What Are You Shooting At?

Black Pool Bow.

A famous bow.

It had once been wielded by an Innate Warrior of Baishui Commandery. When drawn, it possessed the force of a thousand jun, enough to shatter mountain rock and pierce through metal and iron. Its power was astonishing.

Relying on the Black Pool Bow, that Innate Warrior of Baishui Commandery had swept through his peers without equal; scarcely anyone could withstand a single arrow from him.

What truly made that Innate Warrior famous was that he had wounded a Meridian Condensation Realm martial artist with the Black Pool Bow, becoming a major figure in Baishui Commandery for a time.

At this moment.

The Black Pool Bow was in Li Muguang's hands.

Li Muguang himself was an expert marksman. With the Black Pool Bow, he could even contend with an Innate Perfection martial artist.

It was simply unknown how the Black Pool Bow had fallen into Li Muguang's hands.

Cao Yun glanced at Li Muguang from the corner of his eye, thoughts churning.

Chief Ma Zhuo was no weakling. Now that Li Muguang had acquired the Black Pool Bow, Flying Cloud Stronghold's overall strength was even greater than originally expected.

Had Magistrate Lu not made arrangements in time, Flying Cloud Stronghold might truly have slipped entirely out of control.

"Zhao Zhi."

Li Muguang raised a brow and grinned. "I'd like to see whether you can block the Black Pool Bow."

The words had barely fallen.

Buzzz.

The Black Pool Bow's string hummed.

Whoosh.

The arrow tore through the air at a startling speed, producing a shrill, piercing whistle. The distance of seven or eight meters was crossed in an instant as it shot straight through.

Yet Zhao Zhi was nowhere to be seen in that spot.

Pfft.

The arrow struck the cave wall. The Black Pool Bow's tremendous force drove it deep into the stone, leaving only the fletching outside. It quivered violently before coming to a stop.

"What are you shooting at?"

An indifferent voice sounded beside Li Muguang's ear.

Li Muguang's pupils abruptly contracted. He felt a broad palm appear above his head, its spread fingers closing down like iron pincers around his skull. He did not dare entertain the slightest thought of moving, and even his breathing instinctively became faint.

"Zhao Zhi? You..."

A mournful crack came from his bones, and Li Muguang's voice stopped short. Red and white fluids mixed together and streamed from his seven orifices.

Clang.

The renowned Black Pool Bow fell to the ground just like that.

[You made an arrogant and conceited expert marksman understand the trash level of his skills. Merit +75.]

The stream of information flashing across the Merit Panel made Xu Yue's gaze shift slightly.

An increase of 75 Merit was truly no small amount.

But he soon understood. After all, Li Muguang was Flying Cloud Stronghold's Third Chief. Not only was he an Initial Xiantian martial artist, he was also a bandit stained with countless killings.

The Merit Panel's assessment was tied not only to the other party's strength, but also to the impact of what they had done.

Zhao Zhi released his hand, letting Li Muguang's corpse collapse limply onto the ground, then turned his gaze toward Cao Yun, the constable chief.

Cao Yun instinctively took a step back. Icy fear rose from within him and surged through every limb and bone.

Even the Black Pool Bow had been useless.

Just how terrifying had Zhao Zhi's strength become? Could he have surpassed the Innate Warrior level and entered the Meridian Condensation Realm?

Zhao Zhi's strength was naturally still at the Xiantian level. The reason he had so easily evaded the arrow fired by the Black Pool Bow was partly because he had cultivated the Moon-Treading Step to perfection, and partly because Li Muguang was too weak to unleash the Black Pool Bow's true might at all.

The instant Li Muguang released the string, Zhao Zhi had seen through every movement his opponent made. He had shifted beforehand, used his high-level movement technique to reach Li Muguang's side, and easily suppressed and killed him.

"Zhao Zhi, you and I are colleagues," Cao Yun said, fierce on the outside but weak within.

"Colleagues?" Zhao Zhi tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a meaningful smile. "Chen Qingzhi was my colleague too."

Cao Yun's expression changed abruptly. "You killed Chen Qingzhi?"

"I'll let you meet him."

Zhao Zhi suddenly took a step forward, his figure stretching swiftly as he pounced toward Cao Yun.

Seeing that words were useless, a fierce glint rose in Cao Yun's eyes.

As a battle-hardened constable chief and a Greater Xiantian martial artist, he did not choose to retreat and flee. Instead, he viciously raised his saber and poured all his inner energy into it. Cold gleams flashed along the sharp blade, as if it possessed the terrifying power to slice through iron like mud, and he hacked fiercely at Zhao Zhi.

Zhao Zhi did not stop moving. He merely lifted his eyes slightly to glance at the saber crashing down, then raised his left hand, its surging strength mixed with Diamond Force, to meet the fierce strike.

Clang! It was as though metal had collided with metal.

Cao Yun's arm trembled slightly. He felt as if his saber had not struck flesh and blood, but a block of hundredfold-refined steel.

Before the shock on his face could fully spread, Zhao Zhi's right hand shot out like lightning. His fingers were pressed together, carrying the terrifying force to push down mountains and topple pillars, and struck Cao Yun squarely in the chest.

Cao Yun's breastbone caved in instantly. Terrifying force erupted in that moment, blasting his entire body away and smashing him into the cave wall, where he became embedded.

He spat out mouthful after mouthful of blood. His life force withered in an instant, and he was motionless in the blink of an eye.

[You allowed a colleague to see his dead companion. Merit +56.]

Zhao Zhi turned to look at the fleeing Xiantian martial artists from the Su Family and the Tao Family. He glanced at the Flying Cloud Stronghold Innate Warrior still standing where he was, then tapped off the ground and rushed after the Su Family and Tao Family martial artists.

One was at Innate Minor Achievement, the other at Initial Xiantian.

How could their speed compare to Zhao Zhi's?

Zhao Zhi caught up with them within three breaths and casually sent the two of them to meet King Yama.

When Zhao Zhi returned to the cave once more, Flying Cloud Stronghold's Innate Warrior was still standing in the same spot.

Zhao Zhi lightly raised a brow.

He truly had nerve.

When Zhao Zhi had acted, he had neither chosen to attack nor to flee, merely standing there. It was as though he possessed sufficient trump cards and did not regard Zhao Zhi at all.

Zhao Zhi took a step toward him, only to stop immediately. He saw the other man's slightly trembling hand rise and place a blood-red pill into his mouth.

That was...

A Human Elixir?

Zhao Zhi's pupils shifted slightly. He had not expected Flying Cloud Stronghold to be refining Human Elixirs as well.

After swallowing the Human Elixir, Flying Cloud Stronghold's Innate Warrior's eyes flew wide, scarlet red. A strange, terrifying roar burst from his throat as his body lunged fiercely toward Zhao Zhi.

Zhao Zhi casually raised a hand and slapped out.

Flying Cloud Stronghold's Innate Warrior flew backward and crashed heavily into the wall.

His right arm had snapped. Bone spurs pierced through flesh and skin, jutting out from his arm. Blood streamed profusely, flesh hanging from the jagged bones in a grotesque and horrifying sight. Yet he seemed unable to feel any pain at all. His scarlet eyes stared fixedly at Zhao Zhi as a low growl rumbled from his throat.

The next moment.

He turned and ran, fleeing down another passage.

Zhao Zhi was slightly taken aback. He had thought that Flying Cloud Stronghold's Innate Warrior had lost his mind after consuming the Human Elixir, but unexpectedly, he still knew to flee.

With a tap of his foot, Zhao Zhi caught up with him in no more than three breaths.

A palm strike landed on the man's back, sending him flying into a wall along the passage. The wall collapsed with a crash, revealing another dark space beyond.