Chapter 1520: Before Arrogance, Then Humility

The Elder pondered for a moment. "There's some truth to what you say. I just went out yesterday; going out again so soon would be too much for my lifespan. I'll leave this matter to you. However, he is the Regent King after all, so communicate with him properly. At the very least, make him return the Sun-Shooting Bow to the royal family."

It was indeed unreasonable for a royal treasure to remain in the hands of a human, but there had been too many shocking events yesterday for him to consider that point.

"Don't worry, leave it to me. If he dares to refuse, I can 'convince' him with virtue." Wu Fan waved his fist, sneering inwardly. He thought, "Just one Sun-Shooting Bow isn't enough; I need to get that other divine weapon too. Only then will it be worth the lifespan I expended to come out of seclusion this time."

As for the possibility of failure, he didn't consider it at all. In his view, a mere boy who had just become a grandmaster, even with some secrets and the ability to use divine weapons against other grandmasters, was still leagues beneath him.

If it weren't for the fact that the opponent was the Monster Race's Regent King, he wouldn't just seize the divine weapons; he'd also take his life. Sparing his life was already a great act of mercy; what more could he be dissatisfied with?

At this point, the Elder added, "Oh, by the way, I heard him mention the Elixir of Immortality before. Ask him about that too, while you're at it."

Yesterday, he had asked Zu An about it, and Zu An told him that the elixir had already disappeared from the secret realm and that he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, only heard legends about it. Plus, since even the Monster Emperor hadn't obtained it, he hadn't held much hope.

This time, Wu Fan would likely use force, so it was a good opportunity to see if anything could be coerced out of him. Perhaps the boy was hiding something.

"Don't worry, if he knows anything, I guarantee he'll spill it all like beans," Wu Fan said with a confident smile, then transformed into a blur and flew away.

***

Meanwhile, Zu An felt a violent surge of energy within him. To avoid damaging the imperial palace, he flew all the way to the mountains outside the city.

He was about to unleash a sword strike to vent the wild energy and test the power of his divine Tai'a Sword.

Suddenly, his heart stirred, and he looked up at a tree several yards away. Faintly, he saw a figure in the tree's shadow.

"Your awareness is quite good," a slender figure said as he emerged from behind the branches.

He wore a finely tailored black, form-fitting uniform with leaf-shaped patterns along the edges. Combined with his handsome face and slightly pointed ears, the characteristics of a dark elf were very distinct.

"Who are you?" Zu An asked, sensing hostile intent as the man's gaze locked onto him.

"I've always been merciful. I make sure those who die by my sword know my name, so they don't arrive in the underworld without understanding why they died," the dark elf said with a sinister smile. "Remember, my name is Duan Genggou."

"Duan Genggou?" Zu An was taken aback, wondering if his parents were out of their minds to give him such a terrible name.

To Zu An's surprise, the man replied with pride, "In this dangerous world, no matter how high your cultivation, you must learn to play it safe. Those who don't often find their graves overgrown with tall grass."

Zu An found this amusing. "But from what you just said, you don't seem to play it safe at all."

"Because I'm completely confident, I naturally don't need to play it safe," Duan Genggou said, slowly drawing his rapier with a relaxed expression.

"You want to kill me?" Zu An asked indifferently.

"Congratulations, you got it right. Oh, I forgot to mention, Duan Tianchou is also my distant cousin," Duan Genggou said with an admiring tone, though his face remained terrifyingly cold.

"You want to avenge Duan Tianchou? Do you know that he also lost to me last night? Do you seriously think your cultivation is higher than his?" Zu An was slightly surprised. This was a good opportunity to probe his background; dark elves were known for their cunning methods.

"That Duan Tianchou's cultivation is indeed pretty good," Duan Genggou said, his expression sour, as if he'd been bested by him before. "But he only relies on being the Dark Elf King's younger brother to get richer resources. He's arrogant all the time; he doesn't understand that without those power and resources, he's simply no match for me."

"From your tone, it sounds like you're at best on par with Duan Tianchou, and more likely a little inferior. Who gave you the courage to kill me? Liang Jingru?" Zu An was puzzled. Dark elves were always cautious and cunning; what was wrong with this guy?

"Who is Liang Jingru?" Duan Genggou paused, but didn't dwell on the detail. "I've already conducted a thorough investigation of what happened yesterday. You merely relied on the power of the divine Sun-Shooting Bow, and at that time, there was also a grandmaster holding Duan Tianchou back."

He paused, measuring the distance between them with his eyes. "If we were twenty yards apart, I would definitely lose. Ten yards, I would try to avoid conflict with you. But you shouldn't have, absolutely shouldn't have, appeared so close to me. The Sun-Shooting Bow is simply not as fast as my sword."

The reason he had spoken so much was mainly to further close the distance between them.

Dark elves were always adept at assassination and close-quarters combat. Now, with less than a yard separating them, he had absolute confidence.

Within a yard, life and death were in his hands.

His luck was truly excellent this time. He had only come to the royal court to see if he could profit from the chaos, and upon arriving, he heard the news of Duan Tianchou's downfall. Then, the culprit responsible for Duan Tianchou's defeat just happened to appear so close to him. Wasn't the Sun-Shooting Bow practically delivered to his doorstep?

It was a double blessing!

The only pity was that another divine weapon's aura seemed to have erupted within the royal court just now. He probably wouldn't get a chance to claim it, as the court was full of masters, and playing it safe was the way to go there.

At that moment, he suddenly noticed a peculiar look in the other's eyes, a mix of pity and ferocity. He couldn't help but sneer inwardly. This young man probably hadn't heard his name. Duan Genggou was hated to the bone by countless people across the land, but what could they do, no matter how much they gnashed their teeth?

"Then let me show you the despair Duan Genggou brings!"

He grinned sinisterly, about to thrust his sword. In this world, no one's sword was faster than a dark elf's!

"What the hell is that?"

Just then, his expression froze. He stopped his movement and looked in another direction. Zu An, sensing something, also looked in the same direction.

A thick-browed, big-eyed old man approached from the distance. Though he was far away, he appeared nearby after taking just two casual steps.

"'Shrinking the ground into inches'?" Duan Genggou's eyes narrowed. "This guy seems even faster than my sword."

"You are Zu An?" the old man asked, surveying both of them before his gaze settled on Zu An.

Duan Genggou was secretly alarmed. What did it mean that this guy didn't even look at him?

However, he didn't act rashly. In this world, those who didn't play it safe didn't live long. He decided to observe the situation first; the old man gave him an unfathomable feeling.

Zu An nodded. "That's right. Who are you? Do you need something from me?"

The newcomer was naturally Wu Fan from the Elder Council. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed Duan Genggou's ready stance. With his cultivation, he could naturally tell that the other party intended to attack.

A thought sparked in his mind. Zu An had, after all, been appointed Regent King. As a revered figure of the Monster Race's Elder Council, directly attacking and robbing him would look bad if word got out.

It would be better to use the dark elf's hand to kill him. This dark elf was also a grandmaster. At such close range, Zu An was doomed.

Then he could seize the two divine artifacts from the dark elf and even claim to have avenged Zu An.

Now that was cunning and ruthless!

Thinking this, he leaned back strategically, arrogantly declaring with his nostrils flared, "You two settle your business first. I'll find you when you're done."

Duan Genggou frowned. This old man was not a good person; he clearly intended to watch from the sidelines and reap the benefits.

However, he might be miscalculating, probably unaware that a dark elf's attack was always a one-hit kill, and the entire process would be unimaginably fast.

Then he would just grab Zu An's corpse and leap into a spatial rift. No matter how high the old man's cultivation, he wouldn't be able to catch him.

"Alright," Zu An nodded, then looked at Duan Genggou.

Duan Genggou was immediately delighted. Truly, ignorance was bliss. He no longer held back, raising his hand and thrusting his sword directly.

In this world, no one's sword was faster than a dark elf's!

At that moment, Zu An raised his sword, and a dazzling light flared.

It was sword energy, radiant as the sun.

Wu Fan, who had been arrogant and relaxed moments before, instantly felt his pupils contract violently.

Duan Genggou was utterly dumbfounded. Was he dreaming, or had he woken up on the wrong side of the world today?

"Who in the world could unleash such exaggerated sword energy?!"

He tried to dodge, but found his entire body locked down by that terrifying sword intent, utterly unable to escape. He could only watch as his sword was melted away by the sun-like radiance, and countless rays of energy penetrated his body. The heavenly-grade protective armor he had bought at great expense shattered instantly, and his body could not withstand the impact of that fierce power, completely disintegrating into a mist of blood.

So this was the aura of the divine weapon that had just erupted in the city!

"Damn it, who said this guy used a bow? He clearly uses a sword! That son of a bitch Duan Tianchou tricked me!"

***

After slicing through Duan Genggou, the pervasive sword energy didn't vanish. It continued to extend backward, directly splitting a large mountain in half and forming a massive canyon.

Zu An only felt the chaotic energy within him calm down slightly. He looked down at the Tai'a Sword in his hand. Was this the power of 'using the land as a sword'?

Then he suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Wu Fan, who stood disheveled in the wind. "What were you just going to tell me?"

Wu Fan's formerly arrogant expression instantly vanished, replaced by a gentle smile. "I heard the Elder say that the Monster Race now has a young hero as its Regent King. He spoke of your heroic deeds last night, how you turned the tide, and I couldn't help but be captivated. I felt I had to come and see such a young hero with my own eyes. Now that I've met you, you truly are as beautiful as jade, a peerless young master!"