Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 732: The Man in the Painting

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Hearing the other party’s words, Wanyan Liang was so furious that he felt as if his lungs would explode. As the ruler of the Jin Empire, second only to the emperor, when had he ever suffered such humiliation? With a wave of his hand, the surrounding guards received his command, and a rain of arrows immediately poured down on the enemy.

Though the number of guards was fewer than a hundred, they were highly skilled in coordinated archery. Instead of releasing their arrows all at once, they divided into several groups, each delaying their shots by a single breath. By the time the last group had loosed their arrows, the earlier groups had already reloaded, forming a continuous cycle. This seamless coordination made it seem as if tens of thousands of arrows had been fired, rather than just a few dozen archers.

“Ah!” Seeing the whistling rain of arrows, Huang Rong couldn’t help but cover her mouth and let out a soft gasp. Though she knew Song Qingshu was highly skilled, facing such a dense barrage of arrows head-on, she feared that neither of them would be able to escape unscathed.

Seeing the sheer force of the incoming arrows, Song Qingshu secretly praised their technique—Jurchens, like the Mongols, were indeed fierce warriors, and their archery skills were truly extraordinary.

Hearing Huang Rong’s gasp, Wanyan Liang suddenly remembered that she was still behind that man. If this volley of arrows landed, wouldn’t that exquisite beauty be turned into a pincushion?

The thought that he hadn’t even had a chance to enjoy her yet made Wanyan Liang instantly regret his decision. However, the arrows had already been released, and it was too late to stop them.

Just then, Wanyan Liang’s eyes widened in shock. The scene before him utterly shattered his understanding of reality. The man simply took a single step back while holding Huang Rong, and in the next instant, the torrential rain of arrows landed precisely where he had just been standing.

These archers were all elite warriors and had not only aimed at his original position but had also sealed off all possible escape routes. A significant portion of the arrows continued to chase him as he moved.

But the strangest thing happened—the arrows, which had been flying at lightning speed, suddenly slowed down as they neared him. Though they were only a step away, it was as if that single step had become an endless void, making the arrows sluggish as if moving through thick mud. At this speed, even a turtle wouldn’t be hit!
Everyone in the vicinity was utterly dumbfounded. This was too bizarre! Wanyan Liang’s guards were among the best of the best, and they carried hundred-stone bows, capable of launching arrows as fast as shooting stars. Even top martial artists would see nothing but a flash before being struck fatally. Yet now, the seemingly unstoppable arrows were moving as if they were snails!

Ouyang Feng and Murong Bo watched with flickering eyes, rapidly analyzing how their opponent had accomplished such a feat.

“Could it be a protective Qi barrier in front of him?”

“Impossible! How could there be a Qi wall extending a step away from his body? Even if there was, it wouldn’t be able to stop such powerful arrows!”

They had no time to ponder further because the man moved again. He calmly took a step forward, heading straight into the path of the incoming arrows.

This left Ouyang Feng and Murong Bo even more bewildered.

“He had already blocked the arrow storm. Why is he stepping into it voluntarily?”

Wanyan Liang, on the other hand, burst into laughter. “This guy must have lost his mind! He’s running straight into the arrows! Hahaha—”

But his laughter was abruptly cut short. The expected scene of his opponent being riddled with arrows never occurred. No, the arrows did pass through him—even through Huang Rong! But neither of them showed any sign of injury, not a single drop of blood. The arrows simply phased through their bodies and continued at their original speed, whistling into the forest behind them. Some trees, unable to withstand the sheer force, were snapped in half. Yet the two standing where the arrows had “pierced” them remained completely unharmed!

“What kind of sorcery is this?!”

Not just Wanyan Liang, but everyone present was in an uproar. Was this man a demon? Or… a god?

Huang Rong felt her entire body go weak, barely able to stand. She practically collapsed into Song Qingshu’s embrace. When he had pulled her into the path of the arrows, her first thought was that he had lost his mind, that they were about to die. She had watched, eyes wide with terror, as countless arrows passed through her body, yet she felt nothing—no pain, no impact. When she finally regained her senses, they were both standing exactly where they had been before, as if they had never moved at all.

Song Qingshu smiled faintly and looked at Wanyan Liang. “Now, do you still think I can’t kill you?”

Wanyan Liang finally snapped out of his daze and hurriedly shouted, “Master Ouyang, Master Murong, kill him for me!!!”

Ouyang Feng and Murong Bo exchanged glances, both seeing the apprehension in each other’s eyes. However, as two of the most formidable martial artists in the world, they were not like common soldiers who would lose their fighting spirit so easily.

Especially Ouyang Feng—he knew the man before him was Song Qingshu. No matter what kind of trickery Song Qingshu had used just now, Ouyang Feng refused to believe his martial arts could be so superior to his own. It must have been some kind of illusion or sleight of hand.

Determined to prove his theory, Ouyang Feng let out a roar and lunged at Song Qingshu.

Murong Bo hesitated. This man before him felt unfathomable, yet he also knew that if he did not act today, his martial progress might be forever stunted. After a brief moment of hesitation, he too joined the attack.

He did not know Song Qingshu’s identity like Ouyang Feng did, but he had absolute confidence in himself. ‘Even if the opponent is strong, how could he possibly withstand the combined might of me and Western Poison Ouyang Feng?’

As the two masters charged toward him, Song Qingshu inwardly groaned.

‘Damn, I was trying to act cool, but now I’m going to get smacked for it!’  

In truth, his previous step backward and step forward had consumed an immense amount of energy. Right now, he barely had a tenth of his usual strength left. He had been hoping to imitate Zhuge Liang’s “Empty Fort Strategy” to scare them off, but who knew these two would charge in like fools?!

Still, Song Qingshu had no regrets. He could have dodged the arrows in a simpler way, but his recent time spent training with Zhang Sanfeng and the spiritual energy he had absorbed from Huang Rong had given him an inexplicable feeling—a sense that he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

In his previous life, he had read a novel featuring a character named Bai Hechou, whose “Man in the Painting” philosophy left a deep impression on him. Nearly all martial artists existed within the “painting,” unable to harm someone who had stepped outside of it…

As his cultivation deepened, Song Qingshu often pondered such abstract concepts. And just moments ago, faced with the storm of arrows, he had acted on a sudden inspiration—thus, his retreat and advance.

‘”Man in the Painting”? No, it’s merely a difference in spatial existence…’

He felt as if he had glimpsed the doorway to the mysteries of space itself, yet when he tried to focus, everything remained a blur—he had barely scratched the surface.

He had no time to dwell on it. Seeing Ouyang Feng and Murong Bo rushing toward him, he grabbed Huang Rong by the waist and let out a hearty laugh.

“A beauty awaits—farewell!”

By the time he finished speaking, he had already moved dozens of meters away.

Ouyang Feng and Murong Bo immediately sensed a weakness in his voice, realizing he might be running low on energy. Without waiting for Wanyan Liang’s orders, they both gave chase.

Watching them flee up the mountain, Wanyan Liang’s face twisted into a sinister grin.

“Heh, that mountain is a death trap. Let’s see where you’ll run now!”

With that, he ordered his guards to follow.

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