novelraw Chapter 137: The Arrowhead is Forged, Its Tip Points West!
Chapter 137: The Arrowhead is Forged, Its Tip Points West!
Lantern Festival.
As the last wave of Spring Festival moviegoers exited the theaters, the box office battle of the Lunar New Year season officially drew to a close.
Major media outlets and data platforms almost simultaneously refreshed the final battle reports.
*Palace Conspiracy*, total box office: 2.21 billion.
This number ignited the entire film market and social media.
Sun Zhou shoved his phone right in front of Jiang Ci, so excited he could barely speak coherently.
"Ci-Ci, Brother Ci! Two point two one billion! *Palace Conspiracy* broke two point two one billion!"
Jiang Ci had just finished an intense physical training session and was resting on his folding stool.
His system panel was even more frenzied than Sun Zhou.
Tears shed in cinemas across the country for General Gu's tragic fate had, over the past half month, been continuously converted into Heartbreak Value for him.[Heartbreak Value settlement complete.]
[Current Balance: 4,150 points.]
[Remaining Lifespan: 1,060 days.]
At the same time, online, anguished cries of "My heart aches for General Gu" flooded the internet.
#GeneralGu, Don't Go#
#GeneralGu, My Unresolved Injustice White Moonlight#
#We Owe General Gu a Life#
Related topics ascended the trending charts with an utterly unreasonable momentum.
Jiang Ci's personal Weibo follower count directly broke through the four million mark.
Countless private messages and comments poured in.
"Brother, I'm begging you, can your next role please have a HE (Happy Ending)? I'm on my knees!"
"My mom asked me why I was crying while eating sweet rice dumplings on Lantern Festival. I said I was missing my husband who died before I ever met him."
Jiang Ci's image as a tragic beauty was, at this moment, completely solidified and welded into everyone's perception.
However, all this clamor had nothing to do with Jiang Ci at this moment.
He calmly looked at the Life Countdown on his system panel, which had once again become comfortably ample, then handed the phone back to Sun Zhou.
His attention was completely focused on another matter.
Outdoor training ground.
On the yellow sand, two shocking new landmarks had appeared.
They were two narrow passageways formed from burning piles of dry grass and oil-soaked firewood.
Flames leaped, crackling and popping.
This was the final training subject ordered by Yuan Kui.
Full wedge formation, horse and rider becoming one, piercing through the fire lane.
Twelve top-tier horse stunt riders stood silently in formation at the entrance to the fire lane.
This fucking wasn't filming anymore.
This was playing with their lives.
Yuan Kui stood to the side of the formation, his old face flickering in the firelight.
He offered no extra words, simply raising the red flag in his hand.
"Prepare."
Jiang Ci was positioned at the formation's eye, the very tip of the arrowhead.
He could sense the unease coming from behind him, the agitated snorts of horses fearful of the flames.
Yuan Kui's red flag slashed down violently!
"Charge!"
Jiang Ci drove his legs, and the Black Steed beneath him whinnied, charging out first!
Hooves thundered, thirteen riders moving as one, launching a charge towards that fiery passage!
Fifty meters.
Thirty meters.
Ten meters.
Jiang Ci's horsemanship was impeccable, his will as firm as iron.
But at the instant of nearing the fire.
Humanity's most primitive instinct overcame reason.
That searing pain of scorching skin caused his body's muscles to stiffen for a split second.
It was this fraction-of-a-second stiffness.
His rhythm in controlling the horse deviated by an extremely minute amount.
This deviation, for a lone rider, would be inconsequential.
But for a charge formation, it was fatal.
The moment the rhythm of his "formation's eye" faltered, the synchronization of the entire formation behind him was instantly destroyed!
A horse at the tail end of the formation spooked, violently veering sideways, directly colliding with its neighbor!
"Bang!"
Chaos instantly spread.
The entire wedge formation disintegrated with a crash just before entering the fire lane!
"Halt!"
Yuan Kui's roar drowned out the crackling flames.
Fortunately, they realized it in time, and no real casualties occurred.
When the formation halted, it was a sorry sight.
One stunt rider's trouser leg had a large hole burned by flying sparks, and he was cursing while patting it out.
Another rider's horse was still pawing the ground restlessly, clearly badly frightened.
The first charge had ended in complete failure.
Wei Song and Qin Feng watched from a distance, their hearts pounding with fear.
Yuan Kui watched all this in silence, offering no blame, no comfort.
Failure was the most common occurrence on the battlefield.
Jiang Ci pulled on the reins, stopping before the fire lane.
He did not look back at the disarray behind him.
On horseback, he slowly, closed his eyes.
[Micro-level Motion Capture].
This time, the target of capture was no longer a single "person."
But this vast, complex "formation system" composed of twelve top riders, twelve magnificent warhorses, and himself at the front.
Rider Wang, number three on the left flank, his horse subconsciously turned its head left when facing the flames.
Arrowhead A'Wei on the right flank, his fear made him unconsciously tighten the reins, causing his horse to panic during the charge.
...
Jiang Ci opened his eyes again.
He turned his horse around, returning to the front of the formation.
"Again."
The stunt riders exchanged glances. Though still shaken, they reformed their ranks.
They chose to trust this young man who had created miracles.
Yuan Kui gave Jiang Ci a deep look, then raised the red flag once more.
The flag fell!
The second charge began!
The thunder of hooves rose again, but this time, it carried a completely different, resolute determination!
When they were still twenty meters from the fire lane.
Jiang Ci's brain had already predicted that the left flank's third horse was about to spook from flying sparks.
He did not call out a warning.
Instead, at that instant, he shifted his entire body's center of gravity to the right with an extremely minute adjustment.
This movement transmitted outwards through the vibrations of the horse's back, through the invisible "energy field" within the entire formation.
The center of gravity of the entire wedge formation was forcibly corrected to the right by him!
Rider number three on the left flank almost instinctively pulled his reins inward to maintain the new balance.
His nearly-spooked horse was forcefully steadied by this command!
Almost simultaneously.
Jiang Ci perceived the momentary hesitation of the right flank arrowhead's horse due to fear.
"Ha!"
From his throat, he issued a short, sharp, and powerful shout!
The rider on the right flank was jolted by this bark, all hesitation instantly cleared, leaving only the instinct to follow!
Perfect synchronization!
The next second.
Roar!
The iron cavalry formation swept through the fiery corridor!
The entire process took less than three seconds.
When they charged out of the fire lane and halted at the other end.
The whole world fell silent.
Only the heavy panting of men and horses remained, and the flames still burning behind them.
Yuan Kui slowly lowered the red flag in his hand.
He walked up to Jiang Ci's horse.
His face revealed a complex expression mixed with extreme satisfaction and profound astonishment.
He extended his calloused hand and heavily, patted the hot neck of the Black Steed beneath Jiang Ci.
Then.
He turned around, facing the distant Wei Song, facing the entire crew who were eagerly watching.
He announced, word by word.
"The arrowhead is forged, its tip points west."
"We can, start filming!"
These words sent a jolt through everyone present.
"He passed! He passed!"
"Hell yeah!!!"
Wei Song grabbed his walkie-talkie, broadcasting earth-shattering news.
"All departments! Attention all departments!"
"Execute Plan A! All units, move out!"
"Destination—Pengcheng main battlefield!"