Chapter 63: It Seems Like I’m Stronger Than You
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Zhou Shu stared fixedly at the man in the black robe as his back turned cold.
The way this black-robed man appeared exceeded Zhou Shu’s understanding. Almost immediately, he thought of the person who got away at the execution ground!
Zhou Shu was almost certain that this black-robed man was the man who got away!
!!
According to Mi Ziwen, the cultivation of this man should be around the fourth rank!
Zhou Shu wasn’t sure what rank he himself was at, but it definitely wasn’t the fourth rank.
A person at the fourth rank was about to become a high-ranked martial artist. They had all sorts of unfathomable mystical abilities, and their strength was immeasurable.
“Who are you? Are you from Great Wei?” Zhou Shu pulled out the Spring Embroidered Saber and held it in his hand. The other party had already seen his cultivation, so there was no need for him to hide it anymore.
Even though he could feel the pressure emanating from his opponent, he didn’t panic too much.
So what if he’s at the fourth rank?
I, Zhou Shu, am not an easy target to be trampled upon!
If they really fought, it would be hard to tell who would die and who would live!
“Haha, if you want to know who I am, go ask the King of h.e.l.l when you’re there!” The black-robed man laughed coldly.
His body swayed, and a cold light shot out from beneath his black robe, stabbing toward Zhou Shu’s heart.
Zhou Shu’s pupils constricted slightly. He snorted coldly, took a step forward, and raised the Spring Embroidered Saber diagonally.
Facing the attack, he didn’t dodge but took the initiative to face it.
The black-robed man snorted coldly. He’s overestimating his abilities. How dare he go head-on against me!
Just as their weapons were about to collide, Zhou Shu suddenly shook his wrist.
The Spring Embroidered Saber transformed into a profound ray of light, bypa.s.sed the opponent’s weapon, and directly slashed at the opponent’s chest.
If the black-robed man continued to attack Zhou Shu, he might be able to kill him, but he wouldn’t be able to avoid Zhou Shu’s attack.
Dying together was not the black-robed man’s goal.
He didn’t want to suffer even a little injury to kill a measly workshop superintendent!
The black-robed man took a step forward, and his body flew high into the air. The seemingly extraordinary longsword in his hand descended from above, coming toward Zhou Shu’s head.
Zhou Shu exerted strength under his feet. The immense force brought by the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique’s eighth level reached the ground and caused spiderweb-like cracks to appear on the hard ground.
As for Zhou Shu, he had already soared into the sky. The Spring Embroidered Saber in his hand transformed into a sky full of saber shadows. The saber shadows were like dragons flying through the skies, creating countless images.
A hint of surprise flashed in the black-robed man’s eyes. Seeing Zhou Shu’s talent, he became even more determined to kill him!
Bang Bang Bang!
A few m.u.f.fled sounds resounded. In the blink of an eye, the two of them exchanged countless moves. The sounds of their qi energy colliding boomed continuously. The ground was already a mess.
The black-robed man had chosen the time and location of his attack very carefully. This place was far from the Forging Division’s workshops, and it was quite some way from the capital. Not many people would pa.s.s by normally.
Now that it was getting late, there was no one on the road.
No matter how big the commotion was, it wouldn’t attract anyone’s attention.
Zhou Shu focused and pushed the thought of escaping out of his mind.
He was still a distance away from the capital, and he definitely couldn’t outrun the other party. If he ran away rashly, he would only expose his back to the enemy. At that time, he would die even faster.
It was better to take a risk!
Zhou Shu didn’t expect that the other party would come to a.s.sa.s.sinate him at this time.
Meng Bai and Mi Ziwen’s army had not set off yet!
Mi Ziwen had previously warned Zhou Shu. But at the time, Zhou Shu felt that with so many people on the a.s.sa.s.sination list, the other party might not target him. Even if he did target him, he wouldn’t leave the Forging Division’s workshops. Unless the other party was courting death, he would definitely not go to the Forging Division’s workshops to a.s.sa.s.sinate someone.
One had to know that the Forging Division’s workshops were weapon factories, and defenses around the workshops were extraordinary.
Who would have thought that the a.s.sa.s.sin would actually target him and launch an a.s.sa.s.sination so quickly!
I can only blame myself for being unlucky and not checking the almanac before going out, Zhou Shu thought.
He didn’t relax his grip in the slightest as he executed the Heavenly Saber Art to the fullest.
Even though his opponent’s cultivation was high, the Heavenly Saber Art was a saber technique that had been honed from countless combat experiences. Its might was extraordinary.
In addition to Zhou Shu’s divine strength, the black-robed man was unable to gain the upper hand for a while.
The black-robed man’s eyes flickered with a cold light. He was getting impatient.
Although very few people pa.s.sed by here, it was not too far from the capital after all. If he alarmed the experts in the capital, it would be troublesome if he wanted to escape.
“Brat, to be able to last so long under my hands, you are indeed impressive,” the black-robed man said coldly. “But now, you can die!”
The black-robed man gave a low shout. His body suddenly lit up, and the long sword in his hand suddenly sped up.
Before Zhou Shu could react, the sword had already stabbed into his body.
Ding!
With the sound of metal colliding, the tip of the sword penetrated an inch into his flesh. But it was as though it had hit an iron plate and was unable to penetrate farther into his body.
The black-robed man’s expression changed slightly as dazzling white light filled his eyes.
His feet suddenly stomped on the ground, and his figure retreated explosively.
He only stopped after retreating several meters away. He stared at Zhou Shu in disbelief.
Cough cough—Zhou Shu coughed up a mouthful of blood and slowly straightened his body from his chopping stance.
“You’re strong. You’re the strongest opponent I’ve ever met in my life,” Zhou Shu said. “But it seems like I’m stronger than you.”
“You…” Anger flashed in the black-robed man’s eyes. The next moment, he spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground.
At this moment, a thin red line appeared between his eyebrows all the way to his lower abdomen.
The black-robed man’s eyes were wide open, and his aura gradually disappeared. Even in death, he couldn’t understand how he lost.
Puu—Seeing the black-robed man die, Zhou Shu spat out another mouthful of blood.
Although the sword had only penetrated an inch into his flesh, the sharp sword qi had already penetrated his body, destroying his internal organs.
If not for the fact that his Golden Bell Shield technique had already broken through to the sixth level, just the sword qi would be enough to send him on his way.
The black-robed man had lost because he hadn’t expected Zhou Shu to have cultivated the Golden Bell Shield Techniques, making his defense abnormal.
Otherwise, he would have strengthened his attack some more. If this had happened, Zhou Shu’s Golden Bell Shield Technique might not have been able to withstand it.
The cultivation of this escapee is below the fourth rank. I feel that he’s inferior to Big Brother Mi.
Looking at the black-robed man’s corpse, Zhou Shu felt lucky. If the black-robed man’s cultivation had been a bit higher, he feared that he would have died here.
This world was too scary. He was already cautious enough, but he had almost failed. He had to keep a low profile in the future.
His cultivation should only be at the fifth or sixth rank. Big Brother Mi hasn’t truly fought with him, so he made a mistake in his judgment. If he was really at the fourth rank, there would be no way I could have resisted his attacks.
From the looks of it, it will be difficult for me to deal with even a fifth or sixth rank martial artist.
The person Zhou Shu had interacted with the most before was the ninth-rank Sun Gongping.
Yin Wuyou and Haitang might be slightly stronger than Sun Gongping, but Haitang was at about the seventh or eighth rank. He hadn’t seen Yin Wuyou fight before, so it was hard to judge.
In comparison, Zhou Shu felt that his overall strength should be around the sixth rank.
If he encountered a sixth-rank expert, he should be able to win. Even against a fifth-rank expert, he might still be able to put up a fight.
Zhou Shu’s cultivation was not on the same path as the martial artists of this world, so it was not easy to judge his cultivation level.
Currently, my strength should be equivalent to the sixth rank.
This cultivation level is still a bit too low. I wonder if this expedition will allow me to break through to the thirteenth level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique and the twelfth level of the Golden Bell Shield Technique.
The thirteenth level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique and the twelfth level of the Golden Bell Shield Technique were the highest levels of the two techniques.
Zhou Shu reckoned that in this case, even if he couldn’t advance to the first rank, he should be able to advance to third-rank Grandmaster.
There was also the Heavenly Saber Art. The Heavenly Saber Art had no upper limit, and his saber intent could continue to improve. If the Hundred Refinements Ring Pommel Saber killed enough enemies, Zhou Shu felt that he could become the number one saber wielder in the world in the future.
While he was thinking, a message flashed in front of his eyes.
[The Spring Embroidered Saber you forged effectively completed a kill. You are rewarded with the cultivation technique: Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form!]
[Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form. Visualizing the true form of the Five Mountains will strengthen one’s spirit. One will be unaffected even when mountains collapse in front of them. After a long time, the spirit will toughen, making it difficult for anything to harm it. It will also allow one to hide one’s aura and be as immovable as a mountain.]
Countless pieces of information flashed through Zhou Shu’s mind. Five towering mountains appeared in his consciousness before crashing down.
In an instant, he felt as if the sky and earth had been turned upside down, and his spirit was shaken endlessly. After a moment, a refreshing feeling spread throughout his entire body.
His mind was clear. It was as if the entire world had become clearer. Zhou Shu even had the illusion that his spirit had become corporeal.
With a thought, Zhou Shu completely restrained his aura. It was as if he had turned into a boulder, not revealing any martial artist’s aura.
This Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form was a type of mysterious refinement technique. Not only could it strengthen one’s spirit, allowing a martial artist to derive divine sense, but it could also restrain one’s aura and allow one to be as immovable as a mountain. It had endless uses!
Zhou Shu’s eyes lit up. This Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form is very powerful!
It’s even stronger than the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique and Golden Bell Shield Technique combined!
If he could master the Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form, as long as he looked at an enemy, he would be able to make them feel as though mountains were crushing them, killing them with a single glance.
Furthermore, the function of restraining his aura was also very important to him. Although there weren’t many people who could see through his cultivation before, this would be even safer, right? Who knew if the Legendary Armament Canon would reward him with other cultivation techniques that could easily leak his aura?
Is it because the person I killed this time is stronger, so the cultivation technique rewarded by the Legendary Armament Canon is also very strong? Zhou Shu wondered.
The Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique and Golden Bell Shield Technique were considered martial arts. As for the Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form, it involved immortal cultivation and was on a completely different level.
Although his Visualization of the Five Mountains’ True Form had just reached basic mastery and was not that powerful, its upper limit was much higher than the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique and Golden Bell Shield Technique.
Zhou Shu looked at the black-robed man’s corpse on the ground and praised him for being a good person for giving him benefits.
On the execution ground that day… Zhou Shu suddenly thought of something he had almost forgotten.