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Chapter 190: Ten vs Nine! (2)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Zhou Weiqing said passively: "Then we shall compare the quality of both designs, the one with the higher quality shall win."

Yun Li nodded and said: "Indeed. However, I do not want anyone else besides us to see my design, and I believe it should be the same for you. Let's find a quiet place."

"Our shop 77 has specialised quiet chambers, both Masters can go there for the competition and not be disturbed."

Qin Feng's reaction was indeed extremely fast. When Zhou Weiqing had won earlier, his heart had been beating crazily fast, thinking to himself that he had struck the lottery today to have bumped into such a talented genius Consolidating Equipment Master. No matter what, he had to make him his customer! He swore to himself that if Zhou Weiqing had any requirements in the future, he would sell it at cost price. As long as he could have such a talent as his honoured guest, it would be a huge draw to others, and his business would definitely enjoy a large boost. In the future, when Zhou Weiqing became a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master, his shop would have a link to a God Tier Master, and perhaps even be known as the birthplace!

As such, when he heard that Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li needed a quiet place, he immediately jumped out to offer a place before Zhou Changxi could.

Zhou Changxi was full of regret, staring at Qin Feng in anger. Alas, no matter what, he was a man of status, and he quickly restrained himself from bursting out in anger. After all, to have gotten Yun Li's recognition, he wasn't any simple person.

Zhou Weiqing gave a motion inviting Yun Li to go ahead, and Yun Li nodded and said: "Please." Both of them followed Qin Feng into the his two-storeyed shop number 77.

Only after both had disappeared into the doors of the shop did the surrounding crowd burst into angry mutters. They did not dare to offend Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li, but they truly wanted to witness the competition, to see what would make two Consolidating Equipment Masters so anxious to hide. Some even tried to follow them in, but they were blocked by the employees of the shop 77.

"I'm sorry everyone, our Boss has given us our instructions. If any of you wish to purchase any goods, please wait until the two Masters have finished their competition."

Only Qin Feng and Shangguan Bing'er followed the two Masters in, and even Zhou Changxi had been blocked outside.

After entering the shop, both did not have the mood to admire the many goods displayed in the shop. Following Qin Feng, they entered the second level, and headed to the deepest room within. After Qin Feng brought them there, he said: "Masters, please enter, that is my usual personal rest room, and you will not be disturbed in there. I will remain outside to guard the place for you two." He knew his place, and did not try to go in and watch as well.

Shangguan Bing'er also stopped outside. She was now fully confident in Zhou Weiqing, but her heart was still racing in excitement, her beautiful face flushed red from the emotional upheaval earlier. She still could not believe what was happening. If Zhou Weiqing truly won this bet, then their Heavenly Bow Empire would have a High Level Consolidating Master along with Zhou Weiqing… And the Fei Li Empire's youngest High Level Consolidating Equipment Master to boot!

After entering the chamber, both Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li couldn't help but give a soft exclamation of praise. The chamber wasn't very large, only about 50 square metres, but it was very intricately designed and furnished. The floor was totally carpeted, and even without examining it closely, just from the feel of it they could tell it was carpeted in Heavenly Beasts fur! To use Heavenly Beasts' fur as a carpet, that was such an extravagance! Even the cheapest among that was definitely not cheap; furthermore the entire carpet was from the same type of Heavenly Beast, with the same colour.

Besides that, there was a grand and elegant looking white leather sofa, and deeper inside there was a large bed. This was the main furnishing in the entire room. On the left, there was also a row of cabinets with intricate designs carved in, along with a few other refined, artistic designs. On the ceiling of the room, there was actually a Heavenly Core of a Zun Stage Heavenly Beast lighting up the room!

Yun Li twisted his mouth and muttered to himself: "This shopkeeper Qin sure knows how to enjoy himself."

Zhou Weiqing did not hesitate and sat down on the sofa, saying: "Bro Yun Li, shall we begin then?"

Yun Li's expression turned solemn, and he turned to Zhou Weiqing, saying in a serious tone: "From the sound outside, your name is Zhou Weiqing right? Bro Zhou, after today's bet, no matter who wins or loses, I'd like to ask that you keep the contents of this competition a secret. After all, the design I am about to bring out is of extreme importance. We are both Consolidating Equipment Masters, and I believe you know how I feel. Of course, it will be the same for me, I will definitely not say anything about the design that you are taking out."

Zhou Weiqing nodded and said: "Agreed."

Yun Li also sat down on the sofa facing Zhou Weiqing. After all, it did take much spiritual energy to properly examine a new design, especially for the high level, intricately confusing ones, and could not be done in a short time.

In a bright flash around Yun Li's hands, an ancient looking Consolidating Paper appeared. Zhou Weiqing waved his hands around his Spatial Necklace, and also took out a design paper.

They exchanged looks, simultaneously handing over their designs to each other, while receiving the other's design with the other hand.

In that moment, a sense of bonding and mutual appreciation rose up in them. Of course, appreciation was one thing, but a bet was another. Both of them wanted the other as a Follower, especially since they were so outstanding. Though rare, it was not unheard of for someone to get a Consolidating Equipment Master Follower, but it was usually an extremely powerful person of much greater cultivation level.

Both their gazes dipped down to the design in their hands. In the next instant, an almost amusing sight appeared as both did the exact same thing – their hands shaking as a look of disbelief crossed their faces.

Just like Zhou Weiqing had guessed earlier, Yun Li had passed him a God Tier design. Whether or not it was a Legendary Set could only be determined after more examination.

Yun Li's shock was no lesser. He had also not expected that Zhou Weiqing would also bring out such a design. Once again, both lifted their heads at the same time, looking at each other. Though they did not say anything, they could see a tense, serious look in each other's eyes.

Since they were both God Tier designs, what happens next would be to compare quality. As Consolidating Equipment Masters, they did not need an outside judge, as they would know within their hearts the truth.

Their gazes dipping downwards once more, they focused their concentration on the design in their hands. Both were extremely nervous. After all, this was an extremely important competition for both. Especially so for Yun Li, as this lost would mean he would become a Lifetime Follower to Zhou Weiqing, losing his freedom. With the large amount of witnesses outside, and his own pride as a Consolidating Equipment Master, he would definitely not be able to go back on his word. As such, he could only do his best. As long as he could bring it to the third competition, he was confident in taking that win.

A God Tier design was just too complicated, and such a level of design held a large amount of powerful spiritual energy within as well.

It was slightly better for Yun Li, after all his cultivation level was already at the fourth Jewel cultivation level, and was also a High Level Consolidating Master. He did not complete the entire set in the previous round, and thus after a short moment of being dazed, he was able to keep on concentrating on it.

However, Zhou Weiqing ran into some trouble. He had not been a Consolidating Equipment Master for long, and in terms of spiritual training, he was much weaker as compared to Yun Li. When he looked at the God Tier design in his hands, he felt a sense of dizziness overwhelm him, as his chest tightened, causing him to almost spit out a mouthful of blood. He could only see stars, and could not look clearly at the design.

As the saying goes, 'Man proposes and God disposes' 1. How could Zhou Weiqing expect something like this to happen. If he could not even examine the design, how could he possibly compare their quality? In the next few moments, he tried to force himself to concentrate and focus on it, alas Spiritual Energy wasn't as easy to force just like that. No matter how hard he tried, it only caused the tight feeling in his chest to worsen. If he continued trying to force it through, he might even get into deep trouble.

All of a sudden, Zhou Weiqing felt Fat Cat, who was snug in his bosom, wriggle around. In the next instant, a gust of cold invaded his brain. Instantly, a sharp piercing pain shot through his dazed mind, causing him to almost cry out. However, the cold spread through his mind along with that piercing pain, causing him to be shaken awake, and his eyes lit up.

The design, which had seemed so blurry and caused him to go dizzy just a moment ago, turned clear, and Zhou Weiqing could finally examine it fully.

Zhou Weiqing was extremely pleased, patting Fat Cat happily, thinking to himself. Ahhh, its great to have a Fat Cat at home!

After that short little incident, the entire room turned dead silent as both of them focused all their minds onto the designs in their hands. Their expressions kept changing as they continued looking, although the one that appeared the most frequently was a look of admiration and praise. Sometimes, they couldn't help but shake their heads to clear their thoughts.

For the first time, Zhou Weiqing realised how much inspiration he could get just from looking at a God Tier design, as if a new door was opened into a whole new horizon. Very quickly, he was fully immersed into his examination, as if he had forgotten he was in the midst of a bet.

…

As the sky darkened outside, it was soon evening time. By now, Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li had already spent two whole hours in the chamber.

Zhou Changxi was not able to enter the shop 77 to watch, but he was an intelligent person who was quick to take action as well. As he saw the skies darken, he immediately got his employees to prepare some food and drinks to serve the crowd waiting outside.

Although they could not see what was going on inside, none of them had left, as everyone wanted to know the final result.

…

Back within the chamber.

…

"Phew." Yun Li gave out a sigh, finally forcing his gaze away from the design in his hand. His spiritual energy was almost fully expended, and if he continued examining it, it would cause him some damage.

Chapter 191: Ten vs Nine! (3)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

To his surprise, Zhou Weiqing, who was just a Mid Level Consolidating Equipment Master, was still examining his design. With the infatuated, besotted look on his face, he did not look like he was going to stop anytime soon.

Could that youth's spiritual energy be even greater than mine? Yun Li was truly shocked. He was extremely confident in his own spiritual energy; after all, even though he hadn't reached the level of Grandmaster yet, he was not far from it. His sixteen years in the Consolidating Equipment Master world was not for nothing.

Alas, how could he know that Zhou Weiqing was being supported by Fat Cat's spiritual energy to be able to last so long. However, after Yun Li had watched him for a while, Zhou Weiqing suddenly felt the ice cold feeling in his mind disappear, and he was shocked out of his reverie.

"En?" Only the did Zhou Weiqing look around at his surroundings blurrily, as if suddenly recalling where he was, and what he was doing.

"Bro Zhou, how is it?" Yun Li saw that he had awoken, and quickly asked urgently.

Zhou Weiqing's expression was full of admiration, and he gave a big thumbs up as he said: "A peerless piece of work, a peerless piece of work! If I am not wrong, this should be the first of a Legendary Set, meant for Agility type Heavenly Jewel Masters." Indeed, Yun Li's design was the first of a Legendary Set, which was suited for Heavenly Jewel Masters with the Agility Type Physical Jewel, like Yun Li or Shangguan Bing'er.

Yun Li nodded and said: "Bro Zhou indeed has good judgement. Your design is also another peerless work! It is also the first of a Legendary Set right! Looks like this is truly a draw indeed. Amongst Consolidating Equipment Masters, I dare to say that those who have Legendary Set designs number less than ten! I really did not expect that we would meet like this, no wonder Bro Zhou had so much confidence to bet with me."

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: "Indeed, indeed! My luck sure is bad. However, although our designs are both the first of Legendary Sets, there still remains to see which Legendary Set is of higher quality."

Yun Li started, saying: "How do we compare that though? Unless we can Consolidate all of them, otherwise there is no real way of comparison. After all, they are of different attributes, and I can argue that I have the advantage of speed, while yours can be argued to have the advantage of strength."

Zhou Weiqing shook his head and said: "That's not what I mean. There is one more point that Bro Yun Li has forgotten, and that is the quantity. Another way to determine the quality of a set is naturally the quantity of it as well. When a Set is made out of more Scrolls, its power is naturally stronger. Am I right?"

Fear suddenly gripped Yun Li's heart, as he said: "You are right, that is indeed true. However, the God Tier Legendary Sets are all 9 pieces… could it be that yours is… different?"

Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: "Heh heh… I'm sorry about this." As he said that, he waved his hands around his Spatial Necklace and took out his entire set design, placing it on the table in front of the sofa.

Yun Li swept his gaze on them, and he froze in shock. "Te…Ten… Ten pieces?"

Zhou Weiqing's face was filled with pride as he said: "In the past, when my Founder Teacher designed this Set, he did not even manage to attempt creating it as he passed away due to over-expenditure of spirit during the creation. He was a respected God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master, and this set of 10 pieces can be said to be one of a kind. It is extremely difficult to create, but at the same time, it should be at the peak of Consolidating Equipment Scroll Sets! As such, just comparing quality of designs alone, I'm afraid that the win is mine."

When Zhou Weiqing saw that the design that Yun Li had brought out was also a God Tier Legendary Set, he had been stunned for a moment. However, he had calmed down quickly. After all, even if this was a draw, he still would not lose to Yun Li in the end, as the worst case scenario for him was a final draw. After calming down, he finally thought of what Huyan Aobo had told him in the past – that although his Legendary Set had not been created before, it was one of a kind! It had even expended the spirit and life blood of a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master to design, and prior to this, a set of ten was hitherto unheard of.

A Legendary Set referred to a set designed by a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master with at least eight pieces to it. Usually, they were made out of nine pieces. Do not underestimate the difference that just one piece could make. It was just the addition of that one extra piece that caused the Founder of Zhou Weiqing's teaching sect to expend all of his energy and spirit, even so much so to his death, from that one could see how difficult it had been to create this set.

Hearing Zhou Weiqing's words, Yun Li's expression turned ugly, a dark, uneasy look appearing in his eyes. At this moment, their competition was over. However, for a person like him, who also had a God Tier Founder Teacher, how could he be willing to just become Zhou Weiqing's Follower just like that? That would be a disgrace and humiliation that he would never be able to wash clean, furthermore there would never be any escape from it. Lifetime Follower, that meant being Sealed for his entire life as well. Upon thinking about it, his heart hurt, as if it were being gnawed upon by thousands of snakes. Slowly, his face grew fierce, even savage, as he gripped his fists tightly. Staring at the ten designs on the table, he warred internally within his own mind.

Kill him, kill him! A voice kept yelling in Yun Li's mind. As long as he killed off this Zhou Weiqing in front of him, not only would he escape the terms of the bet, he would also gain this unbelievable Legendary Set design, a one of a kind, ten piece set! At the most, he would have to move out of the Fei Li Empire forever, never to return; with his skills and talent, wouldn't it be easy to find another place to accept him?

As the darkness in his heart erupted forth, savagely clashing against the morals and ethics in Yun Li's heart. As soon as that broke through, he would take action against Zhou Weiqing. In his eyes, with his four-Jeweled cultivation level, it would be extremely easy to kill off the three-Jeweled Zhou Weiqing. Both were Spatial Attribute Heavenly Jewel Masters, and he himself had the Agility Type Physical Jewel. After killing him, it would be easy to escape.

However, despite the thoughts, Yun Li still did not move. As he battled himself within the deepest reaches of his heart, his body was trembling, his eyes revealing a blood lust. Yet, he did not move.

Although he was filled with pride, but he had also never been a person who would break his word! Despite all the unwillingness in his heart, the unreconciled feelings he had, he still wasn't willing to become a treacherous, disloyal person, a person who would be scoffed at by any others. After all, there was a huge crowd outside who had witnessed the bet. Could he really just go back on his word like that? More importantly, even if he did so, that would leave a mark, a shadow in his heart. With such a shadow in his heart, he would never be able to reach the peak of Consolidating Equipment Master… the peak that he had always longed for… to be a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master.

Zhou Weiqing stood there silently, a faint smile on his face. He did not try to force Yun Li, or influence him in any way, but just stood there waiting for his own decision. Even with a Seal to restrict a person, it definitely wasn't what he wanted. After all, there was a big difference between a willing Follower, and a Follower who complied in appearance but secretly opposed it in his heart. What Zhou Weiqing wanted was a Follower who truly worked for him with all his heart. In fact, Zhou Weiqing was extremely nervous. Naturally, it wasn't due to fear that Yun Li might attack him. According to Zhou Weiqing's estimation, although Yun Li was four-Jeweled, he did have a Legendary Set design. That meant that it was likely he only had two Consolidated Equipment. Even Ming Hua, who had four pieces of a Set Equipment, wasn't a match for Zhou Weiqing, how could Yun Li be! If they truly had to fight, Zhou Weiqing had the confidence to beat, or even kill him off.

"I have lost." Those three words finally came out of Yun Li's mouth, with much difficulty and bitterness. After saying those words, he folded down into the sofa behind him, like a deflated balloon, his eyes closed as tears streamed down his cheeks uncontrollably.

"It's my pride that destroyed me. Teacher, I have shamed you. I���ve lost… I've lost to a Consolidating Equipment Master whose cultivation level and rank is lower than mine." Yun Li suddenly burst out crying, his body shaking as he lost control of his emotions.

As compared to Yun Li's crying, Zhou Weiqing was smiling, relaxedly. With that, he knew that he had gotten his first Follower. This was indeed a companion he could trust. Under such a circumstance, Zhou Weiqing was not confident that he could make the same decision, and that he might even break his own word. Yet, Yun Li had made the difficult choice. After all, there was no signed contract or bond they had done for this bet. If he had really wanted to run away, Zhou Weiqing might not have been able to stop him.

Zhou Weiqing sat down silently once more, slowly keeping his own designs.

He was not in a rush, allowing Yun Li to cry his heart out. After all, the poor fellow had just lost his lifetime freedom, how could he not allow him some time to vent?

Currently, our dear Zhou Weiqing was grinning away in his heart. Although it had taken much effort, he had finally gotten a High Level Consolidating Equipment Master follower! Such good luck might never happen a second time, at least not before he became a lot more powerful than he currently was.

Qin Feng and Shangguan Bing'er, who were outside, were startled by the sudden crying sound that came from within. Shangguan Bing'er could instantly tell that the crying sound was not Zhou Weiqing's, but that did not stop her from feeling anxious and worried.

"Young lady, calm down, we can't enter right now." Qin Feng quickly stopped her from trying to rush in. After all, he had given his word that they would not be disturbed in that chamber.

Shangguan Bing'er was extremely worried in her heart, but right at that moment, a soft voice suddenly entered her ears. After a short, startled moment, she finally quietened down. Her pale, frightened face turning rosy red once more, and a faint smile crossed her lips.

Chapter 192: Seal of Darkness! (1)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

After crying for a while, Yun Li finally stopped. As he lifted his tear streaked head up, he saw Zhou Weiqing lounging on the sofa on the opposite side, looking at him with a smiling face.

"Sigh, a loss is a loss, let's find a place to go through the Sealing then." Yun Li said with an angry hmph, before keeping his own design from the table.

Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly and said: "Bro Yun Li, I know you are angry and unreconciled in your heart, perhaps extremely unwilling. However, I can give you two opportunities to escape your fate; as long as you reach any one of them, I will dissolve our agreement and any Seal on you…"

Yun Li started, his eyes filled with wariness as he said cautiously: "What else do you want? I've already lost my entire self to you, isn't that enough?"

Zhou Weiqing shrugged and said: "As you said, your whole self is lost to me already, what else do you have to lose? What I want to say is, if your Heavenly Energy cultivation level can ever reach twelve levels above mine, I will dissolve the agreement. The other option is, as long as you can reach God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master before me, I will also dissolve the agreement. How about that?"

The wariness in Yun Li's eyes turned to surprise, and he stared at Zhou Weiqing for a while. "… Why? You do not need to do that. My bet with you is a Lifetime Following. Since I have already admitted my loss, I will not go back on my word…"

Zhou Weiqing stood up and walked over to Yun Li, laughing heartily as he said: "What I want is a Follower who is talented, outstanding, and can possibly become a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master. I do not want a person who has lost his soul just because he lost a bet, a trash who has given up on himself. If I do not give you hope, how could you possibly continue working hard in training and cultivation? However, do not think that these two conditions are easy at all."

Yun Li was dazed for a moment, and after a while, he finally gave a long drawn sigh before saying: "Although you are much younger than I am, your intelligence and foresight is beyond mine. Alright, I accept your proposal. Surpassing you by twelve levels of Heavenly Energy is probably beyond me, but I will definitely work hard and become a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master before you! Do not forget that I am already a High Level Consolidating Equipment Master, a step ahead of you, so the advantage is mine."

Zhou Weiqing laughed and said: "I do wish that you can become a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master as soon as possible. That way, even if you aren't my Follower, we can still be friends. I, Zhou Weiqing, swear by my Personal Jewels. If in the future Yun Li becomes a God Tier Consolidating Equipment Master before I do, then I will personally release him from his Seals. If I break my word, my Personal Jewels will explode and destroy me…"

Yun Li's emotions calmed down, and the look in his eyes were resolute. He had made up his mind to work hard to reach the rank of God Tier before Zhou Weiqing, to regain his freedom.

Zhou Weiqing lifted his left hand and grinned, saying: "Alright, I have given my promise, now it's time for you to complete yours. Shall we begin Sealing then, I will need your complete cooperation for it."

"… Sealing…?" Yun Li stared at Zhou Weiqing in shock. "Are you saying that you can do the Sealing by yourself? Do you mean to say that you have Stored a Sealing Skill? That's impossible! Even though it is rumoured that our Spatial Attribute does have Sealing Skills, they are extremely rare. Furthermore, each and everyone of our Skills are so important to us; besides the Darkness Attributes which major power lies in Sealing, who else would waste an opportunity to Skill something else?"

Zhou Weiqing gave a faint smile, moving his left hand in front of Yun Li, before saying carefully: "Look closely now, there is definitely no shame in losing to me."

As he said that, he circulated his Heavenly Energy, and a dim black light shone forth from the Ring of Concealment on his left hand, shining upon his Elemental Jewels. Instantly, they changed back into their original form; although they were still Cat's Eye Jewels, in the dimly lit room, they changed to the rose red of the Alexandrite Cat's Eye for Yun Li to see.

"This… what is this?"

Another black light shone from Zhou Weiqing's left hand, turning his entire index finger black, and at the tip a blood-red light shone from within.

"… Alexandrite Cat's Eye?" Yun Li suddenly raised his head, staring at Zhou Weiqing in shock.

Zhou Weiqing nodded and said: "Indeed. Come then, let us complete our Seal of Agreement. This is the Skill, 'Blood Rites – Seal of Darkness'. Now, you should believe that if your Heavenly Energy surpasses me by twelve levels, it will automatically dissolve right."

After arriving in the Fei Li City, Zhou Weiqing had gone through Skill Storing in the Skill Storing Palace. For his second Darkness Skill, he had chosen to Store this Blood Rites – Seal of Darkness. This was one of the Darkness Seals that was specially targeted at Sealing servants or slaves. Once the master died, the Sealed servant would also perish. The only escape from that was what Zhou Weiqing had promised Yun Li – a secondary contract.

The Blood Rites – Seal of Darkness wasn't the most powerful Seal amongst the Darkness Attribute Sealing Skills, but it had one of the strongest binding effects. If the servant disobeyed the master, a single thought from the master could cause untold pain to the servant, and was one of the more vicious of the Sealing Skills. At the same time, it was also one of the most widely used of the Darkness Seals.

Yun Li nodded somewhat woodenly, closing his eyes. In the next moment, Zhou Weiqing's left hand reached his forehead, pressing his index finger onto the center between Yun Li's eyebrows.

Instantly, a thick dark red light enveloped both of them. Although this Seal was extremely powerful, it had severe restrictions as well – the person it was being used on had to accept it by his or her own free will, and any resistance would break the Skill while it was being cast.

As the dark red light thickened, a red light also flashed in Zhou Weiqing's eyes, as the blood-red light from his finger also brightened.

Yun Li grunted involuntarily, his entire body convulsing violently as the dark red light was sucked into his body. At the same time, it subsided from Zhou Weiqing, being drawn towards Yun Li.

This was Zhou Weiqing's first time using the Blood Rites – Seal of Darkness. He felt as if more than a third of his Heavenly Energy being drained from him, clearly showing how much Heavenly Energy this Seal required. By the time all the dark red light had entered Yun Li's body, Zhou Weiqing could vaguely feel a connection within his mind, like a string, linking him to Yun Li's life.

Although this Seal did not telepathically link them, Zhou Weiqing could still feel the frailness of Yun Li's life in his hands… This was the tyranny of the Blood Rites Seal.

Slowly lifting his left hand, Zhou Weiqing could see a small drop of fresh blood on his left index finger tip. That was Yun Li's blood, and was also the medium for the Blood Rite. As the drop of blood slowly seeped into Zhou Weiqing's hands and into his body, a strange, dark red symbol formed on Yun Li's forehead.

The Darkness Aura in the room slowly diminished, and Yun Li finally opened his eyes, his body no longer shuddering. Everything seemed to return to normal, even the dark red symbol sinking into his skin, hidden from view. However, both he and Zhou Weiqing knew that this would accompany him for life, unless he could reach the terms of the agreement that he and Zhou Weiqing had made; only then would it dissolve.

Yun Li stood up. Although he still wasn't used to this yet, he still turned to Zhou Weiqing and bowed deeply, saying: "Master…"

Zhou Weiqing laughed and said: "You are the first person I used this Blood Rite – Seal of Darkness on. I never expected my luck to be so good. You do not need to call me Master, you can just call me by name. I have never thought of treating you like a slave or servant, and I hope that we can become friends instead, and we can exchange ideas and learn together on Consolidating Equipment Scrolls."

Yun Li gave a humph and said: "Friends? If you wanted to be friends with me, why did you use that bet to cheat me!? Hmph. In any case, from now, you're in charge of providing me with food, drink, lodging, and all my expenses. All the expenses for my materials on researching High Level Consolidating Equipment Scrolls should be paid by you too…"

Zhou Weiqing started a little, before saying exasperatedly: "Why does it sound like I'm the one who has been enslaved…"

"Oh right, Yun Li, when we leave later, do not tell anyone else that you have lost to me. Just say that we had a draw for our bet, and none of us will be the Follower of the other."

Yun Li asked curiously: "Why?"

Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: "It's good to keep a low profile, understand? If the word gets out that you have become my Follower, I will never ever have a peaceful time in my time here…"

"Hah. You still know about keeping a low profile? Challenging me to such a bet in front of so many people, how can you possibly keep a low profile?" Yun Le was rather speechless.

Zhou Weiqing patted him on the shoulders and said: "If I didn't do that, how could I get you to take the bait; hook line and sinker! In truth, I am usually a person who loves to keep a low profile. Heh heh. Come on, let's go now, I'm sure all of them are anxiously waiting."

Since he had entered the Fei Li City, besides the first moment that he had been reunited with Shangguan Bing'er, this was probably the best day of Zhou Weiqing's life. Now, including himself, his Heavenly Bow Empire had two Consolidating Equipment Masters! Furthermore, they were both talented genius who each had a Legendary Set Design!

…

Outside the door, Qin Feng was a little puzzled why the anxious Shangguan Bing'er suddenly seemed so relaxed. All of a sudden, the doors of the chamber opened, and both Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li walked out from within.

Qin Feng asked curiously: "Masters, your fight is over? May I know who is the victor?"

Zhou Weiqing laughed and said: "Master Yun Li is indeed of an extremely high level. I barely managed to drag our second round to a draw, and alas I lost the third round. As such, our final result is an overall draw. It looks like even the Heavens do not want us to become each other's Followers. Oh well… what can we do?"

Chapter 193: Seal of Darkness! (2)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Listening to Zhou Weiqing's words, Qin Feng also heaved a small sigh of relief. In his, and most others', eyes, if a Consolidating Equipment Master became a Follower of another Consolidating Equipment Master, it was something rather inconceivable.

The only thing that was in Yun Li's mind now was a patch of sorrow: So fake, so hypocritical! This guy is truly so fake! Sigh… I wonder how my future will be like under him…

After replying Qin Feng's question, Zhou Weiqing held Shangguan Bing'er's hand, and they exchanged looks. Zhou Weiqing wriggled his brow at her in a joking manner. Shangguan Bing'er did not resist, smiling happily at her future husband, her heart full of pride. Right just now, Zhou Weiqing had already used Heavenly Energy and their secret code from the Heavenly Bow Unit to give her a summary of what had happened.

As a Mid Level Consolidating Equipment Master, to be able to beat a High Level Consolidating Equipment Master, wasn't that something to be proud of? An outstanding, talented man was definitely attractive to women.

As the four descended the stairs, the sky had already darkened outside. However, the entire trading center was lit up during this time, as it was usually more crowded during the night. By now, there were more than a hundred onlookers surrounding the area.

Seeing the four walk out of the shop, the crowd immediately burst forth with questions. Everyone was curious about the victor of this match; after all, it would determine the Following of this two talented Consolidating Equipment Masters!

"Big bro Qin, you can announce it." Zhou Weiqing was happy to be the good guy and let Qin Feng have the honour. At the same time, he whispered to Yun Li: "Stop giving that bitter expression, how could we let others believe we had a draw if you keep that up."

Yun Li glared at him, his mouth about to say something, but he finally managed to squeeze out a smile.

Qin Feng said loudly: "Our shop 77 was very honoured to be able to host this competition between this two young and talented Consolidating Equipment Masters. After a long fight, we have finally proven that they are evenly matched, and both of them indeed admire each other a lot. The bet is over, and the final result is an overall draw. I believe that from the first competition, everyone has seen how talented both these Masters are. If any of you are interested in being their Followers, do hurry up! The opportunity will not last long!"

Just as some of the Jewel Masters were rather interested, Yun Li suddenly interrupted: "That will not be necessary. I am very tired after the battle today. Furthermore, after the duel with Master Zhou, I have had some further understanding and fresh ideas, and I will be going through some close door cultivation for a while, and will not be taking on Followers for now."

Zhou Weiqing laughed and said: "In that case, that's all for today. When we are ready to accept Followers once more, we will come back here to inform everyone." It was not good to be greedy, and his gains today was already unbelievably fortuitous. Furthermore, he still had a whole class of commoner students to support. With such a Follower like Yun Li, Zhou Weiqing was already very satisfied, and he didn't need to rush into getting more Followers. After that battle with Yun Li, Zhou Weiqing had managed to think things through. When his cultivation level was higher, and his Consolidating Master rank higher, he would naturally be able to attract stronger Followers, and there was no need for him to rush into things.

With that thought in mind, Zhou Weiqing decided not to continue.

Sighs of regret sounded out from around the crowd, as they started to dissipate. Of course, whether or not the sighs were due to the lack of an actual victor, or because they were no longer accepting Followers, only they themselves knew.

"Hello Master Zhou, I'm very pleased to meet you. My name is Zhou Changxi, we share a common ancestor! I'm the boss of the shop 76." Seeing that both sides had drawn, Zhou Changxi also heaved a sigh of relief. After all, he was afraid that Yun Li might have lost.

Zhou Weiqing smiled and said: "Nice to meet you Boss Zhou."

Zhou Changxi then turned to Yun Li and said: "Bro Yun, if you want to go about closed door cultivation, you can head over to my place."

Yun Li shook his head and said: "That will not be necessary. I have become good friends with Weiqing, and we are prepared to exchange pointers and train together regarding Consolidating Equipment Scrolls." He had already become Zhou Weiqing's Followers, naturally he would be going together with Zhou Weiqing. Although he felt that Zhou Weiqing trying to hide the truth was extremely fake, in truth he also did not want it revealed to the world that he had lost. Especially, since he had lost to a person with lower cultivation level and Consolidating Equipment Master Ranking. That would be extremely humiliating.

In fact, what was at the forefront of his mind was still that rose red Alexandrite Cat's Eye Jewel. Just like what Zhou Weiqing said, there was indeed no shame in losing to that. He was also extremely glad that he has resisted his own thoughts to break his own word, as he knew that he would have had no chance against a Heavenly Jewel Master with the legendary Alexandrite Cat's Eye.

Hearing Yun Li's words, Zhou Changxi was rather surprised, but he did not say anything. After all, he was friends with Yun Li, not his boss.

Seeing Yun Li's gloomy face, Zhou Weiqing grinned. Just as he was about to tell Qin Feng what he needed to buy, a rather strange voice sounded out all of a sudden.

"Is it possible for me to also have a bet with the two Masters?" The reason why the voice was described as strange was because it had a very metallic feel. Thick, strong. Even before seeing the person speaking, the voice had already given them such an impression.

Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li immediately turned towards the direction of the voice, only to see a large man in front of them.

This man was even taller than the 1.9m tall Zhou Weiqing, his shoulders broad to an almost exaggerated state. Zhou Weiqing was already considered very well built, but in comparison to this man in front of them, he seemed almost slender and thin. One could almost see the bulging muscles of his shoulders, almost as if there was a metal ball shoved in there.

With round eyes and well-formed forehead 1, and a full beard and whiskers which hid his actual age from them, and a head full of short red hair. All of that combined to give a fierce look. However, he had a pair of deep blue eyes, calm as the sea. Standing there, he seemed like an immovable mountain.

Looking at this person, Zhou Weiqing, Yun Li, Shangguan Bing'er and Qin Feng all revealed uncertain, confused looks. Only Zhou Changxi had a rather surprised look in his eyes, his brow furrowing as a cold light flashed momentarily in his eyes, though it quickly vanished. However, nobody noticed the quick change of expression on his face.

"Who are you?" Zhou Weiqing asked curiously.

The bearded man said in his powerful voice: "My name is Lin TianAo. I am a Mid Level Zun Stage Heavenly Jewel Master with the Earth Elemental Attribute and Defense Physical Attribute, and I wish to have a bet with the two Masters."

Mid Level Zun Stage? A five-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master! Zhou Weiqing was no stranger to a pure defense Heavenly Jewel Master like that, as Ma Qun had the same combination. However, Ma Qun was only had a single set of Jewels, while the man in front had five. The difference between them would be like heaven and earth.

Yun Li was about to say something, but Zhou Weiqing quickly said with an expressionless face: "What do you wish to bet with us?"

Lin TianAo said in a serious tone: "I wish to bet in a similar bet like the two Masters had earlier. If I win, I want both of your Lifetime Following. If you win, I will lose my lifetime Following to both of you. With both your current cultivation levels, it is unlikely you will be able to get Followers of my level and calibre. Furthermore, I am an Ultimate type Heavenly Jewel Master."

An 'Ultimate' type Heavenly Jewel Master referred to having the Physical Jewel and Elemental Jewel were boosting a similar type, bringing it to the maximum possible. For example, Shangguan Bing'er would be considered a speed and agility Ultimate Type Heavenly Jewel Master, and this Lin TianAo would be an Ultimate Defense Heavenly Jewel Master.

Zhou Weiqing laughed and said: "I guess that you will be wanting to bet in terms of combat prowess. However, we are both just a Upper Level Shi Heavenly Jewel Master, and a Lower Level Zun Stage Heavenly Jewel Master, why would we bet with a Mid Level Zun Stage Heavenly Jewel Master like yourself? Don't you think your bet is too much of a joke?"

Lin TianAo was not put off by Zhou Weiqing's mocking words, his eyes remaining calm and solemn. "Since this is a bet, it naturally has to be fair. What you said is indeed correct, if it was just a normal fight, it will definitely not be fair. Even if both of you came at me together, you will not be able to take me down. However, my bet is as follows – I will stand there without returning blows, and both of you can attack me all you want in the time for an incense stick to burn. As long as you can cause me to move my feet at all, it will count as your win."

As soon as he said that, Zhou Weiqing was extremely surprised, and an anger rose in Yun Li's eyes. Even Qin Feng and Shangguan Bing'er had a look of shock on their faces. Only Zhou Changxi had his brow furrowed, his expression changing.

Zhou Weiqing's surprise naturally had a reason behind it. Without question, this Lin TianAo had given extremely favourable conditions for them, so much so that it would be difficult for them to refuse.

For both of them to attack for the entire time of an incense stick to burn… to be able to give such a conditions for a bet, how much confidence did he have in his own defence! After all, both of them were Spatial Attribute Heavenly Jewel Masters, and the Spatial Attribute attacking skills were extremely damaging. Furthermore, his own Physical Jewel was that of the Strength Attribute. To say that they could defeat him was highly unlikely, but to not even be able to even make him move, that was something that both Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li could not believe.

"Are you looking down on us?" Yun Li cried out angrily.

Lin TianAo said passively: "This is just a bet, and it is up to both of you to accept it. No matter which one of you, to be able to get a Follower like me, in future when killing Heavenly Beasts to Store Skills, it will be of immense help. Furthermore, as my strength and cultivation level grows, my defense will keep growing. In future, I might even be able to block a dragon's blow."

Hearing his words, Yun Li almost agreed rashly, but he was quickly stopped by a look from Zhou Weiqing. Only then did he remember that he was no longer a free man, and couldn't help but feel a sense of dejection in his heart. However, the fighting spirit in his eyes did not falter, as he looked at Zhou Weiqing, hoping that he would agree with this bet. After all, Yun Li did not believe that he could possibly lose this fight.

Chapter 194: Seal of Darkness! (3)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Zhou Weiqing looked at Lin TianAo and smiled, placing his hand on Yun Li's shoulder, he said with a faint smile: "I'm sorry, we reject the bet."

Lin TianAo started before saying: "Reject? Why? Aren't my conditions favourable enough? When you are attacking, I will not counter attack at all."

Zhou Weiqing shook his head and said: "Bro Lin, I'm afraid you haven't seen things clearly, or perhaps you are treating us like idiots. You are a Ultimate Defense Type Heavenly Jewel Master… how much attack power do you even have anyway? Of course, you can easily say that you will not counter attack, after all, probably more than 90 percent of your power is held up in defense right. Naturally, you can pretend to be generous in that matter. Our cultivation levels are below yours, and you are also a pure Ultimate Defense type. If we can't move you, we will have to be enslaved to you for life. Such a bet where I have no confidence, I will not go through. Come on Yun Li, let's go back to the shop, I still have things to buy."

No matter Lin TianAo or Yun Li, no one had expected Zhou Weiqing to reject it so easily. Even Shangguan Bing'er and Qin Feng were also a little puzzled. After all, earlier, when Zhou Weiqing had placed his bet with Yun Li, none of them had actually thought he would win, yet Zhou Weiqing had insisted in doing so. Now that a bet was placed in front of him that seemed so favourable, he had instead avoided it. None of them could understand what was going on.

On the other hand, Zhou Changxi's look towards Zhou Weiqing had changed, nodding his head inwardly to himself, thinking: What a clever little scoundrel. It looks like perhaps the bet between him and Yun Li is not as simple as a draw.

Seeing that Zhou Weiqing was pulling Yun Li away, Lin TianAo couldn't help but feel a sense of urgency. "Wait, what terms do you need for you to be willing to bet with me?"

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily. Just as he was about to reply that he wouldn't bet with him no matter what, a sudden voice rang out in his voice, causing his heart to shake in shock, causing him to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

"Bet with him, I will help you secretly. You definitely must win, this person will be of great use to you. I am Tian Er." The voice that sounded out in Zhou Weiqing's ear spoke out. He did not know where it came from, but he could tell the owner of the voice was the mysterious white clad young lady Tian Er, who had saved him from Ming Wu the other day.

If we were to say that previously Zhou Weiqing's memories of this Tian Er were somewhat unreal, almost like she was an illusion, he finally could confirm her existence.

"Well… it's not impossible for me to take this bet…" Zhou Weiqing had not thought things through, after all he had just gotten word from Tian Er barely a moment ago. However, he had always been quick thinking, and with a short pause, an idea came to his mind. "My terms are that you have to only use one hand to fight with us; furthermore, both of us can attack you at the same time."

Hearing Zhou Weiqing's words, not just Qin Feng and Yun Li, even Shangguan Bing'er felt that he was asking for too much. Even if this Lin TianAo had one more set of Jewels than Qin Feng, they were after all fighting him 2 versus 1, with him not even counter attacking, yet he still wanted him to only use a single hand?

After all, Lin TianAo's bet with them was that his feet would not leave the ground. That was to say, in the fight, he would not even be able to use his feet as weapons. Under such a circumstance, to only be able to use a single army in the fight, it would hardly be fair.

Yun Li closed his eyes, sighing inwardly. Ahhh, how could I lose to such a shameless fellow! My good name, its all ruined now!

However, to everyone's shock, when Lin TianAo heard Zhou Weiqing's request, he only thought for a while before nodding. In a solemn tone, he said: "Alright, I agree to your request."

"En?" Beside Zhou Changxi, everyone stared at Lin TianAo in shock. Even Zhou Weiqing had not expected him to agree to his terms. His original thinking was that if this Lin TianAo did not agree, he would just go with the original terms. After all, with Tian Er helping him secretly, he was confident of the win. That Tian Er Beauty was from the something something Snow God Mountain, and had six sets of Alexandrite Cat's Eye Jewels. Such a powerful being, no matter how powerful this Lin TianAo was, he would likely not be a match for her. After all, she had been able to scare off Ming Wu. However, Lin TianAo had given him a surprise and agreed to his terms.

Just a second ago, Yun Li had still been thinking of how shameless Zhou Weiqing was. Yet now, his heart was racing in fear. He was also an intelligent person, and when Lin TianAo agreed to Zhou Weiqing's outrageous request, he immediately calmed down. Yun Li realised that perhaps this Mid Level Zun Stage Heavenly Jewel Master was not as simple as he thought.

"Let's go to the Underground Arena then. After all, once we are there, none of us can break our word. Otherwise, if after the bet, you two wish to run, I will definitely not be able to catch up." Lin TianAo said passively.

Zhou Weiqing looked at Yun Li curiously: "What is this Underground Arena?"

Yun Li said: "There is an underground arena in our Trading Center, and it is a fighting ground usually used by Jewel Masters to settle their scores. It is also used to place bets, and many Jewel Masters like to go there to indulge in betting. This Underground Arena is secret from the Fei Li Empire, and the only thing we can be sure of is that it is definitely upheld strictly, and both sides will have to sign a contract before starting any fight. Anything can be used as a bet, items or even your own life. As soon as the fight is over, the bet contract has to be settled, otherwise the owner of the arena will carry it out on your behalf. It is rumoured that there was once a nine-Jeweled High Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master who tried to break his word and not honour the bet. The next day, his corpse was found hung on the east gate."

"Damn, that is a great place." A light shone in Zhou Weiqing's eyes, as he thought to himself. Even a High Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master was not able to run, that showed how powerful the master of the Underground Arena was. However, if that was so, would Tian Er really be able to help him cheat? If not, what would happen if he lost?

Tian Er's voice sounded out once more, with a hint of disdain at him, as if she had read his mind. "Do not worry, just go ahead."

Zhou Weiqing did not try to talk to her, but hearing her words affirmed his confidence. His trust in Tian Er was extremely simple. With her cultivation level and power, if she wanted him dead or to enslave him, she could have easily done so, especially after saving him from Ming Wu. Why would she need to go through such trouble?

"Please lead the way then." Zhou Weiqing motioned to Lin TianAo politely.

Lin TianAo walked in the front, leading Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li along as they rushed to follow. Just as Shangguan Bing'er was about to follow them, she was stopped by Qin Feng.

"Young lady, I'm afraid you'll have to wait for them here. The Underground Arena rules are such that no audience is allowed, and only those who are undergoing the bet can enter. With such favourable conditions, I believe that Bro Zhou and Master Yun Li should have no problems winning."

Zhou Weiqing turned around and nodded to Shangguan Bing'er, and she stopped as well, pursing her lips at him with a dissatisfied look on her face, as if saying. You are always making me worry!

As Lin TianAo led the two of them deeper into the heart of the Trading Center, he kept silent all the way. Yun Li's brow was furrowed, and the three of them walked along in an awkward silence.

Very soon, Lin TianAo stopped right in front of a large circular building. Without being told, Zhou Weiqing knew that they had reached. The building was only a single level, and seemed rather nondescript, except for the two large bright red words on the front: Underground Arena.

The door was wide open, looking like the gaping maw of a man-eating beast. Lin TianAo motioned towards Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li, before heading in ahead, with the pair following close behind.

After entering, Zhou Weiqing was a little surprised. Here, the entire floor was black, but the walls and ceiling were all blood red, and the entire area seemed to be permeated with a rather eerie and forbidding air around. After concentrating a little, he noticed a stairway leading down.

In front of the stairs, there was a red table, with an one-eyed old man sitting behind. The old man looked aged and frail, as if he was barely alive.

Lin TianAo took a big stride forward to the old man, giving a slight bow before saying: "We wish to fight and place a bet."

The old man nodded, saying: "You know the rules then, please pay up."

Lin TianAo did not say anything further, taking out a blue membership card like the one Zhou Weiqing had, passing it to the old man, who swiped it along a unique looking item, before returning the card along with a plaque to Lin TianAo. Waving his hand, he motioned the three of them to go ahead.

Yun Li quickly explained to Zhou Weiqing: "The fee is ten thousand gold coins for using the arena once, non-negotiable. Due to the authority and power of the Underground Arena and the securities it provides, the fee is not considered high."

Zhou Weiqing inclined his head in agreement, and the two of them continued following Lin TianAo down the stairs.

At the start, it was pitch black, but as they continued along after two bends, it gradually brightened. However, even the lighted walls were all blood red, and as they continued along, the eerie feeling grew stronger.

After they had descended more than thirty metres down, a tunnel finally appeared. Lin TianAo looked at the number of the plaque in his hands, and walked down along the path. He moved rather quickly, and it was obvious that this was not his first time here.

Zhou Weiqing could see that along the two sides of the walls of the tunnel, there were thick large doors, with a number on each of them. From the look of it, they corresponded with the plaques, and each should have an individual arena ring behind them.

Lin TianAo stopped right in front of the door with the number seven on it. Pushing open the door, they entered together.

In contrast to the dimly lit corridor outside, the large room was brightly lit, causing Zhou Weiqing to squint involuntarily for a while.

It was a huge round room, with a red robed man standing silently behind the door, his face covered in a cloth mask which hid his features. Seeing the three enter, the man said solemnly: "Do you require a betting contract before starting the fight?"

Chapter 195: Shield Assembly! (1)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

The red robed man's voice was rather strange, sounding rather inhuman with a very low, deep, raspy and even slightly warped feel. After listening for a while, Zhou Weiqing finally realised that it was done on purpose, and coupled with the cloth masked, it was clearly done to hide his identity. It was clear that this person had another identity outside of the arena, otherwise he had no need to go through such measures to hide himself. Zhou Weiqing couldn't help but feel his curiosity rise about this Underground Arena.

Of course, being curious was one thing, and actually investigating it was another. Zhou Weiqing was not foolish enough to pry into the matters of a mysterious place which could easily finish off a High Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master. At least, for him, the most important thing no was to ensure he could win the upcoming bet.

Having finally won this Yun Li, and gotten a Consolidating Equipment Master Follower, if he were to lose this fight, that would wipe out everything he had worked for, and even lose his own freedom to boot.

"Yes, we would like to sign a contract…" Lin TianAo said solemnly.

"Alright, please sign…" As he said that, the red-robed man took out a piece of white paper, placing it on a table by his side. Lin TianAo walked forward and quickly wrote their agreement on the paper according to what they had discussed. After examining it, Zhou Weiqing, Yun Li and Lin TianAo all signed on the paper.

After looking through the contract, the red robed man kept the paper and said: "You may all begin then."

Only then did Zhou Weiqing start examining the fighting area.

The fighting area was actually the large room, which was wide, spacious and brightly lit from all sides, though the light source could not be seen. On the floor of the round room, there were quite a lot of blood stains. On the walls and floor, there was a slight metallic glow.

The entire circular room was about thirty metres in diameter, and with it as the fighting area, it was considered very huge.

Lin TianAo walked to the center of the room, and as soon as he stood there and widened his stance, his entire aura changed. Currently, he seemed to give a feel of being totally melded with the room, like a statue there instead of a man, an inner glow shining forth from his eyes.

"Please." Lin TianAo cried out softly towards the two of them, who could clearly see the muscles bulging out exaggeratedly under his shirt, the sheer strength and power almost breathtaking.

Yun Li glanced towards Zhou Weiqing, a questioning look in his eyes. Zhou Weiqing raised a brow, saying: "You test his defences first."

Right at that moment, the red robed man said coldly: "The moment the both of you start your attack, the timing for the bet will begin. The time is the amount for a single stick of incense to burn down." As he said that, an incense stick appeared in his hands.

Yun Li took a deep breath and stepped forward, his Heavenly Jewels appearing around his wrists, glittering. His gold-green Cat's Eye and Dragonstone Jade shining with their respective colours, he struck the ground with his right foot, and his entire body shot forth like an arrow shot from a bow. Due to his speed when cutting through the air, a shrill sound ensued as he flew towards Lin TianAo.

"Haaaiiii…." Lin TianAo gave a low shout as he lifted up his left hand, the five Yellow Jade Physical Jewels shining brilliantly. The Yellow Jade depicted toughness, or defense, and immediately the first one coalesced in a burst of light into his first piece of equipment.

It was a piece of equipment that Zhou Weiqing had always wanted – a shield. Lin TianAo's first shield was round in shape, almost 1 feet and 5 inches in diameter. It was not decorated or having any elaborate designs, with only a single socket right in the middle of the shield.

Yun Li's Physical Jewel was the Agility based Dragonstone Jade, and with a flash, he appeared right in front of Lin TianAo. With a glow of his first Cat's Eye Jewel, his entire right fist was enveloped in a silver light which was almost a foot thick. With the advantage of his speed, just as he was about to reach Lin TianAo, he suddenly vanished, appearing right above Lin TianAo, his fist slamming towards his head.

By now, Zhou Weiqing was no longer the little newbie that he had been a few years back. With a single look, he had recognized the Spatial Skill that Yun Li was using.

The silver light around his right fist was a skill called the Compressed Spatial Cannon, and was an extremely powerful attacking skill. In terms of single target damage, it was perhaps stronger than even some of the seven star rated skills. Its only drawback was that it could only be used in close combat, but in combination with Yun Li's speed and agility from his Physical Jewels, it was a perfect match. Such a choice of skill was indeed a great choice for Yun Li.

His four-Jeweled Heavenly Energy was infused into the Compressed Spatial Cannon, and even a thousand jin rock would have been easily shattered by the blow. The use of the Skill was to instantly compress all the air in the atmosphere around, causing a huge explosive impact as well as its consecutive concussive power, combining to cause extreme destruction.

Although Lin TianAo's tone earlier was not very arrogant, his terms of allowing Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li to attack him together with all the restrictions on himself had truly angered Yun Li. This was especially so after having lost to Zhou Weiqing earlier, and having all the pent up anger within. As such, he had used his full strength in this blow.

Besides a quick note on Yun Li's attack, most of Zhou Weiqing's focus was on Lin TianAo.

When Yun Li had charged forward, Lin TianAo had already placed his left hand behind his back. Clearly, that was to signal that he would not be using that hand. Of course, not using the hand did not mean his Elemental Skills could not be used.

Facing Yun Li's speed and sudden swift direction changes, Lin TianAo had a very simple and direct method to deal with it. Lifting his right arm, the round shield was quickly raised above his head. Zhou Weiqing could clearly see a thick yellow light shine forth from the shield, and right in the midst of the socket appeared a glowing gold diamond. That was the Diamond Elemental Jewel – the Earth Attribute type.

*BANG* The Compressed Spatial Cannon slammed savagely into the shield, and Yun Li's body was sent flying back from the backlash. As for Lin TianAo, he stood there unmoving, his expression unchanging.

The red robed man in charge of the room seven had already lit the incense in his hands, and the bet had begun in that first clash.

Yun Li's body spun in mid air, as he flew towards the ceiling. He quickly made use of the movement to twist himself, and the first Dragonstone Jade on his right hand flashed in a momentary brilliance, and a spike appeared in his grasp – his first Consolidated Weapon.

Watching up to that point, Zhou Weiqing couldn't help but furrow his brow. After looking at Yun Li's weapon, he realised a problem they had.

Yun Li was in the same state of him, both of them having a Legendary Set Design. Under such a circumstance, it was impossible that Yun Li did not plan to make use of the Legendary Set! That meant that it was definitely impossible that Yun Li had Consolidated all four of his Jewels, and could at most have only two Consolidated. That was because he had to reserve more chances for his future Legendary Set. This was the same issue as Zhou Weiqing, whose third Jewel was also not Consolidated.

Very quickly, Yun Li charged forth a second time. This time, his speed was even faster than before, with three of his four Gold-Green Cat's Eye actually lighting up, a thick silver glow enveloping his entire body.

The sharp spike in Yun Li's hands also turned silver, and the air around his body was shuddering violently as he sped along.

Lin TianAo's expression finally changed a little, and he cried out: "Double Compression!"

Indeed, Yun Li was currently using three Spatial Skills, one of which was the Double Compression. Naturally, the Compressed Spatial Cannon was used once more, but this time it was used in conjunction with a powerful Spatial Support Skill, the Double Compression – which actually condensed it entirely into the sharp spike. Not only that, the third Skill that Yun Li had used was called the Spatial Blast Acceleration.

The Spatial Blast Acceleration was an extremely powerful support skill, and it made use of an instantaneous burst of air and explosion to give a quick immense burst of acceleration to the user. At the same time, it also gave a burst of improved Spatial Strength to the user, almost an increment of thirty percent. As such, it was a skill that was extremely useful, not just for attacking, but also for escaping.

After all, Yun Li was currently only of a four-Jeweled cultivation level, and could only Store four Spatial Skills. Under such a circumstance, for him to choose two Support Skills, that clearly showed how powerful and useful these support skills were. When he used the two skills in conjunction, Zhou Weiqing almost felt a little envious.

Both the Double Compression and Spatial Blast Acceleration were powerful Seven Star rated Skills.

Under the two support skills, Yun Li's attack could be said to be extended to his maximum possible power. The bet had just started, but he had already displayed his full strength, without leaving anything behind. His intention was to end this quick, and the other meaning was also to catch Lin TianAo off guard.

"Great!" Lin TianAo gave a loud shout. However, he still used a single hand, both feet still standing stably on the ground, but the round shield in his hands underwent a massive change as two intense bright lights shone forth.

The original round shield of about one foot and five inches diameter actually changed form totally, under the infusion of the two yellow lights, it turned into a unique triangular shield of about two feet width and five feet height.

Witnessing such a sight, not only Yun Li in mid combat, but also Zhou Weiqing who was watching from the side, were both caught by surprise. Both were Consolidating Equipment Masters, and they knew what this meant.

The two yellow lights that had melded into the round shield had originated from Lin TianAo's right hand, his Physical Jewels. That meant that he had used two more of his Consolidated Equipments, and the two were actually not individual equipment, but were used on his original round shield. The three pieces of equipment had actually fused together, forming a single, unique piece of equipment!

Chapter 196: Shield Assembly! (2)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

Consolidated Equipment Assembly Set! The phrase appeared instantly in both Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li's hearts.

A Consolidated Equipment Set and Consolidated Equipment Assembly Set might sound the same, with barely a single word difference, but in truth they were both differed greatly. The former referred to a full set of armour, made up of many different pieces of equipment including a weapon to form a comprehensive and complete package. The latter was instead several equipment combining together to form a single piece of equipment in a unique method. That was to say, after the Assembly of the pieces, the user would end up with only one equipment! What Lin TianAo had Assembled together was the shield in his hands.

A Physical Jewel had a limited amount of mass when Consolidated into Equipment. For example, Zhou Weiqing's large dual hammers, they were God Tier Consolidated Equipment, thus their mass was a lot larger than most other Consolidated Equipment. Even so, they had to be one solid and one without mass, and not just two solid ones! However, that was also the genius of the design, making use of this one real and one fake to overall increase the power of the entire set.

A Consolidated Equipment Assembly Set was a type of Consolidated Equipment that was being carried to the extremity. It was sacrificing much of the mass of the Physical Jewels used to greatly boost the power of a single piece of equipment. However, as far as Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li knew, it was usually used for weaponry. For it to be used in such a way like what Lin TianAo did, using 3 Physical Jewels to form a shield, they had never heard of such a thing. After all, even a Heavenly Jewel Master who could reach the highest possible cultivation level would only have twelve possible Consolidated Equipments. With that in consideration, who wouldn't want to have a full proper set of Consolidated Equipments!

Besides the fact it was being such an extreme, the other reason why Consolidated Equipment Assembly Sets were so rare was also due to the difficulty in creating the scrolls. These scrolls were a lot harder to create than normal Consolidating Equipment Scrolls, after all it was complicated to merge several Consolidating Equipments into a single one. The more the combined equipments, the more complicated and the harder it would be to create. Usually, it would only be made of two pieces, with five being the maximum, at least anything above five had not been seen before in history. Even the most extreme of Heavenly Jewel Masters would not want to expend so much on just a single piece of equipment, not even considering the difficulty to create the scrolls. Even a three set assembly required a Consolidating Equipment Grandmaster to create, and a five set would need a Zong Stage Master to complete.

Of course, under such a pursuit of extremes, a Consolidated Equipment Assembly Set was extremely powerful. This was one time when such a power was displayed.

Seeing Lin TianAo actually using such a three-Jeweled Assembly Set, Yun Li's expression changed instantly. For such a shield to be made out of three Physical Jewel Consolidated Equipments, it wasn't just as simple as a one plus one plus one sort of relation, but rather an exponential increase in power. Furthermore, this also caused the shield to have three sockets for Elemental Jewels, from just that alone one could imagine the sheer defensive power of this shield.

Although Yun Li's attack had been with all his might, he now had no confidence to even break through Lin TianAo's defense.

In such a critical moment with his back to the wall, Yun Li displayed a rather stunning combat talent. His body in midair, he actually managed to twist himself, forcibly changing the direction that his Spatial Blast Acceleration was bringing him in. Originally, his attack towards his opponent's chest was pulled back a few inches, causing him to land onto the ground. Instantly, the sharp spike in his hands struck towards Lin TianAo's legs instead.

Didn't you bet that your feet wouldn't move? Fine, I'll just attack your feet with all my might. The bottom of your shield is a sharp point, you shouldn't be able to block it so easily right.

Also, at the instance when they both met, Yun Li's fourth Elemental Jewel also lit up, and the pure silver sharp spike immediately shone forth with an illusory light, and instantly a silver shadow seemed to fly off from the spike, and as soon as it hit the air, it changed into a deep black.

"Dimension Slash." Zhou Weiqing was surprised in his heart. It was the eight star rated Spatial Skill – Dimension Slash, which was a lot stronger than the Compressed Spatial Cannon. All things considered, it was a skill that was rather similar to Zhou Weiqing's own Spatial Rend, but the Dimension Slash would only last for a split second, while the Spatial Rend would stay in mid air for a while, and also had other uses like its suction power as well as defensive usages.

Even so, without question, the attacking power of the Dimension Slash was extremely terrifying, and it was Yun Li's true ace in hand for this fight.

What was a Heavenly Jewel Master? A true powerful Heavenly Jewel Master was able to instantly unleash all his strength in a single blow, a single quick instant.

Yun Li's strike was already boosted by his two support skills, and under the boost of the Compressed Spatial Cannon, the Dimension Slash was now a whole different level. Not just a five-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master, perhaps even a normal six-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master would have problems dealing with such a blow.

Facing Yun Li's sudden change in direction, Lin TianAo's expression grew serious, but he only did a single movement.

His fourth Yellow Jade Physical Jewel shone, a brilliant yellow light once more melding into the shield in his hands, which grew even larger! With a loud clunking sound, it struck down heavily on the ground, blocking perfectly in front of the Dimension Slash.

Four Equipment Assembly. Zhou Weiqing's heart shuddered in shock. At the same time, a huge explosion sounded out, as Yun Li's attack slammed savagely right into Lin TianAo's shield.

The further improved shield had now become a tower shield. Although it was still a triangular shape with the bottom being spiked, but it had been shoved deep into the ground.

As the Spatial Heavenly Energy raged about wantonly, an ear-piercing sound of something splitting rang forth along with an intense shock wave, causing Zhou Weiqing to stagger back a few steps before regaining his balance. Even for the red robed man who was in charge of the room, an intense light flashed within his eyes and he gave a slight nod of approval.

A suppressed grunt rang out within the room as Yun Li was thrown back by the rebound. This time, he was thrown back savagely, almost hitting the edge of the room before he managed to recover himself.

The sharp spike in Yun Li's hands had disappeared, and Zhou Weiqing could clearly see that his right hand was trembling acutely, the Heavenly Energy around him seemingly close to dissipating. His face was red, and he gave a small cry as he vomited out a mouth of blood.

Yun Li's attack had been using all his might, and he had not held anything back, and as a result he had suffered a massive backlash. As his entire body fell back down to the ground, he was panting hard.

Although the fight had barely been ten seconds from start to finish, Yun Li had already expended more than fifty percent of his Heavenly Energy, and had also used all of his moves.

As for Lin TianAo, he still stood there unmoving, just like a stable mountain. The four-Jeweled Assembled Equipment Tower Shield right in front of him, firm and secure. Layers of yellow light shone forth from it, and it seemed he was totally unruffled. His feet had indeed not moved even a little at all. Yun Li's attack was indeed powerful, but it had not been able to even shake him.

Just like what Zhou Weiqing had said, Lin TianAo was well versed in defense, and not attacking. Just standing there, he was already able to use more than eighty percent of his whole arsenal.

Zhou Weiqing's mouth twitched involuntarily as he muttered inwardly: Dammit, that defense is just too sick. He had been observing Yun Li's attack closely, and could clearly tell how powerful it was, yet it had been all for nothing. His own attacks might be slightly stronger than Yun Li's, but could it truly break through Lin TianAo's four-Jeweled Assembly Equipment Tower Shield? With his own cultivation level in consideration, could he possibly breakthrough that shield in a single hand?

Jealousy, envy, hate! If only I could have such a shield, how nice it would be. Zhou Weiqing couldn't help but think. However, the clash between Yun Li and Lin TianAo was not totally useless. At least, it had let Zhou Weiqing realise something very important – Lin TianAo's sheer strength.

Although this Lin TianAo was a pure defense Heavenly Jewel Master, with his Physical Jewels being Toughness and Elemental Jewels being Earth. However, it seemed like he had an unnatural strength that far surpassed any normal person. Without much thought, Zhou Weiqing could easily sense the sheer terrifying weight that the four-Jeweled Assembly Equipment Tower Shield had, yet in Lin TianAo's single hand, it seemed as if it was weightless. From there, it could be seen how strong Lin TianAo was, even though his Physical Jewel was not of the Strength Attribute.

No wonder he had such confidence to fight and bet with me and Yun Li, he indeed has the capability and right to do so! Such a defensive power, even if he were fighting with a Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master like Ming Wu, he might be able to defend himself for a few strikes.

As Yun Li panted, he looked towards Zhou Weiqing, as if saying, I've already done my best, what now?

Taking a glance at the burning incense, Zhou Weiqing saw that it had barely burned down a little, and they still had quite a lot of time. Lin TianAo was also not in a rush, after all there was still quite some time, but it wasn't that easy to recover all the expended Heavenly Energy. In his eyes, Yun Li was much more of a threat to him than Zhou Weiqing.

Zhou Weiqing exclaimed with an expression of approval and envy: "Bro Lin, I am so envious of that shield of yours! Ahh, in the past I really wanted to Consolidate a shield for my first Equipment, alas my wife refused to let me to do so. Shields are so good, with that, who needs armour! If used properly, it can block any attack. In fact, it can also be used as a weapon right. Hmmm… Bro Lin, let me guess, could it be that your last Physical Jewel is also part of your Assembly Equipment?"

As he said that, he walked right in front of Lin TianAo.

Lin TianAo smiled passively and said: "This little bro has good insight indeed. My entire abilities are focused on my shield. Just like you said, it is both offense and defense. Alright, you have tested enough, why don't you both attack at once."

Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily and said: "Bro Lin, why don't you let me test your strength first." As he said that, he released his Heavenly Jewels, a gleam in his eyes as both his hands pushed onto Lin TianAo's shield. His muscles bulged suddenly, as he applied a sudden explosive strength.

Chapter 197: Shield Assembly! (3)

Translator: Zen Translations Editor: Zen Translations

"En?" As soon as Zhou Weiqing applied pressure, Lin TianAo was instantly surprised. He had originally looked down on this little brat with just three sets of Jewels. However, Zhou Weiqing's pure strength had given him a big shock, and he was immediately put under stress. Only he himself knew the true density and weight of this 4-Jeweled Assembly Equipment Tower Shield… almost six thousand jin! Any ordinary three-Jeweled Heavenly Jewel Master, even one with the Strength Attribute, would not be able to move it. Yet, Zhou Weiqing's shove caused him to feel an obvious pressure, like a ferocious wave in the turbulent seas.

"Good, very good, little bro, your strength is impressive." Lin TianAo smiled faintly, dipping his wrist down a little. Zhou Weiqing could clearly feel the shield in front of him stabilize, becoming just like Lin TianAo, steady and immovable as a mountain. Instantly, he withdrew his strength, and the strength from the shield immediately vanished.

Lin TianAo stood there looking at him with a passive smile on his face, as if supremely confident that he understood everything that Zhou Weiqing could throw at him.

All of a sudden, a cold, savage light flashed in Zhou Weiqing's eyes, and his right leg lashed out like a whip.

*Claaang* A huge roar rang out, the sudden earsplitting sound giving Yun Li and the red robed man a scare. Both of them had not expected that sudden kick to actually strike upon the shield with such an impact, like that of a huge hammer, and to give off such a terrifying sound.

The one who was most stunned was naturally Lin TianAo himself. Previously, facing Yun Li's full out attack, he had not even been shaken a little, yet this time with just a seemingly simple kick, he had actually swayed a little, as the Tower Shield shoved into the ground actually reverberated.

The ground seemed to groan beneath that. The floor of the arena rooms were actually made out of titanium alloy, but under the impact and weight of Lin TianAo's heavy shield, a one chi long opening was torn open. From that, one could just imagine how powerful Zhou Weiqing's kick was.

Indeed, once again, Zhou Weiqing had unleashed the full explosive effect of his Demonic Right Leg, its short term instantaneous attack power reaching his Dual Hammers! This sudden strike of Zhou Weiqing's was his true hidden attack, as he had actually infused that kick with an immense amount of Heavenly Energy. Added to the surprise factor, even Lin TianAo's insane shield and defense had been almost thrown back by that direct hit.

A few years back, when Zhou Weiqing had swallowed the black pearl, it could be said to be a Heavenly Core of an unbelievably powerful Heavenly Beast. However, that Heavenly Beast did not belong to this universe, coming from a totally different universe. It had been attacked by a powerful foe which it couldn't beat, and at the last moment it had torn open a spatial rift and escaped with its Heavenly Core, but alas that had ended up being swallowed by Zhou Weiqing and benefitting him instead. 1 This powerful Heavenly Beast's body was known for its strength, and its strength was extremely powerful, and amongst that the strongest was its tail. Zhou Weiqing's Demonic Right Leg had indeed inherited the power of that very tail.

Zhou Weiqing's entire body was filled with strength, but a large bulk of it could only be accessed while in the Demonic Change state. The only exception to that was his Demonic Right Leg, and as Zhou Weiqing had grown, its attack had grown more and more terrifying.

The intense backlash caused Zhou Weiqing's body to spin around the ground, but his right leg did not feel any pain, and it lashed out again immediately.

It could be said that Lin TianAo was the first person to suffer the full force of his Demonic Right Leg without taking any damage. Having such a good punching bag, how could Zhou Weiqing not want to try out the full strength of his right leg?

By now, Yun Li was staring at the scene before him dumbfounded. Although his own abilities did not lie in strength, he could hardly believe that Zhou Weiqing's simple kick could do what he could not, despite having put all his full might behind his attack. Was that rascal even human?

On the other hand, Lin TianAo was even more shocked than Yun Li. On one hand, he had severely underestimated Zhou Weiqing and not used his full might in holding the shield. However, he had also been lucky that the floor was made of a titanium alloy. If not for that, perhaps he would have been shoved back along with his shield, and lost the bet there and then.

Masking the surprise in his heart, he focused on the fight before him once more, as a brilliant thick yellow light shot forth once more around his right hands, and his fifth Yellow Jade Physical Jewel actually melded into the shield again. As it became a five-Jeweled Assembly Equipment, its greater weight caused it to sink down, digging deeper into the ground. At the same time, all five of his Elemental Jewels embedded themselves into the sockets on the shield.

Such a sudden blow had caused Lin TianAo to reel in his easygoing manner, and he would not make any more mistakes. After all, this bet was his lifetime freedom! By now, the incense stick had been burned a fifth. He was resolute that he would use all his might to defend himself from the two; he could not afford to lose as well!

Another huge clashing sound rang as Zhou Weiqing's second kick slammed into the shield. Alas, this time, he was thrown back just like Yun Li, though he recovered much better, spinning around in midair to land back on his feet stably.

"Damn." Looking at the new shield in Lin TianAo's hand, Zhou Weiqing couldn't help but let lose a curse in his mind. That was just too disgusting. Turning his head, he looked at Yun Li, only to see that Yun Li's expression was extremely ugly.

A five-Jeweled Assembly Equipment like that was definitely made by at least a Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Master. Furthermore, even a Zong Stage Consolidating Equipment Master would have to spend at least five years of full concentration and lots of precious materials in order to create such a set.

This ultra heavy shield in Lin TianAo's hand was about 2 metres wide and 2.2 metres tall, glowing in a brilliant yellow. It was marked with strange markings like that of a turtle's back, while there were five sockets currently filled with his Elemental Jewels spaced out neatly around the shield. Without question, all of his skills were also defensive ones designed to be used in conjunction with this shield. Such a defense was unbelievably disgusting, and Zhou Weiqing was not even sure if a High Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master like Ming Wu could even destroy it.

It wasn't just the shield alone. Even Lin TianAo was also glowing with a similar light as the shield, as if he was one with his shield. Beyond a doubt, this was Lin TianAo's strongest state, and even Zhou Weiqing's Demonic Right Leg's full power bounced off it.

By now, Yun Li had already recovered a little, and he walked towards Zhou Weiqing. With a bitter smile, he said: "What now? Don't tell me that I'm going to lose myself in a bet for the second time today?"

Zhou Weiqing smiled faintly and said: "There is still a lot of time, do not worry so soon." At the same time, his brain was running through all possible solutions. The reason why he was so calm was not just because of his character, but also because of Tian Er's promise to him. However, facing such a powerful defense, both he and Yun Li were getting a headache trying to break through it.

Lin TianAo was naturally happy to wait while they weren't attacking, and he stood there silently preparing himself. The time for an incense stick to burn wasn't exactly a long time, but it wasn't short either.

"His shield can only defend a single side, let's launch a pincer attack from the front and back." Zhou Weiqing finally said solemnly.

Yun Li's eyes brightened and he nodded in agreement. Just as he was about to turn around to take action, he heard Zhou Weiqing's voice speak silently in his ear: "You can start the attack first, with harassment as your priority, do not expend too much Heavenly Energy. When I give the signal with a loud shout, then we will both take action at the same time. At that point, I need you to launch your full powered attack once more, just like the previous time. Your target will be his left leg."

Yun Li nodded slightly to indicate his understanding and with a quick flash, he had routed around to behind Lin TianAo, who smiled faintly and said: "You should have done this at the start. Let's go then!"

His composure and confidence did not affect Zhou Weiqing at all. Lifting his left hand, the Overlord Bow coalesced into his hands in an icy mist.

In order to ensure this win, Zhou Weiqing knew he needed to unleash every weapon in his arsenal, and naturally all his strongest skills lay in his archery. In truth, Zhou Weiqing's melee combat was lacking a lot as compared to his archery skills, and only the fact that he had a lot more skills than an ordinary Heavenly Jewel Master, and many of them of high ratings, that he was usually able to get the jump in close combat situations. After all, his two years spent in the Heavenly Bow Unit were spent learning and training with their members, whose abilities were all long range. Naturally, the two years of trainings there had molded him into a powerful archer as well.

Overlord Bow in hand, Zhou Weiqing entered a strange state, and even Lin TianAo at the other end could sense the sudden change in his aura.

Just like how Lin TianAo seemed to be one with his shield, the current Zhou Weiqing also gave the impression of being one with his bow. That huge Overlord Bow seemed to be part of his hands, like the eyes of his arms, while his own eyes turned sharp and piercing.

*Weng* A sound rang out, and it seemed as if the bowstring vibrated a little and in the next instant a huge explosion rang out against Lin TianAo's shield, almost at the same time as the screeching sound.

So fast! Once again, Lin TianAo was given a shock in his heart. Although the explosive effect of the Overlord Bow was still far from being able to shake his shield, he still had not managed to get a clear look at Zhou Weiqing drawing his bow and releasing it. This fellow is actually an archer? Without knowing why, a bad feeling suddenly struck Lin TianAo, and he realised that he had once again underestimated this three-Jeweled youth.

This underground arena room was only thirty yards wide in diameter, and while that was very large for a close combat fight, it was an extremely short distance for an archer, especially for a bow with such a range and power like the Overlord Bow. However, if it were an ordinary fight, such a short distance would be a detriment to an archer, as a quick charge would mean the opponent reaching him easily. However, they were in the midst of a bet, and Lin TianAo was not allowed to move, and could only allow Zhou Weiqing and Yun Li to attack as he pleased, while he stood in the middle of the room. Even though Zhou Weiqing was standing at the edge of the room, barely a dozen yards from him, he was not able to do anything about it. Under such a range, even a Higher Level Zong Stage Heavenly Jewel Master would not be able to easily dodge such an arrow, especially one shot from the Overlord Bow. The range of about a dozen yards would also allow the arrow to fly enough to reach a good acceleration, at least reaching eighty percent of its full power. Furthermore, Zhou Weiqing's Overlord Bow had two sockets. After all, no matter how good a shield was, it was not worn armor, and it would not be able to block every inch of his body. After felt Zhou Weiqing's powerful kick earlier, Lin TianAo did not dare underestimate him again.

However, no one in the room noticed a dim black light stealthily creeping out from below Zhou Weiqing's feet. It was the Touch of Darkness, but it was currently not being used for its binding powers, but to improve his senses.