Chapter Nineteen: The Great Battle Approaches

"Seven Stars Aligned!" Jiang Yan shouted, his right hand forming a sword with two fingers, thrusting forward. Within the scope of his spiritual sense, seven Greenwood Arrows were connected end to end, forming a straight line as they shot swiftly toward a large stone not far ahead.

"Swish, swish..." The arrows streaked through the air at such speed that their arrowheads tore the wind, producing a series of sharp whistling sounds.

"Clang, clang..." Jiang Yan heard the sound of metal striking stone, and then saw a deep, wide black hole appear in the hard rock. The Greenwood Arrows, condensed from spiritual energy, could pierce even solid stone. Jiang Yan was quite satisfied with their power.

Yet, as the first form of Greenwood Arrow Art, the power of Seven Stars Aligned was not merely this. In his spiritual sense, six of the arrows had already penetrated the stone, while one remained lodged within. Jiang Yan glanced at the broad blue stone, a faint smile curling at his lips.

"Explode," he whispered.

"Boom..." A sudden thunderous noise erupted from inside the stone. Under Jiang Yan's gaze, the massive rock was instantly blown apart, fragments flying in all directions. One shard, with an ear-piercing whistle, hurtled straight toward Jiang Yan.

With a thought, Jiang Yan directed one of the six arrows hovering above the stone to intercept the flying fragment.

"Bang!" The shaft of the Greenwood Arrow struck the stone, deflecting it toward a large tree.

"Swish!" The fragment pierced a tree as thick as a bowl, leaving a fist-sized hole in its trunk.

"Bang..." After passing through the first tree, the fragment did not slow, but crashed heavily into a second tree, thick enough for a person to embrace, gouging a deep hole and knocking leaves to the ground.

The tree shook violently from the impact, terrifying the youth perched in its branches.

Ning Qian clung to a branch, a conspiratorial gleam in his eyes as he glanced at Sun Yang's pale, frightened face. With pride, he declared, "Well, that's settled—I've won. If we both join the master's sect, you'll have to address me as senior brother."

Sun Yang gripped another branch, his body swaying with its trembling, his voice quivering, "You—you win, Ah Qian. That was just a flying stone fragment, and it was so fierce. The immortal arts are truly—truly astonishing!"

"Crack!" The first tree, pierced by the shard, suddenly snapped in half. The hole left by the stone was so large that the tree, grown for years, was broken clean through.

Ning Qian and Sun Yang exchanged a look, each seeing the shock mirrored in the other's eyes...

...

"Who goes there?"

"Which bastard is causing trouble?"

"Outside the courtyard wall."

The explosion Jiang Yan caused with the Greenwood Arrow Art had drawn the attention of Tianshan Sect disciples. After several shouts, four figures in white leapt over the wall, surrounding Jiang Yan.

As Jiang Yan intended, the loud blast had lured several Tianshan disciples down from the mountain. With a thought, he had six Greenwood Arrows float slowly in the air, facing the direction from which the four disciples approached.

"You brat, was that explosion your doing?" The burly man at the front asked gruffly. He wore white, with a wide longsword strapped to his back. His pale, fitted clothing was stretched over his large frame, looking somewhat odd.

Among the three disciples behind him was the lewd man Jiang Yan had seen earlier, also in white with a sword on his back. Behind him was Li Fei, another Tianshan disciple, similarly dressed and armed. Following Li Fei was a third white-robed, sword-bearing disciple.

...

From afar, Sun Yang, clinging to a branch beside Ning Qian, whispered nervously, "They're coming, Ah Qian, they're coming."

Ning Qian gave him a helpless look, "I see them. Stop pulling me, or I'll fall."

Sun Yang sheepishly released Ning Qian's hand, a little embarrassed, "I'm worried about the master, you know. He's up against four at once now." In just this short time, Sun Yang was already anxious for the master's safety.

...

The four Tianshan disciples formed a line, standing face to face with Jiang Yan. The stern-faced Li Fei stepped forward, coldly demanding, "I am Li Fei of Tianshan Sect. May I ask which sect you belong to?"

The burly man's head turned, puzzled, "Li Fei, how do you know he's a cultivator? He looks weak, more like a scholar."

Li Fei snorted coldly, "Fool, can't you sense the powerful spiritual energy on him? He's at least at my level."

The burly man's thick brows furrowed in surprise, "A cultivator of the fourth layer of Qi Refining!"

...

"One at fourth layer, three at second layer," Jiang Yan thought with relief. There was no sixth-layer cultivator; even if he lost, he could flee back to Mount Hua and hide within the protective array, avoiding Tianshan's vendetta. Upon returning, he needed to quickly raise the sect's rank and enhance the mountain's defenses for safety. He resolved this silently.

"Li Fei of Tianshan Sect, what position do you hold there?" Jiang Yan subtly maneuvered the Greenwood Arrows, buying time with his questions to arrange their positions and set a trap.

The lewd disciple snapped impatiently, "Who are you to question our Brother Li's status? If you know what's good for you, report your origins honestly. Otherwise, I'll cut you down with a single stroke!"

The burly man suddenly rumbled, "Are you from Mount Hua?"

The disciples' faces changed in unison. Li Fei's body flickered, and the next moment he appeared behind Jiang Yan, his right hand grasping his sword hilt, face cold. "You must be here to aid Mount Hua. According to our information, Mount Hua has no fourth-layer Qi Refining experts. You'd best not meddle in these affairs."

Before setting out, Li Fei had met Bai Lun, an inner disciple of the third-rank Golden Flame Sect. From Bai Lun's dismissive tone, Li Fei learned Mount Hua had only five people—three men and two women—all but a young girl at the first layer of Qi Refining, a feeble sect indeed.

Seeing Jiang Yan, whose cultivation reached fourth layer, and hearing the burly disciple's words, Li Fei assumed Jiang Yan was a hired expert brought in by Mount Hua in anticipation of Tianshan's attack.

Jiang Yan sneered, still calmly controlling the Greenwood Arrows, but spoke continually, "Aid? Apologies, esteemed Tianshan disciples. I'm merely passing by, heard a loud noise, and came to investigate. As for aiding, I don't quite understand what you mean."

Li Fei frowned, his hand on his sword hilt relaxing. Perhaps he'd been overcautious. Mount Hua didn't even have a second-layer cultivator; how could they recruit a fourth-layer one? Moreover, it had only taken a few days for Tianshan to reach this town, and though they had guarded against leaks every day, it was only today no disciples patrolled the town. It seemed impossible for Mount Hua to have summoned a helper.

"This youth must be from a second-rank sect, perhaps even the third-rank Golden Flame Sect," Li Fei thought, withdrawing his hand from his sword hilt. He politely cupped his fists to Jiang Yan, "We were rude—if we have offended, please forgive us. May I ask which sect you belong to?"

Jiang Yan shifted the floating Greenwood Arrows, replying casually, "I'm unaffiliated, a rogue cultivator."

Li Fei's expression stiffened—a rogue cultivator at fourth layer! Something was off; there were only a few fourth-layer rogue cultivators in Linqing Prefecture, and he'd never heard of one so young.

Three of Jiang Yan's six Greenwood Arrows had already maneuvered behind the three disciples other than Li Fei, fanning out to aim at the backs of their heads. The other three arrows pointed directly at the disciples' fronts. With a single surge, the six arrows could kill these three Tianshan disciples in an instant.

As for Li Fei, Jiang Yan was not confident he could slay him in one blow. So he resolved first to eliminate the outer disciples...