Chapter 203: Chapter 202: The Sword God Is Dead? And Now There’s an Arrow God?

"Heart of Law?"

On the balcony.

Listening to the system’s voice as he watched the dawn break in the distance, Qin Yang felt a wave of satisfaction.

’The system finally coughed up something good!’

He’d been running back and forth all night, keeping a constant watch on the Beast Tide. Braving the cold wind on his balcony all night long hadn’t been for nothing, after all.

Nice!

’That Venerable from the Beast God Sect is a real saint.’

’He actually dropped two rewards for me in a row!!’

’I didn’t expect that Demon to be capable of Blood Rebirth.’

Qin Yang mulled over the Demon’s condition. Thinking back to when he fired the Sun-Shooting Bow, he suddenly felt a pang of regret.

’Hsss, if I’d known he was so tough, I should have captured him while he was weak, locked him in the basement, and tortured him repeatedly. Kill him a thousand times over and see if he keeps dropping rewards... Torture his Divine Soul...’

With that thought, Qin Yang went back inside.

The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

After all, how long had it been since the damn system showed up?

’Now that it’s finally here, I have to maximize my gains!’

If he had just taken advantage of the old man being heavily injured...

...tossing him in a cell and torturing him repeatedly would have been a great option.

In summary...

It all came down to one thing.

He hadn’t killed him enough times!!!

"What a pity. It’s not often I find a fun toy."

Qin Yang shook his head slightly and sat back down on the sofa, musing, "I was too heavy-handed and one-shotted the old man... It would’ve been so much better to grab him while he was weak and keep farming him for rewards."

"Or torturing his Divine Soul would have worked too..."

"I hope all the Venerables from the Beast God Sect have this skill. If I run into them in the future, I’ll be sure to milk the system for all it’s worth."

As his mutterings trailed off...

....

Walking nearby, Xiaobai overheard this and froze, a look of utter confusion on her face.

’???’

’What does he mean, he didn’t kill him enough?’

’Are those the words of a human being?’

’Killing him twice wasn’t enough, so you’d torture him repeatedly to kill him a third and fourth time...? If a Venerable Realm Demon fell into Master’s hands, wouldn’t his fate be worse than death?’

’Master, you’re the real demon here.’

Xiaobai wrung her hands and took a frightened step back.

"Tsk, why are you looking at me like that?"

Sensing Xiaobai’s stare, Qin Yang picked her up and tossed her into the kitchen. "Go make me breakfast. I have to go to work later."

"Oh..."

........

The sounds of a spatula hitting a wok and the smell of cooking oil drifted from the kitchen.

’Today was a huge haul. Time to check out the rewards.’

Qin Yang sat cross-legged, pulled out his phone to glance at the time, and saw he still had a while before work. He relaxed and began to review his gains.

He turned his left hand over.

The next moment.

A war bow wreathed in blazing, flowing flames appeared in his hand.

The moment it appeared, the late autumn chill in the room instantly vanished. A searing wind swept through, as if a blazing sun had descended.

’Sun-Shooting Bow, an Emperor Level Divine Weapon.’

Qin Yang ran two fingers over the body of the bow.

According to the system’s prompt.

The Sun-Shooting Bow contained profound mysteries, including two major Space Laws and the Fire Law.

The first arrow he had just fired was powerful enough to cross a thousand miles and slay a Venerable Realm expert.

And!

This was only the beginning!

If he could deepen his comprehension in the future and fully grasp the mysteries within the Sun-Shooting Bow...

"Not bad. I’ll set it aside for now and comprehend it later when I’m slacking off."

Qin Yang was very satisfied and put away the Sun-Shooting Bow.

He was in no hurry; there was plenty of time. Now that he had the Sun-Shooting Bow,

when winter came, he could just hang it in a corner of the room. He wouldn’t even need to turn on the heat; the room would be filled with a gentle, warm breeze, as pleasant as spring.

Utterly comfortable.

"Next up is the Heart of Law."

Qin Yang accepted the reward, and with a flip of his hand, took out the Heart of Law.

It looked like a crystal.

It had sharp, distinct edges, and its material resembled glazed tile or crystal.

It shimmered with myriad colors: the crimson glow of the Blood Dao, the purple flash of lightning, the emerald hue of the wood element... It seemed to contain the essence of every Law under heaven, a vast and inclusive collection.

The Heart of Law.

It could manifest the countless aspects of all Laws.

Yet, its essence was as clear as a mirror. It could condense the Power of Laws and provided an extraordinary aid to Cultivation for breaking through to the Venerable Realm.

"Not bad, not bad."

"A true treasure!"

Qin Yang lounged on the sofa, juggling the Heart of Law on his fingertips and slightly activating the Spiritual Charm within.

The next moment.

The Power of Laws spread out.

It continuously diffused into the surroundings.

A few seconds later.

"Master..."

A soft, sweet voice called out.

Qin Yang looked toward the sound.

He saw Xiaobai, who had caught the scent, scampering out. Her little pink tongue licked the corner of her mouth, her small tail wagged excitedly, and her eyes were fixed so intently on the Heart of Law that she looked like she was about to cry from craving.

A puddle of drool was forming on the floor...

"Master, can this servant have just one lick?"

"Not a lot, I only want a billion licks!!!"

...

...

「Jianghai City Gate.」

BOOM—

Round after round of artillery bombardment swept the ground.

Scorching waves of heat rolled across the battlefield, setting the Beast Tide below ablaze.

Acrid smoke billowed up; the battle was reaching its end.

Filled with righteous fury, the defending soldiers relentlessly harvested the lives of the Star Beasts, their fighting spirit growing with every kill. But without their Venerable to lead them, the red glow in the Star Beasts’ eyes gradually faded, and they began to retreat back into the mountains.

In the blink of an eye.

Their front collapsed like a landslide.

"It should be about over."

Lin Mofeng held the corpse of the Martial Artist who had been possessed by the Venerable. It still carried the Venerable’s original aura.

Lin Mofeng tossed it high above the city wall, a public display to intimidate the Star Beasts below.

Within moments, more Star Beasts saw this, broke ranks, and fled.

"To be able to orchestrate a Beast Tide of this scale, these Cult Demons are truly something else,"

Li Daoming stood at the edge of the wall with his hands behind his back, gazing toward the distant horizon. "Now that the Beast Tide has receded, the crisis in Jianghai City is finally over."

"It’s a shame about Senior Sword God..."

Lin Mofeng looked up at the sky. "We defended Jianghai with almost zero casualties... We owe him a great debt of gratitude..."

The men stood talking on the ramparts.

Their voices drifted on the wind.

"I’m so useless..."

"I’m trash..."

Li Zixuan stood in her blood-stained white clothes, her black hair fluttering in the wind.

She looked up at the Venerable’s corpse in the sky, the grief in her heart deepening. Her eyes were bloodshot.

"Even these hateful Demons leave a corpse behind, but I can’t find Master’s..."

Just now, she had scoured the battlefield, searching ceaselessly through the Beast Tide for her master’s remains, but she hadn’t found the slightest trace.

The explosion high in the sky had been immense, world-destroying.

Her master, who was at the epicenter, couldn’t possibly have left any remains. She feared his body had been completely vaporized into dust.

As Li Zixuan was lost in thought.

A hand gently rested on her shoulder.

"Don’t be so sad, Zixuan..."

Li Qinghe had quietly come up behind her and said in a soft, comforting voice, "Look on the bright side. Grandmaster’s abilities are heaven-defying; he might not have perished in the Beast Tide."

At this, Li Qinghe recalled the incident at Sword God Valley and added, "Besides... doesn’t he have that Clone technique?"

"A Clone?"

Li Zixuan’s eyes fell, her voice trembling. "But, Sister Qinghe, you heard Senior Brother Lin just now. Master only just entered the Venerable Realm not long ago. How could he have a Venerable Realm Clone? And use a Clone to self-destruct?"

"Self-destruct..."

Her voice trailed off.

Hearing this, Li Qinghe didn’t reply, a seed of doubt planted in her own heart.

’Did the Sword God really self-destruct?’

’Based on Senior’s previous personality...’

’...every move he made was effortless, filled with absolute confidence. He never acted unless he was certain.’

’He always fought from a position of overwhelming strength and never entered a battle unprepared.’

’And...’

’...speaking of self-destruction...’

’...isn’t the Heaven and Earth’s Longevity technique I gave him a similar type of Cultivation Technique?’

’Could that be a clue?!’

Thinking of this.

Li Qinghe’s thoughts gradually cleared as if she had grasped some kind of clue. She turned, glanced around, and asked softly:

"Zixuan, last night, did you see my... that is, your Senior Brother?"

"Senior Brother?"

Hearing this, Li Zixuan shook her head blankly. "I don’t think he came.

As she spoke, she glanced back toward the city. "Master probably gave him a strict order not to come. Otherwise, given his personality, he would have been here..."

’That Qin guy didn’t come?’

Hearing this, Li Qinghe’s heart skipped a beat.

Her thoughts began to race.

’Something’s wrong...’

’This is a huge problem!!!’

’Logically, the Jianghai Beast Tide was such a massive event that it even drew out his own Master. How could that Qin guy, as the First Senior Brother, have no reaction at all?’

’No matter how much he likes to slack off, how could he do nothing when his Master was in peril?’

’And...’

’It was the same during the Sword God Valley incident!’

’He stayed put in the library, calm as could be, but in reality, he had already grasped the entire situation. He wasn’t flustered at all, while my Miss was the one running around in a panic like a clown!’

’There’s something fishy... There’s definitely something fishy going on here.’

Li Qinghe looked in the direction of the library, her brows tightly furrowed.

’Looks like I’ll have to go find that Qin guy tomorrow and get to the bottom of this.’

...

...

「Time passed.」

As the last wave of the Beast Tide retreated,

WOOO— WOOO—

Two shrill blasts from the city’s defense horns echoed across Jianghai,

reverberating over the city,

and lingering for a long time.

Cheers erupted throughout the city as countless citizens surged toward the Jianghai City Gate to welcome the defending soldiers.

On the viewing platform,

the Chief Commander stood with his officers upon the city wall. They were lined up in a row, bathed in the sunlight.

Below them was a sea of clamorous cheers and applause.

"Ahem, everyone, please be quiet!"

The Chief Commander stood on the high wall, his gaze sweeping over the citizens below.

"This Beast Tide was ferocious, far exceeding the scale of any we have faced before. On behalf of the city, I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to every soldier who came to our aid."

"In the face of such a disaster, we suffered almost zero casualties. This is all thanks to the righteous assistance of the Jianghai Sword God and Senior Arrow God!"

"Now that the Beast Tide has receded, we must never forget their kindness."

"All of Jianghai City will remember his contribution!!!"

His voice thundered across Jianghai.

As night fell,

countless sky lanterns floated into the night sky.

Every household set up Eternal Life Tablets.

People commemorated the Jianghai Sword God in their own ways, creating a spectacular city-wide sight.

And at the same time,

the Jianghai Beast Tide incident had already blown up online, soaring to the top of the trending lists as the entire nation buzzed with discussion.

"Jianghai is just full of incredible people!!"

"The Sword God died? And now there’s an Arrow God!?"