Chapter 608: Anyone Else?

Xue Kai plummeted stiffly toward the ground.

The scene reflected in everyone's eyes.

Heaven and earth were dead silent.

Xue Kai had lost.

Many people didn't even understand what had happened. They only saw Xue Kai, who had seemed to hold certain victory, plummeting from the sky to abruptly end the match. Meanwhile, those familiar with Xue Mo's methods quickly deduced how Yan Jing had won.

They sighed in pity.

After all, no matter how one looked at it, Xue Kai had appeared stronger.

Who would have expected him to lose to a minor trick and the moves Xue Mo had kept hidden?

Three arrows drawn at once.

It was indeed an immensely powerful method.

The Xue Family Heir truly lived up to his reputation.

It was just...

...it left a faint sense of disappointment?

In such a fiercely matched duel, a word like "scheming" shouldn't have made such a blatant appearance.

This was indeed a life-and-death duel, but it wasn't a desperate fight against bandits in the wilderness, nor was it a bitter clash of sworn enemies using any means necessary to grind each other's bones to dust.

Stripping away superficial reasons like revenge, this was actually a battle for succession.

In a confrontation like this, even though everyone understood Yan Jing lacked the sufficient tier, they still would have preferred to see a direct clash of raw power.

This represented the future of the Xue Family.

Only a stronger person could lead the Xue Family to new heights.

Yan Jing watched Xue Kai disappear into Xue Family City. His expression was calm, and he made no move to deliver a finishing blow.

He glanced around and called out coldly, "Old Sixth!"

No one answered.

Yan Jing's expression remained icy, and his voice grew a fraction louder.

"Xue Zixun!!"

Still, no one answered.

In midair, the cloaked Xue Zixun froze just dozens of meters away from Yan Jing, his face pale.

He hadn't expected Yan Jing to suddenly call him out.

He had originally been preparing to launch a sneak attack.

But Yan Jing speaking up put him in a highly awkward position.

If he answered, he would expose himself to the crowd, and he had no way to explain why he was hovering in this exact spot.

If he didn't answer, he could hardly rush up and stab Yan Jing right now.

A drop of cold sweat slid down his forehead.

Yet as he stayed silent, Yan Jing's voice only grew louder.

"Xue Zixun!!!"

The voice was as cold as iron, sending a chill down the spines of everyone who heard it. It sounded exactly like an eldest sibling scolding a child in the family.

'Damn it.'

Xue Zixun cursed inwardly and slowly backed away.

He couldn't stay silent much longer.

If he didn't reveal himself soon, he would lose all initiative.

But suddenly, every hair on his body stood on end. In the next split second, he twisted sideways on pure instinct.

Swish!

A blade of air grazed past his chest, shredding the fabric of his clothes.

Thwack.

Hearing the strange impact ring out in the air and watching Yan Jing draw his bowstring, everyone exchanged weird looks.

Could it be... the Sixth Young Master was hiding that close to Xue Mo?

What was he trying to do?

A sneak attack?

But since Xue Zixun hadn't revealed himself, the crowd didn't dare jump to conclusions.

Yan Jing didn't say a word. He simply aimed into the distance once more.

The bowstring in his hands hummed rapidly.

Several invisible blades of air surged forward.

Thwack!

Thwack!

Thwack, thwack, thwack!!!

The sound of impacts rang out over and over.

Everyone winced just listening to it.

They couldn't imagine how much pain someone would be in right now if there really was a person hovering up there.

And right now...

Xue Zixun was in the exact agony the crowd imagined, his entire body wracked with pain and frustrated to the point of vomiting blood.

While cloaked, he couldn't move quickly, nor could he fight back.

Unable to dodge and unable to retaliate, he was reduced to a living target.

'Motherfucker...'

He finally understood.

Xue Mo had spotted him from the very beginning. He had just pretended not to notice, deliberately waiting for this exact moment to strike.

But it didn't make sense... He couldn't figure it out. Just a few years ago, Xue Mo hadn't been able to detect his trail at all.

He was absolutely certain of that.

How was it that now, when he was at the Tenth Tier, he was being seen through so thoroughly?

Thwack, thwack, thwack!!!

Another three consecutive air blades struck.

Xue Zixun finally couldn't take it anymore. Weird energy flared in his palms.

A second later, receiving his signal, two figures rocketed up from below and closed in around Yan Jing.

A man and a woman, both appearing to be in their forties or fifties.

They were the two elders who had been backing Xue Zixun and Xue Kai in this Blood War.

"Has the Heir Apparent lost his mind? The Sixth Young Master is resting in his manor right now. How could he be here?"

The male elder on the left said coldly, "Or perhaps... you are deliberately framing him, Heir Apparent."

The female elder on the right was much more direct.

"The Heir Apparent's identity is in question. Representing the Council of Elders, I ask that you return with us to verify your identity."

The spectators' pupils shrank.

This was practically tearing away all pretenses.

Yan Jing had just won the duel. Instead of checking if Xue Kai was dead or alive, these two elders had rushed out on a flimsy pretext to arrest the victor.

True or false, this was turning incredibly ugly.

"Shameless!!!"

Xue Shi's figure appeared in front of Yan Jing. She glared at the two of them and snapped, "You represent the Council of Elders? Which Council of Elders do you represent?!"

"I have the clan's Great Elder standing behind me! Why doesn't he represent the Council? Since when did the Council of Elders have any say in a Blood War?!" Yet unexpectedly, facing Xue Shi's interrogation, the female elder's expression remained icy, entirely unmoved:

"You can ask the Great Elder right now and see if this is the Council's will."

"I don't need you to tell me that," Xue Shi sneered.

Weird energy surged in her palms.

But seconds ticked by, and the Great Elder who had spoiled her since childhood failed to appear.

All she received was an apologetic voice transmission.

"Young Master, this is the Grand Patriarch's will."

Xue Shi's face abruptly drained of color.

Taking in Xue Shi's expression, the female elder's eyes flashed with a hint of amusement. She said softly, "Young Master, step aside."

"Don't even think about it!!!" Xue Shi went frantic, every strand of her orange hair standing on end like a maddened lion.

But a hand settled on her shoulder.

"It's fine, Second Sister."

Xue Shi turned her head, staring blankly at Yan Jing.

In Yan Jing's hand, a blood-red longbow manifested.

"Father doesn't trust me."

"He doesn't doubt my identity."

"He doubts my strength."

"I told him I would lead the Xue Family to win the Blood War."

"Now he wants me to prove it to him."

"It doesn't matter."

Yan Jing gently raised his hand.

"I will prove it."

The longbow materialized instantly, blotting out the sky and sun.

The sight that had once shocked Xue Shi played out once more.

It was as if the sky had turned into a bow, the clouds into the string, the light and shadow into an arrow, and all of creation into this arrow's target.

This was Xue Mo's strongest arrow.

The expressions of the two elders opposite him shifted. Treating this as a grave threat, weird energy surged madly in their palms, forming a defensive barrier in front of them.

"Step back, Second Sister."

Yan Jing looked at Xue Shi beside him.

Refusing to retreat, Xue Shi bit her lip.

"You only have this one arrow left."

Once Yan Jing fired this final shot, she would need to grab him and flee.

But Yan Jing shook his head.

"I still have thousands upon thousands of arrows."

"Since you refuse to step back, Second Sister, then watch closely."

In the next second, Yan Jing extended his abnormally long arms. The muscles on his slender limbs fully unfurled, and blood-red patterns surfaced along the lines of his muscles. High in the sky, the giant bowstring was drawn back at this exact moment.

In an instant, light and shadow warped, clouds flew wildly, and the sky itself seemed to recede to either side.

That heaven-severing string was finally drawn, pulled halfway back.

A colossal arrow emerged amid the shifting light. Like a mountain peak thrust horizontally, it pointed straight into the heavens.

Everyone's pupils trembled.

Was this really an arrow a Ninth Tier could draw?

Opposite him, the defensive posture constructed by the weird energy of the two elders was massive enough, like a gigantic, hundreds-of-meters-tall stone stele erected in the sky. Yet, compared to this arrow, it wasn't nearly enough.

A second later.

Two more figures shot up from below. Weird energy rioted around them as they formed a transparent shield of light and a wall of fire.

They were also elders.

Neither belonged to Xue Kai's or Xue Zixun's faction; they only stepped in now to save the other two.

With Advent Day approaching, even if those two didn't die and were merely heavily injured, it would be absolutely unacceptable.

These were two Tenth Tier combatants!!!

But Yan Jing simply smiled.

And then.

His hands moved again.

Creak.

The crowd tilted their heads up in terror. Beneath their astounded gazes, the sky shuddered violently, actually emitting the sound of tearing apart, as if it had been forcefully stretched tens of millions of meters wider out of thin air.

That bowstring of light and shadow spanning the heavens was now fully drawn.

Swish, swish, swish!

Three more figures darted up from below, joining the defensive line.

Among them, shockingly, was the Great Elder who had just been backing Xue Shi.

"Your Highness, the Heir Apparent, there must be a misunderstanding here."

The Great Elder, a white-robed old man with a long beard, called out to Yan Jing.

"Advent Day is imminent. I ask that you reconsider."

Several drops of cold sweat ran down the old man's forehead.

Even he could feel the crushing pressure of this arrow.

"A misunderstanding?"

Yan Jing laughed.

"No, there is no misunderstanding."

In the next instant, weird energy exploded around him, and he released the bowstring.

To the onlookers, time seemed to slow for a split second.

The moment that sky-piercing long arrow left the string, it appeared infinitely slowed, reflecting in everyone's eyes.

"Hold nothing back!!!"

The Great Elder's pupils contracted sharply, and the group of Tenth Tier experts fully unleashed the weird energy in their bodies.

Boom!

A terrifying roar erupted above the crowd, letting out a sound never before heard since this Domain had come into existence.

The colossal arrow slammed into the immense wall erected by the Tenth Tiers.

Countless fissures instantly spiderwebbed across every inch of the sky. The Tenth Tiers all shuddered violently. A second later, the massive wall dissolved, blasted utterly to pieces.

With a sharp crack, the sky split open completely, torn wide by a massive, pitch-black chasm left by the shot.

The long arrow plunged into the gaping void and vanished from the crowd's sight.

The scattered Tenth Tier elders stared at that massive black hole in lingering terror.

Before they could even process what had happened...

Rumble!

Another deafening boom sounded.

The horrifying noise rolled in from the distant horizon. In disbelief, the crowd stared as the colossal arrow tore its way back out into the sky far away.

The giant arrow continued to surge into the heavens. Like a massive, solitary island, it charged straight toward...

...the sun on the horizon.

Beyond the limits of sight, the colossal arrow disappeared.

A moment later, the entire sky dimmed.

Where was the sun?!!

The crowd looked at the horizon in horror. The blood-red sun that rose every day had actually vanished.

The sun was gone?!

Had the sun been shot down straight out of the sky?!!

Panic instantly spread through the crowd, but this state didn't last long.

Very quickly, light returned to everyone's eyes.

But it wasn't the light of the sun.

The crowd looked toward Yan Jing.

His once blood-red hair had now transformed into pure white.

The straight strands flowed and cascaded like waves, and blinding white light danced on every hair and even his eyelashes.

The longbow in his hand also seemed to have turned into white jade.

Behind him, nine entirely different-looking arrows orbited his body, each one radiating a far sharper edge than before.

A gentle, luminous glow emanated from Yan Jing, scattering evenly across every inch of heaven and earth, as if a creator god had descended upon the mortal realm.

The world itself seemed to fall completely silent.

No one could find their voice after witnessing such a spectacle.

"Anyone else?"

Yan Jing looked around. In stark contrast to his gentle radiance, his expression was ice-cold.

No one spoke.

Even the crowd of elders opposite him couldn't utter a single sound.

Yan Jing turned back to look in the direction of the main Xue Family manor.

"Father, do you believe me now?"

No one answered.

Yan Jing nodded.

"It seems you believe me."

"If you please, after this Blood War, step down from your position."

Still, no one spoke.

His expression completely natural, Yan Jing nodded once more.

"It seems you've agreed."

"Then if I say I am going to execute Xue Zixun and Xue Kai on the charge of harming our kin, does anyone object?"

Just as Yan Jing thought no one was going to answer.

Xue Zixun's figure materialized in midair.

Given the current situation, he could no longer hide.

"On what grounds?!!"

He roared at Yan Jing, his face practically twisted into a snarl.

"On what grounds are you executing me?!"

"Did you not do the same?!! Weren't you the one who killed Seventh Sister back then?! Why don't you go die!!"

"How dare you speak of harming kin! The first one to murder their own sibling was you!!!"

Sharp intakes of breath rippled through the crowd.

He had said it.

This untouchable taboo had finally been spoken out loud in this exact moment.

It was over.

More than a few people's legs trembled.

They could already imagine the slaughter Yan Jing was about to unleash.

But Yan Jing remained perfectly calm.

"I slept for so many years."

"In my dreams, every single day, I replayed that night from back then."

"That day, I used Silver White."

"Of all my arrows, Silver White is the least lethal."

"I fired that arrow, aiming directly at Chen Nian."

"But the arrow hit Xiao Jie."

"Xiao Jie's figure flickered back then, and then she appeared right in front of Chen Nian."

"Silver White struck her directly in the heart. That is the only way Silver White can kill a person."

"You can explain that Xiao Jie intercepted the arrow, but tell me, why did she block it with her heart?"

"Why did it hit perfectly at the heart?"

"What... what do you mean?" Xue Zixun stared at Yan Jing in disbelief, then pointed at himself.

"You suspect I did it?"

"You suspect me?"

Yan Jing said nothing.

Beneath the heavens, no one else spoke either.

"No, how could it be me?!" Sensing the crowd's mistrust, Xue Zixun's expression bordered on manic.

"Why would I kill Seventh Sister!?"

"Say something, speak to me!!!"

"That day, I smelled your scent," Yan Jing said, his face calm.

Xue Zixun's face fell, and his voice immediately quieted down.

"I did follow you all there that day, but... but..."

Panic flooded his features.

"I swear I didn't do anything, I really didn't!!!"

"I swear!! I swear on my life!!!!"

He looked back at the elders behind him, explaining frantically.

"I really didn't do anything!! You have to believe me!!!!"

"If you tell the truth," Yan Jing said, raising the white bow in his hands, "I will leave your corpse intact, and I won't touch the people beside you."

"It wasn't me!! It really wasn't!!! That... that day... I just followed you, Third Brother. I wanted to see how you'd kill that kid, I... I wanted to see how you'd do it..."

Xue Zixun's panicked voice trembled, and his whole body shook uncontrollably.

"I-it really wasn't me, I... I saw it too... It was... it was Xiao Jie... She stepped in to intercept it herself..."

"I don't know why the arrow landed on her heart... I really don't!!"

"Maybe she misjudged her speed... Right... right, right, right... That has to be it... You have to believe me... Believe me..." As he kept making excuses, Xue Zixun burst into tears. Crying until his face was drenched, he babbled continuously until his words became slurred.

"It really wasn't me, Third Brother, it really wasn't."

His entire face scrunched up, tears streaming down.

He could already imagine that in the very next second, the arrows behind Yan Jing would pierce straight through his chest.

But...

Yan Jing lowered the bow.

"Mhm. I know it wasn't you."

He had only done this to verify that point.

In truth, the original owner of this body had also known it wasn't Xue Zixun.

He had spent several months trying to find a single shred of evidence that Xue Zixun had orchestrated it.

Even the tiniest thread would have sufficed.

But he found absolutely nothing.

He was too strong.

So strong that he couldn't even deceive himself.

He was the one who fired the arrow that day.

And Xue Jie had caught it with her heart.

An arrow could not lie.

That was why he had fallen into slumber.

Yan Jing's expression was serene.

The reason the original owner had never sought revenge was precisely because there was no one to hate.

There was only an endless void of guilt, and a heart that had already died.