Chapter 172: Shoot Down

Chapter 172: Chapter 172: Shoot Down

Hearing this, Shangguan Tianjian narrowed his eyes and looked down.

Below, two units of the Cyan Armored Army parted the crowd, clearing a wide path from which a group of people emerged.

"Look!"

"It’s people from the Seven Kills Star Hall!"

Everyone’s gaze shifted to the approaching group. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the members of the Seven Kills Star Hall walked slowly toward the Asura Arena.

"So many people came," Yi Xiaoyao remarked, raising an eyebrow at the sea of faces around them.

"The Hall Master is already waiting for us in the Asura Arena. Let’s go find him."

Su Xiang’s eyes also held a hint of surprise as he scanned their surroundings and spoke.

Sword Wind Breaker gave a faint "Mm," and Hua Yunfeng and the three others behind him followed closely.

Wherever the seven of them passed, they drew gasps of admiration and murmurs of discussion.

"That’s Sword Wind Breaker, ranked second! And Su Xiang, ranked sixth!"

"The one at the very front must be the recently controversial Yi Xiaoyao, right?"

"Yi Xiaoyao? Eighth on the Hidden Dragon List. I heard his ranking is full of hot air."

"That’s right. Quite a few experts on the Hidden Dragon List are unconvinced by his rank and have sworn to defeat him!"

"I heard that too. Because of that, Yi Xiaoyao hid for several months and didn’t dare show his face. I can’t believe he actually showed up today."

"Once the competition begins, he’ll probably be targeted by a lot of people. His end will surely be a miserable one."

The crowd buzzed with continuous discussion, with many people talking about Yi Xiaoyao.

After all, a few months ago, most people had rejected his ranking. And since Yi Xiaoyao hadn’t appeared for months, the initial uproar never reached any conclusion.

So today, everyone was eagerly anticipating what Yi Xiaoyao’s final fate would be.

Among the crowd, a stunningly beautiful young woman stood out. It was Tang Ruoxue, who had joined the Hundred Flowers Sect. Her master had come to compete for the Heaven and Earth Fire Essence, and she had tagged along.

"It’s actually him!"

Tang Ruoxue stared at Yi Xiaoyao, her beautiful eyes wide with astonishment. With her current Cultivation, she had yet to have any contact with the Hidden Dragon List. Furthermore, she had spent years in arduous training within her sect to catch up to Yi Xiaoyao, so she had never heard the rumors about him.

So, she was utterly shocked now that she saw the young man who was the focus of everyone’s attention.

"Why is Yi Xiaoyao here? Could he also be accompanying a sect elder?" Tang Ruoxue wondered aloud.

Tang Ruoxue’s master replied with a grave expression, "This Yi Xiaoyao is an expert on the Hidden Dragon List. Though his rank is highly controversial, his strength is undeniable."

"What? He’s already an expert on the Hidden Dragon List?"

Tang Ruoxue gasped. She had only just learned about the Hidden Dragon List from her master, and she understood what it meant to be an expert on it.

’I can’t believe it. Even after all my hard training, I’ve still been left worlds behind by Yi Xiaoyao...’

Then, Tang Ruoxue asked, "Since he’s an expert on the Hidden Dragon List, who is stronger, Yi Xiaoyao or the man on the Griffin?"

"The one on the Griffin is the number one expert on the Hidden Dragon List, Shangguan Tianjian. Even I, your master, wouldn’t survive a single move from him. Yi Xiaoyao is definitely no match for him," her master patiently explained.

Tang Ruoxue’s heart skipped a beat. Even her most revered master couldn’t take a single move from Shangguan Tianjian. ’This man is just too powerful.’

At this thought, she couldn’t help but look up at Shangguan Tianjian in the air, her beautiful eyes shining.

Aboard the Griffin, Shangguan Tianjian’s gaze was fixed on Yi Xiaoyao below, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smirk.

"Senior Brother Tianjian, once the competition starts, that Yi Xiaoyao is a dead man," the white-robed youth behind him said.

"Why wait? I’ll just kill him now, openly and honorably."

Shangguan Tianjian said with a smirk that wasn’t a smirk, slowly drawing a Dark Gold Long Sword that radiated a dangerous aura from his back. He pointed the blade straight at Yi Xiaoyao.

"For trash like him, I only need one strike."

As his words fell, the Dark Gold Long Sword slashed down abruptly.

At the same time, Yi Xiaoyao, who was still walking forward, suddenly felt his expression harden. He sensed an astonishing Killing Intent lock onto him.

In the next instant, Yi Xiaoyao looked up, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. He saw a golden sword aura tearing through the air, slashing down at him.

The power emanating from this sword aura was unprecedentedly strong, even stronger than Sword Wind Breaker, with whom he had once crossed blades.

’Hmph. Kill me?’

A cold glint flashed in Yi Xiaoyao’s eyes as he immediately raised his hand and drew his sword.

SHING!

The Bloodthirsty Sword instantly unleashed a sharp beam of light, cleaving through the air and slashing horizontally toward the golden Sword Aura, which was now less than a few hundred feet away.

In an instant, the two terrifying beams of sword light collided.

For a moment, the point of impact exploded like a blazing sun, unleashing a flash of light so bright it could blind.

BOOM!!!

The world seemed to lose its color as a terrifying roar resounded, instantly spreading for thousands of miles in every direction.

The countless people on the ground were nearly deafened and blinded by the blast. But before they could react, the area in mid-air where the two sword beams had collided erupted once more, producing two terrifying energy storms and scattering countless streams of Sword Qi that shot out in all directions.

RUMBLE!

The storm swept up everyone on the ground, tearing the very earth apart. Sand and stone were churned into the terrible, raging gale.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Streams of scattered Sword Qi shot into the crowd. Each one could instantly pierce through dozens of bodies, sending blood splashing everywhere.

"AHHH!!"

"Run!"

"What’s happening?!"

"Help!"

The crowd descended into chaos. The weak fled for their lives while the strong did their best to defend themselves.

By the time the astonishing shockwave finally dissipated, the ground was littered with the dead and injured.

Only then did everyone manage to react, their gazes turning to the source of the destructive aftershock.

"One of those beams of sword light came from Shangguan Tianjian! No wonder it was so powerful!"

"And the other one... was actually unleashed by Yi Xiaoyao!"

"The two of them actually fought!"

"Yi Xiaoyao blocked a strike from Shangguan Tianjian?"

The crowd gasped, everyone staring in utter shock at the two men who now faced each other, swords in hand.

One was high in the sky, the other on the ground, their gazes clashing as if they were tangible weapons.

Shangguan Tianjian’s face showed a flicker of surprise. His strike had actually failed to kill Yi Xiaoyao; it had been blocked.

’It seems he has some skill after all. Still, he won’t escape death.’

He sneered, looking down on Yi Xiaoyao from his high perch.

And on the ground.

’Shangguan Tianjian! I haven’t even made a move against him, yet he strikes me first.’

Yi Xiaoyao stared at the figure in mid-air, his expression turning incomparably cold.

The next moment, his lips twisted into a grin as he furiously swung the Bloodthirsty Sword upward in a counterattack.

A Sword Qi Storm erupted, shooting across the void straight toward Shangguan Tianjian.

The sneer on Shangguan Tianjian’s face didn’t waver as he swung his sword, shattering the Sword Qi Storm.

This clash produced another explosion no less powerful than the last, but thankfully, the impact was contained to the air and did not affect those on the ground.

However, the Griffins beneath the members of the Cloud Transformation Sect were all killed by the ricocheting Sword Qi from the aftershock.

"Not good!"

Shangguan Tianjian’s expression changed. He and the few people behind him began to plummet from the sky.

Below, however, Yi Xiaoyao just grinned, transforming into an Illusion as he shot toward the spot where his opponents would land, sword at the ready.

"Die!"

Yi Xiaoyao unleashed one beam of sword light after another, mercilessly slashing toward Shangguan Tianjian and his men, who were completely unable to use any leverage to dodge while falling.

...