Chapter 962: Chapter 961 The Fated One_1
The second battle of the third round.
Wudao Xuan faced off against the Earth Destroyer Knife Emperor.
If not for Shi Xiaole, Wudao Xuan would probably be the most dazzling presence among those present, but even so, his strength could not be denied.
Especially since, in the previous battles, Wudao Xuan had never used the Power of Sacred Bones, leaving everyone clueless about the extent of his true strength.
There is no need to say more about the Earth Destroyer Knife Emperor, a peer on par with the Qingyuan Sword Emperor. In a way, his endurance and toughness were even greater than the Qingyuan Sword Emperor’s, making him more formidable.
The battle raged until the sky darkened and the sun and moon lost their light; the hundred-thousand-meter Light Bridge nearly collapsed, sending everyone’s vision into a dizzying spin. The vast void seemed like a shattered mirror, divided into countless pieces, constantly breaking and reforming.
"Earth Destroy!"
The Earth Destroyer Knife Emperor, drenched in blood, had his left arm twisted and broken into sections, bone fragments mixed with muscle protruding out. Yet this didn’t compromise the accuracy of his movements in the least as countless Sword Qi gathered and extended tens of thousands of meters, furiously striking towards the equally bloodied Wudao Xuan.
"All Things in Spring!"
A layer of gentle Vigorous Air guarded against the cutting Edge Qi, grinding the force to nothing, only to immediately recondense, like the spring wind of nature—seemingly fragile, yet no force could destroy it.
An even more astonishing scene unfolded.
As the Sword Qi ground away the Vigorous Air, its essence was also torn apart, turning into a rain of light that merged into Wudao Xuan’s body. It was visible to the naked eye; Wudao Xuan’s wounds were healing, and even his aura was steadily rising.
"My God, using an opponent’s attack to heal oneself, how is that possible?!"
"The natural Martial Way, exploring the ultimate principles of heaven and earth. What force in nature cannot be utilized and transformed? This man’s martial way is almost certainly on the verge of transformation."
A chilling horror crept from the feet of the onlookers to the crowns of their heads, spreading throughout their bodies.
With half-Supreme Martial Arts transforming further, it becomes Supreme Martial Arts. In this vast world, not to mention the contemporary Martial World, even going back thousands of years, how many people have comprehended the Supreme Martial Arts?
What does Supreme mean? Its edge is unstoppable wherever it points!
Moreover, Supreme Martial Arts is often associated with the Void Origin Realm, meaning that Wudao Xuan was nearing the threshold of a breakthrough.
With his perfectionist personality, years of diverse experiences, along with a deep accumulation of countless classic texts, and the guidance of a significant figure behind him, it’s unfathomable how profound his vortex theory could be. Once he breaks through, how far could his strength soar?
The situation in the arena changed in an instant.
After absorbing the essence of the Sword Qi, Wudao Xuan’s condition had seemingly returned to thirty percent of his peak state; strands of hair luminous, with every pore on his body expelling vigorous essence.
He walked in the void, like an exiled immortal who looked down on the world, unparalleled in splendor, and with a casual reach of his long arm, the Sword Qi easily shattered into nothing.
The Earth Destroyer Knife Emperor, bleeding from his mouth and nose, despite only his right arm remaining functional, had not given up hope and mustered all his strength to strike another Earth Destroy.
"Wind and Rain Expedited."
However, Wudao Xuan was too powerful, constantly improving his condition. With a slap of his palm, the spring wind Vigorous Air transformed into the Wind and Rain Vigorous Air. Before the blade’s edge could be unleashed, it pierced through the Defense Qi, turning it into a sieve.
The same thing happened to the Earth Destroyer Knife Emperor, who lay on the ground, his body a blur of flesh and blood, his right arm nearly reduced to a bloody pulp that seemed like it could scatter with a mere gust of wind.
"Only a strong enemy can make me stronger, and you, you are not strong enough."
With a glance towards the Sword King Tower, Wudao Xuan was transported by the light to the Divine Blade Tower, leaving behind pairs of eyes widened to their limit.
"Transforming an opponent’s offensive into energy, such martial arts are against the heavens. How is anyone else supposed to fight? It’s inherently invincible!"
"I thought that the Kirin Young Emperor was the strongest, but now it seems there’s room for doubt. And have you noticed? Up to now, Wudao Xuan hasn’t used the Power of Sacred Bones; he clearly has more moves up his sleeve!"
Before the big battle of the Twenty-Four Floors commenced, no one could have expected that the five top Human Realm Martial Emperors would merely be a foil, leaving two men under sixty years of age crossing swords from afar in the end.
Of course, everyone believed that they would be the ones standing on the final battle stage. As this imminent pinnacle confrontation approached, fist versus sword, king versus king—who would have the last laugh?
Everyone, including the partially recovered Qingyuan Sword Emperor, couldn’t help but feel their blood boiling.
And this seemed to be a microcosm of the great era, where no matter how prodigious and outstanding the talent, they would ultimately face each other, either stepping over their opponent to climb higher or sinking like shattered spears in sand. The geniuses who could dominate any era, born in the same time, may end up with only one standing at the peak of Martial Way, looking down upon all living beings.
"Damn it!"
The Yinyang Martial Emperor smiled bitterly time and again, not expecting to become the lucky one drawn into the fourth round, but what meaning did it hold? He couldn’t defeat the Kirin, and he was even less sure of standing against Wudao Xuan.
The fourth floor of the Sword King Tower.
Shi Xiaole was immersed in the world of the Heart Sword, free from self-consciousness, roaming leisurely, unaware of the passage of time. If only time could always remain so tranquil and lovely.
For Shi Xiaole, cultivation was never dull or monotonous; rather, it was one of the most exciting things in the world to him, on par with battle and perhaps even surpassing his intimacy with Xia Yunxi.
Streams of Heart Sword essence, like rivers converging into the sea, flowed into Shi Xiaole’s body, took shape above the sea of consciousness, and merged into the simple green sword.
The green sword became even sharper, the glint at the tip only a faint flicker, yet seeming capable of piercing one’s soul.
"Heart Sword focuses on the power of the heart, but what exactly is that power?"
"And from where does the power of the heart come?"
"I understand now. The heart creates its own realm; the power of the external world has never strengthened my heart but has allowed me to see my own heart clearly, to unearth the power within."
At a certain moment.
Shi Xiaole’s blue robe and hair fluttered without any wind, and the essence of the sword paths on the fourth floor of the Sword King Tower retreated on its own due to the Sword Qi leaking from his body, forming a vacuum about ten meters in diameter.
In this vacuum, there were no attributes, no fluctuations, only the ultimate sharpness.
Heart Sword, fully realized!
As Shi Xiaole slowly opened his eyes, it was as if two divine swords were unsheathed, then returned to silence in an instant. His eyes were deeper and more serene. The already pitch-black pupils seemed even more mysterious and vast than the night sky.
At this moment, Shi Xiaole couldn’t describe his feelings. He felt that by swinging a sword at will, he could destroy everything, sever all laws.
Of course, his strength wasn’t at that level, but the fully-realized Heart Sword allowed him to see the heart realm hidden within his body. Was this the true essence of strength?
Extracting from all things, comprehending from the true source. The Buddha said, "I have all I need, yet a single leaf obscures my vision." Perhaps the infinite power of a person lies within themselves, and the practice of a martial artist is just a process of extraction.
Amidst the haze, Shi Xiaole saw a path utterly different from those of the past. The so-called return to one’s true nature might have another meaning.
His body jolted as if struck by lightning, countless thoughts flickered through his mind, as if overturning something, and then establishing something anew.
With a thought from Shi Xiaole, two hundred and eighty-five Vigorous Air Vortices emerged from within his body. After a series of rapid transformations, compressions, reorganization, and convergence, only one hundred and sixty-five remained.
But each vortex was much stronger than before, vaguely revealing an unfathomable aura of the great dao.
"Who would have thought that a fortuitous coincidence would lead to my epiphany? If I break through to the Void Origin Realm at this moment, with the theory of the vortex in mind, my strength would be at least twenty percent greater than before."
With the peak-level spiritual force of the Void Origin Realm, Shi Xiaole could clearly sense the changes in his body. A twenty percent increase might seem small, but based on the strength of the Void Origin Realm, this was an extraordinary improvement.
Standing up from the ground, Shi Xiaole turned to look out the window. The fourth round should not have started yet, or he wouldn’t still be in the Sword King Tower; he had been intending to rest well for a while.
Suddenly.
The stone wall to his right creaked and split apart on both sides, slowly revealing a stone door three feet wide. Beyond the door lay a dark, spiraling passageway descending downwards.
Shi Xiaole was taken aback. He realized something and retracted the power of the Heart Sword, causing the stone door to close immediately. When he released the power again, the door reopened.
"Only one who has mastered the Heart Sword can open the mechanism?"
Hesitating for a moment, but driven by curiosity, Shi Xiaole still entered. Since this place was a chance encounter, there should be no traps, and not entering would make him restless.
The passageway was long, and by his silent count, Shi Xiaole had already taken three thousand two hundred and sixty-eight steps. This distance most likely led underground, and he continued forward for tens of thousands of meters.
"Congratulations, fated one, place your hand here."
At the end, there was a rough stone stele with a few ugly characters neatly carved into it. This scene gave Shi Xiaole a weird feeling.
But having come this far, and considering the person who erected the stele likely had something to do with the twenty-four floors, it made no sense to harm himself in this way, so Shi Xiaole followed suit.
The instant he placed his hand on the stone stele, a blinding radiance burst forth, drilling painfully into Shi Xiaole’s body like countless chains, unexpectedly trapping his spirit and then yanking it powerfully outwards.
The world spun, stars bursting before his eyes. When Shi Xiaole regained his senses, he found himself in a vast wilderness.
To his left stood a hundred-foot-tall stone wall.
To his right was a stone forest array stretching out hundreds of feet, with each stone column ten feet high and three feet wide, spaced twenty feet apart, shining brightly like mirrors and reflecting the stars in the sky.
In the center of the stone forest array sat an emaciated old man with a white beard trailing down to his feet. The moment Shi Xiaole arrived, the old man abruptly looked over.
With just that look, Shi Xiaole felt as if all colors had drained from the world, because within those murky eyes lay everything:
"Time passes, and I’ve finally waited for you to come."
The emaciated old man said faintly.
"Who are you? Have you been waiting for me?"
asked Shi Xiaole.
He had already freed himself from the old man’s aura, but he couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear. It seemed the other had not intended anything by it; his every action was in accordance with nature. What level of mastery was this?
"You are the fated one; naturally, I’ve been waiting for you."
The emaciated old man started to smile.
