Chapter 48 - The Shackles of Heaven and Earth
The Acquired-stage Sword Will could achieve resonance with all swords within a mile. The Innate-stage Sword Will could achieve resonance with all swords within ten miles.
When everyone’s swords returned to their sheaths, still resonating, everyone came to realize that they had just witnessed the Innate-stage Sword Will.
“Heavens, I’m about to go crazy. Did Xu Xiaoshou attain the Innate-stage Sword Will?”
“How is that possible? He’s making me die with envy!”
“How does this guy keep surprising us like this?”
The spectators were so beside themselves with excitement that some even jumped onto their seats, but they were quickly slapped by the person sitting behind them.
“Shit, am I dreaming?” The person who’d just smacked another spectator slapped himself on the cheek next before gasping aloud in pain.
“A swordsman with an Innate-stage Sword Will appears once every hundred years. Su Qianqian got her Innate-stage Sword Will a year ago, and now Xu Xiaoshou’s got his too?”
“Is that for real? What is the world coming to…”
“It’s gone mad! It’s gone absolutely mad!”
In the arena, the fight had unexpectedly been interrupted by the emergence of Xu Xiaoshou’s Innate-stage Sword Will. Nevertheless, it still had to go on.
Mo Mo didn’t interrupt Xu Xiaoshou as he advanced in level. Of course, if she had, Xiao Qixiu wouldn’t have let her.
She was the champion fighter in the Outer Yard, whereas Xu Xiaoshou was an Innate-stage swordsman. It was obvious who was more highly regarded out of the two.
Even after the Sword Will emanating from Xu Xiaoshou faded away, the two fighters still didn’t move.
Mo Mo was a little puzzled. She hadn’t moved, because she wanted to wait for Xu Xiaoshou to finish leveling up. But Xu Xiaoshou was done leveling up and still hadn’t made a move. What was he up to?
“Is he grinning to himself?” Mo Mo stared. Xu Xiaoshou’s hand was still on the hilt of his sword, and a dazed look had settled on his face. He looked like an absolute idiot.
Xu Xiaoshou was going mad with glee.
He hadn’t expected the Sword Will’s ascent into the heavens to pierce through the barrier. The torrent of points he’d received was unbelievable!
“Suspected, Passive Points +674.”
“Suspected, Passive Points +1876.”
“Impressed, Passive Points +1940.”
“Impressed, Passive Points +1120.”
“… …”
The slew of Passive Points was a profound narration of the emotional rollercoaster the spectators had experienced as they journeyed from doubt to shock and finally, to inevitable respect.
That single breakthrough had raked in nearly ten thousand Passive Points!
He had traded a thousand Passive Points for ten thousand Passives Points and vast amounts of knowledge on swordsmanship. He had but three words for the trade: what a bargain!
Notifications continued to appear as Xu Xiaoshou lost himself in happy thoughts, although the figures were getting lower…
Hmm?
Why had everyone begun to view him with suspicion…
He broke out of his reverie, turned around, and saw everyone staring at him as they would an idiot.
“Are you done?” asked Mo Mo.
Xu Xiaoshou was momentarily rendered speechless. Had they…been waiting for him to level up and return to the present?
Good god. He had just embarrassed himself!
Fortunately, Mo Mo was a decent person and hadn’t sneaked up on him and attacked him.
Well, his Information Bar would have notified him of her sneak attack anyway…
Xu Xiaoshou exhaled. “I’m done. Let’s continue the fight!”
A glint of a blade flashed across Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes just as Mo Mo was about to make her move.
“Fleeting White Cloud Four: Blade-Draw Technique!”
In the past, he would’ve had to glimpse an inch of his blade before he could unsheath his sword.
But now that he had advanced to the Innate Stage, his control over his Sword Will had drastically improved. The speed at which Xu Xiaoshou unsheathed his sword was quicker than the naked eye could see.
Dust swept through the air, and when the spectators finally caught a glimpse of the glowing blade, it had already appeared right in front of Mo Mo.
Clank!
Xu Xiaoshou’s eyelid twitched. It was that sound again.
That blade was his Innate-stage Sword Will distilled and condensed, yet somehow Mo Mo had caught it barehanded!
Regardless, even though she’d caught the blade with both hands, he was consoled by the sight of her struggling and being driven back by the force of it.
But as she slowed down the blade’s advance, she slowly but surely drained the snow-white sword until it lost its luminance.
“That Sealing Technique’s got to be some kind of cheat!” Xu Xiaoshou gasped in shock.
He wasn’t going to give Mo Mo the chance to counterattack, though.
Blade-Draw Technique!
With a flip of his palm, and amidst numerous gasps from the spectators, he sent another white glowing blade slashing at Mo Mo.
The latter’s hands were busy. How was she going to block his second blade?
Xu Xiaoshou could see victory within his reach. Just to be safe though, he slotted Hiding Pain into its sheath once more.
“Dear lord, is Xu Xiaoshou mad? Why isn’t he stopping?”
Xu Xiaoshou didn’t care what the spectators thought. Following the second blade, he got ready to unleash the third.
“Clink!”
A crystalline sound resounded in the air. The sword was out, but he didn’t see a glowing blade at all.
Xu Xiaoshou’s expression darkened. He checked his energy reserve and realized that he’d been sucked dry of spiritual strength.
“D*mnit!” He raised his fists and charged forward.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the arena.
Xu Xiaoshou’s first blade had driven Mo Mo to the edge of the arena. Seeing that the second blade was about ready to lop her head off the next moment, she suddenly opened her mouth and took a deep breath.
“Hnn!”
She swallowed the second blade!
“Clank!”
Then, with a smack, she shattered the first blade as well!
Everyone got up to their feet in utter disbelief. Xu Xiaoshou jumped, shocked, and the young man, who’d been charging forward with his fists raised, instantly turned tail and ran.
“What the hell!” he thought.
“She’s a monster!
“She doesn’t even possess an Innate Level Physique, yet she swallowed my Sword Will!
“How did she manage to avoid being cleaved in half from the inside?”
Mo Mo appeared to be in excruciating pain. Forcibly sealing her opponents’ attacks must be draining for her too.
Xu Xiaoshou froze momentarily in the middle of his retreat, as he’d clearly realized this.
He charged at Mo Mo again.
The crowd was perplexed.
“There must be a flurry of thoughts in Xu Xiaoshou’s head right now. So, is he going to make a charge or not?”
“Hahahaha! Well, I completely understand how he feels…”
“If it were me and I’d just seen my opponent swallow my Innate-stage Sword Will, I’m quite sure I would jump right out of the arena from sheer fright.”
Xu Xiaoshou had raised his fists and turned around. But it was too late.
Mo Mo had recovered from her pangs of agony. She decided not to think about the blade that she had just swallowed and instead began to swiftly form a series of hand seals.
Xu Xiaoshou’s eyelids twitched violently at the sight. The last time something like that had happened, he had ended up being riddled with holes by Zhao Qingteng’s Formless Great Cold.
Now…
Xu Xiaoshou surged forward like a bolt of lightning and threw his fist forward. They were but an inch apart!
Mo Mo stared at the face that was barely an inch away from hers before abruptly pulling her face away, putting another inch between the two. She thrust her palms together.
“World Sealing Chains!”
He had been that close. He had been one step away from determining who died and who lived. Xu Xiaoshou knew that he had missed his chance.
He was right…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Eruptions thundered in the air as both corners of the skies and the earth split apart. Out of the enormous, gaping black holes black chains as wide as a human head shot out and wrapped around and shackled Xu Xiaoshou’s four limbs.
Bam!
With a forceful yank that threatened to rip Xu Xiaoshou’s limbs apart, the chains went taut.
Xu Xiaoshou thought he was going to be torn apart right there and then. Without his Innate Level Physique, he would become four separate body parts instead of a whole human being!
Blood would be flowing unceasingly from his broken and mutilated body…
Xu Xiaoshou panicked. He looked around and found himself bound in mid-air by heavy chains that stretched from two sides of the skies as well as the ground. Spreadeagled, he had become a sitting duck.
What manner of sorcery was this?
Xu Xiao was on the verge of tears. Were Innate-stage spiritual techniques supposed to be this powerful?
This was terrifying!
Xiao Qixiu frowned. He hadn’t come across such a spiritual technique before, but he was certain that it didn’t belong to the Spiritual Library Division.
Mo Mo must have chanced upon it under fortuitous circumstances.
Seated amongst the spectators, Zhang Xinxiong appeared solemn. The World Sealing Chains had honestly caught him by surprise. “This is at least a Master Stage spiritual technique…”
“Who exactly is this Mo Mo? Where did she come from?”
Liu Zhen was flabbergasted. The Master Stage?
A Master Stage spiritual technique was a rare beast hardly seen, even in the Inner Yard!
Bound by chains and hanging in mid-air, Xu Xiaoshou struggled to get free. He unleashed the Glow of Sharpness from every part of his body, yet failed to break a single link in the chains.
“I’m finished…”
“This doesn’t make sense at all. Why can’t I break this with my Innate-stage Glow of Sharpness?”
Xu Xiaoshou felt incredibly cold as he hung in mid-air. It was so, so cold…
Mo Mo had begun to form her hand seals…
“No, don’t!” cried Xu Xiaoshou inwardly.
He was suddenly overcome by the urge to pee…
Somebody, save him!
