Chapter 854: Chapter 853: Unmatched Power at the Same Level (Part 2)_1
"Shi Brother, how could I see you?"
"Because I am right here."
With a sweep of his arm, Shi Xiaole carried Bai Ruiting away like an arrow released from a bowstring. Razor-sharp ghost claws pierced through the void, causing ripples in the air, but those ripples always fell short by a full ten feet from Shi Xiaole – not an inch more, not an inch less, even the rate of their changes was identical. This flawless harmony left many people feeling their scalps tingle.
"Shi Brother, it’s wonderful to see you before I die, but you shouldn’t have come."
Bai Ruiting felt increasingly distressed, not wanting Shi Xiaole to be put at risk because of her.
"Should I or shouldn’t I isn’t for you to decide. Step back and tend to your injuries."
With a light push of his palm, Bai Ruiting found herself involuntarily drifting to the back.
Madam Xi, in her urgency, wanted to scream out. How could they be so reckless amidst the crossfire of such intense energy?
To her astonishment, whether by luck or some other means, Bai Ruiting miraculously dodged the surges of energy from all sides during her drift and even used their collision to create a harmless safe zone for herself.
"What?"
Madam Xi’s heart throbbed violently.
"That’s the kid, Cheng Luo, you deal with him."
The Ninth Void Ghost King, upon spotting Shi Xiaole, grinned excitedly and quickly called out.
Swoosh, swoosh.
From the five top Eighth Tier Earth Immortals originally besieging Pei Qiuyan and the other women, two immediately charged towards Shi Xiaole.
One was a young man with a ponytail, precisely the Cheng Luo mentioned by the Ninth Void Ghost King; the other was a man with a horse-like face emanating an aura of brutality.
"Kid, I’ve heard you’re quite formidable, and I’ve been dying to meet you," Cheng Luo said with an incessant cold sneer.
Whether it was the Ninth Void Ghost King or the Ugly Ghost King, both had praised Shi Xiaole’s unmatched talent, even suggesting he could rival the three great leaders. This naturally provoked Cheng Luo’s pride.
As a genius himself, Cheng Luo had long been a top Eighth Tier Earth Immortal and had even withstood ten moves against an ordinary Ninth Tier Earth Immortal, emerging unscathed – an encounter that shook Rainbow State.
It could be said that even if he wasn’t on par with the six prodigies, he was only half a step behind at most. Especially since he had immersed himself in this realm for many years, he believed there were no more than five top Eighth Tier Earth Immortals stronger than him and was convinced he could defeat Shi Xiaole.
In the short while this took place, Shi Xiaole had assessed the situation in the arena with clarity. It seemed to turn the tide, he must first take down the five top Eighth Tier Earth Immortals, and he had to be quick about it.
"Ghost Cave Divine Fist!"
Seeing that Shi Xiaole couldn’t even be bothered to respond, clearly not taking him seriously, Cheng Luo was furious. His fist, wrapped in billowing black energy, shot forward.
Streams of black energy transformed into demons of varying sizes – some with disheveled hair, others showing their fangs and claws, and still others looking as though they were tearing something apart – all converging on Shi Xiaole at the center.
"Brother Shi, be careful!"
This move made Bai Ruiting’s heart nearly stop. At Illusion Orchid Tower, she had seen several top Eighth Tier Earth Immortals, but none could compare to Cheng Luo.
From Pei Qiuyan, Bai Ruiting knew that Shi Xiaole had become a top Eighth Tier Earth Immortal, but given the short time, he might not be able to contend with such a powerhouse.
As the horde of demons encircled him, the surging onslaught proved ineffectual against the unwavering Shi Xiaole, who held his Red Left sword and drew it smoothly, yet swiftly.
Clang.
The sword light flashed for a brief moment, then vanished.
The next instant, a long sword mark extended from beneath Shi Xiaole’s feet, stretching out past the black energy. Wherever the sword mark passed, the swarm of demons was sliced apart, reduced to dust without a whisper of resistance.
"Not good!"
Cheng Luo was struck with indescribable terror, hurriedly mustering all his strength and raising both fists to meet the attack, but the sword mark disappeared abruptly. It was Shi Xiaole altering his movement, turning the thrust into a sweep. The sword’s momentum went from existence to nothingness, and then back again, slashing diagonally across the other side at a speed twenty percent faster than before.
With a swish!
Blood stained the sky as Cheng Luo let out a miserable howl, nearly being cleaved in half as a gash ran from his lower left abdomen deep into his upper right rib.
Instead of merely flowing, his blood shot out like a fountain, due to the Sword Qi that had penetrated his body and created immense pressure. Even though Cheng Luo exhausted all his Vigorous Air to suppress it, he couldn’t swiftly expel it.
"How is this possible?!"
The horse-faced man was dumbstruck; even a bolt from the blue couldn’t compare to the shock he felt at that moment.
No matter how one sorted the top Eighth Tier Earth Immortals, Cheng Luo ranked among the very strongest, with a great chance of breaking into the top five in Rainbow State. Yet such a formidable figure had been grievously injured by a peer within two sword strikes?
If it weren’t for Shi Xiaole’s demonstrated offensive power, almost matching that of Cheng Luo, the horse-faced man might have doubted whether his opponent was an ordinary Ninth Tier Earth Immortal.
No, even an ordinary Ninth Tier Earth Immortal would struggle to injure Cheng Luo in two moves.
My God, someone tell him, what the hell is going on here!
"Young Master Shi, he..."
Pei Qiuyan and the other women were stupefied, knowing that they couldn’t afford to be distracted in such crucial moments, yet found it impossible to control their bewildered minds.
Luckily for them, the three top Eighth Tier Earth Immortals attacking them had also halted, stunned by Shi Xiaole’s two astonishing sword strikes.
Indeed, due to this spectacle, there was a moment of silence amongst the four warring powers, and the Earth Immortals of the Martial World stealthily observing from all sides were left in a dumbfounded state, incapable of thought.
It was simply too inconceivable.
One must understand, to some extent, combat power was almost equivalent to strength, which was quite different from one’s cultivation level. Both being top Eighth Tier Earth Immortals, in theory, all aspects should be similar.
In the vast world, the strongest top Eighth Tier Earth Immortal couldn’t easily defeat the weakest among them. This was universally acknowledged truth in the Martial World, and indeed, throughout the world.
Just like an extreme Ninth Tier Earth Immortal could easily defeat an ordinary one, but couldn’t dream of easily defeating another extreme Ninth Tier Earth Immortal.
But what just happened? A top Eighth Tier Earth Immortal had severely injured another top Eighth Tier Earth Immortal with just two strikes, and the latter was among the strongest.
Even the most exaggerated tales wouldn’t feature such an exaggeration!
Invincible, this was true invincibility among peers, unstoppable, ignoring any level or combat power, shattering all so-called truths within the universe!
"This kid isn’t human, absolutely not, it’s impossible for a human to do such a thing."
Jiuhua Hermit’s cold sweat poured down.
He now felt extremely fortunate, fortunate that he hadn’t overly provoked Shi Xiaole, and instead had been injured by him. Provoking such a freak, who could sleep at ease?
Young Master Evil took several deep breaths and relaxed a few, but his heart was chilling. All his fighting spirit, his confidence to surpass Shi Xiaole, was almost extinguished like that black Qi under those two swords.
It seemed that every time they met, the other’s strength increased by a notch, with no limit, never stopping.
As arrogant and unbridled as Young Master Evil was, even he couldn’t thick-skinnedly say that he would definitely defeat Shi Xiaole in the future. That was no longer confidence, but a failure to see reality. Unless Shi Xiaole lost his talent halfway, which was such a low probability.
Boom!
A thunderous roar that shocked the eyes came from the boundless clouds above, signalling the rage of the Ghost Emperor.
"Die!"
Shi Xiaole’s talents surprised even him, a Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor, and a certain instinct told him that this kid absolutely couldn’t be left alive.
"Too late."
A blue light shield, emanating a faint fragrance, trapped both the Ghost Emperor and the Illusion Orchid Tower Master at the same time. No matter how fiercely the Ghost Emperor attacked, he couldn’t break free.
"I covertly deployed the Orchid Realm earlier, you didn’t stop me, did you predict the current situation?"
The Illusion Orchid Tower Master smiled enchantingly, her inner frustration dissipating by more than half.
Her original plan was to use the Orchid Realm to block the Ghost Emperor, then use the Orchid Clone Technique to assist Madam Xi and the others, lending them a helping hand.
But if she did, not only would it harm herself, but it would also require Madam Xi and the others to hold on longer, and the Illusion Orchid Tower Master suspected that this was the Ghost Emperor’s real conspiracy.
But after all calculations, no one accounted for an anomaly like Shi Xiaole disrupting both parties’ arrangements. Of course, for the Illusion Orchid Tower Master, this was unexpectedly good news.
The Ghost Emperor’s eyes were gloomy. While infuriated, he also wondered why his predictions had never been wrong, but this time missed the major variable that was Shi Xiaole.
No one knew the commotion above, and below, Shi Xiaole simply disregarded the reactions of those around him, drawing his sword and charging forward.
"Everyone, attack together!"
The man with the horse face threw the critically injured Cheng Luo behind him and frantically retreated, shouting loudly.
Without his instruction, two more of the top three Eighth Tier Earth Immortals, who were besieging Pei Qiuyan and the other women, joined the fray. Yet the three didn’t dare get close, opting for long-range attacks instead, the best way to mitigate their differences in strength.
After all, Shi Xiaole’s attacking power was evident. Three on one, whatever trick he used, it wouldn’t matter.
However, they were still wrong.
His battle with the statue advanced Shi Xiaole’s combat skills to even higher peaks, having reached the pinnacle. His spirit, will, and movements fused subconsciously into one, transforming into a machine created for battle. Any slightest opening from the enemy would be magnified tenfold by him.
The horse-faced man and his two comrades wanted to attack from a distance, but after merely three moves they were silently closed in on by Shi Xiaole.
"Soul Chasing Palm!"
Desperately retreating, the horse-faced man unleashed his life’s greatest technique in an attempt to fend off Shi Xiaole.
A sliver of starlight fell, carrying the wind’s spontaneity and ease, easily piercing through the weakest part of the palm force. Though the sword light was brief, its momentary brilliance was more than enough.
"I can never execute such a sword move."
If before, An Rumei admired Shi Xiaole, now she was utterly subdued by him. Perhaps only he could give sword moves such a profound charm; such swordsmen existed in the world.
Swish!
The sword light flashed by, taking with it a fine head; the horse-faced man’s expression of horror permanently etched on his face.
"Can’t block, can’t block..."
The remaining two top Eighth Tier Earth Immortals were scared to the point of wetting themselves; no distance seemed far enough. Death loomed no matter what, with such a fight incomprehensible, the existence of their opponent was a cheat, the biggest loophole of the heavens.
"You insolent brat, halt!"
Just as Shi Xiaole was about to give chase, a tremendously powerful fist imprint smashed down from above, where it connected with the void, unraveling transparent trails, the terrifying power causing the ground beneath to collapse.
Extreme Ninth Tier Earth Immortal.
At the crucial moment, the blond man who had been attacking Madam Xi struck out at Shi Xiaole.
