Desolate Era (Book 11 - Book 15)

“Little master, you succeeded. You succeeded!” The black-robed youth was very excited.

“Thank you, Rahu Bow.” Ning smiled in gratitude. Over the past three years, although he did study some of the secret archery manuals of the Divinities Palace, what truly made the distance was the guidance of the Rahu Bow! The Rahu Bow had watched many divine archers grow up; although he himself was not a divine archer, he had still been able to provide Ning with a shockingly significant amount of help.

If it hadn’t been for the Rahu Bow, even ten years probably wouldn’t have been enough for Ning to complete this trial.

“Heh heh, little master, only after you become a true divine archer can I, the Rahu Bow, truly show off my own illustriousness.” The black-robed youth was extremely excited. “If you, little master, truly wish to show your gratitude towards me, then just procure a good bowstring for me.”

“Right.” Ning nodded and smiled. “Of course.”

He had a number of poorer-quality bowstrings. After all, he could remove the bowstring from the violet greatbow he was currently using and use it for the Rahu Bow. However…this bow was far too weak. The Rahu Bow was a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure; Ning really did have to procure a good bowstring for it!

Mount Innerheart. The Tristar Crescent Abode. Outside the fairly small Three Divinities Palace. Crazy Ji continued to snore there as he always did.

“Second senior apprentice-brother.” Ning walked over.

Crazy Ji didn’t even open his eyes as he mumbled, “The complete copy of [Houyi’s Archery] is on the table. Go take it yourself.”

“Thank you, second senior apprentice-brother.”

Ning immediately stepped inside. Floating above the abridged versions was a very eye-catching furled bamboo book. It was indeed the complete copy of [Houyi’s Archery]. Ning walked over, immediately filling it with his divine sense.

Rumble…

A large amount of information instantly began to flood into Ning’s soul.

A long, long time later. The sun had both risen and fallen. By the time the dawn was just arriving, as half of the distant Golden Crow could be seen peeking out from the distant horizon, Ning woke up.

“What a powerful archery technique,” Ning murmured to himself.

He was stunned. Truly, completely stunned.

According to the description of [Houyi’s Archery], if it was truly trained to the limit, to the level of the mighty primordial divinity Houyi who had created this divine ability…the power of the arrows would be truly terrifying, to the point of being above even the Sixth Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand]!

If a True God were to reach the peak of this divine ability, then with a single arrow, the True God would be able to heavily injure or even kill other True Gods!

But there was a reason why the complete mastery of [Houyi’s Archery] was so ridiculously powerful.

Number one: The amount of mental energy this supreme archery technique used up was simply enormous. At the level of perfect mastery, even a True God would probably only be able to fire three, four, or five arrows before becoming utterly mentally drained and unable to fire off another arrow. Ning’s [Starseizing Hand], however, could be used continuously without worry of using up any mental power.

Number two: This archery technique had extremely high requirements with regards to both the bow and the arrow. Especially the arrow! It must be understood that at full power, [Houyi’s Archery] was mighty enough to annihilate a True God with a single arrow; to be able to compress this much power into a single arrow, the arrow had to be of tremendous quality, as it would otherwise collapse and break apart.

Thus, in order to execute this technique, one not only needed a good bow, one also needed some specially-prepared arrows that were incredibly powerful!

A superb bow. Superb arrows. And just a few shots before utter exhaustion!

Slightly poorer archery arts could allow for a hundred shots, while even poorer archery arts could easily allow for ten thousand shots. This was a testament to how truly draining this supreme archery technique was when it came to the power of the heart.

“The power of this archery art…although the number of times it can be used in succession is low, it truly is without question one of the top ten divine abilities created since Pangu established the universe!” Ning felt endless admiration towards this divine ability, as well as the number one God of the Bow of the Three Realms, Houyi.

Ning then stepped forward and picked up the abridged copy of the [Torch Dragon’s Eye].





* * *





Book 13, Chapter 36 - Leaving the Masters Tutelage


Early dawn.

“Uncle-master.”

“Uncle-master.”

“Patriarch.”

Escorted by a chorus of respectful calls, Ji Ning arrived at the entrance to the Tristar Crescent Abode. Holding a broom in his hands, he began to personally sweep the mountain paths.

Sweep. Sweep. The fallen leaves on the ground were all being swept away.

“That’s odd.”

“The Patriarch is personally sweeping the mountain paths? Isn’t that the trial for the first level of the Divinities Palace?”

“The Patriarch can enter even the ninth level whenever he pleases, to say nothing of the first. He defeats the ninth golem with utter ease.”

“But the Patriarch truly is sweeping the paths personally. Are we seeing things?”

“Maybe…maybe the Patriarch is meditating on something.”

The two Dao-novitiates who were guarding the entrance stared in amazement as they watched Ning personally sweep the mountain roads. They stealthily sent mental messages to each other regarding this. News quickly began to spread, and soon all of the disciples of Mount Innerheart came to know of it.

……

Ning was very calm. He kept his head lowered, focusing on his broom. Each sweep of the broom felt like a cleansing sweep against his soul as well.

He swept each of the mountain steps, one at a time. His sweeping speed wasn’t too fast; he seemed to be enjoying this sweeping process.

He only finished his labors late in the afternoon.

“Oh, I’m done?” Only now did Ning come back to his senses. He straightened his back, then murmured softly to himself, “It seems as though when Master set trials such as sweeping the path and weeding the mountain, he had certain other things in mind as well.”

“Apprentice.” A voice suddenly rang out by Ning’s ears.

Ning was momentarily startled, but then hurriedly responded, “Master!”

Despite having been on the mountain for so many years, Ning had never before received a direct mental message from his master like this.

“After you learn the [Torch Dragon’s Eye], come to my place,” the voice rang out again.

“Yes, master,” Ning replied respectfully.

Ning quickly moved up the mountain, heart filled with questions. Why was his master summoning him? This was extremely rare. Could it be…that he was going to leave his master’s tutelage soon?

……

Ning went to the Three Realms Palace and acquired the full copy of the [Torch Dragon’s Eye].

To date, the three major techniques which Ning had learned from the Three Realms Palace were the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], [Houyi’s Archery], and [Torch Dragon’s Eye].

The process of being transmitted the information regarding the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] took a full day. The next day, Ning regained his faculty of mind. Only then did he head towards the Daoist monastery of Patriarch Subhuti.

“Uncle-master.”

The two Dao-novitiates at the entrance to the monastery both called out respectfully. One of the two, Clearwater, also added, “Uncle-master, the Patriarch has sent word that you are to be allowed direct entry.”

Ning nodded, smiled, then passed in.