Chapter 481: The Blood Flag Will Not Fall (1/2)
The winter lake in the snowing night should have been peaceful and dark. However, there were heavy winds tonight, coupled with the occasional terrifying explosion and flash of flames.
The iron lotus flowers in the frozen lotus land bloomed. The thick layer of snow on the lake surface was tossed into the dark night sky by invisible forces. The thick ice layer collapsed and split open. Lake water that was as dark as ink spurted out of the hole, forming waves that smashed up into the air like snow before receding into the actual snow.
Among the withered remnants of lotus flowers, Xia Hou was tossed up into the air again by the air streams. His st.u.r.dy body looked as if it was about to be tossed to the clouds together with the sharp iron shards.
On the cliff at the southern sh.o.r.e of Yanming Lake, Sangsang held the big black umbrella tightly with one hand and clutched Ning Que's s.h.i.+rt tightly in another. She lowered her head and closed her eyes, unable to bring herself to watch the chaos happening on the lake. However, she seemed to be able to locate the positions of every object on the lake. She then reported two numbers softly.
Ning Que did not hesitate and set up his arrow on the bow after hearing the two numbers. He shot the arrow to the horizons into the night sky. It was completely dark and he could not see anything, but he knew that Xia Hou was there.
The snow was storming down now and it was completely dark. One could not see the arrow's trajectory, but could only hear the sharp whistling of the Primordial Thirteen Arrow. However, it was already too late when one could hear the arrow.
The clouds in the night sky above the Yanming Lake suddenly shuddered. The Qi of Heaven and Earth was thrown into chaos. The clouds scattered into all directions as if a sudden roar of thunder had exploded from between them.
The clouds scattered. Blood sprayed.
Xia Hou fell from above. He could not keep his balance this time and fell on the ice heavily. Several cracks appeared on the surface of the ice.
A cold dark iron arrow had pierced into his left arm deeply.
Xia Hou's eyes burned with anger and pain like an injured beast. He held the tail of the iron arrow and wrenched it from his arm before resuming his run towards the southern sh.o.r.e.
He only managed to step forward thrice.
A powerful explosion happened once again from the deep muddy lotus land.
The layer of ice beneath his feet split open, and he almost fell into the dark cold lake. Following the explosion came the whirl of flames and the terrifying sharp iron shards.
As the water in the lake rolled and lapped through the ice surface and at his military boots, Xia Hou reacted promptly with the strength of a powerhouse at the Peak state of Martial Arts.
He stepped down heavily with his military boots and leaped into the air. Then, he raised his fists up before him at a lightning speed.
Xia Hou hummed, and flew backwards by about ten feet, landing outside of the lotus land.
His arms and many parts of his body that could not be s.h.i.+elded by his arms were torn by the iron shards. Blood seeped from the wound, looking like the gra.s.s on the Wilderness in autumn.
Xia Hou might be a powerhouse at the Peak state of Martial Arts, but the continuous explosions and Ning Que's numerous Primordial Thirteen Arrows had tired him out both mentally and physically.
The Qi of Heaven and Earth that had been gathered on his body's surface had collapsed and could no longer protect his body. Numerous cuts appeared on his skin which was as hard as rock due to the influence of the Devil's Doctrine's arts. While he did not have any fatal injuries, he covered in blood looked extremely pathetic.
Then, another of the Primordial Thirteen Arrows pierced through the blazing lotus and snow. It appeared before Xia Hou silently, not giving him any opportunity to catch his breath.
Xia Hou placed his palms together, capturing the iron arrow between them. He skidded back another ten feet, snow flying up from beneath his feet. His face was pale, and more blood streamed from the corners of his lips.
Ning Que stood beneath the cliff at the southern banks of Yanming Lake and watched everything happening on the lake silently. When Xia Hou was once again forced backwards by an explosion, he took the opportunity to confirm Xia Hou's position. He flicked his bowstring gently when he heard Sangsang report Xia Hou's position.
Archery was the strongest skill of woodcutters of Shubi lake. However, ordinary bows and arrows were practically meaningless to martial cultivators. However, with a weapon like the Primordial Thirteen Arrows, Ning Que became a nightmare to every cultivator.
Ning Que's shooting action was not fast but pulsed with an amazing rhythm. When Sangsang reported Xia Hou's position, the iron arrow left the bowstring rhythmically, like the flowing of water without any disruptions.
With the help of Sangsang paired with Ning Que's amazing archery skills, Xia Hou could not avoid the powerful iron arrows which came without warning no matter how powerful he was.
He could only resist, struggle bitterly and continue to bleed. It was a game of waiting. Would he bleed out before reaching Ning Que or would Ning Que use up all 13 of those iron arrows first?
The speed of the Primordial Thirteen Arrows was startling. It was faster than the speed of sound. The whistling of the arrows could only be heard after it had hit its target.
The reeds by the wooden bridge on the west of Yanming Lake began to shake suddenly. Ye Hongyu's blue taoist robes fluttered in the wind. Then, she heard the whistle of the arrows.
”The Primordial Thirteen Arrows?”
Ye Hongyu said with a stern expression.
She had seen the Primordial Thirteen Arrows at the snow cliff in the Wilderness and by the Daming Lake. She knew how powerful this culmination of wits on the Second floor of the Academy was.
However, she had only discovered in the wild winds, shaking reeds, whistling arrows and the fluttering of her blue taoist robes that Ning Que's Primordial Thirteen Arrows had become even more terrifying compared to a year ago.
Following that, the sound of explosions at the lotus land in Yanming Lake could be heard on the bridge.
She frowned and said, ”What is this?”
There were several explosions, one after another and the sky lightened with flashes of flames. The sharp iron shards in the air and the terrifying arrow aura in the air caused her face to increasingly pale.
She looked towards the east of the lake and suddenly said something baffling, ”I'm dead.”
Chen Pipi and Tang Xiaotang were standing at the end of the bridge.
They watched the battle above the lake and worried for Ning Que and Sangsang silently.
Ye Hongyu did not know what had caused the explosion. Chen Pipi had seen the iron kettle experiment, but he did not explain.
Chen Pipi looked at the direction of the loud whistling from the arrows and the flames just as Ye Hongyu said those three words. He said, with complicated expression, ”So am I.”
They were standing on the bridge and were of course, not dead.
But they both said the same thing when they heard the explosions and sharp whistling from the arrows on Yanming Lake.
”I'm dead.”
Ye Hongyu was the Tao Addict from the West-Hill Divine Palace. Chen Pipi was the youngest Grand Cultivator in the world who had entered the Knowing Destiny State. They were both powerful geniouses from the Haotian Taoism Sect.
They had said that they were dead while watching the battle. It was because that they knew that they would have died at that moment from Ning Que's careful planning over the past 15 years, and his battle preparations from summer to winter.
On the city walls in the snow.
Ye Su said, ”I have never once thought that a cultivator from Seethrough realm could cause such big waves. It seems that I have underestimated Ning Que. But what is it with the explosion in the lotus land?”
Eldest Brother did not say anything.
As the Eldest Brother in the Academy, he knew what had caused the explosion. But like Chen Pipi, he would not reveal his Youngest Brother's trump card to others.