Chapter 956: Chapter 955: Anticipating a Legend_1
"What is this?"
"The duel of the tower leaders of the Twenty-Four Towers?"
The few Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors who remained in this place, along with the Lotus Sword Emperor, Mysterious Ice Sword Emperor, and Helian Duba who had just entered, all wore expressions of surprise, which were soon replaced by barely concealable excitement.
No one could have expected such a turn of events.
A battle between Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors was not something one could easily witness, especially when it involved the tower leaders of the Twenty-Four Towers, who were generally stronger than those present. Watching the battle would undoubtedly provide everyone with considerable enlightenment.
Within the twenty-two towers, those who had been in seclusion awoke one after another.
"The sole victor?"
In a space filled with sword qi, Qingyuan Sword Emperor’s gaze was sharp, and his pores seemed to bristle with intangible swords, his fighting spirit soaring to the skies.
"The Fate here is already extraordinary, and there’s an even greater fortune. That’s indeed something worth contending for."
Filaments of air, thick and domineering, swirled like countless, differently posed knives around the center where Earth Destroyer Knife Emperor stood. He watched the two people on the distant light bridge, his eyes deep and inscrutable.
"My Yin and Yang Great Path just lacks a suitable test subject."
In another distinct black and white tower room, a man with a gentle appearance spread open his hand, revealing two swirls of black and white qi in his palm that rotated around each other, emitting a half-cold, half-hot aura.
Shi Xiaole also hadn’t anticipated such an astonishing development, but he adjusted his emotions quickly. Either way, he had to challenge Qingyuan Sword Emperor and the others, and now it was even more convenient.
Everyone had their thoughts, and the two Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors on the light bridge had also recovered from their initial shock. They exchanged a solemn look.
With their abilities, they knew it was tough to become the sole victor, but they had to give it a try. At the very least, they owed it to themselves to make an effort.
"Wind Calmer!"
"Eight Arms Capture Heaven!"
It was clear that both were Human Realm Martial Emperors and not far from reaching the top of the Human Realm Martial Emperors. Between the movements of their palms and fingers, the killing intent was dense. Even though Array Systems on both sides of the light bridge hindered them, ripples still spread throughout.
The man known as Wind Wave Martial Emperor had grasped the Water Wave Martial Path. The other, Eight Arms Emperor, followed a more rare Splitting Martial Path. The former could be both rigid and flexible, while the latter focused on the use of strength.
After fighting fiercely through well over twelve hundred moves, Eight Arms Emperor, at the cost of taking a hit to his shoulder, transformed his hands into sixteen arms. He tore through Wind Wave Martial Emperor’s defense, beating him until blood was spat continuously, finally achieving victory.
"Eight arms turning into sixteen, the progress of Eight Arms Emperor is not small."
Someone laughed, with a hint of envy in their voice.
Most Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors had similar strength. The only way to progress was through time and opportunity, and the current situation provided just such an opportunity. Without a doubt, Eight Arms Emperor, having meditated for a long time in the Loess Tower, had surpassed his previous level and moved into a higher tier.
Two beams of light appeared and sent Eight Arms Emperor and Wind Wave Martial Emperor back to their respective towers.
The next moment, another light bridge formed between two other towers.
One was a lean man with a white, beardless face, while the formidable presence of the other revealed him to be Fierce Wind Martial Emperor.
Bang bang pound.
Without any superfluous words, the two began to fight.
After leaving the Absolute Wind Tower, Fierce Wind Martial Emperor entered another wind-related Wind Water Tower. Coupled with being defeated twice by Shi Xiaole, his deep stimulation had benefited him greatly, and he was now steadily overpowering the lean man.
After over six hundred moves, Fierce Wind Martial Emperor emerged victorious.
Whoosh!
But this time, he was pulled by the light beam into the Loess Tower, while the lean man entered the Wind Water Tower.
"The aura of the Loess Tower is slightly stronger than that of the Wind Water Tower, so does the victor automatically enter the higher-level tower?"
Witnessing this scene, Shi Xiaole fell into thought.
"Earlier, from your conversation, it seems that Kirin is also here. I wonder how his strength compares to Fierce Wind Martial Emperor?"
On the dark road outside the tower, Helian Duba couldn’t help but ask the amiable Purple Wood Sword Emperor.
Stroking his beard, Purple Wood Sword Emperor smiled and said, "It should be that the Young Emperor is a bit more superior."
Shi Xiaole had defeated Fierce Wind Martial Emperor twice for all to see, but because the fights were extremely fierce, a serious analysis would suggest that Shi Xiaole was, at most, slightly better than Fierce Wind Martial Emperor.
Of course, it did not exclude the possibility that Shi Xiaole had made significant progress in these few months, but Fierce Wind Martial Emperor had also improved not insignificantly. Besides, Purple Wood Sword Emperor, an old hand in the Martial World, knew better than to speak too definitively.
In his opinion, being slightly superior was the most appropriate description.
"Oh?"
Lotus Sword Emperor’s eyebrows rose, clearly surprised by Shi Xiaole’s strength. By such calculations, wouldn’t the other party be even more superior than himself?
Helian Duba’s expression also showed dramatic change.
In fact, from the very first battle, he had had a bad feeling. The strength of the Twenty-Four Towers’ tower leaders was clearly above that of Purple Wood Sword Emperor, Mysterious Ice Sword Emperor, and others, and it was highly likely that Shi Xiaole was inside one of the towers.
"Hmph, the opportunity I’ve obtained hasn’t been fully digested yet. Within a month I should certainly make further progress, and perhaps I could take my revenge then."
Thinking about his own situation, Helian Duba was somewhat consoled and continued to concentrate on watching the battle.
The third battle involved someone Shi Xiaole knew.
Yan Yuchai.
Having not seen her for more than half a year, Yan Yuchai’s appearance was now even more stunning than before, her skin on her face as smooth as water, radiating a shiny glow, and the aura around her body was ethereal and robust, seemingly enveloped in an invisible white mist.
Helian Duba’s face reddened, he swallowed his saliva; even Yu Yourong, with her unmatched beauty, seemed slightly inferior to the woman on the light bridge.
"Water Dream Triple Seal!"
Yan Yuchai’s hands were not like hands, but rather a sheet of water, a cloud. Her opponent’s Vigorous Air could only scatter them but could not stop their close approach, while they could easily attack the opponent.
"It’s neither the martial path of water nor that of clouds."
A hint of unusual color flashed across Shi Xiaole’s face, his heart already shocked to the core.
This was because from Yan Yuchai’s martial aura, he actually felt a sense of déjà vu, coming from that person in blue he encountered in Rainbow State who was suspected to be Shi Xuanzhong!
Compared to the blue-clothed person’s martial path, Yan Yuchai’s was of course insignificant, maybe not even one-tenth as profound, but it indeed bore some similarities.
This kind of similarity was not mere coincidental overlap; it seemed more like an expansion from the same origin. Shi Xiaole firmly trusted his own spiritual intuition.
It must be said that Yan Yuchai was very lucky. Her opponent among the twenty-four tower masters was one of the bottom rank, and with her rapidly increasing strength, she managed to secure victory after more than five hundred moves, albeit narrowly.
"Another genius figure, with strength comparable to a first-rate Human Realm Martial Emperor."
"I recognize her, she’s the Yan family’s rumored daughter who disappeared nearly a century ago."
Several Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors who had been out and about returned here and started murmuring amongst themselves upon seeing this scene.
The Yan family had always been mysterious and low-key, but no one dared to underestimate this clan. It was said that over six hundred years ago, when the Righteous Path was able to defeat the Devil Path, the Yan family played an monumental role.
Ferocious battles ensued one after another.
Shi Xiaole saw Thunderbolt Martial Emperor, Yan San, Yan Si, and a few others. Their strength had also improved significantly, ranking them high among the twenty-four tower masters.
Coincidentally, Thunderbolt Martial Emperor and Yan Si became opponents, and after a long and bloody battle, Yan Si won by a narrow margin.
As for Qingyuan Sword Emperor, Earth Destroyer Knife Emperor, Yinyang Martial Emperor, and the other five, needless to say, all of them settled their opponents in two or three moves. Their strength was completely overwhelming.
In everyone’s eyes, the sole victor would undoubtedly emerge from these five.
Shua shua.
Another round of battle commenced.
Shi Xiaole only felt a flash around him and found himself on the bridge of light, across from him, Gale Sword King revealed a helpless bitter smile.
"Young Emperor, although I’m not your match, I want to see how much I’ve improved, so I won’t hold back," said the Gale Sword King, his smile fading to seriousness.
"That’s how it should be."
Shi Xiaole nodded.
"I want to see what you’ve got."
Helian Duba’s eyebrows shot up, his eyes unwavering. As long as Shi Xiaole’s displayed strength didn’t surpass that of Fierce Wind Martial Emperor by too much, he was confident that he could catch up in the short term and redress his previous humiliations!
Lotus Sword Emperor, Purple Wood Sword Emperor, Mysterious Ice Sword Emperor, and even the other Void Origin Realm Martial Emperors from outside the tower were all paying complete attention. Not to mention the ’sparring fellowship,’ just the person Shi Xiaole was enough to demand their attention.
Yan Yuchai was seated in the third floor of the pavilion, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
Wudao Xuan’s expression was indifferent, his thoughts unknown.
"The style takes command, turning the ground into slices!"
Not daring to be careless, Gale Sword King unleashed his ultimate move from the start. In the moment he drew his long knife, a distorted blade light due to excessive speed drilled into the bridge of light.
At this moment, Gale Sword King leaned forward, the momentum of his knife not yet spent. To some onlookers with wide eyes, he made an upward diagonal slash, swinging out another blade light that seemed to split the sky apart.
"The slice of the knife like paper, defying the heavens and creating a cut!"
One above, one below, continuous Death Claiming.
"That’s some move, it could definitely rank on the human charts."
"It seems no less inferior to Ghost Prison Blade Emperor’s killing move."
The crowd exclaimed in their hearts, astonished by Gale Sword King’s improvement.
The breathing of Gale Sword King grew more hurried, yet his eyes looking forward were fiery with anticipation.
This was the new killing move he had come up with after several months of contemplation. He wanted to test its power and was very eager to see how that genius would respond, would he temporally evade or counter with brute force?
Within Gale Sword King’s field of vision, his expression suddenly froze.
Shi Xiaole did not retreat or use a killing move; he simply drew the Spring Fury Sword, one stab, one slash, one cut, three actions completed in one breath as smoothly as the flowing clouds and water, and then the sword was sheathed.
Pu! Pu! Pu!
The two slivers of blade light had barely approached within three yards of Shi Xiaole when, suddenly, they were bisected at the waist, breaking off in a highly twisted manner and passing by either side of Shi Xiaole.
Kang!
Only at this moment did the sound of the sword being sheathed ring out leisurely.
"How, how did you break it?"
After a few breaths, Gale Sword King finally asked with a trembling voice. He had foreseen the end result but couldn’t conceive the process; he could not accept his killing move being undone in such a manner.
"That killing move is very refined, but the drawback is that the speed of the upper and lower strokes isn’t fast enough, making it easy for someone to find an opening. Yet, if the speed is too fast, it affects the power. Therefore, I suggest Senior Gale consider working on the sense of rhythm, turning the drawback into an advantage," Shi Xiaole transmitted his thoughts.
Tasting Shi Xiaole’s transmitted message, Gale Sword King first appeared perplexed, then a light began to glow in his eyes, growing brighter and eventually dazzling.
He bowed deeply to Shi Xiaole and said, "Young Emperor, your words have cleared my mind. I dare not forget today’s kindness!"
Gale Sword King was truly convinced, both in his heart and verbally. This was the first time he had admired a young man to such an extent. Watching the other’s figure, he felt as if he was witnessing the dawn of a legend that would echo throughout the East Victory continent.
