Chapter 188: Yan Jueming's Enlightenment!

"This... this..."

Looking at that incredibly familiar black longbow,

Yan Jueming opened his mouth wide, speaking incoherently, unable to utter a complete sentence for a moment.

Thunder-Struck Ironwood Bow!

What's inside this box is actually the Thunder-Struck Ironwood Bow that only past Valley Masters can use!

But...

How could this be?

Why did Master lend this bow to an outsider?

And this person, just yesterday, killed over a dozen disciples in the valley with a single sword strike.

In the eyes of Wind Thunder Valley disciples, this Thunder-Struck Ironwood Bow is almost equivalent to a token of the Valley Master's authority.

But now...

This bow has actually been lent by my own master to someone who, in my view, is practically the mortal enemy of Wind Thunder Valley!

Why?

Why would Master do this?

What is his relationship with Master?

Could the rumors be true,

that this youth...

is Master's illegitimate son?

For a moment, Yan Jueming's mind was filled with chaotic thoughts—doubts, confusion, anger, bewilderment...

"You..."

Looking at Qin Shuo, who had already taken the ironwood bow out of its long case, Yan Jueming's expression was extremely complex.

"What, Nie Elder... Nie Valley Master didn't tell you that this long case contains the ironwood bow?"

Qin Shuo wore a playful smile.

The changes in Yan Jueming's expression could not escape his Heavenly Wolf Divine Sense.

He could even roughly guess the other's current mood.

After all, in the eyes of these Wind Thunder Valley disciples, he is a major enemy of Wind Thunder Valley.

Not only has he repeatedly provoked Wind Thunder Valley's prestige, but he also ransacked the City Lord's Mansions of Black Water County and Songyang Prefecture

and, in front of numerous martial artists, slaughtered over a dozen mountain-guarding disciples of Wind Thunder Valley.

Such a vicious person, such a blood feud!

Yet now he idly plays with the Thunder-Struck Ironwood Bow, which they regard as a sect inheritance token.

And this bow is still the one he most respects and admires—his master, the current Valley Master of Wind Thunder Valley, who personally had him deliver it...

At this moment,

Yan Jueming felt his entire world collapse!

"Why... why would Master lend the Thunder-Struck Ironwood Bow to you? What exactly is your relationship with him?"

Yan Jueming's eyes were blood-red, like a volcano that could erupt at any moment, as he coldly questioned.

Thunder-Struck Ironwood Bow!

Even I, a True Disciple of Wind Thunder Valley and Nie Jinfeng's Personal Disciple, have only seen it, and am not even qualified to use it.

But now, this bow is held casually in the hand of an outsider, an enemy of Wind Thunder Valley.

How could he not be angry?

Before going to Fengyang City, he already felt Master's attitude toward this Qin surname was somewhat strange—clearly not fond of him, yet he warned himself not to provoke him.

At first, he simply thought Master didn't want to clash with the Demon Suppression Division over Xue Chengkong, so he told himself to avoid his sharp edge.

Now it seems there is more to it.

At least, a Cloud Dragon Captain of the Demon Suppression Division is not enough to make Master so deferential and attentive.

Then what is this youth's background and identity, that Master would treat him this way?

Yan Jueming's heart was in turmoil.

At that moment, he even wanted to strike down the youth before him with a single palm, seize back the Thunder-Struck Ironwood Bow in his hand.

But he worried that if the rumors were true, this person was Master's only bloodline—then what should he do?

"What relationship?"

Qin Shuo glanced at this fifth True Disciple of Wind Thunder Valley with a teasing look, coldly saying: "Just go ask your Master—you'll know then."

"You..."

Yan Jueming trembled with rage, but ultimately reason prevailed, and he did not choose to strike.

Yet the next moment, the anger that had just subsided surged up again with a sudden leap.

Only then did one see the tall youth, who at some point had taken out a Mysterious Iron Heavy Arrow, nocked it on the ironwood bow's string, aimed at the archery target at the end of the training field, and slowly drew the bow.

Though called a target, it was actually a large blue stone over a zhang in height.

This blue stone was originally a landscape stone in the courtyard, which Qin Shuo had moved into the training field to use as a target.

After all, with his current cultivation, if he struck with full force, he could pierce through city walls—ordinary targets could not withstand it.

Hum!

As the bowstring slowly retracted, on the black arrow shaft, one blue and one white strand of gang energy intertwined, outlining a vague, illusory dragon-like shadow.

"Storm Thunder Dragon?"

Seeing the illusory dragon shadow formed by the intricate wind blades and violent thunder gang, Yan Jueming was struck as if by lightning, stunned like a wooden chicken in an instant.

"You... you actually know Storm Thunder Dragon?"

If discovering that the box contained the Thunder-Struck Ironwood Bow had left Yan Jueming with a trace of anger,

now only shock remained, his mind a blank.

As Nie Jinfeng's True Disciple, Yan Jueming naturally had trained in Wind Thunder Archery.

Although his archery talent was not high, he could still recognize this move, Storm Thunder Dragon.

Not only could he recognize it, but he had also secretly practiced it diligently for half a year behind his master's back, hoping to make a stunning debut and surprise his master.

However, the control of force required for Storm Thunder Dragon was simply excessively complex.

Even though he had already achieved mastery in Refining Organs at that time and spent half a year, he could barely construct half a dragon's head.

This, compared to his master and master's uncle constructing a thunder dragon in half a year, was simply worlds apart.

And how old is this boy before us? If he had not been practicing Wind Thunder Archery since childhood, how could he possibly have such archery attainment?

Boom!

The sound like thunder exploding, air waves surging.

House-sized blue stones, under the tearing of Storm Thunder Dragon, were as easily pierced as paper paste, leaving a hole the size of a human head, transparent front and back.

Whoosh~

Qin Shuo exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, lowering the longbow in his hand.

The power of this move, Storm Thunder Dragon, was more than double that of Storm Arrow and Thunder Arrow.

Merely firing one arrow consumed more than half of his True Essence.

"It's still that my realm is too low!" Qin Shuo lamented inwardly.

As the martial arts he mastered grew stronger, he increasingly felt the drawbacks of insufficient realm.

Whether it was Divine Step or Wind Thunder Archery, both relied on the interaction between internal True Essence and external airflow, condensing into gangqi for execution.

His True Essence now filled over one hundred and twenty apertures in his body, still far from Condensing Truth Peak.

Although from starting martial arts to now, only half a year had passed, achieving such cultivation was enough to rival the heavenly talents and monstrous geniuses of the great clans in Dao City.

Yet Qin Shuo still felt it was too slow.

"Hope this search yields something!"

As for Earth Origin Pill, Qin Shuo still coveted it greatly; with this pill, he could enter Condensing Truth Completion in the shortest time, further enhancing his strength.

"Alright, you may go!"

After refining Storm Thunder Dragon, Qin Shuo placed the Thunder-Struck Ironwood Bow back into the long case, casually saying:

"I have important matters to attend to tomorrow morning and may need this bow; trouble you, True Disciple Yan, to come early tomorrow!"

Having said that, he did not even glance at the already shocked and speechless Yan Jueming, turned and headed back to the house, with no intention of seeing the guest off.

But as soon as he lifted his head, he saw a crimson light pillar shooting straight into the clouds from the direction of Wind Thunder Valley.

Within the light pillar, a crimson longbow appeared as if forged from molten lava, faintly trembling.

"Sun-Shooting Divine Bow... is it calling me?"

Qin Shuo's heart leapt.

From that crimson light pillar, Qin Shuo felt a summoning intent, stronger than when he was in the forbidden land passage before.

"It seems that after refining Storm Thunder Dragon, my archery talent and attainment have increased, thus drawing the divine bow's projection and eliciting its call."

Qin Shuo pondered.

Nie Jinfeng had once told him that the divine bow possesses spirit, and as long as his archery attainment makes a breakthrough, he can receive a summons from the divine weapon.

Upon reaching a certain level, the divine bow will lower a guiding light to bring him into the Secret Realm to participate in the Divine Weapon Trial.

Unfortunately, the Thunder-Struck Ironwood Bow does not contain the complete intent of the Wind-Thunder Four Symbols Arrow.

It seems that such a killing move, even rarely used by generations of Wind Thunder Valley Valley Masters, leaves a shallow spiritual imprint.

"After I refine the final move Wind-Thunder Kill, perhaps I can borrow the Wind-Thunder Subduing Flood Bow from Old Nie to try. That is the myriad-forged divine weapon left by the two founding ancestors of Wind Thunder Valley; perhaps it contains the intent of the Wind-Thunder Four Symbols Arrow."

Thinking thus, Qin Shuo withdrew his gaze from the crimson light pillar, turned and returned to the inner chamber, also ignoring Yan Jueming, who still clung to the bow case in a daze.

Until Qin Shuo's figure completely vanished from the training ground.

Only then did Yan Jueming, face lost and spiritless, carry the bow case away, muttering under his breath.

"Illegitimate child!"

"He must be the master's illegitimate child."

"Otherwise, he could not possibly know Wind Thunder Archery, and the master would not have given him the Thunder-Struck Ironwood Bow."

"No wonder..."

"No wonder the master has not appointed a junior valley master these years."

"It turns out he was waiting for him..."

Upon reaching this thought, Yan Jueming's eyes suddenly burst with a piercing gleam, the listless aura on his body completely dissipated, replaced by an unprecedented sharpness,

"If he truly is the master's illegitimate child..."

"Then Yue Shan, he truly deserves to die!"