Chapter 314: Chapter 269: Starfall
HISS! These Turkic women are really strong...
In contrast, Li Wei focused on Ashina Galuo, his opponent. Facing such intensive attacks, Ashina Galuo’s shield and scimitar blocked ninety percent of them; the remaining ten percent she evaded with agile movements. The flashes from her blade formed an impenetrable defense, her steps light and elusive, like a bird skimming across a lake’s surface.
Li Wei imagined himself in Ashina Galuo’s position. He was disappointed to realize that if he were the one facing the Mind Needles, he would last about twenty breaths at most. After that, his wrists would fail, and the Mind Needles would turn him into a hedgehog. His only option would be to endure the hits with his body, charge directly at Bian Chenpei, and attempt a life-for-a-life exchange. But that would inevitably trigger the Arena Restriction during the charge, and Bian Chenpei would be declared the winner prematurely.
On the arena, Bian Chenpei watched his charging opponent. The steady smile at the corners of his mouth gradually faded. Once in her battle state, Ashina Galuo showed none of her usual coyness or naivety. Instead, her face was taut, her eyes as sharp as knives, fixed firmly on her opponent. In his Spiritual Sense, her vigorous aura pressed closer and closer. Bian Chenpei felt stings all over his skin—a manifestation of a Martial Artist’s Qi Blood causing severe interference with his Telekinesis.
Ashina was a Turkic noble surname meaning "noble wolf" and "blue"; the Ashina Clan was also known as the Blue Turkic. Members of this clan with the purest bloodline would, during furious battles, experience a gradual change in eye color from brown to blue. Their eyes would become nearly as clear as lake water, capable of reflecting the sky’s colors.
Now, Ashina Galuo’s eyes had turned pale blue and were even shifting towards a deep blue. Her movements grew faster, her Qi Blood stronger. Her shield and scimitar gradually adapted to Bian Chenpei’s "One Heart, Twenty Thoughts" attack rhythm, and she accelerated her charge.
Murderous intent.
The real and intense murderous intent in Ashina Galuo’s eyes enveloped Bian Chenpei.
An inexplicable chill ran down his neck. It was as if he could see her scimitar breaking through all barriers, slashing towards his throat. Skin, windpipe, bones—all shattered under the sharp blade. His noble head, trodden under her foot, as he died with lingering indignation...
Gray Wolf’s Killing Intent!
Bian Chenpei’s back broke out in a cold sweat. He jolted abruptly, snapping back to reality.
Some Martial Artists, through prolonged life-and-death struggles, honed a sharp killing aura and used it in combat. If an opponent was targeted by this killing intent, even a momentary lapse in concentration could trap them in an Illusion of being killed, rooting them to the spot, unable to move. They were like a traveler in the mountains encountering a descending tiger: wanting to run but unable to control their limbs.
The Gray Wolf’s Killing Intent of the Blue Turkic family was particularly potent. The vast grasslands of the Northern Territory, larger than the Jing Country and Nanzhou combined, contained immense uninhabited expanses. The status of top Turkic nobles didn’t just mean privileges; it also meant they were responsible for patrolling the entire Northern Territory, clearing out the endless streams of demons and monsters for the tribes under their protection. Despite Ashina Galuo’s youth, the number of aberrations she had slain might even exceed that of the Executioners at the Taihao Mountain Judgement Court. The killing intent cultivated in such an environment was far stronger than that of the so-called assassins in the Chang’an Ghost Market.
Had Bian Chenpei not been born in Taihao Mountain, with his father a Deputy Envoy of the Judicial Cardinal, he might have already succumbed. Exposed since childhood to the secrets of various forces and sects, and thus hardened by experience, he would otherwise have fallen for her trick, deeply ensnared in the death Illusion and unable to extricate himself.
Bian Chenpei’s rather handsome face gradually twisted. He felt his spine soaked with cold sweat. Watching the Turkic girl with pale blue eyes charge towards him, he abandoned any thought of toying with her using his Cultivation advantage.
Only annoyance filled his mind. Die!
Bian Chenpei gestured, and all the Mind Needles accelerated again. The Dagger, like a soaring Dragon, skimmed past the edge of her shield, slicing towards Ashina Galuo’s throat.
The distance between them had closed to within ten paces. Ashina Galuo neither retreated nor dodged. Instead, she violently twisted her neck, allowing the Dagger to graze it, creating a visible ripple from the impact. The Arena Restriction activated its protective barrier. It determined that the attack, which would have only caused a laceration on the side of her neck, was not fatal.
I still have one last chance to strike! Ashina Galuo thought.
The distance closed to within two paces. Ashina Galuo’s face was expressionless, her eyes seemingly leaving pale blue trails in the air as her scimitar slashed towards Bian Chenpei’s neck.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion resounded as Telekinetic forces vibrated violently. The ripples from the arena’s protective field shook continuously, distorting the air so much that the scene became unclear.
Countless spectators in the stands instinctively rose, craning their necks to see what was happening below.
Bian Chenpei... was still standing.
Hovering in front of him was a metal sphere, about two inches in diameter. The sphere was inlaid with intricate Gold patterns. These patterns seemed to possess a life of their own, slowly rotating.
Bian Chenpei himself was half-crouching, gasping for breath. His left hand supported his knee, while his right palm touched his neck, trying to shake off the death Illusion he had just experienced.
Meanwhile, his opponent, Ashina Galuo, had been forcefully thrown back. Her petite figure landed at the edge of the arena, where she curled into a ball. Her shield and scimitar clattered outside the arena’s boundary.
Huang Donglai took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on the small metal sphere floating before Bian Chenpei. "That’s..."
Sun Yixie, equally shocked, completed his companion’s sentence. "Starfall. The Starfall from the Taihao Mountain Judgement Court."
Their voices, amplified by a Macro Sound Symbol, carried to every corner of the stands.
Yang Yu scratched his head. "What’s Starfall? Why do the upperclassmen look like they’ve seen a ghost?"
He Fanshuang closed her book, her brow slightly furrowed. "Starfall refers to a series of Secret Treasures from Taihao Mountain," she explained. "Meteors fall from the sky; they are objects from beyond our world. Most are ordinary iron. While rare, they don’t reach the level of divine weapons depicted in stories. Only a rare few, those that descend accompanied by grand and unusual phenomena, are considered signs from Haotian. The Torch Language Institute of Taihao Mountain issues prophecies in advance, pinpointing the locations where these special meteors will fall. Then, the Holy Ceremony Institute, Judgement Court, and Faith Cultivation Institute dispatch personnel to those locations. They conduct rituals to respectfully welcome the meteor’s arrival. Every artifact forged from a Haotian Meteor is regarded as a sacred object of Taihao Mountain. Only individuals at the highest echelons are qualified to use them."
"Is it... that valuable?" Yang Yu asked, his mouth slightly agape.
"A young king of the Western Country once attempted to offer ten cities in exchange for borrowing a Starfall from Taihao Mountain," He Fanshuang said calmly. "He wished to bring it back to his kingdom for Tribute, to demonstrate his family’s devotion to Haotian. When dealing with Taihao Mountain, borrowing is truly just borrowing; the concept of borrowing and not returning doesn’t exist. Even so, Taihao Mountain refused."
Even rulers must budget carefully; the king of the Western Country used credit for his ancestors’ ceremonial day. This thought inexplicably popped into Li Ang’s mind. He frowned, looking down at the arena below.