Chen Changsheng heard nothing at all. In his eyes, everything between heaven and earth had fallen silent.
All that remained in his sight was Zu Yuan before him and the bow and arrow in his hands.
Scenes from his previous life flashed endlessly before his eyes, making the bow and arrow shine even brighter.
This was no ordinary arrow, nor was it an arrow from anyone's poem.
It was an arrow into which he had poured his Divine Soul. It would attack not only Zu Yuan's flesh, but his Divine Soul as well!
Even if the guardians around them intervened to block Arrows' physical attack, they could never stop its assault on the Divine Soul!
The memories in Chen Changsheng's mind froze on Ouyang's figure in his previous life. In a low voice, he recited the verse Ouyang had once recited:
"Look Northwest, Shoot the Sky Wolf!"
Whoosh!
Arrows left his hand and, in an instant, struck Zu Yuan, who was about to tear open a spatial rift and escape.
Zu Yuan stared at the right side of his chest in disbelief. He had never told anyone that his heart was on the right!
How did Chen Changsheng know his heart was on the right?
Arrows passed straight through Zu Yuan's body and plunged precisely into the right side of his chest. It left no wound—this arrow was attacking Zu Yuan's Divine Soul!
The Nascent Soul inside Zu Yuan's dantian died instantly. At the moment it died, a black lotus flew out, tore open space without anyone noticing, and vanished.
Zu Yuan's body slowly fell from the sky. Horns grew from his head, and demonic markings covered his face. One glance was enough to reveal that he belonged to the devil race!
The instant Chen Changsheng shot Zu Yuan dead, the sense of urgency in his heart vanished. He knew he had killed the fiend he had hated to the marrow in his previous life.
He had sworn a Heavenly Dao Oath precisely to confirm that he could truly kill Zu Yuan once and for all!
A hundred-legged insect could die without falling stiff!
Only with the Heavenly Dao as his witness could he be certain that he had truly killed the future Demon Emperor!
All his schemes had finally borne fruit at this moment!
Chen Changsheng felt an unprecedented exhaustion and fell onto his back inside the Mustard Seed Space.
Outside the Mustard Seed Space, an enormous uproar had already erupted.
The devil race had not been seen for thousands of years. Who would have expected one of them to reappear at the Azure Cloud Sect's grand gathering?
Was the Conflict Between the Demonic and Daoist Paths about to begin again?
The faces of cultivators who had lived through that inhuman war thousands of years ago were instantly shrouded in gloom.
In the Main Hall, Dongxu Zi stared blankly toward the Mustard Seed Space. When Chen Changsheng had sworn the Heavenly Dao Oath, suspicion had stirred in him toward his newly accepted disciple.
But at most, he had thought the disciple had some moral failing. Never could he have imagined that his disciple actually belonged to the devil race!
He was the Sect Master of the Azure Cloud Sect, one of the Nine Great Sacred Lands, yet one of his direct disciples belonged to the devil race!
Dongxu Zi, at the ninth level of Tribulation Transcendence, suddenly stooped a little. At that moment, he looked like an old man in his twilight years.
"Senior Brother Sect Master!" The Peak Masters of Various Peaks looked toward Dongxu Zi, alarmed by the change in his presence.
But Dongxu Zi stooped for only that brief instant before returning to normal. The imposing presence of a Sect Master settled over him again.
Tempered by countless years, Dongxu Zi would not let this matter shake his Dao heart. He merely raised a hand toward the elders sent by the Nine Great Sacred Lands and the countless sect representatives, then said calmly:
"The victor of today's Sect Grand Competition is Chen Changsheng of Little Mountain Peak! For his meritorious deed in slaying a devil, Chen Changsheng shall henceforth be the Holy Son of our Azure Cloud Sect! To stand before him is to stand before the Sect Master!"
"What?"
This explosive announcement instantly stunned everyone present.
But the elders of the various peaks immediately understood. Before all their fellow sects, a direct disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect's Sect Master had been exposed as a member of the devil race. How would the world view the Azure Cloud Sect, one of the Nine Great Sacred Lands?
As friends of the devil race, helping devils do their evil work?
Such a label would be fatal to the Azure Cloud Sect, a renowned righteous sect, especially before almost every sect and faction.
Thus, Dongxu Zi immediately named Chen Changsheng, who had slain the devil, the Azure Cloud Sect's Holy Son. He was making his stance clear at the first possible moment: the appearance of a devil in his sect had nothing to do with him-the devil race was simply too cunning!
Brilliant. Truly brilliant!
As expected of an old fox who had lived for thousands of years, he had made the best possible response in an instant.
The elders of the Nine Great Sacred Lands caught on as well and immediately congratulated the Azure Cloud Sect on gaining a new Holy Son of exceptional talent!
After all, although the Nine Great Sacred Lands disliked one another, they were branches of the same tree, sharing in one another's glory. They really did have to shoulder the Azure Cloud Sect's sedan chair this time!
Afterward, they could ask their own Sect Masters to personally inquire into what had happened. For now, the most important thing was to soothe the countless lesser sects below and keep their tongues in check!
"Third Senior Brother became the Azure Cloud Sect's Holy Son?" Hu Tutu asked blankly, looking at Ouyang.
"That sneaky bastard who always kept himself hidden in the shadows somehow ended up standing in a brighter spotlight than anyone else? Life really is unpredictable!" Ouyang sighed.
"What a nuisance. If this disturbs our quiet cultivation, why don't we make Third Senior Brother move out? Holy Son of the Azure Cloud Sect sounds better than third disciple of Little Mountain Peak anyway, doesn't it?" Bai Feiyu said with a frown.
Leng Qingsong only wondered whether getting his meals would become a problem from now on.
After all, having the Holy Son cook for him every day would be a little hard to justify.
Lying inside the Mustard Seed Space, Chen Changsheng gave a bitter laugh. He had no idea why he had inexplicably become the Azure Cloud Sect's Holy Son. In his previous life, Zu Yuan had held that position!
Had the worldline begun to diverge?
Just as Chen Changsheng was still considering how to relinquish the title of Holy Son,
Ling Feng appeared before him in a gray robe.
"Senior Brother Ling Feng, I..." Chen Changsheng had just begun to speak.
But Ling Feng said coldly, "Holy Son, although Zu Yuan belonged to the devil race, he was still my junior brother. Would you allow me to bury him?"
All the usual warmth had vanished from Ling Feng's voice. Nothing remained but endless indifference and stiffness.
Chen Changsheng hurriedly said, "Senior Brother Ling Feng, you don't have to address me like that. I only had a grudge against Zu Yuan. I don't want to be any Holy Son!"
But Ling Feng did not answer Chen Changsheng. Instead, he picked up Zu Yuan's body, flew out of the Mustard Seed Space, and headed down the mountain.
To the onlookers, he was a senior brother who cared for his junior brother, only to find that junior brother was a devil who had now met his death. Even though the dead man belonged to the devil race, his senior brother still insisted on burying him.
At that moment, Ling Feng became a tragic figure in everyone's eyes.
All he left them was the desolate sight of his retreating back.
But inside Ling Feng's mind, that crazed voice brimmed with joy, urging him on without pause:
"Hurry, faster, walk faster! This is the beginning of changing your fate and mine!"
Before you continue