The handsome youth sneered, drew his bow and shot with clean speed, a streak of dark light whistling straight toward Li Muzhan’s back.

Li Muzhan suddenly swayed, bracing himself like a bamboo pole, causing the small boat to rock violently, narrowly dodging the dark light.

The handsome youth let out an "Eh," and leaped in pursuit, vaulting from one tree to the next, tapping lightly on trunks or branches, leaping out again before even pausing.

He continued his continuous leaps, never stopping, always in motion, his movements light and exquisitely graceful.

Li Muzhan dashed beneath the trees, weaving through the woods, swift as a gale. Even moving at such speed, his grey monk's robe billowed, yet he maintained his air of cool elegance.

"Woo..." The handsome youth drew another arrow in mid-air, sending a streak of dark light directly at Li Muzhan’s back.

Li Muzhan’s figure folded sharply, narrowly evading it again, and he laughed loudly, "This level of archery? You want revenge? Hah..."

His laugh was bold, soaring straight toward the heavens.

The handsome youth nocked another arrow, his lip curling into a cold sneer. "Now you call for help? Heh heh. Before they arrive, I will surely take your dog life!"

Li Muzhan’s feet kept moving, but his mouth didn't stop. He roared with laughter, "If you have the skill, my life is yours to take. I only fear you talk a big game with little actual ability!"

His movement was swift and elusive as he threaded through the forest, utterly at ease.

The handsome youth suddenly gave a strange smile, putting away his bow and landing lightly. Then, his figure flickered, and with a dull thud, several shadows sprang out, as if employing a splitting technique, suddenly becoming several people.

When the illusions vanished, a footprint three inches deep was left scorched into the earth where he stood. He himself was already twenty-odd zhang away, his speed slightly reduced, now only ten zhang from Li Muzhan.

Li Muzhan turned his head to look at him, his expression unchanged, increasing his speed slightly. He unleashed the full brilliance of Floating Light, Fleeting Shadow, covering over a dozen zhang in the blink of an eye.

The handsome youth scoffed, his body flickering once more. With a thud, he transformed into several figures again, leaving a footprint, and instantly appeared five zhang from Li Muzhan, his speed again slightly abated.

Li Muzhan pondered. This youth’s Qinggong was unique, accelerating in stages, almost like a sprint—truly bizarre, unlike anything he had ever witnessed.

No wonder Elder Ouyang and Elder Zhang, with their profound internal power and peerless Qinggong, had been unable to subdue him.

His mind raced. His feet never paused. The inner power from his Dantian surged, pouring endlessly into his legs. He pushed Floating Light, Fleeting Shadow to its absolute limit; the scenery before his eyes dissolved into long streaks of light, almost impossible to discern clearly.

If not for his exceptional eyesight and refined internal power, charging at such speed would surely result in colliding with a tree.

The handsome youth smiled dismissively, his feet drifting lightly, his pace drastically slowing. He took five arrows from the quiver on his back, held two in his mouth, and gripped three between his index, middle, and little fingers. He drew the bow gently, forming a crescent moon, and released. "Woo..." Three dark streaks shot out in the shape of the character Pin ().

"Woo..." The two arrows held in his mouth were also released swiftly, striking with surprising speed despite their later launch.

The five arrows formed a small fan in the air, sweeping over Li Muzhan’s head and blocking his path forward.

The five arrows wove a minuscule net of light, forcing Li Muzhan to alter his direction.

Li Muzhan’s feet did not stop. While moving rapidly, he drew his sword, and a cold gleam rose from his waist, transforming into a silver torrent that swept toward the Yanling Arrows.

"Ding ding ding ding ding..." Amidst the crisp sounds, he charged straight through the arrow net without the slightest hesitation in his momentum.

The handsome youth frowned, his lips curling into a faint smile. With a thud, he dissolved into several figures, then vanished, reappearing five or six zhang in front of Li Muzhan, blocking his inevitable path.

He stood steady, smiling faintly as he held the longbow level. A ray of sunlight pierced the dense canopy, landing on the bow, making the intricate carvings clearly visible. The arrowheads of the Yanling Arrows gleamed, possessing an enchanting, faint blue hue.

Li Muzhan’s figure swayed. Precisely at that moment, a strange hiss sounded from the front, like fabric being violently torn, causing an itch across his whole body and making his hairs stand on end.

Li Muzhan’s sway narrowly allowed him to dodge the dark light. This arrow was impossibly fast; the whistling sound had barely ended before it shot clean through the phantom image of Li Muzhan.

The handsome youth pushed off the ground, diving toward Li Muzhan like an eagle snatching a rabbit. While airborne, he drew his bow and shot, a sneer on his lips and coldness in his eyes.

Li Muzhan retreated while simultaneously swaying. Another dark light shot through the space where he had been.

One advanced, one retreated. The handsome youth, in pursuit, loosed arrow after arrow. Dark streaks flew one after another toward Li Muzhan’s chest, each one lethal.

Unleashing the full might of Nine Transformations of the Cloud Dragon, Li Muzhan relied solely on his intuition, dodging the dark streaks time and again. It was incredibly perilous; each evasion was by the narrowest of margins.

It gave the illusion that if the arrow were just slightly faster, it would have struck him.

In a flash, the two had retreated a li, back along the very path they had come—it was as if time had reversed.

Although Li Muzhan’s Qinggong was high, it was two measures inferior to the handsome youth's. Yet, the handsome youth deliberately held back his full power, treating the encounter like a cat playing with a mouse, continuously chasing and shooting at Li Muzhan.

They were moving away from the group from the Mei Residence, and the youth showed no urgency; after all, with his peerless Qinggong, he could retreat with ease even if the Mei Residence contingent arrived.

In a short while, the two had returned to their original positions.

The handsome youth suddenly stopped, allowing Li Muzhan to fall back. He drew a deep breath and pulled out three arrows simultaneously, holding them between his index, middle, and little fingers, drawing the bow and releasing.

"Hiss..." Like a viper flicking its tongue, the three dark streaks shot forth in the Pin formation, instantly arriving before Li Muzhan. This light was too fast; he had no time to evade.

Li Muzhan had no choice but to draw his sword to defend.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" Amidst rapid, crisp sounds, his long sword flew from his hand, and his expression instantly changed.

"Heh heh..." The handsome youth let out a cold, triumphant laugh.

His body flickered, and with a dull thud, he instantly transformed into several shadows, darting to a spot two zhang from Li Muzhan, stopping abruptly.

He had witnessed Li Muzhan's swordsmanship and was somewhat wary of it. Now that Li Muzhan's sword was gone, his apprehension vanished, as if a heavy burden had been lifted. He felt completely relaxed and delighted.

Now he could have some real fun. After he tired of his amusement, in front of the arriving Mei Residence group, he would take Li Muzhan's dog head and depart gracefully.

Thinking this, a smile touched his lips, and excitement coursed through him.

However, his habit of caution remained; he kept a distance of two zhang from Li Muzhan, a natural instinct for an archer.

Li Muzhan retreated swiftly. The handsome youth's lips curved upward, his eyes shining with excitement, yet his movements became increasingly unhurried, leisurely taking out four arrows. Using all five fingers, he clamped them firmly, calmly nocking them to the bow.

By this time, Li Muzhan had retreated ten zhang further away. His expression remained calm, showing no sign of panic.

The handsome youth shook his head, sighing internally. He hadn't expected this fellow to be such a Daoist monk, showing no fear or panic in the face of death—truly an anomaly.

He found the situation somewhat dull. Shaking his head, he slowly drew the bowstring taut, pausing motionlessly once fully drawn, as if sighting his target.

He longed to see fear on Li Muzhan's face, but the monk remained as calm as ever.

"Remember this! My name is Feng Shangkun!" he roared out.

His left hand released, and the dark light shot forth. Then he lowered the bow, grinning smugly.

"Hiss!" Accompanied by the sound of a venomous snake flicking its tongue, four dark streaks erupted, instantly enveloping him, leaving no room for evasion.

"Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!" In a rapid series of sounds, Li Muzhan swung his scabbard with his left hand while flicking his right hand upward.

A streak of cold light flashed. Feng Shangkun dropped his longbow, clutching his throat, staring fixedly at Li Muzhan, his face a mask of shock and disbelief.

"Hoh hoh..." He tried to speak but could not. He tilted his head back slowly and fell backward with a dull thud, hitting the ground.

Lying on his back, his legs twitched. Blood surged from between his hands, flowing onto the ground and soaking into the mud. His eyes were wide open, filled with utter astonishment.

Li Muzhan stopped and let out a long breath.

In terms of Qinggong and archery, he was far inferior to this Feng Shangkun. The youth dared to come relying on the Vajra Indestructible Divine Skill and the Heaven-Gazing Divine Illumination Scripture.

As long as his heart or head wasn't struck, he could survive.

It was this assurance that allowed him to engage. While he did not fear death, it was best not to die; he cherished his family and friends. This world was beautiful, and he hadn't lived enough yet.

Furthermore, after observing the injuries sustained by the others earlier, he had secretly deduced that this person’s mentality was abnormal—one who found pleasure in tormenting victims, like a cat toying with a mouse before eating it.

Based on this mentality, Li Muzhan had planned to use a trick of self-injury, enduring a few arrows before seizing a moment of Feng Shangkun's carelessness to strike with his hidden throwing knife for a swift kill.

He had not expected Feng Shangkun to be so careless. Although the youth’s martial arts were high, his insight was lacking, which is why he fell for the ambush. Li Muzhan resolved to learn from this experience.

He listened for a moment, vaguely hearing people approaching, and inwardly resolved to quicken his actions.

His figure floated, retrieving his long sword. Then, with a flash of cold steel, he stabbed Feng Shangkun’s heart where he lay on the ground, only approaching to bend down and check.

He rapidly tapped several points on the youth’s left side, sealing his vital points, then placed his palm on the small throwing knife.

The Taiyin True Scripture circulated, its warm inner power instantly turning cold as ice and snow, constantly flowing into the knife's blade. After a moment, he slowly pulled it out; the wound had already congealed and stopped bleeding.

The throwing knife was returned to his sleeve. Then, he thrust his sword into the original wound, using the sword cut to mask the injury from the knife. He withdrew the sword and sheathed it. With a zizz, a jet of blood sprayed out, staining his front robes.

His expression remained steady, unaffected.

He bent over and searched Feng Shangkun, finding two thin booklets hidden close to the skin. Li Muzhan glanced at them without a second look and tucked them into his robes. Then, he pulled out a Yanling Arrow and plunged it into his own right arm, piercing straight through the upper arm.

The arrow lodged in the flesh, but he didn't seem to care; this minor pain was insignificant to him.

He tapped a few times around the arrow with his left fingers, stopping the flow of blood, then sat cross-legged nearby, channeling his power to regulate his breath.

Drawing the knife, thrusting the sword, retrieving the small booklets, and having an arrow pierce his right arm—these actions were executed with astonishing speed, fluid as running water, completed in the space of a single blink.

Eyes closed, regulating his breathing, after several breaths, Li Muzhan’s ears twitched as he heard the sound of silk robes fluttering.

Immediately, Elder Zhang’s figure appeared in the distance. He called out from afar, "Zhanran! Zhanran! Are you alive?"

"Elder!" Li Muzhan opened his eyes.

Elder Zhang flickered a few times, arriving before him like a phantom, stopping one zhang away. He scrutinized Li Muzhan up and down several times, then pointed and burst into loud laughter. "Yo! You really are alive! Hahaha! Hahaha!"

"Thanks to your blessing, Elder, I was lucky enough to survive," Li Muzhan replied with a smile.

Elder Zhang glanced at Feng Shangkun lying on the ground, his face flushing even deeper with pleasure. He laughed heartily, "You little monk, your skills are truly astonishing! Truly, the younger generation is awe-inspiring! Awe-inspiring!"

Li Muzhan shook his head with a wry smile and looked down at the arrow in his right arm.

He sighed inwardly. There was a shortcut to making one's thinking precise: find a secret and guard it fiercely by any means necessary; then, without realizing it, one's thought processes would become sharp. He had gone to great lengths to hide the throwing knife as his trump card, even needing to shoot himself.

Elder Zhang patted his left shoulder and asked with a smile, "The injury isn't serious, is it?"

Li Muzhan shook his head. "Just superficial flesh wounds."

Elder Zhang chuckled. "Mm, taking an arrow to kill him. You made a good profit on this transaction!"

As they spoke, Mei Ruolan, Gong Qingyun, and Xiao Yuan arrived. Li Muzhan glanced at the three women and frowned slightly.

Xiao Yuan rushed to his side, examining his right arm. Seeing his displeasure, she quickly apologized, "Zhanran, are you alright? ...Miss insisted on coming; we couldn't stop her!"

Mei Ruolan stopped one zhang away, smiling faintly. "With Elder Zhang here, what could possibly be the issue!"

Xiao Yuan looked at his wound, her spirits instantly lifting, and pointed at the corpse. "This is the fellow?!"

"That's him!" Elder Zhang nodded with a grin.

PS: I sincerely apologize. I intended to write more to stockpile chapters before the book goes on sale. Surrounded by grandmasters, I won't win the Monthly Ticket Award, so I can only strive for the Full Attendance Award. Unfortunately, I caught a cold, perhaps due to the climate change, compounded by stress.

Now, even publishing one chapter is difficult, let alone stockpiling; I truly have the will but lack the strength. Heaven denies my wishes! Please forgive me, everyone.

Oh, yes, I have created two groups: 129397232 and 129396968H.