Chapter Fifty-Nine: Each Their Own Brilliant Splendor

“Hmph! Just as I thought, a reckless fool!” The cloaked figure snorted coldly, a hint of disdain in his voice.

He noticed that as his opponent charged toward him, a broken hunting knife had somehow appeared in the young man's hand. Compared to his own bow, which was clearly no ordinary weapon, the knife in the other's grasp looked so unremarkable that no one would bother to pick it up if it lay abandoned by the roadside.

The cloaked figure’s opinion of Ye Chen dropped yet another notch.

As the chase continued, the gap between the pursuer and the pursued narrowed steadily, inch by inch… Soon, they would reach the distance Ye Chen deemed ideal for drawing his blade.

In terms of speed, Ye Chen was obviously superior. His stamina, too, was unmatched.

Yet at that moment, something unexpected occurred.

The cloaked figure, running ahead, suddenly spun around and leapt up. An arrow had already formed on the bowstring.

This time, Ye Chen saw the arrow’s tip clearly. It was adorned with hollowed-out patterns, designed to lighten its weight and increase its speed. The intricate motifs carried a deadly aura; the cloaked figure was prepared to kill at close range.

He drew and released the bowstring three times in rapid succession.

Three arrows flew in a straight line, end to end, aimed directly at Ye Chen’s throat.

With unstoppable momentum, they vowed to pierce him through.

After firing, the cloaked figure was still retreating in midair, so fast was his triple shot.

The distance between them was short; the arrows reached Ye Chen in an instant.

Already, the cloaked figure was picturing the scene: his opponent collapsing in terror, throat punctured and leaking air—a favored tactic against those who got too close, whether human or mutated beast.

But in the next second, he realized Ye Chen’s face showed not a hint of panic.

Instead, Ye Chen raised his broken blade with unwavering resolve and slashed at the front of the arrows.

“What is he doing? Does he really think he can split arrows in the dark with that broken knife? And all three at once? Ridiculous…”

Before the cloaked figure could finish his mental sneer, something unbelievable happened.

A sharp sound—three times in quick succession.

The three arrows were cleanly and perfectly split down the middle, sliding past Ye Chen’s neck on either side and continuing behind him. Then, their inner energy spent, they dissolved into fragments of light.

Now it was the cloaked figure’s turn to be stunned. He cried out inwardly, unable to believe it:

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

No one had ever broken his Triple Constellation at such close range, and certainly not in this way!

He could hardly accept that his surefire skill had been so easily undone.

Never mind how sharp a blade would have to be to split his hardened arrowheads—even the act of cleaving three arrows in succession was unthinkable. To cut through the exact point where the arrows joined required extraordinary precision; a single miscalculation, and the latter two arrows would slide off the blade and strike the target.

Yet facts were facts.

If Ye Chen had previously been dazzled by the cloaked figure’s archery, now it was Ye Chen’s cold blade slapping him across the face.

He saw Ye Chen’s expression shift to one of smug mockery, as if to say, “Is that all?”

What the cloaked figure did not know was that Ye Chen, as he charged, had already activated his Insightful Eyes, which allowed him to perceive every detail in the monochrome landscape built from lines.

He corrected the minute gap where the arrows joined, making that precise cut possible.

Countless hours of blade practice had elevated Ye Chen’s control to a new level.

As for the sharpness of the blade, Ye Chen was confident. He’d easily severed Zhang Jingye’s limbs before, and later tested it on other hard objects—each time, the cut was smooth as silk.

Having split the three arrows, Ye Chen’s momentum only grew.

He was like a snow wolf on the wild plains, eyes glowing with predatory light, bounding across the rooftops to close the distance.

A formidable foe… The cloaked figure finally realized the true strength of his opponent.

With such skill and presence, if Ye Chen truly was a wild hunter, he would surely be considered a veteran.

Fortunately, he had no means of attacking from range; he must not be allowed to get close. That broken blade in his hand was also unnervingly peculiar.

The cloaked figure reached to his waist and pulled out two disk-shaped objects, tossing them onto Ye Chen’s path.

Ye Chen recognized them at once—two more frost traps.

Meanwhile, the arrow forming on the bowstring changed shape yet again.

It was the third arrow type Ye Chen had seen tonight. He grew wary.

This awakened artifact bow had so many functions; it seemed the arrowheads could be conjured and switched at will, depending on the situation.

This time, the arrowhead was thick and flat—a blunt arrow, commonly used for hunting.

Ye Chen was familiar with these; they were meant to strike birds on rocks, relying on blunt force that wouldn’t damage the prey’s flesh, feathers, or fur. They could also serve as target arrows.

Just like now—two arrows struck the disks perfectly, triggering the frost traps. A sheet of ice spread across the rooftop, forcing Ye Chen to run sideways at full speed.

He had to circle around the frozen area quickly; if he got caught, he’d go from hunter to hunted in an instant.

The cloaked figure used this opportunity to widen the gap between them, and the battle returned to its earlier stalemate.

Yet both their mindsets had changed.

…

While the rooftop battle raged on, a figure was struggling up the street toward them, gasping for breath.

Qiao Mucao, his forehead streaked with blood, wore a worried expression.

He blamed himself for being too hasty, for leaving such a daunting task entirely to Ye Chen, whose awakening level was only E.

But the aftereffects of his explosive power had set in—his body was weak and limp.

He’d barely recovered a single point of inner energy, which vanished as soon as it appeared.

He knew his condition well; any energy gained was merely patching up the previous deficit.

Such was the flaw of his awakening skill: after a burst of tremendous power, came prolonged weakness.

At this point, even a child on the street could easily knock him down.

Qiao Mucao’s legs felt heavy as lead; no matter how he urged himself, he could not move faster.

Every so often, he had to lean against a wall, panting for breath.

All he could do was silently pray: Ye Chen, please don’t let anything happen to you…