Divine King of Honour

Murong Xue's eyes widened in disbelief at the shocking scene, a moment ago she thought she was truly going to die.

The sharp arrowhead had nearly pierced her heart, and its surface glowed with a layer of green light—clearly coated with a deadly poison that would ensure death even if it missed the vital organ.

What shocked her even more was that, in the final moment of crisis, it was Xu Nian who stepped forward to save her.

She stared at Xu Nian's resolute profile, unable to comprehend how he had managed it.

The arrow had come too suddenly and with unbelievable speed; she hadn't even had time to react herself, yet Xu Nian, who had been standing behind her, intercepted the deadly projectile first—and with his bare hands, an impossibility in her view.

The other three also noticed what had happened and looked at Xu Nian with astonished faces.

Xu Nian seemed to realize that his actions had revealed too much and explained with a smile, "I had previously eaten a fruit that not only healed my Dantian but also enhanced my strength and reflexes beyond that of an average nine-star warrior; plus, I detected the arrow first, which is why I was able to block it."

The others nodded their heads upon hearing this.

They too had heard about Xu Nian's previously ruined Dantian which later recovered completely. Indeed, there were some rare and exotic fruits that could strengthen a person's body.

However, these fruits were only useful for low-level cultivators and had no effect on those of a higher level, so they didn't feel too envious, merely thinking Xu Nian was lucky.

"Xu Nian, thank you for saving me!" Murong Xue said gratefully.

"It was the right thing to do!" Xu Nian replied with a casual smile, then asked seriously, "Why would someone shoot an arrow in secret? We haven't offended anyone."

It was clear that the arrow had been shot by a human, not a Demon Beast, so why would someone attack them without cause or enmity?

"It was probably a hunter, but they've run off," Lin Feng came over and said.

"A hunter? Shouldn't they be attacking Demon Beasts? Why would they shoot at us?" Xu Nian asked, puzzled.

He knew about hunters, who were professionals making a living by hunting Demon Beasts and collecting their Crystal Cores, often roaming the Demon Beast Forest for their prey.

But it was obvious that the arrow was intended for them and not a stray shot.

"Hmph, you're still too naive. These hunters, killing a single Demon Beast, would only earn one Demon Beast Crystal Core. But by killing a human, they might gain even more Crystal Cores, and possibly other treasures. Would they rather kill people or Demon Beasts?" Yu Feng said with a cold laugh.

Xu Nian frowned slightly; although Yu Feng's tone was unfriendly, his words were true.

Killing a human would certainly yield more wealth than a Demon Beast, and these people, accustomed to living on the edge of the knife, would not care about the sanctity of life—wealth was their first priority.

"Let's continue on our way, everyone be careful. In the Demon Beast Forest, humans can be more dangerous than the beasts. We must stay fully alert," Lin Feng spoke.

Everyone nodded, and after such an incident, no one dared to let their guard down again.

Xu Nian turned to look in the direction from which the arrow had come, feeling that there was more to this incident than met the eye.

Hunters generally moved in groups, and the person who had just fired an arrow from a distance before swiftly leaving was clearly testing them.

Judging from the level of spiritual energy on the poison arrow, that person must be a high-level, third-star in the Star Realm.

Had he not secretly used his Gang Qi to instantly dissolve the spiritual energy on the poison arrow, even Lin Feng would have found it difficult to intercept that shot.

"There might be big trouble ahead," Xu Nian glanced at the four people ahead, who remained blissfully unaware, and shook his head with reluctant acceptance.

A third-star shooter in the Star Realm, how could he be without companions?

Now, Xu Nian could only hope that these people were merely passing by, and that his group wasn't their actual target; otherwise, they would be facing considerable calamity.

...

Three miles away from where Xu Nian and Lin Feng's group were traveling, there were three men gathered.

All of them had broad shoulders and dark skin and were dressed in tight fighting clothes and had sharp eyes—it was evident that they were seasoned survivors in this jungle.

"Big brother, I've already tested them. Four men and one woman—I took a shot at the woman. The other three didn't react, but the target we are after promptly spotted it and blocked the arrow; otherwise, she would have died by my shot. Based on my observation, the target's cultivation level is only at the Seven-Star Warrior Level, which should be easy to deal with," a man with a longbow strapped to his back whispered with a sly chuckle.

"I say, Gangzi, if you wanted to test them, why use the woman for your target? She's the third-ranked top beauty of Qinglin Academy. You know you're wasting divine resources!" another man with a donkey's face retorted irritably.

When he first heard that among the targets of this hunt was a top beauty, he had already planned to enjoy her company. Now, hearing that his companion had nearly killed this top beauty, how could he not be angry?

"Pfft, Tie Donkey, all you think about is women. Wanting a woman in the Demon Beast Forest? You're bound to die on a woman's belly sooner or later. Once we finish the mission and get the reward, what kind of woman can't you have?" the youth carrying the longbow sneered.

"You just don't realize how precious this woman is this time; she's worth far more than any amount of money," the donkey-faced man scornfully said.

The especially tall and muscular man with a crew cut in the middle of the two remained silent.

The two arguing men also seemed to notice something was off with their leader and stopped bickering.

Gangzi turned his head to look at the crew-cut man and asked, "Big brother, is something bothering you? Didn't we already use that Black Wind Leopard to test their strength? The strongest is just a three-star warrior, and with two three-star warriors and one four-star Star Realm Body Cultivator, we can easily kill them. What are you worried about?"

The crew-cut man fell silent for a moment before speaking, "I feel that our target this time is a bit strange. You said it was he who blocked your arrow, but how could a Seven-Star Warrior possibly block your shot?"

"Big brother, I thought you were pondering something serious. It's just a seven-star warrior, even if his strength is higher, how much higher could it go? If he blocked that arrow, it's entirely coincidental. Plus, I didn't use my full strength. If I had, I could have pierced his heart with one shot," Gangzi said with a light laugh.

The crew-cut man nodded; he felt perhaps he was worrying unnecessarily.

A Seven-Star Warrior, even if they possessed strength surpassing their own, how could they possibly be a match for him, a Four-star Body Cultivator?

"Let's go, we'll meet them," the crew-cut man decided.

The bowman and the donkey-faced man exchanged smiles, both seeing the excitement in the other's eyes.