Chapter 780: Chapter 779: Such Siblings
This time, among the numerous heavy breaths, the white light shadow never recovered.
One breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
After waiting for a long time, the expressions of the people turned from stunned to horrified, to shocked, and finally to a kind of numbness, a numbness caused by excessive shock.
"Senior Sister, is this true?"
A young girl from the Heavenly Snow Mountain trembled her voice.
The woman next to her didn’t say anything because she simply couldn’t hear her. The only buzzing in her head. This scenario was not rare among the crowd.
If one were to remove the mask of the Dragon Slayer Swordsman, one would discover that the muscles on his face had almost twisted into knots, like countless little snakes climbing over each other.
The fists inside his sleeves were clenched until they turned purple, a blaze of jealousy, anger, and unwillingness mixed together, making his chest heave, as if it was about to explode.
Tang Zhiyang had a hard time diverting his gaze, his face alternating between shades of green and white.
Previously he had confidently declared that he was 100% sure of defeating Shi Xiaole, which later turned into 50%, and now the other party had proven with facts that his words were a complete joke.
Let alone 50%, Tang Zhiyang didn’t even have 10% confidence. Unless his hidden weapon technique could advance to another level.
Tang Mei exhaled a soft puff of powder, her wickedly alluring face showing a serious expression for the first time.
A part of the centuries-old masters in the Flying Horse Dynasty had a threat level deemed adequate to be seen by her as no more than a handful of them, but now, the name Shi Xiaole must be added to that list.
It’s not that the other party’s current strength can really catch up with her, what she fears is Shi Xiaole’s potential. If they were to fight one on one, even adding the poison from Tang Sect, Tang Mei only had a 50% chance of winning.
"Did he really win?"
Ji Morou heaved a long sigh within her heart, her stunning face filled with complex emotions.
When she first met him, she could still suppress him, but now both of them were not on the same level at all, she had watched as Shi Xiaole surpassed her, leaving her in the dust.
Recalling the Blood Yang within his body, a firm resolution appeared in Ji Morou’s eyes. She knew some things needed to be decided.
"Seeing is believing. Kirin’s talent may truly surpass that of his peers."
The elegant young man’s face was filled with a different kind of radiance. The current situation was unclear, if he could get someone like Shi Xiaole to serve him, it would undoubtedly be extremely beneficial.
Turning his head to glance at his little sister whose face was flushed with excitement and whose eyes were sparkling with stars, the elegant young man smiled and said, "Little sister, what do you think?"
"Not bad, I guess. It wasn’t a waste of time to come here."
Noticing her earlier lost composure, the young girl fixed her appearance, pretending to be just barely satisfied.
"We’ll rest first later. Then we can ask someone from Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain for introductions and get acquainted with Kirin."
"Really?"
The young girl jumped up again, her eyes spinning non-stop. If she could get Kirin to serve as her bodyguard, it would definitely be something to brag about.
"A 29-year-old ranked swordsman, this battle has made history."
"Now Kirin can stand shoulder to shoulder with the seven unparalleled swordsmen, what will his future be?"
"This young man is definitely an anomaly in the Martial World, even in this generation filled with shining stars and remarkable talents, he is definitely one of the leaders!"
In regard to Shi Xiaole unlocking the star-level arena, the older generation had many mixed feelings, there were feelings of loss and jealousy, even some unspeakable dangerous thoughts started emerging in the minds of some individuals.
Everyone knows that in the current generation, Young Dragon was undeniably the number one, but even with him, no one would dare guarantee that he could definitely pass through the star-level arena.
In such a situation, Kirin had succeeded. He was over twenty years younger than Young Dragon, with his current rate of improvement, people couldn’t imagine his future.
"Heaven is fair. It might have given Kirin unmatched talent, but his greatest mistake was his eagerness to rush into the Divine Border, learning only the Wind Sword Way. His potential is now fixed, and he will eventually not be comparable to a real unparalleled figure."
The further one progresses in cultivation, the more one relies on martial arts. This is the main reason why the Divine Border Realm is so crucial.
Many geniuses from top-tier powers could in fact break through to this realm before reaching forty. But, whether it’s their sect or their master, they would always ask them to suppress it again and again, until their potential is exhausted, and their breakthrough method is perfected.
Those who wanted to break through quickly and grasp the strongest martial arts, throughout the entire Flying Horse Dynasty, could be counted on one hand. Those were the Martial Emperor, the master of the Ghost Carriage and a few other individuals.
Shi Xiaole might have tied the record of the Martial Emperor, but unfortunately, his martial arts were only top-tier, they were innately inferior, and so, his accomplishments will ultimately be limited.
Thinking of this, the crowd of Martial Kings and Sword Kings felt a bit better.
With a hearty laugh, the Elder of the Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain stood up, his eyes filled with admiration as he looked at Shi Xiaole. "Young Hero Shi, your extraordinary talent really broadens my horizons, please rest for now, and someone will guide you later."
"Thank you."
With a bow, Shi Xiaole leaped off the stage.
Having successfully broken through his limits this time, he gained a lot of insights, it would be a good opportunity for him to digest it all.
With the end of this battle, the Sword Evaluation Conference also drew to a close.
The only regret was that the invited great figures, such as the Galan Sword Emperor and Dustless Sword Emperor, did not appear on stage nor impart any martial arts experiences.
Of course, people weren’t disappointed, after all, from the beginning, they did not have high expectations.
A Sword Emperor isn’t someone you can meet just because you want to. If it weren’t for the Sword Evaluation Conference being the grandest event in swordsman circles and the benefits the Sword Emperors had gained from it, they might not have been invited.
In the end, the Sword Emperors presence mattered more symbolically.
After the tournament, the major forces did not leave immediately. Under the arrangements of the servants on Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain, they lodged halfway up the mountain.
The swordsmen who received a rating would receive their respective rewards. This arrangement also made it convenient for them to interact and promote mutual exchanges privately.
...
The residence assigned to Shi Xiaole was a separate compound that boasted three tower buildings and neatly arranged willow trees. Although it did not cover a large area, it was extremely tranquil.
"What they call surpassing my limit is, in fact, an enhancement of my body coordination and mental strength."
In the elegant room on the third floor of the tower building, Shi Xiaole was carefully sensing the changes in his body.
The enhancement of body coordination would allow a person to perform various actions more easily, this would manifest outwardly as faster reactions.
The improvement in mental strength was self-explanatory.
The mental strength Shi Xiaole could originally exert reached the high stages of Divine Barrier Realm, enabling him to probe a range of two thousand five hundred meters. Now, this distance expanded to three thousand five hundred meters, undoubtedly reaching the peak level of the Divine Barrier Realm.
A thought crossed his mind.
Shi Xiaole’s mental strength left his body and wandered above Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain.
Three thousand five hundred meters.
Four thousand meters.
Five thousand meters.
...
Under the effect of the Heaven and Earth Changing Great Method, the range of Shi Xiaole’s mental strength expanded from the original five thousand meters to seven thousand meters. Within this range, no detail could escape his eyes.
The residences of the major forces were all covered with high-level Array Systems. Besides the Array Systems, the sensitivities of the elders were even more daunting. Hence, unless they were experts at the Void Origin Realm, nobody could even think about secretly approaching.
However, Shi Xiaole was an exception.
Strictly speaking, his mental quality had already surpassed that of the Divine Barrier Realm. Moreover, he had cultivated the Heaven and Earth Changing Great Method to perfection, so when his mental strength left his body, he could stealthily bypass the Array System and evade the detection of the Martial Emperor. It was not a difficult task for him.
Beyond the walls, he observed the actions and even the subtle changes on the faces of the elders and disciples from the major forces. Some were discussing the tournament, others were joking around, and yet some elders sat in silence.
"They are quite cautious!"
From the fluctuations in the air, Shi Xiaole deduced that these elders were communicating through voice transmission. They would be so conservative only if the content of their conversation was of great significance.
He even sensed intentions to kill from some elders of a few forces, but he did not know whom they intended to kill.
Withdrawing his mental power, Shi Xiaole arrived at the last residence.
Several old men at the peak level of Divine Barrier Realm were offering salutes to a young man and woman.
"Everybody, there is no need to offer such courtesies."
The cultured young man chuckled.
"King Huan and Princess Miaoyan are gracing us with their presence, how can we afford to neglect."
One of the grey-haired elders laughed.
Shi Xiaole was taken aback.
Both the parties engaged in casual conversation, and then King Huan said, "I am not afraid to be laughed at. Miaoyan, has been interested in the Martial World since she was a child. She admires the swordsmen who traverse the Martial World. I wonder if we could trouble you to arrange a meeting between Miaoyan and your exceptional talents."
The grey-haired elder replied, "If this is the wish of the King and the Princess, I will definitely pass on the request accurately. I believe they will not refuse."
Miaoyan smiled faintly, presenting an aura of royal princess in front of others.
It was only when the elders left that she reverted to her true self and said, "Brother, I want the Kirin to be my bodyguard. Help me figure out a way."
"Such a person is usually arrogant and does not like restrictions, your demand is too difficult."
King Huan shook his head gently.
"Hmph, under heaven, all is the emperor’s land. Even his people are subjects of the empire. As long as Brother orders him, dare he disobey?"
Her longing for the Martial World was genuine, but it was, at most, like a canary’s yearning for the boundless sky. Deep down, she still believed she was superior.
This was her inherent pride as a royal.
Of course, Miaoyan did not want to appear too domineering. She still preferred to persuade people with reason.
King Huan has his own plans and laughed, "You should be asking our father, if the other party refuses, it would be very bad. In fact, Father loves you so much. Just need him to give an order, wouldn’t that be better?"
He wasn’t stupid enough to offend the Kirin. Even if he wanted to win him over, he had to use indirect strategies, winning hearts was the priority.
Miaoyan’s eyes lit up, and she pouted, "We have to trouble Father for this, won’t it be a hassle? Moreover, we snuck out this time, when we go back, Father will surely scold us!"
After listening to these two siblings chat a little more, and until they changed their subject, Shi Xiaole’s mental strength returned indeed.
"A guard?"
Shi Xiaole had an inscrutable expression, but he felt a sense of relief in his heart. It was a good thing he had heard this conversation, otherwise, he would have been caught off guard. At his current standing, it would not be good to offend the royal family.
After a brief period of rest, Duanmu Keren and Mu Ling visited him hand in hand. The three of them had a sincere talk. When the topic turned to Gui Zhihang, Mu Ling revealed that the Gui family had not found Liu Hanshan, and they seemed to be having considerable trouble.
When night came and the two left, they agreed to challenge Shi Xiaole the next time they met, Shi Xiaole agreed with a laugh.
The next day, Sword Nineteen came to bring Shi Xiaole to collect the reward promised by Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain.
