Chapter 213 - Si Xingkong
“The weather is so bad, just snowing whenever it feels like it. Doesn’t it know that I’ve hated cold weather ever since I was a child?” Chang Qiqi moaned while holding the fighting sword. He was walking in the frost and snow, the wisp of breath he exhaled turned into a long pillar of white smoke.
After getting rid of the man in black, he quickly followed the track that Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen had left behind.
After 500 kilometers he still couldn’t see any sign of them.
“Junior fellow apprentice Chang, if you’re cold, would you like a sip of the ‘Burning Wine’?” A voice floated into Chang Qiqi’s ears.
“Who is that?”
“Clash!” Chang Qiqi was shocked and immediately took out his fighting sword. His tiny eyes shaped like green peas looked around, trying to discover where the voice had come from.
“Look to the east. A hundred meters away there is a 2,000 meter high mountain. I’m standing on the hillside of that mountain.” The sound continued.
Chang Qiqi lifted his head and looked to the east. Although the frost and snow impaired his vision, he could still see the mountain a hundred meters away.
“Sound drifting a hundred meters through the air, perhaps this is...”
Chang Qiqi’s eyes widened and he displayed his Martial Arts technique. He transformed into a Shadow and rushed towards the mountain where the sound came from as fast as he could.
Chang Qiqi’s realm of cultivation allowed him to go anywhere without leaving a trace.
Chang Qiqi arrived at the mountain in less then two hours. He stood in the middle of the snow and raised his head. He saw a man in his twenties, with disheveled hair and a wine gourd in his hand. He was laying on the branch of a massive tree, raising his head drinking.
The man was tall and handsome, with dark eyebrows and a straight nose. He looked elegant and unconventional.
When Chang Qiqi saw the man in the tree, he looked cheerful and saluted him with his hand slightly lifted, “Greetings, senior brother!”
The man who was laying on the tree branch was the No.1 master of the School of the Martial Market, Si Xingkong.
Si Xingkong had a smile on his face. He threw the wine gourd down towards Chang Qiqi and said, “I will be generous and offer you a drink. However, the Burning Wine is extremely expensive, so you are only allowed to take a sip.”
Chang Qiqi picked the wine gourd up off the ground and felt excited. The wine a senior brother drank would not be just any ordinary wine.
Chang Qiqi didn’t want to waste any of the wine so he swallowed hard after opening the wine gourd.
He regretted that instantly after taking a sip.
The Burning Wine was like a fire running through his body. He felt as though his blood was boiling.
“Senior brother... what are you drinking?”
Sweat poured out from his entire body. Whenever he spoke it felt like fire was coming out of his mouth.
Although it was a snowy day, the burning he felt caused him to take off all his clothes, the only thing he left on were his red underpants.
“Haha! That Burning Wine is made up of 39 Spiritual Doses with strong nature. Its efficacy and nature are even stronger than the Half-Saint’s Essence, and thus it is extremely expensive. I only take three sips every day but you drank a whole mouthful. No wonder you feel as if you’re on fire.” Si Xingkong climbed down from the branch, stretched and then yawned. Seeing Chang Qiqi’s reaction he felt guilty, but at the same time he found it amusing.
His guilt was not for how Chang Qiqi’s body reacted to the wine, but more how expensive the wine was.
Yet, the red underpants that Chang Qiqi was wearing were quite funny.
“Let me help you!”
Si Xingkong thrust towards the ground and walked in the air. It looked like he was moving slow and yet, he stood in front of Chang Qiqi after only a second.
“Waaa!”
He pointed at Chang Qiqi’s glabella and the Genuine Qi in his body poured out and entered Chang Qiqi’s Qi sea.
At that moment the efficacy of the Burning Wine was fully refined and transformed into Chang Qiqi’s cultivation.
Chang Qiqi’s cultivation had broken through from the Medium State to the Final State of the Earth Realm instantly. His martial cultivation had been significantly elevated.
The efficacy had been refined with the help of Si Xingkong but not the effect of wine. Chang Qiqi looked drunk and he obviously didn’t know that he was still only wearing underpants, not to mention that he had broken through to the Final State.
Although the efficacy of the Burning Wine was incredible, it alone wasn’t enough to facilitate Chang Qiqi in breaking through to a higher realm. Before Chang Qiqi drank the wine he had reached the peak of the Medium State of the Earth Realm. With both the efficacy of the Burning Wine and the help of Si Xingkong, he had easily broken through to the next realm.
Chang Qiqi’s tongue was numb. He was still drunk and said, “Senior brother, haven’t you brought the Half-saint’s Blood Book to fight with the Evil Warriors of the Tarantula Chamber of Commerce?”
Si Xingkong shook his head and sighed with his hair fluttering, “Forget about it. Hua Minggong has reached the Heaven Realm as well as obtained the Red Spider Vessel. It will not be easy to defeat him. But I don’t need to worry about it now, the two myths of martial arts of the Qianshui Commandery are on their way to kill him.”
Chang Qiqi asked, “Then why are you here, senior brother?”
Si Xingkong tapped his forehead, yelled and said, “Oh, right! I’ve been drinking and almost forget why I’m here. Let’s go. We’re going to meet the No.1 genius of the 36 commanderies in the Omen Ridge.”
“Zhang Tiangui?” Chang Qiqi was half asleep from the alcohol.
“Yes, that’s him.”
Si Xingkong took the wine gourd out of Chang Qiqi’s hand. He carried it on his back and sniffed in the air. There was a faint smile on his face and he said, “I can already smell his breath.”
Si Xingkong led the way. It seemed as though he was walking casually and yet Chang Qiqi almost fell behind even if he ran as fast as he could.
Chang Qiqi was panting heavily and said, “Senior brother, why are we going to meet Zhang Tiangui?”
Si Xingkong laughed and answered, “Someone asked me to do him a favor and block Zhang Tiangui tonight no matter what.”
“Block him from what?” Chang Qiqi asked.
“I don’t know.” Si Xingkong responded.
“Then who asked you to block him?”
“Guess!”
“Oh, I can’t.”
“If you can’t, then thats fine.” Si Xingkong laughed and said, “In fact, I’ve been longing to fight with him. He’s been called the No.1 genius while I’m regarded as the No.1 master of the young generation of the 36 commanderies in the Omen Ridge. I’ve always wondered who is stronger of us!”
“I’m sure senior brother, that you are stronger than him!” Chang Qiqi said proudly.
“I don’t know, there’s always someone better than you in the world.”
Si Xingkong glanced at Chang Qiqi and shook his head, “Why are you so slow? Let me help you!”
He grabbed Chang Qiqi’s shoulders. “Clash!”, they dashed out like a ghost shadow flashing in the snow. Chang Qiqi’s scream was still floating in the air.
...
Zhang Tiangui was sitting on a strange-looking carriage, flying three-feet above the ground at high speed.
The carriage was an eighth-level Genuine Martial Arms called “Flying shaft”. It was a treasure found by Zhang Tiangui inside the Elementary Ruin. Once he embedded the Spiritual Crystal under the flying shaft, it was able to fly after the array was activated.
“According to the sign left by Shen Feng, I should be catching up to Commandery Princess Yanchen and the mysterious teenager soon.” Luo Cheng who was sitting outside the flying shaft steering sneered, “If Chang Qiqi hadn’t blocked my way, I would have taken both of them down and we would have had no need to bother a senior brother.”
Zhang Tiangui sat cross-legged in the flying shaft and asked, “Is the mysterious teenager Zhang Ruochen?”
Luo Cheng shook his head gently and replied, “I don’t know his identity, senior brother. He was wearing a mask and claimed that he was the Secret Disciple of the silver gowned Elder Hall Master in the School of the Martial Market.”
“The Secret Disciple of the silver gowned Elder Hall Master?” Zhang Tiangui’s eyes widened suddenly and displayed two dazzling lights in his pupils. He said, “I guess I’ll have to figure out his real identity in person.”
When the flying shaft reached the riverside, it suddenly stopped.
“What happened?” Zhang Tiangui sounded annoyed.
Luo Cheng replied with a serious voice, “Someone is stopping the flying shaft from going forward.”
“Who dares to block my carriage?” Zhang Tiangui said with a low voice.
“He...he’s Si Xingkong, the No.1 master of the Ten Prodigies of the Omen Ridge.” Luo Cheng responded.
“Si Xingkong.”
Zhang Tiangui grimaced, opened the curtain of the carriage and looked forward. He could see two men standing in front of the flying shaft. One was carrying a wine gourd while the other was only wearing red underpants.
The handsome man who was holding the wine gourd gazed at the flying shaft, laughed and said, “Brother Zhang, where are you rushing to in such freezing weather?”
It was difficult for Zhang Tiangui to tell why Si Xingkong was here. He put on a ferret cloak and walked down from the carriage. He saluted towards Si Xingkong and asked, “Brother Si, What brings you here?”
“Well, I’ve been waiting here for a while.” Si Xingkong said open-heartedly, “I’ve heard that Brother Zhang is the disciple of the Head of Yuntai Suzerain a long time ago and that you’ve practiced the Six Mysterious Martial Arts to the fifth level. I wanted to show my admiration and hope to learn from you by fighting.”
Having heard this, Zhang Tiangui narrowed his eyes and said, “I’m afraid I can’t fulfill your wish. I’m pretty tired today. But if brother Si really wants to fight, how about in the Yunwu City two weeks from now?”
Zhang Tiangui was extremely confident in his ability. After elevating his cultivation he couldn’t wait to defeat Si Xingkong. He could be called the genuine No.1 genius of the 36 commanderies in the Omen Ridge. All he had to do was defeat Si Xingkong.
But not tonight. He was in a hurry to take care of Huang Yanchen and the mysterious teenager, who’s true identity was perhaps Zhang Ruochen. He had no time to waste fighting Si Xingkong.
The kick of the Burning Wine hadn’t yet worn off in Chang Qiqi’s body as he exclaimed, “Zhang Tiangui, my senior brother is the top genius of the Ten Prodigies of the Omen Ridge. He specifically waited for you in the snow just to fight you. It is embarrassing to waive us off so quickly!”
Si Xingkong added, “Zhang Tiangui, leaves without fighting... That’s not your style at all!”
Zhang Tiangui looked towards Si Xingkong, thought about the matter a little and said, “Fine. If brother Si insists, I’m happy to fight you. However, I have some other important matters to attend to so I’m afraid this can only be a quick battle. How about this, we decide the victory in 10 moves. What do you think?”
Si Xingkong squinted, stretched out one finger and shook gently, “10 moves? No, I think we can know who’s the winner in seven moves.”
Zhang Tiangui responded, “Brother Si is indeed full of confidence. Perhaps brother Si thinks the Six Mysterious Martial Arts I practiced only obtains six types of techniques and that I’ll be defeated in the seventh move?”
“Haha! No doubt the Six Mysterious Martial Arts is a broad and profound technique that involves six types of Qi in one body. It allows you to display various types of martial technique.” “Yet I would say, no matter how advanced your mastery with the martial technique is there are only six types of mysteries and their nature isn’t going to differ much. If I can withstand your six types of mysteries, then you will have nothing left to play and I will be victorious in the seventh move.”