Chapter 733: Seven hundred thirty-three, a one-hit kill!
"Rest assured, Special Envoy, Lord Shaoting’s Heavenly Hidden Beast shall not be defeated!"
It seemed as if Xu Huang had sensed the gaze of Xia Yong beside him and believed he had guessed his thoughts. He spoke out, but right after he finished, he saw the Special Envoy’s gaze suddenly turn towards him.
"If it can win, that’s for the best, but do not harm that Meridian Spirit!"
Xia Yong did not reveal his true inner thoughts, merely reminding Xu Huang not to be reckless. If the Heavenly Hidden Beast inadvertently destroyed the Golden Snake Worm, he would be left inconsolably distraught.
However, Xia Yong seemingly overlooked one issue: if the Golden Snake Worm could be so easily destroyed, then its use to him would likely not be very significant, a contradiction indeed.
On the arena!
Seeing Yun Xiao summon the Golden Snake Worm, Xi Shaoqing’s expression grew stern. Despite looking down on this young boy who had come this far on "luck," he held no contempt for his Meridian Spirit.
Xi Shaoqing had only caught a fleeting glimpse of the Golden Snake Worm, yet it had left him with an extremely deep impression; it seemed no less formidable than some Seventh Rank Intermediate Meridian Spirits.
Nevertheless, Xi Shaoqing was not overly concerned, as his Meridian Spirit had reached the Seventh Rank Advanced level and was an extremely rare Heavenly Hidden Beast adept at disguise. He believed that as long as he avoided a direct confrontation of physical strength with the Golden Snake Worm, his Meridian Spirit would surely remain undefeated.
In fact, Xi Shaoqing had already made some movements when he summoned the Heavenly Hidden Beast’s Meridian Spirit, only they were subtle to the point of being imperceptible to others.
Hence, as the Golden Snake Worm appeared, Xi Shaoqing’s handprint seal subtly changed, and immediately the onlookers sensed the atmosphere around the Golden Snake Worm alter abruptly, as if something had suddenly emerged there.
"It’s the Heavenly Hidden Beast; it’s actually already in front of the Golden Snake Worm!"
At this moment, some cultivators with keen sensing abilities exclaimed in surprise, for they recognized the sudden presence before the Golden Snake Worm as the Meridian Spirit Heavenly Hidden Beast under Xi Shaoqing’s control.
This silent and motionless approach, undetected without even the slightest disturbance, demonstrated the formidable Concealing Technique of the Heavenly Hidden Beast. At least, many among the audience below the ring understood that they would be unable to evade such a traceless attack.
But what of the Golden Snake Worm? Could it avoid the strike from the Heavenly Hidden Beast in time?
Everyone’s gaze was unblinkingly fixed on the Golden Snake Worm, though their hearts held little hope. To react under such a silent attack would surely be more difficult than ascending to the heavens.
Especially Xi Shaoqing, the involved party; he had fooled many with this trick, and a number of peak-level Qi Seeking Cultivators had perished at his hands – this was the greatest ability of the Heavenly Hidden Beast.
Thus, Xi Shaoqing had absolute reason to believe that with his careful calculations and the Heavenly Hidden Beast’s special stealth ability, the Golden Snake Worm, no matter how quick its reflexes, simply could not evade this strike.
After all, in the traditional mindset, a Meridian Spirit’s Spiritual Wisdom had been erased, naturally devoid of a soul, more like a puppet on strings, moved by its master.
Now, Yun Xiao was still several meters away from the Golden Snake Worm; surely his sensing ability could not be that quick. Thus, it seemed that this battle of Meridian Spirits was poised to end with this move.
Swoosh!
However, just as Xi Shaoqing was contentedly making his calculations, the Golden Snake Worm’s body suddenly swayed slightly to the left, evading the Heavenly Hidden Beast’s surefire strike.
This scene not only left Xi Shaoqing himself stunned but also the surrounding spectators baffled. The Golden Snake Worm’s reaction was as if it had long known an attack would come from that spot, prepared in advance, rendering the Heavenly Hidden Beast’s strike futile.
Given the Heavenly Hidden Beast’s special stealth ability – invisible to the naked eye and undetectable even by its aura except when it attacked – how did the Golden Snake Worm discern its presence? At that moment, many eyes shifted from the Golden Snake Worm to the ruggedly dressed young boy.
For everyone knew, a Meridian Spirit lacked spiritual intelligence and autonomous sensing ability; it must be its master who had responded.
"Could it be that this outrageously young boy is a High-level Meridian Refining Master?"
Many speculated this thought, for, aside from strong soul power, they could fathom no other explanation, as the Golden Snake Worm’s dodging move was just too timely and dazzling.
However, these people seemed to have forgotten, that even if they possessed a Meridian Spirit of Earth Rank Low Level, it would still be immensely difficult to dodge upon sensing the attack from the Heavenly Hidden Beast, let alone do so with such apparent ease.
It was quite evident that they had identified the location of the beast before the attack was even made, making preparations in advance, which allowed them to react so calmly.
In fact, although everyone speculated that Yun Xiao was a Meridian Refining Master, the movement of the Golden Snake Worm at this moment was not under the direction of the young man, but rather under its own autonomous consciousness.
The Cultivators of Tenglong Continent were used to certain ways of thinking, and had never considered that a young person’s Meridian Spirit would have its own Spiritual Wisdom; even Xia Yong, Special Envoy of the Douling Commerce, only knew from some ancient texts that some special Meridian Spirits might have their own Spiritual Wisdom.
Such Meridian Spirits with Spiritual Wisdom were rare and hard to come by, given that most Vein Demons were too proud. Without wiping their consciousness, they would never willingly stay by a human’s side.
Even for the Beast Vein Masters of Demons Mountain, it was extremely difficult to tame a Demon Pet, let alone to bind it into a contract to become a human’s Meridian Spirit.
But no matter what, the subtly executed attack by the Heavenly Hidden Beast caused not even the slightest injury to the Golden Snake Worm; instead, it was caught somewhat off guard, or one might say it caused its master, Xi Shaoting, a momentary lapse in focus.
Sometimes, the outcome of a battle is decided in an instant. While the Heavenly Hidden Beast is indeed an exceptionally special Vein Demon, it has now become a human’s Meridian Spirit, and all of its offensive actions must rely on its master, Xi Shaoting, for commands.
Snap!
Just as Xi Shaoting was momentarily stunned, he heard a faint sound not far from his ears. His face immediately changed, as if he had seen something incredibly unbelievable.
Compared to Xi Shaoting, other Cultivators spectating below the arena also heard the faint noise, but watching the Golden Snake Worm flash across the stage, they were completely baffled.
Because just a moment ago, the Golden Snake Worm had only shifted sideways by about ten feet, where there was nothing at all, as though it had passed through thin air. But what then, was that peculiar sound?
Thud...
And in the next moment, everyone’s eyes were wide with shock, because from thin air where there appeared to be nothing, suddenly a stream of crimson blood burst forth, as if emerging from another space unexpectedly, looking extremely bizarre and eerie.
"Could it be... the blood of the Heavenly Hidden Beast?"
At this moment, those with sharp wits immediately thought of a possibility, and soon after, they were no longer puzzled as a Vein Demon Form with a strange appearance was revealed in the blood that had just emerged, now visible to all.
It looked like a large dog but with only two legs and a single eye on its forehead which resembled a dog’s face, and it seemed to be in pain.
Now, everyone’s gaze was focused on a spot, where the Heavenly Hidden Beast’s abdomen was still gushing blood, a small hole clearly visible, looking as though its internal organs had been blasted apart by some mysterious force.
"No! This is impossible! This absolutely cannot be possible!"
Compared to the surprise of the audience, Xi Shaoting on the stage seemed to have had all of his strength drained from him. Although he kept saying it could not be possible, the scene before his eyes made it clear that all of it was, indeed, the truth.
After all, this was the Heavenly Hidden Beast, known on this Continent as the Vein Demon most capable of camouflage and concealment. Possessing such heaven-defying abilities indicated that its survival skills were top-notch.
Even though Xi Shaoting had unintentionally refined it into his own Meridian Spirit, the Heavenly Hidden Beast’s special abilities remained intact, which had allowed him to turn the tides and even overturn defeats in countless battles.
Yet today, on the stage of the Spirit Fighting Conference, merely a Meridian Spirit of a Qi Seeking Realm Early Stage youth managed to strike and kill the Seventh Rank Advanced Heavenly Hidden Beast in one fell swoop, how could Xi Shaoting accept that?
Moments earlier, Xi Shaoting was brimming with confidence, thinking that his controlled Heavenly Hidden Beast would severely injure the Golden Snake Worm with one strike, completing the mission assigned by the Chairman.
But a few breaths later, it was the Heavenly Hidden Beast that suffered a fatal blow. Up to this point, Xi Shaoting could not understand how the Golden Snake Worm had managed to detect the traces of the Heavenly Hidden Beast.
Although Xi Shaoting had hesitated for a moment previously, after a missed strike, he quickly moved the Heavenly Hidden Beast away from its original position, fearing that the Golden Snake Worm would lock onto its location and attack.
Yet even so, the Heavenly Hidden Beast still did not escape the bombardment from the Golden Snake Worm, which seemed to be able to sense its exact location seamlessly, as its precise strike pierced the heart of the beast.
For a short moment, both the stage and the area below fell into a bizarre silence, only the crimson blood still spouting from the chest of the Heavenly Hidden Beast, until its body finally crashed to the ground, which snapped everyone back to reality. However, their eyes were filled with shock and awe.