Splat!!
A golden arc streaked through the air.
The golden-armored knight only caught a glimpse of it from the corner of his eye. He tried to dodge, but within the raging tornado, escape was impossible. A flash of helplessness crossed his eyes as he watched the armor-piercing arrow tear through the storm and pierce straight through his throat. With a spray of blood, his body turned into a beam of light and vanished.
In his final glance, there was unwillingness, rage, and a tangle of emotions.
He didn't die from lack of strength—but from bad luck. Why did he have to step on a trap?
"Oh! Look, another fellow cultivator has won the jackpot! This time, it was a spiral tornado trap. Once triggered, you get swept up uncontrollably into the air, spinning 360 degrees along with your mount. The effect lasts for sixty seconds. Unfortunately, this knight got shot down mid-spin by this fellow named Yi Tianxing," Black Handsome commented excitedly.
"Speaking of Yi Tianxing, he really landed a top-tier mount this time—an Ironwing Gale Condor. Its speed is extraordinary. Add to that his divine archery skills, and he's nearly unmatched. He wields a Skeleton Warbow, and the arrows he fires are not ordinary ones, but Talisman Arrows inscribed with runes. Paired with his skills, he can kill targets from miles away," added Cool Bro.
"And he doesn't just have the condor—he also has a vicious-looking hound. No idea what its bloodline is, but it's fierce. That knight apparently got bitten by the dog and then stepped into the trap," Black Handsome noted, sharp-eyed.
Their commentary drew invisible gazes from all over the void—gazes that now focused intensely on Yi Tianxing and the Green Emperor, full of interest.
"That dog… I met it before! It can talk. I was already a spirit beast back then, wanted to see if I could bond with it. But the moment it opened its mouth, it wouldn't shut up. The voice was unbearable, made you want to go crazy! I had to leave—felt like I'd lose my mind if I stayed any longer," a cultivator said, shuddering as he spotted the Green Emperor charging along the track.
"It's that dog of misfortune! I saw some fellow Daoists try to talk to it—they ended up fighting. The dog ran off, and those guys somehow wandered into a field of explosive mushrooms. Boom! All dead. Later, the dog came back and scavenged their gear," another cultivator said, going pale. He instinctively kept as far from the Green Emperor as possible.
"It really is that cursed mutt! I just kicked it once—then drank water with bugs in it, fell into a pit, got stung by a hornet nest while looking for a pet. I've never had such a streak of bad luck!" said another cultivator, still sporting visible hornet stings.
And these weren't isolated cases.
More and more cultivators turned green just seeing the Green Emperor.
And sure enough, their fears were confirmed.
Wherever the Green Emperor went, chaos followed. Whenever it lunged at western cultivators with glowing green eyes and biting jaws, those bitten or scratched would almost instantly trigger traps.
Some fell into pits—died horribly.
Some triggered ice traps, freezing themselves and their mounts into massive, fragile ice sculptures—shattered instantly by a single arrow.
Some triggered reverse movement traps, sending themselves and their mounts backward while others pushed forward, completely helpless.
Some triggered blazing flame traps, finding themselves instantly surrounded by sea of fire.
Trap after trap emerged, each one exactly after the Green Emperor touched someone. It was absurdly consistent—like magic. Every single time, it worked.
The other cultivators couldn't help but feel a malicious aura pouring off the dog.
"Liu Bang, you brat! Where do you think you're going!?"
A furious roar echoed across the race track.
Xiang Yu rode his Tyrant Dragon, charging ahead at full force. The ground shook with every thunderous step as he barreled toward a fleeing figure—Liu Bang.
Liu Bang's mount was a Fire Bull.
Truthfully, he wasn't thrilled about it. But with time running out, he had no choice but to bond with the bull. Fortunately, the bull was fast, so it wasn't all bad.
Still, riding a bull didn't sit well with Liu Bang. As an emperor in his past life, the sight of him galloping on a bull like a madman was simply humiliating.
Now, with Xiang Yu in hot pursuit, anxiety filled his heart.
He knew how terrifying Xiang Yu was. Even now, reborn in this realm, he couldn't compete. Xiang Yu was born with Heavenly Dual Pupils, a nearly saint-like talent—unmatched in his generation. His combat power defied normal limits. A true peerless warrior.
"Brother Xiang! Our past grudges shouldn't matter anymore. The Chu and Han kingdoms are long gone. Let bygones be bygones. End this cycle of revenge!" Liu Bang pleaded.
"Hmph! Let me kill you once, then we'll talk about that," Xiang Yu said coldly.
He hated Liu Bang to his core. That scene at Wu River, where he was forced to take his own life—it haunted him. Even though this realm wouldn't allow true death, he needed to kill Liu Bang at least once to vent his rage.
The Tyrant Dragon charged on, its presence exuding tyranny. The pressure shook nearby mounts, making them tremble.
With a sweep of his Tiger-Head Coiled Dragon Halberd, Xiang Yu aimed a deadly strike at Liu Bang.
But just before it landed, Xiang Yu frowned slightly and twisted his wrist, redirecting the attack into empty air—
Clang!!
A battle arrow clashed with his halberd. If not blocked, it would have hit Xiang Yu—though not at a fatal point.
"Li Guang requests the Tyrant spare Liu Bang," said the archer—Li Guang.
"Li Guang, you dare meddle in my affairs? Do you want to die?" Xiang Yu's dual pupils fixed on him. From that one arrow, he could tell—this was a terrifying divine archer. The kind that could fire a fatal arrow from the shadows at any moment.
"Liu Bang may be gone, but he was the founding emperor of Han. I, too, once served as a general in Han. Though the dynasty is no more and the past has vanished, I cannot stand by while my former emperor dies before me," Li Guang said solemnly.
It was true. Old allegiances meant little now. Everyone had lost something—families, nations, homes. But some things, some bonds, could not be easily forgotten.
For Li Guang, Liu Bang was one of them.
"Liu Bang was a petty villain. That anyone would still show him loyalty is foolish. He slaughtered loyal ministers to build his empire. Get in my way again, and I'll kill you too," Xiang Yu snapped.
"General Li! I have a set of unmatched archery techniques. I'm willing to gift them to you. Only a divine archer like you can fully unleash its power," Liu Bang called out, sincerity pouring from his words.
Han was gone. Reputation was worthless. But benefits—real benefits—still held power.
"Die!!"
Xiang Yu's face turned cold and expressionless. The Tyrant Dragon resumed its charge.
Boom!!
Just as Xiang Yu was about to reach Liu Bang, a divine light exploded beneath the dragon. In the next instant—a tornado appeared out of nowhere, sweeping up the Tyrant Dragon and Xiang Yu into the sky, spinning wildly.
Xiang Yu… was caught in a trap.
"Hahaha! Heaven has not forsaken me after all! Seems you won't be killing me today, Brother Xiang. I'll be going now!" Liu Bang's joy surged. He had felt death's shadow creeping behind him. But the sudden reversal sent his spirits soaring. With Xiang Yu caught in the trap, he could finally escape.
"Seems Liu Bang got lucky. Xiang Yu's trapped in the tornado—wait, oh no! Liu Bang just stepped into a trap too! It's a Petrification Curse. He's frozen! The duration looks identical to the tornado… Welp, his fate is back to being uncertain," Cool Bro commented.