Chapter 1869 (Raw 1880): Arrow to the Heavens
Since Xiao Chen suggested archery, he naturally had the confidence to defeat the other party.
The brilliant light on Monarch Yu’s body slowly faded. The clouds in the sky slowly regathered. The scene of the blazing sun existing together with the stars disappeared.
Everyone watched as Xiao Chen received the Goose Dragon Bow and drew it back. They wanted to see what capability he had that he was confident of defeating Monarch Yu.
Of course, aside from Lan Luo and the Soaring Dragon Marquis on the tall platform, no one on the drill ground felt that Xiao Chen could win.
This included Lan Yan, who had a good impression of Xiao Chen. He also shook his head in his heart.
With the bloodline of the royal clan, as the son of a duke, Monarch Yu received the protection of the dynasty’s Luck from the moment he was born.
Furthermore, he also enjoyed the resources of the royal clan. His starting point and circumstances were indeed enviable.
Even as the Soaring Dragon Marquis’s first son, Long Yan also envied him.
More importantly, the arrow that Monarch Yu shot was indeed startling. It felt terrifying.
A Holy Venerate would not dare to drop their guard against such an arrow.
Long Yan, who knew why Monarch Yu had to trample on Xiao Chen, could not help worrying.
“What’s wrong? You do not dare to? Or are you too embarrassed to make a move?”
Long Bo’s heart pounded with happiness when he thought about how Xiao Chen would embarrass himself before everyone. He could not help taunting Xiao Chen.
“Haha! If you really cannot do it, just admit defeat. Losing to Monarch Yu is not embarrassing. After all, he is a relative of the emperor. He is not someone a country bumpkin like you can compare to.”
“That’s right. To think that you actually dare to compete with Monarch Yu. If it were me, I would just directly admit defeat. Monarch Yu is a magnanimous person. He probably won’t make things difficult for you.”
“Just admit defeat!”
“Admit defeat!”
“Admit defeat! Admit defeat! Admit defeat!”
Suddenly, chants of “admit defeat” rang out all over the drill ground. Most of the Long Clan disciples were already convinced by Monarch Yu’s grace.
Now that they had seen Monarch Yu’s powerful move, they were already brimming with extreme admiration.
Furthermore, Monarch Yu had made a good impression on everyone beforehand. Nearly everyone stood on Monarch Yu’s side, calling for Xiao Chen to admit defeat.
The chant for Xiao Chen to admit defeat surged out like waves.
If an ordinary person were subject to such ostracism, that person’s mental state would have broken down already, unable to remain calm.
However, Xiao Chen was very smart. Furthermore, he had also already figured out Monarch Yu’s game. He just did not expect that the person Monarch Yu wanted to trample on was himself.
Naturally, he could not show any changes to his expression. He said softly, “If I really am unable to defeat a strong enemy, it is not a big problem to admit defeat and acknowledge my insufficiencies.”
When Monarch Yu heard that, he smiled faintly and said magnanimously, “Brother Xiao is rather wise. Since you already admit defeat, then let’s void the wager. Just do something small for me, and that will do.”
“Are your ears blocked or your brain damaged? My big brother is laughing at you for overestimating yourself. You want him to admit defeat? You are far from good enough. To think that you cannot even hear that. Your intelligence is really low. Some nonsense monarch you are. Haha!” the little monk said while rolling his eyes as he rested on Xiao Chen’s shoulder.
These harsh words, together with the little monk’s cute baby face, angered Monarch Yu, nearly driving him mad.
This was especially so for the laughter at the end. Monarch Yu nearly lost his poise and grace.
Monarch Yu was about to say something when he suddenly heard a crisp sound. An arrow silently passed through the twisted space and struck the bull’s-eye ten kilometers away.
Compared to Monarch Yu’s vast aura with the spreading dynasty’s might propelling a powerful arrow that reversed night and day, Xiao Chen’s arrow seemed ordinary. He merely pulled the drawstring back and released. Then, the arrow flew out and struck the bull’s-eye.
It was like the twisted space in front and the fiftyfold gravity were just decorations.
“This… How is this possible?!”
This feat stunned the Long Clan disciples. One disbelieving soul shouted, “The gravity field is probably not turned on. I’ll try it out.”
“Right, we must definitely try it.”
No one could accept such a result. All of them made their moves and drew their bows to shoot.
In the end, the arrows that they shot either fell to the ground in the twisted space or deviated to another direction.
Not to mention a bull’s-eye, not a single person managed to strike the target board.
The cruel reality stunned the Long Clan disciples. They all showed expressions of incredulity.
Xiao Chen was just a country bumpkin. How could he be so much stronger than them?
This was simply unacceptable for them. They could accept Monarch Yu being stronger since they could understand it.
Monarch Yu was a relative of the emperor, the son of a duke; he had the dynasty’s Luck protecting him.
It was normal for Monarch Yu to be stronger than them. However, what did Xiao Chen have?
Xiao Chen had nothing. Compared to the Long Clan disciples, he was not worth mentioning at all. However, such a worthless person could strike the bull’s-eye when they could not even touch the target board.
“It’s useless. Totally useless. Monarch Yu’s arrow was powerful and shook up the place, reversing night and day. It is not something that your shot can compare to. So, you still lost.”
“That’s right. That’s right. You still lost. Your shot is still far from comparable to Monarch Yu’s.”
“With how powerful Monarch Yu’s shot was, how could yours compare?”
The Long Clan disciples who felt somewhat off balance all spoke up, exalting Monarch Yu and demeaning Xiao Chen.
They refused to admit that Xiao Chen’s archery skills were more incredible than Monarch Yu’s.
Only the expressions of the Marquis’s Residence’s upper echelon on the tall platform changed.
Indeed, the might of Xiao Chen’s shot was not comparable to that of Monarch Yu. It was even far from comparable.
Monarch Yu’s shot made use of the dynasty’s might and could already threaten, even severely injure a Holy Venerate.
However, the experts have their own way of looking at things.
In terms of practicality, Xiao Chen’s shot far surpassed Monarch Yu’s.
The speed at which Xiao Chen fired his arrow was extremely fast, no different from taking a normal shot.
On the other hand, while Monarch Yu’s arrow looked powerful, in reality, he stored up power for it. Although it could threaten a Holy Venerate, in a true fight, it was unlikely to hit the Holy Venerate unless the Holy Venerate was occupied by someone.
However, if it was Xiao Chen, the scene that appeared in these upper echelon’s minds was one of him using his Movement Technique to move about in the air while continuously shooting arrows.
A rain of arrows was more likely to hurt a Holy Venerate.
If such skills could be promulgated in the army and a group of divine archers formed, it could completely resolve the worries of dealing with the borders.
Such a team would be undefeatable.
“Lord Marquis!”
The generals behind the Soaring Dragon Marquis all felt excited. They could not help calling out.
Naturally, the Soaring Dragon Marquis knew what they were thinking. He indifferently held up his hand to forestall their words.
The experts saw the tricks behind the contest, but the Long Clan disciples and the Marquis’s Residence’s subordinates were all unconvinced.
Various discussions cropped up. In any case, Xiao Chen’s shot looked ordinary and did not seem comparable to Monarch Yu’s.
If one lost, one was incompetent. Hence, one was trash.
“Bunch of fools. Why are you crying out so loudly? What’s with the commotion? If you are that capable, then you go do it. If that Monarch what’s-his-name is not convinced of it, he can give it a try; see if he can do it like my big brother did, calmly and unhurried!”
The little monk spoke candidly. He wanted to protect Xiao Chen and loudly rebutted those people.
“Haha! I’m not convinced of it, but I won’t be trying it. What can you do to me, little baby?!”
Since no one could do it earlier, naturally, no one could do it now. Hence, they would not really give it a try. However, they were not convinced of it, so they used their numerical advantage to mock the little monk.
“Dang!”
What replied to the crowd was Xiao Chen’s second arrow.
Xiao Chen circulated the Heavenly Heart Art, and the Heart Flame at his fingertips merged with the arrow. Then, the arrow split and pierced through the earlier arrow, striking the bull’s-eye again.
“Boom!”
However, this time, there was Heart Flame. The might of this arrow was clearly higher than the previous one’s.
The deafening sound immediately suppressed the clamor from the many Long Clan disciples.
“Boom!”
The third arrow shot out. This time, Xiao Chen used ten percent more Heart Flame. When the tip of the arrow struck the board, the sound from the impact sounded even more terrifying.
It was like a sudden clap of thunder echoing in all directions. The entire drill ground shook intensely.
What was more terrifying was that Xiao Chen’s control of Heart Flame had reached an extremely ingenious level.
He did not break the target board. However, he released the power of the Heart Flame through the target board in order to intimidate.
Fourth arrow. Fifth arrow. Sixth arrow…
Xiao Chen increased the amount of Heart Flame each time. The resulting booms steadily grew more terrifying than the ones before.
When the seventh arrow shot out, the terrifying sound waves surged out. The buildings in the Marquis’s Residence shook violently.
The roofs of several buildings directly collapsed.
As for the Long Clan disciples on the drill grounds, although they did their best to endure, they still failed.
The sound waves made them vomit blood and fall to the ground, thrashing endlessly. They covered their ears and howled in pain nonstop.
After the seventh arrow, no one dared to say that they were not convinced anymore.
Everyone only had horror on their faces as they looked at Xiao Chen. They felt angry but did not dare to show it, afraid.
At this moment, it was already clear whose archery skills were better.
So what if there was someone not convinced of it?
Xiao Chen used the simplest and most direct method to answer those who were not convinced. Who still dared to say that they were not convinced?
Monarch Yu, who had not said anything all the while, turned ashen. He said, “Bring my White Feather Bow over.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Very quickly, an escort brought over a smooth bow that looked like it was made of white jade. Then, he placed it in Monarch Yu’s hands.
“Peak Grade inherited Dao Tool!”
Immediately, the Long Clan disciples’ expressions changed. Although there were no rules on what bow to use in the bet, it was clearly not right for Monarch Yu to do this. It was even somewhat shameless. However, given Monarch Yu’s status, no one said anything.
Monarch Yu held the Peak Grade inherited Dao Tool in his hand and drew the bowstring, pointing it at the sky.
“Boom!”
A ferocious beast flying in the distant sky exploded instantly, leaving only a clump of blood mist.
The clump of blood mist looked exceptionally eye-catching in the clear sky.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Monarch Yu’s figure flashed continuously as he shot six arrows in a row. Each arrow flew far away and killed a late-stage Star Venerate ferocious beast.
Killing a ferocious beast from ten kilometers away. Such a horrifying scene deeply shocked everyone.
“Whoosh!”
Monarch Yu’s seventh shot was very powerful, making the reversal of night and day reappear. The dynasty’s might spread out from his body again, and starlight surrounded his body.
The arrow looked like a rainbow shooting at the sun. Then, a miserable screech rang out in the air.
“Bang!” After a while, a ferocious beast with an extremely terrifying aura—something infinitely close to the Holy Venerate level—crashed on the drill ground, struck by an arrow.
The severely wounded ferocious beast could not move. However, its savage aura still scared the Long Clan disciples into fleeing far away.
Xiao Chen had shot out seven arrows. So, Monarch Yu also shot seven arrows. Furthermore, what Monarch Yu shot were the extremely fast ferocious beasts in the sky.
The unmoving target boards could not compare to that. Clearly, Monarch Yu wanted to come out on top of Xiao Chen.
After seven shots, Monarch Yu appeared slightly fatigued. He looked at Xiao Chen and said, “This White Feather Bow is a reward obtained by my military merits. I obtained it with my own ability. Naturally, it is a part of my strength. If you have any treasures, you may use them, as well. Don’t say that I, Monarch Yu, bullied you.”
These words sounded righteous and flabbergasting.
It was hard to imagine that there actually was such a shameless person with such thick skin. This was simply high-sounding bullying of Xiao Chen for not having a strong clan or sect behind him.
Monarch Yu said softly with a cold smile, “I am the son of a duke, a relative of the emperor. I am a monarch. You are far from comparable to me. Let’s see how you are going to win!”
“I only need one arrow to win.” Xiao Chen snorted coldly when the clouds had regathered and the reversal of night and day ended.
Xiao Chen activated his Azure Dragon bloodline and opened his Great Desolate Divine Eyes. Then, Dragon Might surged up from his body.
He used his own Dragon Might to re-create the scene of night and day reversing, without relying on a dynasty’s might.
That pair of divine eyes swept through the place, looking unparalleled. No one dared to meet his gaze.
Amid startled cries, Xiao Chen took out the God Shadow Bow and infused all his Soul Energy into it, burning his Heart Flame to the limit.
Xiao Chen drew back its bowstring and pointed it at the sky.
“Whoosh!”
The arrow shot out, and the bowstring quivered. Cracks immediately appeared above the drill ground, spreading out like a spiderweb.
However, no one paid attention to that. Everyone focused on the powerful arrow shot.
The arrow flew increasingly farther until it vanished from everyone’s sight.
Then, there was a loud sound, startling the entire Soaring Dragon City. A resplendent and dazzling light even brighter than the sun exploded in the Starry Heavens above the city.
A star suddenly exploded!
The resplendent light passed in a flash. In the next moment, countless fragments of the star turned into meteors filling the sky, streaking down.
With this peak arrow shot, Xiao Chen blew up a star.
The remnant might of the God Shadow Bow rammed into everyone in the drill ground and sent most of the people tumbling to the ground, leaving only one person standing proudly.
Unrivaled Dragon Might, ruling the world by force!
The moment this arrow shot out, there was no longer a need to discuss who won or lost.
The other party was just an insignificant son of a duke. To think that he dared to compete with Xiao Chen in bloodlines. Xiao Chen had the incomparable Grade 8 Azure Dragon bloodline.
Even a prince of the dynasty might not be sufficient to do so if he was not closely related by blood!
No matter what Monarch Yu’s motive was, he had chosen the wrong target by trying to use Xiao Chen as a stepping stone.