Chapter 1231: Plucking The Suns With One Hand

“Sun Shooting Bow, the Nine Falling Sun Arrows...”

Ye Qing looked at the nine falling suns in the sky with an indifferent look.

Legend had it that Taba Xuanwu the Tyrant General boasted three ultimate fortes: Strength, the halberd, and the bow.

Strength was exactly what it sounded like. Born with supernatural strength, Taba Xuanwu could lift mountains and cut rivers with his bare hands.

The halberd referred to the Tyrant King Halberd paired together with the Tyrant King Halberd Art. The martial art was said to be extremely oppressive and conquering like the birth of an unrivaled, unparalleled tyrant king.

The bow referred to the Sun Shooting Bow. A Disaster-class Strange Artifact, the Sun Shooting Bow was said to be forged from the bones of the Ancient-class Stranger, the Three-legged Golden Crow. The bow contained the true flame of the sun, and it could fire all-destroying arrows that felt like falling suns when paired with Taba Xuanwu’s bow art, the Sun Shooting Bow Art.

Legend had it that Taba Xuanwu had wielded the Sun Shooting Bow and loosed six arrows from over fifty kilometers away when he quelled the Rebellion of Marquis Huan. Like six suns, they impacted the ground with such destructive force that the mountains broke, the earth split into cracks, and fifty thousand rebels were burned into ash. Everything within a radius of five hundred kilometers was scorched by them.

The technique was named, “Six Shots, Six Suns”.

“Six Shots, Six Suns” wasn’t the greatest technique of the Sun Shooting Bow Art, however. No, its greatest technique was called the Nine Falling Sun Arrows. As its name implied, the technique required shooting nine arrows and causing nine suns to crash down on the earth. It was a feat much like the ancient gods who had shot down the nine suns and caused massive destruction as a result.

There was no doubt about it. The nine falling suns could only be the Nine Falling Sun Arrows.

“He sure gives me face,” Ye Qing remarked even as a sneer spread across his lips.

When Taba Xuanwu went up against Marquis Huan and his fifty thousand rebels, he had only loosed six arrows. But now, the bastard was using his greatest technique and loosing all nine arrows. It showed just how highly he rated Ye Qing.

That wasn’t all, of course. This attack was also a probe and a coercion.

Taba Xuanwu was probing to see if he could handle the nine arrows singlehandedly. He was also forcing him to block the nine arrows head on.

And how did he achieve this? By threatening to wipe out every human on the wild land.

“Six Shots, Six Suns” already affected an ungodly wide area, so the “Nine Falling Sun Arrows” could only be stronger. If he chose to evade the attack, or if he chose not the block the nine arrows perfectly, then everything on this wild plain would burst into flames, and the innocents would all burn into ash.

These people were facing a deadly threat right now completely because of him. Unless he wished to damn them for the crime of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, unless he wanted a permanent stain in his conscience, he must block the “Nine Falling Sun Arrows”.

It did not take a genius to figure out why Taba Xuanwu was doing this. One, he was sounding out Ye Qing. Two, he was using this opportunity to deplete his strength or even severely injure him.

It did not need to be said, but Taba Xuanwu’s “Nine Falling Sun Arrows” was extremely deadly. Naturally, it wasn’t going to be easy for any one person to block it. As if that wasn’t enough, he must protect the innocents and ensure their survival. They were weak enough that even the tiniest shockwave could turn them into mincemeat. This was a task with its difficulty level cranked up to eleven.

Taba Xuanwu probably thought that he would be depleted in strength even if he managed to block the attack without taking much damage. It was a win-win scenario for Taba Xuanwu either way.

There was one prerequisite that must be fulfilled for Taba Xuanwu’s conspiracy to succeed, however. Ye Qing must care for the lives of these people enough to protect them. If he did not, then this conspiracy was utterly useless.

Ye Qing could not understand how Taba Xuanwu was so certain that he would protect these people; that he would care about their lives. Perhaps Taba Xuanwu was simply betting on his humanity, or perhaps there was some other reason. In any case, Taba Xuanwu had won this bet.

He was no ancient hero who could go so far as to sacrifice his life for others. He was no good person either. Even so, he did not want innocents to be harmed because of him.

It was his most basic line as a human being.

He knew that this was Taba Xuanwu’s conspiracy. Still, he must set foot in it.

Of course, part of the reason he dared to step into the trap at all was because he was confident in his own strength; his fist.

No conspiracy could stand up to true strength, and no trap could hold his fists.

So, with his hands clasped behind his back, Ye Qing stared at the descending nine suns and rose up to the nine firmaments.

Suddenly, the merchants and bodyguards running all over the place in an attempt to escape felt that the sky was darkening. It didn’t feel as bright or hot as before either.

It was as if they had gone from the hottest summer to cool autumn in an instant.

When they raised their heads and looked up, they saw a man slowly walk into the sky and toward the nine suns.

The nine suns felt like it could destroy anything and everything. The man was small and fragile like an ant compared to them; a speck of dust.

And yet, every step he took was solid, steady, and fearless.

A human could be as small as a speck of dust, but that was no reason to fear the nine heavens.

Even more surprising was the fact that the light darkened every time he took a step.

For every inch of height he climbed, the sea of flame in the sky would roll back three meters.

From the distance, it looked like a godlike being was pushing back the infinite light and sea of flames with one hand.

When a god scales the nine heavens, the world is small enough for them to hold it in one palm.

So, the sky turned dark and cool.

Slowly, it looked as if the world had become divided in two. Thousands of meters below the man, the air felt as cool as autumn, and the world as dark as the night. Infinite meters above the man, white light illuminated it all, and a golden inferno stirred like the sea. It was like two separate worlds.

It was all because of one man.

As the nine suns came closer and closer, the man standing in the sky with his hands clasped behind his back finally stopped in his tracks. Then, he slowly raised his hand into position, clenched his fist tightly, and punched.

I aim my fist at the gate of heaven, my goal to destroy the sun and moon.

At that moment, everyone on the wild plain felt their hearts skipping a beat, and their faces turning pale for some reason.

They could only watch with terror as the light that spanned the entire sky disintegrated inch by inch, and the sea of golden flames dissipating like it never was. The nine magnificent suns had broken into pieces like they were jade discs as well.

The instant the nine suns shattered, the world plunged into absolute, lightless darkness. However, the fist soldiered on and punched through the black sky, exposing the infinite light lying behind its thick curtains.

And so the blackened plain slowly brightened once more.

This time, the sun did not feel overly dazzling or hot. The sun rays only gave off feelings of warmth and comfort.

“We... survived...”

The people exchanged long, wordless glances with each other. They could not speak due to the sheer amount of joy and relief they were feeling.

When they finally recovered enough to recall the godlike man who had given them hope and life, they turned around only to find that he was gone.

......

“Mm. Not bad.”

On Cloud Hue Pass, Taba Xuanwu withdrew his gaze, wiped his mouth, and rose to his feet.

The second he stood up, a silhouette descended from the sky and landed on the ground in front of Cloud Hue Pass.

Rumbleeeee!

The earth trembled and cracked like an earthquake. The impact was such that clouds of dust and debris hundreds of meters tall washed out in every direction. The entire Cloud Hue Pass was shaking as a result.

Taba Xuanwu was unmoved, however. He simply raised his pot of liquor and drained his Nine Suns Brew in one gulp.

After that, Taba Xuanwu tossed the pot straight at the incoming dust clouds. It crashed into the ground right in front of the dust clouds, and as if the dust clouds had suddenly slammed into an invisible mountain or embankment, they began moving back in reverse.

The parts of the dust clouds that were reversing clashed against the parts that were still surging toward Cloud Hue Pass. They clashed mightily against one another and produced an epic series of thunderous booms and rumbles.

The dust clouds would last for another dozens of breaths before they finally subsided, revealing Taba Xuanwu standing on top of Cloud Hue Pass... and Ye Qing below.