"Killing a piece of trash only proves you're marginally stronger than trash," Zhao Xiaolong sneered coldly. "Once again—hand over the flesh pouch, and I'll spare your life. Otherwise, you're out of the game for a month."His blade-like eyes locked on Liu Weian. With a slight flick of his wrist, the gleaming silver spear vibrated with energy, radiating lethal intent.
Liu Weian's lips curled into a cold, deadly smile. His bowstring twanged—an arrow had already been loosed.
Whoosh—
A piercing sound split the air. In the blink of an eye, the arrow was in front of Zhao Xiaolong.
Bang!
A blur of spear-light collided with the arrow. A thunderous crack rang out as the arrow was cleaved in half and embedded itself deep into the ground, the force alone sinking it three inches—a testament to its terrifying momentum.
Zhao Xiaolong unleashed his spear technique, forming a defensive wall of spear shadows. A flurry of rapid collisions followed as arrow fragments were deflected in all directions, accompanied by sharp, sizzling sounds.
Though he managed to block every arrow, Zhao Xiaolong's heart grew increasingly uneasy. The force behind each shot was growing stronger. Even he, blessed with almost superhuman strength—just slightly inferior to Tong Xiaoxiao—was beginning to feel the strain. After more than a dozen arrows, his arms went numb. Only then did he understand why He Zhenfei couldn't withstand even a few shots.
Every arrow came at a wicked angle, lightning-fast, and each one demanded his full strength to deflect. In that moment, forget counterattacking—he didn't even dare to speak. He knew that the slightest distraction would create an opening, and Liu Weian's arrows would not forgive.
Fortunately, he wasn't alone. As the founder of the White Robe Guild, he had a solid foundation. One member saw Zhao Xiaolong being pinned down and shouted:
"Why are we still waiting? Kill them! Take the power seed, the flesh pouch, the corpses—charge!"
Where there's a leader, there are followers. Even those who had been intimidated by Liu Weian's killing intent surged forward, their greed rekindled.
A glint of cold light flashed in Liu Weian's eyes. He drew a different arrow from his quiver—a talisman arrow, coated in a deadly poison gifted to him by Sun Lingzhi.
Whoosh—
The arrow shot out. A White Robe member at the front instinctively raised his weapon to block—but missed. The talisman arrow struck him dead on and exploded the next second. The immense blast ripped him apart, spraying chunks of flesh in all directions.
Where the bloody pieces landed, white smoke rose. A putrid stench spread rapidly. Screams of agony filled the air. The poison was vicious—within two seconds, anyone touched by the flesh began to rot. Faces melted, bellies caved in, ribs protruded from hollowed chests—it was a scene straight out of hell.
Liu Weian followed up with three more talisman arrows. Over fifty players were hit, writhing on the ground in torment, unlikely to survive. The rest recoiled in panic, their charge halted, feet stumbling backward in fear. Then came a new wave of screams—from the rear archer line.
Tong Xiaoxiao had charged in, swinging his massive six-petal hammer. With a single sweep, he flattened a dozen archers. Bones cracked like fireworks as dozens collapsed; those not killed outright let out spine-chilling wails.
Zhao Xiaolong saw an opening and tried to break through—but Liu Weian's attention was already back on him. This time, there was no mercy. Every shot was aimed to kill, the arrows howling with a savage, final intent.
Talisman arrows.Linked shots.
After eight successive heavy arrows, Liu Weian unleashed his final move—his last three talisman arrows. If they couldn't kill Zhao Xiaolong, he would retreat immediately. But Zhao Xiaolong was barely hanging on.
Blocking the eight heavy arrows had drained his strength. His arms felt like lead, the once weightless silver spear now as heavy as a mountain. Another arrow flew in—clang!—deflected, but something was off. Before he could react, the spear shattered—its head gone.
A cold gleam tore through the air, faster than thought itself, exuding death.
Crack!
At the last second, Zhao Xiaolong's equipment saved him—a bronze heart-guard emitted a glowing shield that blocked the talisman arrow.
BOOM!The shield shattered to dust.
Zhao Xiaolong's eyes narrowed into sharp slits. He dropped his broken spear and caught the next arrow with both hands.
The impact was indescribable. The shaft seared through his palms, shredding them instantly. It felt like he was holding fire. But in this life-or-death moment, Zhao Xiaolong tapped into a reserve of strength he didn't know he had. He clung to the arrow, unmoving.
From a distance, onlookers saw him dragged nearly a meter across the ground, feet skimming the surface. If not for the agonized expression on his face, they would've thought he was performing some bizarre trick.
The arrowhead pierced his chest—and finally stopped. To Zhao Xiaolong, that split second felt like an eternity. He'd just begun to feel relief when a drop of blood oozed from the wound.
The corpse-dispelling curse activated.
BOOM—
Zhao Xiaolong's body exploded, torn to pieces. Only a cracked heart-guard spun in the air, fell in a gentle arc, and landed with a dull thud.
As Liu Weian's gaze swept across the field, the only remaining Bronze-level player, Wu Hai, quietly slipped away. With him gone, the rest scattered like frightened rats, screaming as they fled, wishing they had more legs to run with.
Liu Weian lowered his bow. His arms were as heavy as stone, but his expression was calm. He walked up to the white-haired zombie. Lu Yan had already extracted the flesh pouch and handed it over with the power seed.
"This seed is mine," Liu Weian said bluntly, pocketing both items.
In all his time in World of Beasts, the power seeds he'd seen were always colorless and translucent. This was the first time he'd seen a pink one. He could feel the immense energy within, and he knew it would greatly advance his Dark Emperor Scripture. Even if it seemed unfair to Lu Yan, he had to claim it.
But Lu Yan didn't object. It was Liu Weian who killed the white-haired zombie. He had borne the brunt of the battle while she contributed little. By merit, the seed was his.
"Thanks, big guy. Want to be friends?" Liu Weian finally looked at Tong Xiaoxiao, who had hesitated to approach. Without his help eliminating the archers, things would've gone badly.
"Hi, I'm Tong Xiaoxiao," the big man said, stepping forward excitedly. "You're amazing."
"I'm Liu Weian. This is Lu Yan.""Nice to meet you," Tong Xiaoxiao greeted Lu Yan, a bit shy. She nodded silently, not one for words.
"You're strong too. You've got more brute force than me," Liu Weian smiled.
"Strength alone means nothing if you don't know how to use it," Tong Xiaoxiao replied, looking embarrassed.
"Looks like your teammates don't quite appreciate you," Liu Weian glanced toward the distant group still whispering about Tong Xiaoxiao.
"When there's loot, they're the first to rush in. When there's danger, they disappear. I've seen through them all," Tong Xiaoxiao said bitterly.
"What's your plan now?" Liu Weian sensed that his teammates' betrayal had truly wounded Tong Xiaoxiao, but also that he still cared about them.
"I'll take it one day at a time. I don't want to go back—there's nothing to go back to." Tong Xiaoxiao's face was lost and uncertain.
"You killed those archers. Their backers won't let that slide," Liu Weian warned.
"If you hadn't helped me earlier, I'd already be dead. Compared to that, this danger is nothing," Tong Xiaoxiao said casually.
"Want to join my team?" Liu Weian hesitated for a moment but extended the invitation. Few were born with such raw strength, and it could be a huge asset if wielded properly.
"I'm not as strong as you… not as fast as her… I…" Tong Xiaoxiao hesitated.
"Don't be such a wimp. Man up, or you're no better than a girl," Liu Weian frowned.Lu Yan shot him a glare: What's wrong with being a girl?
"If you're okay with me joining, I'd be honored," Tong Xiaoxiao said excitedly.
"Welcome aboard," Liu Weian said sincerely. "We may be a small team—just three of us—but we don't abandon our own. You have my word."
"I believe you."
…
Without the talisman arrows, their zombie-slaying efficiency dropped sharply. Even with Tong Xiaoxiao on the team, progress was slow. The upside was that Lu Yan had a much easier time now.
Often, Tong Xiaoxiao would slam his hammer down like a stake driver, burying half a zombie in the ground. Then Liu Weian would shoot five arrows in rapid succession to finish it off.
By the time Black Ox and his crew arrived with their cart in the evening, they had killed fewer than thirty zombies. Liu Weian and Lu Yan remained expressionless—but Tong Xiaoxiao was ecstatic. He had never killed that many zombies in one afternoon, and with just three people, no less.
Back in town, Liu Weian immediately began drawing talisman arrows. He also informed Lu Yan and Tong Xiaoxiao to log in two hours earlier the next day. If nothing unexpected happened, things would get chaotic soon. Zhao Xiaolong and He Zhenfei weren't lone wolves—the people behind them would surely come for revenge. Preparations were needed.
Maybe it was the looming danger, but Liu Weian managed 68 attempts that night and succeeded 61 times—a personal best. Only after that did he open the white-haired zombie's flesh pouch. Dozens of silver coins spilled out along with two items.
He ignored the coins and picked up the items. One glance—and his eyes went wide with astonishment and joy.