Ghost-faced Yinqiaoâs successive attacks were all at the top Fifth Tier level. Shi Xiaole guessed that his opponent should be an Earth Immortal of the Sixth Tier, which would be considered a top-notch master in the Flying Horse Dynasty.
No wonder he didnât take him seriously.
"I, Shi, do not like pointless fights, but I am also not afraid of them, Elder, do not force me."
Shi Xiaole stated calmly.
"Just a normal spar, surely, youâre not scared, are you?"
Channeling eighty percent of his power, Ghost-faced Yinqiao burst into hearty laughter. Wielding his axes with both hands, he struck ferociously at Shi Xiaole.
The void echoed with a grating tearing sound, but before that noise even ceased, an axe, stripped of all pretenses, struck sharply at Shi Xiaole.
Shi Xiaoleâs body fragmented, leaving behind an afterimage at his initial location.
"How could such tricks fool me?"
With a scornful sneer at heart, Ghost-faced Yinqiao swiftly turned around, his waist leading his arms, and the surge of Axe Qi spread out like a giant wave of the Yangtze River, pulverizing any white mist it enveloped.
Luckily, a glow from the Array System lit up on the surface of Nine Heavens Mountain, otherwise it would have been destroyed.
"Intermediate Sixth Tier."
In Wuling Villa, people gathered in the square. Xin Zhuliu murmured a few words. He had sparred with Shi Xiaole before, and definitely found this strike of Ghost-faced Yinqiaoâs far superior to Shi Xiaoleâs.
"Does the Villa Lord have any chance of winning?"
An Elder inquired worriedly.
Shi Xiaole had never faced an Earth Immortal of the Sixth Tier, let alone one who wasnât just an average Sixth Tier Earth Immortal.
"Donât worry, even if the Villa Lord canât win, he can retreat back here using the Array System. Heâll be fine."
Seeing Xia Yunxiâs anxious expression, Lei Jiaxin hurriedly spoke up and grasped her hand.
"Heavenly Eighteen Axes, sequential strike!"
The reputation that Ghost-faced Yinqiao had established over more than two hundred years wasnât relied on luck alone. As he swung his axes with both hands, upon reaching a remarkable speed, it spurred eighteen shadows into existence. These shadows simultaneously attacked in eighteen different directions, with each direction holding a real attack.
Whoosh!
To the east, Shi Xiaole revealed his true form.
"Heavenly Unity!"
A menacing laugh echoed, and the eighteen shadows suddenly merged into one, transforming into a thousand-feet-long Axe Qi. Even the clouds in the sky were cleaved apart, causing the spectators below to tremble in fear, wishing they could immediately flee far away.
"Chaotic Wind Cloud!"
Shi Xiaole was unrestrained and unafraid. The Red Left sword was unsheathed, and it slashed upwards.
In an instant, countless green and red Sword Qi spiraled around Shi Xiaole at a rapid pace. As soon as the Sword Qi touched the Axe Qi, a grinding collision sound rang out, sparks scattering everywhere. The sparks, like drops of golden rain, stirred ripples on the surface of the Nine Heavens Array System.
A few sparks scuttled a few thousand meters away to the outer fringe of Nine Heavens Mountain. With a spurt, a few Lords didnât dodge in time and were taken aback, vomiting a mouthful of blood, making everyone break out in a cold sweat.
Every fight of immortals brings disaster to the mortals.
To them, what is the difference between Shi Xiaole and Ghost-faced Yinqiao and actual immortals?
Eventually, the green and red Sword Qi could not withstand the thousand-feet-long Axe Qi and was split in half. However, the power of the Axe Qi had been reduced by more than eighty percent, and Shi Xiaole easily evaded it.
"Heavenly Axe Six Consecutive Explosions!"
Without giving Shi Xiaole any time to react, the next killer move from Ghost-faced Yinqiao arrived. As he abruptly swung his arms, the void exploded suddenly, followed by the second, the third...
After six resonating booms, Shi Xiaole distinctly felt the air around him violently change, as though numerous sharp axes were assaulting him.
He couldnât evade, he couldnât avoid.
"This is the ultimate move that I have developed over a whole Jiazi (60 year cycle), young lad, you simply lack the ability to travel the Martial World freely."
Of course, Ghost-faced Yinqiao was aware of Shi Xiaoleâs exploits, but in his eyes, such claims as capable of fighting a Sixth Tier Earth Immortal were ridiculous jokes. The world is full of mediocrities, and they simply cannot fathom how vast the Martial World is and how strong the elite are.
Donât even mention an Earth Immortal of the Sixth Tier like him who has lived for over four hundred years; even a Fifth Tier Earth Immortal should have reached perfection. Their means simply cannot be imagined by the people of the current Martial World.
No matter how outstanding and extraordinary an individual is, how far can they go if they are less than thirty years old?
No tiger in the mountain, the monkey is the king.
This was Ghost-faced Yinqiaoâs view of the current Martial World.
Seeing countless Axe Qi charging towards him, Shi Xiaole knew he couldnât hide any longer. Moreover, he believed that Ghost-faced Yinqiao would not be the last to cause trouble. There would be a second, a third...
If he appeared too weak, it would inevitably lead others to underestimate him, so he better provide an effective deterrent!
A sharp light flashed in his eyes, Shi Xiaoleâs presence suddenly receded. Following this, he erupted with volcanic intensity. Under the thrust of the Sword Qi, the Red Left sword seemed to no longer be a sword, but an unstoppable wave of Sword Qi.
Boom!
The spiral of green and red Sword Qi, like a tornado, charged out, as though it was the absolute limit of the voidâs power here, it ripped open a huge fissure in the front Axe Qi.
The residual Sword Qi, relentless, sharply charged at Ghost-faced Yinqiao. The latter hastily waved his axes to withstand the attack but was forced to retreat dozens of steps amidst the clash.
Simultaneously, Shi Xiaole, by making use of the gap, broke away from the encirclement and completely evaded the crisis.
"He broke through my ultimate technique?"
Ghost-faced Yinqiaoâs mind was in turmoil, but before he had time to react with shock, his pupils suddenly shrunk. In his line of sight, Shi Xiaole transformed into a sword light, rapidly rushing towards him.
Clang!
Sword and axe clashed.
Ghost-faced Yinqiao was forced to retreat for several hundred meters, his face filled with astonishment.
Impossible, how was his killing technique so fast? But without using such a technique, how could he easily push me back?
"Take a few more strikes from me!"
With a cold expression, Shi Xiaole attacked again.
In close-quarter combat, Body-Sword Integration was undoubtedly the ultimate killing technique. Not only was it immensely powerful, but it also required little time to prepare. Its only disadvantage was that it consumed more energy than normal techniques.
But Shi Xiaole didnât believe there could be anyone who could withstand multiple instances of his Body-Sword Integration technique in a skirmish amongst peers. Even he himself couldnât.
Cling! Cling! Cling!
Three strikes.
Ghost-faced Yinqiao, driven by reflex and years of experience, barely blocked the three strikes. However, his tigerâs mouth (the area between thumb and index finger) was already bleeding, and his numb arm could barely hold onto his axe.
The fourth sword light shone.
Shi!
The two passed each other. Ghost-faced Yinqiaoâs eyes bulged as fresh blood gushed from his chest, and blood mist burst from the pores of his arms. His axe slipped from his hand, flying out to knock over a row of trees on the outskirts of Nine Heavens Mountain.
"Such a renowned figure from two hundred years ago hardly lives up to his reputation."
Shi Xiaole said disappointingly after turning around.
"Ah!"
Already seriously injured, Ghost-faced Yinqiao spat out another mouthful of blood upon hearing these words. His face turned as white as a sheet, teetering on the brink of collapsing.
He never had really taken Shi Xiaole seriously, constantly dismissing him in his mind. Yet reality was so cruel. The loser wasnât Shi Xiaole, it was himself.
"I admit defeat, but Iâll offer you a word of advice. If a man doesnât know when to stop, it will lead to a great disaster sooner or later. Iâll be watching to see how far you can go."
Ghost-faced Yinqiao showed a cold smile and didnât utter the last two sentences, planning to leave.
"You come and go as you please, who do you think you are?"
To everyoneâs surprise, Shi Xiaole suddenly made a cut in the air.
A scream rang out.
The cold smile on Ghost-faced Yinqiaoâs face froze.
The next moment, his detached head flew high in the sky.
Shi Xiaole never had the habit of being indecisive.
He was sure that if it werenât for the Nine Profound Array, his opponent would absolutely not hesitate to seize and rob. Since this was the case, why should he show mercy? Offending his opponent today did not matter to him, but it doesnât mean that people around him could ignore the threat.
The best approach, then, was to permanently eliminate the problem.
As for what the Martial World would think of him, who cared?
Sheathing his sword and remotely drawing Ghost-faced Yinqiaoâs weapon into his hands, Shi Xiaoleâs gaze turned to the outskirts of Nine Heavens Mountain.
The men of the Martial World who were still in total shock only felt a shiver run from their tailbone to their head. Their bodies felt like they were plunged into an ice hole, even daring not to breathe heavily.
Itâs horrifying, too horrifying!
Who said a stare canât be fatal? Hereâs an example.
This moment, everyone saw for the first time the unknown side of this Kirin (Unicorn) beneath his gentle and refined appearance. He showed everyone with his actions that those who dare to covet his possessions would suffer his brutal retaliation!
"Thatâs what makes the Head of the Village the Head! His spirit is extraordinary, ha-ha-ha..."
On the plaza of Wuling Villa, a few elders were laughing heartily.
Shi Xiaoleâs power once again refreshed their perception of him, leaving them astounded. The most important thing was that Shi Xiaole was not pedantic and stuck to the so-called rules of the Righteous Path warriors.
Respecting and then using force, being ruthless when necessary, killing when requiredâthatâs the creed of survival in the Martial World.
"Kirin, you kill people just because they asked you for something. You are certainly very brutal, keeping you in the Martial World, I donât know whether itâs a blessing or a curse."
At this point, an untimely voice arose.
Shi Xiaole raised an eyebrow, letting out a cold chuckle in his heart.
In front of him stood a middle-aged man with a slightly dark complexion, dressed in a judgeâs uniform, holding a judgeâs pen. As his eyes opened and closed, they sparkled brilliantly, his aura was even stronger than Ghost-faced Yinqiaoâs.
"Hiding sneakily in the shadows, and you finally chose to appear."
The ridicule in Shi Xiaoleâs words was intense.
"Mr. Cui didnât want to interfere, but your methods are just too harsh. It seems that after today, there will be an additional name on Mr. Cuiâs life-and-death list."
The middle-aged man sounded confident.
His skills were naturally far superior to Shi Xiaoleâs, but he had always been cautious, so he hadnât shown up earlier.
Thanks to the clumsy Ghost-faced Yinqiao, he now had the chance to launch the âBinding of the Earthâ on Shi Xiaole. The arrangement of this trapping technique was already complete, and there was no need for him to hold back anymore.
Not wanting to delay any longer, with a grab of his big hand, a terrifying handprint covered the sky, instantly grabbing towards Shi Xiaole. Within the handprint, people vaguely saw a ghostâs head.
"Binding Ghost Hand, no good, itâs the âIron-faced JudgeââCui Xilou!"
The Golden Saber Elder screamed internally, his old face suddenly contorting.
Cui Xilou was a figure who emerged in the same era as Ghost-faced Yinqiao and was equally listed in the Martial World records of prominent figures over the last six hundred years. However, Cuiâs abilities were much stronger than the latterâs.
If his memory wasnât wrong, Cui Xilou was at the seventh tier of the Divine Barrier Realm when he retired from the Martial World, which conservatively puts him as a top-tier Seventh Tier Earth Immortal. But what about now?
Everyone who recognized Cui Xilou couldnât dare to imagine the outcome. They simultaneously expressed concern, anxiety, and offered silent condolences for Shi Xiaole.