Chapter 159: A Small Outburst

Chapter 159: Chapter 159: A Small Outburst

Meanwhile, the refined man from the Washing Sword Sect hurried over.

"You two, if you wish to fight over the Sword Cleansing Pool, please move away from this area. If you damage the Sword Cleansing Pool and the Sword Cleansing Platform, it won’t be worth the cost!"

The refined man frowned, pointing to a crack on the ground that had almost reached the Sword Cleansing Pool as he spoke to Yi Xiaoyao and Ye Qingqing.

Yi Xiaoyao was taken aback for a moment. He gave the refined man an apologetic smile, then turned to Ye Qingqing. "Let’s go somewhere else to settle this and decide who gets the Sword Cleansing Pool."

"Fine!" Ye Qingqing agreed. She and Yi Xiaoyao then darted toward a small hill just outside the plaza.

The rest of the crowd exchanged glances for a moment, then hurried after them.

Besides, no one else dared to occupy the Sword Cleansing Pool, and it wouldn’t open until these two had settled their score anyway.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The two figures shot into a forest of stone pillars, each landing atop a massive boulder. They faced each other from a thousand feet apart.

"Yi Xiaoyao, I finally believe the tales of your exploits are all true."

Ye Qingqing’s lovely eyes glinted. She had been incredibly skeptical of the rumors surrounding Yi Xiaoyao, but his last strike had proven his strength to her.

Yi Xiaoyao merely smiled faintly. ’Why would he care about such things?’

Then, giving Yi Xiaoyao a meaningful look, Ye Qingqing said, "In early spring of next year, my family will hold a contest to select a worthy husband for me. You can enter. I believe you have a good chance of coming out on top."

As soon as she said this, the crowd that had gathered nearby burst into an uproar.

’What does this mean? Has Ye Qingqing taken a fancy to Yi Xiaoyao? Is she giving him a chance to become her husband?’

A woman so talented, powerful, and gorgeous—who wouldn’t want to marry her?

Instantly, everyone looked at Yi Xiaoyao with envy. But they also knew the reason Ye Qingqing had taken an interest in him was because he was just as talented and powerful as she was, not to mention handsome.

However, what seemed like an incredibly tempting offer to everyone else elicited no reaction from Yi Xiaoyao.

"My apologies, but I’m not interested in you. All I want right now is a spot in the Sword Cleansing Pool."

Yi Xiaoyao said coolly, "Make your move."

The crowd was in utter disbelief. ’Did this guy just reject Ye Qingqing’s advance? How could he be so stupid?’

But they didn’t know that Yi Xiaoyao’s heart belonged only to Yun Mengling. Besides, as beautiful as Ye Qingqing was, she simply couldn’t compare to Yun Mengling.

"You!" Ye Qingqing’s eyebrows shot up, her face flushing with indignation.

Countless powerful geniuses would have willingly given up everything for her at those words, yet the man before her hadn’t shown the slightest hint of emotion.

Most importantly, this was the first time Ye Qingqing had ever said such a thing to a man. She had been certain that Yi Xiaoyao would try to curry favor with her by forfeiting his claim to the Sword Cleansing Pool.

But the result was... he had rejected her!

For someone as proud and obsessed with her dignity as Ye Qingqing, where could she hide her face? If word of this got out, how could she ever face anyone again?

"Hmph! Yi Xiaoyao, I gave you an easy way out, but you chose the hard way!"

Ye Qingqing drew her sword in a fury. With a sharp SHING, she pointed it straight at Yi Xiaoyao. "Well, let me tell you something! I wasn’t even using my full strength in that last exchange! It’s too late for regrets now!"

’In her mind, Yi Xiaoyao must have used all his strength just to tie with her last attack. If she attacked with her full power now, he would surely be no match for her.’

"Is that so? What a coincidence. I wasn’t going all out either," Yi Xiaoyao replied, his tone still just as calm. He then slowly drew his own sword.

Ye Qingqing sneered. "Let’s see how long you can keep up that tough act!"

The moment her voice fell, a sharp Sword Momentum erupted from her body. It was followed by an incomparably brilliant flash of sword light that burst forth, momentarily eclipsing all other light in the world as it slashed furiously toward Yi Xiaoyao.

The very air seemed to become solid, torn in two by the attack, which produced a series of ear-piercing shrieks as it sliced through the sky.

Even before the blade light arrived, the brilliant silver Sword Qi it contained began to emit a suffocating pressure that rapidly expanded in all directions.

Yi Xiaoyao’s expression grew solemn. He could feel that this strike was empowered by her Sword Momentum, making it several times stronger than her last one.

Although Ye Qingqing’s Sword Momentum was only at the Minor Success stage, her strength was already far beyond that of a typical Golden Core Ninth Realm cultivator.

The next moment, Yi Xiaoyao instantly unleashed his own Sword Momentum and sent a slash of his own flying out!

"Nine Swords of Slaughter, Fourth Technique!"

Empowered by his Sword Momentum, immense Killing Intent surged forth with streams of Destructive Sword Qi, sweeping toward Ye Qingqing’s attack.

Unleashed after his Sword Momentum had reached the Great Success stage, the power of this strike was on a completely different level than before.

The surrounding solid boulders might as well have been made of soft tofu; they were instantly shredded into countless fragments by the passing Sword Qi Storm.

The onlookers watched the duo’s terrifying attacks, their hearts pounding in their chests.

Just then, the two attacks abruptly collided.

BOOM!

Waves of energy blasted outward, sending rock fragments flying and tumbling through the air.

Yi Xiaoyao’s Sword Qi Storm relentlessly tore through Ye Qingqing’s Sword Qi, but her own strike was not to be underestimated; it cleaved the Sword Qi Storm in two.

Ultimately, the two halves of the Sword Qi Storm diverged, sweeping past either side of Ye Qingqing without harming her in the slightest. It only served to pulverize the forest of stone pillars around her.

At the same time, Yi Xiaoyao’s figure flickered. The boulder beneath his feet was instantly obliterated by the lingering power of several streams of his opponent’s Sword Qi.

Yi Xiaoyao’s figure suddenly reappeared atop another boulder not far away, his cold gaze fixed on Ye Qingqing.

Clearly, Yi Xiaoyao had been at a slight disadvantage in that exchange.

After all, Ye Qingqing hadn’t moved an inch from her original boulder, whereas the one Yi Xiaoyao had been standing on was now nothing but dust, forcing him to retreat.

To the onlookers, however, this outcome was already mind-boggling.

After all, Yi Xiaoyao was only at the Golden Core Fourth Realm, yet he had unleashed a level of power that even the Golden Core Ninth Realm experts present couldn’t hope to match.

The color drained slightly from Ye Qingqing’s face. Only now did she realize that Yi Xiaoyao hadn’t just been bluffing when he said he wasn’t using his full strength.

She was discovering that the stronger she was, the stronger he became. Her last attack was powerful enough to annihilate anyone ranked below her, yet Yi Xiaoyao had still managed to counter it.

Although she had gained a slight advantage, that wasn’t what she wanted at all.

She had to defeat Yi Xiaoyao!

"In that case, I’ll use my full power. If you die, you’ll have only yourself to blame!"

Ye Qingqing’s head snapped up, her gaze instantly becoming as sharp as a sword’s gleam.

"Arc Light Cross Slash!"

An aura even more terrifying than before instantly billowed out. Two intersecting arcs of light, carrying a wild and brilliant Sword Qi, shot toward Yi Xiaoyao in a devastating slash.

Yi Xiaoyao’s eyes narrowed. He could feel the aura of death from those two intersecting blades of light.

"So this is her true strength... Incredibly powerful," Yi Xiaoyao murmured, the corner of his mouth hooking into a slight smile.

’In that case,’ he thought, ’I’ll just have to test out the new technique that comes with achieving Great Mastery of Sword Intent.’

"Nine Swords of Slaughter, Fifth Technique!"

The Fifth Technique was also an ultimate application of Sword Momentum, but it differed from the wide-area attack of the Fourth Technique.

The Fifth Technique concentrated all Sword Momentum and attack power into a single point, converting it into the sharpest possible burst of power! Its might was comparable to an intermediate Earth Tier Swordsmanship technique!

With a low roar from Yi Xiaoyao, a blood-red gleam suddenly flashed.

Under the power of his Sword Momentum, the countless streams of black Sword Qi and blood-red Killing Intent instantly condensed into a single point the size of a fist. It drew a straight, blood-red line across the sky as it shot, WHOOSH, toward the center of the intersecting blades of light.

PFFT!

Ye Qingqing’s intersecting blades of light were struck dead-center, shattering and scattering into four beams that shot off in every direction.

But the power of Yi Xiaoyao’s Fifth Technique of the Nine Swords of Slaughter was unabated. In an instant, it reached Ye Qingqing, whose face had already turned deathly pale. It pierced directly through her left chest, sending a spray of fresh blood into the air.

As her graceful figure was sent flying backward, the blood-red line that was the Fifth Technique of the Nine Swords of Slaughter continued onward, shooting toward the distant mountain peak behind her.

BOOM!

The moment the blood-red line struck the mountain, it exploded violently, sending a cascade of rock and debris tumbling down.

After a deafening, earth-shaking tremor, a massive hole was clearly visible in the mountain. The sunlight shining through it seemed especially brilliant.

...

(PS: Third update of the day, a nice long Chapter!

It hurts my soul to see some people giving all their recommendation tickets to other books. Please spare a few for me! ~)