A Double Killing with a Single Arrow

With a deafening crash, an iron arrow hammered fiercely into the exact spot where he had just been standing. The arrowhead pierced right through the cracks of the bluestone flags, fracturing that slab into a dense web of fissures.

Stone shards splattered in all directions, and the arrow shaft was still humming and vibrating from the immense impact.

Nearby, Liu Ma and the others were frightened out of their wits and let out shrill screams, collapsing flat onto the ground. Some clutched their heads while others grew weak in the knees and slumped straight down.

"Archers! Where did archers come from?"

Someone cried out in terror.

The dozen-plus martial artists brought by Wang Batian reacted instantly, drawing their sabers to hold horizontally across their chests as they quickly formed a circle around Wang Batian, fencing him in the middle.

"Instructor, someone is launching a sneak attack! Be careful!"

"I see them. And they're playing for keeps."

Wang Batian steadied his footing, his gaze instantly locking onto the direction from which that arrow had just been fired.

On the wooded slope to the left, the crown of an old pine tree was swaying slightly in the sunlight.

Terror was absent from his face, replaced instead by a furious, manic laughter. A sinister and exhilarated smile slowly crept across his features.

To loose a cold arrow in this wretched and remote backwater—possessing this degree of arm strength and accuracy—meant the attacker was at least a Martial Artist of the Body Tempering Second Layer or higher.

"Over there in the woods. Move, all of you follow me. This fellow loosing cold arrows is quite interesting."

Wang Batian slowly drew the heavy sabre at his waist. The blade was thick, with a blood groove carved into its edge that flashed with a cold light in the sunlight.

"Instructor! Could this be the miscreant who set upon the two young masters?"

"It must be. Aside from him, no one else has the guts."

"Move, quickly! Don't let him get away!"

"Yes!"

The dozen men answered in stern shouts, drawing their sabres in unison.

With a kick of his foot, Wang Batian took the lead and charged fiercely toward the forest on that side.

The explosive power of a Body Tempering, Third Heaven martial artist was truly astonishing, transforming his entire body into a blur of shadow that skimmed across the ground.

The dozen martial artists behind him immediately followed suit, charging forth with legs pumping. Over ten men swept out from the courtyard of Liu Dagang's home like a black gale, kicking up a trail of yellow dust.

Liu Ma and the others were so terrified they flattened themselves against the ground and shivered, not daring to lift their heads for a long time.

Liu Ma buried his face in the muddy earth, clutching his head with both hands while muttering incessantly to himself.

He never in his wildest dreams expected things to turn out like this!

First Liu Dagang had his head lopped off, then Liu Teng had his head lopped off, followed by the two young masters of the Wang Family having their heads lopped off, and now even Instructor Wang Batian was being ambushed with arrows right here in the village.

This Green Mountain Village was truly turning into a cursed place.

Deep in the woods, Feng Chen stood atop the branches of the old pine tree, looking down through the dense pine needles.

The iron arrow had precisely pierced the spot where Wang Batian had been standing just moments before, yet it had failed to sink into his flesh.

It was somewhat regrettable that he hadn't managed to kill him with a single shot.

Still, it made sense when he thought about it. Wang Batian was at the same realm as him—both at the Body Tempering, Third Heaven—and a martial artist's instinctive reactions were extremely fast.

When loosing a cold arrow from such a distance, if the opponent reacted quickly enough the moment the arrow arrived, there was indeed a chance they could dodge it.

This was well within expectations.

Besides, when he loosed that arrow, apart from wanting to test the waters for a one-stroke assassination, he had another objective entirely!

To lure Wang Batian into the mountains.

Making a move in the village meant too many eyes and ears,

whereas in this deep, wild forest, he could fight however he pleased.

Feng Chen raised his horn bow once more and drew three iron arrows from his quiver.

This time he did not aim at Wang Batian. His gaze swept past him and landed on the eleven martial artists who had followed closely behind.

Wang Batian was at the Body Tempering, Third Heaven. If he had to engage in a head-on, one-on-one battle, those eleven obstructive fellows standing by the side would spell eleven variables.

Only by clearing away these hindrances first could he wholeheartedly deal with the main target.

He held his breath, notching the first iron arrow onto the bowstring. His Perfection-level archery instantly completed its aim.

His fingers released, and the arrow tore through the air.

The missile transformed into a blurred black line that swept across the upper canopy of the forest, striking with precision the martial artist who had been running at the very front behind Wang Batian.

That man's chest was pierced straight through, the arrowhead protruding from his back and carrying with it a burst of warm blood mist.

The sheer, massive impact of the arrow drove him backward two steps before he toppled over backward, spitting foam from his mouth and convulsing a few times before going completely still.

"Xiao Gang! Damn it, he killed Xiao Gang!" A nearby companion immediately shouted, his voice laced with terror and fury.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Wang Batian looked back. Upon seeing yet another of his subordinates shot and killed by a cold arrow, the expression on his face was no longer just anger, but a near-mad bloodlust.

Clenching his teeth, he turned back toward the direction of Feng Chen's hiding place and roared, "Damned little thief, I will tear you to pieces!"

He charged forward even faster, his brute force fracturing the mountain rocks beneath his feet and leaving deep prints with every single step.

The ten remaining men behind him also accelerated, their anger thoroughly ignited.

With companion after companion being shot down by cold arrows without even catching a glimpse of the enemy, this helpless frustration made their eyes turn completely bloodshot.

"We must kill you! How dare you slaughter our fellow sect brothers!"

"When we catch you, we'll hack you to pieces!"

A few martial artists growled through clenched teeth as they charged.

No trace of expression could be discerned on Feng Chen's face.

Standing high in the tree canopy, he looked down at the swarm of black dots surging upward and once more notched his fingers onto the bowstring.

This time he wasn't shooting just a single arrow!

He pulled out three iron arrows all at once, setting them onto the string simultaneously. Exercising strength in both arms, his Perfection-level archery calibrated the trajectories of all three arrows into the exact same instant.

Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his fingers. The three arrows burst forth together in a wedge formation, tracing three virtually invisible thin black lines across the air.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Three muffled thuds of sharp blades piercing flesh overlapped almost as one.

The three martial artists charging at the very front fell down from arrow wounds simultaneously!

One was shot through the throat, not even managing to cry out; another was shot straight through the left chest, pitching forward while clutching his heart; the third was pierced through the lower abdomen, rolling over a few times on the ground before coming to a halt.

Warm, fresh blood splattered onto the withered yellow fallen leaves and parched soil, staining large expanses of dark crimson.

Following the fall of these three, the original twelve-man contingent behind Wang Batian was now reduced to just seven survivors after two rounds of slaughter.

The running momentum of these seven men paused abruptly, their paces slowing down in unison.

They had finally regained their composure!

It was that clarity born of having the cold wind of death blow straight through one's spine.

They realized that no matter how they ran or dodged, that man hiding behind the trees could always pinpoint their vital spots with his arrows. Given the sheer force, the terrifying speed, and the tricky angles, there was simply no way for martial artists of their Body Tempering, First Heaven level to evade them.

Wang Batian's brows furrowed deeply as well, a heavy solemnity surfacing within his ferocious murderous intent.

By this stage, he had roughly figured things out!

The opponent's strength was at least at the Body Tempering Second Layer,

and furthermore, his mastery over archery was by no means low!

"Not bad marksmanship,"

Wang Batian said coldly, gripping his sabre. "However, if you think you can settle us with just this, you are gravely mistaken."

"You dare kill my son, Wang Batian, so you must pay with your life. Scatter yourselves, move in pairs, and flank them from both left and right. Don't give him another chance to shoot!"

"Yes, Instructor Wang!"

The remaining seven men acknowledged the order and dispersed, drawing their sabres in pairs as they cautiously swept toward Feng Chen's surrounding area.

Their footsteps grew very slow, their eyes scanning everywhere behind every tree and within every clump of bushes, the tips of their blades reflecting tiny specks of cold light in the sunlight.

For a moment, the forest fell so quiet that only the rustling of the wind through the leaves and the suppressed panting of the men remained.

Taking advantage of the moment those seven scattered, Feng Chen had already utilized his Perfection-level Meteor Step to relocate to another, thicker and taller old camphor tree.