Chapter 16: God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow, Three Arrows Suppress the Heavenly Bones
"Who said you could leave?"
A chilling voice suddenly rang out. Just as City Lord Qi Shang finished speaking, two Solid Core Realm martial artists instantly intercepted Su Chen.
The surrounding onlookers showed no surprise. After all, this man had publicly slaughtered six Void Core Realm martial artists from the Dong family, and this was Bone City. How could the city lord possibly let him walk away?
Solid Core Realm martial artists were simply in a completely different league compared to those in the Void Core Realm.
It wasn't just the City Lord's Estate—even the Xia family had dispatched two Solid Core Realm martial artists.
A total of four Solid Core 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 Bone City, that is a matter for the City Lord's Estate."
Shameless!
Utterly shameless!
Yet Su Chen simply smiled.
"What are you laughing at?"
"I'm laughing at you being shameless without even blushing. If Bone City wants to keep me here, you'll have to see if you actually have the ability to do so."
Such arrogance! Utterly tyrannical!
Xia Quan said with a full smile, "Since Your Excellency was able to defeat Void Core Realm practitioners, you certainly possess extraordinary capabilities. However, this is Bone City, and since you killed people publicly here, you owe the City Lord's Estate an explanation."
The white fox's figure suddenly appeared before Su Chen, its icy eyes locked onto the crowd ahead.
"White Fox, come back."
He chose to ignore Xia Liwan entirely as she squeaked anxiously.
Stroking the white fox's head, Su Chen smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind intentions, but you should leave this place first."
The white fox lowered its head in thought, and finally obeyed Su Chen's words, its figure rapidly vanishing from the sight of the crowd.
Looking at the four Solid Core Realm experts surrounding him, Su Chen could deduce that the City Lord of Bone City, along with the other two family heads, were likely in the Golden Core Realm. While he could kill Void Core Realm practitioners, he might not necessarily be able to contend with Solid Core Realm experts, let alone those in the Golden Core Realm.
Choosing to surrender was simply out of the question.
"All of you, get lost! Those who block me die!"
He had to leave Bone City.
Hearing this, City Lord Qi Shang laughed. Anyone could hear the unbridled mockery and contempt contained in his laughter.
Being able to kill six Void Core Realm practitioners did not mean he could defeat Solid Core Realm martial artists, and it was even more impossible for him 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 Bone City, his job was to uphold his own dignity, which no one was permitted to violate, let alone some nobody in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The four Solid Core Realm martial artists directly blasted toward Su Chen.
With his gaze turned icy to the extreme, a black longbow instantly materialized 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. At the same time, a God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow materialized on the bowstring.
Currently, the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow was suppressed within his Chaos Body, aided by eight Buddhist figures. Because he feared a backlash, unless it was an absolute emergency, he was entirely unwilling to use this bow casually.
Only now, the situation was completely different.
Facing four Solid Core Realm experts, plus a Golden Core Realm city lord, it would be extremely difficult to leave Bone City alive without using the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow.
Drawing the bow, pulling the arrow.
Instantly, wave after wave of supreme, fierce, and terrifying killing intent surged and roared from within the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow. The expressions of everyone present changed utterly, and the four Solid Core Realm martial artists even shuddered involuntarily.
As they rapidly retreated, Su Chen wasted no more time. With a release of his hand, a God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow tore through the bow, roaring toward the heavens while carrying a fierce torrent of murderous qi.
"Dodge!"
It was already too late. The four Solid Core Realm martial artists hurriedly tried to evade, only to find that they had already been locked onto by the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow, leaving them not even a chance to dodge.
Amidst the shocked gazes of everyone present, the four Solid Core Realm martial artists had their bodies pierced by the black arrow. A single arrow shot through and killed all four of them, like skewered meat. Their bodies burst apart one by one, their chests exploding like fireworks as a mist of blood condensed and splashed out with a loud bang, a pungent smell of blood spreading all around.
Staggering and nearly falling, Su Chen was well aware that with his current cultivation level, it was extremely difficult to forcefully use the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow. He had to finish the battle quickly and absolutely could not drag it out.
Under these circumstances, the longer the delay, the more disadvantageous it would be for him—that was beyond any doubt.
He still didn't know how many arrows he could actually fire.
The first arrow had already been loosed.
Immediately following that, the second God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow appeared on the bow. As he rapidly drew the bowstring, enduring the waves of weakness washing over his mind, his gaze grew increasingly icy.
The target of the second God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow was Dong Xi and Xia Quan.
Realizing what was happening, Dong Xi and Xia Quan immediately turned around to retreat. However, while their speed was fast, the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow was even faster. Like a streak of lightning tearing through layers of space, it shot directly toward the two men.
The very instant the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow vanished from the bow, Su Chen also vanished from his spot.
A pig-slaughtering scream echoed through the void.
Dong Zhang stared with wide, bovine eyes, his face full of 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 single flash of violence, Su Chen's figure vanished from the spot once more. He wanted to use this opening to execute the two chief culprits.
Dong Xi and Xia Quan were both at the Level 2 Golden Core Realm, standing among the very elite throughout all of Bone City. To be able to lead their respective families to stand tall in Bone City for so many years meant their personal capabilities went without saying.
Pity that they had mistakenly assumed a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator was easy to bully and tried to wipe him out completely, never expecting that the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow in Su Chen's hands would be so tyrannical.
The two men fled in opposite directions, gambling on pure luck to see whose fortune was better.
Yet they never expected that right after slaughtering Dong Zhang, Su Chen would fire the third God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrow, which split into two directions to strike Dong Xi and Xia Quan simultaneously.
With absolute confidence, he knew that the two God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Arrows he fired would undoubtedly execute 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 fire a fourth. All he needed to do now was leave this place as quickly as possible.
Before leaving, however, there was still one more thing he had to do.
Appearing before Xia Liwan like a ghost, his icy, demonic eyes locked onto the young girl before him, and he said coldly, "Relying on power to bully others comes with a price."
"No, I know I was wrong."
You know you were 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 that things would reach this point.
Usually high and mighty, she was the pampered darling of the Xia family. Especially in Bone City, she could do whatever she pleased and had never encountered any trouble.
This time, however, she had lost her gamble.
Because of her self-will, unreasonableness, and bullying of others based on power, she was throwing away her own life.
***
Chapter 17: Ancestral Phoenix Nirvana Scripture
Puff!
Blood spewed from his mouth, and Su Chen's body began to sway. He was already powerless to fire a fourth arrow; otherwise, he definitely would have unleashed one more to kill this so-called city lord.
The people who needed to be killed had already been killed. Things could not always be completely flawless.
Even though he felt a tinge of disappointment, he did not linger for even a second, for Su Chen knew very well that even if he risked his life, he still wouldn't be able to continue using the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow.
The God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow in his hand vanished instantly.
Su Chen's head felt dizzy and heavy as he gritted his teeth and pushed forward.
Having just used the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow to fire three arrows in succession, a strand of evil qi had silently and stealthily invaded his mind.
Deathly silence!
Everyone looked at the scene before them, dumbfounded beyond belief.
No one would ever have imagined that a mere Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator, relying on a single bow and three arrows, could slaughter four Solid Core Realm experts and two Golden Core Realm experts, including Dong Zhang and Xia Liwan.
Qi Shang's eyes were filled with unbridled greed as he stared fixedly at the bow and arrows that had now vanished.
As for the Xia family and the Dong family, they were completely wiped out, but that had nothing to do with him. After all, there were numerous families in Bone City; losing two of them meant he could simply support new families to take their place.
However, the bow and arrows in this youth's hands were clearly supreme treasures capable of bridging the gap between cultivation realms. Qi Shang could tell that the young man was already at the end of his tether and could no longer fire a fourth arrow.
If there had been even the slightest chance, Qi Shang believed the youth would have fired that fourth arrow without a moment's hesitation.
Qi Shang felt a lingering fear in his heart as well. Fortunately, the youth hadn't targeted him with the first arrow; 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 directly toward the young man.
Among the surrounding onlookers, many felt the same greed, yet none dared to step forward and snatch it.
Unless one could suppress Qi Shang, interference was out of the question.
Being only a step away from the city gates, Su Chen could finally hold on no longer. An irresistible wave of weakness surged from his mind, and his body collapsed to the ground.
Even so, everyone's eyes remained filled with admiration. After all, for a Foundation Establishment Realm martial artist, being able to accomplish all of this was already profoundly badass.
Watching the fallen youth, a flash of joy crossed Qi Shang's eyes. Just as he closed the distance to within about a meter of the youth and raised his hand to kill him and seize the bow and arrows, a figure suddenly materialized. Her breathtaking beauty left everyone breathless.
Before Qi Shang could even react, an icy, tyrannical force enveloped him, forcibly locking his entire body in place.
With a loud bang, Qi Shang's body burst apart abruptly, transforming into a swirling mist of blood that frightened the faces of all the onlookers 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 person.
Just like that, she vanished?
Looking at the woman who had disappeared in an instant, alongside the youth who had passed out cold, it all felt like a dream.
"Bone City is about to undergo a drastic change."
"Duh! The city lord has fallen, and both the Xia and Dong families have suffered devastating blows. The other families certainly won't let go of this opportunity."
"So, should we stay or leave now?"
"Of course we stay, to see if we can pick up any scraps."
~~~~~~~~~
Beneath the twilight sky, inside a dim cave, Luo Tianfei frowned deeply as she looked at the unconscious youth. Originally, she had already left, but a lingering doubt in her heart ultimately prompted her to return and check on him.
She had never regarded any man in her eyes, and this incident was entirely an accident. She had originally wanted to obtain the divine-demonic martial arts carved on the stone wall, but she never expected that the wall would be so tyrannical that even a top-tier existence like her failed to resist its corrosive power.
Though Su Chen had taken advantage of her, he had always been on the passive receiving end.
Circulating the Ancestral Phoenix Nirvana Scripture within her body, streams of Phoenix Nirvana qi poured endlessly into Su Chen's body. At the same time, a yellowish-red medicinal pill materialized in her hand, which she gently placed into Su Chen's mouth.
She felt extremely conflicted about the whole affair.
She had given her first time to Su Chen. To claim that nothing had happened would be an outright lie, yet asking her to willingly accept the current Su Chen was an absolute impossibility.
An hour later, Luo Tianfei walked to the cave entrance and formed hand seals, simply setting up a concealment array.
With a soft sigh, she did not linger any longer. This time, she truly chose to leave.
Time flowed on.
Unknowing how much time had passed, Su Chen slowly opened his heavy eyelids. Waves of pain and weakness rippled through his body, as if his internal organs had been displaced, and his soul within his mind felt as though it were being torn apart.
Struggling to crawl up from the ground, Su Chen sensed a powerful surge of energy coursing through every part of his body, alongside what seemed to be the lingering residue of a medicinal pill.
"Luo Tianfei?"
The moment he had passed out, he had vaguely seen a phantom figure condense before him. Intuition told him that the person who had rescued him from Bone City was most likely Luo Tianfei.
Shaking his head helplessly, Su Chen suddenly sensed a cultivation technique emerge within his mind.
"Ancestral Phoenix Nirvana Scripture?"
Without a doubt, it had to be Luo Tianfei. Sighing deeply, Su Chen also understood that in his current state, he certainly wasn't qualified to pursue Luo Tianfei. He could fully guess that Luo Tianfei's identity was by no means simple.
He would not give up.
Luo Tianfei was his first woman; in the future, he would definitely go to the Ancestral Phoenix Palace to find her and let the entire world know that Luo Tianfei belonged to him.
As for the Ancestral Phoenix Nirvana Scripture left behind by Luo Tianfei, it was far from ordinary, capable of generating an endless cycle of power, and when cultivated to the extreme, granting the ability of nirvana rebirth.
Sitting cross-legged immediately, he began circulating his internal energy throughout his entire body in accordance with the trajectory of the Ancestral Phoenix Nirvana Scripture.
The events that had transpired in Bone City were entirely accidental; he hadn't actively looked for trouble. It was simply that the white fox had bowed to the purple fox in his arms, and a halfway-popped bootlicker had emerged, wanting to step all over him just to grovel and pursue a woman.
Others might have felt fear and chosen to accept the humiliation.
As for him, he would fight to the death before ever backing down.
If given another chance, he would still choose to fight without taking a single step back.
What Su Chen hadn't expected, however, was that the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow suppressed within his Chaos Body was so tyrannical. He had merely fired three arrows, yet his soul had almost suffered such a severe backlash. If not for Luo Tianfei's timely rescue, what would have become of him was truly anyone's guess.
Still, his luck wasn't too bad; he had managed to survive after all.
It seemed that in the future, he must avoid using the God-Slaying Bone-Breaking Bow unless his cultivation reached a certain level. Otherwise, heaven only knew if he would have such good luck next time.
After a full night of cultivation and recovery, by the time the morning light enveloped the world the next day, Su Chen had finally stabilized his injuries and was able to move around once more.
Luo Tianfei hadn't returned, which meant she had already departed.
Arriving at the cave entrance and feeling a layer of invisible protective qi, he knew clearly that it was an array covering the cave to prevent him from being discovered.
***
Chapter 18: It Seems He Got in Through the Back Door Again
The Su Clan.
A top-tier power of the Eastern Wasteland.
Situated in the southwestern region of the Eastern Wasteland, it governed a territory spanning tens of thousands of miles, controlling hundreds of imperial dynasties and sects, and boasting numerous branches—the Panyou City Su family being one of them.
On the halfway point of a secluded mountain peak, a handsome young man sat cross-legged on a giant boulder, his hands constantly forming hand seals as he practiced the Seven-Kill Sword Scripture.
Su Hao was the one who had stripped Su Chen of his imperial bone back then. Possessing an innate talent that defied the heavens, he was hailed as the number one genius of the Su Clan, having awakened the Seven-Kill Sword Blood Wheel.
Being able to derive his own martial arts directly from his blood wheel already spoke volumes about his capabilities.
Having journeyed to the Heavenly Punishment Forest this time and secured fortuitous encounters, his cultivation had successfully broken through to the Intermediate Golden Core Realm.
Energy surged from within his body like a vast, raging sea, wildly pouring outward. The blood wheel condensing above his head contained a crimson-black sword, emanating a terrifying murderous intent.
"Seven-kills return to their place, break!"
The golden core condensing within his body grew increasingly solid, instantly shattering his own limits and smoothly advancing from the Intermediate Golden Core Realm to the Advanced Golden Core Realm.
At that moment, a dark shadow suddenly materialized, dropping to one knee as it reported, "Young Master, news has come from Panyou City: Su Chen has already been expelled from the family."
Nodding in deep satisfaction, Su Hao had always viewed Su Chen as nothing more than an ant.
With his status and strength, he could easily crush Su Chen to death with a mere flick of his finger, without the slightest shred of suspense.
Even so, Su Hao hadn't made a move while in the Heavenly Punishment Forest. He simply relished that feeling of looking down from above, driving Su Chen to a fate worse than death.
"Send people to humiliate him. Remember, don't kill him."
"Understood."
The dark shadow vanished into thin air instantly.
Having just broken through to the Advanced Golden Core Realm and wasting no time, he slowly closed his eyes and began charging toward the Peak Golden Core Realm.
~~~~~~~~
After five days of racing full speed ahead, Su Chen finally entered the territorial domain of the Eastern Wasteland Academy.
An unimaginably massive valley was surrounded by wisps of faint white mist, looking from afar as if it rested atop the white clouds.
At the entrance of the valley stood a plaque bearing four characters: "Eastern Wasteland Academy"—it was none other than 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 the academy had stood tall in the Eastern Wasteland for so many years was that many of the martial artists it cultivated went on to become 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 was 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, Su Yuan had sought help from the Eastern Wasteland Academy, allowing Su Chen to come here to cultivate and effectively 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, here to report today."
The middle-aged man sitting at the entrance nodded and said, "The enrollment period has already passed."
"I was delayed by matters along the way."
Taking out a ledger, the man checked the names 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 Division."
"Thank you."
Receiving the jade token, he saw two characters carved upon it: "Su Chen"—it was his very own identity token.
"Su Chen, all the classes of the Primary Division are currently participating in the Contention of the Rising Dragons. If you wish to participate, head straight to the Eastern Wasteland Forest."
The Contention of the Rising Dragons?
Before Su Chen could speak, the man had already introduced him to the academy's situation and the so-called Contention of the Rising Dragons.
The Eastern Wasteland Academy was divided into five levels of classes: the Primary Division, Intermediate Division, Advanced Division, Ace Division, and Royal Ace Division.
Foundation Establishment Realm martial artists cultivated in the Primary Division.
Void Core Realm martial artists cultivated in the Intermediate Division.
Solid Core Realm martial artists cultivated in the Advanced Division.
Golden Core Realm martial artists cultivated in the Ace Division.
Those wishing to cultivate in the Royal Ace Division had to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm. They would then become key-nurtured students of the entire academy, permitted to enter any area for cultivation at will, receive the academy's maximum support, and obtain the finest cultivation resources.
Within the Eastern Wasteland Academy, there were two major ranking lists: the Rising Dragons List and the Hundred Battles List. Regardless of which list it was, contention battles were held every year, while during ordinary times, students could directly challenge those on the rankings.