"I have no interest in serving a dead man!"
"Haha, very well!"
Wen Tianhong laughed wildly, his gaze sharpening. "I will shoot out that Death Pupil of yours!"
"It would be rude not to return the gesture!"
Duobao nodded to the Tributor beside him. A Tributor raised his hand, pointed, and a stream of fire shot into the sky. The flame traced an arc between the two armies, and after its fiery tail climbed high into the air, it exploded with a BANG.
The sound was the signal to begin.
Having only one eye meant one had to endure far more hardship to become a top-tier archer. And Chen Xiao’s skill was extraordinary. The moment the flame exploded, the twang of a bowstring rang out, sharp as the clang of armored cavalry.
All anyone saw was a brilliant white streak flashing across the sky.
This streak was so fast the naked eye couldn’t follow it!
It was roaring thunder!
It was crackling lightning!
It was a howling gale!
Compared to Luo Shubao, Chen Xiao’s arrows were filled with savage brutality!
Just then, Wen Tianhong had also nocked an arrow and drawn his bow. All anyone saw were two beams of light smashing into each other with a BANG, erupting in a shower of brilliant sparks.
The two arrowheads, condensed from True Essence, flashed past each other in mid-air like scissor blades. With a THUD, they embedded themselves in the ground, their fletchings quivering.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
In an instant, dozens of arrows collided in mid-air. Within half a breath, hundreds of shattered True Essence arrows already studded the ground at both men’s feet.
However.
Everyone could see the tide turning. Wen Tianhong’s arrows were getting faster. It was as if he had nine right hands; each time his fingers swept across the bowstring, they left a trail of afterimages, and every single one of his arrows precisely smashed into Chen Xiao’s.
The outcome was clear!
Everyone could see that Wen Tianhong was deliberately letting Chen Xiao shoot first, only to shatter his arrows—this was Chen Xiao’s signature move, yet now it was being used against him.
But an expert was an expert, after all. The Arrow Cultivator from the Primordial Sect swiftly reached into the Arrow Quiver on his back, drew, nocked, and fired nine arrows in rapid succession—these were forged Magical Artifacts, far sturdier than arrows condensed from True Essence!
The chain of nine arrows shot toward Wen Tianhong’s right eye with overwhelming force.
Clearly!
He resented his opponent for threatening to shoot out his right eye. For an Arrow Cultivator, an opponent announcing their target in a duel was the ultimate humiliation!
Yet at that moment, Wen Tianhong raised his hand again.
Before anyone even saw him move, a flash of lightning streaked through the air with a sharp TWANG.
"CLANG!"
The fired arrowhead shattered Chen Xiao’s nine-arrow volley with unstoppable force. Immediately after, a jet of blood spurted from Chen Xiao’s eye socket. Only then did the signal flame, launched by the Cultivator from the Duobao Hall of Offerings, finally begin to fade from the sky.
It turned out Wen Tianhong had fired two arrows.
The first arrow had shattered his opponent’s nine-arrow volley, while the second, its momentum undiminished, killed him outright. Chen Xiao’s corpse, just like Luo Shubao’s before him, was pinned to the ground by the massive arrowhead.
"Are there any other Arrow Cultivators who dare to fight me?"
Wen Tianhong surveyed the crowd from on high.
For five long minutes, there was silence. Five minutes of absolute stillness. Five minutes without a single response.
On the Celestial River Heroic Pass, wild cheers erupted from the Mist Rain Tower! What could bring more pride than felling two Golden Core Cultivators in a row, right in front of their entire army? This was a roar of absolute triumph!
"In a one-on-one, neither of you are a match for our Mist Rain Tower!"
Wen Yangxi stood on the back of a Clawed Flood Dragon, directing the most impudent jeers at the Primordial Sect and Star-Picking Sect. "What, now that the Arrow Cultivator duel is over, what’s for the second round? Let’s put aside the grudge between me and Chief Chen for now... we’ll settle it at the very end!"
Seeing many people turn their gazes toward Chen Che, he raised a hand and added, "After all, the two of us are the origin of this grudge match!"
Clearly.
Wen Yangxi planned to use this opportunity to eliminate as many Golden Core Cultivators from the two-sect alliance as possible. This was a gambit played in plain sight; if you were strong enough, you could do the same and eliminate the opponent’s Golden Core experts.
Refuse the challenge, and you lose all morale.
"He’s even more trouble than I imagined."
Meng Qianxun lowered her voice and glanced at Wen Yangxi.
"With just a few words, he’d turned the tables and thrown the problem right back at us. It’s a good thing you crippled him, Che’er, or he’d have surely reached Nascent Soul Formation. Being targeted by someone like that is no small matter!"
"Don’t tell me no one is going to accept the challenge?"
Xiao Chan gripped his Dragon-Catching Spear, his gaze darting from side to side.
He saw many Golden Core Cultivators deliberately avoiding Wen Yangxi’s gaze. Wen Tianhong’s two arrows had truly terrified many who had hoped to use this battle to make a name for themselves. Stepping on others to climb to the top was undoubtedly the fastest way to fame, especially on such a grand stage.
But a single misstep would lead to utter annihilation.
"Protector Jiang!"
Seeing that still no one responded, the Cultivators in each camp started murmuring amongst themselves. Qiu Tianshui’s eyes flickered, his gaze sweeping directly to Jiang Shaotian.
"What did we agree on in yesterday’s council? We’ve already set the stage. Isn’t it time for someone from your Star-Picking Sect to get in the ring? The Star-Picking Sect can’t just reap all the rewards while the Primordial Sect takes all the risks!"
"Fine!"
The man glanced behind him, sneered, and then strode forward decisively. He announced in a booming voice, "I am the Right Protector of the Star-Picking Sect, and I am an Array Master. Is there an Array Master from Mist Rain Tower who would care to test their skills against mine?"