, Shi Xiaole’s perception of the Sword King of the Earth Immortal List has completely changed.
About 80% of those present were Sword Kings of the Earth Immortal List, but very few of them passed through the Earth-level stage, and some people did not even pass through the first-level stage.
This shows that the martial artists who seem invincible in the eyes of the Martial World have also been divided into several categories and the differentiation is unexpectedly severe.
"Is it the influence of chance?"
When martial arts reach a certain level, unless it’s an anti-heavenly talent, the aptitude can no longer determine a martial artist’s achievements, what’s more important is the chance.
Chance is also a part of strength. Without a chance, talent is useless. But someone with chance, albeit not having the ultimate talents, still has the opportunity to become a peerless master.
For Shi Xiaole, the opportunity is right in front of him.
He clearly remembered that if he could pass through the Earth-level stage, he could not only get the Sword Evaluation Order, but also receive weapons or secret books from Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain.
If he could pass through the Star-level stage, he would have a chance to enter the forbidden area for cultivation.
The seven unparalleled swordsmen are said to have made considerable progress in swordsmanship after they came out of the forbidden area.
He’d watched enough of the competition, and he’d absorbed all that he could. It was pointless to keep sitting idle. With this thought, after a swordsman was defeated by Ding Xuefu of the first-level stage, Shi Xiaole quickly stood up.
Swish swish swish.
Just like a lamp in the dark night, in an instant, countless gazes fell on Shi Xiaole’s body. There was anticipation, excitement, scrutiny, but more than anything, examination.
"He finally made a move."
Mu Ling snorted.
His personality was different from Shi Xiaole’s. If he was in his place, he wouldn’t wait so long, leaving others in suspense.
The beautiful eyes of Duanmu Keren, who was sitting nearby, sparkled.
It was rumored that the master of the establishment had directly defeated the Ghost-faced Yinqiao of Sixth Tier more than half a year ago. She wondered how much progress he had made since then. However, she could not believe that he would remain stagnant.
Probably because of their relationships, the masters of the Carefree Unmoving City and Heaven and Earth Surprised Swan Castle were more friendly when looking at Shi Xiaole.
But some were not friendly at all.
For instance, Heavenly Snow Mountain.
"Waiting till Sister Ding becomes the stage master before making a move. Does this man think he is sure to win?"
"The strength shown by Sister Ding does not reflect her actual potential. If the Kirin is not merely a big name, he might truly win."
"It’s okay. We don’t need to take this win or lose too seriously. Besides, I believe, Sister Ding will definitely win it back."
The women of the Heavenly Snow Mountain, their beautiful eyes shining, discussed quietly.
"Kirin?"
Tang Mei paused the movement of her hand that was caressing her finger. Her eyelids, coated with purple shadow, slightly lifted, and a playful smile hung on her lips.
She had heard this name quite often, thanks to the elders of her family. Some of her Tang Sect’s brothers and sisters were actually loyal followers of this person.
Tang Mei couldn’t understand it. In her eyes, anyone who masterly applies poisonous skills and hidden weapon techniques could defeat a group of swordsmen or blade users single-handedly.
Just like now, although her skills were inferior to those of Zhuge Xuan and Xiao Lingyun, if she attacked, those two would definitely lose. However, could this Kirin do the same?
The answer was obvious.
"As expected, he is insightful. He discovered this boy twelve years ago."
At Wudang’s position, a transcendent Daoist elder was stroking his long beard, and laughing lightly.
Behind, a pair of siblings were also intently watching.
"He should be able to defeat Ding Xuefu’s array system. I just wonder how many moves it would take."
"Perhaps within fifty moves."
Liu Xuantong and Sheng Xingzhi were secretly communicating.
From Tri-Pole Palace to Endless Risky Peak, and now, it was the third time they met Shi Xiaole. They felt an unexplainable excitement, not out of fear, but a kind of expectation.
This boy creates miracles. What is going to happen this time?
Under the gazes of people first in surprise, then growing bigger, Shi Xiaole did not pounce on the first-level stage as everyone expected, instead he landed directly on the Earth-level stage.
He was challenging Xiao Lingyun.
