"Not good!"
Arthur saw the war arrow. A sense of mortal danger instantly surged in his mind, so intense it nearly made his heart stop. The arrow seemed to lock onto the void itself, making it impossible to even think about dodging. It felt like his body was frozen in place, resigned to be pierced through by the arrow. A terrifying pressure radiated from it.
There was no way to evade it.
"What a terrifying archery technique."
Though Arthur felt a chilling fear, he did not fall into despair.
With a flicker of thought, the cloak on his back suddenly emitted a strange treasure light. In the next instant, both Arthur and the unicorn beneath him turned illusory, like ghostly phantoms galloping forward. Their speed even increased.
The war arrow passed right through Arthur's body as if it were nothing. It pierced through space, vanished far into the distance, burrowed into the ground, and disappeared entirely—leaving no trace.
As he dodged the arrow, Arthur's phantom-like body returned to its original state.
"You dishonorable coward! I already fed your dog with my flesh—why are you still trying to kill me? This is a disgrace! Countless cultivators on the Eternal Continent will spit on your name. Aren't you afraid of becoming infamous?"
Arthur turned and screamed at Yi Tianxing and the Golden Roc hovering in the air.
"The one who promised not to kill you was the Green Emperor. I never made such a promise. This is a competition—there are no rules. Killing a competitor is perfectly reasonable," Yi Tianxing replied calmly.
It was he who had fired the arrow.
At first, he'd only planned to watch the fight between Arthur and the Green Emperor. But Arthur was so ruthless—cutting off his own flesh without hesitation—he'd stripped the Green Emperor of any excuse to attack him.
That decisive action sparked a murderous intent in Yi Tianxing.
A man like this—if left alive—was bound to rise to power one day.
Yi Tianxing had already promised the Green Emperor he'd kill Arthur. Now, he acted without mercy.
"You Easterners are despicable—so shameless!"
Arthur's face darkened. Was all that meat for nothing? He felt he'd been utterly played.
"Kill!!"
Yi Tianxing remained unmoved. He drew back the Skeleton Warbow, an ice arrow already notched.
With a flash of light, an ice-blue war arrow ripped through the sky. Empowered by true qi, the cold energy within it erupted tenfold—dozens of times stronger.
As the arrow streaked forward, the air grew noticeably colder.
"Damn it!"
Arthur cursed. The unicorn beneath him surged forward even faster. Just before the arrow hit, the cloak fluttered, and once again, his form turned into an illusion. The arrow passed through harmlessly.
Still, Arthur felt a chilling force seep into him, even in his phantom form. It made him shudder uncontrollably.
[Highlighted: Mysterious Cloak – Grants temporary intangibility, allowing the user to phase through attacks. Extremely rare defensive treasure.]
"What a cloak. That's definitely a rare treasure. But let's see how many times you can use it."
Yi Tianxing's gaze turned cold.
This cloak could render a person completely intangible—immune to any attack. A priceless lifesaving artifact. So far, it had let Arthur avoid two arrows that could have posed a lethal threat to any cultivator of the Sea of Divinity realm.
But such power could not be without cost.
He didn't believe it could be used endlessly.
Some cultivators saw Yi Tianxing chasing Arthur.
But no one tried to stop him.
To Eastern cultivators, Westerners were outsiders—barbarians. If they died, so what? As for Western cultivators, none dared to mess with the Green Emperor. That guy brought nothing but bad luck.
In this world, survival mattered more than some stranger's life.
"Don't even think about killing him. I'll stop you. Arthur, run!"
A sword dragon swept past. The golden-armored knight reappeared, standing in front of Yi Tianxing with a golden-scale shield, blocking a green wind arrow. The clash rang clear through the air. The power in that arrow made the knight's body tremble—far too brutal.
Even now, Yi Tianxing wasn't using his full strength.The Skeleton Warbow couldn't handle the full power of his physical body.
At full draw, the bow's limit was a few thousand jin of force. With true qi and speed enhancement, a single arrow could carry over ten thousand jin of destructive power.
Even the giant sword dragon was shaken.
The golden-armored knight held his ground with righteous resolve.
"If you want to die, I'll grant your wish."
Yi Tianxing's eyes turned to ice.
This knight had blocked him repeatedly—his killing intent fully ignited.
No more hesitation.
A war spear appeared in his hand, and a spear intent surged within it.
With a mighty swing, the spear erupted with divine light, powered by his true qi.
[Highlighted Technique: Fragmented Jade Spear Technique – "White Jade Radiance Shines Across the Nine Provinces"]
Nine spears fall from the sky, each shining like flawless jade. Once locked on, the target cannot escape.
In a flash, nine spears burst from the sky, radiant with the glow of flawless white jade. They looked like divine works of art—impossible to ignore or resist.
All nine spears locked onto the golden knight, sealing every possible avenue of escape. No matter where he moved, he'd face at least one spear—likely several.
The spears tore through space.
"Shield!!"
The knight's eyes widened in horror. He felt an overwhelming killing intent crushing toward him. The spears were no ordinary weapons—their sharpness seemed to pierce even the void. A strong sense of death pressed in.
He hurriedly raised his shield, channeling battle qi into it, hoping it could block the onslaught.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The first spear struck the shield. Golden light flared… but dimmed quickly. The spear rebounded—repelled, not shattered.
But there were nine spears.
The second hit. Then the third. With each blow, the golden glow dimmed further. The sword dragon beneath him let out a pained howl, its body forced back, carving deep trenches in the earth. Blood spurted from its mouth.
By the fourth spear, the golden shield flew from the knight's hand. The next spear struck unhindered. Even as he swung his lance in defense, the brute force was unstoppable.
Pu!!
Blood sprayed.
The spears tore through flesh with a sickening crunch.
The knight and his mount were impaled, their vital points pierced.
Boom!!
The sheer force detonated both of them into a bloody mist.
They vanished in a flash of divine light.
[Result: Golden-Armored Knight – Instant kill by spear technique.]
Hissss!!
Many watching cultivators gasped in shock.
"What terrifying spears… That knight had powerful defensive gear, and he was still killed instantly."
"So domineering! That spear carried an unstoppable force. There was a sense of flawlessness in it—such spear intent! This guy is a true master."
"What a technique. I wonder if my Piercing Gun Style could counter that…"
A middle-aged man standing atop a giant eagle showed intense battle intent in his eyes. He almost gave up on the race just to fight Yi Tianxing then and there.
"I want to draw my sword…"
His hand gripped his iron sword, which trembled in its scabbard, singing with anticipation. But in the end, he let go and continued forward.
There were treasures at the finish line he couldn't afford to miss.
"Looks like I used a bit too much force. My recent physical breakthroughs have made it hard to perfectly control my power. I'll need time to get used to this new strength."
Yi Tianxing frowned slightly, deep in thought.
"Nice, master! That's the way—kill 'em all!" the Green Emperor shouted joyfully.
While Arthur had managed to get quite a bit ahead during the scuffle…
Yi Tianxing didn't hesitate. He urged the Golden Roc onward, chasing after Arthur once more.
Splashhh—!!
The stampede of cultivators continued at full speed. Some triggered traps and died. Others were killed in combat. No one knew how long had passed when a new sound rang out—
"The sound of water?"
Yi Tianxing, flying high above, saw it clearly: a mighty river stretched across the race path ahead, blocking the way forward.