23: The villain dies because he talks too much

He didn’t know why.

Kuangfeng Stronghold Lord, who had clearly felt that victory was within his grasp and that he had perfectly ensnared Xiao Shi, suddenly felt an ominous premonition rise in his heart after hearing Xiao Shi’s words and seeing the smile on his face.

This feeling was incredibly absurd.

After all, from every angle, Xiao Shi was merely a fish he had caught, waiting to be butchered.

“You’re telling me all this simply to prove that you’re intelligent, that you understand schemes, and you want to use my surprise to highlight your own wisdom and satisfy your sense of superiority…”

“But there’s another saying for this kind of behavior: villains die because they talk too much.”

As soon as Xiao Shi’s voice fell.

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

He let out a low growl in his heart.

Explode!

In an instant.

Xu Feng and the Black-Clothed Old Man beside him simultaneously changed color.

Their bodies erupted with a booming sound, and a cloud of blood mist burst from them.

The moment Xu Feng and the Black-Clothed Old Man appeared.

Xiao Shi had already, without a trace, begun to form seals on their bodies.

As a Heaven-Rank Secret Technique, Dust Seal did not require physical contact with the opponent during the sealing process; as long as they were within ten meters of Xiao Shi, he could form seals on their bodies.

However, forming seals usually took some time… if the two had immediately attacked, Xiao Shi would certainly not have had time to form the seals.

But Xu Feng’s explanation allowed him to successfully form the marks on both of their bodies.

After Xiao Shi detonated the marks, which were condensed from his own vital energy, the resulting explosion not only left their backs a bloody mess but, more seriously, the explosion of the vital energy marks directly caused their vital energy to become chaotic!

This consequence was far more severe than the injuries on their bodies!

After all, vital energy was crucial for a Martial Warrior of the Entrance to Martial Realm.

Once their vital energy became chaotic, they would be unable to exert their full strength.

At the same time.

The moment Xiao Shi detonated the marks, his figure simultaneously charged forward.

With the Arc Flash movement technique, he was like a bolt of lightning, swift as a flash, and wherever he passed, there were bursts of air explosions!

In one step, he arrived in front of the Black-Clothed Old Man beside Xu Feng.

And while moving, his right hand quickly grabbed into his storage bag, and a golden sword immediately appeared in his hand—it was the Entering Martial Rank item, the black gold sword, that had dropped after he had killed many insects, birds, and beasts earlier!

Chii!

A golden sword light flashed.

Xiao Shi swung the black gold sword in his hand, striking towards the Black-Clothed Old Man in front of him.

This person was his first target to kill!

Blood permeated the Black-Clothed Old Man’s body; the mark’s explosion had already severely wounded him, and coupled with the chaotic vital energy within him, his condition was extremely poor.

He didn’t even clearly see how Xiao Shi appeared in front of him; he could only vaguely discern a golden light descending before him, and a strong sense of life-or-death crisis already permeated his entire mind.

Under such a life-or-death crisis.

He instinctively raised his arms, crossing them in front of his chest to block.

Puff!

The sword light from the black gold sword was like a thin golden line, swiftly flashing across the Black-Clothed Old Man’s arms, directly detaching them from his body, sending them flying into the air, severed by a single sword strike.

Not only that.

After severing the Black-Clothed Old Man’s arms, the golden thin line continued to charge forward, landing on the Black-Clothed Old Man’s chest.

Chii!

A large amount of blood burst from the Black-Clothed Old Man’s chest.

The force of the golden sword light’s slash sent his entire body flying, crashing heavily onto the ground, his body twitching, on the verge of death.

Both of his arms were severed, and a shocking gash was cut across his chest; one could even see his internal organs wriggling through this gash.

Although he did not die immediately, such injuries ensured that he would not live much longer.

Xiao Shi’s expression was cold.

He walked up to the Black-Clothed Old Man and plunged the black gold sword in his hand into the chest of the Black-Clothed Old Man beneath him.

Puff!

The sword tip pierced through the Black-Clothed Old Man’s heart.

Killing him instantly.

His speed was simply too fast!

From drawing the sword to delivering the killing blow, the entire process was fluid, taking no more than three seconds.

So fast that people barely had time to react.

After completing all this, Xiao Shi did not immediately choose to pick up the items dropped by the Black-Clothed Old Man after his death, but instead looked at Xu Feng.

He needed to use this person to verify whether others could see the items that dropped after he killed someone.

He had wanted to conduct this verification for a long time.

He just hadn’t found a suitable opportunity.

If he just found someone to verify it casually, and if the other person could see it, how would he explain? He couldn’t possibly just kill them to silence them… Only someone like Xu Feng, who was destined to die, was the most suitable target for verification.

Regardless of whether he could see it or not, he would definitely kill him.

Xiao Shi stared intently at Xu Feng.

Closely observing his eyes.

If he could see it, his gaze would inevitably linger on the location of the items.

However, Xiao Shi found that even if Xu Feng’s gaze swept over the location of the items, he did not linger there for even a moment.

This clearly indicated that he could not see the items!

If he could see them, it would be impossible for him to show no pause at all upon seeing something appear out of thin air on the ground.

After confirming this, Xiao Shi, in front of Xu Feng, picked up the items that had dropped after the Black-Clothed Old Man’s death.

It was a long, cylindrical bottle.

Xiao Shi temporarily didn’t pay attention to the item information but instead stared intently at Xu Feng.

Soon, he saw… the moment he picked up the item, Xu Feng’s gaze instantly focused on his hand.

A look of surprise even appeared on his face.

Through Xu Feng’s reaction, Xiao Shi immediately understood.

“In other words, the items that drop after I kill someone are generally invisible to others until I pick them up. Only after I pick them up can others see them…”

He suddenly understood in his heart.

He casually put the item into his storage bag.

At this moment, although Xu Feng was surprised by Xiao Shi suddenly picking up a bottle, he was more filled with fear and terror due to the death of the Black-Clothed Old Man.

“You… you’re not Entering Martial Realm Fourth Level!!”

The vital energy fluctuations Xiao Shi had consistently displayed were all at the Entering Martial Realm Fourth Level, yet the moment he made his move, Xu Feng felt a powerful vital energy fluctuation that far exceeded Entering Martial Realm Fourth Level.

This was a situation he had never seen before, nor had he even heard of it.

Xiao Shi had little to say about this.

After completing the verification, he moved his feet, creating a resounding boom, and swiftly charged towards Xu Feng.

At this point, Xu Feng was already on guard, not as completely without reaction time as the Black-Clothed Old Man before.

However, the injuries caused by the mark’s explosion and the chaotic vital energy within him only allowed him enough time to draw the long saber from his back and use it to block Xiao Shi’s descending sword strike.

Clang!

The collision of saber and sword sparked a dazzling shower of sparks.

Xu Feng’s body rapidly retreated, spitting out fresh blood.

Due to the chaotic vital energy within him, he was unable to exert his full strength, causing him to be completely unable to withstand Xiao Shi’s sword strike.

A hint of surprise also flashed in Xiao Shi’s eyes.

His gaze fell on the long saber in Xu Feng’s hand.

Clearly.

The long saber in his opponent’s hand was also an Entering Martial Rank weapon, which was the fundamental reason why he was able to withstand this sword strike of his.

If it were an ordinary weapon.

It would certainly be impossible to collide with an Entering Martial Rank weapon.

This sword strike of his would have killed him!

However.

Even if he blocked this sword strike, Xiao Shi was fully confident that he could kill him within three more sword strikes.