Chapter 40: Despair Descends? A Thunderous Arrow, the Beast King's Fall!

Just moments ago, Lu Yuan had been wholly absorbed in refining the energy within the Three-Leaf Purple Rhythms, closing off his six senses and severing all awareness of the outside world. Now, with the refinement complete and the fourth shackle within him broken, he finally noticed that the city—within its walls—felt altogether different from before.

Strange beasts had appeared, and not in small numbers.

What had happened?

A brief moment of thought was all it took for Lu Yuan to understand. He calmed the surging power in his body and rose to his feet, leaping forward at once. Soon, a tall building blocked his path, but guided by the aura of the beasts, he pressed onward.

Though Qingyang City was small, it housed several hundred thousand citizens. Lu Yuan, positioned at the western edge, needed a bit of time—even at his current speed—to cross the city. Along the way, he noted many toppled buildings and ruined houses; much of the basic infrastructure had been destroyed. Countless citizens were fleeing westward, panic etched plainly on their faces.

This only confirmed Lu Yuan’s judgment: the city was under attack by beasts—likely a beast tide.

“How could so much happen in the time it took to refine a Three-Leaf Purple Rhythm?” Lu Yuan frowned but wasted no time, hurrying forward.

Before long, he spotted the distant silhouette of a massive blue, one-horned giant wolf—strikingly similar to the one he had slain earlier.

Elsewhere, Zhao Wuji, a teacher from Zhendan Academy, was still holding on, though barely. He was indeed strong, his physique and combat prowess far surpassing the standard of early seventh-tier Awakeners. But now, before him, stood a ninth-tier Wolf King, nearly at the Awakening stage. Coupled with the beast’s innate physical might, even an Awakened of the same level could not withstand it.

Boom!

Another blow landed. Even with a trace of ancestral bloodline awakened, Zhao Wuji could no longer endure; he was thrown violently to the ground. The cement-paved city street caved in, forming a massive crater, and buildings nearby began to crack and collapse under the immense force.

His body had reached its limit.

“Teacher Zhao!” Zhu Qingyu and the others shouted, rushing to help him up. Zhao Wuji was covered in blood, his spear bent nearly to breaking. If not for his formidable physique, his body would have been shattered in the previous clash.

“No, no…” Zhao Wuji shook his head. “The support troops haven’t arrived. I can’t fall here.”

The students, hearing this, were moved to tears, struggling to find words. Was there meaning in holding out? Yes—at the very least, they could buy more time. But in the end, someone would die.

A low, rumbling roar came from the blue one-horned Wolf King, as if it had grown tired of playing. At its call, the surrounding beasts grew restless. At a command, hundreds of them would surge forward and storm the city. This time, unlike before, many would surely die.

“Not good,” Zhao Wuji sensed the impending attack and tried to rise, but his injuries were too severe—he collapsed, powerless. In that moment, he hated his weakness. If only he could evolve once more, become stronger, perhaps the situation could be turned.

“Teacher Zhao!” Qin Lan and the others called, their eyes full of pain and compassion. The Wolf King was simply too powerful; if they continued, Zhao Wuji would surely die.

“I’ll go with you, Teacher.” At that moment, Zhu Qingyu spoke up, eyes resolute. “I may be weak, but I can still help—if only for a minute.”

At this critical moment, she chose once again to stand forward.

“And I,” Qin Lan and the others echoed her stance. If they had hesitated before, seeing Teacher Zhao Wuji risk everything—even his life—to protect the people, their hearts were moved beyond words. Death no longer mattered; they had to try.

Several other teachers who could still fight nodded gravely and joined them.

“Good… good…” Zhao Wuji looked at his students, unafraid and willing to fight at his side. Relief and pride filled his heart. In times of crisis, someone must stand up to protect the ordinary people.

Forcing himself upright, he gripped his spear and addressed all those present.

“Then let us fight together, let us face death together!”

“Fight together, face death together!” the group answered, determination etched on every face.

So what if the Wolf King was strong? Even if they could only hold out for a minute, so be it. Behind them were hundreds of thousands of lives—their own people.

And so, with Teacher Zhao Wuji as their lead and the students rallying behind Zhu Qingyu, they faced eastward, toward the looming beast tide and the mighty Wolf King. Compared to the monstrous threat before them, they seemed so small, like grains of sand or insignificant insects.

Yet they stood firm, gathering every ounce of strength.

“We must find a way to protect them—at least get Qingyu out,” Zhao Wuji thought, glancing at Zhu Qingyu behind him. He knew how highly the Academy valued her, aware that she carried a special bloodline. If she could fully awaken her potential, her path of evolution would be extraordinary. With humanity and Huaxia facing so many future crises, her death here would be a tragedy—she had to be preserved, even at the cost of his own life.

With this in mind, he exhaled deeply and led the students forward.

But none of them realized that, at that moment, a pair of bright eyes were watching from the rooftop of a half-ruined building.

“Zhendan Academy people? As expected, just like before…” Lu Yuan stood atop the building, his eyes glowing faintly. Even from this distance, he could see and hear everything clearly.

In his previous life, when the world changed and beasts clashed with humankind, there was always a group that charged to the front, risking their lives. In Huaxia, from ancient times, there had always been those who stepped forward in moments of crisis.

Though the authorities could not fully respond to the new era, it did not mean they did nothing. The founding of Zhendan Academy, recruiting and training Awakeners, was meant to preserve as many ordinary lives as possible during future catastrophes.

The Academy was still new, its strength yet to match that of Wuzhou Group or Longevity Genetics, but Lu Yuan knew that as the situation evolved, Zhendan Academy would gradually replace the authorities, commanding most of Huaxia’s power and gathering many Awakeners. Thus, in the disasters to come, they would preserve this bloodline, making Huaxia one of the few nations to survive the mutation.

Even now, with the Academy only a few months old, its teachers and students—though knowing their strength was insufficient—still chose to act.

“Zhendan Academy must have some excellent visualization and breathing techniques. I should look into them someday,” Lu Yuan mused. His country was ancient, its foundation profound. Ancestral bloodlines and ancient artifacts ensured Huaxia could adapt to the new era.

He also knew that, in time, certain ancient monsters would emerge—those who had accumulated power before the mutation, whose bloodlines would revert, becoming terrifyingly strong. There were also martial legacies, like the old Celestial Master of Dragon-Tiger Mountain, who would soar in the new age.

Of course, now was not the time to dwell on such thoughts. The pressing crisis had to be dealt with.

Lu Yuan raised his head, eyes locking onto the blue one-horned Wolf King. Watching for so long, he understood the situation clearly: his slaying of the red giant wolf had enraged the Wolf King, who now summoned a beast tide to vent its fury on the city.

“To think that a single unintended action led to this… If it happens again, I’ll have to be more thorough,” Lu Yuan muttered. Even if he had done nothing, a beast tide would have come eventually; but now, with things developing as they had, how could he not intervene?

“Heaven-Shaker!” he called softly.

A bow of ancient make, etched with mysterious patterns, appeared in his hand. It was extraordinary; both ends were carved with sun and moon, emitting a faint glow.

Wasting no time, Lu Yuan grasped the bow, his gaze fixed on the Wolf King. He chose not to engage directly—he wanted to test the Heaven-Shaker Bow’s power. In future use, he’d have a sense of its limits.

Of course, even for a near-Awakening Wolf King, using the Heaven-Shaker Bow might be overkill.

“I mustn’t use full force,” Lu Yuan reminded himself. Too much power could harm the Zhendan Academy group.

He drew the bowstring tight.

At once, the power of heaven and earth gathered, radiating bands of light. These lights surged and condensed into a golden arrow.

The Heaven-Shaker Bow could gather the world’s energy and form an arrow whose strength depended on the wielder’s own power—the stronger the user, the mightier the arrow.

As the arrow formed, an overwhelming aura spread from Lu Yuan, causing the crumbling building beneath him to crack further.

“Let’s add some thunder, for greater penetration—a sure kill,” he thought. Even at less than twenty percent strength, he wanted to be certain.

With a thought, he invoked the Jade Emperor Heavenly Thunder Technique.

Thunder rumbled. This time, the power was different; it carried pure destruction. In terms of attack and explosive power, nothing could compare to thunder.

Now, Lu Yuan infused a sliver of Heavenly Thunder into the Heaven-Shaker Arrow.

The sky boomed with thunder. Black clouds gathered, and the surroundings shifted.

Below, Zhao Wuji, Zhu Qingyu, and the others noticed nothing—they were focused entirely on the blue Wolf King, senses closed to all else. Every one of them had resolved to die, pressing forward step by step.

On the other side, the Wolf King, seeing their advance, roared again—mocking them. In its eyes, these humans were as insignificant as ants, yet they dared to stand in its way. Since they sought death, why not oblige them?

The Wolf King crouched low, blue fur glowing, all energy surging to its singular horn. The horn blazed with blinding light, gathering terrifying power.

“It’s enraged—this is the end!” Zhao Wuji’s eyes widened in horror. This was the Wolf King’s ultimate attack; if unleashed, none would survive.

Not only he, but Zhu Qingyu and the others felt it—a deadly force gathering at that horn. The taste of death filled every heart. Some faces went pale, some bodies trembled. No one is unafraid of death; only courage can sometimes overcome that fear. Still, when truly faced with it, instinct drove terror into a few.

Is this… the end?

Yet none retreated; all pressed on.

The Wolf King, feeling provoked, prepared to strike.

But just then—a tremendous thunderclap split the sky.

Zhu Qingyu and her companions felt nothing unusual, but the blue Wolf King shuddered violently, every hair standing on end, its very soul quaking. It was as if some existence had locked onto it, one capable of ending its life.

Suddenly, it turned its head, and fear shone in its eyes.

What was happening? Why wasn’t the Wolf King attacking?

Zhu Qingyu and the others were puzzled. Just a moment ago, they had braced themselves for death, yet now, their foe was frozen.

Soon, they noticed the Wolf King’s terror. What could frighten a beast king nearly at the Awakening stage?

Their eyes traced its gaze and saw—on a ruined rooftop behind them—a solitary, youthful figure, bow in hand, surrounded by a wild, terrifying energy. Thunder roared above him, dozens of lightning bolts intertwining. The brilliance was so dazzling they could not make out his face, only that he was a man.

“What… what monstrous power…” Zhao Wuji’s eyes widened in disbelief. The aura that man released was utterly beyond his imagination.

Who was he?

No one had an answer.

But the Wolf King, overwhelmed by that dreadful force, trembled and turned to flee—back to the forest. That man was too terrifying; it knew it would die if it stayed.

“Want to escape? Too late,” Lu Yuan smiled atop the rooftop, drawing the Heaven-Shaker Bow to its limit and releasing the string.

Thunder crashed.

A massive bolt of lightning split the heavens, illuminating the sky. The thunder arrow, moving faster than the eye could follow, broke the sound barrier and appeared before the Wolf King in a blink, piercing its proud horn.

Bang!

With a deafening detonation, Zhu Qingyu, Zhao Wuji, and the rest saw it: the Wolf King, their despair made flesh, had its massive head blown apart, becoming a rain of blood across the sky. Its enormous body split and was obliterated by thunder, vanishing without a trace.

The ruler of this region—the one-horned Wolf King—was slain by a single arrow.

(End of chapter)