Heavenly Jewel Change

When Zhou Weiqing had used the Possession of the Demon God in the clash against Shangguan Tianyue, the first strike had been real, but the second was actually fake. Simply put, the first strike had been using the ‘crying-face’ Hammer, while the second was with the ‘smiling-face’ Hammer. As for the reason why Shangguan Tianyue looked so critically injured, naturally the majority of it was self inflicted. 

Previously, Shangguan Tianyue had already informed Zhou Weiqing that he could handle the severity of his own injuries. 

The reason why Zhou Weiqing had gone all out in the fight against Shangguan Tianyue was twofold. Firstly, he was afraid that Shangguan Tianyang would see through their act if he held back too much. Secondly, he also wanted to test his strength, to see how far he had come. With a Heavenly Emperor willing to fight against him without malice, this was naturally a good opportunity. 

The facts had once again proven that old ginger is always the spiciest [1]. Despite the realism of their fight, due to Shangguan Tianyue’s actions at the end, Shangguan Tianyang had still managed to see through their act. Luckily, he did not stop them and they had walked away. 

Previously, when he was watching Shangguan Tianyue’s emotional revealing and speech to Tang Xian, Zhou Weiqing had almost laughed out loud. Who said my acting was so great? Compared to my father-in-law, I still have much to learn!

Shangguan Bing’er stared at Zhou Weiqing with jaw agape as he explained the situation, and she couldn’t help but wear a strange expression as conflicted emotions rose through her. 

Zhou Weiqing grinned and said: “Heh, they won’t have time to worry about you now, so let’s leave quickly. Otherwise, if mother-in-law comes to look for me, I won’t be able to do anything! For the sake of your father’s happiness, this time I have taken the rap. In the future, I still don’t know how to explain things to her…” 

Shangguan Bing’er’s beautiful eyes widened. “You terrible fellow, you actually teamed up with my father to lie to mother. You two are just too bad!” 

Zhou Weiqing sighed and said righteously. “How can this be considered a real lie? This is a kindly white lie… Do you really want to see them be in the state of ‘cold war’ forever? Can’t you see how much your father was suffering? Isn’t this much better now, once that barrier between them was pierced open, who knows what fire and lightning would rain down. You never know… you might even gain a little brother or little sister soon!” 

Shangguan Bing’er blushed as she said: “You rascal, stop speculating about my parents’ matters.” Although she said those words, she sighed in relief inwardly. 

A girl’s worst fear was that her husband would not have a harmonious relationship with her family, which looked to be the case today when Zhou Weiqing hurt Shangguan Tianyue so badly. In that instant, Shangguan Bing’er was at a total loss. Now, she found out that it was all a show, and she could set her mind at ease. 

Of course, now that she no longer had to worry about her parents, her mind couldn’t help but wander. Although she did not voice it out, she was truly surprised. Little Fatty had already grown to such a level of power? 

The two made their way at full speeds. Along the way, Zhou Weiqing barely rested at all, and even their meals were eaten in mid flight. 

Shangguan Bing’er did not bring up the matter of resting. Although Zhou Weiqing was always smiling and cheerful, the worry deep in his eye was clear to her. In such a situation, she would definitely support her man with her body, heart and soul. 

After a mere three days of travel, they had already arrived in the Heavenly Bow Empire. After stopping to ask for directions, they quickly grasped where their army was now. 

Just like what Shangguan Tianyang had said, the Heavenly Bow Empire’s armies were camped in the Stars Forest, just outside the Heavenly Bow City. They had surrounded the Heavenly Bow City in a semi-circle, and looked to be ready to launch an all out assault. As for the details regarding both sides’ military might, it was not something that could be discovered by simply asking around. 

After grasping this news, Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er headed straight to the frontlines. 

Their speed of flight was just too quick, and the Heavenly Bow Empire had never been large. In less than a day, they could already see the encampment of the Heavenly Bow Empire armies. 

Under cloud cover, Zhou Weiqing was not afraid of being discovered. Since he had the superior vantage point from above, he would be able to study the camp easily. 

In just a few moments of studying the camp, Zhou Weiqing couldn’t help but be greatly impressed. Ming Yu truly lived up to his title as the Fei Li God General. Zhou Weiqing had to admit to himself that he would not be able to arrange his forces in such a formation. 

From their vantage position in the skies, there were at least a hundred thousand men camped outside the Stars Forest. There was also a portion of their forces camped directly in the forest, but he was unable to determine their exact numbers. 

The entire camp was set up to ensure they could cover each other. There were watchtowers erected in all positions, and groups of patrolling cavalry weaved in and out of the camp areas. Once there was any suspicious stirrings, the entire army could be mobilized easily in this formation without being in a mess. Furthermore, no matter if it was the soldiers going through drill practice, or the various patrols, it was clear that they were orderly and disciplined. 

It had to be known. From the time that Ming Yu had joined up with the ZhongTian Empire, barely two years had passed. In this short period of time, he had forged the Heavenly Bow Empire armies into its current state, to have such powerful combat abilities. If Zhou Weiqing had been the one in charge, he did not have the confidence to say he could duplicate this result. 

Currently, their Heavenly Bow Empire army did not merely have the strength to revive their Empire, even counterattacking was not an issue at all. 

“Little Fatty, let us go down.” Shangguan Bing’er said gently. 

Zhou Weiqing nodded in agreement, holding her by her slim waist. The young couple descended from the skies, but they did not fly directly into the camp to prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings. They landed outside the camp before walking in the direction of the camp. 

“Who are you?” Before they had walked a hundred metres, four soldiers burst out from the two sides to surround them. 

Naturally, Zhou Weiqing had noticed them long before. However, if it was just using vision alone, the four of them had been well hidden and out of sight. 

Now that they had left their hiding spots, only then did Zhou Weiqing see it was because they had dug four holes in the ground, with plenty of cover on top. There were also grass and thatch woven onto their shields, thus allowing them to remain hidden in the ground without being discovered. 

This was their hidden guards. 

Looking at the four blades gleaming with cold light, Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily. “Stand down, we are on the same side.” 

“Same side?” One of the guards, clearly the leader, looked questioningly at Zhou Weiqing. When he moved his gaze to Shangguan Bing’er, he shuddered. With a thud, he knelt down on one knee, saying respectfully to her: “Greetings Drillmaster, this subordinate is Sun Pao. We are scouts from the Fourth Regiment, Twenty-seventh Company.”

The other guards followed suit to greet Shangguan Bing’er. 

Zhou Weiqing rubbed his nose in embarrassment, saying with a wry grin: “It looks like this Commander in Chief isn’t as well known as you, Drillmaster!” 

Shangguan Bing’er giggled, saying: “Who asked you to be so lazy and not reveal your face in public more often? This also proves that my sisters are toiling so hard on your behalf.” 

Zhou Weiqing grinned in delight, saying: “Alright, everyone stand up. To prevent any other misunderstandings, two of you guide us into the camp to meet Ming Yu.” 

Previously, Zhou Weiqing had not lowered his voice when speaking to Shangguan Bing’er, and the guards had naturally heard him. Commander in Chief? What did that mean? They were all confused. They had seen Shangguan Bing’er before from a distance, and they knew their Drillmaster’s fame and reputation in the entire camp was rivaled only by Commander Ming Yu. So… who was this young man beside her?

Seeing the hesitant looks on the four guards, Zhou Weiqing said helplessly: “Nevermind, I’ll do it myself.” He was rather impatient to find out about the current situation and did not wish to waste anymore time. 

As he spoke, Zhou Weiqing raised his right hand and slapped it into the air. Instantly, the air began to rumble agitatedly. A massive dragon formed from lightning coalesced into existence, soaring into the skies as the four guards watched with bulging eyes. An ear-splitting crash of lightning accompanied the strong energy reverberations, spreading out far and wide. 

The lightning dragon spun around in the air before emitting a series of thunder and lightning. At last, it slowly vanished. 

Before the piercing glow of the lightning had faded away, the main Heavenly Bow army camp had already responded. A hundred figures rose into the skies from the main camp, rushing over to the area of disturbance at top speed. 

Although they were still a distance away, Zhou Weiqing could already see that this hundred men were all from his familiar Peerless Air Force!

They had been apart for a year, and seeing this Peerless Air Force that he had personally trained and forged, he instantly felt the warmth of home.

The hundred-strong Air Force soon arrived, their Consolidated Bows drawn to full crescents. Shockingly, all hundred of them were Jewel Masters, at least of a five-Jeweled stage. Their leader was Kou Rui. 

They had not flown together from the same direction, and now that they were in the air above, their formation had scattered to ensure a semi circular surrounding of them. With a hundred Jewel masters locking down upon the area, it was filled with a strong pressure. 

Kou Rui was position right in the center. His cultivation had already reached the five-Jeweled stage. 

“Kou Rui, come down here now.” Before Kou Rui could even look closely to see who it was, a powerful suction force came from the ground, dragging him down forcefully. 

Kou Rui paled in fright and subconsciously fired his arrow. As soon as he did so, all hundred of the Peerless Air Force members also followed suit without hesitation. The shrill sounds of the arrows slicing through the air gave the four guards standing in front of Zhou Weiqing and Shangguan Bing’er a big fright. 

A hundred Peerless Air Force powerhouses shooting at once. Just the explosive effect from their Consolidated Bows was sufficient to turn this entire area in a hundred metre radius into a deep crater!

However, in the next moment, they were all stunned silly. 

The shrill sounds only lasted for half the distance before it stopped. A hundred arrows, yet they all froze in mid air abruptly. The most astonishing thing was that they actually flew back, landing right back in their quivers, with not a single one missing the mark!

Kou Rui had been brought directly onto the ground, landing right in front of Zhou Weiqing. 

“We have only just met again after so long, and you already can’t wait to give me a gift? You little brat, can’t you look clearly before you act?” Zhou Weiqing laughed heartily. 

At first, when Kou Rui saw their arrows had all been blocked so easily, his heart had grown cold and he thought they were finished. However, in the next moment, when he finally saw who it was who pulled him down, that terror turned into joy and excitement!

[1] 1. Literal translation - basically means the older, the wiser