Chapter 62: Hall Master’s Favor

Chapter 62: Chapter 62: Hall Master’s Favor

Just then, a furious, startled roar echoed from the shadows of the training grounds.

"Yi Xiaoyao! How dare you openly slaughter a fellow disciple! You’re courting death!"

Yi Xiaoyao whipped his head around. In the distance, he saw Cultivator Duan, his face contorted with rage, slashing a terrifying crimson Sword Qi toward him.

The aura radiating from the blade’s light sent the surrounding crowd scattering and screaming. The ground cracked everywhere it passed as it shot straight for Yi Xiaoyao.

"It’s Elder Cultivator Duan! He’s going to kill Yi Xiaoyao!"

"My gods, Elder Cultivator Duan is a Golden Core Realm powerhouse! Yi Xiaoyao is a dead man against that Sword Qi!"

It wasn’t just the onlookers; Luo Yi, Jin Sanbao, and Xuan Mo turned pale with fright.

"Junior Brother!"

"Carefree!"

At the same time, Lin Jie was watching from a high vantage point nearby, a man in a black robe standing beside him. Seeing Cultivator Duan move to kill Yi Xiaoyao, they both cried out in alarm and rushed to intervene.

But even with rescuers on the way, it was too late.

No matter how fast Lin Jie and his companion were, they couldn’t outpace the crimson Sword Qi that was now only a few dozen feet from Yi Xiaoyao.

Despair and fury filled Lin Jie’s eyes.

’Is this unprecedented demon of a genius, Yi Xiaoyao, really going to perish here?’

Just as the crimson Sword Qi closed to within ten feet of Yi Xiaoyao...

Yi Xiaoyao’s pupils contracted sharply. His Bloodthirsty Sword was instantly coated in Dark Spiritual Power as a Sword Shadow unfurled. In the face of mortal danger, he remained composed and began to execute a Sword Technique.

In the blink of an eye, a black, dome-shaped barrier enveloped Yi Xiaoyao.

This was a Sword Technique Yi Xiaoyao had never used before. It was the Sword Technique he had created based on the Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship, which he named the Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship!

The reason Yi Xiaoyao used this Sword Technique now was that it was a defensive one.

The Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship used Devouring Spiritual Power as its foundation, integrating it into a precise, defensive Sword Technique. As the Swordsmanship parried and dispersed the force of an attack, it would simultaneously devour the Spiritual Power within that attack, maximizing its defensive potential.

Once the Spiritual Power in an opponent’s Techniques was devoured, the attack would lose all its power. This was the true strength of the Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship.

The black barrier surrounding Yi Xiaoyao was an illusion created by the Sword Shadow devouring the light.

Facing a remote attack from a Golden Core Powerhouse, Yi Xiaoyao had no absolute confidence he could block it. But since it was impossible to escape the Sword Qi’s range, his only option was to risk everything.

With a piercing shriek of exploding Spiritual Power, the crimson Sword Qi slammed into the black barrier formed by Yi Xiaoyao’s Sword Shadow.

Everyone thought Yi Xiaoyao was a dead man, and the arriving Lin Jie and the man in the black robe were no exception.

But in the next moment, everyone gasped in shock.

They watched as the crimson Sword Qi struck the black Sword Shadow barrier and abruptly halted. The Spiritual Power within the Sword Qi was rapidly depleted, but most of it was being devoured by Yi Xiaoyao’s Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship.

For a moment, the immense force from the crimson Sword Qi pushed Yi Xiaoyao back relentlessly, but the attack simply could not break through the black Sword Shadow barrier.

"What is that Swordsmanship?!"

"He actually blocked Elder Cultivator Duan’s Sword Qi!"

"My gods, is Yi Xiaoyao really only at the Second Realm of Foundation Establishment?"

Everyone found it utterly unbelievable. A furious strike from a Golden Core Realm expert had been blocked by someone at the Second Realm of Foundation Establishment. No one would believe it if they were told.

Right now, as Yi Xiaoyao executed the Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship, his own Spiritual Power was being consumed at a frantic pace. However, the Spiritual Power devoured by the technique was continuously replenishing his reserves.

If Yi Xiaoyao had used the Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship during his fight with Shi Tong, the balance between consumption and Devouring would have made his Spiritual Power inexhaustible, placing him in an unbeatable position.

But the Sword Qi he was currently blocking came from a Golden Core Realm powerhouse. Even though Yi Xiaoyao could devour Spiritual Power to supplement his own, his expenditure still outpaced his intake. He was gradually reaching his limit. In a few more moments, his defense would be shattered by the Sword Qi.

Just as the crimson Sword Qi breached the black Sword Shadow barrier by three inches, a bolt of deep purple Spiritual Power shot out and instantly dispersed it.

Yi Xiaoyao, as if a great weight had been lifted, plunged his sword into the ground and began gasping for breath.

The one who had just fired that bolt of deep purple Spiritual Power was none other than the man in the black robe behind Lin Jie. Lin Jie himself immediately rushed over to shield Yi Xiaoyao, confronting Cultivator Duan from a distance.

"Cultivator Duan! As an elder, you actually tried to murder a disciple of the Hall in public!"

Lin Jie roared. If not for Yi Xiaoyao’s abilities being far beyond those of other disciples, combined with his and the Black Robe man’s arrival, he would have surely died.

Cultivator Duan’s expression was cold and dark. He ignored Lin Jie, but his heart was reeling with shock. A surefire killing blow had somehow failed to instantly kill Yi Xiaoyao.

More importantly, the appearance of the man in the black robe behind Lin Jie, and the fact that he had saved Yi Xiaoyao, was completely beyond his expectations.

"Hall Master!"

Cultivator Duan bowed respectfully to the man in the black robe. No matter how furious he was, he wouldn’t dare act presumptuously before the Hall Master of the Seven Kills Star Hall.

All the other disciples present bowed in unison toward the man in the black robe, calling out, "Hall Master."

"The Hall Master actually came?"

"It’s probably because Yi Xiaoyao killed Shi Tong. After all, killing a fellow disciple is a major violation of the Hall’s rules."

"Even though the Hall Master saved Yi Xiaoyao, he can’t escape punishment."

The disciples discussed in low voices with their heads bowed, only now fully realizing that Yi Xiaoyao had broken the sect’s rules by killing Shi Tong.

Yi Xiaoyao looked up at the Black Robe Hall Master, only to find the man sizing him up as well.

The Black Robe Hall Master completely ignored Cultivator Duan, his gaze fixed on Yi Xiaoyao as if trying to see right through him.

"You are Yi Xiaoyao?"

The Black Robe Hall Master was a middle-aged man with a stern face and an equally icy voice.

"Disciple Yi Xiaoyao pays his respects to the Hall Master. Thank you for saving me, Hall Master," Yi Xiaoyao said with a bow.

A sharp glint flashed in the Black Robe Hall Master’s eyes, and a trace of excitement appeared on his otherwise stern face. He said:

"Lin Jie recommended you to me with great enthusiasm before. He said that in a single night, you re-created and successfully cultivated the Withered Silence Swordsmanship and the Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship, which were created by the first-generation Hall Master. I didn’t believe it at first, but after witnessing you perform those two Sword Techniques just now, I have no choice but to believe!"

The moment the Black Robe Hall Master finished speaking, everyone—aside from Lin Jie and Luo Yi, who were already in on the secret—cried out in shock.

"What? Yi Xiaoyao really learned the Withered Silence Swordsmanship and the Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship? Those are the two great Fierce Techniques that no one has ever successfully cultivated!"

"You’re wrong. He didn’t just learn them—he re-created and then learned them. The difference between those two feats is as vast as the gap in power between us and the Hall Master."

"This Yi Xiaoyao... he delivers one shock after another. It’s terrifying. Thank goodness I never offended him."

...

Hearing the Hall Master’s words, Yi Xiaoyao gave a helpless smile. ’So Lin Jie told the Hall Master about it.’

Then, the Black Robe Hall Master’s voice rang out again. "Yi Xiaoyao, since you re-created these two Sword Techniques, you must have given them your own names, correct?"

"The Silent Swordsmanship and the Spirit-Devouring Swordsmanship," Yi Xiaoyao replied with a nod.

The Black Robe Hall Master immediately burst into laughter and clapped his hands. "Excellent! A true heaven-sent prodigy!"

At this moment, Cultivator Duan could no longer hold back. He seemed to sense that things were taking a bad turn.

"Hall Master, this Yi Xiaoyao previously killed my nephews, Qi Stone and Qi Yue. Just now, he killed my disciple, Shi Tong! Such a violent and rebellious person, no matter how talented, must not be tolerated! He must be dealt with strictly according to the Hall’s rules!"

As Cultivator Duan spoke, he stared at Yi Xiaoyao, his Killing Intent palpable.

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