Chapter 806: Chapter 805: Great Skill Appears Clumsy _1
The figure was none other than Shi Xiaole.
Had it not been for this unexpected incident, he probably would not have taken the initiative to reveal his strength, but he also couldn’t keep intentionally low-profile just to conceal his strength.
Besides, once Bai Ruiting was forced to flee, there would only be three people left on his side who could fight, which was quite disadvantageous for him.
Caught off guard, Bai Ruiting found her hand suddenly seized by Shi Xiaole, and with a whoosh, the two narrowly escaped from beneath the Rotating Blade Wheel.
Boom!
The Rotating Blade Wheel bounced back and forth off the stone walls several times, shaking the grand hall dozens of times, before gradually coming to a rest.
"Kid, do you think you’re not dying fast enough?"
Watching the hands of Shi Xiaole and Bai Ruiting clasped together, Young Master Evil’s face contorted with rage by a new degree.
He had already set his sights on conquering Bai Ruiting, and now he was being upstaged by someone he had overlooked, an utter humiliation.
Immediately releasing his hand, Shi Xiaole said, "It might not be me who is going to die."
"You’ll be soon."
No one saw how Young Master Evil drew his saber, only that when its blade fell, it had already cleaved onto Shi Xiaole’s body, slicing through the latter’s protective Vigorous Air.
Bai Ruiting wanted to scream, but her voice could not catch up with the speed of the saber’s light, and the warning was too late anyway. She could only watch as Shi Xiaole was seriously injured.
The opponent’s movements were fast, but now it was different from just a moment ago. Under Young Master Evil’s deliberate targeting, she would not be able to leave unscathed, let alone Shi Xiaole.
"Longevity Severing Hand!"
With thoughts as fast as lightning, Bai Ruiting reacted quickly. Taking advantage of the moment Young Master Evil unleashed his saber move and before his new force had emerged, she violently reached out her hands forward. She did not hope to severely injure Young Master Evil, but at least she could make him hesitate.
"Don’t be such a waste."
The indifferent swordsman, who was besieging Su Yichen, sneered secretly.
He was actually hoping that the combined efforts of Shi Xiaole and Bai Ruiting could give Young Master Evil some trouble, or at the very least, expend some of the latter’s strength.
Just as Shi Xiaole was about to be split into serious injury, his face showed no hint of panic, nor did he attempt to use any technique to dodge. When the protective Vigorous Air was reduced to a thin final layer, Shi Xiaole made his move with his sword.
A blue gleam condensed into a beam, scattering across the air with his sword strike.
Hiss!
The winds swirled like a storm, and the sword light, as if aggregating into a tempest, pierced through the blade light with the momentum of tearing open the heavens, preempting the Longevity Severing Hand by half a beat, striking at Young Master Evil first.
"Evil Intention Heavenly Saber Slash!"
Faced with this sudden difficulty, Young Master Evil’s muscles tensed, and the hidden saber force abruptly surged, transforming into a series of dazzlingly quick blade lights that fiercely collided with the sword Qi.
Bang bang bang...
Perhaps it was once, perhaps it was dozens of times, but as the saber light and sword Qi suddenly fell silent, they then explosively burst forth, enveloping every direction around the grand hall.
Whether it was Huang Tao with the gaunt old man, Su Yichen, the indifferent swordsman, or the woman with the ball, they all had to retreat even further to avoid being affected.
"Eighth Tier level, he’s actually an Eighth Tier Earth Immortal too?"
A figure flickered through consecutive flashes to dodge the aftermath, who else could it be but Bai Ruiting. At this moment, her face was full of shock, an undeniable surprise.
For Young Master Evil to have become an Eighth Tier Earth Immortal before the age of fifty was a shocking and incredible achievement. But this Shi Xiaole, appearing even younger than Young Master Evil who looked to be about twenty-two or twenty-three, was probably only seventeen or eighteen at most.
Taking into account that warriors in the Divine Barrier Realm have five times the lifespan of normal people, the difference in age between the two could well exceed twenty years, meaning Shi Xiaole’s real age might be only a little over thirty?!
Bai Ruiting shook her head; the actual situation evidently couldn’t be so exaggerated. It couldn’t be ruled out that some people had techniques in their training, or naturally looked younger, or there were other reasons that made them appear younger.
But no matter what, it was almost certain that Shi Xiaole was younger than Young Master Evil. The thought of an Earth Immortal in his forties made Bai Ruiting’s heart race and hard to believe.
Wasn’t that the case for everyone else present?
"How could this guy have hidden so deep?"
The young man in brocade changed colors and raged inwardly.
"We were all mistaken," Sun Wei muttered, shaking his head.
They had thought that Shi Xiaole would be the first to fall, but it turned out that he was the most unfathomable, one of the strongest in the hall, capable of contending with Young Master Evil.
Xu Fang didn’t know what to say anymore, just staring blankly ahead.
"No wonder you’re so bold; you did have something to rely on."
After the initial shock, Young Master Evil suddenly burst into laughter, his eyes filled with a deep, wicked, and wild aura, "What I enjoy the most is crushing so-called geniuses, one by one under my feet, and humiliating them at will. You’re lucky to have become my target."
"Win against me first before saying those words," Shi Xiaole retorted.
"Is it that hard to win against you?"
Tilting his head slightly, Young Master Evil’s long eyebrows raised, and from between them, a cinnabar mark shot out a highly concentrated blade light.
Clang!
As if he had anticipated it, Shi Xiaole pressed his left middle finger and index finger together and with a flick, the saber light twisted and struck towards the east. Whether by coincidence or not, it happened to stab towards the indifferent swordsman.
The latter swung his sword with a shake, but as a result, his arm felt slightly numb, and he staggered, flying back several hundred meters.
How is this possible!
The shock and awe churned in the indifferent swordsman’s heart. He had exerted eighty percent of his strength in that strike but was still unable to withstand Young Master Evil’s blow to the center of his brow?
Moreover, it was because of Shi Xiaole’s move that he noticed the position of the blade at the brow. In other words, if he or anyone else present were to receive that blow, they likely wouldn’t even know how they died.
Young Master Evil’s methods were terrifying to this extent, but on second thought, how formidable must Shi Xiaole be to catch such a blow?
"What you so-called stepping on, turns out to be just a sneak attack."
Shi Xiaole said indifferently.
"I just wanted to test you. If you couldn’t even take that move, then you wouldn’t be worthy of my full effort."
With a sneer on his face, a hint of gravity crept into Young Master Evil’s mood.
For the strike of the blade at the brow just now was by no means casual, even considered one of his trump cards; unexpected as it was, even a middle Earth Immortal of the Eighth Tier would be caught off guard.
Young Master Evil’s arrogance was verbal, but he was no fool; how could he possibly underestimate an Earth Immortal of the Eighth Tier, younger than himself? He just wanted to provoke the latter’s anger and find an opening, that’s all.
The fact proved that Shi Xiaole was more composed and more difficult to deal with than he had imagined; but the tougher the opponent, the more exhilarating it would be upon defeating him.
With a leap, Young Master Evil’s body seemed to merge with the curved saber, and the blade suddenly swelled hundreds of feet, ferociously slashing towards Shi Xiaole. Under this slash, it appeared as if everything, anyone, was just fish on the cutting board, to be sliced at will.
Shi Xiaole unsheathed his sword effortlessly, and the mighty Sword Qi surged upwards, directly confronting the saber blade without any trickery.
There was no ear-shattering noise, no earth-shaking aftermath; when the saber light met the Sword Qi, Shi Xiaole and Young Master Evil seemed to become extensions of their own attacks, colliding in an instant.
Kang!
The Red Left Sword and the curved saber met for the first time, the sparks that shot out during the friction almost blinding the onlookers.
Because each spark consisted of the air of sword and saber. If there were any Divine Barrier Realm experts nearby, these mere sparks would be strong enough to heavily injure them.
"Breaking and Establishing Triple Combo Slash!"
Using the momentum of the impact, Young Master Evil stepped back to create space, and his first slash cut horizontally, the second vertically cleaved, and the third was a casual swing.
But Shi Xiaole saw clearly that the blade edge of the third slash was clearly skimming the trajectory formed by the previous two saber Qi. From an onlooker’s perspective, it was like three pairs of butterfly wings vibrating at the same time, impossible to predict where they would land.
Reflecting Young Master Evil and his saber in his eyes, Shi Xiaole was calmer than an iceberg. In an instant, his mind brimmed with light, sketching out three sword trails, but his hands were faster than his thought process, striking three swords in succession in perfect alignment with the sword marks.
The first sword was like a raging tide, but the Sword Qi had compressed into a point; the second sword was Chaotic Wind Cloud, forming a beam of Sword Qi thrusting forward; the third sword was the simplest, just a straightforward jab.
Pop pop!
Two butterfly-winged saber Qi scattered.
"You’ve fallen for it!"
Young Master Evil’s eyes shone brightly, and with all traces gone, the third saber became like a runaway horse, its might surging several times over.
The Breaking and Establishing Triple Combo Slash was Young Master Evil’s self-created ultimate move, with the essence all in the third slash.
If the first two slashes were successfully executed, the third slash would naturally be a deadly strike, but if the first two were broken, it would stimulate the true power of the third slash, symbolizing the principle of reform through destruction.
Either way, Shi Xiaole was bound to be defeated without a doubt.
Keng!
Just as self-satisfaction had begun to arise, Young Master Evil was taken aback to find that Shi Xiaole’s simplest third sword, like an inspired stroke, was placed exactly where the saber edge struck, puncturing his saber momentum like a balloon.
"Impossible!"
Young Master Evil shifted to the right and launched the Breaking and Establishing Triple Combo Slash again. He couldn’t accept that the fruits of his labor, his self-created technique, would be so easily broken by others on the spot; it was as if his talent and efforts were being denied.
"Your saber technique focuses too much on tricks, revealing your movements. You should know, the more techniques, the greater the chance of exposing flaws."
Mastery is simplicity, which was one of Shi Xiaole’s biggest learnings over the past year. Dispensing with flashy movements and seemingly complex power flows, his actions were now plain and precise, aiming straight for victory and killing, each and every move designed with these as starting points.
To improve further on an already high level describes Shi Xiaole’s swordsmanship best.
"Judgment of Destiny!"
As successive attacks led to nothing, Young Master Evil’s smugness vanished, replaced by endless humiliation and murderous intent.
He spun his body like a top, and suddenly, the curved saber generated countless blade circles that swiftly expanded from above his head, enveloping Shi Xiaole.
If you’re superior in skill, then I’ll crush you with my ultimate move!
"Be careful, that’s the signature technique of the Evil Blade Sect!"
The voice, condensed into a thread, Bai Ruiting called out sharply from afar.
Shi Xiaole truly gave her a great surprise by surpassing Young Master Evil in terms of skill, so she was all the more unwilling for him to lose due to carelessness.
"Wuji!"
Without needing Bai Ruiting’s reminder, Shi Xiaole flicked his sword, and the twisted Sword Qi penetrated the dense blade circles, shattering them. Yet, the circles behind were suddenly compressed, and as the Sword Qi weakened, they were squeezed into many segments that exploded with a bang.
