Chapter Ninety-Five: Entering

“You counted wrong. This counts as a work injury; half the pills I bought are reimbursable by the human race.”

“I only need to spend sixty thousand spirit coins.”

Xu Qiangjia endured the searing pain, his face filled with a long-suffering sigh.

“Though my limbs can grow back, it will take at least a few months of rest before I can recover my peak strength.”

“I had thought I would make a grand showing in this newly established city. What a pity.”

As the two spoke, a ripple of spatial fluctuation rose above the courtyard where they lived.

A courier crane flew out from the void.

“Xu Qiangjia, Wei Miaoqiu, there is a letter for you.”

Wei Miaoqiu came out at once and took the letter from the crane’s beak.

“The one who mailed this should be your son. He asked me to wait here for your reply,” the courier crane said to Wei Miaoqiu.

“The fastest express through space? Could something be wrong on Chen’er’s side?” Wei Miaoqiu hurriedly opened the letter and began to read.

“You wait here for a moment.”

After finishing the letter, Wei Miaoqiu let out a long breath, then carried it into the house.

“You and your son are truly of one heart. The boy must have had a sudden impulse and, fearing something might have happened to us, wrote to check on us.”

Xu Qiangjia was moved upon hearing this.

“Write back and tell our son we’re fine, and that he should cultivate properly in the sect.”

As he spoke, he tried to rise, but the motion tugged at his wounds, instantly breaking him out in a cold sweat.

“Don’t move. I’ll reply.”

At the residence of Xu Chen in the Daxi Sect, as he looked at his parents’ reply, he could not shake the feeling that something was off.

“Indeed, a letter alone can never reveal my parents’ true condition.”

“But as long as I know they are safe, that is enough.”

Xu Chen put the letter away.

On the training grounds outside the residence, ten glass bead-sized winged orbs appeared in Xu Chen’s hand.

These winged orbs were practice targets made specially for those cultivating archery techniques. Once scattered, they would fly erratically at great speed within a certain range.

A small archery training tool included with the Azure Sky Bow.

“I now have the strength of three dragons, three tigers, and seven oxen. With my abundant vital blood, using the Fish-Dragon Transformation Dance secret art can increase my blood strength by eight tigers without loss.”

“Three dragons and one tiger is just enough to use the Azure Sky Bow. I’ll test my hand today.”

With that, Xu Chen flung the winged orbs in his hand up into the sky.

Thin transparent wings sprouted from the orbs in midair, and they began to scatter wildly in all directions.

Xu Chen stood where he was and waited a moment. Once the orbs had flown several hundred yards away, he swiftly took up the Azure Sky Bow beside him and drew three Windpiercing Arrows from the quiver.

“The archery inherited from the Eye-Roving Three Spirits—I wonder how much of it I can truly make use of.”

Holding the three Windpiercing Arrows, Xu Chen’s gaze grew deep and distant.

In an instant, the world fell silent. In Xu Chen’s eyes, everything in heaven and earth that was in motion began to slow.

Locking onto three nearby winged orbs in the sky, Xu Chen loosed three arrows in the blink of an eye.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three flashes of spiritual light lit up in the distant sky, the response of three winged orbs being struck.

Xu Chen then drew and fired with rapid precision, shooting down the rest of the winged orbs in succession.

“Not bad. A perfect score.”

“It’s just a little troublesome picking up the arrows.”

Xu Chen walked toward the places where the feathers had fallen in the distance.

“With this Azure Sky Bow, I can slaughter foreign races below the power of six dragons without breaking a sweat.”

After retrieving all the Windpiercing Arrows, Xu Chen said with confidence.

“There are still ten days before the assembly in the Human Realm. Let’s see if I can get the Six Revolutions of Yin and Yang to the entry level.”

Ten days later, a luxurious spirit vessel came to pick up Xu Chen and flew toward Cloudheaven Island above the sect.

“You two senior brothers have improved a great deal,” Xu Chen said with a smile, sensing the aura around Li Chengfu and Zong Changshou.

By Xu Chen’s estimation, the two of them now possessed at least the vital blood strength of three dragons.

“Haha, to keep up with Junior Brother and avoid dragging you down, we did use a few methods,” Li Chengfu said with a grin.

“In a while, once we enter the ancient battlefield, Junior Brother Xu, please point out the flaws in my concealment technique.”

“No problem.”

Xu Chen agreed at once. These would be the comrades he would team up with when entering the Primordial Battlefield of the Saints in the future.

The spirit vessel passed through the violent wind zone and entered Cloudheaven Island.

It was still the same place used for the Immortal Path assessment last time. The three came here and stepped directly into three connected pillars of light.

Human Realm, Thunder Province sparring zone.

On a boundless square, dozens of enormous teleportation gates stood erect across the plaza.

“Each teleportation gate here is essentially a separate dueling world, used for the disciples of the five major Thunder Province sects to spar,” Zong Changshou explained as he led Xu Chen around.

“That largest teleportation gate over there is the ancient battlefield. Right now, eighty percent of the disciples from the five major sects are gathered there.”

“Once we enter, we’ll not only need to familiarize ourselves with the battlefield’s terrain, but also deal with the disciples already inside.”

Following Zong Changshou’s words, the three arrived at the teleportation gate to the ancient battlefield.

Many of the disciples of the five major sects passing through the gate had weapons in hand.

“Oh, right. No magical treasures can be used in the ancient battlefield, and storage bags are forbidden too.”

“So before going in, take out whatever weapons you’ll be using,” Li Chengfu reminded them.

“Understood.”

Xu Chen nodded. He took the Black Shadow Saber and the Azure Sky Bow from his storage bag, slinging them across his back, then took out a pouch of Windpiercing Arrows and hung it at his waist.

Li Chengfu took out a battle sword, while Zong Changshou put on a pair of gauntlets.

“Let’s go. I hear that treasures found inside can earn points, and if you have enough points, you can even receive rewards.”

The three entered the teleportation gate one after another.

A blood moon hung overhead. Across the sky, countless spatial fissures stretched for thousands of miles, crisscrossing like a shattered net.

The earth was desolate and vast, and violent winds swept through it, a scene of ruin and decay.

Space flickered, and Xu Chen and the other two appeared.

A fierce gust of wind blew over them, instantly making the three feel chilled through to the bone.

Xu Chen hurriedly spread his protective force, and the other two also began circulating their vital blood to resist the gale.

“We need to find somewhere to shelter from the wind quickly. I can hold out for at most two hours,” Li Chengfu said, shivering despite forcing his full vital blood to circulate.

“I’ll take a look around,” Xu Chen said.

Using the force of a gale, Xu Chen leaped directly into the air, then borrowed momentum again to rise a hundred yards high.

His eyes seemed to have turned into telescopes as he surveyed the terrain within a radius of several dozen miles.

Zong Changshou and Li Chengfu stared blankly at Xu Chen in the sky, afraid that another gust would carry him away.

Yet Xu Chen remained suspended in midair, utterly unmoved as the wind howled around him.

Only after he had examined the terrain within several dozen miles did he slowly descend.

“Come on. There’s an underground cavern ten miles from here,” Xu Chen said to the two people still wearing dazed expressions.

“Wait a moment. I think we should take a look at that withered tree. It ought to be something good,” Zong Changshou said, pointing at a dead tree a hundred yards away.

“To still stand firm under such violent wind, it must be something extraordinary.”

“Let’s go and take a look first.”

The withered tree stood over sixty feet tall and was so thick that three people could barely encircle it with their arms.

The two walked to the base of the tree, and Zong Changshou placed one hand on its bark.