Desolate Devouring Art

The crowd had already braced for the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot to strike the earth when fierce light erupted from its frame. Its sword wings rattled violently, sending boundless sword rays piercing into the sky. Then the chariot shot forward like a meteor, defying the spatial suppression around it.

"How can it move so fast?" the spectators below exclaimed, staring in bewilderment as the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot vanished from their view.

The net crashed to the ground, crushing the rocks and trees beneath it. Forged from metal, it weighed 600 pounds.

Cries filled with disbelief echoed inside the Qilin War Chariot. "He got out?" Its occupants had felt certain that even the Hundred Blossom War Chariot and the Guardian Wings would struggle to escape that net. Somehow, the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot had eluded it.

"Elder, what now? That kid never lets a grudge go. He'll come after us next," the Divine Steed Manor's disciples said, anxiety apparent on their faces. His earlier battles had shown them exactly how he retaliated.

"Let him come! What do we have to fear? I'm more concerned that he won't dare," several other disciples retorted. They believed carelessness alone had allowed Liu Wuxie to strike the Nanmen Clan and the Divine Will Gate.

Only a combined assault by all the other divine steeds could damage the Qilin War Chariot's formidable defenses.

The immense construct advanced through the sky, its occupants putting Liu Wuxie out of their minds. Should he return, they would attack him again.

Clear of the net, Liu Wuxie guided the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot onward at an altitude of two hundred meters. That explosive burst of speed had exacted a price, however. Cracks spread through its frame, threatening to break the vessel apart at any moment.

Killing intent glinted in Liu Wuxie's eyes.

"Qilin War Chariot, you brought this on yourself..." Liu Wuxie said through clenched teeth. He had never sought a conflict with the Divine Steed Manor. Now that they had attacked, however, he would not sit still and wait for death.

Failing to respond would merely encourage another attack from the Qilin War Chariot. Liu Wuxie understood that perfectly.

Inside the Guardian Wings and the Hundred Blossom War Chariot, the occupants watched his escape from the net with equal astonishment.

The Guardian Wings led the field. Only two thousand meters separated it from the finishing line.

Farther back, the Qilin War Chariot accelerated, sending thunderous rumbling rolling across the heavens.

As the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot steadily climbed, the mysterious crossbow appeared in Liu Wuxie's hand. Confronting the Qilin War Chariot directly would be impossible. Drawing too close would place him at the mercy of its overwhelming power, so he chose a distant strike.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Elder, that brat is coming up behind us," the disciples inside the Qilin War Chariot reported.

"Bring him down!" Elder Si commanded, his gaze turning cold. The Guardian Wings and the Hundred Blossom War Chariot already demanded most of his attention, leaving him none to spare for the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot.

Windows swung open along the Qilin War Chariot at his order. Countless spears aligned with Liu Wuxie, ready to bury his chariot beneath a barrage.

"What is that brat doing? Why would he get closer to the Qilin War Chariot?" people asked as the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot's steady ascent caught their attention.

"He's a moth flying straight into the flame. Attack the Qilin War Chariot, and there's no coming back," many spectators sneered, realizing what Liu Wuxie intended.

Neither the Cloudbreaker Warship nor the Skybreaker Wasp belonged in the same league as the Qilin War Chariot. This ancient divine steed possessed exceptional strength in both offense and defense.

The Hundred Blossom Manor's manor lord had once proclaimed publicly that only the Divine Steed Manor's Divine Steed Art could defeat the Qilin War Chariot. No one else had the means to overcome it. Such a declaration alone testified to its tremendous power.

"Kill that brat!" a voice thundered from the Qilin War Chariot. Over a hundred spears descended upon the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot, creating an assault far more terrifying than the Skybreaker Wasp's poisonous needles.

The Skybreaker Wasp's needles were comparatively small, making them easier to evade. Each spear fired by the Qilin War Chariot measured roughly two meters long and bore the same appearance as an ordinary spear.

Numerous divine steeds still followed closely behind the Qilin War Chariot. Its indiscriminate barrage caught them in the same field of fire as Liu Wuxie and forced them off the Divine Rainbow Road.

"Get out of the way!"

The trailing vessels scattered left and right. In their haste to escape, many crossed the road's boundary and immediately forfeited their places in the tournament.

"Divine Tribulation Pupil, Ghost Pupil!" Liu Wuxie called, activating both divine pupils without hesitation. Everything around him seemed to slow. Even the approaching spears appeared to move dozens of times slower.

With a single thought, he sent the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot accelerating through the barrage. It wove effortlessly between the weapons as spear after spear skimmed its frame. Below, the spectators watched with their hearts lodged in their throats, unable to comprehend how Liu Wuxie could navigate such an attack.

Hundreds of spears swept past in the blink of an eye, and not one struck its target. The Twin-Winged Battle Chariot's extraordinary agility extended far beyond simple ascents, descents, and sideways movement.

"What sort of divine steed has he built? How did he do it?" spectators cried, clutching their heads as they struggled to understand. Judged solely by its materials, Liu Wuxie's creation appeared crude.

A stunned silence settled inside the Qilin War Chariot. Its occupants could scarcely accept that Liu Wuxie had evaded each spear. The barrage had swept almost all the other divine steeds from their wake, yet Liu Wuxie remained behind them alone.

The atmosphere turned grim inside the Qilin War Chariot. "Elder Si, something about this feels wrong." Twice they had attacked Liu Wuxie, and twice he had emerged unharmed. Unease took hold of their hearts. With only two thousand meters left to travel, even the smallest error could prove costly.

The Divine Steed Manor had committed too much to withdraw now. Elder Si immediately directed another assault at Liu Wuxie. "Fire again!"

Before the next barrage could begin, a white arrow ripped through the air and streaked across the sky.

"Bring up the defenses!" A shout rang out, followed by a deep rumble through the Qilin War Chariot. Everyone aboard had witnessed Liu Wuxie's earlier attacks punch holes through the Cloudbreaker Warship and the Skybreaker Wasp.

They initially assumed he had launched the Cloud-Piercing Pike again. Once they made out the white arrow, bewilderment replaced their certainty. How much power could such a tiny projectile possibly carry?

Liu Wuxie put away the crossbow with a cold smirk. He guided the Twin-Winged Battle Chariot forward and paid the Qilin War Chariot no further attention.

Confusion spread among the spectators below. They could neither discern his purpose nor understand why he had withdrawn after firing only one arrow.

The white arrow reached the Qilin War Chariot and vanished the moment it touched the hull. No sparks flew. No flames marked its impact.

"Where did it go?" the elders and disciples aboard the Qilin War Chariot asked, staring blankly. None had ever encountered an arrow that disappeared so strangely, leaving no trace of its passage.

They did not realize that the white arrow possessed no physical form. Mental energy guided its movement.

"What was that? Was he only bluffing?" the cultivators below asked, rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Yet no matter how closely they looked, the result remained the same. The arrow Liu Wuxie had fired had indeed vanished.

A cry erupted just as everyone began losing interest. "We're in trouble!" The white arrow suddenly materialized deep inside the Qilin War Chariot, catching every person aboard by surprise.

By combining his mental energy with the Ghost Pupil, Liu Wuxie had looked inside the Qilin War Chariot and studied its structure. He knew he could damage it from within.

The arrow bypassed the Qilin Rune and penetrated the vessel's depths without resistance.

It struck the Qilin War Chariot's core, where several disciples controlled a complex arrangement of mechanisms. Countless fragments exploded, throwing the interior into chaos.

The ancient Qilin War Chariot could not endure damage of such severity. Over the years, the Divine Steed Manor had repaired it repeatedly, but had failed to restore it to its prime. Now that its core lay shattered, the entire divine steed was all but destroyed.

Its momentum rapidly faded until the Qilin War Chariot came to a complete halt in midair, unable to advance another inch.

"What just happened?" the eliminated contestants exclaimed. After being forced off the Divine Rainbow Road, they had remained nearby, hovering inside their divine steeds.

"It looks as though the Qilin War Chariot has taken a devastating hit."

Through the crystal mirror, everyone saw its elders and disciples scramble to make repairs. Their frantic work accomplished nothing. The Qilin War Chariot remained motionless.

"I'll kill him!" an elder of the Divine Steed Manor roared, flinging the door open as he prepared to rush out and slay Liu Wuxie.

"Stay where you are!" Elder Si warned, stopping him from acting rashly. An attack before so many witnesses would turn the Divine Steed Manor into a laughingstock. Its members had to rely on their own abilities, and they had been the first to strike.

Liu Wuxie had escaped two assaults before retaliating. That single strike had destroyed the Qilin War Chariot's core.

"I won't endure this humiliation!" the elder snarled. He stopped halfway through his attempt to charge out, clenching his fists as his Golden Immortal Realm aura erupted.

"He will die the moment the Divine Steed Tournament ends," Elder Si declared. Murderous intent gathered in his eyes and rippled through the surrounding air.

Participants inside the Guardian Wings and the Hundred Blossom War Chariot had watched every development. As the Qilin War Chariot came to a halt, the Heavenly Rift Pavilion's elders exchanged a glance with those of the Hundred Blossom Manor. Delight shone in their eyes.

At last, their opening had arrived. With the Qilin War Chariot eliminated from contention, one of them would be the winner.

With an unspoken agreement, both divine steeds attacked the Sky Soaring Steed and sent it flying aside. The Heartless Sect's vessel still represented a threat.

"Shang Bin! Hundred Blossom Manor! You despicable bastards!" a furious voice roared from deep within the Sky Soaring Steed as the combined attack drove it off the Divine Rainbow Road.

......

At the Dragon Burial Mountain Range's exit, an old elf stood examining a portrait held in his hand.

"The face has changed, but those eyes look familiar. Could it really be him?" Vandore murmured as he studied the portrait Gongye Zhang had given him. He had left Eastern Emperor City early that morning and crossed the Dragon Burial Mountain Range in two hours.