Chapter 178: Chapter 177: The Tables Have Turned

At Qingfeng Manor, the walls built around the entire Zhuangzi stood about four zhang high and over a zhang thick. They were wide enough to ride horses abreast and constructed no differently than city walls.

From this, one could glimpse the glory of the manor in its heyday.

The hundred or so men who had followed Xu Le, the Young Master of Qingfeng Manor, had received valuable pills, weapons, and other benefits. With nothing more to say, they followed Xu Le up to the walls. They formed teams of five, each responsible for guarding a zhang-long section of the wall.

FWHIP-FWHIP-FWHIP!—

During the lull after the first wave of probing attacks from the bandits outside Zhuangzi, Wu Chen finally had a moment. He took out the last two Blood Coagulation Realm Martial Arts manuals that the Young Master of Qingfeng Manor had given him and began to slowly flip through them.

’Not bad. I’ve obtained three Blood Coagulation Realm Martial Arts manuals this trip!’

Wu Chen’s mood was exceptionally good as he flipped through the booklets in his hand.

He had thought that this ten-day journey would net him two Martial Arts manuals at most, plus maybe ten thousand taels of silver, and that would be the final reward for the mission.

But he never expected Qingfeng Manor to have three Blood Coagulation Realm Martial Arts manuals!

After all, for most people, one method to coagulate the source of their blood essence was enough. To reach a higher realm, they would have to rely on heavenly materials and earthly treasures, spending ten years or even longer nurturing their bodies.

Even if they were to use three Cultivation Techniques to refine their source simultaneously, not only would they fail to coagulate it quickly, but the different sources they created would repel each other, leading to the collapse of their physical bodies.

However, Wu Chen was clearly an exception.

"Kid, what’s the use of looking at Martial Arts manuals at a time like this? You should be on your guard! Watch out for hidden arrows from outside Zhuangzi!"

Someone nearby saw Wu Chen engrossed in the Martial Arts manuals and offered a well-intentioned reminder.

By now, the hilltops outside Zhuangzi were teeming with figures, bows drawn and arrows nocked. They had clearly reached the limits of their patience, just waiting for the command to storm Zhuangzi once more.

Moreover, since entering Zhuangzi, no one had seen the Old Manor Lord of Qingfeng Manor appear to take charge. They feared he had already gone into seclusion to break through to the next realm.

But this news obviously hadn’t spread. If it had, the bandits outside wouldn’t be launching simple probing attacks, but would be throwing their lives into a full-blown, ferocious assault.

In response to the kind reminder, Wu Chen simply nodded without saying much, his gaze returning to the Martial Arts manuals.

’There’s no helping those who are determined to die...’

Seeing Wu Chen’s reckless demeanor, the person who had spoken just shook their head slightly and said no more.

...

「Outside Zhuangzi, in the mountain forest.」

Thirty to forty men were gathered on a small hillock.

The burly man in the lead stood at a high vantage point, his gaze sweeping across Qingfeng Manor, searching for a weakly defended area to organize the next assault.

"Boss, let’s just attack now!"

Someone, unable to wait any longer, couldn’t help but speak up as they watched the back of the large man whose fierce gaze swept back and forth:

"That old dog inside the manor still hasn’t shown himself. He must be in seclusion, trying to break through. If we don’t launch an all-out attack soon, once that old dog succeeds, it’s not going to end well for any of us."

"Yeah, once that old dog enters the Leakless Realm, no one at this Heroes’ Assembly will have a good time!" someone chimed in, and the others nodded in agreement.

"No rush..."

The burly man shook his head, showing no signs of impatience. "Let’s wait a little longer. It’ll be safer to make our move when more people from the Heroes’ Assembly have arrived."

"Without a little patience, you can’t tear a good piece of meat off a fat prize like Qingfeng Manor!"

As he placated his subordinates, his gaze slowly swept over the distant wall, finally landing on a figure leisurely flipping through a book. His expression faltered for a moment.

"Heh, this kid certainly has a lot of free time!"

Watching the figure’s relaxed book-reading, the large man sneered and turned to shout at his underlings behind him:

"Bring me my Profound Iron Black Bow!"

"Yes."

As soon as he spoke, three men immediately turned and headed down the mountain.

All three wore joyful expressions.

Usually, when this weapon was brought out, it meant the boss was about to kill someone. The attack on Qingfeng Manor would happen within the next couple of hours!

The three moved quickly. When they reappeared on the hillock, two of them were jointly shouldering a six-foot-long, red-lacquered wooden box.

The wooden box seemed to weigh several thousand jin, causing the two men to gasp for breath, their teeth gritted. Bean-sized beads of sweat formed on their foreheads.

With every step, their feet sank several inches into the soft forest floor. By the time they reached their leader, their calves were shaking uncontrollably from exhaustion.

The third man carried a slightly shorter quiver containing over a dozen pitch-black arrows. Each was as thick as two adult fingers and weighed no less than a hundred jin.

To call them arrows was an understatement; they were more like spears.

The wooden box was opened, revealing an iron bow shaped like a crescent moon.

Yet this two-thousand-jin object, the leader held with ease. With two fingers as rough as sandpaper, he plucked up an arrow as if it were a piece of straw and nocked it on the bowstring.

HSSSS!

He took a deep breath through his mouth and nose. The Qi and Blood in his body instantly surged like a great wave, and his entire frame swelled by a size.

As his aura reached its peak, he slowly drew back the iron string. Then, he slightly adjusted the arrow’s direction, aiming at the leisurely figure on the distant wall.

VMMMM!

Once his aim was true, he released his fingers.

The iron arrow instantly became an afterimage, shooting out toward the distant figure.

The arrow arrived in an instant, reaching the distant figure in the blink of an eye.

Its speed was not the only astonishing thing; the force it carried was also utterly terrifying.

If it hit a person’s head, it would turn into a mist of blood. If it struck their torso, it was powerful enough to tear the body in two!

WHINE!

A faint hum echoed from the forest. The moment it reached his ears, Wu Chen felt a bone-chilling cold envelop his body.

Looking up, he saw a black shadow shooting toward him from the forest, carrying a sharp, cutting edge.

Before it even got close, his body already felt a faint stinging pain.

SHIING!

In an instant, his five fingers grasped the hilt of the saber at his waist. He drew the blade from its sheath, and with a flick of his wrist, the dark red blade swept in front of him, striking the iron arrow.

CLANG!

The slash precisely struck the arrow, deflecting it aside.

The savage force it carried vanished as if a clay ox had plunged into the sea. It had no effect on Wu Chen whatsoever; his body didn’t even move an inch.

The spear-like iron arrow spun a few times in the air before embedding itself, with no loss of momentum, into the green-stone wall nearby. The shaft trembled violently, letting out a buzzing sound, as if wailing in agony from the tremendous force it had endured.

"Wha... What kind of reaction was that!"

"That arrow is way too thick!"

"Such incredible strength!"

"..."

Such a commotion naturally drew the attention of many people nearby.

The eyelids of everyone who witnessed this scene twitched wildly. Even the few Blood Coagulation Realm experts among them were stunned.

They knew, at least, that they couldn’t possibly split their focus like that—reading a Martial Arts manual while simultaneously drawing a blade to deflect an arrow.

And that arrow was basically a spear! The force it carried must have been six or seven thousand jin!

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the distant forest as they collectively gulped.

If the attacker’s strength was great, then the strength of the young man before them was simply overwhelming!

"..."

Amidst the crowd’s shocked and speechless gazes, Wu Chen closed the two Martial Arts manuals he had finished reading with one hand and stretched lazily, loosening his muscles.

He paid no mind to the surrounding stares, his gaze fixed on the forest outside the walls as a thought crossed his mind:

’I wonder what realm the strongest of these gathered villains are in. But seeing as they’re still waiting for people and have only launched a few organized attacks, I’d guess the best among them are at the early-stage Blood Coagulation Realm at most.’

’I wonder if they’re carrying any Blood Coagulation Realm Martial Arts manuals on them...’

’It’s a shame Qingfeng Manor didn’t have another two Martial Arts manuals. Otherwise, why would I need to wait for the Old Manor Lord to break through? I could reach the Leakless Realm in three days and protect this Zhuangzi myself!’

After a brief moment of thought, Wu Chen knew it was useless to dwell on such things and shifted his gaze to his side:

"However..."

His gaze fell upon the spear-like arrow.

He was also a little surprised.

’A bow that can fire an arrow like this...’

’...is quite interesting!’

His gaze followed the trajectory the arrow had taken, finally settling on a hillock concealed by the forest.

SWISH!

A gentle breeze swept by, and Wu Chen’s figure vanished from the top of the wall.

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