Chapter 390 - 240: Gaze (2)

Chapter 390: Chapter 240: Gaze (2)

’With every book I absorb, although the names of my already simplified Sword Dao and sword techniques haven’t changed, I can clearly feel my understanding of the Martial Dao expanding at an incredible rate.’

’It’s not just about the sword. I’m also learning other Martial Daos at a frantic pace, which all ultimately feeds back into my own swordsmanship. And beyond the Martial Dao, I can feel my physical body subtly growing stronger.’

’I say subtly because the improvement is insignificant compared to the current outrageous state of my body. But this gradual accumulation will eventually add up to a massive enhancement.’

’Realizing this, I haven’t lost interest in these martial arts just because the physical enhancement is slow. In fact, I’ve become even more interested. I can’t even begin to imagine how powerful I’d be if I could one day collect every martial art in existence.’

’Even...’

’If my Qi Cultivation Realm can reach the same level as my Martial Dao, I might be able to absorb Qi Cultivation techniques just like this in the future. I can’t fathom how powerful I would become then.’

Su Xing was utterly convinced that in the near future, his two paths—the Martial Dao and Qi Cultivation—would tower over all others in the world. Anyone who practiced martial arts or cultivated Qi would find the name "Su Xing" impossible to ignore.

Su Xing’s ambitions had always been lofty. He wanted to become the strongest, to walk to the very end of the Great Dao.

Before, it was just a dream, but now Su Xing could truly see the path to the end of the Great Dao. As long as he stayed on this path, he was certain he could achieve his goals and realize his ambitions.

However, the way Su Xing was flipping through the manuals naturally drew attention. The Tower Guardian knew Su Xing’s identity and strength. While he didn’t believe Su Xing could learn anything by browsing so casually, he wasn’t about to say anything. But others weren’t so considerate. Not far from Su Xing, a young man let out a soft "TSK," clearly a signal for Su Xing to stop putting on an act.

Su Xing glanced at the young man, understanding his intent perfectly. But he didn’t stop. He merely controlled his movements, turning the pages more gently so as not to disturb anyone. After all, these people were all his juniors; there was no need to give them any special attention. Quieting the rustle of the pages was the greatest concession he was willing to make.

Dragon Gate was a martial arts sect, and many of its disciples, brimming with vigorous Qi and Blood, were proud and arrogant. Duels were hardly a strange occurrence. It was even more normal that some disciples didn’t recognize Su Xing.

After all, Su Xing was far from being so famous that everyone knew him. For instance, he had asked for directions twice before. Only the young girl he’d asked the first time had heard of him. The second time, the Dragon Gate Disciples had treated him like any ordinary person.

So, it was perfectly normal for someone in the Scripture Pavilion not to recognize him. And just as expected, when someone saw Su Xing’s perceived submission, he immediately grew smug. He stepped forward, a hint of impatience on his face, and demanded:

"If you’re not going to read, what are you even doing in the Scripture Pavilion?"

"..."

When Su Xing first set foot on the Extraordinary Path, he hadn’t belonged to any faction. After joining the special organization, he had already revealed his true strength. Come to think of it, he had never really been in a situation like this, being provoked by some random person.

"Am I not reading?"

Su Xing replied nonchalantly, his head still lowered. The book only had a few pages left, and he couldn’t be bothered with the disciple who had suddenly come to harass him.

The commotion drew the attention of the others. Many saw Su Xing as an unfamiliar face, but some found him very familiar. A few even recognized him outright. They rushed forward, grabbed the confrontational young man’s shoulder, and said:

"Calm down, Xiaohao! That’s Elder Su!"

"Elder Su? Which Elder Su?"

The young man called Xiaohao frowned at the warnings. He quickly ran through the names of the Dragon Gate Elders in his head—none of them were surnamed Su. Yet everyone else seemed so certain, which made Xiaohao hesitate, unsure whether he should continue his provocation.

To put it bluntly, he was just an immature young man. He had grown restless and impatient while struggling to read the manuals himself. When he saw Su Xing flipping through them as if they were novels, he naturally assumed Su Xing was just showing off and decided to call him out on it.

In reality,

It was all done on impulse.

Now that his fellow disciples had interrupted him, he found himself in a predicament. If this young man was really some big shot, he’d be screwed. But he had already made a scene. If he backed down now, his reputation in Dragon Gate would be ruined.

’If... if this guy gives me an out, I’ll generously let him off the hook,’ he thought, as if trying to console himself.

Compared to Xiaohao’s complex inner turmoil, Su Xing’s mind was much simpler. He was just silently reading his book, completely ignoring the crowd that was gathering to watch the drama unfold. It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed them; he just couldn’t be bothered to care.

These people were mostly in their teens; the older ones weren’t much older, and their strength fluctuated between the second and fourth ranks. Cultivators of this level were barely qualified to even call him Senior.

Why would they be worthy of his personal attention?

As for the Tower Guardian, he had been about to stop the disciple from doing something foolish. But when he saw others step in to warn the boy, he assumed the situation was handled and went back to his own reading, ignoring the commotion.

Su Xing finished the last few pages, and a notification of successful integration appeared before him. He let out a breath, glanced at the first-floor bookshelves, and saw that he had read everything. He decided to head directly to the second floor.

But this blatant act of dismissal infuriated Xiaohao. He lunged, trying to snatch the book from Su Xing’s hand. He refused to believe someone as young as Su Xing could possibly be that powerful.

’Elder Su? He’s probably just some second-generation heir from an Extraordinary family, coasting on their influence,’ Xiaohao scoffed internally. He grabbed the book in Su Xing’s hand. But just as he tried to wrench it away, he found his own hand frozen in place, as if pinned by an invisible force.

"..."

Xiaohao froze. For a moment, he couldn’t process what had just happened. But as he looked up to see what was going on, his gaze met Su Xing’s terrifying eyes.

They were just ordinary eyes, but to Xiaohao, they contained an indescribable and horrifying killing intent—the kind that could only be honed by killing thousands, even tens of thousands, of people. Xiaohao’s legs went weak, and he collapsed to his knees.

Su Xing merely glanced at him before placing the book back on the shelf. As he was about to leave, the Tower Guardian noticed something was amiss and hurried over. He found Xiaohao collapsed on the floor, paralyzed with fear.

His brows knitted together tightly. He looked at Su Xing, who was still standing there, and asked:

"What happened here?"

"Nothing. You should get him some help."

Su Xing shook his head, then turned and walked directly up to the second floor. The Su Xing of today had no need to concern himself with such insignificant people.

That young man, Xiaohao, had reached the third rank of the Martial Dao at such a young age, which meant his talent wasn’t bad. However, his poor character had already sealed the upper limit of his future potential. A person like that wasn’t even worth a second glance from Su Xing.

"Right, of course..."

The Tower Guardian seemed to understand. A look of resignation crossed his face as he quickly agreed with Su Xing. Only after Su Xing had left did he begin to ask the onlookers what had happened.

He soon learned the truth: Su Xing had merely glanced at Xiaohao, and the boy had been so terrified that he collapsed on the spot and still hadn’t recovered his wits.