Chapter 831: Chapter 830: The Last Resort_1
Both as high-level practitioners of the Void Origin Realm, the old clan chieftain of the Teng Snake was instantly slain by a sword from Zhang Xiangfeng, leaving those present not knowing what to do.
"Isn’t it said that all high-level practitioners of the Void Origin Realm are peerless geniuses, and the gap between them should hardly be vast?" Now what was happening, a person who had just become an emperor, directly outdistanced an old monster of the Void Origin Realm by tens of thousands of miles?
If it were not for witnessing it with their own eyes, no one would have believed it.
Gliding down to the ground, Zhang Xiangfeng said with a smile, "The trouble has been taken care of."
After hesitating repeatedly, Shi Xiaole finally asked, "Brother Zhang, have you really become a Sword Emperor of the Void Origin Realm?"
"Do you think it’s too simple, and there wasn’t enough commotion?"
Zhang Xiangfeng blinked, "I feel that this space is different from the outside world. Although my realm has increased, my power has not grown as much as I had imagined. It probably will be supplemented once I return to the outside world."
Shi Xiaole then understood.
Becoming an emperor is not a trivial matter. It is said that the number of Martial Emperors the heavens and earth can accommodate is limited, and there exists a dreadful mutual destruction rule.
To be more specific, when the number of Martial Emperors approaches the limit, the emergence of a new Martial Emperor necessitates the death of another, otherwise the newcomer would be targeted by intangible forces of fate and would hardly meet a good end.
In ancient records, anyone before becoming a Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm would seek a secret place undiscovered by others, enduring life-and-death trials before they might have the chance to break through.
Zhang Xiangfeng’s breakthrough was uniquely simple. It turned out to be the influence of the rules.
"Congratulations, Brother Zhang, on breaking the record of becoming a Martial Emperor."
Having understood this, Shi Xiaole hurriedly offered his congratulations.
The Martial Emperor was sixty-two years old when he became a high-level practitioner of the Void Origin Realm, breaking a thousand-year record in the Martial World, while Zhang Xiangfeng was only sixty-one.
Zhang Xiangfeng laughed heartily.
There was something he didn’t say. Given the talent displayed by Shi Xiaole, he suspected that the other might reach this step before fifty, or if things went quickly, even by the age of forty-five.
That would truly be terrifying, enough to set the East Victory continent boiling!
Of course, that assumed the other would continue to maintain his current potential and grow rapidly. In short, if someone was to break his own record, Zhang Xiangfeng only favored the Kirin and hoped it would be the Kirin.
At Shi Xiaole’s invitation, members of the six great tribes hurried over to greet them. After learning of Zhang Xiangfeng’s past deeds and age, they were all astounded.
"Kirin? That’s quite a good nickname. Swordsman Zhang, do you know the age of Lele?" Yu Yourong seized the chance to ask Zhang Xiangfeng, hoping he, given his character, wouldn’t deceive her again.
"Lele?"
Zhang Xiangfeng and Zhong Lingsui exchanged glances, unable to hold back their smiles.
Zhong Lingsui said, "The Kirin is indeed the number one talent of the Flying Horse Dynasty. Victorious in every fight against peers since coming into the world, if I remember correctly, he is at most thirty-two this year."
Hisss!
The surrounding people were stunned.
Li Xinghe, Ye Xiaoxiang, Lan Tianyun, and others were like they had been struck by lightning, seeing stars before their eyes and finding their breathing turning rapid.
Of course, they had also suspected Shi Xiaole’s age, with guesses ranging between forty and fifty years old; fifty-five was even possible.
Who could have imagined that he was only thirty-two?
They didn’t believe Zhong Lingsui was deliberately deceiving them; there was no need for that. But this was too exaggerated, wasn’t it?
At thirty-two, to have become an Eighth Tier Earth Immortal with top-notch combat strength proved that his foundation was exceedingly solid. Even if he had started cultivating from the womb, it wouldn’t be this frightening.
Yu Yourong stared at Zhong Lingsui, trying to discern the truth. She glanced at Wang Zuying and Xu Nianxue, with whom she had much communication of late. However, for some reason, they had not revealed this matter to her.
After a while, Yu Yourong cursed under her breath, calling someone a freak before falling silent.
The group continued on their way.
With the legendary Brother Zhang leading the way, everyone was no longer scared or hesitant, even their voices in conversation became louder. Passing by some indigenous tribes, they naturally brought them to heel.
Shi Xiaole, of course, would not pass up the opportunity to inquire, bombarding Zhang Xiangfeng with questions about the mysteries of the Void Origin Realm. Zhang Xiangfeng did not conceal anything and shared all he knew.
"The essence of the Void Origin is to form Vigorous Air vortices throughout various parts of the body, each vortex being equivalent to a dantian, capable of storing new Vigorous Air."
"In theory, the vortices can endlessly undergo fission, and the finer the division, the more Vigorous Air they can store, to infinity. But this is just theory after all. If it were really like that, a person would become a deity."
According to Zhang Xiangfeng, the Void Origin Realm doesn’t have distinctions like first or second levels, not even clear minor realms. The external manifestations of one fission and two fissions were indistinguishable.
Moreover, apart from Vigorous Air, martial arts had an even more exaggerated impact on strength in the Void Origin Realm. Perhaps a sudden enlightenment, a brand new deadly move, could make up for the disparity in Vigorous Air.
Thus, in the Void Origin Realm, it was hard to argue over high and low based on realm.
However, Divine Strategy Academy took an unconventional approach and launched a decisive kills list that became quite popular among the Martial Emperors of the Void Origin Realm.
The decisive kills list didn’t record combat strength, but rather, deadly moves.
Every Martial Emperor of the Void Origin Realm had their unique deadly move, and these moves often determined victory or defeat. Thus, the ranking on the decisive kills list also generally represented the ranking of Martial Emperors of the Void Origin Realm.
Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but speculate about the level of Zhang Xiangfeng’s ultimate move.
Speculation aside, his focus was still on himself.
After reaching the early stage of the sixth layer of Divine Barrier Realm, Shi Xiaole’s battle power had reached the medium level of the Eighth Tier as he wished. If he were to face the joint attack of the five Eternal Night tribe leaders again, he could hold on for at least ten more breaths of time, which was a considerable improvement.
And there was more good news, Shi Xiaole now qualified to advance to the next stage.
It turned out that in this stage, as long as a martial artist could recover their strength and make further progress, they could shatter the space, and currently, both Shi Xiaole and Zhang Xiangfeng were forcefully retaining their presence here.
Unfortunately, judging by the rapidly increasing force of rejection, the three of them, including Shi Xiaole, could stay for at most another month or so.
"Could it be that I’ve guessed wrong?"
Shi Xiaole was anxious about another matter.
He hadn’t forgotten the person who tried to assassinate him that day. The assailant, upon seeing his face, had panicked and fled, which inevitably led to some speculations. And with the individual’s level of skill and stature, word should have gotten out by now.
Why was there total silence?
Now, only a few scant days remained until the three-year deadline of the system’s task.
Deep into the night, with no stars or moon.
Shi Xiaole deliberately chose a deserted place to cultivate.
In the pitch-black night, a figure emerged so abruptly yet seamlessly blended with the surroundings, as if naturally meant to be there.
"You finally came."
Shi Xiaole’s heart pounded wildly.
The presence of the newcomer made the air itself feel as heavy as lead, inconceivably stronger than Zhang Xiangfeng.
After a long silence, he said coldly, "You are not Shi Xuanzhong, and yet you haven’t disguised yourself, bearing half of his bloodline. You couldn’t be his son, could you?"
With the ability of a Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor, sensing the bloodline was not difficult, and deception was pointless, so Shi Xiaole simply nodded. After all, he could break through the space at any time and was not worried about being harmed by the other party.
"Damn!"
In the next moment, the newcomer’s heartfelt greeting left Shi Xiaole dumbfounded. And as the other party dispelled the mist over his face, something even more shocking to Shi Xiaole happened.
It was a square-faced man, who looked exactly like the image of the Thousand Dark Poison Emperor depicted by Qin Building!
"You are the Thousand Dark Poison Emperor?"
Shi Xiaole asked in astonishment.
"Correct, you recognize me."
The first thing that surged through Shi Xiaole’s mind was not fear but confusion. According to Ling Jingsi, the Poison Emperor was Shi Xuanzhong’s mortal enemy. Yet, upon encountering the son of his enemy, the other party exhibited no intention to kill.
Perhaps he was hiding it too well, but Shi Xiaole intuitively felt that the curse from the other party held not just helplessness but also something more, delight maybe?
Quickly regaining his composure, Shi Xiaole got straight to the point, "Tell me about my father. I heard it was you who poisoned him, causing his powers to plummet?"
"Uh, hahaha..."
After a moment of shock came a burst of laughter, so hard that he nearly doubled over in pain. Only after the Poison Emperor stopped laughing, his voice still quavering, did he say, "Who told you that? I wish I could, but unfortunately, I don’t have the capability."
Seeing Shi Xiaole silent, he suddenly realized, "Judging by your age, you probably didn’t have much interaction with your father. Well, it’s rare to see his son, so I might as well talk about it. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a conversation with anyone."
According to the information from Qin Building, the Poison Emperor was a very proud man. However, perhaps because of Shi Xiaole’s identity, he soon sat down on a stone and began to narrate on his own accord.
In the Poison Emperor’s account, he had heard that Shi Xuanzhong and his wife had found an ancient secret realm and had joined forces with the Emotionless Whip Emperor, Bloody River Blade Emperor, Chaotic Heart Martial Emperor, and Heavenly Dragon Sword Emperor to vie for it.
"One move! We five were among the top fighters of the Western Sea Archipelago and even on East Victory Continent, we’re considered top-level existences. Yet all five of us together couldn’t even withstand one move from your father."
Shi Xiaole was so astonished he was left speechless.
"At that time, the intense battle triggered the mechanisms of the secret realm. Your mother was manipulating the Array System, and without time to retreat, was hit by a deadly poison, ’See You in Hell’."
"It wasn’t concocted by you, was it?"
The Poison Emperor shook his head repeatedly, "Heh, that poison, even a whiff could cost me half of my life; how could I possibly concoct it? Your mother had no powers at all and was exposed to enough poison to kill tens of thousands, not even a Supreme Immortal could have saved her."
Even though he had always known he would come out unharmed, or else he would not have been born, Shi Xiaole’s heart still tightened. He hurriedly asked, "What happened then?"
"After that, your father, disregarding the collapse risk of the secret realm, used his supreme power to preserve her very last breath. I have a natural obsession with poison and reacted half a beat too slow, whereas the other four managed to escape in time."
"I’ve never seen your father so panicked and frantic. He tried all sorts of ways but couldn’t bring your mother back to life. He picked up the ’See You in Hell’ pills that had solidified and swallowed them whole, no less than thirty in one go,"
He continued, a cold sweat on his forehead and his voice trembling, "I called him a madman. He said only by experiencing it himself could he come up with an antidote. Thirty pills, he was bent on dying, yet just couldn’t die, damn it!"
After cursing for quite a while, he went on with his story.
"Later, due to the influence of the mechanisms, we were separated. It took many years of stumbling before I managed to exit the secret realm, and I never saw him again. Until two years ago, he suddenly appeared and swept through three major tribes. He said that to save your mother, he must harness the great opportunity of Rainbow Island’s power."
"This is the last resort!"
