I Pick up a Lost Godhood

Chapter 171 - 169: What Is This

With his incredible speed, the only thing Zhang Xiaojiang had to overcome were his own mental hurdles!

Yao Yuan, for his part, was an interesting character. Seeing Zhang Xiaojiang’s speed increase, his interest was piqued. His attacks gradually shifted to various probes, testing the limits of his opponent’s mobility. For this battle, he needed a formidable adversary, not a laughingstock, so he decided to give his opponent a chance to shine.

SWOOSH...

BANG...

A Talisman appeared, erupting into a sea of fire several yards across.

Azure Fire Talisman Array.

A Basic Killing Array derived from Fire Talismans. Its attack range had suddenly expanded, making it far more difficult to dodge.

Using a Talisman Array was significantly more difficult than using a single Fire Talisman, and the delay between activations should have been longer. Yet Yao Yuan seemed completely unaffected. It could only mean that his mastery of Talisman Arrays was already perfect.

The combination of Fire Talismans and the Azure Fire Talisman Array was a different beast entirely. Zhang Xiaojiang wasn’t a Body Cultivator; simply defending was a death sentence.

But Zhang Xiaojiang continued to rely on his Body Technique to evade. As the attack’s radius increased, so did the area he had to cover. Unlike Xu Song’s refined Flying Shadow technique, the fatty’s movement was pure, explosive speed. What was truly difficult—and what he was managing to do—was maintain such smooth control through his consecutive dodges.

"Could that be Star Step?"

The Bow Cultivators in the audience stared, dumbfounded. Star Step was a technique Bow Cultivators used for desperate, instantaneous dodges over short, straight lines. Compared to an elusive footwork like Flying Shadow, it was considered simple, direct, and easy to predict. And yet, Zhang Xiaojiang had pushed Star Step to its absolute limit. Even when his direction could be predicted, the speed of the attacks couldn’t catch him.

He was moving faster than a Technique Cultivator could chain their attacks.

And throughout his evasions, Zhang Xiaojiang remained poised to strike. Finally, his opportunity arrived.

A brilliant light flashed in Zhang Xiaojiang’s eyes. TWANG...

The bowstring shuddered violently, flaring with Elemental Power—Bursting Heart-Piercing Arrow!

Yao Yuan slammed a Talisman onto the ground, and a Defense Array instantly activated. VWOOM...

The Bursting Heart-Piercing Arrow and the Defense Array annihilated each other. The force of the explosion still sent Yao Yuan stumbling back five or six steps.

Zhang Xiaojiang stretched his arms. ’I need to let loose a little more. I don’t care about losing—I’ve never been that kind of person. And I don’t care if people laugh at me. What I care about is not shaming my brother, not betraying Wang Meng’s trust.’

That was what mattered most to Zhang Xiaojiang, and no one could touch it!

A vortex of Elemental Qi erupted from Zhang Xiaojiang. Across from him, Yao Yuan’s interest was piqued. ’Now this is an interesting aura.’

A Compass appeared in his hand. As light spilled from it, a new array formed on the ground. One after another, Fire Talismans, Azure Fire Talisman Arrays, and Bursting Fire Talismans began to float into the air. More than thirty of them appeared, and they just kept coming.

What was Fire Cloud Hall famous for, after all?

Artifact Refining!

What could Song Zhong say? ’That Yao Yuan just loves to show off.’ The kid was a rare genius in Artifact Refining, able to combine a wild, boundless imagination with the most rigorous aspects of the craft.

’He really didn’t need to go to this much trouble for this fatty, but... he’s young. It’s normal to want to show off a little.’

The Technique Cultivators in the crowd began whispering to each other. None had ever seen such a Compass. It was obviously an array of some kind, with all the Talismans "hung" upon it.

Zhou Qian was startled. His own specialty was the Blast Talisman Array. The professional term for the technique was "Hanging Talismans." Once a Talisman was "hung," the casting time was cut in half, and you could even detonate them in groups. But you had to act within your means when hanging Talismans. Pushing past the limits of one’s Elemental Power and Spiritual Power could be fatal.

Furthermore, one usually only hung a single type of Talisman. The moment different types were mixed, the difficulty of controlling them skyrocketed.

’What in the world is that Compass?!’

Yao Yuan was filled with anticipation. To have all this skill and no opportunity to display it had been frustrating. For him, attending the grand tournament for the first time, it had been a rather unhappy affair so far.

Forty-nine Talismans. This was his own creation: the Hanging Talisman Compass.

On the other side, Zhang Xiaojiang’s own surge of Elemental Power was poised and ready to be unleashed.

Yao Yuan gave a slight smile as the Compass began to turn. "Kill!"

A stream of Fire Talismans shot toward Zhang Xiaojiang like a great dragon. Once Hanging Talismans were unleashed, dodging was simply a dream.

That barrage of Talismans contained Fire Talismans, Bursting Fire Talismans, and, most vexingly, Azure Fire Talisman Arrays. Even if one’s mind could make sense of it all, one’s body couldn’t possibly react in time.

Zhang Xiaojiang didn’t dodge. He drew his Golden Silk Iron Bow!

TWANG...

TWANG...

One arrow shot down an incoming Fire Talisman, and another destroyed a Bursting Fire Talisman.

With the Hanging Talisman Compass, Yao Yuan also had a Defense Array at his feet. Judging by the Elemental Power it displayed, the array could probably block two of Zhang Xiaojiang’s arrows. Zhang Xiaojiang had to break through his opponent’s volley first; otherwise, the best he could hope for was a trade that left them both severely injured.

The Fire Talismans soared through the air... The disciples of Thunderlight Hall watched nervously. The first arrow hit its mark! The second, another hit! He blocked the third one too!

Such precision!

The Bow Cultivators in the audience didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’What does he think a Bow Cultivator does, aim until he drops dead? When an opponent pulls out a Magical Artifact like that, the only real strategy is to find a chance to trade blows and hope you both go down. Maybe with his... bulkier frame, he might even have a chance of winning.’

’Trying to shoot down every single attack... utterly naive.’

The fourth... a hit. The fifth... a hit... The sixth...

Zhang Xiaojiang grew increasingly steady. Each arrow was loosed after its target was in motion, yet it arrived first, intercepting every single Talisman.

At that moment, his eyes were like those of a Tiger Eagle—crystal clear, with pupils contracted to points. To him, the Fire Talismans didn’t seem fast at all.

A complete lock. One arrow after another.

The Fire Cloud Hall contingent had fallen silent, their jaws agape. Even if one wasn’t a Bow Cultivator, it was clear how difficult it was to lock onto a floating Fire Talisman, especially when the opponent was using the Hanging Talisman technique.

Yao Yuan was getting excited too. ’A madman like this actually exists!’ Seeing the Talismans surrounding his array diminish, he drew Fire Talismans from his Qiankun Bag one after another, feeding them into the array.

The Thunderlight Hall disciples were outraged. "Damn it! How shameless! Using a Magical Artifact is bad enough, but he can even replenish it!"

No matter how loudly the Thunderlight Hall disciples shouted, any Technique Cultivator understood the immense difficulty of what he was doing. This was especially true for masters like Hu Jing and Zhou Qian. Zhou Qian knew that after setting up a hung array once, he would have no energy left to replenish it. That style of attack consumed a tremendous amount of Elemental Power and Spiritual Power, making it almost impossible to control. Yet, from the look on his face, Yao Yuan seemed completely at ease.

’When did Fire Cloud Hall develop such an incredible Magical Artifact?’

For a Bow Cultivator, maintaining a target lock for an attack is incredibly draining. This level of precision was nothing short of miraculous, but how long could he keep it up?

The problem was, the fatty’s arrows not only didn’t slow down, but they were actually getting faster. The point where his arrows intercepted the talismans was steadily advancing toward Yao Yuan. This was a forced suppression.

The crowd finally understood the fatty’s plan. He was going to completely overwhelm his opponent with sheer force.

This was the true essence of the Ten Thousand Arrows Piercing Heart Stream: using offense as the ultimate defense. In the end, it all came down to crushing the opponent with overwhelming offensive power.

What does a Bow Cultivator have?

Only their attack!

KILL! KILL! KILL...

Those who had been laughing at the fatty earlier were now completely silent. That rate of fire, that level of precision... it was beyond belief.

Yao Yuan realized this as well. His Hanging Talisman Compass was incredible, but it had a weakness: once he began hanging Talismans, he was rooted in place. He had to rely on the overwhelming power of the Mixed Talismans to suppress his opponent. If he was the one being suppressed instead, well...

Each of Zhang Xiaojiang’s arrows was fiercer than the last. A fire burned in his heart. Kill!