Wind speed, humidity, temperature, light…
One could say that all current conditions were terrible. Even with a sniper rifle, shooting would be extremely difficult. However, An Jiu’s status as one of the most outstanding snipers wasn’t solely due to the power of her weapons.
This face-to-face shooting might result in mutual destruction. Mei Tingyuan, standing next to An Jiu, was so tense she almost forgot to breathe.
Except for the howling wind, everything seemed to freeze.
An Jiu slowly shifted her arrow’s aim.
Mei Tingyuan’s eyes widened in surprise, realizing An Jiu wasn’t aiming at the black-clad figure in the ancient pine at all!
Just as she fell into confusion, An Jiu suddenly released her fingers!
The bowstring hummed, and the arrowhead tore through the fierce wind, flashing a cold light in the night!
Almost simultaneously, the archer on the opposite side also released his bowstring. His arrow, wrapped in a bright, dazzling blue light, looked like a bolt of lightning striking across!
Even a ninth-rank warrior’s internal energy couldn’t materialize like that! The opponent was a master who had reached the State of Transformation!
Mei Tingyuan opened her mouth, wanting to shout, but her voice was stuck in her throat, unable to make a sound! Then she watched in horror as An Jiu stood quietly in place, showing no intention of dodging!
An Jiu stared intently at the blue light, her eyes reflecting a bright blue.
“Are you crazy? Dodge quickly!”
With Mei Tingyuan’s shout, the light grazed past An Jiu’s temple with a sharp sound, the fierce wind it created blowing off her hood. The arrow plunged into the rock wall behind with a bang, sending stone fragments flying.
The black-clad figure in the ancient pine had initially disregarded An Jiu’s arrow, which seemed to lack internal energy and was off-target. But in an instant, he was astonished to find the arrow gradually pushed by the valley wind, changing its course. When it was about five zhang away, he could see the cold gleam of the arrowhead pointing towards his chest!
His thick eyebrows furrowed, and he abruptly moved. Even though he moved so fast he left no afterimage, the arrow still pierced a corner of his cloak.
The black-clad man stood on the cliff, lifting his cloak to examine the hole pierced by the arrow, his eyes unable to hide his shock.
An Jiu looked up, sensing the person on the opposite cliff looking back. Their gazes met for an instant before the figure disappeared into the night.
Her cheek, grazed by the arrow’s wind, stung fiercely. An Jiu turned back to see the opponent’s arrow almost entirely embedded in the rock wall, only its black-feathered end visible.
“Your face is bleeding,” Mei Tingyuan said, her voice trembling with what seemed to be both excitement and fear.
Seeing the fierce battle on the other side and Mei Tingchun trembling as he climbed over, An Jiu took out some wound medicine from her pocket. She rolled up half of her face mask, wiped away the blood, and applied some ointment.
“You’re amazing,” the Lou family girl said, her watery eyes fixed on An Jiu, her voice somewhat childish. “I’m Lou Xiaowu.”
Mei Tingyuan paid no attention, thinking she meant she was fifth in the family ranking. But Lou Xiaowu added, “I’m nineteenth in the family.”
Mei Tingyuan paused, her eyes turning slightly. “You just called out to ‘Second Sister’. Is your second sister very capable? What’s her name?”
“My second sister is called Lou Mingyue,” Lou Xiaowu said reluctantly. “But she told me not to talk about her abilities.”
Mei Tingyuan put her sword to Xiaowu’s neck. “Will you tell me or not?”
“I won’t,” Lou Xiaowu said with a look of resignation.
“Really?” Mei Tingyuan pressed the sword closer to her neck.
Lou Xiaowu glared at her. “If you dare kill me, my second sister will kill you to avenge me!”
“What are you glaring at? Showing off your big eyes, aren’t you?” Mei Tingyuan said irritably, hitting her head with the flat of the sword. “Childish!”
On the other side, after Mei Tingchun crossed over, Mei Tingjun untied the rope and drew his sword to join the battle.
“Fourteen, why don’t you help them?” Mei Tingyuan said, no longer teasing Lou Xiaowu.
An Jiu ignored her, sitting cross-legged to observe the battle.
Lou Xiaowu seemed very interested in An Jiu but didn’t dare get too close. She crouched about two chi away, awkwardly trying to start a conversation. “You shoot arrows well.”
“…”
“Weren’t you afraid just now?”
“…”
“I saw you didn’t even take a deep breath.”
“…”
“Why didn’t you use internal energy?”
“…”
“Ah, could it be you don’t have internal energy?”
“…”
“No, that’s not right. Your spiritual force is so strong, your internal energy must be strong too!”
“Do you know Mo Sigui?” An Jiu suddenly asked.
Lou Xiaowu, happy to get a response, eagerly replied, “I don’t. Who is he?”
An Jiu said coolly, “You should get to know him. You’re the same type of person.”
“What type?” Lou Xiaowu asked curiously.
An Jiu, still focusing on the battle across the way and not looking at her, uttered three words: “The annoying type.”
Lou Xiaowu glanced at her and thought to herself: She’s too sharp-tongued! Not at all like a great expert should be! I won’t admire her anymore!