Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Hundred-Change Thousand-Illusion Cloud-Mist 13 Forms
After finishing lunch without any fuss, Shi Xiaole didn’t go anywhere and returned to his room.
Because the system notified him that he could now extract martial arts techniques.
Ding.
"Congratulations to the host, for drawing an upper-tier third-class sword technique, Mo Da’s Thirteen Skills of Mystifying Cloud and Mist."
So it’s this set of swordplay.
Regarding this result, Shi Xiaole wasn’t particularly thrilled, but he felt contented.
After all, the probability of drawing a blank in this free extraction opportunity was as high as 50%, and the probability of drawing third-class martial arts was about 25%. Not drawing a blank was already considered pretty lucky. Expecting to draw a second-rank, first-rank, or even a top-class martial arts skill would require a burst of exceptional luck.
However, Shi Xiaole soon realized he was wrong.
As the signature skill of Mo Da, the Sect Master of Mountain Heng, the Thirteen Skills of Mystifying Cloud and Mist rarely got the chance to be showcased. The most memorable time was when Mo Da killed Fei Bing, one of the Thirteen Guardians of Mountain Song, outside the city of Mountain Heng.
Nominally, the power of the Thirteen Skills of Mystifying Cloud and Mist may not be much stronger than the Taiyue Three Green Peaks technique.
However, when Shi Xiaole integrated this sword technique into the Chaotic Intent Realm, the power of the technique instantly increased, brandishing a cloud-mist-like scene, sword light rolled and churned, making people unable to distinguish between illusion and reality.
"I forgot, this set of swordplay is renowned for its trickiness and its ghost-like form that makes it hard to discern reality from illusion, which naturally blends with the Chaotic Intent Realm. If the power did not increase significantly when the two are combined, that would be strange."
Overjoyed with this surprise, Shi Xiaole’s excitement stirred, and he immediately began to practice in his room.
After pondering, he decided to use the remaining 1,500 reward points. With a grand wave, he spent 200 points, exchanging for 20, 2-hour periods worth of training time.
Twenty 2-hour periods spent in Martial God Hall is equivalent to merely more than six 2-hour periods in the outside world.
By the time Shi Xiaole emerged from the system, he had already practiced the Cloud Mist Thirteen Styles to the initial level of Spirit Integration.
In the following three days, he stayed in his room, dedicating himself to practicing the Cloud Mist Thirteen Styles. This cycle took up another 200 reward points.
By the afternoon of the fourth day, miraculously, Shi Xiaole had mastered the Cloud Mist Thirteen Styles to the peak of the Transformation Phase!
Normally, even with the sharper intuition he currently possessed, his rate of progress shouldn’t be this rapid. After all, when he was training with the Golden Goose Skill last time, it took him half a month to perfect it.
There were mainly two reasons for this astonishing outcome.
First, it seemed like Shi Xiaole only practiced for four days, but counting the 400 reward points, he actually practiced for about seven days.
Secondly and most importantly, the Cloud Mist Thirteen Styles consisted of numerous variations, emphasizing ingenious changes and is renowned for its mystery. This characteristic greatly resonates with the Chaotic Intent Realm.
Through his understanding of the Chaotic Intent Realm, Shi Xiaole, in practicing the many essential parts, didn’t need to spend much time deliberating and could understand thoroughly in an instant, naturally increasing his training speed significantly.
While speed was a welcome aspect, what truly delighted him was the power of the sword techniques after the combination of Cloud Mist Thirteen Styles and the Chaotic Intent Realm.
Swish.
In the room, Shi Xiaole extended a sword strike. It was an ordinary-looking strike but somehow gave off a multi-varied and otherworldly feel.
This variety was different from the Chaotic One Slash.
After all, the Chaotic One Slash was a lethal strike. Its true potency lay in the overlapping, chaotic trajectories of the swordplay, not in its damage output. Otherwise, Shi Xiaole wouldn’t have needed to use the Golden Goose Skill during his previous duel with Ba Renxiong.
On the other hand, the Cloud Mist Thirteen Styles had inherent detrimental power. Coupled with flexible and ever-changing swordsmanship, upon merging with the Chaotic Intent Realm, the sword skills became nearly unfathomable, leaving opponents at a loss on how to defend against it.
Just by looking at the one strike Shi Xiaole demonstrated at that moment, if used in a fight, would surely induce apprehension in his opponent, making them hesitant to fight back with full force.
"Excellent, the Cloud Mist Thirteen Styles combined with the Chaotic Intent Realm has surpasses the Taiyue Three Green Peaks integrated with the Dangerous Precipice Realm."
Shi Xiaole grinned satisfactorily.
Before this, his abilities were quite unbalanced. Without using the Lifeline and Chaotic One Slash, he could only compete with ordinary second-rank prodigies.
However, as soon as he utilized his lethal moves, he was able to defeat Ba Renxiong.
This scenario was not ideal.
As lethal moves required a massive amount of internal power. If it came down to a fight to the death, once his lethal move was nullified, his regular abilities would come into play. Then, Shi Xiaole would definitely be at a disadvantage.
Fortunately, he now mastered the Cloud Mist Thirteen Styles. Coupled with his recently enhanced internal power, his standard abilities had significantly improved, surpassing Ba Renxiong by a notch.
In just a few days, there was probably no one who could imagine that he had achieved such another leap in his basic abilities!
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking on the door interrupted Shi Xiaole’s thoughts.
"Junior brother, what are you doing shut away in your room all day?"
When the door was opened, Yuan Qiuwei and two others were standing outside, with Xiao Yuanbo asking directly.
The three of them had been relaxing these past few days, either interacting with disciples from other sects or strolling around Sky City when they weren’t performing the necessary training, living quite comfortably.
They had looked for Shi Xiaole a few times, but every time they knocked and he didn’t answer. They didn’t want to disturb him, so they gave up and left.
How could they know that the previous times they tried to call on Shi Xiaole, he was inside the Martial God Hall training where he couldn’t hear the outside world at all?
"Senior brother and sisters, are you looking for me for something?"
Shi Xiaole invited the three of them in and poured a cup of tea for each.
"Junior brother, you really can’t continue like this, you’re practically becoming a recluse."
Xiao Yuanbo wore a look of worry and then slapped Shi Xiaole lightly on the shoulder, saying, "Junior brother, there’s a grand event happening tonight. Second senior brother will take you to experience it."
Shi Xiaole wasn’t an antisocial person. He was just sometimes too absorbed in martial arts training. Hearing this, he asked with a smile, "What grand event?"
"Heh heh, tonight at the Piaoxu Building in Cloud Sky City, the most famous musician of the Cloud Triangle, Miss Piaoxu, will be performing. This is an opportunity we can’t miss."
An insincere smile crept onto Xiao Yuanbo’s face, which made Mao Wenjing respond with a cold huff.
"Is this Miss Piaoxu famous?"
Shi Xiaole asked in return.
All three of them looked at him as if he were some sort of alien.
Mao Wenjing couldn’t help saying, "Little junior brother, you’ve never heard of Miss Piaoxu? She’s called the Queen of the Harp, very famous in the Cloud Triangle."
Shi Xiaole laughed it off.
Although he inherited the memories of the body’s original owner, many unimportant things were quite vague. Moreover, he’d been focusing all his time on martial arts; how could he have time to care about who plays the harp well?
Unbeknownst to Shi Xiaole, due to a lack of entertainment activities in this world, people with talents such as great musicians are really in demand. Their fame may even exceed that of martial arts masters.
"Little junior brother, take a break tonight and enjoy yourself. I’ll treat."
Xiao Yuanbo slapped his chest confidently and issued a loud invitation.
"Then thank you, second senior brother."
Shi Xiaole did not decline.
Martial arts training requires a balance of both strain and relaxation. After making significant progress through six days of strenuous effort, it was indeed time to relax. Furthermore, this was also an opportunity to foster camaraderie among brothers, and it would not be wise to refuse.
The night vista of Cloud Sky City was abuzz with a flow of people coming and going, reminiscent of a bustling street view.
Merchants, travelers, martial artists, and others, whether alone or in groups of three or five, created an extraordinarily lively atmosphere on the wide streets.
Piaoxu Building, the largest music pavilion in Cloud Sky City.
Unlike a brothel, people visiting here were certainly in appreciation of beauty, but more often they were here for the accompany of music, hence there were no special services provided.
Therefore, there’s no gender restriction for music pavilions unlike brothels, which don’t allow women.
When the four of them walked in, there were almost no seats left in Piaoxu Building
A wave of attention shot their way, with many eyes settling on Shi Xiaole.
Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but laugh, because he unexpectedly spotted Zuo Feiyang and several other disciples from Cloud Sword Pavilion, as well as Xiong Ni, Ba Renxiong, and others.
"Miss Piaoxu’s skills on the zither are exquisite, which combined with her beauty, draws many people from the martial world, especially the young ones, to her concerts."
Xiao Yuanbo joyfully muttered at the side.
Seeing many people eagerly anticipating Miss Piaoxu’s performance, Shi Xiaole couldn’t help but associate the word "fan" with them.
Before long, the clear sound of a bell ringing echoed through the room.
In everyone’s field of vision, a lady dressed in green, with a grace that made her seem like she was stepping on shards, approached the stage. She calmly sat behind a zither, greeted everyone with a nod, then started playing.
As soon as the song ended, the room fell silent.
It took a good while before an uproarious round of applause and cheers erupted.
Even Shi Xiaole had to admit that Piaoxu’s peaceful and ethereal zither playing was unparalleled, incomparable to modern synthesized music.
"Queen of the Harp? It sounds like nothing special."
Just then, a disdainful huff sounded from somewhere.
"Who are you to make such a bold claim?"
A young man immediately stood up.
"Haha, I’m just telling the truth. A performing musician like her is even held high up in the sky by people like you, I find it laughable."
The one who spoke these words was a skinny young man whose disdain and contempt made Piaoxu on stage turn pale.
"Lu Yan, shut your mouth!"
A chilling voice sounded that no one expected to be from Zuo Feiyang.
"Mr. Zuo, I’ve heard for a long time that you’ve been infatuated with this musician. Judging by your reaction, it seems to be true."
Lu Yan laughed. His words made people gasp.
"Does this Lu Yan have a grudge against Zuo Feiyang?"
Shi Xiaole asked Xiao Yuanbo.
Xiao Yuanbo stated, "Lu Yan, also known as Falling Sword at Sunset, is a disciple of a reputable martial arts faction. He has been unable to let go of his defeat to Zuo Feiyang half a year ago. If I’m not mistaken, he’s intentionally trying to create a scene on this occasion."
Shi Xiaole nodded.
While the two were still in discussion, Lu Yan and Zuo Feiyang were already on the verge of a clash.
Lu Yan laughed raucously, "Zuo Feiyang, you’re inferior to the Four Outstanding Youths, fine. But I’ve heard that at this Cloud Sky Conference, you couldn’t even be the best among those below the Four Outstanding Youths. You had your limelight stolen by some kid known for his dual martial skills. How embarrassing!"
"Apologize to Miss Piaoxu."
Zuo Feiyang only had one sentence to say.
"No way."
Lu Yan clenched his sword. Seeing Zuo Feiyang readying a strike, a smirk flashed across his face. His purpose for coming was to wash away the shame from half a year ago. If Zuo Feiyang didn’t make a move, he would force Zuo Feiyang to act.
