Absolute Choice 9

by Pear Lands In The Autumn Spring

  What color was he in her eyes?

  This baffling thought flashed in her mind as her heart began to beat slightly faster than normal. The girl finally frowned.

  Why would it be like that?

  Why did she care so much about that pair of black eyes?

  Why did she wish to see her own figure reflected in those black irises?

  "Is that your Sword Truth?"

  The girl asked a question she already knew the answer to before she forcefully repressed the strange feelings and the weird questions in her mind.

  Shi Xiaobai nodded.

  The golden halo around him was naturally his Sword Truth power, 'Excalibur'. This power came from his insights into the sword. It was one of the ways of converting one's mental energy into physical strength. The moment the Sword Truth was activated, his mental energy would begin depleting. Typically, the power of Sword Truth would only be activated at a critical juncture in battle. As for Shi Xiaobai, he had activated the power of his Sword Truth from the very beginning. It showed how serious he was about the situation.

  In fact, from Shi Xiaobai's point of view, Dawn's success in beheading the giant in one strike was not because Dawn's strength overwhelmed the giant. It was not because the fast-as-lightning strike was impossible to defend against. It was only because the giant had overestimated his physical defense. He had stupidly used his neck to withstand the strike that combined speed and strength. Although Dawn was very powerful, she would not have easily defeated Speechless if not for the power of her Sword Soul. Therefore, Shi Xiaobai was not afraid when facing her attack.

  In the eyes of the common people, Dawn's speed was so fast that they would not be able to react to it. However, Shi Xiaobai possessed an extremely acute sense of danger as well as the powerful ability of capturing motion. The moment Dawn moved her feet, Shi Xiaobai had already reacted and had noticed how she was moving. He did not choose to dodge or stand in his spot to defend. Instead, he charged straight ahead to clash with her head on.

  However, Shi Xiaobai did not risk it. He had directly activated his Sword Truth because he could sense a threat. His sense of danger had never fooled him.

  Indeed, even with his Sword Truth activated, the outcome of the clash of strikes had him at a disadvantage. Although it wasn't that great of a disadvantage, the truth was that he had already activated the power of his Sword Truth, while Dawn had only used a sword strike that was augmented by Sword Intent.

  Sword Intent, Sword Truth, Sword Soul, Sword Domain. These were the four unique powers in the realm of sword techniques. It represented the degree to one's comprehension of the sword. Most swordsmen only managed to comprehend Sword Intent, and a tiny portion of geniuses gained insights into Sword Truth. And the number of people who could use a Sword Soul was an extremely small number even across history. Sword Domain was a power that only existed in legends.

  Therefore, differences between the four powers were not steps of a ladder, but the differences between flat plains and mountains.

  To put it bluntly, Sword Intent meant injecting one's will and intent into the sword techniques. Sword Truth was the full focus of one's mental energies so as to convert one's insights in the sword into a tangible power. The two of them were at completely different levels of existences.

  Dawn was only using the power of Sword Intent, while he was using the power of Sword Truth. However, he was still at a disadvantage.

  The power of their sword techniques was not the only factor that affected the power of the move because it was influenced by many other factors, such as the difference in level of the sword move, or the proficiency level of the sword move, or any external power outside of the sword technique system that were mixed in.

  But regardless of the case, the clash had indeed left Shi Xiaobai at an absolute disadvantage.

  "Indeed, you are very strong."

  A smile suffused across Shi Xiaobai's lips. After confirming once again that the girl, who was an imitation of the Hero King, was an opponent not to be underestimated, even stronger fighting spirit burned in Shi Xiaobai's eyes.

  Such an opponent was very rarely encountered. If he missed this battle, he would definitely regret it for life. Therefore, he would not shrink back, regardless of the outcome or the price!

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  Chapter435 Dual-wielding

  "Try taking on This King's strike!"

  This time, it was Shi Xiaobai's turn to attack.

  A distance of eighteen hundred meters could not be considered as close proximity. But to Shi Xiaobai, who had his flash motion technique, Crab Steps, cultivated to the Crest of Perfection realm, it was not that great a distance. However, a flash motion technique was after all a movement technique that focused on movement and dodging. No matter how high the realm, it was still motion at a fast speed, and not instantaneous motion that could cover a great distance in a blink of an eye. Shi Xiaobai suddenly charged out, and his blazing figure and the strong winds that stirred seemed to become the biggest disturbance.

  Dawn immediately woke up from her strange feelings. Her eyes focused once again. Her ice-blue eyes squinted like blades as she slowly lifted her sword in preparation to strike back.

  Without needing to either see her opponent's figure, or hear the sound of the sword slicing through the air, even with her eyes closed and ears covered, she would be able to react in the most perfect manner because she could 'see' the fluctuations in the air. She could 'hear' the breathing of the power. She could 'predict' the trajectories of annihilation.

  She did not turn her head nor did she use her eyes to capture the figure that was rapidly approaching to the point of nearly instantly appearing in front of her. Instead, she suddenly turned around and slashed towards her back!

  "Caught you."

  The figure in front of the girl had been penetrated by sunlight as it dispersed into a chaotic mirage. It was a fake phantom image.

  And the direction in which the girl slashed was at the neck of the youth who suddenly appeared behind her.

  Shi Xiaobai's pupils constricted slightly. His phantom movement technique had been seen through so easily and his movement trajectory had been easily grasped. His intentions appeared to have been seen through by the girl from the very beginning.

  She was indeed an expert.

  The smile on Shi Xiaobai's lips grew in intensity. The girl's advanced judgment of slashing at his neck had completely exceeded his expectations, but his reaction was equally stunning.

  Shi Xiaobai quickly twisted his right arm by half a circle and used an exaggerated angle to change the trajectory of his slash. Just as Lucifer's Sword was about to hit his neck, he successfully deflected it.

  Dawn's eyebrows pricked up slightly. Shi Xiaobai's reaction speed and ability to cope in an impromptu fashion left her somewhat surprised.

  But the following scene caught her off guard. Shi Xiaobai, who had forcefully parried the strike, should have retreated and opened up a distance to protect his neck so as to reduce some of the momentum of that strike, but he did not choose to do so.

  With the sound of a crack, she saw Shi Xiaobai's head suddenly lean back, as though he ignored the risk of cracking his neck to make it level. His body spun a few times like a top to forcefully disperse the power of that strike and at the same time, a swift and fierce beam of light appeared as it hurled straight for her abdomen!

  It was unknown when the black-and-white sword in the youth's right hand had become a pure black sword. At the most dangerous moment, he had parried her Lucifer's Sword, and in his left hand, he was holding to a pure white sword. At the same moment he defended, he had suddenly thrust his white sword at her.

  He actually did not retreat?

  His neck and the ice-cold blade were in close proximity. At that moment when his life was in danger, he actually did not choose to retreat to open up a safe distance but counterattack there and then?

  If he made the sligh
test of mistakes, his head would separate from his body. Was he that unafraid of death?

  Dawn frowned as she could not hurriedly retreat so as to dodge the sword beam that suddenly came thrusting at her abdomen.

  Shi Xiaobai's dual-wielding had exceeded her expectations. It was not as if she had never encountered opponents who used two swords at the same time, but he was the first opponent she had encountered to suddenly go from a single weapon to dual-wielding them while disregarding his life. He would bare his fangs when he needed to defend the most, and strike back suddenly.

  Should he be called crafty or crazy?

  Dawn did not choose to clash head on with him. She held an advantage with her strength, so there was obviously no need to withstand Shi Xiaobai's internecine assault.

  But just after she retreated, Shi Xiaobai would immediately come sticking closely behind.

  The youth held a white sword in his left hand and a black sword in his right. The power of Sword Truth seemed to flow above the blades like stars. Suddenly, two completely different Sword Intents were produced from the two swords. On the white sword, there was burning Sword Intent, and on the black sword, there was watery Sword Intent that caused ripples.

  Dawn's eyes flashed a look of appreciation. This was the most unique dual-wielding she had ever seen. Shi Xiaobai's dual-wielding was not just simply brandishing two swords; instead, he demonstrated the true charm of wielding two swords.

  Dual-wielding was not as simple as wielding two swords in hand and using different sword attacks. Only by injecting two different Sword Intents into the two swords like Shi Xiaobai, could the true power of the dual-wielding be expressed. However, it was not easy to do so. Grasping two Sword Intents was just the foundation, but to use the two Sword Intents together with one mind simultaneously was an extremely difficult task.

  And what Shi Xiaobai was currently doing was even more difficult. That was because both his swords were injected with different Sword Intents. One of them was blazing fire and the other was soft water. These were two completely different and contradictory Sword Intents. Dual-tasking things might not be difficult, but to produce two completely opposite Sword Intents at the same time, without even considering the ability needed to dual-task, it still needed clear and resolute willpower.

  "You are indeed very excellent, but the Sword Intent grade of your dual-wielding is still rather unpolished. If it's two different Sword Truths, it might be..."

  With those thoughts in mind, Dawn grasped the perfect opportunity to use a nimble swerve to dodge Shi Xiaobai's two strikes that were in close proximity. She slashed at Shi Xiaobai's waist from the side.

  Her opponents choice of a melee battle suited her wishes. Her movement technique, speed and strength were extremely outstanding. Her combat skills were also something no peer could match.

  However, her present opponent was Shi Xiaobai. Shi Xiaobai was equally well-versed in movement techniques. His speed and strength had been crazily enhanced through the Power of Taotie after he consumed the three holy items. His keen senses and battle instincts far exceeded ordinary people.

  Shi Xiaobai reacted extremely fast as he changed the trajectory at which he slashed out. Twisting his right arm, he forcefully pushed the black sword in his right hand to parry Lucifer's Sword that was about to hit his abdomen. At the same time, the white sword in his left hand was hurled straight at the girl. The watery Sword Intent was ice-cold as it formed a frost-ice sword beam which shot at the girl's chest like an icicle.

  Shi Xiaobai had once again chosen to counterattack when he needed to defend the most. He ingeniously used his dual-wielding to simultaneously attack and defend.

  However, it was extremely risky by doing so because the girl's sword was only a sword's length away from his waist. If the strength of the right sword was crushed, his waist would be severed into two by his own sword.

  Of course, if the girl had ignored the thrusting of the white sword from his left hand, and forcefully slashed at his waist, there was a extremely high chance of being severely injured. That was because while attacking, one's defense was at its weakest.

  Therefore, there were two choices placed before Dawn.

  First, to ignore the risk of injury to slash at Shi Xiaobai's waist. In that case, Shi Xiaobai might very well die and she might be seriously injured. It would result in an internecine outcome.

  Second, it was to abandon her attack and take the initiative to retreat. It would be equivalent to treating it as though that round did not happen.

  This was a choice that had to be made in an instant.

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  Chapter436 It's too realistic

  "Madman!"

  Dawn cursed secretly before abandoning her attack once again as she retreated to open up a distance.

  She obviously would not risk being injured in order to kill Shi Xiaobai. After all, she believed that she was able to easily achieve victory. However, it was another exchange that wasted time, so she still felt vexed.

  Previously, she was pondering if Shi Xiaobai's actions were crafty or crazy, and at that moment in time, she was able to come to a conclusion that the black-haired youth in front of her was a madman who did not care for his life.

  If she steeled her heart and ignored the danger of being injured to claim his life, he would be pushed to the precipice of extreme danger. However, he did so without any hesitation, not once or twice, but again and again.

  "Can he tell that I’m hesitating?"

  Dawn could not help but have such a thought.

  She could not deny her feelings of trying to see the reflection of herself in that pair of black eyes from a moment ago. But instead of terming it being attracted by the pair of black eyes, it was better to say that she had been attracted by the person, Shi Xiaobai.

  It was not romance from a maiden's heart or because of any good feelings for him. To her, this was something impossible.

  It was just an admiration of his intelligence. She wanted to converse with him more, so there was a dilemma in killing him.

  She appreciated Shi Xiaobai and that was all there was to it. But to a person who had sealed off any superfluous emotions like her, the unfamiliar emotion of appreciation was not simple. It made her want to resist and also could not bear but to cherish it.

  Therefore, she felt hesitant.

  Could he have seen through me and he knows that I'm hesitating to kill him, so he's employing such a strategy of undaunted fighting?

  As Dawn had such thoughts, she saw Shi Xiaobai come close to her once again.

  She dodged once again.

  As for Shi Xiaobai, he attacked again without any care for his life. As he defended and attacked simultaneously, showcasing the power of dual-wielding and the crazy disregard for his own life perfectly.

  "Damn it!"

  Dawn began having fretful emotions because she once again chose to retreat. Shi Xiaobai's attacks that showed complete disregard for his own life left her helpless. It definitely had something to do with the hesitation of accepting an internecine outcome, but mostly it was because Shi Xiaobai's strength was not to be underestimated. Be it speed or strength, the youth was slightly better than her. She had already used the augmentation of the God's Blessings, yet she was still at a disadvantage when it came to speed and strength.

  "Damn it, if my speed can be faster and my strength stronger, this form of scoundrelly fighting methods would be useless against me, but my speed and strength is indeed being overwhelmed by his. If not for his combat skills still somewhat lacking and his sword cultivation being far inferior to mine, I'll probably be in a more pathetic state."

  "But, he clearly doesn't have any hint of 'God's Blessing' in his aura, so why is he able to overwhelm me in terms of speed and strength?"

  "Is his speed and strength purely stemming from the support of his physical strength?"

  "No, how can being at the Psionic Mortal Realm give him such terrif
ying physical strength? He is indeed...not human?"

  "He is not a human but the Infernal King. So, I'm the one that's real, right?"

  "Ah? What are you thinking? You are of course real. How can you be left running in circles because of a series of lies from that cheat to the point of doubting your existence? Keep your mind focused. No matter how much you hate being reminded of those ice-cold memories, they are real. You are just trying to avoid it."

  "I want to converse with him once more. I want to seriously talk to him once more...Is that the reason for my dilemma? Quickly kill him. He is only a fake existence made up by a series of binary numbers. He is just an empty shell that is injected with a fixed algorithm. Kill him as fast as you can and complete your mission. That has always been how you have worked in the past."

  "What are you hesitating for? Even if you are overwhelmed in speed and strength, or even if he has an extraordinary physique, so what if he is using such scoundrelly ways of fighting? Wouldn't it be easy for you if you wanted to kill him? You are the best at massacres. If you do not have a killing heart, you are just a weak swordswoman. But as long as you have a bit of killing intent, you will become the strongest assassin."

  "What are you hesitating for? Quickly!"

  "Kill him!"

  "Kill him!!"

  "Kill him!!!"

  Killing intent surged as though a snow storm had suddenly permeated every inch between the heavens and earth. It was pale and ice-cold.

  "Kacha!"

  In the cold snow and wind, a piece of ice suddenly shattered as ice fragments fell and revealed a bit of redness. Inside the ice, there was a tender and beautiful flower that was blooming.

  "Wait...wait."

  "Let me consider it again."

  "What if he is truly the one that is real? No, what if he is also real?"

  "The ice-cold program cannot possess such intelligence! That is not pure calculations, nor is it a systematic scam. At least...at least when conversing with him, I find it very realistic."