The young disciples watching nearby turned deathly pale. The pressure radiating from that lightning-spirit arrow made their teeth chatter. They had never felt such destructive power, and it seemed more overwhelming than all the carnage on the battlefield below.
Actually, they had misunderstood the situation.
The battle below was certainly brutal, but they were observing it from a distance, with the protective formation weakening its impact. Xu Ziyan’s lightning-spirit arrow, on the other hand, was being formed right beside them. Naturally, the difference in distance made its pressure seem far more intense.
“Zirong!” Xu Ziyan suddenly called in a low voice just as he drew the Giltgold Horn Bow to its fullest extent.
Patriarch Jiang was baffled. Why was Xu Ziyan calling his younger brother over at a moment like this? Surely he wasn’t going to ask him to help draw the bow?
What Xu Zirong did next left him even more stunned. The beautiful young man stepped behind Xu Ziyan and loosely wrapped his arms around him, their bodies close together like the most intimate lovers.
Everyone present felt as though their world had been turned upside down. Only one inconspicuous young man silently pressed a hand to his forehead and turned away. The refined Jiang Ying was nearly in tears. His new master was openly showing affection to his own elder brother in front of a crowd. It was a direct assault on everyone’s sense of propriety.
For a moment the archery tower fell so silent that even the sounds of battle seemed unable to reach it. Jiang Tianxing no longer knew what to say. Surely he had misunderstood something? What happened next appeared to prove that he had indeed misunderstood… (Really?)
After drawing Xu Ziyan into that loose embrace, Xu Zirong immediately adjusted his breathing. Years of living together had given the brothers an understanding that others could scarcely hope to equal.
With each deep breath, the fluctuations of their spiritual power drew closer. At the instant their energies came nearest to matching, Xu Zirong reached out and touched the lightning arrow. A dark-green seed merged into its tip.
So…
Were the two brothers, connected by blood, using a combined attack technique?
Oh…
The onlookers, thoroughly startled by Xu Zirong’s behavior, felt as though they had finally understood the truth. They promptly threw their earlier outrageous suspicions out of their minds.
The refined Jiang Ying’s eye twitched. His master had done it deliberately. He could guarantee that much!
Xu Ziyan’s expression was icy as he released the fingers resting on the bowstring…
The hearts of the nearby young disciples leaped into their throats. With such extraordinary power behind that arrow, could the giant python possibly withstand it?
Even the mightiest arrow would be useless if it failed to strike its target. Would Xu Ziyan’s shot achieve the effect it deserved?
Everyone held their breath and stared as the black arrow passed through the defensive formation and raced toward the enormous python.
“Come back!” Jiang Tianxing was so absorbed in the arrow that by the time he noticed two figures flashing past, the Xu brothers had already leaped out through the formation. He was too late to stop them.
Xu Ziyan and Xu Zirong had passed through the barrier and landed among the demonic beasts below. Fortunately, they had not charged recklessly into the horde. They fought close enough to the formation that they could retreat inside its protection at any moment if danger arose.
Only then did Jiang Tianxing relax a little. He truly did not dare allow those two to take serious risks. If Wuti City fell, the Jiang family could flee and establish itself elsewhere. But if the brothers died, so long as their Nascent Soul master lived, the Jiang family would have to hide under assumed names forever.
A moment earlier, he had even considered dragging them back, knocking them unconscious, and carrying them away. Fortunately, the two young men had acted sensibly enough not to force his hand.
“Hiss… RROAR!” While Jiang Tianxing was distracted by the brothers, the black arrow struck the giant python.
“Whoa! What’s that?”
“Damn! Can a wood-element spell really be that powerful?”
“That’s a Blood Demon Vine! No wonder!”
“Heavens! Isn’t that thing forbidden?”
The Jiang cultivators stared in astonishment. Just before the arrow struck the python, its tip erupted with blinding light. Several thick green vines appeared out of thin air and tightly bound the beast.
With its movements restricted, the python could not dodge. The black arrow struck the fleshy swelling atop its head with deadly accuracy.
With a bang, the swelling burst apart, releasing a large quantity of golden liquid. The python howled and swelled throughout its body, shattering the Blood Demon Vines that held it. But vines forcibly nurtured by lightning-element spiritual power could survive for only a few breaths anyway, so their destruction hardly mattered.
Once the python was gravely wounded, the surrounding demonic beasts began scrambling up its body. The golden liquid from the swelling on its head could help other beasts advance in cultivation. Under ordinary circumstances, its immense strength kept them away. Now that it was dying, every beast only slightly weaker than it rushed to attack.
Before long, the python was killed and devoured by the other beasts. A white fox with three tails seized the golden liquid from its head. After drinking it, the fox fled the battlefield as quickly as possible. It had suddenly absorbed a vast quantity of energy and needed somewhere safe to advance.
Every demonic beast longed to grow stronger. Even with demon cultivators commanding them from the rear, they could not resist such a direct opportunity for advancement.
Iron Rhino could do nothing about it. That was simply the nature of demonic beasts. If a similar opportunity to advance had appeared before it, Iron Rhino itself would probably have abandoned the battle.
The struggle for the golden liquid had killed at least three Meridian Condensation beasts. Together with the fox that escaped, this abruptly weakened the high-level beasts attacking the western gate.
Jiang Tianxing’s eye twitched as he watched the python get hit, struggle, die… and finally be torn apart and eaten. A profound sense of helplessness rose in his heart.
So this was a disciple from a great sect! So this was a Nascent Soul Dao Lord’s apprentice!
A small clan could never match the foundations of those great sects. Look at this disciple: only in his twenties, at late Foundation Establishment, yet one arrow had disposed of a beast that five Meridian Condensation cultivators had failed to defeat. This was the plainest difference of all: a difference in strength!
To deliver an arrow comparable to a late Meridian Condensation attack while cultivating only at late Foundation Establishment… What kind of talent was that? What kind of master could train a disciple to such a degree?
Jiang Tianxing secretly resolved to send both Jiang Bin and Jiang Ling to take the Flowing Light Sect’s entrance examination. Tianyu Sect might be closer to Wuti City, but its disciple Bai Hua struck him as far inferior to the Xu brothers.
“Patriarch Jiang.”
Speak of the devil. He suddenly heard Bai Hua’s voice.
“What is it?” Jiang Tianxing remained courteous toward the Tianyu Sect disciple. Tianyu Sect was relatively nearby, and maintaining good relations with one of its disciples would do the Jiang family no harm.
“Patriarch Jiang, Patriarch Fang sent me to inform you that the beasts at the southern gate have been driven back for the moment. How is the fighting here?” Bai Hua cupped his hands while his gaze searched the group of young people standing behind Jiang Tianxing.
Jiang Tianxing nodded. “The two fellow Daoists from the Flowing Light Sect have just severely wounded a late Meridian Condensation beast, throwing this side into temporary chaos. I expect the demon cultivators commanding them will order a retreat for now.”
Before he finished speaking, a clear, melodious cry sounded from behind the battlefield. A small green bird circled overhead, and the beasts gathered below the wall withdrew like a receding tide, leaving wreckage and corpses across the ground.
Jiang Tianxing raised his hand, and the sturdy drummer resumed beating the drum. The deep rhythm brought the cultivators out of their battle frenzy. Supporting wounded companions, they retreated within the defensive formation.
Xu Ziyan’s clothes were soaked with sweat and blood, yet he wore a broad, thoroughly satisfied grin.
Such brutal fighting truly tested a person’s willpower. Xu Ziyan could not tell whether he had always been like this or whether the original owner of his body had influenced him, but his enthusiasm for battle was remarkable.
After the initial disgust of having blood splashed on him, he had almost immediately begun enjoying the feeling of fighting amid the carnage. Most of all, he loved fighting alongside Xu Zirong. His brother anticipated even the smallest intention and adjusted accordingly. Such perfect coordination made him reluctant to stop.
“Hahaha! That felt amazing!” Xu Ziyan slapped Xu Zirong heartily on the shoulder. His earlier confusion over being held so tightly during their combined attack had been completely forgotten…
He had once worried that Zirong’s exceptionally delicate looks meant he might lack manly courage. What a needless concern!
Xu Zirong attacked swiftly and decisively, his eyes showing no hesitation at all. Xu Ziyan had watched him carefully for a long time and seen absolutely no sign that his brother was about to turn into a madman.
He secretly let out a breath of relief. See? Being excited by blood was just one of those instinctive male urges. Zirong had seen so much of it today without seeming unusually excited. Didn’t that prove he wasn’t some blood-crazed lunatic?
(Xu Zirong, who was actually just very particular about the quality of his blood: →。→ Lucky me!)
The brothers cooperated flawlessly. Although close combat could not make full use of the Giltgold Horn Bow’s advantages, Xu Ziyan was no pushover in melee either. With Xu Zirong’s blood-element spells surrounding them unseen, Xu Ziyan barely suffered a scratch throughout the battle.
Going onto the battlefield himself had nevertheless given him a true taste of what war was like.
In a melee on this scale, especially against demonic beasts, simply having greater numbers was meaningless. No human force could match the sheer quantity of beasts. Only small teams could make the most of the cultivators’ strengths.