Chapter 003: Spring Blossoms and Autumn Fruits
Watching the demon warrior fend off her attacks, Naixiu felt helpless. An archer of Naixiu’s caliber could shoot so fast that it was beyond human comprehension. The demon warrior now faced what seemed like a dozen archers at once. Even without using any special archery techniques, the barrage of arrows was overwhelming.
The demon warrior danced through the hail of arrows—moving left, right, forward, and occasionally backward—slowly but steadily closing in on Naixiu. With a slight smile, Naixiu rarely showed such a charming expression as she unleashed a forbidden archery technique: Star Fall. This time, the demon warrior headed straight for Star Fall instead of first blocking the Rain of Arrows to defend against it.
Despite enduring Star Fall, the demon warrior was still struggling, with blood seeping from the corners of its mouth. After withstanding the attack, it roared and rushed at Naixiu. But after just a few steps, it froze as another Star Fall, carrying immense force, struck it.
The forbidden archery techniques were not only powerful but also extremely difficult to dodge. Under such overwhelming pressure, it was nearly impossible to evade! With a look of despair, the demon warrior roared again and leaped into the air to meet Star Fall.
The outcome was obvious—the demon warrior collapsed unconscious on the ground. This was only because Naixiu had held back, using less than full power in Star Fall. Otherwise, it would likely have been shattered to pieces.
Du Fan inwardly rejoiced. Ah, this demon warrior had endured three consecutive attacks of the forbidden Star Fall technique in a single day—probably a record unmatched in history. Naixiu emerged victorious, and the demon warrior was carried away.
A huge gap in strength couldn’t be compensated for by talent, especially between a peak Saint-level fighter and a level 9 warrior. Even after using two forbidden archery techniques in a row, Naixiu, at the peak of Saint level, only felt slightly out of breath. With only twenty-some competitors left, all of whom possessed strength above Saint level, including some masters of domain magic, the remaining battles would be tough. Naixiu still had to fight three more matches to win.
Next, Naixiu faced a domain magician from the Natural Branch of the elf race.
As soon as the magician entered the barrier and the referee announced the start of the match, he saw the magician take out a magic staff. Du Fan immediately realized it was no ordinary item—its entire body was crystal clear, exuding a strong sense of natural energy. This domain magician was also one of the elders of the elf race. The Eternal Bow, one of the three sacred artifacts of the elves, held a deadly allure even for elders like him. The elf elder waved his magic staff, sending waves of magical energy. Immediately, a Earth Bear appeared before him and rushed toward Naixiu. The elder continued to wave his staff, muttering words, and then a Wind Wolf appeared in front of the magician. The green wolf brought with it a gust of wind as it rushed toward Naixiu along with the Earth Bear. Yet, the magician’s movements still hadn’t stopped! With another wave, a golden eagle with a wingspan of nearly three meters appeared above him—a Thunder Eagle! The Thunder Eagle, Earth Bear, and Wind Wolf were all level-9 summoning beasts, and this magician had summoned three of them at once! It was undeniable that the domain magician possessed an astonishing amount of magical energy. The Wind Wolf struck first, while the Thunder Eagle, flying in the air, opened its beak and sent a purple lightning bolt toward Naixiu. As it rushed toward her, the Wind Wolf emitted countless wind blades that shot toward her, and the Earth Bear roared, creating a yellow energy shield as it charged forward with its thick claws. If such a magician ended up on a battlefield, even with the power of three level-9 summoning beasts, he could easily withstand an army of thousands, Du Fan thought. And that wasn’t all—after summoning the three level-9 beasts, the magician continued to mutter, gathering magical power, with intense waves of magic, as if plotting some grand scheme! Generally, the longer a magician takes to cast a spell, the more powerful it becomes. The best way to deal with this was to interrupt the magician’s casting process. But Naixiu couldn’t do that—the three level-9 summoning beasts were tightly surrounding her, and the wind blades and lightning bolts already posed significant threats.
With a quick dodge, Naixiu slipped past the lightning bolt and stepped back at a safe distance. She nocked an arrow, drew her bow, and shot. This time, it was still a long arrow, but in mid-air it transformed into a shield that grew larger the farther it traveled. The shield caught all the wind blades swirling in the air. After blocking those wind blades, it continued moving forward, blocking the path of the Wind Wolf and the Earth Bear. The two level-9 summoned beasts roared in unison and launched fierce attacks on the shield. The shield withstood their attacks, allowing Naixiu to calmly deal with the Thunder Eagle. The Thunder Eagle needed time to prepare each lightning strike, taking three or four seconds between shots. During those few seconds, Naixiu had already shot dozens of arrows. The Thunder Eagle let out a mournful cry as it fell from the sky, its body pierced with arrows. It flapped on the ground a few times before a flash of white light took it away. Summoned beasts were also energy entities formed by magic; once their energy was exhausted, they returned to nothingness. After shooting down the Golden Eagle, the Wind Wolf and the Earth Bear broke through the shield and charged at Naixiu again. The Wind Wolf was extremely agile, while the Earth Bear had high defense. Naixiu’s arrows had no effect at all on them. Faced with these two level-9 summoned beasts, Naixiu even used a forbidden arrow technique to finally defeat them—by then, over three minutes had passed. During those three minutes, the elf mage had prepared his magic. He smiled gently at Naixiu and said, “Elder Naixiu, I’ve never had the chance to use my domain ability until now. Today, I’ve finally found a worthy opponent. Please prepare to face my move, ‘Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits.’” The elf mage even kindly warned Naixiu. “Elder Hegema, it’s an honor. Please go ahead,” Naixiu replied with a smile as well. The elf mage summoned three level-9 summoned beasts merely to buy time to activate his domain ability. This domain ability, which required several more minutes of preparation, piqued Du Fan’s curiosity. The elf mage smiled mysteriously and suddenly disappeared. Just as Naixiu was nervously getting ready, a ripple appeared beneath her feet. With a push, she soared into the air, changed direction mid-flight, and landed far away.
The vibrations from beneath her feet caused a small sapling to grow rapidly—it grew at the slightest touch of wind, expanding at an astonishing speed. Seeing this, Naixiu quickly shot a few probing arrows at the tree. As soon as the arrows approached, they were knocked away by the swirling branches! Those branches not only had an offensive function but also a defensive one! It was easy to imagine just how powerful they must be, capable of deflecting arrows shot by a divine archer at the peak of the sacred rank. Watching the tree grow rapidly, reaching five meters tall in no time, Naixiu frowned and unleashed her “Sun-Shooting Arrow.” Countless branches surrounded the arrow, and the intense light from it gradually dimmed! It seemed that after blocking the arrow, the tree grew even faster! Those branches could even absorb the energy from the arrows! With magic ready, the tree was practically invincible—absorbing energy and blocking close-range attacks. While Naixiu prepared her next attack, the tree had already grown to over ten meters tall. Flowers began to bloom all over it, and their fragrance filled the air, causing Naixiu to feel dizzy. Fortunately, the life gem from the pendant given to her by Saito two days ago emitted a cool sensation, instantly dispelling the dizziness! The fragrance from the tree even had a dizzying effect! Before Naixiu could react, petals began to fall from the tree. The tree’s rapid growth showed, in just a short time, its transformation from a sapling to a towering giant—this spectacle left the observing elves deeply shocked. Now, with flowers blooming and falling, it created an utterly unreal, dreamlike atmosphere. “Is this still magic?” Du Fan wondered. Could there be such a beautiful form of magic? It seemed to display powers akin to those of a creator! In an instant, it revealed the essence of life—from weakness to strength, and then to full bloom! This scene utterly captivated the elves, who were extremely sensitive to nature. “Elder Du Fan, is this the power of humans?” Lan Ling was also stunned by such a perfect scene, which seemed utterly real, and she asked Du Fan.
“My intuition tells me that this is indeed the magic cast by that elf mage,” said Du Fan. “That mage is a master of domain power, and domain power is truly the closest thing to divine power,” he added with deep conviction.
The strength of domain power varies depending on an individual’s understanding. Like Du Fan, whose peak Saint-level abilities were mainly achieved through external forces, his half-baked domain power left him quite frustrated.
Suddenly, Du Fan thought of a rather despicable animal—the turtle! It has a thick shell that it retracts into when in danger. The protective shield that automatically activates when he’s in danger isn’t exactly like that despicable animal? A strange idea arose in Du Fan’s mind.
Petals began to fall suddenly, as if moved by an unseen wind. As they drifted, they suddenly spun rapidly, as if a fierce storm had erupted inside the barrier, scattering the petals everywhere!
With a crisp sound, a petal that landed on Nai Xiu’s arm instantly cut a deep wound in it. Though beautiful, those petals could be deadly!