Chapter 40 – Storm Spiral Thunderstrike: The Flower-Burying Arrow

—

The scene shifts. A few minutes earlier, on the narrow mountain path near the sect gate.

The Douhun City squad had already charged forward, and the two sides had begun fighting. Only Yona Weiss and Yang Jingxue remained in a face-off from dozens of meters apart.

"You're… from the Yang Clan… 'Flower-Burying Divine Archer' Yang Jingxue…"

Yona Weiss confirmed her identity.

Though he had never met her in person, the circle of Soul Douluo was small. Yang Jingxue, being a prominent figure of the Yang family, was well-known.

He had expected someone might remain to guard the mountain gate—but he hadn't expected it to be a peak Soul Douluo.

Yona considered for a moment and called out:

"Yang Jingxue, if you let me go, I swear I won't retaliate against Douhun City. Your intelligence network should know that I'm at odds with the main branch of my sect."

"Sounds pretty convincing. Too bad… you still have to get past me."

Yang Jingxue calmly repeated the same phrase she'd just used.

Yona continued:

"I could even cooperate with Douhun City—whether it's luring out stray Demon Ram Sect members or handling your… inconvenient business."

"Sounds pretty convincing. Too bad… you still have to get past me."

She repeated the same line.

Yona took a deep breath.

"Yang Jingxue, you're not a Titled Douluo yet. I'm a high-level Soul Douluo. If we fight, even if I lose, I could still break a few of your teeth.

I know I have no hope of breaking through to Titled Douluo, but you do.

If you get injured, it could ruin your chances."

"Sounds pretty convincing. Too bad… you still have to get past me."

Yang Jingxue said the same line a third time.

Yona Weiss was furious. This was a mockery. He forced himself to remain calm. A fight was unavoidable.

"Third Soul Skill – Dark Mist!"

His third soul ring lit up, and waves of thick black fog poured out, spreading forward from Yona and enveloping Yang Jingxue. Visibility dropped to less than two meters. It was a top-tier area control soul skill.

Although wind-listening is a basic technique for high-level archers, it's only effective at short distances as a visual aid. From dozens of meters away, it was useless.

"Yang Jingxue, this skill doesn't just obscure vision—it causes hallucinations and quickly drains soul power. If you stay still, we can just—"

Before he could finish, Yang Jingxue suddenly moved!

Yona watched in shock as Yang Jingxue drew her Seven-Despair Bow, nocked the Flower-Burying Arrow, and let it fly with a snap of the bowstring.

This arrow had a plum blossom-shaped arrowhead that spun rapidly during flight, greatly increasing penetration. Its six tails gave it a flight path as elusive as a mist—an advanced Yang Clan soul-guided arrow!

It shot directly toward Yona Weiss!

Whoosh!

In the blink of an eye, the arrow was in Yona's face. His smug expression vanished as he threw himself sideways in a clumsy dodge.

Even though he reacted quickly, the arrow grazed his shoulder, leaving a long, bloody wound.

"Impossible!"

He shouted, stunned.

In complete visual darkness, he hadn't expected Yang Jingxue to fire at all, let alone hit him.

Even though it was just a graze, the sheer force of the arrow was overwhelming—no less powerful than a ten-thousand-year soul skill.

This was Blind Hearing Technique—an elite archer's peak skill, a technique that only the most gifted archers could master.

Yona was terrified.

But it wasn't surprising. Against the world's most powerful bow-type martial soul, countless people have tried fog-type soul skills like Dark Mist.

Legend said that long ago, an ancestor of the Yang family, a divine archer soul master, was blinded in an ambush—his eyes destroyed after a fog-type soul skill cloaked the field.

Instead of giving up, he swore to overcome it. Within a year, he invented the Blind Hearing Technique, built atop wind-listening.

This technique allowed him to locate and lock onto long-range targets using only sound, in total darkness.

Before that, the Yang clan relied on arrow rain to roughly identify enemy positions—inefficient and wasteful.

But today, Yang Jingxue's single arrow told Yona:

Your soul skill is useless—because she has mastered Blind Hearing.

He lost the initiative.

As he barely dodged the first Flower-Burying Arrow, the second and third came flying, each aimed at his vital points. He didn't even have time to activate a soul skill.

The Three-Eyed Demon Ram martial soul wasn't known for speed. Just as he dodged one arrow, a different golden Flower-Burying Arrow streaked toward his chest.

He couldn't fully dodge. The arrow pierced clean through his shoulder blade, spraying blood into the air.

This was Yang Jingxue's Third Soul Skill – Golden Radiance, infusing her arrows with metal-type soul power, making them faster, more piercing, and harder to predict—especially when hidden among other arrows.

After being knocked down by the arrow, Yona finally got the chance to activate a skill.

"Fifth Soul Skill – Ten-Thousandfold Corrosion!"

The dark green mist spread from him. This soul skill inflicted rapid corrosion, causing shadow-type damage, especially effective against metal.

He used it to destroy incoming arrows and buy time.

Suddenly, he went silent, holding his breath and moving with utmost care.

Temporarily, Yang Jingxue lost track of him—her next few arrows missed.

Dark Mist still surrounded them. Her previous hits had relied on Blind Hearing.

She prepared to use a barrage to probe his location when—

Opportunity only knocks once!

"Eighth Soul Skill – Demonic Ram Divine Light!"

Yona finally used his trump card. Like Wilbur Weiss's skull soul skill, this caused:

Fear,

Mental stagnation,

Paralysis,

Immobility

—but with far greater potency.

The attack also delivered massive soul power damage. With his strength, it could be a decisive blow.

But the skill gave away his location.

It was a light-based soul skill, fast and powerful, though not as fast as Yang Jingxue's arrows.

The soul power fluctuations gave Yang Jingxue two options:

Use the family's Seven-Despair Steps to dodge, then counterattack—but this meant losing his position again, and her attacks would no longer be fatal strikes.

Fire first, then dodge or defend. But there was a gap in timing, meaning she might get hit—risking mutual destruction.

In the blink of an eye—

"Sixth Soul Skill – Tempest!"

"Seventh Soul Skill – Thunder Reversal!"

"Myriad Fusion Art: Wind and Thunder Dance of Heaven!"

(PS: Not a typo—yes, the seventh skill is used here.)

The Myriad Fusion Art was a secret Yang Clan technique. Their legacy wasn't just about combining attacks—but fusing them.

As Yang Jingxue drew her bow, the Flower-Burying Arrow on the string began to transform.

Gales and lightning surged toward it from all directions. In an instant, the arrow became a Storm Spiral Thunderstrike Flower-Burying Arrow!

The thunder roared through the sky. Wherever it flew, it shattered mountains and crumbled stones.

Fast! Extremely fast! Blindingly fast!

As a speed-type ranged soul master, Yang Jingxue had unmatched firing speed. Now with wind and lightning attributes added, the arrow's velocity reached unimaginable levels.

All martial arts bow to speed—

So do arrows.

The arrow left afterimages as it raced toward Yona Weiss. He didn't even see it—just a flash—

Then—impact.

"Sixth Soul Skill – Black Curtain of Darkness!"

Yona instinctively unleashed his soul skill, hoping the dark curtain would delay the hit.

Too late.

Unlike the arrow that pierced his shoulder earlier, this one exploded on impact.

The winding spiral burst into hundreds of small blades, shredding his body. Blood sprayed as lightning spread across his limbs, paralyzing him completely.

As his body locked up, the Flower-Burying Arrow drove into his heart.

The entire battle ended so fast no one could even see it. All they heard was the twang of the bowstring—

And Yona Weiss was blasted backward. By the time he hit the ground, he was already a corpse.

Crushed.

This was absolute domination—a martial soul and strength gap so wide that no one in the same rank could survive her strike.

Much less a mere Seventh-Grade martial soul wielder like the Three-Eyed Demon Ram.

Overwhelming destruction, nothing more.