Chapter 561: Chapter 342: Luo Congkuan Beheaded

The overall design of the Mechanical Crossbow is simple and smooth, but its details reveal its extraordinary nature everywhere.

Even though it had never been used before, when the butt was braced against the shoulder pocket, Zhao Ya suddenly discovered that there was a crosshair in front that looked exceedingly like a modern sniper scope.

Aiming is completed simply by aligning the crosshair with the target.

Zhao Ya’s curiosity about this Mechanical Sect grew even more.

Because it is a sect completely different from the Azure Dragon Temple.

The Azure Dragon Temple and most other sects focus on Martial Dao practice, honing oneself.

The Mechanical Sect, on the other hand, has carved out a unique path by delving into the art of mechanisms.

Crucially, its achievements are quite significant, even reaching the pinnacle of cold weaponry.

At least Zhao Ya had never heard of a traditional crossbow that could still be lethal after shooting a distance of two to three hundred paces.

Looks like he’ll really have to find an opportunity to experience it in the future.

Zhao Ya temporarily cast aside his distracting thoughts, held his breath, focused his mind, and raised the Mechanical Crossbow with both hands, slowly aligning the crosshair with Luo Congkuan amidst the crowd.

The battlefield was about a hundred paces from the tree Zhao Ya was in, which was already extremely difficult for a newbie who had never used a mechanical crossbow before.

Moreover, the visibility was poor, and Luo Congkuan wasn’t stationary but constantly engaged in a struggle.

The challenge of hitting the target under such circumstances was unimaginable.

Yet Zhao Ya didn’t panic or hesitate at all.

His index finger lightly touched the trigger, and his hands were as steady as Mount Tai, without the slightest tremor.

Meanwhile, Luo Congkuan was in an intense struggle with Qin Jianji.

Their strengths were nearly equal, making it hard for either to secure victory.

But somehow, Luo Congkuan felt that something was off with his condition today.

Although his Qi Blood circulation was still smooth, there was a slight sense of blockage in some minute areas.

This made Luo Congkuan feel somewhat stifled.

But facing a formidable enemy, Luo Congkuan had no time to examine his condition.

Since this feeling was very slight and the impact on his strength was negligible, Luo Congkuan paid it no mind.

However, just as his struggle with Qin Jianji reached its critical moment.

Luo Congkuan suddenly sensed a killing intent from an unknown source.

Although this killing intent wasn’t particularly intense, it was extremely sharp.

Luo Congkuan was startled and instinctively wanted to dodge.

But Zhao Ya had been waiting for this moment.

He deliberately leaked his killing intent to frighten Luo Congkuan.

The moment he dodged, Zhao Ya sharply moved the Mechanical Crossbow, aligning the crosshair perfectly with Luo Congkuan’s chest, then pulled the trigger.

The Mechanical Crossbow vibrated slightly as the Crossbow Arrow shot out instantly.

The Crossbow Arrows used by the Mechanical Crossbow were different from the ones used by Zhao Ya’s Hand Crossbow.

They were more slender and elongated overall, and their arrowheads were specially designed so that no whistling sound would be made even at high speed.

The Crossbow Arrow silently skimmed through the now completely darkened rainforest, crossing the battlefield, passing over the North Canglong people, and in an instant reached Luo Congkuan.

At that moment, Luo Congkuan had just landed from his dodge when the Crossbow Arrow was upon him.

No matter how strong he was, there was no time to dodge once more. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

He could only shift his body slightly to dodge the vital point, but his shoulder was exposed.

Thud!

The Crossbow Arrow pierced through Luo Congkuan’s Protective True Power and embedded deeply into his shoulder.

Blood spattered, and Luo Congkuan grunted with a mixture of surprise and anger flashing across his face.

What surprised him was that the Crossbow Arrow that injured him clearly came from the assassination team of the Separation Tower, proving that the assassins of the Separation Tower had fallen completely behind, and even the team members hiding in the dark had met their demise.

What angered him was the assailant’s calm and ruthless nature, choosing the perfect timing to shoot.

If it were anyone else, they might have perished on the spot.

His face turned ashen as he grabbed the arrow shaft embedded in his shoulder and broke it off with one hand.

He temporarily left the arrowhead inside.

Because if he pulled out the arrowhead now, he would definitely suffer severe bleeding.

Moreover, Luo Congkuan could clearly feel that the powerful impact of the Crossbow Arrow had caused a deep crack in his shoulder blade, with the arrowhead lodged in the crack.

Pulling it out forcefully would severely diminish his strength.

This could be fatal in the current situation.

Given that in terms of strength, he was only equal to Qin Jianji, losing an arm would result in falling behind.

With these considerations, Luo Congkuan chose to keep the arrowhead inside for now.

This way, although it might leave hidden dangers for future recovery, his strength wouldn’t be too compromised for the time being.

At the same time, Zhao Ya, watching from afar in the tree, couldn’t help but breathe a sigh.

It’s true that reaching the pinnacle of a Meridian Opening Martial Artist, none of them are easy to deal with.

Luo Congkuan’s ruthlessness and composure were apparent with just this action.

Zhao Ya also knew that merely relying on an ambush with the Mechanical Crossbow couldn’t kill a master of Luo Congkuan’s level.

Being able to severely injure one of his arms was already an unexpected delight.

Therefore, he wasn’t disappointed, casually put away the Mechanical Crossbow, leaving the bag conveniently in the tree, then drew his Cold Iron Saber and leaped into the battlefield.

At this moment, the previously heated battlefield had a brief pause because of the surprise attack with the arrow just then.

Especially when the North Canglong people saw that Elder Luo Congkuan, who led them here, had one of his arms crippled by an arrow, one could imagine the shock they felt.

The South Canglong people’s morale, on the other hand, was greatly boosted.

Tian Yixin, who had been recuperating and healing at the back, was overjoyed at the sight.

Because he had a strong premonition that the person hiding in the dark, shooting arrows in an ambush, was definitely his junior brother, Zhao Ya.

As expected.

In that brief moment, Martial Artist Zhao Ya’s figure seemed unpredictable, but each time he approached a member of the North Canglong, a knife flashed.

Then the person’s head would soar high, and the blood gushing from the neck cavity would burst out like fireworks.

Luo Congkuan immediately recognized Zhao Ya, both stunned by his displayed strength and filled with murderous intent.

No doubt, the person who ambushed him earlier was certainly him.

Moreover, the target of this mission was Zhao Ya, so Luo Congkuan roared and rushed towards Zhao Ya.

But how could Qin Jianji let him leave?

He flickered to block the way, then sneered and said:

"Luo Congkuan, your opponent is me. Don’t even think about bullying the young ones."

"Qin Jianji, is this how you South Canglong act, so vile and shameless?" Luo Congkuan was almost furious to madness.

Before Qin Jianji could speak, Zhao Ya’s cold laughter echoed from afar.

"What a boastful boast, you suddenly launched a massive attack on our sect. Fortunately, we were prepared, otherwise, you would have succeeded. And now you’re saying we’re the shameless ones?"

"What’s the logic behind this?"

In terms of bickering, Zhao Ya wasn’t boasting, ten Luo Congkuans tied together wouldn’t be his match.

Moreover, what he said was the truth.

So Luo Congkuan was rendered speechless, and could only fight Qin Jianji in anger.

Before, at his peak, he could barely fight Qin Jianji to a draw.

Let alone now with his arm injured.

So soon he was left struggling, unable to respond.

Luo Congkuan understood as well that today’s action was a complete failure.

There’s no point in dragging it out now, it would be better to retreat quickly and fight another day.

Determined, Luo Congkuan fought and retreated, suddenly found an opportunity, feigned an attack, and then withdrew.

Qin Jianji wouldn’t let him go and pursued swiftly.

But Luo Congkuan’s decision was firm.

Although his arm was injured, his legs were fine, and at full speed, he wasn’t slow at all.

Plus, he had a head start, so for a moment, Qin Jianji couldn’t catch up with him.

Seeing he was about to leave the battlefield and escape into the woods.

Suddenly, a blade flashed before him.

Luo Congkuan instinctively sidestepped, narrowly avoiding Zhao Ya’s slash.

But before he could celebrate, Zhao Ya’s fist was already there.

Bang.

This punch hit Luo Congkuan solidly, precisely on his wound.

The arrowhead originally lodged in his shoulder blade was propelled by the force of the punch, piercing through his body and flying out from behind.

Luo Congkuan roared in pain, his eyes turning red.

"Brat, seeking death!"

As he spoke, he gathered all his strength and raised his other arm, swinging it towards Zhao Ya’s head.

"Ya!"

Qin Jianji, who had arrived shortly after, cried out in shock when he saw this.

In his view, if that palm landed, Zhao Ya would either die or be seriously injured.

Because as a practitioner of the same level, he knew Luo Congkuan’s strength all too well.

Despite being injured, he was not someone an ordinary Meridian Opening could rival.

But at this critical moment, Zhao Ya calmly raised his fist to meet it.

The fist and palm collided with a resounding boom.

The few disciples nearby started to bleed from their noses and mouths, suffering internal injuries from the shock.

In the scene, Zhao Ya stood unmoved, while Luo Congkuan was sent flying, staggering to a distant spot before barely steadying himself.

In an instant, silence enveloped the area.

Even Qin Jianji watched this scene with shock.

Because he never imagined Zhao Ya could send Luo Congkuan flying with one punch.

Even if Luo Congkuan was injured, his strength and realm were clear, so it seemed quite incomprehensible.

But if there was anyone more shocked than the entire field, it was Luo Congkuan.

At the moment, blood flowed profusely from his shoulder, with blood also trickling continuously from the corner of his mouth.

Even so, he stared at Zhao Ya, face full of shock and disbelief.

"You..."

Zhao Ya, however, had no intention of wasting words with him.

The saying "strike while the iron is hot" applied here; if he didn’t pursue now, when would he?

So Zhao Ya leaped forward, and in mid-air, the Cold Iron Saber was already slashing down.

Luo Congkuan barely dodged the strike, but Zhao Ya’s saber skills seemed like a relentless storm with no pause.

After just a dozen moves, Luo Congkuan let out a miserable cry as his other arm was severed by Zhao Ya.

Although his scream didn’t last long.

Shortly after, accompanied by a flash of the blade.

Luo Congkuan’s head flew high into the air, then Zhao Ya caught it in his hand and said coldly.

"Luo Congkuan has been executed, if you still don’t surrender, then when?"