## AST 444 - Cloud Piercing Arrow, Golden Thread Armor

Qing Shui shook his head thinking about his troubles. When he thought about Mingyue Gelou, he lamented the shamelessness and fragility of human nature.

For his own interest, Tan Yang forsook not only Mingyue Gelou, he even forsook his own flesh and blood. Since women from the Hai Clan absolutely refuse to share their man with any other women, Tan Yang had to abandon Mingyue Gelou and his own daughter.

Qing Shui had a spell of headache as he thought about the women that surrounded him. He called Tan Yang a scumbag. Unfortunately, even if he will never be as heartless as him, he felt that he himself was no better.

A man can walk through a field of flowers without a blade of grass on him. That’s bullshit

In a most general context, it means that a person can resist the temptations of women around him.

He knew that Mingyue Gelou will suffer even if he brought her away right now. He clenched his fist subconsciously.

“Brother Xi, if the current duel on the arena ends, will Tan Yang appear?”

Xi Ri looked at Qing Shui for a while and said, “Not necessarily. Don’t be rash. Even though Tan Yang’s strength is below that of Hai Long from the Hai Clan, he is considered to be a Grade 10 Martial King level expert. Don’t be too impulsive.”

“Thank you, Brother Xi. I know what to do.” Qing Shui knew that Xi Ri was sincere. Qing Shui could tell that Xi Ri was a person who has his likes and dislikes clearly defined. Once Xi Ri acknowledges someone as a friend, he will treat them wholeheartedly. Even if Yan Ling’er did not look for Qing Shui then, Qing Shui will not kill him because he was Xi Yue’s brother and was not entirely unredeemable.

Qing Shui already witnessed Tan Yang’s formidable strength previously. This was why Sword Tower valued Tan Yang. He might not be as powerful as Hai Long but he was already a demon level genius. There were probably less than 3 people in Sword Tower who possess the same level of talent.

Xi Ri looked at Qing Shui without saying a word. He might have been defeated but he reckoned that Qing Shui’s current strength was at Grade 8 Martial King if pushed to his maximum potential so he advised Qing Shui not to be too hasty.

Xi Ri’s estimation was not inaccurate. When Qing Shui returned to Hundred Miles City, he was comparable to a Grade 9 Martial King even though he was only at the peak of Grade 8.

However, Qing Shui’s strength had far surpassed that stage with the help of the realm of Violet Jade Immortal, Spirit Concentrating Pill and his various fortuitous encounters. It was a pity that Xi Ri had yet to discover this fact. There were only a handful of people who was aware and who knew better than the Sword Demon, Huang Qing.

The thunderous tiger roar from the arena jolted Qing Shui back to reality. Qing Shui could easily guess what went on in their conversation despite not hearing it.

Two enormous Golden Haired Ferocious Lions flanked Jin Changzheng as they attacked him with the speed of wind. The clouds command the Dragon whilst the wind commands the Tiger but the Golden Haired Ferocious Lions were like a violent whirlwind.

Nimbly sidestepping with his Cloudmist Steps, Jin Changzheng wielded his Cold Moon in a ray of moonlight, his armour refracting the moonlight in a brilliant aperture.

“ The Sacrificial Moon Hack!”

As he executed his stroke, it was as if the cold moon itself physically manifested between the two lions.

Bang!

The intense wave of force thrusted the lions in opposite directions and Jin Changzheng took the chance to close in on Kuang Shi in the back at lightning speed using his Cloudmist steps.

It was then Qing Shui saw Kuang Shi’s weapon of choice, a copper azurite shield!

A shield as his chosen weapon?!

Qing Shui suddenly thought of his own Shield Strike that has risen to Grade Two. Will the Strike be magnified via a shield?

Qing Shui saw that the shield was radiating a greenish vapour and as Kuang Shi faced the oncoming hack from Jin Changzheng’s cutlass, he unhurriedly bowed his body over to block off the attack.

Clink!

At this point, the only remaining lion dashed towards Jin Changzheng from the side, its roar thunderous.

It was a howl that utilized a Demonic Beast’s core!

The two lions that were previously thrusted aside also took advantage of the opening, charging towards Jin Changzheng.

Clink clink! The shrill jingles rang out.

The sound was crisp and clear and Kuang Shi was being forced to retreat under the rapid succession of Cold Moon’s strikes from Jin Changzheng. It was only the resistance presented by the lion in the middle that prevented him from cutting an even sorrier figure.

The brilliant aperture surrounding Jin Changzheng’s armour produced dull thumps whenever a strike hits, possibly increasing the defense level.

Roar!

Where any normal blade could not possibly have harmed a hair on the Ferocious Lion, dark red blood now flowed from the beast’s head after being struck by Cold Moon.

Roar! Roar!

Picking up on the fresh scent of blood, the lions went into a frenzy and pounced all at once.

Jin Changzheng, you were protected by your Moonlight Guardian once already, what can you do now?” Kuang Shi's low voice held a tinge of violence.

“No need to concern yourself with that, even without Moonlight Guardian, you can't touch me.” Jin Changzheng’s steps were nimble and he moved at the speed of light. The World of Nine Continents has always valued speed over skill, warriors who have reached a certain level were definitely equipped with some of the fastest skills.

The Cloud Mist Steps from the Heavenly Palace was basically like stepping the clouds, not only was his speed fast, the direction of his movements were as unfathomable as floating clouds. Qing Shui’s current movement techniques contained a large portion of the principles from the Cloud Mist Steps incorporated with his other movement techniques earlier/

Qing Shi gauged that Jin Changzheng was at the peak of Martial King Grade 7, maybe even at the edge of Grade Eight, most importantly, his armour that was termed Moonlight Guardian seemed to have the same function as his very own Big Dipper Armour.

However, his Moonlight Guardian seemed like it would not hold out for much longer!

“Quit your babbling and consider how you are going to block my Cold Moon!” Jin Cangzheng seemed unperturbed as he avoided the charging lion with ease; in contrast, the Cold Moon he brandished swung down in full force towards Kuang Shi.

“Ding!”

“Devouring Moon Slash!”

Unlike the Sacrificial Moon Hack that was executed previously, the Devouring Moon Slash this time round fell silently on Kuang Shi’s shield, with none of the dramatic thumps from earlier.

Taken aback, Kuang Shi sensed something amiss and hastily retreated. Cold Moon had actually managed to cut through his shield and though he had retreated fast, his armour was likewise damaged. He managed to escape suffering any injury but his current predicament was enough to send sweat down his back.

Jin Changzheng was about to cash in on the situation but found himself surrounded by the three lions, one of which spat out fiery red flames towards Jin Changzheng.

The Golden Haired Ferocious Lion belonged to the fire genus and could fire up an attack from its core; typically a beast’s best attack.

“Crap, the Moonlight Guardian is disappearing fast!” The armour was being devoured by the flames from the beast and in a desperate move, Jin Changzheng swiped his Cold Moon in a move meant to annihilate the three lions.

When battling a Beast Tamer, it was most irksome to have to deal with pesky beasts, Jin Changzheng thought angrily.

Roar!

One forelimb of the Golden Haired Ferocious Lion that had been held captive since earlier was severed by the tremendous force from Cold Moon, rendering the remaining forelimb useless.

Plop!

The beast collapsed helplessly to the ground.

Roar!

It was a deafening and piteous roar of anguish.

At this moment, the brilliant aperture surrounding Jin Changzheng’s Golden Thread Armour wavered one final time before dissipating. His Cold Moon did however managed to severely injure another lion.

Kuang Ship’s expression was pained as his heart ached for his beasts. The tamed beasts were almost a Beast Tamer’s life to him, and out of the three of them, one was maimed and disabled, and the severely injured one would have to recuperate for several months.

Kuang Shi glared vengefully at Jin Changzheng, then drew a copper azurite bow from his back, the diameter almost measuring that of a baby’s arm.

His move drew stunned gasps from the audience, who did not even realize that he was in possession of it, due to the fact that it was perfectly camouflaged against his armour.

Qing Shi saw the bow as well, an old-fashioned design with decorative patterns on it. Though it looked simple and shoddy, it felt anything but ordinary.

Qing Shui smiled as he watched this progression, unsurprised that Kuang Shi would pick a long range weapon such as that. Archers were a common sight in the World of the Nine Continents as it was a very functional weapon that could cause serious damage from a long distance, especially when they had to deal with flying beasts. Poison and anaesthetics could also be applied to the arrowhead as further precaution.

Most Beast Tamers were well-trained in archery; after all they could sneak an attack under the cover of their beasts.

Kuang Shi then followed up by drawing a jade green arrow of under a metre from his flank, glowing prettily in an eerie fluorescent light.

“The Cloud Piercing Arrow!” Cries of shock rang out.

“It really is the Cloud Piercing Arrow!”

“Jin Changzheng is definitely in peril now!”

……

Jin Changzheng’s expression grew solemn as he watched Kuang Shi reveal the Cloud Piercing Arrow, but his gaze burned into Kuang Shi. The remaining lion stood guard at Kuang Shi’s side.

“Brother Xi, this Cloud Piercing Arrow seems formidable.” Qing Shui was largely unfamiliar with this field. Though he could forge a bow in theory, he had never put it to practice as he had his own Technique of Concealed Weapons that outperformed the bow and arrow.

“The Cloud Piercing Arrow is said to have been formed from the bones of the Silver-armoured Digger, a beast of Martial King Peak Grade, with strong penetrating force and could inflict serious damage.

Qing Shui felt cornered, the World of Nine Continents had many precious materials and the highest quality and quantity came from Demonic Beasts.

A Demonic Beast’s core, bones, tendons, blood, skin and even flesh, they are all precious commodities, the higher the quality the more expensive it gets. The material from Demonic Beasts of different genera also has different characteristics and effects when made into weapons.

For example, the Golden Armoured Digger belongs to the genus Metal, best suited to making arrows due to its habitat in the soil but to make the Cloud Piercing Arrow, only the bones of the Silver Armoured digger would do.

The attribute of Ice belongs to the Water genus and has the effect of reducing speed, whereas the Fire genus has strong attack power, and the Earth genus has great stabilty and would make for good defense.

All living things, by convention, belongs to one of the five genera. Even Thunder is classified under the Fire genus, except on a even more frightening level.

The five elements by nature reinforces and counteracts one another. There might be additional complements like Water-Fire genus but there was no absolute formula where a stronger beast would defeat a weaker one; ultimately the genus of a beast would affect its characteristic.

“Jin Changzheng, it was carelessness on my part earlier that you were able to hurt my beast, but now, I would like to see if your Golden Thread Armour can endure the penetration of my Cloud Piercing Arrow!” Eyes wild and expression malevolent, Kuang Shi swiftly nocked his arrow on his bowstring, and drew it taut.

Creaking with tension, his bowstring and bow were like a full moon, arrowhead aimed ruthlessly at Jin Changzheng!

At this moment, the entire arena fell into silence; some were concerned, others gloated, while the rest could not wait for the event to unfold.