Chapter 009: The Promise

The finger hovered over Moses’s chest before slowly pointing toward Naixiu.
The watching elves fell silent, awaiting the final moment.
Du Fan began to sweat—he never expected an elf warrior to be so formidable! Naixiu had shot at least a thousand magic arrows at Moses. Such a quantity could easily overwhelm an army of thousands!
“Don’t point here, don’t point here,” Naixiu prayed silently in her heart.
The highly anticipated finger finally stopped three centimeters in front of Naixiu’s chest. At that moment, Moses suddenly wore a strange smile.
It was at this exact spot that an extreme sense of exhaustion overcame Moses. It was here he used up his last ounce of strength and mental energy!
That strange smile still carried a hint of stiffness as Moses, the strongest elf warrior of his time, collapsed to the ground with a loud thud.
Later, some analyzed that if Moses hadn’t used his last strength to lift his hand and try to point at Naixiu, it’s likely Naixiu would have fallen first. After all, Moses still had a slight edge in strength at that moment.
Yet, it was that final mistake that cost Moses his last chance at victory.
Five seconds after Moses fell, Naixiu could no longer hold on and also collapsed.
With Moses having fallen first, victory undoubtedly went to Naixiu!
In the room, Naixiu slowly woke up. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw members of the Kayi tribe everywhere—Du Fan among them.
“Naixiu, congratulations! You’ve finally won the championship. A ceremony will be held this afternoon. If you go down now, you’ll officially possess the Eternal Bow,” Du Fan said with a smile.
“Thank you, Du Fan,” Naixiu replied with a weak smile, exuding an air of pitiable vulnerability.
“You’re my wife—there’s no need to thank me,” Du Fan said, his face glowing with a holy smile. Seeing his pure expression, the elves of the Kayi tribe couldn’t help but exclaim that Chief Naixiu was truly fortunate.
Naixiu, for once, blushed slightly and didn’t refute Du Fan’s words, which delighted him greatly.

“Chieftain Naixiu, Great Chieftain Saito has ordered us to migrate a thousand kilometers into the elfin heartland. This way, few humans will be able to enter there, and the prosperity of our Kayi tribe is just around the corner,” Lan Ling said, slightly excited.
“Did the Great Chieftain issue the order so quickly?” Naixiu asked in confusion.
“Well, I find that strange too. Usually, such an order would be announced only after the Eternal Bow is officially bestowed. It’s rare for the Great Chieftain to be so eager this time. We should thank the Goddess of Nature for her care,” Lan Ling said devoutly.
“Yes, we should thank the Goddess of Nature,” Naixiu nodded.
Du Fan suddenly took out a cup of water as clear as crystal. “Naixiu, this is water from the Spring of Life given by Great Chieftain Saito. Drink it,” Du Fan said with a smile.
Naixiu was stunned. Although the ancient elf trees stored quite a bit of water from the Spring of Life, it wasn’t abundant. Moreover, only the ancient elf trees, who guarded them, possessed this water. Generally, Saito rarely gave it away as a gift.
“What, you doubt it’s water from the Spring of Life?” Du Fan asked with a smile.
“Oh, no. I’m just wondering why the Great Chieftain is suddenly being so kind to us,” Naixiu replied.
“Maybe he’s paying attention to us because our Kayi tribe has suddenly produced two elf elders,” Du Fan said with a holy smile.
“What other reason could there be? Of course, besides that, that old Saito has a request of his own, so he has to give me some benefits,” Du Fan thought to himself.
“Stop asking and drink it quickly. You don’t want to be too weak to go up on stage during this afternoon’s ceremony for bestowing the Eternal Bow,” Du Fan said concerningly.
Taking the cup of water from the Spring of Life, Naixiu drank it all in one gulp! Immediately, a surge of vitality rushed through her body. Within just a few minutes, she felt her strength and arrow energy fully restored.
“Du Fan, thank you so much. If not for you, I doubt I could have defeated Moses,” Naixiu said, tears welling in her eyes after fully recovering.
Seeing this, Lan Ling and the elves from the Kayi tribe wisely left the room quietly.
“Then how do you plan to thank me?” Du Fan asked in a teasing tone, seeing Naixiu’s serious expression.

“Do as you want,” Naixiu said softly. After saying that, she looked extremely shy and leaned against the head of the bed. “The elf girls are quite open-minded, huh,” Du Fan thought to himself. Thinking of Lan Ling’s demeanor, Du Fan smiled slightly. That was just how the elves were—once they chose a spouse, it was for life, forever. Moreover, the pure elves didn’t have many complex thoughts; they either liked it or didn’t. Du Fan’s view of the elves showed that he still didn’t really understand them well. As a Great Sage, Lan Ling had never married in her life. Even though what happened between her and Du Fan could’t be called promiscuity—after all, she was still a virgin at the time—perhaps she was truly acting under the orders of the Goddess of Life? Delighted, Du Fan rushed over to Naixiu, sat down next to her, and reached out his hand toward her. Naixiu let out a soft sound and buried her head deeply in Du Fan’s arms. After thinking for a moment, Du Fan said solemnly, “Naixiu, although you’ve agreed to me, I feel I still can’t treat you carelessly. How about this: once we’re in human society and you find your parents, we’ll hold a grand wedding in front of our parents’ witnesses?” Du Fan spoke earnestly. No one knew what Du Fan was thinking at that moment, but that’s what he said. In Du Fan’s mind, Ling Yin and Selina weren’t proper marriage partners, let alone Xuelan, who was just someone he played around with. Of course, regarding Chenchen, that mysterious woman, Du Fan felt a strange, indescribable emotion. If only he had known what happened in the palace that day—perhaps he wouldn’t have said such heartfelt words to Naixiu today. Of course, Du Fan didn’t know that Chenchen had already devoted herself to him. “I’ll do as you say,” Naixiu said gently. Hearing her extremely gentle voice, Du Fan shuddered inexplicably. Indeed, every woman he had been with was extremely beautiful, but those encounters never happened out of natural desire. Hearing Naixiu’s voice like this was truly the first time in Du Fan’s life. Suddenly, he felt a bit moved too. He pulled Naixiu into his arms and silently savored that tenderness.

“I declare that the winner of this Eternal Bow of a thousand years is the skilled archer from the Kayi tribe, Elder Naixiu!” As Saito announced loudly, the entire venue erupted in excitement.
“Now, let’s invite Elder Naixiu to the stage. One of the three sacred artifacts of our elf race, the Eternal Bow, will soon shine with brilliance in your hands!” Saito proclaimed loudly.
In the previous thousand years, it was Boze, an elf ranger, who possessed this Eternal Bow. It was with this legendary artifact that Boze brought fame to the elf race among human societies!
Over a hundred years ago, it was Boze who brought Naixiu back to the elf tribe and returned the Eternal Bow to them. By then, Boze no longer needed the power of the bow; even without it, he could dominate this continent.
As Naixiu walked gracefully toward the stage, the elves watching her all gazed at her with envy. The Eternal Bow was the dream of every elf archer!
Taking the box about a foot long, Naixiu’s hands trembled. Though she had imagined this moment, seeing it come true filled her with overwhelming excitement.
When she opened the box, a small bow, also about a foot long, lay inside. The body of the Eternal Bow wasn’t large—just over a foot in length—and it was entirely covered in a simple black color. Such a plain black material was impossible to determine from what it was made of.
Numerous intricate patterns were carved on the bow’s surface. It was these patterns that created an invisible vortex around the bow, a swirling force that continuously emitted a unique aura. Holding the bow in her hands, a powerful aura from ancient times spread throughout her body through her arms!
That strange aura, whether of destruction or creation, seemed to have existed half of the time since the world began. It had traversed countless spaces and times yet still lay quietly in Naixiu’s hands. This peculiar energy seemed capable of killing enemies with its arrow bolts, transcending time and space itself!
With the bow in her hands, Naixiu felt as though she had become an ancient warrior, strong enough to defeat any opponent!
Just as Naixiu held the Eternal Bow, a gentle, soothing voice with an undertone of command sounded.

“Girl, that’s not something you can have. Put it down for me right away,” the voice said gently. In an instant, Naixiu suddenly felt the urge to put down the Eternal Bow.
“Yes, throw away that bow! It’s a legendary artifact. How could someone as weak and insignificant as you possess such a powerful artifact? It’s pure desecration!” the voice continued.
Just as Naixiu was considering whether to really throw away the Eternal Bow, she suddenly felt a tightness in her heart, and a cool sensation spread throughout her body, instantly clearing her mind.
Looking at the Eternal Bow she was holding, Naixiu broke into a cold sweat.
“Huh, not bad, you little elf girl. Truly worthy of being a master on the verge of breaking through to a new realm—you managed to counter my forbidden technique!” the voice said with a hint of admiration.