Dragon Canon

Wei Yuan, Zhang Sheng, and Trueman Chu He flew up into the sky and swaggered their toward the Shaman city. Naturally, they were discovered. Three Great Warlocks rose into the air to meet them.

Wei Yuan came to a halt several dozen li from the Shaman city, watching the three Great Warlocks slowly approach.

Wei Yuan sneered and said, “What’s the matter? Scared? Did we beat you too badly last time?”

One of the Great Warlocks snapped, “Have you come here to die?”

Wei Yuan replied disdainfully, “You look like humans. Who gave you the right to speak in my presence? Where’s that guy with just a head left? Tell him to come out and see me!”

The Great Warlocks were all seething with rage, yet miraculously, they held their tempers. Their gazes swept past Wei Yuan and lingered briefly on Trueman Chu He—a token gesture of respect. Then, they all fixed their gazes on Zhang Sheng.

As usual, Zhang Sheng was clad in a scholar’s robes. He had one hand clasped behind his back, and another holding a history book. He looked every bit a scholar on his way to take the imperial examinations. But when the Great Warlocks looked at him, they felt a faint stinging pain in their eyes, and their bodies trembled instinctively.

The three Great Warlocks were filled with astonishment and doubt. This human is clearly not an Avatar, so why is he exerting far greater pressure than the old Daoist standing next to him?

Wei Yuan noticed the expressions on their faces and silently praised his shifu in his heart: Master’s acting skills are truly getting better and better.

Feeling that the atmosphere had been sufficiently set, Wei Yuan said, “If we fight here, I’m afraid you’ll turn tail and run back to your lair the moment you get the chance. How about we head two hundred li southwest before we begin?”

The three Great Warlocks were certainly no cowards. They agreed without hesitation, and both sides flew off toward the southwest. The location Wei Yuan chose was equidistant from both the realm of Qingming and the Shaman city, so anyone wishing to flee would have to go through some trouble.

Wei Yuan was flying at a steady, measured pace when suddenly, Trueman Chu He’s voice rang in his mind. “Boy, you haven’t forgotten that this old Daoist can’t wield his immortal swords, right?”

Wei Yuan replied with his perception, “No problem. Master can’t really wield his immortal swords either.”

Trueman Chu He was taken aback. The more he thought about Wei Yuan’s response, the more something didn’t sit right with him.

Just as they were about to reach the battlefield, a black speck suddenly streaked across the sky in the distance, heading straight for the Shaman city!

Horns immediately sounded throughout the Shaman city, but the object was simply too fast. It was already above the city when the horns were just starting to blare!

Strangely, the city-wide defense array showed no reaction. The Warlocks and warriors on duty couldn’t let the object crash down as a matter of course, so they immediately launched several mystic artifacts to intercept it.

Just then, the vague silhouette of a pagoda flickered in the sky. The next second, the object whizzed past the web of mystic artifacts. They were just a split-second too slow to intercept it.

On the city wall, a Shaman noble let out a roar and unleashed his true form, which was pitch black in color and over one zhang tall. He leaped upward like lightning and actually managed to wrap his arms around the object!

He bellowed, tightening his grip. Then, a ball of sunlight bloomed in his embrace, and everything turned black. He knew no more.

Above the Shaman city, a small sun had appeared out of thin air, causing a terrifying storm to sweep across the city walls and firing shards of steel that sliced several unfortunate Warlocks in two. Every Shaman within a hundred zhang radius also felt as if they’d been struck in the head with a hammer, and suddenly they couldn’t hear anything.

Within that radius, several ordinary Shamans scrambled to their feet, still dazed and confused, unsure of what had happened. Suddenly, a dark object plummeted from the sky, crashing at their feet. When they looked, they saw that it was a severed black arm, its fingers still twitching.

Terrified out of their wits, the Shamans scattered in all directions. Just then, another object sliced through the sky and plunged into the Shaman city. However, neither the Warlocks nor the warriors had recovered from the previous explosion. They could only watch helplessly as it crashed into the city!

There was a thunderous boom, and a massive fireball rose into the sky. The resulting storm flattened every building within dozens of zhang! The flying shards of steels it unleashed were deadly weapons; whether they struck a Warlock or a warrior, even a single hit meant certain death.

Inside the realm of Qingming, Wang Yu was tapping out a rhythm and using his Dao energy to guide and correct the cultivators’ movements. Dozens of peak Body-tempering stage cultivators were chanting in unison as they carried a steel tube known as a “cannon barrel” to the array and loaded it with a shell.

Hsu Yi and several Dao Foundation-stage cultivators were responsible for activating the array, propelling the shell onto the launch track, and pushing them forward.

There were pairs of Dao Foundation-stage cultivators standing on both sides of the track and giving the shell a push when it slid past them. Every time it passed through a node, its speed would increase slightly. By the time it had traveled a thousand zhang and reached the end of the track, it was moving as fast as lightning. Then, it abruptly shot upward and soared into the sky, hurtling toward the Shaman city[1].

Under Wang Yu’s command, the next shell was already being loaded into the formation before the previous one had fully left the track. As of now, Qingming called it sustaining firepower.

Meanwhile, blazing fire was erupting, and massive black smokes were rising everywhere in the Shaman city. Every time a fire flashed, countless Shamans would be blown to pieces. At first, the city was able to put up some resistance, but the gigantic nine-level pagoda in the sky rendered all mystic artifacts useless.

As for the city-wide defense array, because it had failed to activate in time, it was severely damaged when the first shell struck, and completely obliterated by the subsequent shells. With the only defense capable of countering the Devil Suppressing Nine-level Pagoda rendered ineffective, and the Warlocks and Shaman nobles suffering heavy casualties under the relentless bombardment, they could no longer mount any effective resistance.

Worse, they still did not know what these flying objects were. They only knew that they possessed terrifying power, yet emitted almost no mystic energy fluctuations somehow. Unless observed with the naked eye, their trajectories were nearly invisible to one’s perception.

Had they not witnessed them flying in from the horizon with their own eyes, they might have assumed that a human Avatar was hiding in the heavens and hurling Dao spells upon them.

Right now, the only ones capable of intercepting them despite the presence of the Devil Suppressing Nine-level Pagoda were the three Great Warlocks—but they were over a hundred li from the city.

Seeing the explosions rippling through the Shaman city and fire shooting skyward from time to time, the three Great Warlocks immediately realized they had fallen for a diversionary tactic.

Fury blazed in their eyes. Just as they prepared to return to save the city, they suddenly saw Wei Yuan raising his long spear toward the heavens. A dim yellow glow lit up from the spear tip as he declared in a voice full of dramatic inflection, “Twilight of the Immortal....”

Is that the technique that had nearly slain Rock Heart in one strike?!

The three Great Warlocks immediately braced themselves and raised their guards to max. No one dared to face the spear technique with their back. Rock Heart possessed a formidable bloodline and boundless vitality that allowed him to lose 3000 years of lifespan and still live to see another day. On the other hand, it was highly doubtful that the three of them combined even had that much lifespan.

However, Wei Yuan never uttered the final syllable. He just stopped there for an indescribably long time. Then, the dim yellow glow on the spearhead wobbled for a bit before vanishing outright!

The three Great Warlocks were confused and astonished. Just as they were about to retreat again, Wei Yuan gave them an awkward smile and spoke again, “Twilight of the... Immortal....”

A dim yellow glow flared up at the spear’s tip once more, this time tinged with a faint red color. It was also exuding a refreshing, immortal aura.

The Great Warlocks exchanged glances, forced to remain on guard. They were caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, they wanted to pounce Wei Yuan and teach him a lesson. But with Zhang Sheng watching coldly from the sidelines, they knew they wouldn’t gain any advantage.

As for the old Daoist, they all felt he was a fly they could swat away at any moment. They were in the Shaman’s home turf, not the realm of Qingming. The old Daoist wouldn’t be able to make a splash here.

Sure enough, the dim yellow glow on the tip of Wei Yuan’s spear vanished once more.

By now, even the most dim-witted Great Warlock had figured out that they had been tricked by Wei Yuan. If they thought about it, a spear technique capable of severing one’s lifespan had to be subject to numerous restrictions. It might even be a limited-use mystic artifact. Whichever the case, it was clear that Wei Yuan couldn’t wield it right now. The Great Warlocks gritted their teeth in fury, yet there was nothing they could do against Wei Yuan at the moment. Their only choice was to return to the city, so they did just that.

Behind them, Wei Yuan let out another loud cry, “Twilight of—”

Before the few Great Warlocks could even begin to curse, a torrent of brilliant golden light suddenly burst forth from the sky and crashed into the slowest yet physically strongest of the Great Warlocks!

Enraged, the Great Warlock was about to strike back when suddenly, he realized that his protective mystic energy had crumbled the second it touched the golden torrent! Not only that, the high-grade battle armor he was wearing only lasted a few breaths before being pierced by the torrent as well!

His physical body, which he had always prided himself on, proved to be even more vulnerable. In the blink of an eye, the torrent had eroded his skin completely and begun gnawing at his flesh.

One of the Great Warlocks acted with lightning speed, yanking the stricken Great Warlock aside. The other Great Warlock summoned a condensed saber of light and slashed viciously at the torrent. The saber of light only lasted a breath before shattering to pieces. On the other hand, the Golden Light Water Blade spell continued its flight for hundreds of zhang more before finally dissipating.

The Great Warlock’s expression darkened. In that brief exchange, he realized that his mystic energy was inferior to Wei Yuan’s—not just in quality, but in quantity as well!

Shocked and enraged, he could think of nothing but one question for a moment: What kind of monster is this human?

The Great Warlock who had been ambushed by Wei Yuan now bore a wound the size of a washbasin on his waist. It was so deep that his bones were exposed to the air. A moment of carelessness combined with a competitive spirit had left him with a severely injured body.

Shocked and angry, the three Great Warlocks dared not linger any longer. They swiftly returned to the Shaman city.

While watching their retreating backs, Wei Yuan sighed internally with regret. If just one more senior from his sect was present, they might have been able to take down one of the Great Warlocks. Alas, his shifu’s immortal swords were sealed. Outside the realm of Qingming, he was nothing more than a mere prop.

Not only that, Golden Light Water Blade had also drained half of his Dao energy, leaving him with just enough for one more use. Outside of Qingming, he was almost a prop as well.

Wei Yuan did not give chase. He had been counting the number of shells Qingming had fired this whole time. By the time the three Great Warlocks returned, the bombardment had already ended. Half the city had been reduced to ruins, and the casualties were innumerable.

Looking at the corpses strewn across the ground, the three Great Warlocks felt their vision go dark.

The blast radius of each shell was immense. Though the explosive force wasn’t very concentrated, any ordinary Warlock caught within the blast zone had little chance of survival. Moreover, the Shaman city had been hastily constructed, with most of their energy being poured onto the city walls and defense array. The vast majority of the buildings inside the city were hastily erected wooden huts, with the altar being the only structure that was made from stone. That was why a single shell was enough to destroy everything within dozens of zhang.

The central altar had also been hit by two shells and lost a corner. Its priceless mystic array had also been destroyed and would need to be rebuilt.

Gazing at the ruins, the three Great Warlocks could scarcely believe their eyes. What kind of attack could be so deadly, yet leave almost no trace of Dao energy at the scene?

Barely any time had passed, and the city built with the combined effort of an entire tribe had been destroyed just like that. Rebuilding it would cost at least half of their original investment.

The three Great Warlocks were, of course, unaware that Wei Yuan had fired all thirty-odd shells he had rushed to produce over the past few days in a single barrage. Since the explosive power of gunpowder was insufficient, he had compensated for it with sheer quantity. Each shell had been loaded with a whopping three thousand catties of gunpowder.

In other words, Wei Yuan had rained a hundred thousand catties of gunpowder down upon the Shaman city.

1. Ever heard of a Railgun - Wikipedia ? Now you have. ☜