The tremendous sound echoed across the battlefield.
A violent gale swept through the surroundings, uprooting trees that flew into the sky. Sword energy erupted in all directions, disintegrating everything it touched into dust. Amidst the swirling smoke and dust, black stone fragments rained down upon the ground.
Roar!
The enraged roar of the Earth-Cracking Ape King thundered through the heavens. As the dust dispersed, its massive form was fully revealed.
“Look!”
“My God, Sword God only needed one strike of sword energy to cleave a huge gash in the Earth-Cracking Ape King’s body!!”
“Damn, Sword God is awesome!!!”
Cheers erupted from the soldiers on the city walls.
A wound had appeared on the Earth-Cracking Ape King’s chest, from which dark red blood seeped continuously, melting the ground it touched, a testament to the heat contained within its blood.
Gu Yuan watched the Sword God before him with awe. He had grown up listening to legends of the Sword God and knew Qin Wudao was powerful. He hadn’t expected that the Earth-Cracking Ape King, known for its defense and unmatched physical strength among the fierce beast kings, could not withstand his sword energy.
However, their joy was short-lived. Yellow spiritual light erupted from the Earth-Cracking Ape King’s body, and the wound inflicted by Qin Wudao began to heal at a visible rate. Flesh and sinew regenerated and intertwined, and within moments, the wound was sealed.
“This beast has incredibly strong vitality!”
“I wonder if Sword God can handle it?”
Listening to the chatter around him, Gu Yuan’s gaze fixed on the white figure ahead, filled with worry.
“Hmph!”
A cold snort sounded. Qin Wudao’s long sword shot out from its sheath behind him, hovering before him.
Qin Wudao formed a sword gesture, and the spiritual energy within him surged wildly. A boundless power erupted from his body.
Sensing an extremely dangerous aura radiating from the human before it, the Earth-Cracking Ape King roared. Yellow spiritual light burst forth, and massive black rocks rose from the ground, suspended in the air. With a mighty grasp, the Ape King, its muscles bulging, hurled them towards Qin Wudao.
Boom!
The black boulders whistled through the air, breaking the sound barrier, and shot towards Qin Wudao with immense power!
Boom! Boom! Boom…!
With each resounding impact, the Earth-Cracking Ape King’s thick, beastly arms moved in blurs.
The Ape King hurled all the condensed black boulders towards Qin Wudao. Each stone shattered the sound barrier, creating a violent roar and completely sealing Qin Wudao’s path forward. If he dodged, the defensive shield of Myriad Beast City behind him would be unable to withstand an attack from a Beast King realm powerhouse.
Qin Wudao’s eyes held a cold glint. The long sword before him spun slowly, like an illusion, differentiating into countless swords that shielded the entire front of Myriad Beast City.
Watching the entire world seem to transform into the sword light manifested by Qin Wudao, Gu Yuan’s eyes were filled with astonishment. Was this the power of a Dharma Aspect realm expert? It was truly mesmerizing.
The black boulders shot into the screen of sword light formed by Qin Wudao. Yellow spiritual light appeared on the boulders, clashing with the sword light, creating continuous explosions.
Gu Yuan could clearly see the spiritual light generated by the collision gouging out large pits on the ground.
Though the yellow spiritual light on the black boulders was formidable, it could not withstand the overwhelming consumption by the myriad sword lights. In just a short while, all the black boulders were ground into dust by the endlessly sharp sword energy.
Qin Wudao pointed his sword gesture towards the Earth-Cracking Ape King.
All the sword lights transformed into individual long swords, pointing towards the Earth-Cracking Ape King.
He uttered softly, “Hurry!”
The sound of swords cutting through the air echoed repeatedly. The long swords transformed into a river of sword energy, streaking towards the Earth-Cracking Ape King!
Along the path, some of the fierce beast army, scattered by the battle between the two Dharma Aspect realm powerhouses, happened to be in the path of the sword energy river. They were all sliced into pieces by the overflowing sword energy, not even a whole corpse remained.
Seeing the river of sword energy hurtling towards it, the Earth-Cracking Ape King understood that this invasion had failed. With Qin Wudao present, the beast tide was useless against humanity.
It unleashed its full demonic power, forming a giant yellow shield directly in front of the sword energy river.
Its colossal beast legs, like stone pillars, bulged with muscle. They bent slightly, and with a burst of power from its legs,
With a loud boom!
The Earth-Cracking Ape King… actually fled!!
The people of Myriad Beast City fell into silence for a moment, then erupted in thunderous cheers. After all, their attacker was the veteran Beast King, the Earth-Cracking Ape King, and the pressure on everyone was immense. They never expected that with the Sword God’s intervention, after only a few exchanges, the Earth-Cracking Ape King would retreat.
Qin Wudao, hovering in mid-air, frowned, his gaze fixed on the retreating Earth-Cracking Ape King. Only when its aura left his range of perception did he relax.
His figure flickered, and he returned to Myriad Beast City. The long sword Dharma Aspect in the air and the distant river of sword energy slowly began to dissipate.
The spiritual energy defensive shield enveloping Myriad Beast City also gradually vanished. It wasn't deactivated, merely reduced in energy supply and hidden. After all, the energy consumed by a defensive shield covering such a large city was astronomical every second; any saving was worthwhile.
Seeing Qin Wudao return to Myriad Beast City, Gu Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. He then went to rest and began his watch duty.
One day!
Two days!
Ten days!
Gu Yuan shot arrows relentlessly every day, losing count of how many he fired. His routine consisted of shooting arrows, defending the city, resting, and repeating.
One year!
Two years!
Five years!
Finally, Gu Yuan loosed the last arrow from his quiver. The entire world around him began to rapidly dissolve into foam.
Pop!
A clear sound rang in Gu Yuan’s ears. His vision went black, and when he opened his eyes again, he was back in the space of the Dao Luck Heavenly Scroll.
[Absorption successful!]
The prompt from the Dao Luck Heavenly Scroll appeared before him.
“Was I entering Wang Qifeng’s memories? Or was I cultivating my archery skills there?” Gu Yuan recalled everything that had happened.
“It’s truly marvelous!” Gu Yuan marveled at the wonder of the Dao Luck Heavenly Scroll as he reflected on the archery experience in his mind.
With a thought, he exited the Dao Luck Heavenly Scroll space and returned to reality.
In reality, Gu Yuan opened his eyes. The pupils contracted to needle points, and the entire world became much clearer. Looking out the window, he could easily discern small objects a hundred meters away.
He opened the wooden box, took out the Chongxuan Scarlet Refining, which was almost as tall as him, and pulled the bowstring. A grating sound echoed. Gu Yuan closed his eyes, and the archery experience in his mind was incredibly vivid.
Opening his eyes, Gu Yuan was very satisfied. He placed the Chongxuan Scarlet Refining back into the wooden box. Once he had fully assimilated all the resources, he would shoulder the Chongxuan Scarlet Refining and begin hunting.
Gu Yuan, carrying all the cultivation resources, went into his bedroom. He poured out a Qi and Blood Pill and swallowed it in one gulp.
After entering his stomach, the Qi and Blood Pill transformed into a stream of heat that swept through his entire body. Gu Yuan began circulating the Great Whale technique to absorb this immense medicinal power.
Thus, Gu Yuan entered a state of deep cultivation.
——————
Meanwhile, at the Tianyuan City Education Bureau.
Outside an office, Wang Qifeng knocked on the wooden door…