Chapter 980: Chapter 979: At Any Cost_1
Others were amazed at the performance of the Purple Wood Sword Emperor, but Shi Xiaole’s amazement was more than tenfold.
He could not fathom why the Purple Wood Sword Emperor would rather sacrifice his lifespan and put himself in danger in order to help him.
Because of friendship?
He had only known the Purple Wood Sword Emperor for a short time, with very few words exchanged between them; where could such life and death friendship come from?
Despite his confusion and doubts, there was no time for Shi Xiaole to ponder deeply, for after unleashing a single sword strike, the Purple Wood Sword Emperor’s vitality weakened to an extreme.
On one hand, the excessive consumption of his lifespan, and on the other, the suffering of a direct attack from Yan Jicheng had caused a large displacement of his internal organs, putting his life at grave risk.
The Purple Wood Sword Emperor opened his mouth, obviously wanting to send a message to Shi Xiaole, but his injuries were too severe, he couldn’t even muster the energy to send a voice transmission. Half his body was paralyzed on the ground, with a large hole in his chest where flames were still burrowing in and out, constantly gnawing away at his life force.
Whoosh!
Shi Xiaole flew over to the Purple Wood Sword Emperor’s side and placed a single palm on his back, secretly channeling the martial arts of life and death.
"Shi, young emperor, you... Stop worrying about this old man..."
Severely injured and nearly unconscious, the Purple Wood Sword Emperor was completely oblivious to the aura of the martial arts of life and death.
Through this whole process, Yan Jicheng quietly watched, until at this moment, he spoke: "Kirin, you rely on others to risk their lives to help you, barely managing to defeat your opponent. What meaning does such a victory have? I’m so disappointed!"
The Purple Wood Sword Emperor gasped anxiously, "Young, Young Emperor, even without this old man, you... you could have won the final victory. Don’t listen to him..."
In terms of penetrating insight into the human heart, the Purple Wood Sword Emperor was in no way inferior to anyone. The scenes that had unfolded earlier undeniably demonstrated Shi Xiaole’s character, clear-cut in gratitude and grudges. And for such a person, once the seed of dishonorable victory and reliance on others was planted, it would certainly become a mind demon, greatly affecting his martial arts progress.
Therefore, the Purple Wood Sword Emperor hurriedly comforted him, while inwardly sighing: Yan Jicheng, what deep and venomous thoughts you harbor!
Shi Xiaole said, "Predecessor, do not be agitated, I understand."
His resolve was firm, unentangled with material things; how could he be led to self-doubt by a few malicious words from others.
A thick killing intent emerged in Yan Jicheng’s eyes.
For him to kill Shi Xiaole while at a higher realm would undoubtedly tarnish his reputation as unbeaten in his own rank, making it seem as though he dared not fight equally. Even if he won, it would create a mind demon for him.
But to truly fight on equal terms, he was not assured of victory. Being cautious against a strong opponent was just prudence, not something that would spawn a mind demon within him.
After all, someone else would deal with Shi Xiaole.
"You surnamed Shi, you dared to let the Yan family’s people go; you must die today."
A swath of intense fiery clouds spread from south to north, covering heaven and earth. At the center of the flames, a shadowy figure glared ominously at Shi Xiaole, not giving him the slightest chance to dodge as a punch transformed into a fiery tornado, striking down towards Shi Xiaole.
"You dare!"
The person who made the move was a Martial Emperor from the Yan Family of the Earthly Realm, with strength far surpassing the Xuanyuan Martial Emperor. The Wood Empress was both shocked and furious. She could hardly believe that to kill Shi Xiaole, the opponent would even dare to violate the oath to heaven.
The Yan Family was willing to sacrifice the life of an Earthly Realm Martial Emperor to drag Shi Xiaole down with them!
Cries of alarm filled the air, many people were left dumbfounded, thinking only that a prodigy was about to fall in such a manner, a pity and lamentable event indeed.
Under the illumination of the firelight, the face of the Purple Wood Sword Emperor was etched with defeat, yet he did not see the calm and indifferent expression on the face of Shi Xiaole, who was supporting him, terrifyingly serene.
When the fiery tornado was still a hundred yards away from them, a large hand silently reached out from midair, squeezed forcefully, and the fiery tornado instantly turned to ash.
"Who?!"
The Yankee Martial Emperor who had attacked was startled, his expression changing abruptly. To easily crush his full-strength blow, the other party had to be at least a top-tier Martial Emperor of the Earthly Realm, no less formidable than the Angry Flame Emperor.
The response was a huge palm that obscured the sun and the moon, a single strike so formidable that gods and ghosts couldn’t resist, causing everything to perish.
"Divine Flame Hand!"
The Martial Emperor of the Yan Family’s palm was entwined with a layer of crimson flame, struggling with all his might. As a result of their palms clashing, he was sent flying far away, and the sound of popping beans emanated from his arm, clearly indicating a large portion of his tendons, veins, and bones were broken.
However, this person was also a ruthless character who forcibly stopped his own motion, and before the owner of the great palm could leave with Shi Xiaole, he entangled with his adversary once more.
At the same time, from the Sky Water Palace, the Dark Sect, and even the Evil Blade Sect, a Martial Emperor from each faction emerged and charged toward Shi Xiaole from three different directions.
All were horrified to the extreme.
For the sake of a half-step Void Origin warrior, four great powers did not hesitate to sacrifice four Earthly Realm Martial Emperors, breaking their oaths, and attacking with full force!
People were shocked at the loyalty these four men showed to their respective powers, but they also had to face a fact: Shi Xiaole posed too great a threat, one worth any price to their adversaries.
And if they put themselves in the shoes of the four great powers, they would likely make the same decision.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Water columns burst, darkness enveloped the sky, and blade light shattered the void. Under the full force of the three Earthly Realm Martial Emperors, three streams of Vigorous Air turned the ten-thousand-meter radius centered on Shi Xiaole into an absolute forbidden zone. The intertwining Vigorous Winds were like countless spiky hands, vowing to tear everything apart, not even allowing mental power to penetrate.
The Wood Empress’s expression underwent drastic changes, but she could only watch helplessly as everything unfolded.
The four great powers could command four Earthly Realm Martial Emperors to act, but she could not. In the Wood Empress’s eyes, the masters of the Holy Wood Tower were not subordinates but more like brothers. How could she harm them? And to command the Limitless Dao Emperor or the masters of the Longevity Sect was even more impossible.
Perhaps for a moment, the Wood Empress considered taking action herself, but she was no saint. She intervened only to save Yan Yuchai and couldn’t possibly risk herself for Shi Xiaole, a stranger she had just met.
What a pity for such an unparalleled genius!
"A good death!"
If some felt regret, others were exhilarated, such as Helian Duba, who was already excitedly shouting in his heart.
"No matter how high your talent, in the end, you’re nothing but bones, and after some years, who will remember you? This is the price of arrogance."
The Angry Flame Emperor sneered covertly.
"The Martial World has never lacked geniuses, and even more of them have died."
The Dark Sect’s elder in black was hidden in the darkness, his eyes cold and distant.
Of all the people present, the Different-eyed Sword Emperor and the Wind Thunder Blade Queen felt the most exhilarating. The former because the Evil Blade Sect’s number one talent, Ling Shangyun, had been killed by Shi Xiaole’s hand. The latter, needless to say, wished she could skin Shi Xiaole alive because of her relationship with Wudao Xuan.
"You’re seeking your own deaths!"
An indignant, fearful voice filled with immense killing intent rang out, belonging to the master of the great hand. He had not expected the four great powers to be so ruthless, and he hated himself for missing the opportunity to see Shi Xiaole’s limit.
If the opponent died here, he would have no way to explain to the Sect Leader!
"It seems I’ll have to waste an opportunity."
What the crowd didn’t know was that at the heart of the storm, Shi Xiaole, faced with a dire situation, showed not the slightest hint of panic. What was present was a sense of helplessness and sorrow incomprehensible to others.
Ever since he was able to purchase top-tier martial arts, he naturally could also draw top-tier assassin skills.
And by chance, two months earlier, he had discovered a top-tier sword technique among the twenty-four wall panels, which he exchanged for and luckily drew an assassin skill by spending a full hundred thousand reward points.
He did not want to use it unless absolutely necessary, but now, there was no other choice.
