Chapter 16: God-Slaying Bone-Breaking, Three Arrows Suppress Heavenly Bone
"Who told you to leave?"
A chilling voice rang out abruptly. The moment City Lord Qi Shang finished speaking, two Solid Pill Realm martial artists instantly intercepted Su Chen.
The surrounding onlookers showed no surprise. After all, this person had publicly slain six Void Pill Realm experts from the Dong family, and this was Heavenly Bone City—how could the City Lord possibly let him walk away?
Solid Pill Realm martial artists were in an entirely different league from Void Pill Realm martial artists.
It wasn't just the City Lord's Estate; even the Xia family had dispatched two Solid Pill Realm martial artists.
A full four Solid Pill Realm experts surrounded Su Chen right in the center.
Dong Xi sneered and said, "Brat, my word is my bond. The grudges between you and the Dong family end here. As for you acting so recklessly in Heavenly Bone City, that is a matter for the City Lord's Estate."
Shameless!
Utterly shameless!
Yet Su Chen merely laughed.
"What are you laughing at?"
"I'm laughing at your shamelessness without even a blush. If Heavenly Bone City wants to keep me, you'll have to see if you have the ability to do it."
These words were arrogant! And utterly tyrannical!
Xia Quan said with a full smile on his face, "Your Excellency was able to defeat Void Pill Realm experts, so you certainly have extraordinary capabilities. However, this is Heavenly Bone City. Since you killed people publicly here, you owe the City Lord's Estate an explanation."
The figure of a white fox suddenly appeared before Su Chen, its icy eyes locked onto the crowd ahead.
"White Fox, come back."
Choosing to ignore Xia Liwan entirely, the creature squeaked anxiously.
Stroking the white fox's head, Su Chen smiled and said, "Thanks for your kind intentions, but you should leave here first."
The white fox lowered its head in thought, and finally obeying Su Chen's words, its figure vanished rapidly from everyone's sight.
Looking at the four Solid Pill Realm experts surrounding him, Su Chen could safely deduce that the City Lord of Heavenly Bone City, along with the two other family heads, should all be in the Golden Core Realm. While he could kill Void Pill Realm opponents, he might not be able to contend with Solid Pill Realm experts, let alone those in the Golden Core Realm.
Choosing to surrender was simply out of the question.
"Scram, all of you! Those who block me die!"
He had to leave Heavenly Bone City.
Hearing this, City Lord Qi Shang laughed. Anyone could hear the unbridled mockery and contempt contained within his laughter.
Being able to kill six Void Pill Realm experts did not mean one could defeat Solid Pill Realm martial artists, and it was even less possible to contend with a Golden Core Realm City Lord.
"Kill!"
Qi Shang showed not a shred of mercy. In his view, as the City Lord of Heavenly Bone City, his job was to uphold his own dignity, which no one was permitted to violate—least of all someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The four Solid Pill Realm martial artists charged directly at Su Chen.
With his gaze turned icy to the extreme, a black longbow instantly appeared in Su Chen's hand. It was none other than the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow he had obtained earlier in the Heavenly Punishment Forest, and a God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow materialized upon it.
Presently, the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow was suppressed within his Chaos Body, aided by the presence of eight Buddhas. Because he feared a backlash, he was determined not to use this bow casually unless it was an absolute last resort.
Only now, the situation was completely different.
Facing four Solid Pill Realm experts, plus the Golden Core Realm City Lord, it would be difficult to leave Heavenly Bone City alive without using the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow.
Drawing the bow, pulling the arrow.
Instantly, wave after wave of the most ferocious and tyrannical terror-inducing killing intent surged and roared out from the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow. Everyone's expression changed completely, and the four Solid Pill Realm experts shuddered involuntarily.
Retreating in haste, Su Chen did not waste any more time. With a release of his fingers, a God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow burst forth from the bow, carrying a torrent of ferocious murderous energy as it roared up into the sky.
"Evade!"
It was already too late. The four Solid Pill Realm experts hurriedly tried to dodge, only to find themselves locked onto by the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow, leaving them with no chance of evasion whatsoever.
Before everyone's shocked eyes, the black long arrow pierced straight through the bodies of the four Solid Pill Realm experts. A single arrow slew all four; like skewers of roasted meat, their bodies exploded one by one. Their chests burst open like fireworks, and a mist of blood coalesced before splashing out with a loud bang, a pungent smell of blood filling the surrounding air.
Staggering and nearly falling, Su Chen was well aware that with his current cultivation, it was extremely difficult to forcefully use the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow. He had to finish the battle swiftly and could not afford to drag things out any longer.
Under these circumstances, the longer the delay, the more disadvantageous it would be for him—that was beyond any doubt.
He still had no idea how many arrows he was actually capable of firing.
He had already shot the first arrow.
Immediately following that, a second God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow appeared on the bow. Drawing the bowstring once more, he endured the waves of weakness assaulting his mind, his gaze growing increasingly icy.
The target of the second God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow was Dong Xi and Xia Quan.
Realizing the danger, Dong Xi and Xia Quan immediately turned to retreat, but fast as they were, the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow was faster. Like a streak of lightning tearing through layers of space, it shot straight toward the pair.
The very instant the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow vanished from the bow, Su Chen also vanished from his spot.
A pig-like scream echoed through the void.
Dong Zhang's bovine eyes bulged with utter disbelief. He simply could not fathom why, even though his father and the City Lord had both arrived, he was still going to die.
Was this guy really still in the Foundation Establishment Realm?
Killing Dong Zhang with a flash of a sword, Su Chen's figure vanished from the spot once more. He intended to use this opening to execute the two primary culprits.
Dong Xi and Xia Quan were both Level 2 Golden Core Realm experts, figures of considerable renown throughout Heavenly Bone City. To be able to lead their families and stand tall in Heavenly Bone City for so many years meant their personal capabilities spoke for themselves.
Regrettably, they had foolishly assumed that a Foundation Establishment Realm youth was easy to bully and intended to wipe him out completely, never expecting that the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow in Su Chen's hand would be so tyrannical.
The two men fled in opposite directions, gambling on pure chance to see whose luck would hold.
Little did they expect—
Just as Su Chen finished slaughtering Dong Zhang, the third God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow was already loosed, simultaneously streaking toward Dong Xi and Xia Quan in their respective directions.
He harbored absolute confidence that the two God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrows he had fired would undoubtedly slay the two Golden Core Realm experts.
Puff!
A mouthful of blood spewed forth, and Su Chen's face turned as pale as paper. Having fired three arrows in succession, he could no longer manage a fourth. His immediate priority was to leave this place as quickly as possible.
Yet before leaving, there was still one more thing he needed to do.
Materializing before Xia Liwan like a ghost, his chilling, ghastly eyes locked onto the young girl as he said coldly, "Bullying others with power comes with a price."
"No, I know I was wrong."
Knew she was wrong?
It was already too late.
There was no medicine for regret in this world; wrong was wrong, and some mistakes could never be forgiven. Xia Liwan would never have dreamed in her wildest dreams that things would reach this pass.
Usually standing high above the rest as the apple of the Xia family's eye, particularly within Heavenly Bone City where she could do whatever she pleased, she had never encountered any trouble.
This time, however, her gamble had failed.
Because of her willful arrogance, unreasonableness, and bullying of others, she was forfeiting her own life.
***
Chapter 17: Ancestral Phoenix Nirvana Scripture
Puff!
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Su Chen's body began to sway unsteadily. He lacked the strength to shoot a fourth arrow; otherwise, he certainly would have used it to kill this so-called City Lord.
Not all those who deserved death had been killed, and things could not always be brought to a flawless conclusion.
Even though a trace of disappointment lingered in his heart, he did not linger for even a second, because Su Chen knew very well that even if he risked his life, he still wouldn't be able to use the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow again.
The God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow vanished from his hand.
Su Chen's head swam with dizziness as he clenched his teeth and forced himself to endure.
Having just employed the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow and fired three consecutive arrows, a strand of evil aura had silently and stealthily invaded his mind.
A deathly silence fell over the scene!
Everyone stared at the unfolding tableau, dumbfounded beyond belief.
Never in their wildest dreams would they have imagined that a mere Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, relying on a single bow and three arrows, could slaughter four Solid Pill Realm and two Golden Core Realm experts—including Dong Zhang and Xia Liwan.
Greed filled Qi Shang's eyes as he stared unblushingly at the bow and arrows that had now vanished.
As for the Xia and Dong families, their total annihilation meant nothing to him. After all, with so many families in Heavenly Bone City, the loss of two meant new ones could easily be supported in taking their place.
However.
The bow and arrows in this youth's hand were clearly supreme treasures capable of bridging the gap between cultivation realms. Qi Shang could tell that the young man was now at the end of his tether and utterly incapable of firing a fourth arrow.
Had there been even the slightest chance, Qi Shang believed the youth would have fired that fourth arrow without hesitation.
A lingering fear gripped Qi Shang's heart as well. Fortunately, the youth hadn't targeted him first; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
The opportunity had arrived.
Watching the stumbling youth who looked as though he could collapse at any second, Qi Shang hesitated no longer. Filled with greed, he strode quickly toward the young man.
Many among the onlookers shared his greed, yet they dared not step forward to seize the prize.
Not unless they possessed the strength to suppress Qi Shang.
Being only a single step away from the city gates, Su Chen could hold on no longer. An irresistible wave of weakness surged from the depths of his mind, and his body collapsed.
Even so, everyone looked upon him with lingering awe. After all, for a Foundation Establishment Realm martial artist to accomplish all of this was already immensely badass.
Watching the fallen youth, a flash of elation crossed Qi Shang's eyes. Just as he closed to within roughly a meter of the young man, raising his hand to strike him down and seize the bow and arrows—
A figure materialized out of nowhere. Her peerless beauty left everyone utterly breathless.
Before Qi Shang could even react, an icy, tyrannical force descended upon him, forcibly freezing his entire body in place.
With a muffled bang, Qi Shang's body burst apart raw, transforming into a swirling mist of blood that frightened the onlookers so badly their complexions drained of color. No one had expected that the dignified Golden Core Realm City Lord, Qi Shang, couldn't even withstand a single move from this woman.
She vanished?
Gazing at the woman who had disappeared in an instant, and then down at the unconscious youth, the whole ordeal felt like a waking dream.
"Heavenly Bone City is about to undergo a upheaval."
"Duh! The City Lord has perished, and both the Xia and Dong families have suffered devastating blows. The other families will certainly not let this opportunity pass."
"So, should we stay or leave now?"
"Of course we stay, to see if we can pick up any scraps."
~~~~~~~~~
Beneath the twilight.
Inside a dim cave, Luo Tianfei frowned deeply as she looked at the unconscious youth. Having originally departed, some lingering misgivings in her heart had ultimately prompted her to return and check on him.
She had never regarded any man in her eyes; this entire affair was a complete accident. She had originally intended to acquire the divine-demon martial arts inscribed upon the stone wall, never expecting the wall's power to be so tyrannical that even a supreme existence like herself failed to resist its corrosion.
Though Su Chen had taken advantage of her, he had always been on the receiving end passively.
Circulating the Ancestral Phoenix Nirvana Scripture within her body, streams of phoenix nirvana aura poured endlessly into Su Chen's veins. At the same time, a yellow-red medicinal pill materialized in her palm, which she gently slipped into Su Chen's mouth.
She felt extremely conflicted about the matter.
She had given her first time to Su Chen, and to claim that nothing had happened would be a bald-faced lie. Yet asking her to accept the current Su Chen was an absolute impossibility.
An hour later.
Luo Tianfei walked to the cave entrance, forming seals with both hands to simply deploy a concealment formation.
With a sigh, she lingered no longer. This time, she truly chose to leave.
Time flowed on.
How much time had passed, Su Chen slowly pried open his heavy eyelids. Waves of pain and weakness wracked his body, as though his internal organs had been displaced. In particular, the soul within his mind carried a distinct tearing sensation.
Dragging himself up from the ground with great difficulty, Su Chen sensed a powerful stream of energy coursing through every corner of his body, alongside what felt like medicinal residue.
"Luo Tianfei?"
The moment he lost consciousness, he had vaguely caught sight of a residual shadow condensing before him. Intuition told him that the person who had rescued him from Heavenly Bone City was likely Luo Tianfei.
Shaking his head with a helpless smile, Su Chen suddenly sensed a set of cultivation techniques welling up within his mind.
"Ancestral Phoenix Nirvana Scripture?"
It had to be Luo Tianfei beyond a shadow of a doubt. Sighing deeply, Su Chen understood that in his current state, he lacked the qualifications to pursue Luo Tianfei. He could easily guess that Luo Tianfei's identity was by no means simple.
Yet he would not give up.
Luo Tianfei was his first woman; one day in the future, he would surely travel to the Ancestral Phoenix Palace to find her and declare to the entire world that Luo Tianfei belonged to him.
As for the Ancestral Phoenix Nirvana Scripture left behind by Luo Tianfei, it was extraordinary indeed. It allowed his energy to circulate endlessly, and if cultivated to the extreme, it could grant the ability of nirvana rebirth.
Sitting cross-legged immediately, he began to circulate his internal energy throughout his entire body in accordance with the trajectory of the Ancestral Phoenix Nirvana Scripture.
What had happened in Heavenly Bone City was purely an accident; he hadn't gone out looking for trouble. It was simply that the white fox had bowed to the purple fox in his embrace, and a dog-like sycophant had jumped out halfway, trying to step all over him just to grovel and win favor with his desired woman.
Others might have felt fear and accepted the humiliation.
As for him, he would rather die in battle than submit.
If given another chance, he would still choose to fight without retreating a single step.
Yet what Su Chen hadn't anticipated was that the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow suppressed within his Chaos Body was so tyrannical. He had merely fired three arrows, and his soul had nearly suffered such a severe backlash. Had Luo Tianfei not rescued him in time, what would have become of him was truly anyone's guess.
Still, his luck wasn't entirely bad—he had managed to survive after all.
It seemed that in the future, unless his cultivation reached a certain level, he should refrain from using the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow. Otherwise, who knew if he'd have such good luck next time.
After a full night of cultivation and recovery, by the time the morning light draped across the earth the next day, Su Chen had finally stabilized his injuries and regained his mobility.
Luo Tianfei had not returned; it seemed she had already left.
Approaching the cave entrance and sensing an invisible barrier of energy, he knew clearly that a formation had sealed the cave to prevent him from being discovered.
***
Chapter 18: Looks Like Another Back-Door Admission
The Su Clan.
A supreme faction of the Eastern Wasteland.
Situated in the southwest of the Eastern Wasteland, it governed a territory spanning tens of thousands of li, controlling hundreds of imperial dynasties and sects. It even possessed branch families, with the Panxian City Su family being one of them.
On the mid-level of a secluded mountain peak.
A handsome youth sat cross-legged on a giant boulder, his hands forming seals unceasingly as he cultivated the Seven-Killing Sword Art.
Su Hao—the one who had stripped Su Chen of his Imperial Bone back then—possessed heaven-defying natural talent and was hailed by the Su Clan as their number one genius. The Blood Wheel he had awakened was the Seven-Killing Sword Blood Wheel.
Being able to manifest martial arts through his Blood Wheel already spoke volumes about his capabilities.
Having journeyed to the Heavenly Punishment Forest and secured fortuitous encounters, his cultivation had successfully broken through to the Intermediate Golden Core Realm.
The internal energy surged like a vast sea, bursting forth frantically. Floating above his crown was a Blood Wheel containing a crimson-black sword that radiated a terrifying murderous intent.
"Seven-Killing convergence, break!"
The Golden Core condensing within his body grew increasingly solid, instantly shattering his personal bottleneck to successfully advance from the Intermediate Golden Core Realm to the Advanced Golden Core Realm.
At that moment.
A black shadow materialized abruptly, dropping to one knee as it reported, "Young Master, news has come from Panxian City. Su Chen has already been expelled from the family."
Nodding in satisfaction, Su Hao viewed Su Chen as nothing more than an ant in his eyes.
With his status and strength, he could crush Su Chen to death just by lifting a finger, without the slightest shred of suspense.
However.
Su Hao hadn't made a move back in the Heavenly Punishment Forest because he relished that feeling of looking down from above, letting Su Chen experience a fate worse than death.
"Send people to humiliate him. Remember, do not kill him."
"Understood."
The black shadow vanished into thin air without a trace.
Having just broken through to the Advanced Golden Core Realm, he wasted no time, slowly closing his eyes to begin charging toward the Peak Golden Core Realm.
~~~~~~~~
After five days of rushing with all his might, Su Chen finally entered the territory of the Eastern Wasteland Academy.
An immensely huge valley, shrouded in wispy white mist, looked from afar as though it rested upon the peak of white clouds.
At the valley entrance.
Stood a plaque inscribed with four characters: 'Eastern Wasteland Academy'. This was the renowned Eastern Wasteland Academy of the Eastern Wasteland.
The overall strength and foundation of the Eastern Wasteland Academy were formidable. Most importantly, the fundamental reason it had stood tall in the Eastern Wasteland for many years was that many of the martial artists cultivated by the academy became powerhouses of the Eastern Wasteland, and some even left the Eastern Wasteland to head toward the mainland.
No faction was willing to provoke the Eastern Wasteland Academy.
Back in the day, Su Zhan had been hailed as the number one powerhouse of the Eastern Wasteland and had shown grace to the Dean of the Eastern Wasteland Academy.
Precisely because of this reason.
Su Yuan had sought help from the Eastern Wasteland Academy, sending Su Chen here to cultivate and incidentally evade the Su Clan.
"This student, please present your identity jade token."
"Hello, Teacher. My name is Su Chen, a new student of the academy, and I've come to report today."
The middle-aged man sitting at the entrance nodded and said, "Admission time has already passed."
"I was delayed by matters on the road."
Retrieving a ledger, the man checked the entries one by one. After inspecting it for a full half-hour, he put the ledger away and said, "Su Chen, this is your identity jade token. You have been assigned to Class 22 of the Primary Section."
"Thank you."
Receiving the jade token, the two characters 'Su Chen' were engraved upon it—his very own identity token.
"Su Chen, all classes of the Primary Section are currently participating in the Contention of the Hidden Dragons. If you wish to participate, head directly to the Eastern Wasteland Forest."
Contention of the Hidden Dragons?
Before Su Chen could speak, the man had already introduced the situation regarding the academy and the so-called Contention of the Hidden Dragons.
The Eastern Wasteland Academy was divided into five tiers of classes: the Primary Section, Intermediate Section, Advanced Section, Ace Section, and Imperial Ace Section.
Foundation Establishment Realm martial artists cultivated in the Primary Section.
Void Pill Realm martial artists cultivated in the Intermediate Section.
Solid Pill Realm martial artists cultivated in the Advanced Section.
Golden Core Realm martial artists cultivated in the Ace Section.
To enter the Imperial Ace Section for cultivation, one had to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm. Such students would become the key nurtured talents of the entire academy, free to enter any area for cultivation, secure the maximum support from the academy, and obtain abundant cultivation resources.
Within the Eastern Wasteland Academy, there were two ranking lists: the Hidden Dragon List and the Hundred Battles List. Regardless of which list it was, contention battles were held every year, while on regular days, students could challenge those currently on the lists.