Chapter 786: Chapter 785: Changes Brought About By Life-And-Death Martial Arts
"Grand Elder, after this incident, the ambush of Suxian Alliance at Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain has completely been exposed. Should we take this opportunity to get rid of them? Otherwise, it will be hard to account to the court."
Standing on the mountain peak, a middle-aged man made a beheading gesture.
The distance between court and Martial World is closer than many imagine. The higher one’s position, the more one can feel this.
At Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain, there are both court spies and insiders of the Devil Path Suxian Alliance, and even moles of other forces. Normally, Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain doesn’t intentionally break the balance, and even has the intention to use it.
But this time, since the Suxian Alliance attacked the Kirin, Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain inevitably couldn’t turn a blind eye. Otherwise, it might unavoidably arouse suspicion from the court.
"Chen Kang, I leave this matter to you. You always handle things well. This time, grasp the situation well too."
After a moment of silence, the Grand Elder only said these words, then his body disappeared from the spot.
Chen Kang bent his head slightly, his body trembling slightly.
Swordsmen, never restrained by anything, only follow their own hearts. The doorkeepers of Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain are the finest examples of swordsmen.
The court is eager to control Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain. It seems that the Grand Elder and others have made a choice.
Clenching his fist, Chen Kang let out a proud smile. When he turned around, the smile was gone, replaced with a solemn killing intent.
...
"Young Master Shi, aren’t you afraid of offending people? I heard that the Prince holds great power."
Walking on the official road, Niu Dali looked at Shi Xiaole with interest.
"Compared to the consequences of offending the Prince, I am more unable to accept losing my freedom by working for him."
Said Shi Xiaole.
"Hehe, Young Master Shi, these words of yours are quite disrespectful to the Royalty."
"Shi has no intentions of rebellion, and no heart to rebel. How can it be disrespectful? On the contrary, I am very grateful for Elder Niu’s righteous action just now."
Niu Dali smiled and didn’t say another word.
In fact, he understood the other party’s feelings. That’s why he admired him more. Perhaps this is what they call birds of a feather flock together.
Shi Xiaole didn’t dare to waste time, so upon arriving at the nearby town and finding Qingfeng, he and Niu Dali explained the situation in the hopes of speeding up their journey.
Naturally, Niu Dali agreed.
Sword Evaluation Elegant Mountain is located in the northwest region of the Flying Horse Dynasty, not far from the border. The two travelled by boat along the river, and in a few days, they arrived at the edge of the West Sea.
Shi Xiaole waved his hand and bought a three-layered painted boat, and hired three helmsmen and twenty sailors. That very day, they sailed into the West Sea.
...
Just like the South Sea, there are many pirates in the shallow sea area of the West Sea. However, they didn’t form a united front like the Sea Whale Alliance. Instead, four powerful pirate groups stood at the top.
Behind these four pirate groups, there sat peak Earth Immortals. They had countless experts under them. In just three days time, Shi Xiaole’s painted boat had encountered no less than six interceptions.
But things were different now.
The present Shi Xiaole didn’t need to avoid such harassment. He didn’t believe that a dignified Terrestrial Immortal would have nothing better to do than to be a bandit at sea.
Initially, Shi Xiaole just showed off a little skill. When the pirates didn’t fear him, instead gathering more pirates—he cut fifty large ships in half with a single sword stroke, scaring them away. The sea quickly quieted down.
Unknowingly, the painted boat had been speeding through the West Sea for a month, gradually entering the middle sea area. As far as they could see, there was nothing but the endless expanse of sea. Occasionally, a few seagulls would spread their wings and land on the deck.
The West Sea, though only a small part of the ocean, even so, its size was beyond estimation. The shallow sea area alone was larger than the entire Flying Horse Dynasty—much larger, in fact.
If it weren’t for the serious risks at sea, as well as the scarce resources, it would have been a fiercely contested land for countless forces.
Third floor of the painted boat.
Shi Xiaole’s eyes were tightly closed. He looked like a clay or wooden figure, devoid of life. But after a while, he was reborn like a weather-beaten tree in spring, full of vitality.
In this cycle of life and death, two 2-hour periods had passed.
At a certain moment.
In Shi Xiaole’s spirit sea, the Taiji Yin-Yang Plate representing the Martial Way of Life and Death started rotate swiftly, oscillating dazzling light that seemed to be composed of stars.
When the light subsided, the entire Taiji Yin-Yang Plate had an added trace of Heavenly Dao aura.
"The Martial Way of Life and Death has finally reached a tenth of its potential."
Shi Xiaole was excited yet emotional.
It’s been almost three years since he entered the Divine Border Realm. Wind Sword Way has improved to over 50% completion, Illusion Martial Way has reached the early 40% completion, and even the pesky Demon Martial Way has probably reached a high level.
The only Martial Way of Life and Death had not improved.
Life and death have always been one of the biggest and most mysterious propositions in life, so its Way is naturally harder to grasp than other martial ways.
In fact, even with Shi Xiaole’s amazing perception, and a spirit formed by the fusion of two lifetimes’ souls, he only understood this Way by chance.
If he had to do it all over again, he would not have any confidence.
After three years of researching various sophisticated martial arts like Half-Broken Brocade, and considering his own understanding, he finally saw a change in the Martial Way of Life and Death today.
Secretly mobilizing the Martial Way of Life and Death, Shi Xiaole pointed a finger.
The wall facing him decayed visibly, even emitting the smell of rotting wood. When he changed his mind, the smell of decay disappeared, and the wall returned to its red color.
What’s more, all the living beings in the room went through a cycle of life and death.
You should know that this time, Shi Xiaole didn’t apply the Undying Seven Illusions. It was purely manipulated by the Martial Way of Life and Death. However, its power was several times stronger than the Undying Seven Illusions.
"The Martial Way of Life and Death, one-tenth complete, grants me the attack power of a Twice Tier Earth Immortal. I have all the power of an Earth Immortal. Arguably it is more deadly, greatly surpassing the wind sword way. It’s worth looking forward to."
In a sense, martial ways can determine the upper limit of a martial artist, so the truly wise method should be to focus on studying the Martial Way of Life and Death or the Demon Martial Way. But Shi Xiaole really can’t let go of sword way, even now.
Hum!
Just as he was going to relax for a bit, something strange happened to Shi Xiaole’s spirit sea.
The Taiji Yin-Yang Plate, without stimulation, unexpectedly started to rotate slowly on its own. It began absorbing the power of the blue little sword and the Illusion Lake, but not long after, some power returned to the blue little sword and Illusion Lake—and seemingly more pure!
"This..."
Shi Xiaole himself was shocked.
The Martial Way of Life and Death can transform life and death. Could it also transform Wind Sword Way and Illusion Martial Way? More precisely, it absorbed the impurities from the two martial ways and fed the remaining power back.
"Impurities are equivalent to death, which is no different from nutrients to the Martial Way of Life and Death. Once the Wind Sword Way and Illusion Martial Way improve, they will produce new impurities. In this way, won’t the three martial ways progress at the same time?"
Realizing this, Shi Xiaole’s entire body started to shake.
