"Unleashing a force of a thousand pounds?" Li Xiu's eyes lit up. "Then let me see it for myself!"
The two of them went to the home of the clan leader, Li Daqing.
"Clan leader, Li Xiu wants to see the Flying Dart passed down from your ancestors," Li Mingda stated their purpose.
Li Daqing looked at Li Xiu in surprise. "Li Xiu, you want to see my family's ancestral Flying Dart? This is no joke. Only someone with a force of a thousand pounds or more can launch it; it's not something an ordinary person can do!"
"Clan leader, I want to try," Li Xiu said with a resolute expression.
Li Daqing looked Li Xiu up and down. This fellow looked sturdy enough, but didn't look like he possessed all that much strength.
"Li Xiu, it's not that I don't trust you, but ordinary people simply cannot launch such a thing," Li Daqing shook his head. "Years ago, I tried it myself, using all my strength, and I could barely throw it a few meters. This kind of Flying Dart has extremely high requirements for arm strength and technique; sheer brute force alone won't cut it. Otherwise, you'll end up hurting yourself, and that wouldn't be good."
"Clan leader, just let me try. I definitely won't hurt myself," Li Xiu pleaded.
Seeing how persistent Li Xiu was, Li Daqing had no choice but to nod and say, "All right then, follow me."
Li Daqing led Li Xiu to the inner room, opened a locked wooden box, and revealed ten bizarre Flying Darts, covered from top to bottom with densely packed runes.
"These are my family's ancestral divine darts," Li Daqing pointed to the wooden box and said. "Be careful and don't accidentally hurt yourself."
Li Xiu picked up a Flying Dart as if it weighed nothing and strode out into the courtyard.
"Whoosh!"
A sound of the air being torn apart rang out, and the Flying Dart flew straight out of the courtyard...
"Boom!"
Two hundred meters away from the clan leader's house, a large tree was unexpectedly shattered right down the middle by the Flying Dart!
"This..." Li Daqing and Li Mingda were dumbfounded. With the ancestral divine dart, Li Xiu made it look as if he were holding a leaf!
"Th-this, how is that possible?!" Li Mingda dropped his jaw in disbelief.
"H-how could this happen?!" Li Daqing's jaw dropped as well, his face etched with utter incredulity.
An ancestor of his family had once achieved the title of top military graduate, and the furthest he could throw the ancestral divine dart was twenty meters!
"Clan leader, these ten divine darts... could you sell them to me?" Li Xiu asked sheepishly.
"This..." Li Daqing hesitated, stopping mid-sentence. "These divine darts are our family's ancestral heirlooms. I..."
Li Xiu quickly added, "Clan leader, don't worry. I'm not asking for them for free; I'll pay for them. Name your price, and I'll give it to you."
"Li Xiu, this isn't a matter of money," Li Daqing shook his head repeatedly. "These divine darts were left behind by our ancestors. They cannot be sold."
"Clan leader, I'm begging you. I really, really love these divine darts, and I will worship them like my own ancestors!" Li Xiu pleaded once more.
Seeing the eager look on Li Xiu's face, Li Daqing couldn't help but sigh. "Oh well, fine. If you really like them, I'll just give them to you. You don't need to pay anything."
"Clan leader..." Li Xiu was so moved he was practically ready to drop to his knees. "You are my second-chance parents, my benefactor!"
Li Daqing handed the wooden box over to Li Xiu. "Take them. You must protect our homeland."
"Many thanks, clan leader! Don't worry, a single divine dart is all I need to blow a huge hole right through that Mountain Ghost!" Li Xiu was so excited he could practically jump for joy.
Li Xiu picked up the wooden box, said goodbye to Li Daqing and Li Mingda, and walked toward the small river at the entrance of the village.
He wanted to test just how powerful the divine darts really were.
By the stream, Li Xiu took out a divine dart and stood on the bank.
He looked at a boulder not far away, took a deep breath, and hurled the divine dart in his hand with all his might.
"Whoosh!" The divine dart shot forth like a meteor, howling through the air, and struck the boulder dead center.
"Boom!"
A massive explosion rang out. Under the impact of the divine dart, the boulder instantly shattered into pieces, stone fragments flying everywhere and dust billowing into the air.
"Holy crap!" Li Xiu blurted out a curse at the sight.
He had known the divine dart was powerful, but he hadn't expected it to reach such a degree—it was practically on par with a rocket launcher!
"Awesome, truly awesome!" Li Xiu was immensely excited. "With the divine dart, combined with my Grandmaster-level Darts, let alone one Mountain Ghost, even ten Mountain Ghosts will be blown away by me!"
After running the test, Li Xiu was extremely satisfied.
The divine dart, coupled with his Grandmaster-level Darts, made him like a tiger given wings—every shot guaranteed to hit its mark.
Just as he was about to head back toward the village, a cry for help suddenly echoed from outside.
"Help!"
The voice was extremely weak, sounding almost like weeping, but Li Xiu's hearing was extraordinary, and he caught every single word.
He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a slender figure struggling desperately in the rushing stream, seemingly about to be swept away by the fierce currents at any moment.
"Oh no!" Li Xiu cried out inwardly. Without a second thought, not even bothering to take off his shoes, he leaped into the stream with a single bound.
The current was torrential. Li Xiu fought desperately forward, kicking up a flurry of white spray.
As he got closer, he realized it was Zhang Wenqin!
Her face was pale as death, her lips a bluish-purple. She had choked on the river water several times and was struggling as she began to sink.
Li Xiu grabbed Zhang Wenqin's arm, feeling a slippery touch, and pulled with all his might, dragging her straight onto the bank.
Like someone grasping at a final straw, Zhang Wenqin tightly clutched Li Xiu's arm.
It took a long time before Li Xiu finally pulled Zhang Wenqin out of the water. Both of them were left panting heavily.
Zhang Wenqin collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. Soaked completely through by the river water, she shivered uncontrollably, looking like a drowned rat.
"Wenqin, are you alright? Are you okay?" Li Xiu asked with a trembling voice.
Recovering from the shock, Zhang Wenqin looked up at Li Xiu, her face filled with gratitude. "Brother Li Xiu, thank you so much... thank you for saving my life..."
Her voice was very faint, sounding as though she were crying, which tugged at the heartstrings.
"How did you fall in?" Li Xiu frowned. "Water this swift is too dangerous!"
"I... I was washing clothes..." Zhang Wenqin trembled as she spoke. "Suddenly, I saw a tall monster. I got so scared that I lost my footing and fell into the water."
"A tall monster?!" Li Xiu's expression shifted, and he blurted out, "How could that Mountain Ghost appear right at the entrance of our village?!"
This was no small matter. The Mountain Ghost was threatening the villagers—this was definitely not a joke!
"Did you see which way the Mountain Ghost went?" Li Xiu asked hurriedly.
Zhang Wenqin shook her head, her body still shaking. "I was too scared, so I jumped straight into the water..."
Li Xiu's face darkened. The Mountain Ghost had already reached the village entrance; this was serious and a countermeasure had to be devised as quickly as possible.
Li Xiu immediately urged Zhang Wenqin, "Leave this to me. Don't worry, hurry on back now."
"Mm..." Zhang Wenqin nodded, her face still retaining a trace of pallor, looking as though she hadn't yet recovered from the fright.