Chapter 96: Chapter 96 Terrifying Competition
The Second Elder immediately intervened, "No! Shi Xiaole, while you’re strong, you lack experience in the Martial World. Venturing out now is too dangerous. Trust me, the dangers and evil in the Martial World are beyond your imagination."
"Indeed, Xiaole, you are the hope of our Huajian Sect, we’re all counting on you. You can’t afford to be reckless."
"Xiaole, please don’t be impulsive."
Everyone started advising Shi Xiaole one after another, hoping he would abandon his dangerous notion.
The Huajian Sect was lucky to have finally produced a genius. They were counting on him to bring prosperity to the sect. Who would be responsible if he got into trouble in the Martial World?
Seeing Shi Xiaole fall silent, Yu Fangge’s heart gradually sank.
He had some understanding of Shi Xiaole’s character and knew this young man looked gentle, but once his mind was set, nothing could drag him back.
"Xiaole, why don’t you wait another five or six years? We won’t hold you back then."
Yu Fangge also tried persuading him.
"Sect Master, only competition can fuel my progress. I cannot feel that pressure here."
Shi Xiaole’s words left everyone stunned.
Second Elder was flustered and was instinctively about to criticize him for being ignorant of his limitations. However, when he tried to express himself, he became speechless.
Because, only upon recalling Shi Xiaole’s record did the Second Elder realize that this young man’s capabilities far surpassed those of his peers.
In fact, even the Four Outstanding Youths might not have been able to achieve his level at his age.
Yuan Qiuwei, Xiao Yuanbo, and Mao Wenjing exchanged glances with bitter smiles on their faces.
Perhaps only Shi Xiaole could claim a lack of competition without invoking any anger.
Yu Fangge fell silent.
As a martial arts fanatic, his passion for martial arts surpassed everything else. Naturally, he understood Shi Xiaole’s feelings better than anyone else.
For people like them, climbing the peak of martial arts, enhancing their strength, and competing with strong opponents were their greatest joys in life.
Peaceful and idle environments only led to degradation. Only through fierce fights could a true unparalleled master be tempered.
But indeed, it would be very dangerous.
Yu Fangge had also experienced the Martial World in his youth. He saw many talented and heroic figures. But in the end, how many of them really made a name for themselves in the Martial World?
Most of them died unnoticed, their final resting places unknown.
"I am sure Xiaoru wouldn’t agree."
Yu Fangge made a final effort.
"I will convince my aunt."
Shi Xiaole said firmly.
"You..."
Looking into Shi Xiaole’s pure, black eyes, Yu Fangge seemed to see his young self, and a fire ignited in his heart.
Wasn’t he also just like his pupil once, ignoring his Master’s discouragement and bravely venturing into the turbulent Martial World? Having done the same himself, does he have the right to stop others?
The that’s fell silent for a moment.
"Alright, Xiaole, I know I can’t stop you. I just hope that you’ll assure me of your safety."
Eventually, Yu Fangge gave in.
"Sect Master, this..."
The Second Elder and other senior members of the sect looked at Yu Fangge, not understanding .
"Although Xiaole is a disciple of our Huajian Sect, we should not confine him because of it. An eagle must fly alone to grow."
Yu Fangge smiled understandingly.
Shi Xiaole bowed and said, "Thank you, Sect Master, for your generosity. Everyone, please rest assured, no matter where I am, I will always remember that I am a disciple of the Huajian Sect. If the sect has assignments, I will never shirk."
Yu Fangge laughed heartily, "You’re my nephew! Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t escape."
Seeing this, although the Second Elder and others were still unwilling, they knew they could not stop him. They came to offer some tips about the Martial World to Shi Xiaole to prevent him from suffering losses.
Shi Xiaole thanked them one by one.
"Junior brother, since you first joined the Sect, we haven’t really had a good drink. We don’t know when we’ll meet again, so we must enjoy ourselves tonight."
Xiao Yuanbo approached and patted him on the shoulder.
"I dare not refuse second Senior Brother’s invitation."
Recalling the past, he had indeed been rather distant. For a rare moment, Shi Xiaole smiled. His cheerful and handsome appearance startled the three direct disciples.
"Junior brother, you should smile more."
Finally, even Yuan Qiuwei couldn’t help saying so.
...
Deep into the night, at Shi Xiaole’s residence.
Four direct disciples were sitting around the table. A big bowl and wine pot was placed in front of each one, except for Mao Wenjing.
Xiao Yuanbo was very excited, and with his great alcohol tolerance, he kept pouring Shi Xiaole more wine.
To his surprise, Shi Xiaole was keeping up. He was down several big cups of the bamboo leaf liquor and aside from a hint of red on his face, he was completely fine.
"Damn it! I actually wanted to win against you once."
Xiao Yuanbo muttered in disbelief.
"Humph."
With a disdainful snort, Mao Wenjing suddenly picked up a liquor jar from the ground and, right in front of the three, poured it straight into her cherry-red mouth.
This impulsive gesture sharply contrasted with her usual aloof temperament, leaving Shi Xiaole stunned.
"Junior Sister, are you trying to scare us to death?"
Xiao Yuanbo exclaimed dramatically. The next moment, he himself got excited and started drinking heavily like Mao Wenjing, never forgetting to shout cheerfully.
With the help of the alcohol, the conversation between the four direct disciples from all over the world grew more and more lively. Even Yuan Qiuwei, who was always serious and reserved, started to speak freely.
"Junior Brother, with your talent and strength, perhaps you could participate in the Elite Martial Arts Competition in the future."
Yuan Qiuwei suddenly said.
"Elite Martial Arts Competition?"
Shi Xiaole was startled.
As a person in the martial world, of course, he had heard of the Elite Martial Arts Competition. However, he just didn’t expect that his elder brother had such a high expectation of him.
As a grand event in the martial world, the history of the Elite Martial Arts Competition was as long as the Flying Horse Dynasty, held every five years in each state, and had been passed down for countless generations.
It was said that only young people under 25 years old from the righteous path have the qualifications to participate.
However, most of the people who register may not even be able to step onto the official contest stage in the end.
That was because the competition was too fierce.
In Qingxue State, there are a total of 358 cities and tens of thousands of towns. There are countless sects stationed in beautiful mountains and rivers, just like the thirteen sects of reeds and geese.
Aong them, the ten main cities formed ten regions.
Cloud Triangle area was simply the region with the smallest population and the weakest martial power.
Even in this area with the smallest population and the weakest strength, there are millions of young people on average in each generation.
Note that this refers to just one generation.
Because young martial artists progress quickly, in the martial world, it is generally assumed that a three-year age difference is considered a generation. If the age difference is more than three years, it is considered another generation.
In other words, the number of young people who can participate in the Elite Martial Arts Conference is not just in millions just in the Cloud Triangle alone.
The Four Outstanding Youths of Cloud Triangle, in fact, refers to the rising stars among Shi Xiaole’s generation. If you talk about actual strength, those under the age of twenty-five are far from being the strongest in the Cloud Triangle.
If it weren’t for the fact that the young powerhouses of the previous generation have all ventured into the martial world, the situation of the Cloud’s Heavenly Meeting might be different.
You can imagine, if Cloud Triangle is already like this, how fierce would the competition be if it was expanded to the entire Qingxue State?
It’s simply thousands of times harder than the college entrance exam in the previous life!
The most terrifying thing is that, among countless young people, only a handful can get on the stage of the Elite Martial Arts Conference, and eventually compete for the top eighty-one positions.
The people who eventually make it into the list will immediately become famous throughout Qingxue State and attract countless people’s attention.
Although Shi Xiaole is full of confidence in himself, he dares not say that he can definitely stand out.
Even, he has a strong intuition that with his current strength, he might not even be eligible to get on the stage of the Elite Martial Arts Conference.
"If I could get on the stage of the Elite Martial Arts Conference in this life, I would wake up laughing in my dreams."
Half-drunk and half-awake Xiao Yuanbo, holding a jar of wine, said with a cheerful grin.
"Senior Brother, you are indeed dreaming."
Mao Wenjing poured cold water on him.
In the Cloud Triangle region, the last time someone made it to the young dashing knight list was several decades ago. Moreover, the younger generation is generally considered weaker than the previous one in recent years.
To have good results in the upcoming competition would be extremely challenging!
As the night deepened, the four ended up falling asleep on the stone table.
...
Early the next morning, after the other three left, Shi Xiaole washed and packed his belongings, and then left the sect.
Because the news of Shi Xiaole venturing into the martial world was kept secret, the ordinary disciples who saw him thought he was only going back to the Golden Phoenix Tower and didn’t care.
A few days later, Shi Xiaole returned to Golden Phoenix Tower.
"The young master is back."
The guards at the door shouted, causing a commotion in the entire Golden Phoenix Tower. Before long, led by Su Yanru, many high-level members of the Golden Phoenix Tower all came out.
Since the Cloud’s Heavenly Meeting, Shi Xiaole’s fame had spread to many places in the Cloud Triangle.
And as the home base, Shi Xiaole was almost universally known in Feiyan City.
Countless young people secretly envied and were jealous of him. Many children practicing martial arts even saw him as a goal to strive for.
As for the people of the Golden Phoenix Tower, they were uniformly proud. Because this outstanding young man would be their future master.
"Auntie."
Seeing the beautiful and joy-filled Su Yanru, Shi Xiaole walked forward.
"You finally came back, you’re asking for a beating!"
Su Yanru instinctively wanted to tweak his ears, but remembering that they were in public, she immediately withdrew her hand, opting instead to pound on Shi Xiaole playfully with her small fist.
The crowd couldn’t help but smile.
Only in front of the young master would the dignified master show such girlish behaviour.
In the crowd, the second master sighed quietly, then laughed.
Although he had already adapted to Shi Xiaole’s rise, when he first heard the news from the Cloud’s Heavenly Meeting, he was stunned for half a day.
Now thinking about it, having such a young man succeed the Golden Phoenix Tower was indeed a blessing for the tower.
