Chapter 77: Arrow Dao Expert
Zhang Ruochen and Zi Qian swiftly moved through the perilous dense forest, searching for traces of the martial artists from the Four Directions Commandery.
In the night, miserable screams could be heard from time to time.
"Who are you... ah..."
"I am the son of General Wei Wu of the Four Directions Commandery... you... pfft..."
...
The martial artists of the Four Directions Commandery had originally planned to ambush the martial artists of the Cloud Wu Commandery, intending to teach them a painful lesson. However, they were the first to be killed by two mysterious individuals.
In a single night, a storm of blood and wind arose.
Zi Qian's tracking secret arts and sense of smell were extremely formidable. No matter how secretly the martial artists of the Four Directions Commandery hid, they would eventually be found by her.
By midnight, Zi Qian had already killed eight martial artists. Even her purple clothes were stained red, turning into bloodied garments.
Zhang Ruochen was not averse to killing, but he would not easily take a life himself. Even if he did kill, it would only be those he deemed deserving of death.
"We've already killed eight. Twelve more to go."
Zi Qian, holding her blood-drenched sword, intended to continue hunting the martial artists of the Four Directions Commandery.
"Danger!"
Zhang Ruochen grabbed Zi Qian's fragrant shoulder and pulled her back three meters.
"Whoosh!"
A purple thunderbolt arrow flew through the void, striking a nearby thousand-jin boulder.
With a loud crash, the thousand-jin boulder shattered into pieces.
If Zhang Ruochen hadn't pulled her away, that arrow would have pierced her head.
Cold sweat broke out on Zi Qian's back. She cast a grateful glance at Zhang Ruochen, then looked in the direction from which the thunderbolt arrow had come. "Such formidable archery. I was almost killed. Among the young martial artists of the Four Directions Commandery, only one person possesses such archery skills. Feng Zhiyi of the Feng Clan."
The Feng Clan was one of the eight sixth-rate clans of the Four Directions Commandery, renowned for its Arrow Dao throughout the nine commanderies west of the ridge, earning the title "Arrow Dao Aristocratic Family."
Feng Zhiyi was one of the top archery prodigies of the Feng Clan. At just twenty-four years old, he had already reached the Mysterious Extreme Small Extreme Position. Moreover, he had cultivated his Arrow Dao to the level of Heart-Following Mid-rank.
It was worth noting that among the young martial artists of the Four Directions Commandery, only three had reached the Mysterious Extreme Small Extreme Position.
A man's voice came from the darkness. "As expected of the number one expert of the younger generation in Cloud Wu Commandery. You actually recognized me. But what surprises me more is the Ninth Prince. I am very curious—how did you detect me hiding in the shadows?"
Feng Zhiyi was naturally very surprised, because at the same cultivation level, almost no one could evade his sure-kill arrow.
Moreover, that arrow had been a sneak attack.
Zhang Ruochen naturally would not tell him that he possessed powerful spiritual power.
Zhang Ruochen released his Space Domain, enveloping a ten-meter radius to prevent Feng Zhiyi from firing another thunderbolt arrow. He said, "Your archery is too poor. Of course, you couldn't hit us."
"You are the first person to dare mock our Feng Clan's archery as poor. Don't you know that two years ago, during the Battle of Mo River, it was my grandfather who used the Town Deer Bow and Monument-Breaking Arrow to wound your father, the Cloud Wu Commandery Prince? Haha!" Feng Zhiyi laughed loudly. "It's just a pity that arrow was slightly off. Otherwise, it would have taken the dog life of the Cloud Wu Commandery Prince!"
Zhang Ruochen's gaze darkened. "You seem quite proud of that?"
Feng Zhiyi laughed. "Naturally. Because my grandfather wounded the Cloud Wu Commandery Prince, the Great King rewarded our Feng Clan with a city and eighty thousand slaves."
"You should know that city once belonged to the Cloud Wu Commandery. Those eighty thousand slaves were once subjects of the Cloud Wu Commandery. Once the Four Directions Commandery destroys the Cloud Wu Commandery, our Feng Clan will receive even more rewards. By then, even you will be nothing but a slave of our Feng Clan. If I tell you to bark like a dog, you won't dare to bark like a human."
Zhang Ruochen said, "Are you trying to anger me and find a flaw in my defense?"
"Haha! So what if I anger you? Can you kill me?" Feng Zhiyi laughed.
Zhang Ruochen said, "In that case, I'll try killing someone today."
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Ruochen drew the Flash Soul Sword, gripping it in his hand, and charged into the dark forest at an extremely fast speed.
In just the span of a single breath, Zhang Ruochen found Feng Zhiyi hiding in the darkness.
Feng Zhiyi naturally hadn't expected Zhang Ruochen to be so fast. Slightly startled, he immediately drew his bow and nocked three arrows, firing them in quick succession.
The Feng Clan's human-rank superior martial technique, Three-Split Cloud-Breaking Arrow.
The three thunderbolt arrows shot out like three purple streaks of light.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Zhang Ruochen swung his sword three times. Three sword shadows appeared in the air, and all three thunderbolt arrows were deflected.
"How is that possible?"
Feng Zhiyi was extremely confident in his archery. At such close range, even a Mysterious Extreme Middle Extreme Position martial artist couldn't have dodged all three arrows.
But Zhang Ruochen not only didn't dodge—he deflected all three arrows.
Even Zi Qian, who had caught up, was stunned by what she had just witnessed. Even she couldn't guarantee she could block all three of Feng Zhiyi's arrows within twenty meters.
They naturally didn't know that Zhang Ruochen possessed a Space Domain. When Feng Zhiyi's three arrows entered the ten-meter range of his domain, Zhang Ruochen could easily see their flight trajectories. Deflecting the three thunderbolt arrows was naturally not difficult.
After deflecting the three arrows, Zhang Ruochen didn't pause for a moment and continued charging forward.
In an instant, Zhang Ruochen was already in front of Feng Zhiyi. His arm extended straight, and he thrust his sword forward.
The sword intent of Sword-Following-Heart High-rank erupted. Zhang Ruochen seemed to be possessed by the Sword God himself, with a half-zhang-long sword glow appearing at the tip of his blade.
Feng Zhiyi no longer had the chance to fire another thunderbolt arrow. Instead, he used his bow as a weapon and swung it horizontally at Zhang Ruochen.
After all, he was a Mysterious Extreme Small Extreme Position martial artist. Why should he fear a mere Mysterious Extreme Initial Stage martial artist?
"Bang!"
With a single exchange, both of them retreated.
Feng Zhiyi looked at his cut wrist, his expression changing slightly. "Such formidable swordsmanship. If you were facing a Mysterious Extreme Late Stage martial artist, you would probably have already severed his arm."
"Your Feng Clan took a city from our Cloud Wu Commandery. Now, I'll send one of your Feng Clan's prodigies to hell first," Zhang Ruochen said.
Feng Zhiyi sneered mockingly. "Even the Cloud Wu Commandery Prince was almost killed by my grandfather. Who do you think you are? I was just careless earlier. Now, the real battle begins."
The moment the word "begins" left his mouth, Feng Zhiyi spat out a silver needle from his mouth.
The silver needle shot out unexpectedly, flying toward Zhang Ruochen's heart.
If it pierced his heart, he would surely die.
Who would have thought that Feng Zhiyi had a needle hidden in his mouth?
If it had been any other martial artist, even a Mysterious Extreme Middle Extreme Position one, they would likely have been killed by this underhanded trick.
But he happened to encounter Zhang Ruochen. When the silver needle entered the ten-meter range of his domain, Zhang Ruochen sensed the danger and immediately swung his sword to block it.
The silver needle flew back, narrowly grazing Feng Zhiyi's neck and leaving a shallow bloody mark.
Feng Zhiyi touched the bloody wound on his neck, even more astonished. "You actually blocked my Tongue-Spring Arrow?"
The so-called Tongue-Spring Arrow referred to using the tongue to flick an arrow hidden in the mouth, achieving an unexpected effect. One could kill someone while speaking.
The Tongue-Spring Arrow was a secret technique of the Feng Clan, reputed to never miss its mark and often capable of killing martial artists of higher cultivation levels.
"Now, take one of my sword strikes!"
"Heart-Breaking Plum Blossom!"
Zhang Ruochen stepped forward and thrust his sword.
The dazzling sword light split into seven streams, like a plum blossom blooming in the void.
Feng Zhiyi retreated repeatedly, but no matter how far he went, the seven sword glows followed him like shadows, drawing closer and closer.
Feng Zhiyi finally panicked. His eyes widened. "Spirit-rank Sword Technique... you..."
"Pfft!"
The seven sword energies simultaneously pierced Feng Zhiyi's brow, passing through his head and flying out from the back of his skull.
A tiny blood-red plum blossom appeared on Feng Zhiyi's brow. Seven drops of blood seeped from his brow, resembling the pistil and six petals of a plum blossom.
Zhang Ruochen sheathed the Flash Soul Sword, walked over, and tapped Feng Zhiyi's chest with the scabbard.
"Thud!"
Feng Zhiyi's body fell straight back.
Zi Qian stood not far away, staring at Zhang Ruochen's back. She let out a long breath and, after a long while, said, "I thought you wouldn't kill."
Zhang Ruochen said, "If I didn't kill him, he would kill me. What choice did I have? Besides, you heard him earlier—he was asking for death. Can you blame me?"
Zi Qian said, "You're only at the Mysterious Extreme Initial Stage, yet you can kill a Mysterious Extreme Small Extreme Position martial artist. With your talent, if you aren't killed by someone, you will definitely become a Xuan List martial artist."
Zhang Ruochen said, "It's mainly because Feng Zhiyi is an Arrow Dao expert, suited for long-range combat, not close-range combat. In close combat, his strength is only equivalent to a Mysterious Extreme Late Stage martial artist."
Zi Qian nodded. If she had fought Feng Zhiyi at close range, she was also confident she could kill him within three moves.
"Feng Zhiyi was a top prodigy of the Feng Clan. They spent a lot of resources to nurture him, and the Feng family had high hopes for him. Now that he died during the Martial Market Academy examination, the elders of the Feng Clan will surely be furious," Zi Qian said.
Zhang Ruochen crouched down and searched Feng Zhiyi's body, finding a box. Inside the box were eight beast eyes, equivalent to four second-rank lower-class savage beasts.
"I only need to collect ten beast eyes to pass the first round of the examination. Now I'm just two short." Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly, showing no psychological resistance to killing for the first time.
Zhang Ruochen's mental fortitude was stronger than that of many Heavenly Extreme Stage martial artists.
Then, Zhang Ruochen also found thirty-two spirit crystals and a two-star VIP card on Feng Zhiyi's body.
One had to have deposited at least one hundred thousand silver coins in the Martial Market Bank to obtain a two-star VIP card.
"As expected of a prodigy from a sixth-rate clan. Truly wealthy."
Even if Zhang Ruochen obtained the two-star VIP card, it was useless. To use a two-star VIP card, one had to drop a drop of their own blood on the card to unlock its special seal.
Only by unlocking the seal could one withdraw silver coins from the Martial Market Bank.
Even if Zhang Ruochen collected some of Feng Zhiyi's blood now, it would be useless. Since Feng Zhiyi was already dead, his blood would quickly lose its vitality. Once the blood lost its vitality, it couldn't unlock the seal on the VIP card.
Zi Qian saw the two-star VIP card in Zhang Ruochen's hand and said, "The blood of Feng Zhiyi's direct blood relatives could also unlock the VIP card's seal. As far as I know, one of Feng Zhiyi's biological older brothers is cultivating in the outer palace of the Martial Market Academy. He is also a formidable prodigy."
"In that case, I'll keep it for now." Zhang Ruochen put away the two-star VIP card.
One hundred thousand silver coins was also a considerable fortune for him.