Translator: Myriea_ActiasLuna Editor: Nou
Xiao Jianming poured all of his strength into this single swing in the hopes of taking the Blue Centipede down in one go.
Fang Xing knew Xiao Jianming was now performing his final strike, and his eyes began to glisten. He immediately nocked the bone arrow, and the spells inlaid on the bowâs body shined as Qi was poured into them. A giant force rushed forth from between the heaven and earth, beforeâwith a swoosh soundâthe bone arrow disappeared from the bowstring, tearing the air as it passed and leaving a frighteningly sharp sound in its wake.
Xiao Jianming hardened his heart. His iron sword was angled slightly as it landed in the middle of the centipedeâs body and cleaved it in half. It was also at this moment that the bone arrow reached its destination andâcoupled with a bang âa house-sized stone around three hundred feet away was shattered into pieces.
All eyes turned towards Fang Xing, unsure of what he was playing at. Fang Xingâs face turned bright red under their curious glances, and he waved his hand and said, âHeh heh, itâs been too long since Iâve used a bow. Iâm just getting used to this!â
âAck, so the little bastard just missedâŚâ all of the disciples thought the same thing to themselves.
Xiao Jianming laughed coldly when he saw the Blue Centipede trying to escape from within the scattered stones with only half of its body remaining, and he immediately had the eagle give chase. This time, heâd kill it once and for all.
As for the airborne Fang Xing, he also hastily nocked a bone arrow once more. Using all of his might and concentration, he pulled the bowstring until it was curved like a full moon and aimed it towards the Blue Centipede
Xu Linyun did not join in with this and looked on with interest from afar. The Qing-Yun disciples from all four valleys also watched everything that happened, although for them it was with a sense of nervousness. They actually wanted to see if this boyâwho had dared to challenge Shixiong Xiao Jianming and attempt to steal his preyâwould end up with success or failure.
Both the sword light and bone arrow were released towards the fleeing centipede at the same time.
The sword light was slower, but it was closer and very flexible as it shifted hundreds and thousands of times while covering a great area. The white light of the bone arrow drew power from the [Bow of Startled Dragon] and had an influence focused on a single point near the centipedeâs head that was no less impressive than the sword light. As both attacks drew closer, the Qing-Yun disciplesâ hearts seem to freeze in their nervousness.
At this precise moment, someone in front of the centipede let out a loud shout of surprise as a red shape coiled close. The Blue Centipede lost all control over its body and was tugged away by the silhouette, only for both the sword light and bone arrow to arrive mere moments later. Two loud explosions rang out as a giant hole was blasted into the ground, the force smashing and scattering the nearby stones to create a dust cloud that hid the results.
âHahaha, I didnât expect to get a ninth-tier beast core here!â a loud, feminine voice laughed. As the cloud of dust began to clear, the Qing-Yun disciples were left dismayed by what they saw. Behind the dust was a little girl around the age of twelve or thirteenâeven younger than Fang Xingâwho wore a bright red dress and held a fiery whip in her hand. She was observing the corpse of the Blue Centipede in front of her with great interest.
The girl showed well-practiced movements as her small yet strong hands began to crack open the Blue Centipedeâs fourth segment as effortlessly as opening the shell of a crab. Then, she reached her hand inside its body and grabbed a fist-sized beast core colored an earthy yellow. After a closer inspection, she smiled excitedly and yelled out, âItâs actually an earth-element beast core, what a gain!â
While the little girl was celebrating, the Qing-Yun disciples were looking at each other in confusion.
What was happening here? Where did this random girl come from, and she even took the beast core?
It was also at this moment that the golden crow beneath Fang Xing shivered. âSh*t, why the hell is she here?â he muttered.
âWhatâs wrong? Who is this chick?â Fang Xing asked curiously.
The golden crow seemed a bit nervous as he quietly answered, âSheâs from the Myriad Beasts Sect of the Bohai Kingdom. F*ck, how did she dare to cross the borders to come here?â
Something about the crow seemed abnormal to Fang Xing. âWhat happened exactly?â he asked with quick urgency.
The golden crow puckered his beak before muttering to himself, âNot to worry, no need to be nervous. Theyâve never seen what I really look like anyways, so they might not know itâs meâŚ. Calmâcalm downâŚ. How did they know the Beast King Cauldron is here? Dammit, could it be because I activated it earlier? Did they sense it from that? That must be it⌠I have to come up with a method to cover up the scentâŚ.â
Fang Xing smacked the golden crow twice while sitting atop him. âWhat exactly happened? Tell me now!â he softly demanded.
The crowâs answer was filled with bitterness. âA month ago, I made a pass in the Bohai Kingdom and stole the Beast King Cauldron from their Myriad Beasts Sect, then I went into hiding in the deep forests before making my way into the Chufung Kingdom. I didnât think cultivators from the Bohai Kingdom would dare to come here. Since this girl showed up, the other guys from the Myriad Beasts Sect must have also followed; she couldnât have come here on her ownâŚ.â
Fang Xing asked a few more questions before understanding that the crow had single-handedly caused all of this. The small red-dressed girl was the daughter of their sect master and was like the little princess of the Myriad Beasts Sect. It was more than likely theyâd entered the Chufung Kingdomâs territory to chase after the golden crow who had stolen their Beast King Cauldron. Under normal circumstances, finding the crow within an area as large as the mountain ranges would not be easy, but he had used the cauldron twice already within these short few days. They must have sensed the scent of the cauldron and followed it over hereâŚ.
Fang Xing was speechless. âMm, looks like I canât judge a book by its cover. Stealing their precious Beast King Cauldron and then calling it brokenâŚ.â
âIs this the time to worry about such things? Why donât you hurry and help me think of a way out?â the golden crow urged.
Fang Xing smirked. âDonât you just have to cover up the scent? Thatâs not a problem for your grandpa!â As he spoke, he took out a mask from his storage ring and secretively passed it to the crow before quickly advising him on how it was used. The crow was left overjoyed.
While the pair had been muttering to themselves, the disciples next to the altar below had already begun conversing with the girl. Shen Lo had been intimidated by Fang Xing, and soâin order to suck up to Xiao Jianming as thoroughly as possibleâhe was the first one to jump out when he saw it was just a little girl. âHow dare you? Who are you? Return Shixiong Xiaoâs beast core this instant!â he yelled.
The girl grinned. âWhether little shixiong or big shixiong[1], I killed the beast; its core is mine!â
âNonsense. The beast was killed by Shixiong Xiao, how could you steal it just because you want it? Hurry and return it!â Shen Lo sternly demanded while taking a step forward and holding out his right hand.
The girl shifted her eyes and spoke with a half-smile, âWhat if I donât give it to you?â
Shen Lo was surprised; he hadnât expected the girl to not even take his words seriously. He looked to Xiao Jianming andânot seeing any signs that he would be stoppedâhe toughened up and continued to yell, âThen donât blame me for making it ugly!â With that, he activated Gravitational Force in an attempt to raise both the girl and the beast core.
In that same moment, the girl suddenly dropped her expression and activated Gravitational Force as well. Shen Lo could only feel a lightness beneath his feet, and his entire body felt as though a strong force had picked him up before he was sent flying towards the girl. In mere seconds, he was so frightened that it was though his soul had fled from his body. Shen Lo was quickly pulled in front of the girl, andâafraid she would kill him in a single moveâhe pushed both of his hands out in front of him in a desperate attempt to defend himself.
Yet the girl simply laughed. Her slender hands curled in the air before relaxing, and Shen Lo was sent flying up into the air before being tossed behind her. Suddenly, loud noises broke out from the bushes, and a ten-foot-tall man hastily walked over right into Shen Loâs path. The man grabbed Shen Lo like a headless chicken, and no matter how much the latter tried to escape, he couldnât move at all.
The Qing-Yun disciples grew pale while Xiao Jianming grabbed onto his iron sword, but when he saw that the giant man did not kill Shen Lo despite having him in his grip, he restrained himself. He then looked at them coldly, trying to guess where they had come from.
Xiao Jianming could tell that this girl wasnât so simple and thus he didnât rush into anything. Although the girl had seemed to use no effort while activating Gravitational Force, he could tell sheâd actually used her full might. For her to show such fluid movements and proficiency in this skill despite being only Spirit Stage tier five was extraordinary; forget about Shen Lo, it was unlikely anyone in the middle tiers of Spirit Stage would be able to gain an upper hand against her.
Although Xiao Jianming of course wasnât afraid of her, he firmly believed she wasnât here alone. Furthermore, he didnât know whether she was friend or foe, and decided he would observe their reason for being here before acting.
âHehe, itâs all good now!â The girl clapped her hands. âDonât any of you move! Donât try to bully me because my cultivation level is low; none of you are my opponent!â Her little face then tilted up towards the giant man beside her. âXiongnu, whereâs big brother Zhaoyang?â
The giant manâseemingly muteâonly let out a few sounds before pointing northwest.
The little girl nodded. âTell them to come over here. I think the clues are here!â
The giant man nodded before a jade talisman was sent for people elsewhere.
âDear young lady, where did you come from? What are you doing on the trial grounds of our Qing-Yun Sect?â Xiao Jianming finally asked in a calm manner as he walked forward. âAnd please, how about releasing Shen, my shidi?â
The girl took a few cautious steps back when she saw him, but soon laughed, âYouâre pretty strong, but you canât bully me just because youâre bigger. My big brother Zhaoyang will be here soon, and if you bully me, theyâll bully you back. As for who I am, I wonât tell you yet, but let me ask you something: have you seen anyone using a cauldron of about this size to control beasts?â As she spoke, she moved her arms to demonstrate the size of the cauldron, at approximately three feet.
Expressionless, Xiao Jianming replied, âNever seen it. Youâd best let him go first,â before taking another step forward with his palm on his iron sword. He was the eldest shixiong of the Qing-Yun disciples, after all, and he couldnât allow a Qing-Yun disciple to fall into the hands of someone else in his presence.
The girl jumped in alarm and took another step back. Suddenly, she let out a loud scream, âHurry, Big Brother Zhaoyang! Someone is bullying meâŚ.â
Xiao Jianming was startled. He hadnât expected her to react in such a manner and wasnât sure if he should take back Shen Lo by force or wait.
âOh really? Who dares to do that?â a voice abruptly interrupted from the sky.
As everyone looked up, they could see that seven or eight giant black shadows were flying in from all directions, and a closer look revealed that the bodies of these shadows were all pitch black, fang-baring giant bats. Atop these vicious-looking bats sat a number of men, with a youth in the lead displaying a face so pale he didnât even look to be alive while an embroidered gown adorned his body.
All seven or eight of them surrounded the Qing-Yun disciples in an indistinct circle before intentionally revealing their cultivation levels to the surrounding area. All of the disciples could feel the weighty power pressing down on them and were left in shock.
Of these men, three of them were in Spirit Stage tier nine, and even the remainders were in tiers seven or eight.
[1] Whether little shixiong or big shixiong: This is a play on words. The âXiaoâ (Xiao1) in âXiao Jianmingâ is similar to the âxiaoâ (xiao3) meaning small. Here, the little girl is treating âShixiong Xiaoâ as though Shen Lo is saying âlittle shixiongâ.