Chapter 178: Target, Shangguan Tianjian

Chapter 178: Chapter 178: Target, Shangguan Tianjian

At the valley exit, Bo Qianyang’s body fell to the ground, split in two.

Ye Qingqing, who had been standing to the side with a conflicted expression, was suddenly filled with shock and doubt.

"What... What just happened? How did Bo Qianyang die?"

Ye Qingqing’s face was a mask of disbelief and confusion.

Just a moment ago, she had sensed Bo Qianyang take out something extremely dangerous. In the next instant, however, the situation changed abruptly. Bo Qianyang collapsed without any warning.

Bo Qianyang, of course, had been killed by Yi Xiaoyao, falling to the Instant Kill Sword.

The Instant Kill Sword’s explosive power was average, but its greatest strengths—the very reasons it was classified as a high-grade Earth Tier Swordsmanship—were its extreme speed and the element of surprise.

Given the speed at which the sword was drawn, killed, and sheathed, even Bo Qianyang hadn’t known how he died. Of course, there was no way Ye Qingqing could have seen it.

At that moment, Yi Xiaoyao let out a sigh of relief, his back already soaked with cold sweat.

He then walked over to Bo Qianyang’s corpse and picked up a small sphere from his hand. It glowed with a chilling light and radiated an incredibly dangerous aura.

It was because Yi Xiaoyao had sensed this aura that he had urgently used the Instant Kill Sword to eliminate Bo Qianyang in an instant.

Looking at the sphere, he had the distinct feeling that he would have been killed instantly if it had unleashed its power.

"Thankfully, I didn’t give Bo Qianyang the chance to use this thing."

Yi Xiaoyao muttered, a deep sense of lingering fear rising in his heart. If he had been even a second late, he would have been blown to bits, not even a corpse left behind.

Meanwhile, the Nascent Soul Realm experts watching the battle from above were all completely stunned.

The moment Bo Qianyang had taken out the Profound Yin Thunder, they had all thought Yi Xiaoyao was a dead man.

But now, it was Bo Qianyang who had fallen!

"What! How is this possible!"

Bo Yuanhong’s eyes, wide with fury, looked as if they were about to burst. In his mind, with the Profound Yin Thunder in hand, the only one who could have died was Yi Xiaoyao.

But for all his calculations, he had never expected that in the very instant Bo Qianyang was about to use the Profound Yin Thunder, Yi Xiaoyao would slay him with unimaginable speed!

The other Nascent Soul Realm experts were equally shocked. This outcome was clearly not what they had anticipated.

"Did Yi Xiaoyao strike the moment Bo Qianyang took out the Profound Yin Thunder?"

"He did. It was a sword strike of extreme speed!"

"Indeed, it was blindingly fast. Even we Nascent Soul Realm cultivators would have trouble detecting that strike if we weren’t paying close attention, let alone Bo Qianyang."

"It’s no wonder Bo Qianyang died to that sword!"

Even these Nascent Soul Realm experts were amazed by Yi Xiaoyao’s Instant Kill Sword.

"That little brat! I was worried for nothing!"

The Black Robe Hall Master, in particular, was ecstatic, because he, like everyone else, had been certain Yi Xiaoyao would die.

In the valley, Yi Xiaoyao toyed with the Profound Yin Thunder in his hand for a moment before putting it away.

Ye Qingqing was now gazing at Yi Xiaoyao, her beautiful eyes shimmering with a strange light. There wasn’t the slightest trace of fear in her gaze.

"There’s a Demon Core from a fourth-tier Demon Beast in Bo Qianyang’s Storage Pouch," Ye Qingqing reminded him.

Yi Xiaoyao paused, surprised, then took Bo Qianyang’s Storage Pouch before turning to look at her.

"What was your relationship with Bo Qianyang?"

Yi Xiaoyao asked coldly. ’If the two of them were close, I’ll have to consider killing her too.’

Hearing this, Ye Qingqing seemed to have thought of something. A hint of pleasant surprise appeared in her eyes as she asked with a smile, "Are you jealous?"

Yi Xiaoyao was momentarily speechless. Before he could say anything, however, Ye Qingqing answered his question.

"My relationship with Bo Qianyang is a bit complicated to explain. In any case, I’m actually happy he’s dead! Are you satisfied with that answer?"

After speaking, Ye Qingqing looked at Yi Xiaoyao with expectant eyes, as if hoping to see a pleased expression on his face.

However, upon hearing her words, Yi Xiaoyao merely gave a faint nod and said, "I see. You can go."

"Huh? That’s it?"

Ye Qingqing was a little disappointed.

"What else do you want? For me to kill you?" Yi Xiaoyao had no idea what she was thinking and asked with a frown.

Ye Qingqing shot him a reproachful glance and pouted. "Kill me and then save me? Then grope me all over while I’m injured?"

She was referring to what had happened between her and Yi Xiaoyao back at the Washing Sword Sect.

Yi Xiaoyao was choked speechless by her words. He gave a dry cough and turned to leave.

Watching Yi Xiaoyao’s departing back, which showed no signs of lingering, Ye Qingqing stomped her foot in a huff.

After that, Yi Xiaoyao began heading to other valleys to hunt Demon Beasts. These beasts were nowhere near as powerful as the Demon Fire Suanni, so hunting them was relatively easy.

Of course, he also ran into many other participants along the way. Each time Yi Xiaoyao left, several corpses would be left on the ground.

In this competition, the most foolish thing one could do was be soft-hearted. Clearly, Yi Xiaoyao was not that kind of person.

In another valley, Yi Xiaoyao picked up a Demon Core from a corpse on the ground and put it in his Storage Pouch.

’After spending most of the day hunting and plundering, I only have a total of six Demon Cores. It’s not enough,’ he muttered to himself, his brow slightly furrowed.

By now, all the Demon Beasts in this canyon had probably been killed. The remaining nineteen Demon Cores were in the hands of other people.

There were over fifty participants in total, so having six Demon Cores was already an extremely high number.

Yi Xiaoyao understood this, but he still felt that six Demon Cores wasn’t a safe number.

For the sake of the Heaven and Earth Fire Essence, he had to ensure he won first place.

Therefore, out of the twenty-five Demon Cores, Yi Xiaoyao needed to obtain thirteen to guarantee first place.

’I bet that Shangguan Tianjian has just as many Demon Cores as I do, if not more...’

Yi Xiaoyao muttered to himself, and his decision was made.

With that thought, his figure flickered and vanished on the spot.

Next target for plunder: Shangguan Tianjian!

...

「Several hours later.」

On the ground above, the crowds gathered on both sides of the canyon suddenly erupted into a commotion, every face filled with excitement.

"Look! Yi Xiaoyao has found Shangguan Tianjian!"

"They’re finally going to fight! This might be the most anticipated event of the entire competition!"

"I wonder which of them is stronger!"

High above, the eyes of the various Nascent Soul Realm experts also lit up.

"Oh? Is it about to begin?"

"Before this, I didn’t think much of Yi Xiaoyao’s chances, but now, it’s really hard to say who will win or lose."

"Indeed. The battle between these two geniuses is truly something to look forward to!"

These top-tier experts discussed amongst themselves.

Previously, Yi Xiaoyao had clashed once with Shangguan Tianjian, but Shangguan Tianjian hadn’t used his full strength at all. That was why no one had thought well of Yi Xiaoyao’s chances back then.

After all, Yi Xiaoyao was just a rookie who had recently appeared, while Shangguan Tianjian’s track record and strength were well-established. He was the publicly acknowledged number one in the Golden Core Realm.

But now, they had seen Yi Xiaoyao slay the Demon Fire Suanni, instantly kill Bo Qianyang, and plunder one expert after another.

This made everyone realize that this rookie, Yi Xiaoyao, absolutely had the strength to face Shangguan Tianjian head-on!

...

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