Chapter 955: Chapter 954: 24th Floor Cross Battle (Part 1)
When Shi Xiaole emerged from his retreat again,
Purple Wood Sword Emperor called out, "My dear brother, the path of Martial Arts is long and arduous, and chances come by fate, not force. Focus all your energy on enlightenment for now. We’ll have plenty of opportunities to spar in the future."
Others cast a sidelong glance at Purple Wood Sword Emperor, filled with disdain, while also dissuading Shi Xiaole.
On one hand, everyone felt somewhat embarrassed; on the other, they were aware of their own limitations. Continuing the fights wouldn’t be of much benefit.
"In that case, let’s postpone it to later."
Shi Xiaole didn’t insist. With his current strength, others present could hardly compare; continuing the competition seemed to have little meaning, and it was better to seek personal enlightenment.
Nodding to everyone, Shi Xiaole returned to the Floating Life Tower.
Time flew swiftly by.
Another two months passed.
On the third floor of Floating Life Tower,
An indistinct and ethereal aura rose from within Shi Xiaole, appearing to have different shapes and colors from various angles, enough to drive an ordinary person to madness instantly.
The mid-phase of the Illusion Martial Way at ten percent.
A month before, under the urging of the Wind Sword Way, the Illusion Martial Way had reached the initial ten percent phase, and now, having attracted the essence of Floating Life Tower, breaking through was as natural as water flowing along its course.
To progress further, however, would be difficult. Not for lack of intuition on Shi Xiaole’s part, but rather due to the level not being high enough.
The twenty-fourth floor was clearly intended for Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors; many of the mysteries were based on fully formed Vigorous Air Vortexes. For Shi Xiaole to comprehend this with his Divine Border Realm cultivation was already breaking the mold.
"Both Martial Ways have reached their temporary limits, and lacking the Life-Death Martial Way on the twenty-fourth floor, now I should focus on condensing the Vigorous Air Vortex."
Inside both Absolute Wind Tower and Floating Life Tower, many experience notes on breakthroughs by Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors could be found. After studying these, Shi Xiaole benefited greatly, and based on this, he planned to sweep through each tower to perfect his vortex theory.
The twenty-fourth floor had the highest towers, marked by Divine Blade Tower, Sword King Tower, Yin Yang Tower, among five, each with four levels. The next tier had three levels.
With no hesitation, Shi Xiaole took Floating Life Tower as the center and challenged the others one by one following proximity, with his strength proving an insurmountable barrier for everyone except the five tower masters.
Shi Xiaole never stayed in any tower for more than a month and a half. This astonishing feat left everyone agape, exchanging glances in disbelief.
"In five months, he’s entered three towers in succession, on top of the initial two, making five in total. Tsk, tsk, a heaven-sent prodigy."
"Biting off more than one can chew, I think he’s gone mad, doing harm to others without benefiting himself!"
Some of the discontented ones had been ousted by Shi Xiaole and, unable to defeat others, could only stay outside, naturally despising Shi Xiaole to death.
Even Purple Wood Sword Emperor, and those like the Mysterious Ice Sword Emperor who had revised their opinion of Shi Xiaole, found it baffling.
"Do you think, is it possible he has mastered the essences of each tower, hence the need to move on?"
Gale Sword King offered a shocking speculation.
"Nonsense! You think mastering the essences beyond ten percent is that easy to comprehend?"
A Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor who’d been ousted by Shi Xiaole scoffed, dismissing the ridiculous assertion.
Mysterious Ice Sword Emperor remarked, "Wudao Xuan has switched towers four times. Is he also impatient for quick success?"
Another Void Origin Realm Martial Emperor, defeated by Wudao Xuan, pondered for a moment, then shook his head, "It’s different for the two of them. The Selfless Sacred Bone innately resonates with all things, making it extremely convenient to comprehend the essence within a tower. If Kirin had only changed three towers, maybe we could understand, but five are just..."
Silence fell upon everyone.
Indeed, no matter how bright someone is, they can’t possibly ascend to the skies.
Wudao Xuan’s intuition should not be much different from Shi Xiaole, but even with the enhancement of the Selfless Sacred Bone, he had only switched through four towers.
But Shi Xiaole had gone through five, suggesting his intuition alone was enough, would that mean everyone else were idiots? If it were such an absurd reality, he would have already become a Void Origin Realm Sword Emperor.
Moreover, whether Shi Xiaole possessed a Sacred Bone or Demon Bone was even more unlikely, since a resonance exists between Sacred Bones, something Wudao Xuan was all too aware of.
Therefore, no matter how one looked at it, Shi Xiaole’s behavior had an air of weirdness about it.
As time went on, the number of people outside the towers gradually dwindled. They felt it wasteful to stay, better to leave and seek fortune elsewhere.
By the seventh month, only a few people, including Purple Wood Sword Emperor, remained.
In the eighth month, even Mysterious Ice Sword Emperor had left.
At that time,
Shi Xiaole had moved to the sixth tower.
The complex plethora of essences were automatically categorized by his mind, forming his solid foundation. Various notes were then filtered by him, constantly refining his vortex technique.
At this moment, Shi Xiaole’s body contained no less than two hundred and eighty-five Vigorous Air Vortexes, and upon closer inspection, these vortexes appeared deeper than before, holding even more Vigorous Air.
The result of this was that, even without relying on Martial Ways, Shi Xiaole’s strength had seen a substantial boost, as for how much of an increase, that remained unclear without a test.
"Perhaps, it’s time to have a bout with Qingyuan Sword Emperor."
Looking through the window, Shi Xiaole gazed at the distant Sword King Tower with a brimming intent to battle in his eyes.
Judging the time, with a five-day interval unit, the day after tomorrow would be when Qingyuan Sword Emperor would emerge from his seclusion. Shi Xiaole wasn’t in a hurry and decided to relax properly.
In this dim space, without the distinction of day and night, aside from the occasional sounds of fierce battles and conversations, it was a dead silence.
From time to time, there would be Human Realm Martial Emperors returning to this place, all curious about the progress and who had become the biggest beneficiary.
On this day, Mysterious Ice Sword Emperor, Lotus Sword Emperor, and a few others walked in together.
"Purple Wood old chap, you really have patience."
Mysterious Ice Sword Emperor shook his head.
He certainly understood the intentions of Purple Wood Sword Emperor. This old fox must want to cozy up to Shi Xiaole, willing to sit and wait for a long time.
"Hehe, no effort, no gain. I might not have much else, but I’m not too shabby in the patience department. If I could make such a friend, shortening my life by a hundred years would still be worth it."
Purple Wood Sword Emperor chuckled.
To this, Mysterious Ice Sword Emperor was rather speechless, wondering how on earth this old fellow had cultivated to this level.
"What’s this, Purple Wood old chap seems to be waiting for someone?"
Lotus Sword Emperor and Purple Wood Sword Emperor shared a bit of camaraderie. Hearing this, he was somewhat puzzled.
Who could it be that inspired the world-weary Purple Wood Sword Emperor to say such a thing?
"Have you heard of Kirin Young Emperor?"
"Of course."
Upon hearing this, Lotus Sword Emperor’s expression froze slightly, and a wild guess arose in his heart.
"Kirin, is that the brazen fellow from Flying Horse Dynasty? Such a person won’t go very far. At least compared to Mu Ling’er, Yan Jicheng, Dark Night Proton, and other truly favored heirs of heaven, he has no advantages whatsoever."
The man speaking, standing in the back with purple hair, exuded a youthful aura; his words were filled with disdain and scorn for Shi Xiaole.
Purple Wood Sword Emperor looked at him, his smile unchanged: "This is..."
Lotus Sword Emperor said indifferently, "A promising young star from Longevity Sect, Helian Duba."
The several people remaining in the place trembled slightly.
A century-old Martial Emperor would be the center of attention wherever he went, with great potential to become a Heaven Realm Martial Emperor in the future, and no one dared to neglect him.
Several years ago, they had heard the name Helian Duba. Even though they had been out of touch with the Martial World for a long while since entering the third layer of Mist Rain Town, they knew well that he must be cherished by Longevity Sect.
"So, it’s Helian young hero. Where does the young hero hail from?"
By the Void Origin standard, even if someone were an independent cultivator, the Misty Rain Alliance and the Lake Sea Alliance wouldn’t dare to slight them. Purple Wood Sword Emperor happened to be one such person and was unaware of Helian Duba’s defeat by Shi Xiaole.
In fact, not many on the third layer were privy to this. As far as Daxia’s Martial World was concerned, it wasn’t a matter to be proud of. Who would be eager to broadcast Shi Xiaole’s deed?
"I come from another ruin with a small fortune in hand. Hearing from Martial Uncle Lotus that the opportunities here are no less than where I was, I decided to come and see for myself."
After the emergence of two great treasures, most Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors rushed forward, yet some missed the opportunity, accidentally waiting for a third treasure light.
Due to most of the main powerhouses heading to the first two locations, the competition for opportunities at the third was less fierce, allowing Helian Duba to fortunately gain considerable benefits.
Now, his strength had surged into the Human Realm, filled with expectations for the future. Naturally, he yearned to find Shi Xiaole, the person who caused him immense humiliation, and seek revenge.
So, when Helian Duba heard Purple Wood Sword Emperor’s words, he instinctively began to disparage out loud.
"I see, from the way Helian young hero speaks, you have met with the likes of Mu Ling’er. How do they compare in strength?"
If Helian Duba was an unexpected contender, then Mu linger from Holy Wood Tower was recognized as a favored daughter of heaven, her talents even surpassing his. Not just Purple Wood Sword Emperor, everyone pricked up their ears.
"Let me put it this way, Miss Mu linger defeated Red Dust Martial Emperor with just thirty-six moves. Yan Jicheng and Dark Night Proton are no less impressive than Mu linger."
Helian Duba finished speaking, and the scene fell silent, everyone listening to their own heartbeat.
After a while, Qizheng Martial Emperor, of medium build, said reflectively, "What a time of great tides and surges. I thought Wudao Xuan and Kirin were impressive enough, but it seems there’s always someone better."
Red Dust Martial Emperor, whose killing move was ranked eighteenth on the human list, one position higher than Qingyuan Sword Emperor, was a truly top-tier Human Realm Martial Emperor. It was imaginable how strong Mu linger was.
Yan Jicheng, grandson of the Fire Emperor, was well known on the third layer. As for Dark Night Proton, the name was not familiar, but that obscurity itself was what made it alarming.
In the past, an era seeing the rise of such an individual was rare, but now three had appeared all at once, and with Wudao Xuan and Kirin, there were five.
Who knew if there were others elsewhere?
Helian Duba enjoyed the shock on everyone’s faces, feeling a strange sense of superiority. Just as he was about to ask about Shi Xiaole, at that moment, all twenty-four towers simultaneously emitted dazzling lights.
"The deadline of August has passed, the twenty-four towers commence battle! The sole victor may advance to the next stage and acquire a grand fate!"
The cold, emotionless voice spread throughout the dim space, and a light bridge thousands of kilometers wide was erected between two of the towers. Soon after, the masters of the two towers were drawn to it, standing a hundred zhang apart.
