Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“I guess you came on time. It’ll be a quarter to one o’clock in seven minutes.” Cai Yingwu glanced at Yan Liqiang with his eyes that were devoid of any emotion. The chilly wind carried his icy voice. “I almost thought you chickened out. Had that been the case, I would’ve been extremely disappointed!”
Yan Liqiang’s gaze fell on Cai Yingwu’s tanned face and swept past the crimson Horned Python Bow he carried on his back. He lifted his head up and looked at the sky above as he mumbled to himself. “In another two years and nine months, it’ll be the ninth lunar month in the 17th year of the Yuanping reign. Time really flies…”
Yan Liqiang was very calm right now. Before the duel, all he had been thinking about was the Heavenly Tribulation that would occur in two years and nine months. Although he’d been working hard and making rapid progress, time was still ticking away. It had been a year and seven months since he came to possess knowledge of the Heavenly Tribulation. Looking back at the past year, he seemed to have done many things, yet it also felt like he had achieved nothing.
The fateful day was still approaching, leaving him with less and less time to prepare. For now at least, Yan Liqiang felt that his preparation wasn’t enough yet. There was not a minute to lose, so he had to cut down anyone who stood in his way — and Cai Yingwu was one of them.
“What was that…?” Cai Yingwu frowned slightly because he wasn’t able to clearly hear Yan Liqiang’s mumbling due to the distance between them.
“Nothing!” Yan Liqiang shifted his gaze to Cai Yingwui’s face again. Then, with a very serious expression, he spoke earnestly, “I was saying… it’s not too late for you to surrender. We hold no grudges against each other. Outsiders may not understand the reason for the conflict between the Transportation Office and the manufacturing bureau, but I’m sure you do. Under those circumstances, I had no other choice but to kill Shi Zhiyao. It wasn’t personal — it was more like a war. He risked his life to take my properties away for Jiang Tianhua. Therefore, only one person could be left standing. It hasn’t been easy for both of us to get to where we are today, and I think we should use our skills for better things!”
“HAHAHA…!” Cai Yingwu laughed madly, then threw Yan Liqiang a disdainful look. “Brat, you are only lucky enough to be given the chance to battle me here today. Did you try to talk your way out so you can walk away from this alive? How funny. I’m only here today to seek retribution for my fellow disciple in the Soaring Heaven Sect. Since you took his life away, you’ll have to make it even by leaving yours here today.”
Yan Liqiang looked at Cai Yingwu, then shook his head and smiled. There was pity in his eyes and smile…
“What are you smiling about?” Cai Yingwu asked coldly. He could no longer conceal the murderous intention in his voice.
“In the recent years, you hit a wall in your archery cultivation. Despite trying every possible method, you are still stuck in the Sixth Heavenly Layer. Am I right?” Yan Liqiang asked calmly.
Just a simple question was enough to immediately change Cai Yingwu’s expression. He was now looking at Yan Liqiang savagely…
“You don’t need to wonder how I know about it. I found out when I received the battle invitation from your sect. Although you have attained the Fifth Heavenly Layer long ago, your current cultivation in archery is only at the Sixth Heavenly Layer at most. There’s no way you can progress further!” Yan Liqiang was still looking at the elder from the Soaring Heaven Sect pitifully.
“A real man should pursue fortune and fame through proper ways and not unethical ways. Given your archery cultivation, the battlefield is the best place to earn fortune and fame. Yet you commit yourself to the Soaring Heaven Sect. Although you are known as the best archer of Yun Province, you do not defend your nation and protect its subjects. Therefore, your cultivation is superfluous. The Heavenly Law reduces a surplus to make up for the scarcity. So what’s the point of your skills? This is why there’s no way for you to attain the Seventh Heavenly Layer. If you did, then the Heavenly Law is unjust.
“In the end, every cultivation is all about cultivating your disposition. This is especially true for the art of archery. Arrows naturally travel straight forward after being launched — they will never come back after being shot. You had to arrange a duel like this just for some benefits Jiang Tianhua offered you. You are only being a b*tch, but you don’t want to admit that you are one. With a disposition as twisted as yours, it’s impossible for you to progress further in the art of archery. The Sixth Heavenly Layer is already the limit for you! Although you are an elder from the Soaring Heaven Sect and are recognized as the best archer in Yun Province, you are nothing but a pitiful bug that is lucky enough to make it big in archery…!”
The expression on Cai Yingwu’s face turned completely savage. He glared at Yan Liqiang with his reddened eyes and took out his Horned Python Bow while smiling through his gritted teeth. “Cut the nonsense, young one. Don’t think you can sway me with some false rumors you heard elsewhere. I must kill you here today on the Heavenly Lake. Whatever you say won’t work. Let’s see how many arrows you can withstand from my bow today. Wield your bow, everyone is watching now. I don’t want people accusing me for bullying the weak in case I kill you with just a single arrow before you even take your bow out…”
Yan Liqiang smiled, then reached behind him to take the huge bow bag in his hands. It was much bigger than the ones Yan Liqiang had used before. The top of the bag was nearly two feet above Yan Liqiang’s head, and the bottom of the bag reached below his waist.
Yan Liqiang shook the huge bow bag and retrieved his Horned Python Bow.
It was a huge, black Horned Python Bow. The black spiral bow frame was sleek, giving off a mysterious yet simple aura. There were also golden spiral patterns on the bow frame. Compared to the one Cai Yingwu was holding, the bow frame of Yan Liqiang’s Horned Python bow was a size bigger.
“IMPOSSIBLE…!” The moment Yan Liqiang took out his Horned Python Bow, Cai Yingwu screeched as his facial expression contorted. As an archery expert, he had an extraordinary ability to distinguish Horned Python Bows. The power of a Horned Python Bow could be determined by just looking at the pattern on the bow frame. As soon as Cai Yingwu laid eyes on Yan Liqiang’s bow, he immediately arrived at a conclusion that seemed outrageous to him. The bow his opponent held was actually a 100-picul powerful bow, and he had never seen anyone who could draw a 100-picul powerful bow in his entire life before. Since this was a rare 100-picul powerful bow, Cai Yingwu couldn’t help but screech at the sight of it.
Yan Liqiang looked at Cai Yingwu, then spoke calmly. “I’m giving you a final chance. Surrender now and announce to everyone that you’ll be leaving the Soaring Heaven Sect! I’m sparing you because I know it hasn’t been easy for you to attain your current archery cultivation!”
“Impossible, Impossible! There’s no way you can draw a 100-picul bow…!” Cai Yingwu stared at the Horned Python Bow in disbelief for a moment, then looked into Yan Liqiang’s eyes. “You must be trying to trick me! Although powerful bows are rare, it’s not like they are non-existent! You must have requested His Majesty to send one to you so that you could intimidate and con me, isn’t that right…?!”
“Why don’t you try…?” Yan Liqiang laughed. “As an archery expert, you should know what the 100-picul bow in my hands means. You have a chance to draw your bow. You can see for yourself if I’m just intimidating you and you’ll be able to kill me with one shot, or you will be the one who will be killed by me…”
To archery experts, the scary thing about a 100-picul powerful bow was the force it could unleash. If a person could fully draw a 100-picul bow and aim accurately at his target, he would be able to unleash a terrifying amount of power with it, even if he had only attained the First Heavenly Layer in the art of archery. The powerful bow had a certain firing power and could release arrows at a certain speed. It was enough to ignore the differences between cultivation realms. Every living being was as fragile as a sheet of paper before such power and speed.
Looking at Yan Liqiang’s calm face and the Horned Python Bow he was holding, cold sweat unknowingly broke out on Cai Yingwu’s back…
…
“What the heck? Why aren’t they fighting yet? What are they talking about…?” The audience around the lake anticipating the duel naturally couldn’t hear the conversation between the two due to the distance. All they saw was both parties standing still after taking out their bows. No one knew what they were doing and they were all baffled…
