Heavenly Jewel Change Volume 5 (Chapter 25 - Chapter 35)

As soon as they had finished equipping themselves, the lazy looking bunch of the Heavenly Bow Unit turned business-like, with a cold aura emitting from them.

As Zhou Weiqing stood beside Shangguan Bing’er watching, he could feel a sense of bloodlust rising in him as they wore the leather armor, feeling a strange sense of arrogance invading him.

Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er did not have the specially crafted quiver, and they both carried four ordinary quivers totalling 200 arrows as well as some additional stores.

The seven of them stealthily entered the forest, which was already considered part of the border between the Wan Shou Empire.

“Teacher, what are the leather armor you are wearing made of? Why does it give off such a strange feeling?” Zhou Weiqing asked curiously.

Mu En grinned and said: “Foolish little brat, these are unbelievable treasure, made of dragon hide.”

Zhou Weiqing’s eyes opened wide as he exclaimed: “Dragonhide?? Are there really dragons in the world?”





Chapter 32 Icy Soul Heavenly Bear (1)


Mu En said: “Of course there are. Even when they are newborn, dragons are still powerful Zong Stage Heavenly Beasts, while adults are one of the top ranked amongst the Heavenly Beasts. They aren’t usually found anywhere else but in the Wan Shou Empire, where there are many dragon-like Heavenly Beasts. These leather armor of ours were created in the past when we purchases a huge piece of dragonhide and custom made them. Not only are they light and flexible, they also have an extremely strong defense. More importantly for our current mission is the aura it gives off, which will deter other ordinary Heavenly Beasts. They are indeed superb items.”

Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Heh, teacher, is there any remaining dragonhide?”

How could Mu En not know what he was thinking, and he said exasperatedly: “How could we possibly have any remaining. If we had any surplus we’d have covered our entire bodies with it.”

At the same time, Hua Feng’s voice came from the front: “Maintain silence.”

As they stealthily entered the forest, the snow was about a foot deep, and it was tough for them to traverse the terrain. The weather was extremely cold, and Zhou Weiqing wore woolen clothing, but Shangguan Bing’er was unexpectedly only wearing a single garment. She looked towards Zhou Weiqing, her gentle gaze making him feel an itch in his heart.

Previously, Admiral Zhou had given him a birthday present called the Snow Silk Coverall, which was light and tight fitting; not only could it be used as a protective inner armour, it was also able to maintain body temperature. The reason why Shangguan Bing’er was not feeling cold was because Zhou Weiqing had given her the Snow Silk Cover. In his words, it was his betrothal gift, and Shangguan Bing’er had not rejected him. Alas, in a tragedy for him, due to the members of the Heavenly Bow Unit being around all the time, he had not been able to seize any opportunities to be intimate with her.

As soon as they entered the forest, Luo Ke Di vanished into thin air. The rest of them took a formation as such - Hua Feng in the front, Gao Shen and Han Mo at the flanks, Mu En covering the back, while both Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er were in the center.

After about an hour of travel, Luo Ke Di appeared suddenly. Currently, he did not look a whit like his normal lazy drunken self, and had a practiced, energetic look. With a gleam in his eyes, he told Hua Feng: “Boss, I’ve scouted out in a 5km radius from here but have yet to find anything. According to our employer’s information, the Icy Soul Heavenly Bears which live in these forests are those who have been exiled from their community. Most of the other Heavenly Beasts which originally lived here have also been chased out by the Icy Soul Heavenly Bears.”

Hua Feng nodded and said: “The mission this time is simple, but the main difficulty remains of the power of the Icy Soul Heavenly Bear. Go on and scout ahead, we will continue deeper in.” As he said that, he used an arrow to draw out a direction in the snow. Luo Ke Di nodded and after some more discussion, he disappeared once more.

After he left, under Hua Feng’s direction, the rest of them circulated their Heavenly Energy and moved at top speeds 5km in the discussed direction, before slowing down once more. Zhou Weiqing realised that the reason Hua Feng did this was to ensure that the companions were able to maintain themselves in top shape in order to react to any unforeseen circumstances.

As they traveled deeper into the forest, 2 days quickly passed. Their movement into the forest was rather slow; they could only traverse about 30km a day, and the busiest amongst them was undoubtedly Luo Ke Di. As the scout, he was always on the move to and fro. Zhou Weiqing had asked Mu En on the down low why they were traveling so slowly, and the answer was simple - for safety.

In such a forest where Zong Stage Heavenly Beasts lived, it didn’t require much for mistakes to be made - just 3 of those Zong Stage Heavenly Beasts would be more than sufficient to wipe out their whole party. That was the reason why Luo Ke Di had to keep moving and scouting the way ahead, not only was it to find an Icy Soul Heavenly Bear, it was also to find safe routes for his companions; if anything was amiss, everyone could immediately avoid it.

Under his careful observation, Zhou Weiqing noticed that although they had been searching for two days in this icy jungle, with nary a bite of warm food to eat, the members of the Heavenly Bow Unit still remained calm and solemn, as if long used to such a life. “An assassin’s natural enemy is loneliness. An outstanding assassin’s best quality was patience.” Hua Feng told him.

Finally, in the 3rd day approaching noon, Luo Ke Di came back with an excited look on his face, with news that perked everyone up - he had spotted a lone Icy Soul Heavenly Bear about 4 km from where they were.

Hua Feng said solemnly: “Rogue, are you sure it’s just a single one?”

Luo Ke Di nodded and said: “As soon as I spotted it, I observed it and the surroundings, before scouting a few km radius to be sure, and there were no signs of another Icy Soul Heavenly Bear. This solo Icy Soul Heavenly Bear seems to be looking for something. It’s stout and strong, so it should already be an adult. Luckily it’s winter now, although it doesn’t need to hibernate like an ordinary bear, its senses are relatively duller than usual.”

Hua Feng immediately made a decision, giving out orders solemnly: “In that case, let’s take action. Everyone, remember, we have to kill the Icy Soul Heavenly Bear in the fastest possible time and immediately retreat. Rogue, you provide the distractions. Gao Shen, Han Mo, both of you will be in charge of disrupting any of its skills. I will be in charge of striking its weak points.”

As he said up to here, his gaze landed on Mu En as he said: “Old scoundrel, the front line, I’ll leave it up to you.” Mu En nodded.

Listening to Hua Feng giving out the tasks, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but be surprised. With his teacher’s smallest and thinnest frame, he was actually given the task of being in the front and facing the Icy Soul Heavenly Bear? Did he hear wrongly?

Hua Feng seemed to notice Zhou Weiqing’s thinking, and he said with a faint smile: “Little Wei, when the fight starts, you and Bing’er will have to hide further off and not take action. You both will be in charge of providing support and covering our retreat. Do not feel baffled by my arrangements, Mu En will show you his true strength, and let you know what it means to be invincible in a hundred yards.”

With the misgivings in his heart, Zhou Weiqing followed the rest, who advanced ahead under Luo Ke Di’s leadership. They sped through the several kilometres distance, before Luo Ke Di finally slowed down and gave a hand signal. All of them instantly slowed and held their breaths in rapt attention as they started advancing slowly and stealthily.