Iron Arrow

This was the Firefly he had cast!

Wang Yu's eyes widened as he stared fixedly at the flame before him. His fingertip felt no heat whatsoever, yet the Dharma Power within him had abruptly diminished by a considerable amount.

The spell consumed unexpectedly large amounts of Dharma Power. With his second-level Qi Refining Realm cultivation, he could probably barely cast it five or six times. Still, he could hardly expect much power from such a tiny flame.

With that thought, Wang Yu puffed out his cheeks and blew hard at the flame.

"Whoosh."

The flame swayed on his fingertip but did not go out so easily.

He moved his finger slightly, and the flame swayed along with it, as though some invisible connection linked the two.

Wang Yu nodded and swept his gaze around the room, finally settling on a battered wooden chair.

With a flick of his finger, the flame shot out, turning into a speck of red light that landed on the wooden chair.

"Sizzle!"

In an instant, roaring flames engulfed the chair, turning it into a great mass of fire. Within a few breaths, the fire vanished entirely, leaving nothing but a patch of black ash.

The spell inscription mark in his Divine Sense Sea also flickered and disappeared.

Wang Yu stared dumbfounded, unable to close his mouth for a long while.

Was this the kind of power a "little flame" should have?

Unable to believe it, he jumped off the bed and walked over to the black ash. After scraping through it a few times with the tip of his shoe and confirming what had happened, he felt as though everything he knew had been turned upside down.

Wang Yu hurried out into the courtyard. After a casual glance around, he found a new target: a rusty iron rod stuck at an angle in the nearby ground.

He formed a hand seal with one hand and recited the incantation. Unsurprisingly, his next two attempts failed, leaving him grimacing for quite some time. On his third attempt, however, he finally succeeded in condensing another spell mark.

The flame appeared before him once more. With a tap of his finger, it drifted lightly onto the iron rod.

"Sizzle!"

The same flames roared up. Before his eyes, the iron rod turned red and softened at a visible rate. By the time the fire disappeared, all that remained was a pool of molten iron, glowing red like lava.

Wang Yu took only two steps closer before waves of heat struck his face, filling him with shock.

This "Firefly" was no ordinary fire, but an extremely hot flame capable of melting metal and stone. That did not quite match what Introduction to Spells said.

Or did all the Parlor Trick Arts possess this kind of power?

Wang Yu was puzzled.

He wanted to keep testing the Firefly Spell, but unfortunately, his next attempt failed again. With little Dharma Power remaining, he could only return to his room to meditate and regulate his breathing, recovering first.

Over the next several days, Wang Yu practiced the Firefly Spell repeatedly.

He discovered that after successfully condensing his first spell mark, his chances of casting the spell immediately increased greatly. He could now generally succeed once every two or three attempts. Even when he failed, the backlash no longer hurt as much as it had at first. It even became increasingly easy to bear, as though his divine sense were gradually adapting to the spell's backlash.

During this time, he also cast Firefly at different targets and even tried to incorporate it into actual combat. Only then did he discover that although its power was astonishing, it drifted slowly and had a limited range. Even when he strained with every ounce of strength he possessed, he could only flick it about ten feet away, making it easy for an opponent to dodge.

Despite these shortcomings, Wang Yu was quite satisfied with Firefly as the first spell he had learned.

What he needed to do next was master this spell more thoroughly and learn the other two as quickly as possible. Once he had mastered three Parlor Trick Arts, he should barely qualify as a "False Cultivator."

This also filled him with anticipation for the other two Parlor Trick Arts.

One day, however, while he was meditating and regulating his breathing on the bed, a series of low hums came from the room behind him, unusually sharp and piercing.

Startled, he quickly turned and rushed into the room in a few strides. Above a bundle resting at the head of the bed, an Azure Paper Crane was circling in the air, giving off a faint white glow.

Before Wang Yu could react, the paper crane shot toward the door with a swish. His eyes and hands were quick enough to snatch it, but he dared not grip it too tightly for fear of damaging it.

It was time to board!

Wang Yu was delighted. How could he not know what had happened?

He hurriedly pulled an ordinary silk thread from the bundle at the head of the bed and, in a few deft movements, wound it securely around the paper crane. He tied the other end around his wrist before releasing the crane again, allowing it to circle only within ten feet of him.

Then he slung the bundle onto his back and took a saber and a sword from beneath the bed. He wrapped the flexible sword around his waist like a belt and slid the saber into a black scabbard on his back. Brimming with excitement, he rushed out of the room and headed straight for the nearby cart.

More than twenty li from Yellowstone City's western gate, beside a broad river, an enormous tower ship some seventy or eighty zhang long lay moored at a seemingly crude dock.

Barefoot sailors were carrying wooden crates and burlap sacks of various sizes aboard. More than twenty carriages of different designs stood nearby, and people in all manner of clothing were boarding the ship.

Just then, a small donkey-drawn cart came trotting down a dirt road toward the dock.

Seated at the front was a young man who looked seventeen or eighteen, dressed in blue-green robes with a saber on his back. It was Wang Yu, who had hurried here.

Wang Yu was briefly taken aback by the bustle at the dock, but he immediately stopped his cart nearby, took a bundle from it, and walked over.

An old man in gray robes, around fifty years old, approached him on the dock. His short hair was a tangled mess, and he held an oversized brown tobacco pipe.

"Is anyone else boarding with you? Let me see your ticket." The old man took a draw from his pipe, glanced at the paper crane on Wang Yu's wrist, and asked his question while exhaling a cloud of yellow smoke.

The smoke billowed into Wang Yu's face, thick and choking.

"Senior, I'm boarding alone." Wang Yu's expression remained unchanged as he took hold of the paper crane tethered to his wrist and handed it over.

"Mm, this is indeed our pavilion's ticket. You may board. Remember, fighting is forbidden aboard. Anyone who causes trouble will be thrown off the ship. Li Laosan, take this young gentleman to Room Bing-13 and explain the ship's rules." After examining the paper crane, the gray-robed old man tucked it directly into his robes. Then he beckoned over a barefoot sailor from the dock, gave him a couple of instructions, and turned to leave.

"This way, young gentleman." The barefoot sailor had a dark, ruddy face and looked twenty-seven or twenty-eight. After seeing the old man off with obsequious nods and bows, he addressed Wang Yu with a broad smile.

"Is Elder Feng a member of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion? Does he hold much authority aboard?" Wang Yu asked tentatively as he followed Li Laosan toward the enormous ship.

"Elder Feng is the immortal master charged with protecting the Iron Arrow. Naturally, he holds the greatest authority. Remember, young gentleman, you can offend anyone aboard except Elder Feng. Otherwise, he really will throw you into the river to feed the fish," Li Laosan told the youth with a smile.

"I see. How long will it take the ship to reach the Wu Kingdom?" Wang Yu nodded and asked another question, his gaze drifting toward the tower ship just ahead.

The enormous ship stood about five or six zhang high, with three tiers of pavilions rising above its deck. Its entire hull was black with a faint metallic sheen, though he could not tell what material it was made from. Unfamiliar silver patterns adorned its outer sides.

"The Iron Arrow is a Magical Ship our Hundred Treasures Pavilion built not long ago. It's considerably faster than our older Magical Ships and can reach Tongzhou in the Wu Kingdom in just a month. Not only do we have an immortal master aboard, but the ship is also equipped with a great many new-model Talisman Crossbows, as well as the Soul-Suppressing Banner, a Magical Artifact that protects us on the voyage. There's absolutely no need to worry about safety. Once aboard, you'll have your own room, and someone will naturally bring your meals there when it's time to eat..." Li Laosan talked endlessly as he led Wang Yu aboard the enormous ship.

Only after standing on its deck did Wang Yu truly appreciate the tower ship's immense size. He had to tilt his head all the way back to see the highest pavilion. Huge blue-green crossbows stood mounted on several projecting sections.

What particularly caught his attention, however, was the enormous yellow banner erected atop the highest pavilion. A full five or six meters long, it was covered with winding black spirit inscriptions. Just one glance at it brought an intensely oppressive, uncomfortable sensation.

That must be the so-called Soul-Suppressing Banner. It should be a genuine Magical Artifact, but why was it so enormous?

After Wang Yu took a few more looks, Li Laosan led him to a single room inside the tower ship. He offered a couple of reminders and left.

The room contained a single bed, a small table, and a small chair. It was reasonably spacious.

Wang Yu casually shoved his bundle beneath the bed. After a moment's thought, he locked the door and left the room, returning to the deck.

Aside from the busy sailors, there were about seventeen or eighteen other passengers on the deck, men and women, young and old. Most were pointing things out with great interest.

After looking up at the sky, Wang Yu walked over to the ship's side on his own and waited quietly.

Time passed quickly. More than two hours later, as the sky began to darken, most people on the deck had returned to their cabins to rest.

Amid a series of clear bell chimes, all the sailors boarded. The enormous tower ship shuddered slightly, then left the dock and slowly headed toward the center of the river.

The ship had no sails, nor were there any oars or similar implements visible along its sides. Yet waves rippled constantly beneath its hull as the tower ship glided steadily farther away.

Only then did Wang Yu let out a soft breath, gradually relaxing.

Just then, hurried hoofbeats sounded from the distant dock. A troop of cavalry charged onto it amid flying dust. Seeing that the enormous tower ship had already departed, two of them actually sprang from their horses into the air and flew straight toward it.

Wang Yu's heart lurched at the sight.

The many sailors and the passengers still lingering on the deck also broke into a commotion.