Ice Arrows

Wu Chang'an's face darkened at once as he looked at the arrow embedded in the bluestone slab, blocking his path.

"This is a private grudge between Shangguan Yuzhou and me. Which fellow disciple is sticking his nose in?"

As he spoke, he looked toward the direction from which the arrow had flown.

There stood a tall youth with bright, piercing eyes at the top of the stairs.

When Wu Chang'an looked at him, the youth had already drawn his bow to its full length again. The arrow was aimed at Wu Chang'an's group of three, his expression grave.

"Who is that?" The disciples watching from the sidelines also turned their eyes toward the bow-wielding youth.

"Don't know him! Never seen him before."

Kong Jiao had once been an unknown figure in the Cangwu Sect. Only those who had gone to the Miscellaneous Books Pavilion to borrow books had some impression of him.

Someone immediately explained, "His name is Kong Jiao. He used to work at the Miscellaneous Books Pavilion, but it seems he recently resigned. Who would've thought his strength had grown so quickly too? Judging by the force behind those arrows, he's probably not far from the fourth level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm."

"Looks like he's here to lend Shangguan Yuzhou a hand. Interesting."

Feeling so many gazes upon him, Kong Jiao remained outwardly calm, but inwardly, he had already begun to regret it.

Wu Chang'an and the other man before him clearly had cultivation realms higher than his.

If they truly fought, he would definitely be at a disadvantage.

I can only hope Shangguan Yuzhou gets out of here quickly. They'll definitely chase after him then.

Thinking this, Kong Jiao glanced from the corner of his eye at Zhou Tingyu, who had already blended into the crowd.

This girl had agreed to come help, yet she had run into the crowd to watch the show, all while waving her little fist.

Only then did Kong Jiao remember that Zhou Tingyu cultivated the Spring Renewal Formula. She was skilled at healing the sick and saving lives, but far too lacking in combat.

In other words, the two of them coming to help was really the same as him coming alone.

Still, Zhou Tingyu could hardly be blamed. She had always thought Kong Jiao and Shangguan Yuzhou were on good terms. Shangguan Yuzhou was a genius, so Kong Jiao's strength surely could not be poor either.

She had even secretly felt pleased with herself for bringing Kong Jiao along.

"Hmph, Senior Brother Shangguan has friends too. Let's see how they deal with you."

Shangguan Yuzhou, who had been about to turn and flee, was also slightly surprised by Kong Jiao's arrival.

Then he burst into laughter. He no longer ran, instead sweeping his long sword horizontally as he charged at Wu Chang'an once more.

"Now this is more like it, Senior Brother Wu. Two against two—let's have another round."

"Kill him!"

"I'll take the one with the bow. Senior Brother Wu, you go face Shangguan Yuzhou."

After speaking, the disciple wielding twin sabers who had come with Wu Chang'an turned and charged straight at Kong Jiao.

The sight left Kong Jiao stunned for a moment. Then he slapped his forehead and muttered, "I forgot that Shangguan Yuzhou is a battle maniac. Now that I'm here, how could he possibly retreat? I shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess."

But it was too late to say anything now. His opponent was already attacking him. If Kong Jiao did not strike back, he would be left passive from here on.

Whoosh!

The arrow left the bowstring, sealing off the twin-saber disciple's route of attack.

This time, the twin-saber disciple had been prepared. He crossed his blades before him, ready to take the arrow head-on.

Clang!

The arrow collided with the twin sabers.

The arrow was knocked away without surprise. The twin-saber disciple was slightly stronger than Kong Jiao, and in a direct clash, Kong Jiao truly held no advantage.

"That's all you've got?" After knocking aside the arrow, the twin-saber disciple showed a look of disdain. His speed did not slow, and the distance between him and Kong Jiao rapidly closed.

Suddenly, the twin-saber disciple's expression changed. He lowered his head to look at the hands gripping his sabers.

A layer of white frost had silently crept along the blades and covered both his hands.

The bone-piercing cold froze his palms stiff, severely affecting his saber swings.

"Heh heh!" Kong Jiao gave a cold laugh. He had expected this.

The killing power of the Frostfall Spiritual Power he cultivated was not particularly great in a frontal battle. What truly made it troublesome was its icy force.

One moment of carelessness, and it was easy to fall for it.

This twin-saber disciple had relaxed his guard because his cultivation was slightly higher than Kong Jiao's, allowing Kong Jiao's Frostfall Spiritual Power to succeed so easily.

But that strike had not caused the twin-saber disciple much harm.

Kong Jiao needed to seize this chance and expand his advantage.

At that moment, his gaze grew calm. He drew his bow to its full length, nocking three arrows once more.

"There's something strange about his attacks. We can't drag this out—end it quickly." A vicious look appeared on the twin-saber disciple's face. Spiritual power surged within him as he dispelled the icy spiritual power invading his body while diving at Kong Jiao even faster.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The arrows tore through the air.

The twin-saber disciple stopped holding back. This time, he attacked with all his strength. Gray-white spiritual energy wrapped around the edges of his twin sabers, their glow surging brightly.

He slashed head-on at the three arrows.

Egret Double Rings!

The twin-saber disciple's saber technique was formidable, his blades fierce and forceful as he cut down all three arrows.

Carrying a fierce momentum, he rushed up the stairs, intending to strike down Kong Jiao, who was already within arm's reach, in one breath.

Yet when he focused his eyes, he discovered—

In the instant he had spent cutting down the arrows, that youth had vanished from where he stood and opened a distance of several zhang between them.

He stood on higher steps, bow drawn, coldly aiming at him.

"Do you only know how to run?" The twin-saber disciple sneered.

"Your provocation is far too clumsy." Kong Jiao stood unmoving as a mountain, and the arrow on his bowstring flew forth again.

The twin-saber disciple had no choice but to grit his teeth and swing his sabers again to fend off the arrows. His expression grew darker and darker.

Any discerning eye could see that at this rate, the twin-saber disciple would sooner or later be dragged to death by Kong Jiao.

"Kong Jiao's spiritual power is strange. The cold energy keeps stacking up on Jiang Kui's body through the arrows. If Jiang Kui doesn't break the deadlock, he'll lose."

"Kong Jiao isn't weak. He's only been in the sect for two years, yet he can already exchange blows with Jiang Kui. Third level of the Wheel-Nourishing Realm against the fourth."

"Mm. Though he's still a far cry from someone like Shangguan Yuzhou, he's still got some talent. Give him a few more years, and he'll have a place among the outer disciples."

There were no lack of experts among the watching disciples, and they nodded inwardly as they watched Kong Jiao and Jiang Kui fight.

How could Jiang Kui fail to see a situation that everyone else could? Yet though he was furious, he had nowhere to vent it.

Kong Jiao was like a loach, giving him no chance whatsoever to close in.

Even provocation was useless.

On the other side, Shangguan Yuzhou and Wu Chang'an had already exchanged several rounds.

Both were sword cultivators. There was no trickery in the collision of their techniques. As their figures crossed, sword light spilled everywhere.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The sound of metal striking metal rang without end.

In terms of the battle's momentum, Shangguan Yuzhou naturally held the upper hand. The forcefulness of the Eight-Foot Sword Scripture, paired with the unbroken flow of the Drifting Rain Sword, blended hardness and softness as one.

Wu Chang'an was pressed until he groaned in misery.

He had never been Shangguan Yuzhou's match, which was why he had called a friend to back him up.

Jiang Kui was still entangled with Kong Jiao.

Seeing Wu Chang'an's disadvantage, if he still could not take down Kong Jiao, they feared they would lose this battle.

They had come to reclaim their pride. If they lost, it would be far too humiliating.

"This strike was originally saved for Shangguan Yuzhou. Since you insist on meddling, don't blame me." Jiang Kui clenched his teeth, a ruthless gleam flashing in his eyes.

As his words fell—

Hum! The twin sabers in his hands began to vibrate. Dense spiritual power slowly gathered from within his body into the sabers in his hands.

At the sight of this, disciples who knew Jiang Kui immediately cried out in alarm.

"Jiang Kui is getting serious."

Kong Jiao had been watching Jiang Kui's every movement. Sensing the faintly oppressive aura emanating from his body, he knew he could not drag this out any longer. He raised a hand and grasped at the empty air ahead.

In an instant, the droplets of rainwater left behind by yesterday's downpour on the plants lining both sides of the bluestone stairs flew toward him one after another. Under Kong Jiao's control, they finally gathered together.

Countless droplets condensed into three crystalline mystical ice arrows.

An even more terrifying cold aura clung to the mystical ice arrows.

At that moment, Kong Jiao's aura rose as well. He too had gone all out.

Victory or defeat would be decided in this strike!