The Heavens: Man Covers the Heavens, Refines Treasures to Become an Emperor

He suddenly twisted his body, turning his back to a half-collapsed earthen wall beside him, and his spiritual energy instantly erupted in his shoulders and back!

"Boom!"

The earthen wall was smashed open with a loud thud, sending rubble and bricks flying everywhere. Jiang Xuan's figure had already used the force to disappear into the darkness behind the wall.

Almost at the same instant his figure disappeared—

"call out!"

A very faint sound, almost blending into the sound of rain, rang out.

From the shadows behind where he had been standing, a short, jet-black arrow, devoid of any reflection, shot out silently like a ghost, embedding itself deep into the ground where he had just stood, leaving only a small, bottomless hole!
Just as Zhao Mang was about to give chase, his sweeping spear motion suddenly stopped. Looking at the arrow hole that had appeared and disappeared silently, his honest face showed obvious surprise and solemnity for the first time.

"A hidden arrow?! He... he wasn't forced back by me, but rather sensed the attack from the shadows and dodged accordingly?"

Zhao Mang instantly understood, and his heart was shaken.

This young man, while directly confronting him, a martial artist at the Earthly Rank Realm, was actually able to sense another assassin hiding in the shadows, whose aura was extremely well concealed? What terrifying combat intuition and soul perception this was?

What he had initially thought was a sure thing for the hunt was now shrouded in a thick shadow.

This kind-looking middle-aged man, named Lu Zhong, was not a local cultivator from Yanxia City, but a veteran who had recently retired from the brutal front lines bordering the empire and neighboring countries. Years of military service had forged his calm and composed nature, and his hands were stained with the blood of countless enemy cultivators and ferocious beasts.

With his solid Earthly Realm cultivation and rich combat experience, he was recruited by the Azure Light Pavilion as soon as he returned to Yanxia City and quickly became one of its important retainers.

Lu Zhong wasn't initially too concerned about being ordered to ambush and kill a mere Human Realm cultivator from a poor family. He considered it a simple mission and even thought the Azure Light Pavilion was making a mountain out of a molehill. With his Earth Realm strength, crushing a Human Realm cultivator would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?

However, that brief exchange just now instantly dispelled any contempt he had harbored.

Despite the direct confrontation, the opponent was able to withstand the attack unscathed! The power contained in his spear was enough to shatter the meridians of an ordinary cultivator at the Gang Realm, yet the young man was only knocked back a few steps, his hand holding the sword remaining steady!

What shocked him even more was that the boy hadn't been forced to run away by crashing into the wall, but had instead sensed the deadly sniper hidden in the shadows, one that even he hadn't noticed, and acted accordingly! This ability to make judgments in the blink of an eye and to sense danger was simply astonishing!
"This young man... is no ordinary poor boy! His fighting instincts and grasp of timing are comparable to those battle-hardened soldiers who have crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood! In fact... he is even better!"

Lu Zhong's eyes were extremely solemn, and alarm bells were ringing in his mind.

He realized that this young man named Jiang Xuan's true combat strength and insight into the battle situation far exceeded his apparent level, and had already posed a real threat to him!

We must not let it escape! Otherwise, the consequences will be dire!

In a flash, Lu Zhong reacted extremely quickly. The moment Jiang Xuan crashed into the hole in the wall, he did not immediately give chase. Instead, he took out a simple-looking metal whistle with a blue wave pattern from his pocket without hesitation, put it in his mouth, stirred his qi, and blew it loudly!
"call out--!!"

A sharp, piercing, and highly penetrating whistle instantly tore through the rain and carried far and wide.

This is a signal used inside the Biguang Pavilion for emergency assistance!

As soon as the whistle blew, Lu Zhong moved swiftly, pouncing like a cheetah towards the hole in the wall, his dark gold spear pointing forward as he cautiously followed it inside.

If the other cultivators involved in the ambush knew that Lu Zhong, a dignified Earthly Realm cultivator, needed to whistle for help when dealing with a mere Gang Realm youth, it would surely cause a huge uproar! This undoubtedly confirms, from another perspective, how dangerous and uneasy Lu Zhong felt about this pursuit!
……

Thousands of feet away, on the bare roof of an abandoned high-rise building.

A gray figure, like a boneless mollusk, lay silently on the slippery tiles, almost blending into the surrounding darkness and rain.

He wore a tight-fitting gray suit, his skin was an unhealthy pale white, his cheeks were long and narrow, and his gray-brown eyes were lifeless like those of a dead fish. His thin lips were pressed into a sharp line, as cold as a blade.

A faint, almost imperceptible gray aura emanated from his body, making his aura blurry and ethereal, difficult to detect.

In his arms lay a large bow with an extremely bizarre and grotesque design. The bow was actually made of several pale white skulls of different sizes, their eye sockets flickering with eerie green flames, and the bowstring was as red as blood, as if it had just been pulled from a living creature, and was still pulsating slightly.

It was the monstrous assassin, Canfeng, whom many powerful cultivators in Yanxia City loathed and feared!
His lifeless eyes, piercing through the torrential rain, were fixed on the courtyard where Jiang Xuan and Lu Zhong had just fought. A flicker of surprise and...excitement flashed in his gray-brown pupils.

"Tsk tsk...dodged it again."

Canfeng stuck out his scarlet tongue, licked his thin, knife-like lips, and uttered a low, hoarse murmur like that of a night owl.

“A mere... Human Realm cultivator... is more troublesome than assassinating those Earth Realm idiots... Interesting... truly interesting…”

This was the second time he had launched a sneak attack on Jiang Xuan. The first time was with that silent, cold arrow, and the second time was the fatal blow he delivered when Lu Zhong launched his fierce attack.

Both times, the boy dodged it in a way that was almost predictable!

Such a mistake was extremely rare for him. It also made him even more "interested" in Jiang Xuan.

"The next time... the next time I strike... will be your death day... my little darling..."

The lingering wind chuckled softly, its sound like sandpaper scraping, sending chills down one's spine.

Having said that, he didn't linger. His figure, like a weightless ghost or a giant bat, silently slid down from the top of the building. In the torrential rain, he flashed a few times in an illogical and mysterious arc before disappearing completely into the vast rainy night.

……

Beyond the courtyard lies another, even more dilapidated and intricate cluster of low-rise buildings.

Lu Zhong, holding a long spear, cautiously followed.

However, the torrential rain was too heavy, washing everything away relentlessly. The faint traces and marks left by Jiang Xuan were almost instantly wiped away by the rain, becoming barely recognizable.

"Lost?"

Lu Zhong frowned, his unease growing stronger. He suspected that his opponent might have already broken through the encirclement of this area using their familiarity with the terrain or some special method of concealment.

His gaze, sharp as a hawk's, swept across the houses swaying precariously in the wind and rain on both sides of the street. Suddenly, he stopped, his keen eyes locking onto a seemingly ordinary, dilapidated house with its door tightly shut.

In his soul perception, there seemed to be a faint but somewhat familiar aura remaining there... Was it left behind when that kid unleashed his qi just now?
It is better to kill by mistake than to let go!
A fierce glint flashed in Lu Zhong's eyes, and he no longer hesitated.

He stomped his foot on the ground and soared into the sky. The earthy yellow energy within his body surged and poured into the dark gold spear in his hand!

"Come out here!"

He roared, his voice echoing across the land, gripping his spear with both hands, and with the force of splitting a mountain, he slashed down violently at the roof of the house! The heavy spearhead tore through the rain, carrying the momentum to destroy everything, and it looked as if it was about to cleave the entire house, along with the people who might be hiding inside, into pieces!
However, just as the spear was about to touch the roof—

"boom!!!"

The tightly closed, dilapidated wooden door suddenly shattered from the inside! It wasn't shattered by the shock, but rather as if there were explosives buried inside, turning into countless fragments that shot out!
Immediately following was a dense, chilling whistling sound!
“Swish, swish, swish, swish—!!!”

Hundreds and thousands of crossbow bolts, gleaming with orange-red light, shot towards Lu Zhong in mid-air like suddenly erupting volcanic lava or a condensed sunset glow, carrying a scorching and violent aura!

The speed and the extent of its coverage were so great that there was simply no way to avoid it!
"what?!"

Lu Zhong's pupils suddenly contracted, his heart filled with horror! He had never expected that what was hidden in this room was not a person, but such a vicious and ruthless crossbow trap! Moreover, the scorching heat attached to these crossbow bolts was definitely not that of an ordinary military crossbow!
"Shan Yue Mao!"

In the critical moment, Lu Zhong demonstrated the formidable qualities of a seasoned veteran, remaining calm and composed under pressure.

He forcefully reversed the downward slash, wielding the dark gold spear like a windmill, and thick, earthy yellow qi formed a solid, huge shield in front of him!

"Jingle bells, jingle bells—!!!"

A series of impacts, as dense as raindrops hitting banana leaves, exploded instantly! Countless crossbow bolts burning with orange-red light struck the spear shadow shield, shattering into tiny fireballs. The intense impact caused Lu Zhong's blood to surge, his arms to go numb, and he was abruptly stopped in mid-air by this violent force, even forced to fly backward!

He was, after all, a master of the Earthly Rank, with a solid foundation. With his superb reflexes and defense, he managed to block the sudden and deadly torrent of crossbow bolts!
"Drink!"

Lu Zhong finally landed on his feet, staggered a step but managed to stand firm, roared and swung his spear, shattering the last few crossbow bolts aimed at vital points.

However, just as his old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet arisen, and his mind relaxed even for a fraction of a second after blocking the sneak attack—

A strange sword cry seemed to come from the depths of the netherworld, or perhaps it resounded directly in the depths of one's soul!

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried a strange power that pierced straight to the soul! Lu Zhong felt the scene before him suddenly change; it was no longer a dilapidated street with torrential rain, but an endless, vast starry sky.

At that moment, a colossal star burning with icy flames, trailing a long, fiery tail, was hurtling towards him! The sense of destruction, deathly stillness, and boundless vastness instantly seized his entire being!

"The power of artistic conception?! No!!!"

Lu Zhong was terrified, his very soul trembling! He roared madly, trying to break free from this terrifying illusion, relying on his powerful will and fighting instincts to recklessly swing his spear and slash wildly in all directions!

"boom!"

The illusion of falling stars shattered like glass.

The illusion is false, but the danger is real!

A blade of light, as if drawing upon the darkness of the eternal night, without the slightest brilliance, silently appeared from the shadows behind him—his blind spot—like a venomous snake, striking his back the moment he broke free from the illusion and his mind had a moment of emptiness!
That strike was too fast! Too cunning! Too deadly!

Lu Zhong only had time to unleash his protective qi to its maximum while simultaneously twisting his body with all his might.

"Pfft——!"

Blood splattered!
That dark blade of light easily tore through his hastily gathered protective aura, slashing fiercely at his left shoulder and right waist! A huge, deep wound, revealing bone, instantly appeared, and blood gushed out like a fountain! The violent blade energy penetrated his body, frantically destroying his internal organs!

"Wow!"

Lu Zhong coughed up a mouthful of blood, which even contained fragments of his internal organs. He flew forward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the mud. The dark gold spear in his hand also flew out of his grasp and landed with a clatter.

He struggled to get up, but the excruciating pain and rapid loss of life made it impossible for him to do so.

He struggled to lift his head, looking at the young man who slowly emerged from the shadows, wielding a black battle sword, his eyes as cold as ice. His face was filled with endless terror and disbelief.

"Intent... Intent Realm... You... You actually mastered the power of intent?! This is impossible! You're only at the Human Realm! How is this possible?!"

Lu Zhong's voice was hoarse and broken, filled with madness and disbelief. The power of intent—that was a threshold that countless Heavenly Gang Realm experts dreamed of but could never attain. How could it possibly appear in a mere Human Gang Realm youth from a humble background?!

Jiang Xuan didn't answer, nor did he even glance at the dying Lu Zhong on the ground. He never wasted words with his enemies.

He walked without stopping, approaching Lu Zhong to a distance of about three zhang, a distance that is extremely dangerous for cultivators.

The moment his foot landed, the cuff of his empty left sleeve suddenly trembled!
"Om-!"

Another burst of orange-red light appeared! Like a reappearance of the sunset, but this time it was more concentrated and faster!
Dozens of exquisitely designed, rune-shimmering short crossbow bolts burst forth from his inconspicuous sleeve, like a net of death, instantly covering Lu Zhong, who lay on the ground!
At such close range and with such a sudden attack, it was a fatal blow to Lu Zhong, who was already critically injured and on the verge of death, and completely unprepared!

"Puff-puff-!"

The muffled thuds of flesh being pierced echoed continuously.

Lu Zhong's body convulsed violently as he was instantly riddled with dozens of scorching crossbow bolts, turning into a gruesome, riddled mess. His wide-open eyes froze completely, filled with resentment, fear, and deep regret. (End of Chapter)