CHAPTER 412: CHAPTER 412: AN ARROW BREAKS THE ABYSS

"Jiang, I heard from Gong Jian that everyone in the Vermilion Bird Squad has mastered the Crescent Arrow, is that right?"

"That’s correct. To adapt to combat in the sea, land, and air, the Crescent Arrow is an essential skill to master."

"I have a move that can break through the Abyss Giant Beast’s barrier. It’s developed from the Crescent Arrow, but it requires going all in. My own Star Power is limited, so I need the help of you brothers."

"Circulate the Crescent Arrow and then infuse it into your body? Can your small frame withstand it?" Jiang Xin asked worriedly.

Although Wang Lan was extraordinary, and his strength was indeed recognized by them, this request was far too bold. This wasn’t the Star Power of a single Star Sea Realm Star Martial Warrior, but the combined Star Power of dozens of Star Sea Realm experts. Wasn’t he afraid he’d explode?

Infusing the Crescent Arrow into Wang Lan’s body is similar to two people jointly launching a Combined Star Martial Skill. Since the Crescent Arrow uses the body as the bow and the circulation of Star Power within the body as the string, the Star Power of the Crescent Arrow cannot be merged outside the body.

"No problem."

With the urgency of the battle, there wasn’t time for Jiang Xin and the others to hesitate. Soon, the remaining forty-odd Vermilion Bird Squad warriors formed a conical formation behind Wang Lan, each person pressing against the back of the one in front.

It appeared similar to internal energy transfer, but it was much more complex than imparting internal energy. Pure Star Power normally cannot enter another person’s body. Star Power exhibits repulsion, even between powers of the same attribute.

However, Star Martial Skills are different; the same type of Star Martial Skills can be merged. This merging, though, requires extremely high levels of synchronization and control over Star Power. If Wang Lan hadn’t previously seen them perform the Five Elements Annihilation, and witness their joint Star Martial Skill this time, he truly wouldn’t have dared to let them attempt this.

If, by some disastrous miscalculation, it wasn’t a Star Martial Skill *infusion* but an uncontrolled Star Martial Skill *release*, Wang Lan would have no choice but to use his clone-rebirth ability.

The Crescent Arrow Star Martial Skill used the body’s meridians as the bowstring. Each circulation was a charge of power, and to link the power of over forty people in this manner, the difficulty was immense.

If even one person made a mistake, the Star Martial Skill would undoubtedly backfire.

Accompanied by the surge of Star Power, every member of the Vermilion Bird Squad radiated a golden light, making them resemble bronze Buddha statues. Suddenly, the light intensified, and a tangible, terrifying stream of Star Power burst forth from Jiang Xin at the forefront, pressing into Wang Lan’s back.

"To you—"

BOOM—

A torrential surge of Star Power, like a bursting dam, instantly filled Wang Lan’s entire being.

"Void Purple Eyes, open!"

Wang Lan abruptly opened his eyes. The purple light within them pierced outwards like two searchlights shooting straight into the sky. Within his purple eyes, the Abyss Giant Beast’s movements nearly froze, and the central node of the barrier surrounding it radiated a dazzling light.

"Star Sky God Arrow—"

Wang Lan clasped his right wrist with his left hand, his two fingers extended like a spear, aimed at the barrier’s central node. Suddenly, an arrow exuding searing white light appeared at his fingertips.

The arrow was neither large nor long, but it was extraordinarily hot and dazzling, as if the sun itself had landed on Wang Lan’s fingertips.

A terrifying might spread out, and the colors of heaven and earth abruptly changed.

Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and the surroundings plunged into darkness, as if the very world was transforming to accentuate the brilliance and searing heat of Wang Lan’s arrow.

The Abyss Giant Beast sharply turned its head, its eyes fixing intently on Wang Lan. Seemingly sensing the threat from Wang Lan’s arrow, the Abyss Giant Beast hastily raised its hand to draw an imaginary bowstring.

An arrow formed of immense Star Power instantly materialized on the Abyss Giant Beast’s imaginary bowstring. But Wang Lan’s Star Sky God Arrow had already been loosed.

The breathtaking nature of that arrow caused the entire space to momentarily freeze. Even the four Titled Strongmen, who were furiously unleashing their power, paused for an instant as space itself seemed to stop.

Shards of space peeled off layer by layer like shattered glass, bypassing dimensional obstacles to instantly strike the center of the Abyss Giant Beast’s barrier.

BOOM—

Terrifying white light illuminated the sky, and the Abyss Giant Beast’s body froze instantly. Just a moment later, the barrier exploded with a deafening crash. The luminous arrow, its trajectory unaltered, plunged straight into the Abyss Giant Beast’s chest.

BOOM—

The white light pierced through the Abyss Giant Beast and shot up into the heavens, leaving a massive hole in its chest.

ROAR—

The Abyss Giant Beast’s invincible barrier—shattered! The mighty Abyss Giant Beast—critically wounded!

"KILL—" Mo Tai roared upon witnessing this.

The four Titled Strongmen immediately gathered all their Star Power and, almost simultaneously, unleashed a frenzied barrage at the Abyss Giant Beast’s chest.

In the instant before the Abyss Giant Beast could react, four fearsome attacks poured into its chest, ravaging its gigantic body from within.

The Abyss Giant Beast froze once more. Its body then began to explode continuously, like a dynamited statue, disintegrating piece by piece from head to toe.

Assisting in an over-leveled execution: Reward 150,000 experience points, 10,000 skill points.

Successfully completing the beheading mission: Reward 300,000 experience points, 20,000 skill points!

Hearing the pleasant voice in his ear, Wang Lan staggered slightly. He had been drained of strength twice in such a short period. But seeing the Abyss Giant Beast reduced to dust, a faint smile touched Wang Lan’s lips.

Just then, a ripple suddenly undulated in the void. Two figures stepped out. "Am I too late?"

The Qing Emperor’s eyes swept over the battlefield where the dust had settled, a bitter smile on his lips. He had rushed here nonstop after receiving the notification, arriving in no more than fifteen minutes. How could the Abyss Giant Beast have been slain in such a short time?

Yu Ruoyun approached Wang Lan and helped him up. "How are you?"

"I’m fine, just drained. What are you doing here?"

"I was worried, so I came to check. Besides, with Uncle here, there wouldn’t be any danger."

During their conversation, the Qing Emperor had already gotten the details of the situation from Mo Tai. Normally, an Abyss Giant Beast’s strength far exceeded the Star Sea Realm. Even with four Titled Strongmen, the probability of defeating an Abyss Giant Beast was less than ten percent.

In the past, whenever an Abyss Giant Beast appeared, it was the Five Emperors who dealt with it. Titled Strongmen would typically only stall the beast until one of the Five Emperors arrived. A situation like today’s had never happened before.

After fully grasping the situation, the Qing Emperor looked back at Wang Lan and, after a long moment, sighed softly. "One for the future indeed!"

The battle ended, and the army returned triumphantly. Of the one hundred warriors who had marched into battle, more than twenty had fallen. The death of twenty Star Sea Realm experts was a significant loss, even for the Jade Country.

Yet, considering the outcome of the battle, it was worth it. Over fifty giant beasts and one Abyss Giant Beast—any other country would have likely lost dozens, if not hundreds, of Star Sea Realm experts to achieve such a result.

Against such a force, a third-tier country might have faced utter destruction.

With the conclusion of this great battle, the turmoil in the East Sea Pioneer Space also subsided. Furthermore, with the return of powerful experts to suppress any remaining threats, the East Sea Pioneer Space returned to tranquility within a mere three days. They even managed to reclaim the defensive lines lost to the beast tides over the past two years.

The restored calm in the East Sea Pioneer Space didn’t mean the underlying issues were resolved; it only meant the problems accumulated over two years had been addressed. If the root causes weren’t dealt with, the same events would likely recur in another two years.

Therefore, Wang Lan and the support team did not return to school but remained in the Pioneer Space to help stabilize the situation.

「Seven days later, the situation had stabilized completely.」

Wang Lan and the other supporting students could finally breathe a sigh of relief and had some time to rest. A three-day holiday might not seem like much to many, but to Wang Lan, who was weary in body and soul after this near-death battle, it was incredibly precious.

Wang Lan finally shouted the slogan often cried by office workers exhausted after a month of work when they finally got a holiday: "Damn it, I’m going to sleep for a day and a night—"

「After sleeping through the night, Wang Lan was awoken the next morning by Yu Ruoyun’s knocking.」

Wearing pajamas, his eyes somewhat red, he opened the door.

"My dear Princess, do you know that disturbing someone’s sweet dreams is as heinous as murdering their parents? Morning grumpiness can be terrifying, you know! In Smith Country, there was once a person who slaughtered an entire village because he woke up in a bad mood..."

"Why should the living greedily sleep? The dead have all eternity for that!" Yu Ruoyun retorted, unamused.

"Then let me die right now!"

"Stop talking nonsense. Get up. You’re coming with me to the Space Gate to investigate something."

"What for? Investigate what?"

"What else? The smuggling of Space Stones by the Star Martial families. Have you forgotten about Lv Ao?"

"I... alright then."

Reluctantly, Wang Lan got dressed and freshened up, then followed Yu Ruoyun to the Space Gate headquarters. After they stated their purpose, the official in charge of the gate quickly ushered Yu Ruoyun into his office.

"Miss Yu, actually, since the last incident, we’ve also been investigating the Star Martial families’ smuggling of Space Stones over the years. The results are better than I expected, much better. Initially, based on Lv Ao’s claims, it seemed like all the Star Martial families were involved. However, we ultimately found evidence implicating only five families.

Among these five, the frequency of smuggling each year wasn’t high, with the sole exception of the Lv Family, who transported large quantities of goods out annually. Because they had compromised the previous Space Gates, we can’t determine the exact amount smuggled out over time. But judging by the quantity seized this time... the cumulative total is quite substantial."

"So, you’ve already investigated. That saves me a lot of trouble. Which five families are they?"

"The Situ, Gongsun, Wang, and Zhao Families, and..." The Space Gate official looked up, hesitating slightly as he met Yu Ruoyun’s gaze, "...the Yu Family of the Zhenjiang King."

"The Zhenjiang King... Such disgrace to the family name!" Yu Ruoyun hissed, her brow furrowed in anger.

"However, the quantity they smuggled is less than one-tenth of what the Lv Family smuggled."

"What about Lv Ao? What happened to him? How did the Judgement Place handle his case?"

"I haven’t heard anything. It seems he vanished after being taken away last time. I’m only responsible for the gate; I really have no say in how the Judgement Place operates."

"They didn’t let him go, did they?"

"I highly doubt that would happen."

「After learning of the situation at the Space Gate, Yu Ruoyun took Wang Lan with her to the Judgement Place.」

In the Judgement Place office, a young man with slicked-back hair, idly toying with a green emerald in his hand, said nonchalantly, "Director Li, three S-grade Star Martial Skills, and I take Lv Ao."

"Mr. Lv, it’s not that I’m unwilling, it’s just... it’s truly impossible!" Director Li said, his expression conflicted and pained.

"Five sets."

"Mr. Lv, never mind five sets. If it were possible, I’d release young Mr. Lv even if you offered nothing. But... Princess Yu personally captured him. I wouldn’t dare release him even if you gave me ten times the courage."

"Can I see Lv Ao then?"

"That’s no problem. I’ll personally take you there."