Chapter 845: Chapter 844 Overthrowing the Higher-Ups_1
"A mere top Eighth Tier Earth Immortal?"
Pei Qiuyan doubted her ears, otherwise how could she hear such an absurd statement.
The Four Bodies Sword Formation, unified as one, Shi Xiaole didn’t know that by sending a message to Pei Qiuyan, he was simultaneously communicating with all four women, therefore Qu Ni, Zhang Xiaoting, and Su Bi all heard it as well.
"What arrogance."
Zhang Xiaoting, a woman with an oval face, nearly messed up her sword technique upon hearing this.
At around forty years old, even the three giants might not have the confidence to utter such words; did this youngster think himself stronger than the three giants?
Su Bi snorted inwardly. Even Qu Ni, amongst the four women who trusted Shi Xiaole the most, was somewhat puzzled. However, the lapse was brief. With a formidable enemy before them, the four women quickly engaged in battle again with the thin man.
"You won’t shed tears until you see the coffin—that’s the type of person you are. Very well, I will let you know what true power is."
It seemed that the man in black had anticipated Shi Xiaole’s refusal. With a cruel smile, he took a step forward. Each step left a faint footprint in the void. Upon closer inspection, these were not mere footprints, but rather twisted Sword Qi.
When the two were about fifty yards apart, the man in black’s sword momentum reached its climax. The long sword in his hand suddenly swung out of its scabbard, thrusting rapidly towards Shi Xiaole.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The previous footprints of Sword Qi exploded from back to front, each wave pushing the one before it, finally forming an arc of Sword Qi that abruptly increased the speed of the man in black by more than double.
In an instant, both man and sword vanished, leaving only an endless and persistent Sword Qi aimed at Shi Xiaole, unstoppable and irresistible.
"What a terrifying sword technique!"
"Where is the sword?"
Different thoughts rose in peoples’ minds, but what they had in common was a chilling sensation rising from the spine to the crown of the head, leaving their bodies cold from head to toe.
The Jiuhua Hermit was shocked beyond measure. Faced with this sword strike, he wouldn’t know how he died, not to mention one of him—even two would be insufficient. Was this the gap between a high-ranking Eighth Tier Earth Immortal and a top Eighth Tier Earth Immortal?
As the target of the sword, Shi Xiaole’s experience was deeper than anyone else’s. Every single one of the 108,000 pores on his body was contracting—not out of fear, but as an overactive response, signifying the body itself recognized the ability of this move to threaten its owner.
But so what?
With mental power like endless tendrils, the world in front of Shi Xiaole began to slow down. A point of light appeared in the void, and within the light was a cold sword.
Power surged to the limit, and in an instant, the invisible yet colorful sword momentum stirred the heavens and the earth. At its very center, Shi Xiaole appeared like a luminous human-shaped jade, surrounded by hovering azure mini-swords that radiated brilliant light, constructing a vast torrent of blue that penetrated the ultimate universe.
Sizzling...
The azure sword momentum suddenly caved inward, carving out a pathway. The azure mini-swords along the route shattered in response, but the speed of the pathway also slowed down, revealing the outline of a sword and the figure of the man in black.
When the distance between them closed to ten yards, Shi Xiaole drew his sword. It was not the Tiger Abyss Sword but the Red Left Sword; he wanted to clash with his opponent using a weapon of the same level.
Boom!
The azure sword momentum began to spin wildly, compress, and twist, forming a massive cross sword with its tip aimed directly at the man in black—the second technique of the Wind Tribulation Sword Technique, Wind Mastery.
Thud...
Time stilled, followed immediately by a deafening surge of noise. The void resembled numerous transparent and massive cloths first entangling with each other before suddenly stretching tight.
The two insignificant figures were sent flying backwards simultaneously, one retreating several thousand meters, the other several hundred meters.
"Still lacking a little."
The figure that fell back several thousand meters let out a light breath.
Shi Xiaole never believed he could confront a top Eighth Tier Earth Immortal head on right now, so he wasn’t surprised by the outcome. At least he wasn’t injured.
"Impossible, he blocked it unscathed?"
The man in black could not remain calm, his eyes widening in disbelief as he searched for any injuries on Shi Xiaole, only to find after a long observation, not only was there no injury, but even his breathing showed little disturbance.
What kind of joke was this?
He was a ninth-tier expert of the Divine Barrier Realm and also possessed the combat power of a top Eighth Tier, yet even in executing his trump card, he couldn’t defeat a seventh-tier novice of the Divine Barrier Realm.
Humiliation!
Utter humiliation!
All around, everyone who witnessed this scene was dumbfounded, unable to believe their eyes.
"Mr. Shi, where exactly do you come from?"
Young Master Evil couldn’t help but clench his fists.
Being a top Eighth Tier Earth Immortal was his goal for the next decade. Frankly, Young Master Evil wasn’t completely sure he could reach that level, but his arch-nemesis, his opponent, had already nearly reached it.
It’s important to note that it had barely been over a year since their last encounter, and at that time, Shi Xiaole only possessed early Eighth Tier combat strength. This rate of progression was no longer a question of freakishness—it was utterly fantastical, as if a ghost was at work!
"Given the chance, I must kill him."
Duan Changge couldn’t remain calm, jealousy causing even the muscles on his face to twitch.
"Mr. Shi is actually this formidable?"
Even with Pei Qiuyan’s temperament and in the midst of a duel, she couldn’t help but be utterly entranced.
The higher echelons of the Divine Barrier Realm, mixing it up across two different realms without falling short, what kind of concept is this? Had the three big heads of the past been this strong?
Zhang Xiaoting and Su Bi were also profoundly shocked, witnessing such an anomaly for the first time.
The gaunt man’s fierce onslaught arrived, and the four women hastily gathered their spirits and swung their swords again and again.
"You can block one sword strike, but I don’t believe you can block the second, or the third. Cross Mysterious Penetrating Style, kill!"
What has been said might seem lengthy, but in reality, it all took place in an instant. The swordsman in black leaned forward, powered up his legs, hands cupping his head, and brandished his sword horizontally and vertically in two strokes.
An eerie scene unfolded.
His body was sliced into four sections, misaligned, yet the remnants of the cross-shaped sword light also transformed, as if existing in an entirely different time-space—unpredictable in distance and power.
Without hesitation, without turmoil, Shi Xiaole had only one sword strike. Since it was unpredictable, why bother trying to predict? No matter the myriad of changes, the true essence never varies; the real point of force is always singular.
Wind Tribulation!
With the clash of the swords, a spark flickered into existence.
The disjointed cross-shaped sword light reassembled, and the swordsman in black behind it showed an extremely horrified expression.
His Cross Mysterious Penetrating Style had not gone unsolved before, but those who broke it relied on sheer strength. Up until now, Shi Xiaole was the only one who had defeated it with skill.
Clang clang clang...
The two immediately engaged in close combat. While dozens of sword shadows had yet to dissipate, new ones emerged instantly, layer upon layer. Sunlight penetrating through the sword shadows was reflected and multiplied into even more sword shadows.
"They’re too fast. Their striking speed is at least 20 percent faster than mine," the staff-wielding man said, sweating profusely.
After all, he was a High Eighth Tier Earth Immortal, so he could barely make out the real and the feigned moves between the two. By his estimation, the swordsman in black’s sword speed was at least 20 percent faster than his, but what was more astonishing was Shi Xiaole, who seemed faster still and was continuously picking up speed.
Should he engage in close combat with either one of them, he probably couldn’t withstand fifty moves.
The two Ninth Tier Earth Immortals were far in the distance, and although the battle between the gaunt man and the four women was fierce, it lacked the essence of evenly matched opponents. Out of a warrior’s instinct, nearly everyone’s eyes were fixed on the clash between the swordsman in black and Shi Xiaole.
There were some who thought of taking a chance to steal the Enlightenment Fruit, but after giving it some thought, they held back their impulses. Acting recklessly would only bring disaster upon themselves; it was better to keep waiting.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the succession of clashing sounds, Shi Xiaole thrust his sword smoothly, Red Left broke free and, like a flash of lightning, pierced the opening in the swordsman in black’s moves, his wrist twisting ever so slightly.
Hiss.
Under the disturbance of the protective Vigorous Air, the swordsman in black was forced to retreat dozens of meters. His sword raised high, yet before it could come down, Shi Xiaole appeared like a ghost, preempting his opponent’s change of moves. Forced to switch from a strike to a block by the crossing sweep of Red Left, his counterpart had no choice.
Little did he expect that to be Shi Xiaole’s feint. As the two swords met, Red Left grazed the edge of his opponent’s sword and used it as a pivot to draw a beautiful arc.
The swordsman in black retreated once more.
Shi Xiaole raised his hands high and hacked down fiercely, with a gap so minute not even a needle could be inserted, yet it bore the fluidity of drifting clouds and flowing water.
Thump!
Caught off guard, the swordsman in black staggered back, his figure a mess and his face as ugly as it could be.
He was actually losing, a mighty top Eighth Tier Earth Immortal, cornered by a High Eighth Tier Earth Immortal! This was not a matter of realm, but of bare combat strength.
This could only mean that Shi Xiaole’s combat technique had reached an otherworldly level of mastery, able to bridge even the gap of brute strength.
In fact, who wasn’t shocked?
Even the four Ninth Tier Earth Immortals high above felt their hearts stir with tumultuous emotions upon sensing all of this, struggles to calm themselves.
"I’m going to chop you to bits, Ghost King Slaying God Sword!"
Knowing he was no match in close combat, the swordsman in black darted left and right, his face red with anger and eyes bloodshot with intense rage and killing intent.
After dodging dozens of moves in a row, the swordsman in black’s sword momentum suddenly swelled, and a piercing wail of ghosts erupted from his long sword. As he stood his ground, he smeared his hand along the blade, and blood lent the wailing more penetrative force, making the initial Eighth Tier Earth Immortals feel as if their very hearts were being pierced!
"Die!"
The swordsman in black laughed maniacally at Shi Xiaole.
The Ghost King Slaying God Sword was his ultimate move, possessing the might to fend off even the spirits and deities, causing even his equals to dodge its edge.
Although he had been outmatched by Shi Xiaole earlier, he wasn’t actually in that much of a dire state; it was all to lure his opponent into a trap. Now, with such proximity, he refused to believe that Shi Xiaole could still block it!
Whoosh!
Shi Xiaole was frighteningly calm. Before the swordsman in black could even make his move, Red Left preemptively shot out, shaking his opponent’s protective Vigorous Air into ripples.
Controlling Sword with Qi Skill.
Close proximity was the swordsman in black’s trap, but was it not also Shi Xiaole’s?
"If I want you dead, you’re going to die!"
Following that strike, the swordsman in black’s energy vastly depleted, but inside, he roared with ferocity.
In a split-second crisis, he recklessly spurred on the essence of his blood, pouring it into his sword without regard for his life. In that instant, the blade turned a deep scarlet, and the surrounding ghostly fog was driven away by the overwhelming blood aura.
