If Skyward Harp was the pinnacle of single-target devastation, then Elegy for the End was the peak of team-wide enhancement!
Inside Godwind City.
Bai Chenxiang covered her little mouth, her eyes wide as saucers.
"Second place... It really is second place!"
"Master really didn't lie to us!"
At that moment, Shui Bing'er and her sister were staring at the deep-blue bow on the screen, their expressions turning extremely peculiar.
After a long while, Shui Yue'er pointed at the screen and stammered:
"Big sis, don't you think... this bow looks familiar?"
Shui Bing'er took a deep breath and nodded.
"If you ignore that layer of divine radiance."
"It looks just like... the bow in the corner of our teacher's room, the one he uses to hold the curtains down so the wind won't blow them open?"
Shui Yue'er felt her whole worldview crumble.
She remembered it clearly. The last time she went to clean their teacher's room, she had seen that bow.
Their teacher had even said at the time, "Oh, that? Just leave it there. No one uses it anyway."
That was the second-ranked Supreme Divine Artifact on the entire continent!
And it was being used to hold down curtains?
That was far too casual!
What an outrageous waste of a treasure!
Seeing the sisters' dazed, world-shaken expressions, Venti remained perfectly calm.
He was still busy wrestling with that apple, as if the artifact that had sent the entire continent into an uproar on the Sky Curtain had nothing to do with him.
Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.
Emperor Xue Beng sat in his study, brows tightly knitted, looking somewhat restless.
Just moments ago, Yu Xiaogang had come by again.
And he had arrived with a face full of anger and an uncompromising attitude.
"Your Majesty!"
"What are you still hesitating for?"
Yu Xiaogang stood before the desk, his voice rising.
"Godwind City openly defied the imperial decree and refused to provide conscripts. This is contempt for the imperial authority!"
"And that city lord, Venti, even laid hands on me, the Imperial Preceptor. That isn't just a slap in my face—it's a slap in the face of the Heaven Dou Empire!"
Xue Beng rubbed his temples, his head aching.
Watching the scene on the Sky Curtain, he spoke hesitantly:
"Imperial Preceptor, it's not that I'm unwilling to send troops."
"But you saw it too. That Venti... he's the Wind God!"
"He even has two Supreme Divine Artifacts. Can we really afford to provoke someone like that?"
Though Xue Beng was no great talent, he knew enough to avoid danger and pursue advantage.
If they angered a deity with such a foundation, the entire empire might well be buried with him.
"Your Majesty, you're being foolish!"
Yu Xiaogang flung his wide sleeve aside, his face wearing an expression of exasperation.
"What Wind God?"
"He's just a lucky fellow who stumbled across some opportunities and obtained a few divine artifacts!"
"If he truly possessed power enough to reach heaven and earth, why would he hole up in that tiny Godwind City?"
Yu Xiaogang stepped forward and glared at Xue Beng, bringing the pressure to bear:
"Have you forgotten? Your teacher, Tang San, the sect master of the Tang Sect, now possesses Dual Godhood!"
"The Sea God and Asura God are the true enforcers of the Divine Realm!"
"A mere wild god is no match for a true deity!"
At the mention of Tang San, Xue Beng's gaze grew a little more resolute.
That was right. He had Tang San as his teacher.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang immediately pressed his advantage, a sly glint flashing in his eyes:
"Your Majesty, think about it."
"If Tang San gets his hands on those two Supreme Divine Artifacts, his strength will surely soar."
"Then destroying the Spirit Hall Empire and unifying the continent will be as easy as turning over a hand!"
"This is for the common people of the realm, and for the empire's eternal foundations!"
Xue Beng was swayed by the grand reasoning, but still hesitated.
Seeing that the time was right, Yu Xiaogang delivered one final blow, sneering:
"If Your Majesty is too afraid to act, and word of this gets out, I'm afraid it'll damage your reputation."
"Before long, the world will know only the lord of Godwind City, and not the Heaven Dou Emperor!"
Those words struck Xue Beng right where it hurt.
He hated being looked down on more than anything.
"Fine!"
Xue Beng slapped the table and rose to his feet.
"The Imperial Preceptor speaks wisely!"
"Convey my decree: Godwind City has defied the imperial order and intends to rebel!"
"Entrust the Tang Sect with full responsibility for this matter. They must capture that treacherous criminal and confiscate... confiscate the divine weapons for the imperial treasury!"
With the imperial decree in hand, a satisfied smile finally appeared on Yu Xiaogang's stiff face.
Now they had a just cause.
That Venti was as good as dead.
Once Xiao San got his hands on those two artifacts, he would borrow them for a thorough "study" as his teacher.
If he could unravel the secrets of such Supreme Divine Artifacts, perhaps his stalled theories could make a new breakthrough!
As for whether Venti deserved them?
Hmph. Whether a dead man deserved them no longer mattered.
In Heaven Dou City, inside the Tang Sect's council hall.
Everyone's breathing rose and fell.
Dai Mubai stared fixedly at the azure longbow on the Sky Curtain, his eyes bloodshot, naked greed churning deep within them.
Another Supreme Divine Artifact.
What right did that pretty boy named Venti have?
He had always disliked that green-clad youth. That carefree, lackadaisical manner of his was enough to make anyone detest him.
That fellow had even humiliated him in public before. Dai Mubai had kept that score in his heart, carved into his bones.
He had assumed the fellow was merely a lucky Titled Douluo. He never imagined he was the "Wind God," with so many trump cards.
But so what?
Dai Mubai turned his head and glanced at Tang San, who sat in the seat of honor.
Tang San's expression was calm, but the fingers resting on the table had tightened slightly, betraying the turmoil within him.
As his brother for so many years, Dai Mubai knew Tang San all too well.
Tang San was always particular about "taking things by the proper means," but he was usually the one who decided what those "proper means" were.
In Tang San's eyes, Venti possessing such a treasure without the strength to protect it was a sin in itself.
"Xiao San will definitely make a move."
Dai Mubai plotted silently to himself.
As long as Tang San acted, Venti would be as good as dead.
No matter how powerful those two bows were, Venti was still an unheard-of wild god. How could he compare to Tang San, who had inherited the orthodox Dual Godhood of the Sea God and Asura God?
The Asura God was the enforcer of the Divine Realm, master of slaughter!
Once Tang San killed Venti and seized the artifacts, Dai Mubai might get a share, given their relationship. Even if he couldn't get a Supreme Divine Artifact, a few scraps would be more than enough to benefit him for a lifetime.
At the thought of Venti dying beneath the Asura Demon Sword, a twisted sense of pleasure welled up inside Dai Mubai.
In the seat of honor.
Tang San truly had not taken his eyes off the Sky Curtain.
"Elegy for the End..."
He silently repeated the name to himself.
Unlimited energy, team-wide enhancement.
For the all-out war against the Spirit Hall Empire that was about to begin, it was practically a stabilizing pillar.
If this bow were in Ning Rongrong's hands, paired with the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, the Tang Sect's army would be invincible.