You're Too Eager

Whoosh... Boom!!~~

Whoosh, whoosh... Rumble!!~~

He drew the bow, nocked an arrow, transformed his blood and qi into arrows, and locked on with his intent... Bang, bang bang, bang bang bang...

One Withered-Bone Demon Corpse head after another exploded, golden flames blazing across the sky. Even Withered-Bone Demon Corpses comparable to the seventh refinement could not withstand the Sun-Shooting Bow's shots.

Once an arrow was fired, the intent erased the demon corpse's lingering will, while the blood and qi attached to it transformed into golden flames that instantly burned the corpse's broken remains to ash.

"Pretty strong." Su Bo sat leaning against the trunk of a massive tree.

"A seventh-refinement Withered-Bone Demon Corpse... could I beat one?"

In the trials he had gone through before, second-refinement demon corpses possessed roughly 8,000 kilograms of force, equivalent to a martial artist with four blood and qi strands in the first refinement.

The third refinement had twelve blood and qi strands and 12,000 kilograms of force.

But once they crossed the threshold into the fourth refinement, the fourth-refinement Withered-Bone Demon Corpses he had dealt with earlier...

Tsk, they seemed to have 20,000 kilograms of force!

In other words, starting from the fourth refinement, every breakthrough was equivalent to a martial artist gaining five blood and qi strands. They were far stronger than the first three refinements.

The seventh refinement... did every refinement produce six condensed blood and qi strands?

Without fighting one himself, Su Bo did not dare say whether seventh-refinement demon corpses were really as he guessed.

Sizzle...

The six Withered-Bone Demon Corpses comparable to the seventh refinement burned into drifting ash.

In the first round's three trials, Yi You had not been slow in slaying the Withered-Bone Demon Corpses. He could even be said to have been fast—once his arrows flew, the demon corpses were immediately killed.

Sun-Shooting Intent condensed into a speck of radiance at each arrowhead.

The arrows flew, their intent destroying the Withered-Bone Demon Corpses' lingering wills, while the arrow qi formed from blood and qi incinerated their bodies in an instant.

"Second round!" Su Bo called out.

"Brother Yi You, the Soul Vine is gone. The Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton might have other good things. Finish the second round and add a little more supplementary ingredient to the medicine~"

"No..." Yi You was quietly a little out of breath.

He had taken out six Withered-Bone Demon Corpses comparable to the seventh refinement in one go, each of them equivalent to a seventh-refinement martial artist who had broken through with six blood and qi strands at every refinement.

Even with his strength, he was somewhat spent.

The main thing was...

After learning that Su Bo, with third-refinement strength, had cleanly dealt with nine fourth-refinement Withered-Bone Demon Corpses, he had thought that as a prodigy of the Yi Clan...

There was no way he could perform worse than Su Bo, an Ancient Human Race member.

He could not skip an entire refinement and slaughter nine eighth-refinement Withered-Bone Demon Corpses one against nine.

But surely he could avoid using the Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow's power, condense arrows with his invincible blood and qi, use his intent to pursue their souls, and forcefully kill six Withered-Bone Demon Corpses of the same realm?

There was no way a prodigy like him could not even manage that, right?

Fine...

Yi You admitted it. He had overestimated himself!

Those six intent-infused blood and qi arrows had looked impressive. They had been powerful. They had displayed the bearing of a prodigy. But the toll on him had also been terrifying.

Nearly half of his blood and qi had been drained, and he could at most condense his intent twice more.

Another round?

Then he would truly have to use the Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow on his back.

Pop, pop, pop...

The burial mounds exploded the moment Su Bo spoke. There were not as many as nine this time—only three mounds.

Three Withered-Bone Demon Corpses with terrifying auras and dreadful presences crawled out.

"No..." Yi You turned his head stiffly.

"Roar~!!" The Withered-Bone Demon Corpses crawled out of their graves, let out roars, kicked up countless clouds of dirt, and charged straight at the stunned Yi You.

Watching this, Su Bo chuckled. "Brother Yi You, time to work~"

"Your uncle..." Yi You shouted furiously, but his hands did not slow. With a slight shake, the Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow landed on the Sun-Shooting Bow.

"Spirit Skeleton, is this my trial or are you listening to him?"

Yi You nearly wept. He pushed his footwork to the limit, dodging the Withered-Bone Demon Corpses' attacks. For a time, he could not even draw his bow.

He could only rely on his mastered footwork to weave through the encirclement of the three Withered-Bone Demon Corpses.

The Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton tapped its greatsword against the ground. "Clack... clack..."

"Pass... second round... prodigy... authority..."

"Authority?" Yi You's eyes widened. As he evaded another attack, he shouted, "Brother Su, please stop talking! Three are already my limit, don't really—"

"Shoot!!"

Seizing an opening, Yi You used his movement technique to pull some distance away. He drew his bow and nocked an arrow, pouring surging blood and qi wildly into the Sun-Shooting Divine Arrow.

Scorching blood and qi churned, causing faint golden flames to rise from the arrow shaft.

Twng... Whoosh~!!

One arrow shot at the sun, instantly turning into a streak of golden light capable of piercing the great sun. "Boom..." One Withered-Bone Demon Corpse's head exploded and burned into ash.

The divine arrow did not stop. Two more explosions rang out in quick succession. "Boom, boom~!!"

The three Withered-Bone Demon Corpses comparable to the eighth refinement ignited in blazing golden flames, burned so completely that not even scraps remained.

The divine arrow that had slain the three demon corpses hovered in midair and trembled faintly for an instant. The blood and qi Yi You had attached to it was completely exhausted.

In the next moment, it became a faint streak of golden light, cutting through the air as it returned to Yi You's back.

He also seemed to have completely drained himself. The Sun-Shooting Bow fell to the ground, and he crashed down stiffly, his face pale as if he were about to die.

He lay there with his eyes closed, playing dead.

Su Bo strolled over at an unhurried pace and glanced at the sprawled Yi You. "Not bad. One arrow, three kills—instantly slaying three eighth-refinement Withered-Bone Demon Corpses..."

"Tsk, a Yi Clan prodigy really is something else!"

"Spirit Skeleton, can you give us another—"

Yi You exhaled several mouthfuls of stale air in a row, cutting Su Bo off. "I can't. I really can't! A Yi Clan prodigy is really going to die!"

"Brother Su, I was wrong~"

"I admit I wanted to take advantage of you, but surely that doesn't warrant death, does it?"

Yi You's cold and aloof persona was gone for good. He could not even keep playing dead as he sat bolt upright. "Brother Su, why go this far..."

"Heh." Su Bo laughed.

"Looks like Brother Yi is still quite lively. You can do another—"

"No, no, no, I really can't!" Yi You looked utterly speechless. He furtively glanced at the Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton, and only when he saw that it had not listened to Su Bo did he finally let out a huge sigh of relief.

If the Gravekeeper Spirit Skeleton had really listened to Su Bo and released several more demon corpses for him...

Then he would truly have to use the life-saving trump card his elders had given him here. That would be a massive loss.

If the Soul Vine were still here, then using it would have been one thing.

But Su Bo had already taken the item. If Yi You also used up his own trump card, that would be beyond foolish.

"Brother Su, what gave me away?" Yi You asked helplessly.

"You were too eager!" Su Bo shifted aside, revealing the large cauldron behind him. His tone was quiet. "As the old saying goes, a bargain delivered to your door is never a good deal..."

"Who lays out their trump card right from the start?"

"The cauldron, the ingredients, brewing medicine, cooking martial meals... Tsk, you prepared quite thoroughly."

"That doesn't prove anything, does it?" Yi You gave a dry laugh and said quietly, "After all, I need the Soul Vine. You could tell that too, couldn't you?"

"Yes, you do need the Soul Vine, and you showed that urgent mindset..." Su Bo's tone remained quiet.

"But as I said, you were too eager~"

"Uh... I get it. You were bluffing me, weren't you?"

"Mhm?"