Northern Ling Arrow Emperor—Qin Wushe

"Grandmaster?!"

Liu Qingni felt her head buzz and go blank. The two words "Grandmaster" crashed down on her, leaving her unable to process what the situation before her meant.

Not far away, Xia Konghan was equally stunned.

Bracing himself on the Heavenly Flood Dragon Sword, he barely managed to straighten his body. His gaze fell upon Su Qingyang, filled with uncertainty, before shifting to the black-clouded heavens.

As one of Yan Prefecture's three foremost powers, the One-Heart Sword Pavilion did indeed have a Martial Dao Grandmaster presiding over it.

Yet even as the designated next sect master, he had rarely been granted a glimpse of a Grandmaster's true face over all these years.

But now—

Today, on Linxi Long Street, two Martial Dao Grandmasters might face one another, perhaps even battle to the death!

Surging excitement rushed straight to Xia Konghan's head. Goosebumps rose all over his body, his blood boiling as boundless exhilaration flooded through him.

"May I ask, sir... which Grandmaster are you?" he could not help asking.

"Hmm? You've finally arrived?"

Su Qingyang ignored him. His eyes flickered as he muttered faintly to himself, then slowly turned toward the depths of the Imperial City.

Crack!

The clouds high above slowly parted to either side. A blurry figure walked through the curtain of rain from the depths of the Imperial City, bringing with him a terrifying aura that made hearts tremble!

He approached slowly, like a god descending into the mortal world.

Clad in plain cloth, with long hair hanging loose over his shoulders and spiritual light coiling around him, he gradually revealed an ordinary face. Yet he was exceptionally eye-catching, for his pupils were a pale gold, sharp beyond compare.

But what made Su Qingyang's gaze shift slightly was the enormous Golden-Wing Bow on the man's back.

Its bow body was larger than an average grown man, as though forged from gold and carved from jade. Yet it carried immense pressure, as if it had slain countless heroes.

"Northern Ling Arrow Emperor—Qin Wushe!" Xia Konghan cried out in a low voice.

"Who is that?" Ning Qingqing looked utterly bewildered.

Liu Qingni spoke gravely, explaining in a low voice, "Qin Wushe, hailed as the greatest Arrow Emperor under heaven."

The world was vast, and many sword wielders were honored as Sword Emperors.

But on the path of bow and arrow, there was only one publicly acknowledged as peerless at its summit.

Beyond Great Jin's northern frontier lay vast grasslands occupied by countless barbarian tribes. Their people excelled at riding and archery, worshiped savage evil gods, and were bloodthirsty by nature, using humans as sacrifices. All year round, they raided Great Jin's border passes.

Decades ago, the barbarians' momentum had reached its peak, producing a barbarian king who called himself a Son of God.

His physical strength was unmatched across the grasslands, and his archery reached the heavens. Legend had it that he could take a man's head from a thousand li away.

He united many barbarian tribes and launched a massive invasion upon the Great Wall. The northern border's defenses fell one after another, and countless soldiers buried their bones in foreign soil.

Qin Wushe had been born amid those beacon fires of war. He followed an old frontier soldier to learn archery, rising step by step through slaughter amid blood and flame.

One arrow slew the barbarian Son of God!

One arrow intimidated tens of thousands of barbarian allied troops!!

And after ascending to Grandmaster, he had gone alone to the barbarians' sacred mountain.

Though ten million stood against me, I would still go!!

No one knew what had happened during those years.

Yet while the barbarians insisted to the outside world that Qin Wushe had failed to reach the summit of the sacred mountain, the great temple atop it, where their evil god was worshiped, had been pierced through by a single arrow.

From then on, the barbarians suffered grievous losses and lacked the strength for any large-scale invasion for a hundred years.

Qin Wushe had become famous in that single battle, and the world honored him as the Northern Ling Arrow Emperor.

"Rumor had it that Qin Wushe vanished without a trace after the battle at the sacred mountain. No one expected this Arrow Emperor, who existed only in frontier legends, to be in Taihe Imperial City!"

Liu Qingni frowned. Her heart was filled with doubts; beyond her shock, there was even greater incomprehension.

In midair, Qin Wushe's pale golden eyes locked onto Su Qingyang from afar. His sharp gaze narrowed slightly before sweeping over the Demon Ghost's dying remains below, and his brows furrowed even deeper.

"Since when had there appeared in this world a... Blood Refining Grandmaster?!"

Even Qin Wushe, who had weathered countless storms, found it unbelievable.

In his perception, although the youth below had restrained his terrifying blood vitality, he could still sense an incomparably dreadful, vast, scorching presence.

Like a boundless abyssal sea stretching across the earth!

Enveloping the four directions and eight extremes!!

The rain stalled between them, and the thunder filling the heavens lost its sound. Invisible forces pressed and collided, violently squeezing the torrential rain from within a thousand zhang around them!

Carving out an empty expanse of sky!

"I had thought Blood Refining Grandmasters were nothing but an illusory absurdity. I never expected someone to truly reach such a realm! Good! Good! Good! This is truly wonderful!"

Qin Wushe's tone grew fervent, his pale golden pupils razor-sharp. Meeting an equal opponent, excitement he could scarcely suppress surged in his heart.

To exchange blows with a Blood Refining Grandmaster was a heavenly delight for one such as him, climbing toward the peak of Martial Dao!

It was also an opportunity that came once in a thousand years!

"I presume you have come for this monster as well. Since that is the case, let us have a match!"

"Whoever proves stronger shall have the right to deal with this beast!"

"Just what I had in mind..."

Su Qingyang said blandly, "Qin Wushe, Northern Ling Arrow Emperor... I have heard of you! I hope you do not disappoint me!"

He could tell that Qin Wushe was strong—the first truly worthy opponent he had encountered since his emergence. Moreover, the other man had already locked onto him.

"Ha ha ha ha ha..."

Qin Wushe threw back his head and laughed. The booming sound echoed across the land, and all of Taihe Imperial City seemed to tremble faintly with his laughter.

In an instant, his smile faded, his gaze sharpening like a divine weapon drawn from its sheath.

He removed the Golden-Wing Bow and nocked a golden arrow. It was roughly six chi and six cun long; rather than an arrow, it resembled a golden spear made to pierce and slaughter!

Crimson Sun Golden Flame Arrow!

Hummm—

A soul-shaking bowstring twang resounded through the air!

The golden flame arrow flew from the string. Roiling golden flames surged and raged, melting and warping the air along its path. Countless rays of heavenly light gathered around its shaft, trailing a straight, blazing streak of light behind it!

Fast—far too fast!

Like a blazing sun fallen into the mortal world, it crossed a thousand meters of sky in an instant and came hurtling straight at him!

Whoosh!

A wild gale whipped up Su Qingyang's robes, sending his black hair flying wildly.

The sunlike golden flame arrow filled his vision. Layer upon layer, the void compressed inward; immense force imprisoned all directions, making it seem as though he had sunk into a thick swamp, constrained whether he advanced or retreated.

On the long street, Liu Qingni, Ning Qingqing, and Xia Konghan all held their breath.

Every hair on their bodies stood on end. A terrifying sense of crisis spread through them, and merely watching from afar made their skin sting as if scorched.

Suddenly, Liu Qingni's expression changed...

Boom!!

Rampaging golden flames directly swallowed a stretch of empty space.

Amid the terrifying roar, the ground immediately collapsed, unleashing a sweeping storm.

The houses on both sides of the street were all torn away by the gale. Xia Konghan and the other two were like lone boats in a raging sea, flung more than a hundred zhang away by the shockwave.

Qin Wushe's eyes sharpened, and several-foot-long rays of light burst from his pupils!

Above the ruins, the only thing visible was a gigantic crater hundreds of meters deep, from which golden flames a hundred zhang high surged upward, blazing fiercely.

He found it strange that he had actually hit his opponent.

"The legendary Blood Refining Grandmaster should not be this weak!"

"Or is this all you are capable of?"

Qin Wushe looked toward the deep crater, a faint trace of disappointment finally appearing on his face.

Crack, crack...

Abruptly, a thunderous sound of something being overturned and shattered came from deep beneath the earth, and the entire ground began to quake.