Chapter 1389: No I Didn't Lose

Nanming Shaoze's lips curved slightly, his eyes full of supreme confidence. "The heavens have decreed your death, and die you must. Unless you kneel and beg forgiveness, that arrow will not dissipate until one of us is killed."

At this moment, Nanming Shaoze felt as though he was the heavens themselves.

Fang Chen found the Heavenly Sniping Art quite intriguing. When Nanming Shaoze fired the arrow, it carried an aura faintly similar to that of a Starry Teleportation Formation.

Its trajectory was unpredictable. In an instant, the arrow—which had been streaking toward him from the front a moment ago—suddenly appeared behind him.

Fang Chen used his Sword Transformation to evade.

The arrow abruptly reappeared in front of him again.

To the onlookers, all they could see were two brilliant streaks of light, one chasing, one fleeing, intertwining endlessly across the sky.

Many gasped in astonishment.

Fang Chen's speed far exceeded their expectations. He could actually evade the Heavenly Sniping Art again and again!

"What kind of movement technique is that?" someone murmured.

"Fellow Daoist Honglian, have you ever seen the captain use such a technique before?" Meng Qingling asked, turning to Little Immortal Honglian.

"No," she said softly, shaking her head. "The ones I've seen before were stranger still, but not like this."

"Then does the captain... have a chance of winning?" Lin Yuan asked instinctively.

Since Fang Chen could last this long against the Heavenly Sniping Art without falling behind, didn't that mean there was some hope?

"No chance," came a voice.

Yu Tiange had arrived beside them, his expression grim as he watched the two blazing lights in the sky.

He shook his head and said, "As soon as Daoist Fang’s spiritual power wanes, his speed will drop, and the arrow will find its mark. Unless his spiritual energy barrier can withstand the arrow's power, he stands no chance.

"But... the Heavenly Sniping Art is Nanming Shaoze's core immortal art, cultivated since childhood. At his level, even a fellow Ascension Realm cultivator would find it hard to block one of his arrows. At most, they'd be able to preserve their lives, but they can't escape a grave injury."

A collective hiss rippled through the crowd.

"Even an Ascension Realm expert can't stop it?" someone muttered. "Then, when he becomes a first-transformation immortal, how terrifying will he be?"

"The Heavenly Sniping Art itself isn't particularly profound," Yu Tiange explained, his face darkening. "But Nanming Shaoze has refined it to perfection. Even my Nine Tribulation Lightning Body would be shattered by a single arrow."

The two Black Dragon boats hovered side by side. Li Shanzi and Nanming Ruyue watched the twin streaks of light playing a game of chase in the sky.

Li Shanzi chuckled. "Your clansman certainly devoted himself to mastering this art. I'd say now, even from a hundred thousand miles away, he could kill someone of the same realm."

"Not bad, but it'll truly be impressive if he's able to combine it with an Immortal Boat Formation in the future. For now, these are still mere games. There is nothing worth mentioning," Nanming Ruyue said lightly, shaking his head. "With a formation, one's techniques can be amplified a thousandfold. That's the true standard of power in the Nine Mortal Realms."

He hesitated, then added, "Shall we stop them? Someone might die."

"A few injuries are normal," Li Shanzi said mildly. "If that person has any sense, he won't die. We'll see what he chooses—life or pride."

***

"Do you only know how to run?" Nanming Shaoze mocked, snickering. "Didn't you say I had to defeat you before I could fight Yu Tiange? But from start to finish, all you've done is flee. How long can you keep it up? My spiritual energy is at least ten times that of others in my own realm—much less you, who is an entire realm below me. If you think you can outlast me, you're sorely mistaken. I've plenty of spirit stones and pills to replenish myself."

Fang Chen ignored Nanming Shaoze and instead sensed a peculiar trace of aura on himself. If not for his Primordial Immortal Eyes, he might never have noticed it.

Unsurprisingly, it was this wisp of aura that had locked onto him, causing the arrow to cling to him relentlessly. No matter how fast he moved, the arrow would appear around him without reason.

Fang Chen marveled,

No wonder Nanming Shaoze earned a golden jade token.

With this technique and his vast reserves of spiritual energy, it's no surprise.

"I've practiced the Heavenly Sniping Art before," someone in the crowd muttered, "but it never felt this extraordinary..."

"This technique only becomes terrifying when your talent far exceeds that of your peers. Its most frightening aspect is that no one can escape from you."

"If your cultivation is mediocre and you're at the bottom among your peers, your arrow can be blocked with a simple barrier. Even if it clings like maggots to bone, what good is that?"

The crowd began to understand, and even feel a hint of admiration.

For someone to perfect such a technique showed immense confidence and mastery. Nanming Shaoze had fully unleashed its hidden potential.

Fang Chen tried several methods but couldn't dispel the strange aura.

Interesting...

Finally, he used the Skin Peeling Technique, peeling away a thin layer of causality itself, and only then did the aura dissolve.

That meant the Heavenly Sniping Art was tied to cause and effect, similar to the Heavenly Abhorrence Technique, though not quite the same.

The arrow was the cause, and he was the effect. Until the caster's spiritual energy ran out, or until the arrow struck, it would never vanish. But once he stripped away that causal trace, the arrow suddenly froze midair, as if it had lost its target, seeming almost... confused.

The crowd was surprised by the arrow's sudden "confusion."

Nanming Shaoze was the one most confused, however. He had never seen one of his arrows act this way. The opponent had clearly stopped moving, so why was the arrow no longer hostile to him?

Just then, everyone saw Fang Chen's figure vanish without a trace. When he reappeared, he was behind Nanming Shaoze.

No one knew how he had breached Nanming Shaoze's spiritual barrier.

Li Shanzi and Nanming Ruyue almost intervened, but Fang Chen merely reached out and lightly tapped Nanming Shaoze on the head before retreating quietly to a distance.

Seeing he hadn't struck to kill, the two core disciples exhaled in relief.

"This one knows restraint," Nanming Ruyue murmured. "And his strength is greater than we thought. How did he break the Heavenly Sniping Art?"

"I don't know," Li Shanzi said softly, shaking his head.

Nanming Shaoze instinctively touched the top of his head, his face twisting in shock and fury.

"You..."

That man had dared to step up and pat him on the head? That was pure humiliation!

Lin Yuan and the others were dumbfounded, then burst into laughter.

Lin Yuan shouted, "You've lost! If the captain had gone for the kill, you'd already be dead!"

Yu Tiange slowly came back to himself, suppressing his own astonishment. His expression regained a trace of calm pride as he said softly to Nanming Shaoze, "You lost."

"No! I didn't lose!" Nanming Shaoze roared, spiritual energy erupting wildly.

The next instant, the arrow moved.

Everyone tensed.

They watched as the arrow shot forward toward Nanming Shaoze. With a sharp crack, it pierced through his spiritual barrier.

Just as he was about to be skewered outright, he instinctively withdrew his energy. Only then did the arrow vanish completely, disappearing mere inches from his heart.

The onlookers stared, stunned.

What... just happened?