Section 74: A Miraculous Reversal, Meteor Archery!
By Gu Zhenren
Posted: 2013-02-09
“Brother Chu, your hands…” Jin Bihan had noticed it long ago and could no longer hold back her concern.
“The drawbacks of the Star-Fixing Bow have manifested. Young Master, please stop,” Yan Que urged with worry.
“No, it’s not my limit yet. I can still push a little further,” Chu Yun said with a faint smile, his lips pale.
“Ah, look at Chu Yun’s arms, they’ve turned purplish-blue,” the scholars noticed the abnormality.
“This must be the drawback of the demonic bow he’s holding. Cold energy is entering his body. If this continues, his hands will be ruined!” the scholars exclaimed, shaken.
“His hands?” Hua Ying glanced at Chu Yun’s arms from afar and sneered inwardly, “Is it the drawback of the demonic bow? Hehehe… Heaven itself doesn’t want you to win, Chu Yun!”
“Go on, get crippled! Hahaha!” Wei Qie watched, his heart filled with ecstatic joy.
Thirty-eight rounds…
“You can’t continue, this is already the limit!” Jin Bihan grabbed Chu Yun’s arm, attempting to stop him from re-entering the arena. Her hand felt like it touched a block of the deepest, coldest ice, and she instinctively recoiled with a cry.
“Such intense cold!” Jin Bihan’s pupils contracted.
“Don’t worry, my limit increases every time. I haven’t truly reached it yet,” Chu Yun reassured with a wry smile.
“President, please stop…” his teammates pleaded, their eyes red and voices choked with emotion.
More and more of the observing scholars stood up, their gaze fixed on Chu Yun. The atmosphere in the archery range began to shift subtly. His sheer effort and perseverance, this spirit, had gradually infected everyone present. Their gazes towards Chu Yun were now filled with solemnity and admiration.
Thirty-nine rounds…
“Good heavens, Chu Yun is still gritting his teeth and shooting arrows.”
“He can barely lift his arms anymore, what is supporting him?!” Many scholars cried out in shock.
“Good, good, just like that, just like that!” Ning Yiyi’s heart was bursting with joy, her delicate body trembling with excitement. She wanted to see Chu Yun’s arms ruined.
“You’re finished, Chu Yun, you’re completely finished! Damn it, you’re finally getting what you deserve!” Wei Qie inwardly roared with delight, every cell in his body feeling incredibly refreshed.
Chu Yun’s arms were purplish-blue, and he shivered uncontrollably, barely able to stand steady.
“Enough, Chu Yun. Ahead of you lies the reef of failure. Why crash your head to the point of bleeding?” Hua Ying said with a grim expression during the rotation.
A collective gasp swept through the crowd as Hua Ying’s arrow actually missed the target. Even he himself stood frozen, disbelieving.
“Hua Ying was affected by Chu Yun’s aura,” the Lord of Mongol Yuan Nation observed, his eyes sharp as he stared at the arena. He then sighed, “A pity, this missed shot is insignificant. His advantage is too great; the outcome is already decided.”
Forty rounds…
“Brother Chu, I know you’re feeling indignant and dejected, but you mustn’t harm yourself like this,” Jin Bihan earnestly pleaded again.
“He can’t shoot anymore, thirty-nine rounds was his limit. If he shoots again, his arms are in danger of freezing to death!” Yan Que shouted.
“One last time, I promise!” Chu Yun declared. He stepped onto the arena once more!
“This is utterly reckless!” the Lord of Jianghan Kingdom’s eyes flickered, his tone a mixture of reprimand and admiration.
“Now that’s a true man!” the Lord of Mongol Yuan Nation thought differently. He poured a cup of wine and downed it in one gulp.
Almost all the scholars rose to their feet, their eyes fixed on Chu Yun. The entire venue gradually fell silent. Chu Yun walked onto the stage with heavy steps. His determined gaze seemed to be etched into people’s hearts. His steadfast and unyielding spirit made throats dry and noses sting.
*Clink.*
With a soft sound, Chu Yun’s Star-Fixing Bow dropped to the ground. The azure bow emanated a chilling aura, lying there conspicuously. Chu Yun gave a wry smile, his face pale, his body swaying precariously. His arms were a frightening purplish-blue. He could still hear the sighs erupting from the crowd. With a stern expression, he gritted his teeth and mustered all his strength to pick up the Star-Fixing Bow.
“Chu Yun, stop!” he heard Jin Bihan’s urgent cry. He turned his gaze to see her frown, her eyes filled with boundless worry. He swept his gaze around, seeing countless complex expressions – shock, schadenfreude, heartache, regret, admiration, and more. He took a breath and then drew an arrow from his Immortal Pouch. His hands were so frozen he could barely feel them. He nocked the arrow. The bow trembled in his grip.
“Chu Yun, calm down, don’t be rash!”
“Stop, you’ve reached your limit.”
“You are destined to lose, I’ve already won.”
…
Images of Bai Mei Dan Shi, Jin Bihan, Hua Ying, Yan Que, Shu Tianhao, and countless others, their words, flooded his mind. Finally, his thoughts settled on a letter from Shu Tianhao.
Should he hide away in the Academy and cultivate for two years, sacrificing the present for the future? Or should he fight bravely and return to Shu Family Island, sacrificing the future to seize the present? This question had been swirling in his mind, causing him great distress. One side represented reason and unwillingness to accept defeat, the other impulse and unrestrained freedom. How should he choose?!
In a daze, he traveled back in time. Back to when he first learned archery. In those days, he held only an ordinary bow and arrow, but his arms trembled uncontrollably when drawing the string. He always missed, falling into low spirits.
“Archery is actually very simple,” Shu Tianhao said, patting his head with a gentle smile. “When you shoot, just focus on hitting the target. Imagine yourself transforming into an arrow, flying through the air, unwavering, piercing through everything! Let your heart have only one goal, the bullseye! You will hit it.”
This was truly a secret. From then on, Chu Yun’s accuracy indeed improved significantly. His archery style gradually took shape: direct, unwavering, and piercing! In that instant, he understood his true heart!
He slowly lowered the bow and arrow.
“Hoo…” Seeing Chu Yun give up, the first to relax was Hua Ying. Even he didn’t understand why, despite his superior skill, he still felt such immense pressure. “Why not give up sooner? Why drag it out until now…” he said as he walked onto the stage, addressing Chu Yun.
“You gave up?”
“Alas…” Many scholars sighed, feeling dispirited, unsure of what they had been clinging to or hoping to see. They lowered their heads and sat back down. Jin Bihan exhaled a breath of relief, and many others did the same.
“So he finally couldn’t hold on? What a shame. But reaching this point is already quite remarkable,” the Lord of Mongol Yuan Nation’s expression changed slightly, and he sighed with regret. As he raised his wine cup, he suddenly saw a bluish light flash, reflecting in the wine and catching his eye!
“What?! This light!!!” His pupils contracted sharply, shrinking to pinpricks. He immediately looked up and saw the Nine-Headed Sea Serpent screaming desperately as a headless neck thudded to the ground. Chu Yun remained in a stance as if he had just loosed an arrow.
“What is going on?!” he shouted to his attendant. The attendant couldn’t explain. In fact, when Chu Yun lowered his bow, everyone assumed he had given up. Their attention had shifted elsewhere. However, quite a few people in the arena had witnessed what happened.
“Th-that was a beam of light!” someone stood frozen, their body stiff.
“It was too fast, too fast! When the arrow was shot, I thought I was seeing things, a hallucination!” someone rubbed their eyes as if in a dream.
“That arrow, that arrow was…” Jin Bihan covered her mouth, her body trembling, tears welling in her eyes.
“Ah! We can win, we can win!” one of Chu Yun’s teammates suddenly jumped up and shouted, startling those around him.
“That’s Meteor Archery, the legendary Meteor Archery!” the person declared excitedly, yelling, “There’s hope, real hope. We can win!!”
*Whoosh!*
The entire arena erupted.
“Did you hear that? Meteor Archery!”
“I didn’t see it clearly, was it really?”
“Isn’t Meteor Archery incredibly difficult to master? Chu Yun knows it? Even Senior Hua Ying doesn’t! Is this a trick?” People were in disbelief.
“That beam of light, did I see it wrong?” the Lord of Mongol Yuan Nation frowned, his gaze fixed on Chu Yun.
“Meteor Archery! Meteor Archery!” Hua Ying’s steps faltered, and he stared at Chu Yun, dumbfounded. He was closest and had seen it clearly.
“It consumes very little Demonic Yuan, yet its power is immense. The crucial thing is that unwavering, all-or-nothing aura. It’s definitely Meteor Archery!” Hua Ying was shocked beyond measure. “Chu Yun actually comprehended Meteor Archery—an archery technique even I couldn’t master!” Suddenly, his mind was in turmoil. He shot another arrow, and it missed again.
Chu Yun stepped onto the arena again. The Deep Sea Nine-Headed Serpent let out a fierce roar, its remaining two heads glaring at Chu Yun with bloodshot eyes, as if wanting to devour him whole. Chu Yun gritted his teeth, his face pale, nocked an arrow, and shot again.
This arrow moved like lightning, like a meteor streaking through the sky. Everyone heard a *whoosh*, followed by a brilliant azure streak flashing past their sight. In an instant, there was an explosion. One snake head was completely obliterated, its flesh and blood scattering like a vibrant flower blooming! Such a fast arrow! Such a powerful arrow!
The entire arena fell silent. This time, everyone saw it clearly.
“Heavens! What did I just see?!” someone covered their face with both hands, standing frozen.
*Bang!*
The Lord of Mongol Yuan Nation’s eyes widened, and he crushed the wine cup in his hand. Many important figures also rose abruptly, their faces a mixture of astonishment anduncertainty.
“It’s Meteor Archery!” After a brief silence, someone suddenly shouted, igniting the entire arena!
*Boom!*
The whole place was in an uproar!
“Unbelievable, at the last moment, Chu Yun actually comprehended Meteor Archery!” a bystander exclaimed.
“Impossible, this is impossible!” Wei Qie and others shouted.
“We can win! We can win!!” Chu Yun’s teammates were in tears. Their persistence, their suffering, the ridicule and sarcasm they endured, had finally led them to the dawn of victory!
“It’s your turn,” Chu Yun said nothing, but his gaze towards Hua Ying conveyed this meaning!
“I won’t lose to you, I won’t lose to you!” Hua Ying’s face contorted, looking ferocious and terrifying. “I used my perfected archery, I split your team, I turned your members against you, I used so many special arrows, while you were hampered by the demonic bow’s drawbacks. How could I possibly lose to you!?” he roared inwardly, his breathing rapid, his chest heaving. “Even if you comprehended Meteor Archery, I won’t lose! I still have one more move, one more!” His face showed a frantic expression; he absolutely refused to lose to Chu Yun. After investing so much, losing again would mean he could never recover!
This time, he slowly drew his bow, his movements exceptionally slow. With every inch he drew, Hua Ying’s face became paler, yet his aura surged, continuously growing stronger!
“What kind of archery is this? Just the aura is so powerful!”
“It’s the Hua Family’s ancestral archery – Drunken Spring Night’s Flower Pavilion! This technique requires very little Demonic Yuan, but it draws a large amount of vital blood from the Beast Master, making its power terrifyingly destructive.” Someone revealed this, immediately causing a stir of exclamations.
“Drunken Spring Night’s Flower Pavilion, go.” Hua Ying weakly commanded. The arrow flew out and suddenly split into dozens of blood threads, intertwining and caressing each other in mid-air.
“This is a Supreme grade Dao Method!” Jin Bihan and the others felt a pang of fear. They felt the dread of these blood threads; being hit by one would mean certain death. However, unexpectedly, the blood threads suddenly dispersed in mid-air, vanishing in the blink of an eye, ceasing to exist.
Hua Ying’s face was extremely pale, and he swayed a few times, finally managing to stay upright. However, his eyes had lost their focus, devoid of any spirit. Ning Yiyi and the others, whose faces had just lit up with anticipation, were struck by this result and their expressions turned to despair. No one spoke.
“We can win! We can win!!” Chu Yun’s team began to shout.
“The outcome is not yet decided. We established such a significant advantage early on, how could you possibly turn it around!?” Wei Qie shouted, as if venting something.
Chu Yun stepped onto the arena and shot another arrow, Meteor Archery once again displaying its divine power, blasting the last snake head. The Deep Sea Nine-Headed Serpent perished, white light ascended, leaving behind many Demonic Crystals. A large one was formed from its body. The smaller ones were from its former heads or large pieces of flesh. The Demonic Crystals were carefully collected. Finally, Feng Bole announced the results. Chu Yun’s side, with a slight advantage, had made a comeback and won!
As the news was announced, the entire arena erupted again. Many scholars shed tears; Chu Yun’s perseverance had moved them, and it had resulted in the most perfect outcome.
“An earth-shattering reversal!”
“This is truly a miracle.”
“The Little Tiger is indeed the Little Tiger, he’s not to be underestimated!”
“President! President!! President!!!” The teammates cheered, their hearts surging with emotion. More and more scholars joined in, countless voices forming a thundering wave that shook the heavens and the earth.
“An extraordinary spirit!” the Lord of Jianghan Kingdom nodded, his eyes shining with admiration. The Lord of Mongol Yuan Nation was extremely excited. He roared to those around him, “Look! That’s Meteor Archery from our Mongol Yuan Nation, our legendary archery technique!” The invisible, immense wave of sound continued unabated, impacting everyone’s defenses.
Hua Ying’s teammates turned pale, as if caught in a stormy sea, feeling as though they could be swallowed by treacherous waves at any moment.
“How could this happen?!” Ning Yiyi was disheartened.
“Impossible, this is impossible!” Wei Qie shouted, unable to accept the reality. Ma Youcai panted, his eyes wide, staring blankly at Chu Yun. No one knew what he was thinking. The older students who had left Chu Yun’s team to follow Hua Ying had complex expressions. Waves of regret washed over them, some even wishing they could slap themselves. The most complex emotions were on the face of the spy within Chu Yun’s team. As he followed everyone’s cheers, his expression was particularly rigid.
At this moment, Chu Yun truly became the center of the entire arena. The immense wave of sound enveloped him, and all eyes were on him—be it admiration, praise, appreciation, or moved, as well as hatred, anger, fear, shock…
Amidst the excited and fervent crowd, Jin Bihan covered her mouth, tears welling in her large beautiful eyes. In her eyes, Chu Yun stood in the arena, seemingly bathed in a halo of light, eclipsing everyone else. She knew he had done it; he had persevered and never given up. The outcome was not important; what mattered was that throughout the process, Chu Yun had never abandoned his efforts!
Suddenly, at this moment, a great courage surged through Jin Bihan. The situation in Dunhuang Country, the heavy burden in her heart, completely dissolved, no longer posing any pressure. The World was so vast; a single person was truly insignificant compared to it. It was precisely because people were so small that their utmost efforts often yielded no desired results. However, the outcome was not the most important thing; what mattered was the value and brilliance displayed when a person held firm to themselves during the process of striving! Chu Yun had first spoken, and then acted, to convey this to Jin Bihan. The Dunhuang Princess no longer felt fear!
“An arrow bent too far cannot hit the target, Hua Ying.” This was the first and last thing Chu Yun said to Hua Ying that afternoon. After speaking, he brushed past him.
“…” Hua Ying was distraught, almost unable to stand. He was still clad in floral robes and a green scarf, his lips red and teeth white, his body spotlessly clean, his image intact. Yet now, he lacked any trace of his former dashing demeanor, appearing utterly haggard. If the previous arena battle saw Chu Yun defeat his body, then this time, Chu Yun had defeated his spirit, his confidence. He had employed so many schemes, only to be outdone by Chu Yun in the end, with a complete reversal!
“Hoo, hoo, hoo…” Hua Ying gasped for air, struggling to breathe. He felt an extreme pressure in his heart, needing to exhale with all his might. On the stage, Chu Yun walked further and further away. Hua Ying unconsciously turned his head, shifting his gaze to Chu Yun. In his eyes, Chu Yun’s arms were purplish-blue, hanging unnaturally at his sides. The culprit, the Star-Fixing Bow, was held in his left hand. As he walked away, his image was quite disheveled. Hua Ying stared feebly, wanting to chase after him, but ultimately, could only watch helplessly as Chu Yun walked forward. In his distorted vision, everything turned dark. A beam of light shone down from the heavens, illuminating only Chu Yun. Chu Yun advanced within the radiance, while Hua Ying himself sank into a void of stagnant darkness.
*Clack.*
His proud Hundred Flowers Bow slipped from Hua Ying’s grasp and fell to the ground. At that moment, he instinctively knew that if he missed this opportunity, he would never be able to defeat that receding figure! That man’s back was now deeply etched into his heart. It was so tall! Unbeatable!
