Having evaded the downpour of arrows, the group was now barely a hundred zhang from the end of the iron chain bridge.

Zong Lan, charging ahead of everyone else, had his ** Dragon-Horned Winged Horse reach the White Tiger statue in just a single breath.

The distant city gate was now only four hundred zhang away.

Yet, You Wusheng atop the ramparts showed no sign of panic; instead, he burst into laughter: "Walking right into your own death! Guards! Go urge Mr. Xue!"

Before the words even fell, a figure vaulted from behind the city walls and landed atop them. His expression was haughty, his face strikingly handsome, and his eyes now flashed with a chilling, icy light.

"No need to urge; I have arrived!"

With a single step, the middle-aged man surnamed Xue reached the edge of the battlement. He gazed coldly at the figures who had already crossed the iron bridge, then frowned slightly.

"Is this the esteemed Young Lord? Truly, he possesses no internal energy—what a disgrace to our Celestial Fox Clan! However, that Zong Yuan has already reached the Sixth Meridian of the Earth Wheel; his aptitude is decent enough. I only wonder if this man, as the rumors suggest, has already grasped the intent of the Raging Thunder Spear..."

"Hmph, so what if he grasped the Raging Thunder Spear intent? In this Town Mountain Pass, if he doesn't retreat quickly, he will only die!" You Wusheng scoffed dismissively, snatching a massive bow from beside him, which was being held by four full Xiantian Martial Masters. The bow spanned five chi and weighed a colossal two hundred thousand jin.

You Wusheng handled it effortlessly: "In today's battle, I must strike down that Zong Shou with my arrow. And Mr. Xue, I request your aid!"

He drew the bowstring back sharply until it was nearly a full moon. A spirit-light shimmering Wolf Tooth Arrow was placed upon the string.

Mr. Xue nodded slightly upon hearing this: "Naturally! Once my Xue Clan gives its word, we never go back on it. Just ensure your Sovereign and the Great General of the Right Court do not renege on their promise later!"

As he finished speaking, he formed another hand seal. Instantly, streams of cool spiritual energy gathered from the void and descended upon You Wusheng. Finally, the energy split into two currents: one seeped into You Wusheng’s body, and the other gathered upon the Wolf Tooth Arrow.

You Wusheng’s eyes immediately brightened; he felt his vision expand slightly, and his physical strength increased by nearly half. The spiritual bow in his hands, which exerted four million jin of tension, was drawn back several more fractions.

Without hesitation, he roared like a tiger: "Shoot again!" He released the string violently. The Wolf Tooth Arrow shot forth like a meteor toward Zong Shou. Halfway there, countless gales of wind began to churn around the arrow shaft, propelling the projectile—already nearing the limit of human sight—to an even more frantic increase in speed!

At almost the same moment, the thousand archers on the ramparts simultaneously loosed their arrows, blanketing the area like a sky darkening with crows.

Below, Zong Lan, who had been preparing to leap into the air and assault the walls, couldn't help but narrow his brows at the sight. With a reluctant snort of anger, he unleashed a slash of blade light, shattering the incoming Wolf Tooth Arrow! However, the immense counter-force sent his entire body reeling. Not only did his ** horse snort blood from its nostrils and have its charge halted, rearing up on its hind legs, but Zong Lan himself was also thrown back several zhang.

When he looked ahead again, Zong Lan’s expression was as dark as stagnant water. His charge was blocked, and on the opposing ramparts, preparations were already underway for a third wave of archery. Perhaps in moments, the twenty-five thousand great armies within the city could reach the walls.

The situation clearly indicated that the optimal opportunity to seize the city had passed, offering no hope in sight.

He couldn't fathom the origin of that white-robed figure on the wall; his spiritual technique was astonishingly potent! A single spiritual amplification had imbued that Wolf Tooth Arrow with a force reaching nine million jin, a power even he, a Xuanwu Master of the Eighth Meridian, could not match.

With a muffled grunt, Zong Lan retreated just ten zhang before slamming his right foot down onto the ground, instantly halting his backward slide.

A suffocating tightness filled his chest, but Zong Lan paid it no mind. In the next instant, his entire being erupted like a nuclear bomb, charging forward madly. His feet churned like wheels, each stride covering dozens of zhang. His speed in the sprint was not only equal to that of his fourth-tier Dragon-Horned Winged Horse but even surpassed it slightly!

The situation today demanded a desperate struggle, even knowing victory was impossible!

It was precisely then that Zong Lan’s expression froze in surprise. He noticed the Young Lord beside him, who had been silently guiding his horse, had suddenly moved. The Young Lord stepped onto the saddle and leaped upward into the air. In that instant, his aura underwent a profound transformation.

Zong Lan’s heart seized with panic. To leap up while a barrage of ten thousand arrows was descending, losing all purchase for leverage—wasn't this courting death?

He could potentially handle the arrows shot by the common archers. But mixed within that volley were three Xuanwu Grandmasters, including You Wusheng, and that spiritual master of unknown depth. Any one of them could easily end Zong Shou’s life.

Regret flooded his chest; it was his own carelessness. The Young Lord possessed peerless, heaven-defying talent in martial arts, but he lacked true battle experience. To commit such a foolish act in the face of the enemy!

At this point, Zong Lan gave up all thought of capturing the city. His only plan now was to use every ounce of his strength to save Zong Shou’s life, and then see if a safe retreat was possible.

Zong Shou, however, was utterly oblivious to Zong Lan’s worry. Even if he knew, he would have scoffed.

His gaze was cold and fixed steadily upon the battlements of Town Mountain Pass. Several seven-colored, shifting spiritual talismans burned within his sleeves, transforming into wisps of ethereal light that scattered forth, permeating the bodies of his companions.

And just as his body sprang upward, a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

"Zong Yuan, ascend the wall!"

Zong Yuan said nothing, also launching himself into the air. He moved as if treading upon the air itself as if it were a series of steps, rushing toward the ramparts.

Though he didn't know Zong Shou's intent or why he chose such a perilous moment, Zong Yuan knew that Zong Shou never acted without reason and had never disappointed him. Therefore, he would not disappoint the Young Lord either!

On the opposite side, You Wusheng’s brow twitched: "Indeed, the Raging Thunder Spear intent!" Forty zhang into his flight, Zong Yuan gathered a torrent of purple lightning around him, which caused his speed of travel to increase dramatically. The closer he got to the wall, the denser the lightning around him became. From a distance, he appeared like a lightning bolt tearing through the void.

However, when his gaze drifted behind Zong Yuan, his eyes instantly constricted.

Zong Shou had soared upward a full thirty zhang and showed no sign of stopping. His form seemed propelled by some invisible, immense force, continuing its ascent.

The next instant, You Wusheng involuntarily sucked in a cold breath.

"He's Xiantian! This Zong Shou is actually at the initial stage of the First Meridian!"

The middle-aged man surnamed Xue also showed a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

The man reputed to be incapable of even lifting a chicken possessed a cultivation level at the age of fourteen that was only one meridian behind Zong Shi, who was praised by the world as a genius!

After a moment of stunned silence, the middle-aged man surnamed Xue regained his composure. Yet, his expression was unusually stern, flickering with killing intent.

You Wusheng, at this moment, burst into laughter again: "Well done, Young Lord of Qiantian Mountain! Hiding your strength so deeply! But today, no matter how extraordinary your talent, you will die here! Bai Hai, Ren Li, why haven't you struck yet!"

He drew his bow again, but this time, You Wusheng held three Wolf Tooth Spirit Arrows between his fingers. His breathing gradually regulated, entering a specialized rhythm. With every breath, he absorbed massive amounts of heaven and earth spiritual energy into his body, and his mind entered a state of crystal-clear stillness.

The You Family's secret Triple-Shot Arrow technique, while not their ultimate art, was potent enough that at this moment, he could slay even a Xuanwu Master of the Earth Wheel and Meridian stage at eight hundred paces! Let alone the Young Lord, who was merely Xiantian Initial Meridian!

When Zong Shou’s figure reached approximately thirty zhang high, You Wusheng had calculated his vertical speed and his gaze sharpened.

The spiritual bow sang out with three consecutive 'peng!' sounds of the string vibrating. A hundred zhang to his left and right, two other figures also drew their bows. Empowered by the spiritual technique of the man surnamed Xue, they each loosed an arrow with power nearly half as great as You Wusheng's.

Five sharp Wolf Tooth Arrows arrived almost instantaneously, covering a distance of two hundred zhang in the blink of an eye.

You Wusheng raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with mocking certainty; he could almost visualize the scene of the Young Lord falling dead shortly. Capture the king first; once this man dies, the others below, no matter how strong, would be like masterless dogs, no longer a threat!

But when his gaze met Zong Shou’s from across the distance, he was momentarily stunned.

There was little panic within Zong Shou’s eyes, only coldness—his reason was clearly intact, cooled to the absolute extreme. Not even facing a mortal danger could shake him in the slightest.

How could a Young Lord who had seen little of the world or experienced true warfare possess such eyes?

As he pondered this question, he saw Zong Shou suddenly spread his great sleeves. As if doing it casually, five points of cold light shot out from within his robes.

They moved with equal swiftness, covering a distance of forty zhang in just one-hundredth of a breath, moving directly to intercept the five Wolf Tooth Arrows.

At this time, You Wusheng was nursing his left arm. While his consecutive arrow technique was powerful—each of the three shots delivering nearly double combat power—the strain it put on the meridians of his arm was immense. Once executed, he could barely exert force with that left arm for half an hour.

Seeing the counter-attack now, he couldn't help but find it amusing. They were positioned right beside the Evil Spirit Gully, where the wind currents were not only chaotic but fierce. Even with his archery skill, he couldn't guarantee a hundred percent hit rate within eight hundred zhang here; he could only estimate the general trajectory.

Was this Young Lord so terrified that he had gone mad, trying to use five throwing knives to destroy his arrows? How foolish.

Down below, Zong Lan and Tan Tao watched with despair. And just as everyone expected the indistinct, cold glints to collide with the Wolf Tooth Arrows, a single, light 'keng' sound echoed from the mid-air. (To be continued.)

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